Share your best idea for a D&D campaign or adventure!

I ran this campaign the other night as my friends wanted to do something different for pre-drinks:

The setting and loreSet in a proto-Lovecraft world where there are believers in the old gods such as Cthulu. There is a city hidden beneath the earth R'lyeh that is said to keep the sleeping old ones in slumber but within the city are treasures and fortunes donated by the believers. Many civilisations that have worshipped the old gods have risen and fallen within that time and their riches and artefacts reside in this lost city. Only those that have studied the ancient language know how to access the city but even those that don't believe in the religion know that if the city of R'lyeh is disturbed, the old gods awaken

The main questlineYou're tasked with escorting a leading university professor on an excavation of the R'lyeh. A lot is riding on this expedition as the professor has been fleecing the university for many years for funding having made up a lot of stuff and mistranslating passages. This is the last grant they are offering before he will need to pay it all back and his department is closed. Because of the dangerous nature of this trip (and also the lack of belief the board have for him) he has hired you at the cheapest price but convinced you that you can have all the treasures you find at the city. Unique features As with all Lovecraft there is a sense of dread and insanity. Players will have to roll for constitution and will once they approach and enter R'lyeh as the thick fog and fumes can cause mental instability - hearing things, seeing things, tasteing or having uncontrollable feelings. Those with weak will can even become a convert of R'lyeh and Cthulu fighting back against the party. If you cause too much trouble within the city it could lead to an Old God waking up. There will be three stages of wakefulness each one being more difficult to deal with due to the amount of enemies the party has to fight and level of insanity. Party members have a remedy of fighting back against their insanity by having totems of grounding which helps embellish their backstory such as a sigil reminding a Paladin of their religion, the ring of a loved one, or a snack reminding them of home.

**The BBEG (Big Bad Evil Guy/Girl)**Of course an Old God (if awoken) will be the final boss (and it is highly unlikely they will be able to defeat them). Otherwise gradually the professor will become infected with insanity (as they do not have a totem they can rely on since they are only after money). The professor will eventually try to in R'lyeh calling forth the powers of the Old Ones in which they will abide.

The Professor will try to block the exit path and begin awakening all the residents so it is a mad dash for the exit with all the loot you have acquired.

Anthem of the Voidforge

Setting & Lore

The Void Lands was once a world of chaos that was divided into realms that consisted of the seven elements Life, Earth, Wind, Fire, Water, Darkness, and Light. These realms were brought to coexist in harmony and balance by a group of powerful beings called The Enigmas. Hidden deep within the world was an artifact that held the world together, the Voidforge.

Legend says that the Voidforge was created by the first of The Enigmas when the Void Lands was still in chaos using a sacred song that harmonized chaotic forces called the Discordant Echoes. A prophecy once foretells the "Shattering Convergence," an event where chaos will reign if the Discordant Echoes are corrupted. Recently, there are signs where the realms has begun its collapse and unnatural phenomena appearing that suggests the Voidforge being under attack.

Main Questline

The players would traverse the seven broken realms and prove their worth to the seven spirits so that they can receive the fragments and verses from them.

1. The campaign starts in a small town inside the Light Realm. The players are brought in the Town Hall by a Divination Wizard who witnessed an unnatural change.Strange earthquakes and anomalies emerged in the surrounding area which makes the wizard believe these were signs of destabilization of the Voidforge and the corruption of the Discordant Echoes. The wizard then sends the players to investigate the disturbances.

2. The players then journeys through the seven broken realms to gather clues and gain favor from the primordial spirits that holds the fragments and verses.

Light Realm : Navigate through blinding light to solve puzzles and withstand trials set by Auris, the Primordial Spirit of Light.

Darkness Realm : Confront illusions and fears in a suffocating dark mist to meet Scuris, the Primordial Spirit of Darkness.

Water Realm : Battle underwater creatures and solve riddles in order to prove their worth to Nereid, the Water Spirit.

Fire Realm : Traverse volcanic wastelands to reach Ignis, the Fire Spirit, in a fortress of magma.

Wind Realm : Navigate tornado-filled aerial pathways to meet Gayle, the Wind Spirit.

Earth Realm : Overcome treacherous terrains and stone golems to seek the aid of Sera, the Earth Spirit.

Life Realm : Navigate an enchanted forest thick with decay to convince Sensos, the Spirit of Life.

3. While collecting the seven fragments and verses, the players then uncovers the truth of current situation of the Voidforge. A powerful and ancient cult called the Abyssal Choir that is led by Shadowmourne, that seeks to corrupt the Discordant Echoes and unleash the will of the void.

