What are good D&D campaign plot ideas? Where can dungeon masters find them? First, let’s address a major concern.
D&D campaign plot ideas and D&D campaign ideas are different things.
DMs should never really think about plot. Plot happens when the protagonists of a story act. Since DMs have no idea what the player characters (the protagonists) will do, thinking of plot is a trap.
Dungeon masters should think about campaign ideas in terms of situations and complications. Situations and complications for D&D can come from a variety of sources. Let’s take a look.
Inspiration for DnD Campaigns
Literature – Books, books, books. Dungeons master should read and mine the books for situations and complications that can be used in D&D campaigns. Obvious choices are The Lord of the Rings and other fantasy novels like A Song of Ice and Fire, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, The Name of the Wind, and American Gods. However, science fiction, Westerns, and literary works like Moby Dick can provide inspiration for D&D campaigns.
History – Real history is a vast mine for D&D campaigns. Taking situations from history gives dungeon masters complex and realistic campaign ideas. I have interviewed writer and game designer Tristan Zimmerman on my podcast many times he lays out historical situations and we discuss how to use them in your campaigns. Check out the episodes below:
- Turning History into RPG Encounters with Tristan Zimmerman
- Pirate King, Shipwreck, Festival Gone Wrong with Tristan Zimmerman
- Using History in Dungeons and Dragons with Tristan Zimmerman
- Three Historical Topics for RPG Campaigns with Tristan Zimmerman
- Year Without a Summer, Castles, and Neverland with Tristan Zimmerman
- Mail Robbery, Alien Invasion, Pilgrimage of the Dead with Tristan Zimmerman
- Bizarre Court Martial, African Ruins, Emissary to the Mongols with Tristan Zimmerman
- Architecture Feud, Piasa Bird, Scam Colony with Tristan Zimmerman
RPG Adventures (Modules) – Of course, there are many published adventures for D&D as well as ready-made campaigns. A perfectly fine option is to just run those as is. However, modules can be mined for ideas and mixed and matched into extremely creative campaigns. Here’s a sample list of adventures from the DMs Guild and DriveThruRPG:
- The Book of Random Tables: Quests
- The Book of Random Tables: Quests 2
- The Book of Random Tables: Quests 3
- Burger Antics
- The Siege of St. Isolde
- ALQ3 A Dozen and One Adventures (2e)
- DM’s Kit: Springboard Adventures for Tyranny of Dragons
- Adventures by FishPirate – Supplement I: People of Phandalin
- 101 Adventures
- Tome of Adventures
- Astonishing Adventures!
- Tales From the Tome – Five Tome of Foes Adventures
- Springboard Adventures for Princes of the Apocalypse
- Swords of the Moonsea: Five Adventures
- Zoek’s Short Adventures
- Waterdeep: Dragon Heist Complete DM’s Bundle (Guides, Maps, Adventures and other Resources)
- Adventures & Maps for Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
- Island Adventures: The Pieces Of Eight
- Adventures From Along the Road (5e)
Movies – Movies are an excellent source of Dungeons and Dragons campaigns. Now, this is not to say DMs should run the entire movie as is. Remember, we are not using the plot. DMs should look at the movie and pull out situations and complications. Kidnappings, traps, deals gone sour, theft of land, and defending the weak, are all situations commonly found in movies. All of these make great complications in campaigns.
TV Shows – Just like movies, TV shows provide amazing inspiration for campaigns. Again, use only the situations. Never run the TV show exactly so that players could recognize it. Always think about situations and complications.
Folklore – Folklore is a rich trove of campaign ideas. Many different traditions can be explored. In addition to European folklore or American folklore, African folklore and others can be used.
Campaign Ideas for D&D
D&D campaign ideas are all around us every day. Every book we read, every movie and TV show we watch can provide us with seeds of excellent campaigns. Never worried about plot. Always look for situations and complications to throw at your player characters and then react with how your players handle them.