You noticed one of the most important aspects of effectively using a variety of plot devices and literary elements; the heroes have to be “connected” to the setting. Not only that your setting needs to feel like a living, breathing world that exists beyond the heroes for many of these MacGuffins to have any real meaning.
John Lewis recently posted…MacGuffin Ideas

Thank you for your excellent follow-up to Sam’s McGuffin article.

After reflecting on your list of McGuffins, as well as considering the four aspects of a McGuffin you listed, it am starting to get a better feel for how they can help drive a story forward when used in a TTRPG. I think the key is to have something that ties the characters to the game world, and each other in a way that is actionable and urgent.

It also occurs to me that in a TTRPG (as opposed to a film), it might be more effective to have a chain of McGuffins, especially when securing one leads to more adventures later. Many of the McGuffins you listed are some form of document or information, which in turn paves the way to some other thing that must be dealt with. For example, in the case of securing proof that a high ranking priest is possessed, once this is revealed it is possible that the priest himself becomes the McGuffin if he tries to skip out of town after being discovered.
Oliver Oviedo recently posted…So What’s Next?