4. With the verses and fragments in hand, the players would gain access to the Voidforge, located in the heart of a neutral zone called the Nexus, where the seven realms converge. They must navigate through a labyrinth of shifting elemental energies and overcome trials. The final battle, in which the player would battle the Shadowmourne and the cultists in order to prevent the collapse of the Voidforge.

Unique Features : Elemental Mastery, Elemental Fusion, Elemental Shift, Musical Puzzles, and Bardic Influence. Elemental Master and Fusion, Players can get elemental powers from the realms that they visit and can fuse them together to create a stronger more powerful effect. Elemental Shift means that the environment of the realms are broken and would make traversing them harder. Musical Puzzles are self explanatory i guess. Bardic influence, although it doesnt have to be the players, they can get npcs to uncover and perform the songs that are tied to Discordant Echoes.

BBEG : Shadowmourne A once respected members of the Enigmas that betrayed the order, he believed that true harmony can only be found through total destruction. By triggering the Shattering Convergence he believed that he could summon the Will and bring the void lands into a new era of chaos and harmony.

Shadowmourne draws powers from the Will, gaining access to powers that can sever the players connections to the elements as well as change the environments.

The final confrontation would be inside the Voidforge, a sub-realm that is filled with raw and unstable energy. The player must use their elemental mastery and the Discordant Echoes in order to prevent the emergence of the will and stabilize the Voidforge as well as restore the Discordant Echoes.

This is my take on a D&D campaign, a bit rough around the edges and might be too much. What I imagined is mainly just many bards singing songs from start to finish.

as a side note, maybe there could be a privilege that could be won where a player can change the BGM of the battle or the current situation, an example would be during an intense boss battle a player can change the currently intense BGM to something I don’t know like a romantic one. Or maybe something to just annoy the DM.

For my idea I would fashion is after a book series called "The Rift War".

The Setting and Lore.

It will be a story about, how five worlds are at war with each other, after one world mastered the mystical arts to invade another and was defeated, the world which was invaded, gained that knowledge and launched attacks on three other worlds for resources and slaves, in step our heroes, who have heard of a mystical, ancient goddess of good, who has been locked away on the first world, that once freed, can bring order out of chaos.

The Main Questline

The questline will be our heroes having to go from world to world to find clues and peoples i.e NPCS to find a path through hellfire and brimstone, to bring the goddess out of her captivity, whilst they know she is on one world, the path of which to free her, is long and winding. But, to make things interesting, every time the heroes switch to a new world, the map changes and new threats emerge. Some people are there to help, others work for a mystical priesthood which is hell-bent on keeping our goddess locked away.

Unique Features.

For our D&D campaign, the most unique feature will be their ever-changing maps which our heroes must progress, after passing through "rifts" into different worlds and crisscrossing around will lead to new encounters and new monsters/NPCs which they will either have to fight or talk their way past.

The BBEG.

In my mind, it would be a High priest of immeasurable power, the only way our heroes can defeat this evil boss is by collecting the very relics across the worlds, combining them into a weapon of their choosing, the parts can form a bow, a staff, a sword, a dagger, they will have the choice of which parts they want to create/make for the final fight, but our High Priest is a master of shadows, a master of misdirection and totally evil, there is not one shred of compassion in his nature, for the twist, our high priest, is of the undead!

Only by following the quest line can our heroes, restore peace to the five worlds.

This is an old campaign which we came up with a friend and managed to run an intro session to it but as usual never managed to get the group together again, so still dreaming of running it one day.

Betrayal in the dark - full drow campaign

Set in the Underdark, the party is a group of drows sent on a mission from Menzoberranzan to Ched Nazad, as there were no communications from the city in moons, and the party's goal is to find out what causes the silence.

Players can decide on what class they want to play, but as an extra twist to the game, they will pull a random house name and show it to the DM. So the DM will know who belongs to witch house, but the players are unaware if the person sitting next to them is their arch enemy or ally.

The group will face certain dangers during their travel, nothing out of the ordinary, the real danger lies in the DM sometimes giving instructions to a player privately. It can be a task they have to complete or an information about a party member, putting the focus more on mind-games and the rivalry between the ruling houses than fighting the usual monsters.

So what will you do? Will you find someone you think you can trust? Would it be best to poison that guy who was watching you ever since you left home? What about the female? Surely she is a priestess and wants to sacrifice us all to Lolth... unless she is from house Xorlarrin, in which case she could be a mage. Will you trust the food served to you by the volunteer cook of the party or will you go alone to hunt down a prey and hope you don't get shot in the back?

Depending on the players' reactions to the information given to them by the DM, not everyone might survive this adventure.

