List of More Campaign Ideas

One of the most exciting and yet difficult parts of hatching a campaign is the idea. A good idea can keep your motivated and focused, and a bad idea can stall your campaign before it even starts. So what makes a good campaign idea? The most important factor is that you care about it. I've proposed a list of campaign ideas before, but what it none of them tickles your fancy? Worry not; here's 25 more campaign ideas to get you started. 

1. Explorers discover a previously unknown civilization deep in uncharted territory. While people flock to the new region for its resources and new wonders, the players are called on to council with the discovered civilization. A noble representative of the land contracts the players to determine who the people are, what their intentions are, and what the noble should do about them. 
2. Visitors from another dimension arrive one day to inform the players that an incursion is on its way. They are here to warn the party that invaders are coming to dominate the plane of existence, and only if the players can follow the messengers back to their dimension and prevent the attack. (The other dimension could be another plane of existence, outer space, or just a doppelganger version of the reality you play in.)
3. An evil god has possessed the leader of a powerful city, and the possessed ruler is using their influence and power to strike against the good-aligned gods' temples and followers. A good god reaches out to the party for help, promising heavenly rewards if the party will defend the innocent people and work to free the leader of possession. 
4. Natural disasters devastate the settlements throughout part of the land, and the common people there have become obsessed with survival in the harsh new world. This involves some people turning on each other, and the remaining leaders in these areas are asking the players for help protecting innocents and fighting to restore the stability of the area. The party may be able to rebuild society. 
5. In a great war, the king has died valiantly in battle. His eldest son, only 10 years old, is to be sent to the capital and endowed as the new king. The party is tasked with transporting the boy to the capital despite all the late king's enemies knowing the kingdom is vulnerable. The party would also be tasked with preparing the boy for adulthood with training. 
6. The party is onboard a ship which wrecks, and they survive, ending up on a small island. They must explore the island and its strange wildlife, build themselves a place to live, and create a plan for getting off the island. But as they plan, they find that something or someone on the island wants to keep them there. 
7. A scientist has begun experimenting on people, trying to genetically improve them. His early attempts have gone horrifically wrong; as he has obtained more unwilling specimens, people have begun to notice the disappearances. Investigation of the reports leads to finding a dead experimented-upon person, and the scientist proves both elusive and persistent in his goal. 
8. A daring adventurer has assembled their ragtag crew, the players, for a daring adventure: going to the center of the earth and returning with its energy captured. In order to make the journey, the party will need to obtain a ship, defeat any lurking beasts underground (or in the Underdark), and return safely. 
9. A worker from a large construction company goes to the public to say that the company has been using slave labor for years, and the worker is killed days later. The party is asked by an industrialist who owns a competing construction company to investigate and expose the company for what it is. The private army employed by the company will complicate things for the party. 
10. A god explains to one of their most devout followers that a change has come, and now all gods' powers are proportional to the number of people who worship them. As news of this spreads, new groups and cults arise to take advantage of the change. A god approaches the players and asks them for help to reverse the change. 
11. A new settlement is set up on the edge of the frontier. In the middle of the night in the settlement, massive creatures move around outside of town. The leader of the townsfolk hires the party to investigate what these strange beings are and convince them to leave the townsfolk alone. But the strange beings have a request of their own . . . 
12. A family reports that their house is being haunted. The players are called upon to deal with it. This includes investigating the haunting, fighting undead, and blessing the area. But when they do, a similar haunting is reported the next town over. As the party deals with these hauntings, they are heading towards a major city. Will the players be able to figure out what's going on before the ghosts get where they're going? 
13. The players are all prisoners in a terribly harsh prison camp. The leader of the camp is cruel and tortures the prisoners who he has an excuse to. A fellow prisoner has a plan to escape the camp, but it will take cunning to create makeshift tools, charm or bribe guards, and make a run for it. But even then, the players will have to brave rough terrain and return to civilization. 
14. A wise old woman in an ancient clan is killed by a spirit, and the wise woman's family needs help setting her death right in the spiritual realm. The players are called upon to investigate the murder, seek vengeance against the spirit, and travel through the spiritual realm to find the wise woman and set things right. 
15. The poet laureate of a distant country has been sent to your players' country, and they are to act as the escort and protection for the poet. They will have to help the poet navigate the new social world of the land they are visiting, protect the poet from assassination attempts, and indulge the poet's many whimsical requests "for inspiration." 
16. During an especially tense political season, one candidate calls another "a worshipper of evil gods," sparking a flurry of similar accusations thrown at practically every candidate. The candidates seek a third party to investigate the candidates and determine who is engaged in evil worship and who is lying in their accusations. 
17. A cryptozoologist is seeking to create an encyclopedia of supernatural monsters ranging from the confirmed magical beast to the legendary beasts of fable. The players will act as guides, protectors, and escorts for the cryptozoologist, occasionally having to do battle with yetis, beholders, and dragons. 
18. A bustling city which is being overrun with crime is facing a new problem: a rise of vigilantism. Overzealous mobs have begun targeting social outsiders in addition to the criminals they set out to address. The players are brought in by the local government to get the mobs under control and train a new guard force; they are also needed to face incursions from a nearby bandit camp. 
19. One morning, one out of every four people in a small town disappears from the earth. The players are among those left behind, and a group of survivors asks the players to help them determine what happened and why. Investigating the disappearances may reveal the workings of a sinister enemy, a celestial event, a dimensional monster, or simply a bizarre mystery. 
20. A wartorn region's citizens are in need of aid, and the players are responsible for delivering it. They will have to travel into the region, defend themselves from raids and attacks, and defend the innocent people. They may even be able to help rescue civilians or broker peace with the warring factions. 
21. Drought conditions destroy much of the farms in an area, and farmers can tell that the soil damage is more permanent than will support them. A mass of farmers hire the party to help them move together as one large caravan. The party will have to help them navigate, protect them from enemies, sustain the caravan's needs, and help them establish themselves in greener pastures. 
22. A gang (the party) plans a job involving conning a disgraced lord out of their jewel collection. They must plan the heist by investigating the lord and his staff, finding a buyer for the collection, and actually pulling the heist. But the party must be wary, for the different members of the lord's staff may be helpful or malicious. 
23. A leader has come to prey on their peoples' best interests, and a group of revolutionaries want to bring about change. They hire the party to sabotage the leader's interests and government; the party will need to perform reconnaissance, fight the guards and soldiers from the leader, and help to support the new regime's leader. But how will the new leader be?
24. The immigration of a group of people into a new area has caused an outbreak of vicious disease. The party seems to be immune to it, so the locals hire them to tend to the sick. But when the players investigate, they find that a strange storm struck them while they traveled, and some of them believe they became sick during the storm. The players must investigate this strange illness. 
25. An elder has mastered the art of meditation and can now control matter with their mind. They are fearful of their death meaning the loss of this advance, so they try to teach it to the players. But when the players learn the meditation and begin to practice it, they are transported to a foreign dimension with fearful enemies. 

There you have it--25 more ideas for campaigns. Hopefully, you've got something churning for your next campaign. 

That's all for now. Coming soon: how to create an interesting villain, a guide to epochs of history in my homebrew setting, and multiple descriptions of common items for variety. Until next time, happy gaming!

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