After thinking about it for a bit, i think the type of lure needed is some kind of immediate short term loop. For example, if the guy at the docks has a starter sword in his inventory but he'll only give it to you if you trade him some of the nearby crab meat or something. I wouldn't suggest trying to hook via story or something for a kenshi-like, rather you need to get a small gameplay loop spinning fast to get people invested for the world to matter on the bigger loops. Anyways just a suggestion.