11 Campaign Ideas for D&D

1. The Demons Have Gone Missing

• Devils appearing everywhere, Angels clashing, material plane in shambles.
• Abyss and demons disappear overnight.
• Players unravel the mystery of the missing demons.
• Can take players from Level 1 to 20.
• Easy to run with plenty of devils, demons, and angels in the Monster Manual.
• Technique: take something away from the world and explore its impact.

2. Lional Bodies

• Players are sentient items (e.g., magical sword, amulet).
• Hosted by new creatures as they are picked up.
• Created by an ancient artificer with an impossible goal.
• Players can explore many different classes.
• Features: hosts' former acquaintances, moral questions of possession, items making sacrifices.

3. Endless Winter

• Land gripped by eternal winter.
• Settlement has a magical furnace powered by magic items.
• Players manage social politics and find magical items to fuel the furnace.
• Inspired by Frostpunk.
• Can adapt to other environmental effects (e.g., scorching heat, deadly poison fog).

4. The Project

• Inspired by Oppenheimer.
• Players are part of a secret task force working on an unknown project.
• Characters promised various rewards (gold, pardon, magical artifact).
• Missions to complete tasks (e.g., raid dungeons, meet shady professors).
• Possible goal: reviving a dead god or elder evil as a weapon.

5. The Monarch’s Forest

• Players are park rangers guarding a mysterious forest.
• High turnover rate, strange occurrences.
• If you like creepypasta, SCP Foundation, or Magnus Archives, this is for you.
• Forest contains strange cryptids and magic.
• Superiors are unhelpful or act strange.
• Potential BBEG: butterfly eldritch creature hatching in the forest.

6. The Food Chain

• Giant monsters (Kaijus) on the loose.
• World reeling from their destruction.
• Players help settlements, warn cities, or uncover origins of monsters.
• New apex predators in the world (even dragons at risk).
• Potential for epic Kaiju battles.

7. The Never Setting Sun

• Sun never sets, raising global mystery.
• Light up all the time due to god or mage preventing an undead invasion.
• Areas in darkness (opposite side of the globe) face vampire havoc.
• Players unravel the mystery behind the eternal day.

8. Running the Shop

• Players operate a magical item shop.
• Setting prices, interacting with customers, dungeon diving for new items.
• Chill, low-stakes campaign with occasional BBEG of the week.
• Session 1: high-level party robs the shop, introducing murder hobos as antagonists.
• Players invest profits in training, town improvements, or debt repayment.

9. The Villain’s World

• Sandbox campaign where villains have won.
• Apocalyptic setting full of threats.
• Players are survivors, not heroes aiming to defeat the villain.
• Survival-focused gameplay, potentially hex-crawl format.
• Player characters solve problems and carve out a niche in the world.

10. The Druid’s Wrath

• Angered druid aims to wipe out civilization for harming nature.
• Nature vs. civilization theme.
• Players deal with hostile beasts and plants.
• Cities are safe, but the wilderness is deadly.
• Players must stop the druid’s forced natural selection.

11. The Perished

• Players start in a strange house resurrected by a god or powerful angel.
• Central mystery: who resurrected them and why.
• Players seek revenge on those who killed them.
• Intrigue and exploration of their living-dead state.

Conclusion

• These campaign ideas provide a range of themes and stakes.
• Useful for DMs seeking inspiration for their D&D games.
• For additional resources, consider DM coaching or further educational videos.