If youโre planning a campaign for beginners or one to take your players from the early-game to more of a mid-game setting, then youโre going to want to take a look at the following low-level D&D campaign ideas. These campaign ideas have enough meat on the bone for 10+ sessions and can easily be adapted to fit your specific needs. Those of you using a virtual tabletop like Game Master Engine can easily create maps for all of these adventures.
If youโre cooped up for the weekend with friends, you might want to take a look at our suggested weekend one-shots. Either way, here are 10 short D&D campaign ideas for low-level players.
A Band of Thieves Are Robbing The Local Barkeep
The campaign begins with the barkeep or barmaid asking the strongest member of the party for some help. They need to get a keg from the storeroom, but itโs too heavy. Once in the storeroom, they tell the player that they need a different kind of help. A group of bandits have been robbing the bartender for weeks, and he thinks some of the local guards are involved. They didnโt want to say anything inside because some of the thieves might be amongst the patrons, but you look like a benevolent person who might be interested in helping.
The players then have to go on a quest to find out who the bandits are, where their hideout is, and just how deep the guard conspiracy goes. You could make it as simple as being just a few guards that patrol near the bar, or have it go all the way up to the leader of the town watch if you want.
A Cultastic Summer
100 years after the death and destruction of an evil wizardโs headquarters on the outskirts of town, residents are starting to hear chanting and strange lights from the ruins. The local militia is short-staffed enough as it is and has their hands full patrolling the streets. Theyโve sent word to their lord, but heโs busy with his own things and cannot spare an envoy to investigate what might just be peasants getting spooked by their own shadows.
Itโs up to the party to head to the ruins, investigate the source of the noises and lights, and put a stop to it. Hint: Itโs a cult that is worshipping the evil wizard and his god. This one can be a bit of a longer campaign and can include a visit to other sites that the dead evil wizard had an affinity for. Perhaps thereโs a research tower on the nearby mountain where a Spectator guards a powerful artifact.
Revenge of the Woods
The party is passing by an expanding farming community or sitting in a tavern when they overhear a rumor about strange happeningsโlarge rocks being thrown at farmhouses and dogs barking like mad during the night. A few members of the community have even disappeared. Old Man Jenkins swears the large tree near the edge of his land wasnโt there a week ago.
It seems a group of druids has taken it upon themselves to attack the community as revenge for the destruction of their beloved woods. Theyโve animated several trees and used them along with other allies to attack the expanding village at night. Will the adventurers help the villagers put a stop to the druidโs attack? Or will the adventurers side with the druids and find a way to make the villagers leave? Perhaps thereโs a middle ground that can be found?
A Good Olโ Fashion Prison Break
The party is walking along a road between towns when they come across a group of dead peasants. They hear rustling in the bushes, causing them to draw their weapons in preparation for a fight, only for the rustling to disappear and a group of city watch to appear on horseback, accusing them of the crime. The party is quickly taken into custody and thrown in jail. Theyโll be sentenced to death unless they can escape.
The party can simply break out and run away, but if you remind them that theyโll be wanted for their whole lives unless they can clear their names, they might be inclined to try and solve the case of whodunnit. It turns out thereโs a group of bandits that have taken up residence in the forest hills surrounding the road, and that was their first group of victims. If youโd rather not use bandits, you can use a group of goblins led by a bugbear or a group of kobolds led by a powerful half-dragon humanoid.
A Missing Hero
Your party walks into town to resupply on some basic gear when they overhear someone mentioning a missing person. After investigating, they discover that the local hero has gone missing after heading to an abandoned mine, potentially filled with kobolds. The party agrees to go and help find the missing hero and deal with any kobolds. Players that have taken an extra language like Draconic will definitely be thanking themselves here.
An Untimely Attack
While the cityโs main heroes are off dealing with a much bigger problem, a group of trolls has decided that now is the time to attack travelers along the road. The party will need to find a way to stop their regenerative powers, or they can simply head out and try to kill the trolls without it.
Are You My Deadhead?
The body of a recently deceased man stumbled into townโmissing its head. After the villagers calmed down, the party is tasked with finding out where his head is and why his body is walking around. After heading to the graveyard, they find clues that lead them to a nearby stone tower in the forest where a fledgling evil necromancer is trying to hone his practice and inadvertently woke the body.
Rust Monsters In Town
The party is tasked with killing a group of rust monsters that have been seen nearby. Theyโve been eating every piece of metal they can find, and the blacksmith suddenly finds himself with a ton of work. Is it possible that the local blacksmith arranged for the rust monsters to be released nearby to increase business? Yes, thatโs exactly what happened. The players find some non-metal cages in the woods and the insignia related to a group of poachers.
The Lost Artifact
A local wizard enlists the help of the party in retrieving an object held by his long-time, now dead, rival. The object is under the guard of a Spectator and some goblins that have taken up residence in the wizard’s home and tower. The Spectator ignores the goblins so long as they donโt try and take the artifact, a lesson they quickly learned. The artifact is a magic ring that the rival stole from the wizard at a young age and kept all this time out of spite.
Super-sized Moles?
A farmer has disappeared nearby. The only thing of note was that there was a large tunnel in his field, larger than any tunnel dug by an animal the townsfolk could think of. After investigating the tunnel themselves, Ankheg surprises them and attacks, jumping out of its burrow. If the party thinks theyโre done, they can leave only to hear that another farmer or pack animal disappears the next day. Nudge them into going into the tunnels, where they find an Ankheg lair with some miscellaneous treasure from their victims and 2-3 more Ankheg, depending on the party level.