Upon arriving to Ched Nazad, turns out that everything is fine in the city and they have no idea why anyone in Menzoberranzan would have thought otherwise, when their priestesses have been speaking to each other almost every day? The DM will reveal themselves as the last member of the adventuring party, son or daughter of House Baenre, who didn't get any unwanted attention during the journey thanks to the magic casted on them by the Archmage, Gromph Baenre. The whole mission was orchestrated by the Archmage, as there were rumours that some ruling houses are planning an uprising against the weakened house Baenre, and Gromph wanted to know who he can trust, should his house fail, and get an idea of which houses are in reality allied with somene else than they are publicly admitting.

Okay. Please, Just About. Tab-completion should not automatically move me to the "Post submission" button, especially if the next most logical move is to hit the spacebar, a move that will act like a mouse click on the aforementioned button.

Anyhow, here’s a one-shot I’ve had rattling around the ol' noggin for a while now.

The Setting and Lore: The Contemplators of Badafru (BAH-dah-froo) are a reclusive, enigmatic order. Those who join their ranks pledge themselves to a lifetime of introspection, drifting quietly through the near-silent halls of their mountain retreat or sitting motionless, their only movement the occasional turning of a dusty tome's page, in pursuit of uncovering the true meaning of self in the universe. Their vast, labyrinthine monastery welcomes all—whether one seeks a lifetime of meditation or merely a night's refuge from the region's often life-threatening storms. The sole requirement for joining is a complete renunciation of the past, sealed with an oath of silence about it. Temporary visitors, however, are asked only to share an entertaining tale from their travels to enliven a meal. Beyond this, all are welcome, and no area is off-limits, even to those merely passing through. After all, how can one unlock the secrets of the inner self if confined by locked doors?

The Main Questline: The party finds themselves traveling with a caravan through the sylvanian countryside, typically a peaceful journey. However, this particular route skirts the base of a formidable mountain range, notorious for its hostile creatures and violent storms, making group travel a necessity. As they trek, a fierce storm erupts, prompting the caravan guides to seek shelter with the benevolent Contemplators of Badafru. Along the way, they encounter another caravan, also traveling that road and caught in the storm. The Contemplators welcome the visitors warmly, informing them of an imminent meal and encouraging them to explore the monastery's myriad rooms and hallways until the food is ready.

This marks the beginning of open action. Players can wander freely through the many (many) rooms and corridors of the monastery, either alone or with other party members, encountering Contemplators or other travelers. At some point, however, an unconscious, stripped body (whether a visitor or Contemplator) is discovered, either by a party member or, if the opportunity doesn't arise naturally, by an NPC who announces it in terror. Who is this victim? Why were they attacked? Is the assailant part of the either group or an outsider who slipped in? Will more fall victim before the perpetrator achieves their goal?

What ensues is a gripping whodunit, reminiscent of the board game Clue and the inverted roles of a Hitman video game level. Someone in the monastery is stealthily navigating the area, plotting to silently assassinate a target. The party must piece together clues to uncover the target, identify the assassin, determine where the hit will occur, and devise a plan to thwart the threat. Or not. Who's to say that the target is innocent? Clues emerge through analyzing NPCs' accounts—both prior to and during the quest—where keen deductive players will notice inconsistencies. Are these breadcrumbs leading to the assassin or red herrings exposing innocent secrets? It's up to the DM to craft a satisfying, fair mystery, adjusting the story's pace to maintain the fun.

Ultimately, the party will uncover the plot and can choose to intercept the assassin before the hit or confront them during or after the attempt. Either way, the stealthy assailant won't be an easy target.

Unique features:

• Highly Modular - The assassin and the target can be from either group of NPCs. The timing and method of the hit are up to the DM's creativity. Have a group of sharp players? Complicate the mystery to match their wits. Need to help your players along? Let the assassin slip up.

• Potential for a Fire-and-Forget Adventure - Set up a pre-planned series of events and let your players navigate naturally. However, keep in mind that a tightly scheduled series could result in the players being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

• Dedicated DM presence - The DM, with foreknowledge of the setting and characters, can dynamically move the assassin in response to player actions, maintaining the element of surprise by disguise or secret passages. Honesty is crucial—no teleporting assassins unless it's canon.

• Less combat, more thinking - Let your players feel smart for piecing together clues or enjoy the hilarity as a party of -1 Intelligence, -1 Wisdom barbarians brute-forces through the mystery.

BBEG: The final antagonist is entirely up to the DM, tailoring to the players' capabilities. The real enjoyment lies in unraveling the puzzle. Is the assassin a rogue slipping through shadows? A mage using illusions to mislead? Are they motivated by revenge or a contract from a shadowy benefactor? Would the party prefer direct combat or setting a trap for a dramatic, ironic end?