Here’s a quick yet structured way to come up with an adventure type and outline in D&D. This is the method I use this when I need to come up with a campaign or adventure idea that centers around a particular theme.
I’ll cover the four adventure types or themes and describe how to tie them all together. It’s an easy way to not only get those creative juices flowing, but to do so in a logical and efficient way.
I finish with some very important guidance on how to tie it all together, so be sure to read until the end.
Finally, I’ve got an infographic of these concepts available as a free downloadable PDF.
MAPS
The first theme we look at are maps.
Maps are adventures centered around places or locations. The classic example is exploration of a dungeon, ruins, temple, or a particular geographical area. For example, the old-school adventure module “Keep on the Borderlands” has the party exploring a particular valley filled with caves that is located near their base of operations, which happens to be the keep referenced in the module’s title.
In this category, the ‘where’ aspect is the star of the show.
This category can include travel through the wilderness or between settlements. The motive can be the delivery of an object to a particular destination or recipient. It can also include escort missions where the party must protect a person or some other being to a destination. They might even be transporting the party’s captive or prisoner.
The travel sub-section of the Maps category can also include a famous “escape” adventure type. The party begins in a state of captivity and they have to find their way out of their bonds, then move out of their prison or dungeon cell, find their gear, then escape all the way to the outside and to freedom.
Other sub-types of the maps category can include the conquering of territory, such as evicting monsters from the area surrounding a stronghold that must be recaptured, or it can include adventuring into a wilderness area, clearing it of monsters or enemy forces, and establishing a new base of operations.
As a bonus sub-type of the maps category, the party can visit and travel through a city.
MONSTERS
The second adventure type or theme centers around monsters.
I’ve had great success finding inspiration by perusing the monster manual. You can come up with several exciting adventure ideas by focusing on a particular monster type.
Begin by finding the kind of monster you want to focus on. This can include dragons, undead, or weres such as werewolves or wererats. One of the best types for lower-level adventures is to choose a group of humanoids such as orcs, goblins and hobgoblins, kobolds, or even gnolls.
One of the most famous adventure modules ever written focused on one particular monster type. You guessed it, Against the Giants, by Gary Gygax.
Keep in mind your adventure design doesn’t have to be a boring slog through rows and rows of the same monster. You can have a single big bad evil guy (or girl) of a particular monster type, and all their minions are diverse sets of other monster types. Classic examples of this include an evil dragon working behind the scenes to rouse various monsters to do their bidding. The party must work their way through those minions to find out who or what is behind it all, then slay the BBEG.
MAGIC
Let’s talk about the third adventure type, magic items. This provides some of the most versatile adventure themes and provides opportunities for mythical play with less danger. It can also give you ideas for adventures that are prerequisites for other, more dangerous missions.
Perhaps the party has to find a particular magic item. This can entail figuring out where it’s located first by following clues or conducting research by visiting oracles and such. Then, they have to travel to that location and find it. You’ve now tied your magic-themed adventure into a maps-based design.
Other ideas include the party destroying a powerful magic item. Again, this can include other sub-adventures to accomplish prerequisite tasks to make the destruction easier or possible. It’s common for these magic items to be possessed or protected by powerful monsters. See how these themes are tying together?
Two other magic-based adventure types include the assembly or construction of a magic item or more powerful version of an existing magic item, as well as the theft of something magical. This last idea can tie into our fourth and final category…
PEOPLE
For our fourth adventure theme, we talk about people. People can be one of the most diverse adventure types of the top four, because people are often the reasons behind the other three.
One of the most common “people” type adventures is a figure of royalty such as a king or lord giving the party a quest, either through the offer of a reward or to remedy some wrong.
Think of Conan the Barbarian when he, Valeria and Subotai are tasked by King Osric to rescue his daughter after the king’s guards arrested them.
That movie alone has elements of all four adventure types in a single plot.
Other people-based adventures can include the pursuit of an individual or group. As mentioned there’s the rescuing of someone important — which can include the rescue of a member of the party. I like this one when a regular player in the group is gone for a few sessions, so the other players must rescue their character.
Finally, interaction with, or avoidance of, deities is an ever-present source of inspiration in your D&D campaign. The party can go on a quest from the cleric’s god, or there’s a curse placed on the paladin by a deity that motivates the adventurers to go on a quest to find a powerful holy relic to lift it. So on and so forth.
Tie It All Together
As I mentioned when referencing Conan the Barbarian, you can start with one of these four adventure themes and then bring in elements of the other three as you go along. In fact, that’s what I would consider a best practice.
Just like the way good DMs will often include all three of the pillars of D&D into their adventures — exploration, social interaction, and combat — you can tap into all four themes for ideas in your campaign.
Creativity is rarely something you grab out of thin air. It’s often easier to edit than to create, and one way to do that is to use guides like this one as a starting place, then let that carry you down your own creative path.
When you assemble your masterpiece, you are defining the who or what in terms of the adventure’s antagonist. You figure out the where, the why, and to some extent the when — but be cautious about tying everything into a required sequence, as that can make the players feel railroaded. They also have a habit of going east when your story wants them to go west, so make sure your adventure design has some flexibility built into it.
Finally, and this bit of advice is very important, don’t assume how the players will accomplish their quest goals. Solving those problems is where a lot of the fun of D&D comes from, and it’s where the players exercise the bulk of their agency. Plus, players can often find some creative ways to solve problems and achieve their objectives in ways the DM never anticipated. That’s fun to witness.
I hope this guide has helped you out. Use it to find inspiration, stay organized, and think through your campaign or adventure so that it has some coherence, even if the tactical way things turn out is adjusted outside your original plan. That’s just how D&D goes.
A good way to think of it is: your campaign or adventure design is the intention or the answer to the question of “why”, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be the recipe or plan or script for how it will actually play out. That’s for your players to decide.
In other words, get your idea in place, but stay flexible.
