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Guide

48 RPG campaign ideas you can start in one sentence

A campaign needs less than you think: a place, a problem, and someone to be. Each of these is one sentence and a role. Take one as it is, or bend it.

How to use these

Each idea gives a situation and who you play in it. That is enough to start a solo game, hand to a group, or type into Orpheus as your world. Change the genre, swap the role, or combine two. A good premise has a place, a problem that won't wait, and a reason your character can't walk away.

Fantasy

  1. A village's only wizard has died, and the spells holding the dam are starting to fail. You play: the wizard's untrained apprentice.
  2. The dragon was slain a year ago. Now the kingdoms are fighting over its hoard, and you hold the only inventory. You play: the hoard's accountant.
  3. A knight sworn to a dead king keeps getting orders in his handwriting. You play: the knight.
  4. Every door in the city opens somewhere else on the night of the new moon. You play: a locksmith.
  5. The chosen one refused the call. The prophecy picked you as the understudy. You play: the understudy.
  6. A mountain pass tavern where both armies drink, under a truce older than the war. You play: the innkeeper.

Science fiction

  1. A generation ship arrives to find the colony world already settled, by people who left later and flew faster. You play: the ship's negotiator.
  2. You repossess starships for a bank. This one's crew has taken a vote and won't leave. You play: the repo agent.
  3. A mining station's AI declares itself a sovereign nation and asks for you as ambassador. You play: the ambassador.
  4. First contact happened by accident, with your delivery van. You play: a courier.
  5. The clone they grew to replace you has been living your life for a year, and is better at it. You play: the original.
  6. A lighthouse keeper on an asteroid, and a distress call that is forty years old. You play: the keeper.

Horror

  1. A night ferry that hasn't reached the far shore in three hours on a twenty-minute crossing. You play: a deckhand.
  2. The town votes each October on who stays behind. This year the ballot has your name printed on it twice. You play: a newcomer.
  3. You restore old paintings. Someone in this one has moved since yesterday. You play: the restorer.
  4. A research station under the ice, and the last team's breakfast still warm on the table. You play: the relief medic.
  5. Your late grandmother's house, a list of rules taped inside the door, and one rule torn off. You play: the heir.
  6. The radio show takes calls from the dead after midnight. Tonight one of them asks for you by name. You play: the producer.

Mystery

  1. A locked-room murder on a sleeper train, and the victim is the detective who was hired to prevent it. You play: the detective's assistant.
  2. Every clue in the case points to you, and you can't remember last Thursday. You play: the prime suspect.
  3. A small-town librarian notices the same stranger has checked out every book on poisons. You play: the librarian.
  4. The magician's assistant really did vanish. The magician is as surprised as anyone. You play: the stagehand.
  5. A will reading where every heir receives one clue and the lawyer has until dawn. You play: the youngest heir.
  6. An art forger is hired to authenticate a painting she knows is fake, because she painted it. You play: the forger.

Comedy

  1. A dark lord's fortress, seen from human resources. You play: the HR manager.
  2. You are a ghost, and the family who moved in is far more frightening than you are. You play: the ghost.
  3. An adventuring party's bard has quit, and the tavern contract says the show goes on tonight. You play: the replacement, who cannot sing.
  4. The wedding of two rival wizard families, and you are doing the seating chart. You play: the wedding planner.
  5. A heist crew where every member is secretly an undercover cop. You play: the only real thief.
  6. The village's monster has retired, and tourism is collapsing. You play: the mayor.

Cozy

  1. A lighthouse bookshop on an island the ferry visits twice a week. You play: the new owner.
  2. A tea house at a crossroads where travelers pay with stories. You play: the proprietor.
  3. You inherit a greenhouse where each plant holds one of your aunt's memories. You play: the niece or nephew.
  4. A night bus route through a city of minor spirits, and they all want a word with the driver. You play: the driver.
  5. The village bakery's sourdough starter is two hundred years old and has opinions. You play: the baker's apprentice.
  6. A repair shop for enchanted things nobody else will fix. You play: the tinkerer.

Adventure

  1. A cartographer hired to map an island that is larger every time she measures it. You play: the cartographer.
  2. Three rival expeditions, one mountain, and a storm that arrives on Friday. You play: an expedition leader.
  3. A smuggler's airship wins a race it only entered as cover. You play: the pilot.
  4. The treasure was found a century ago. Your job is to put it back before anyone notices what woke up. You play: a reluctant thief.
  5. A river journey to deliver a letter the sender insists must never be opened. You play: the courier.
  6. The last caravan of the season, a desert, and a guide who has been lying about the wells. You play: the caravan master.

Odd mixes

  1. A cooking competition in a fantasy kingdom where losing dishes are fed to the dragon. So are losing chefs. You play: a contestant.
  2. A noir detective in a city where it is always raining soup. You play: the detective.
  3. A space station's book club uncovers a mutiny, one chapter at a time. You play: the club's newest member.
  4. A haunted house that would very much like to sell, and you are its estate agent. You play: the agent.
  5. A retirement home for former villains gets a new resident: the hero who beat them all. You play: the night nurse.
  6. The apocalypse happened. Your homeowners' association has not noticed. You play: the new neighbor.

Turning a sentence into a campaign

  • Give your character a want. A debt, a grudge, a promise. It gives the story something to push against.
  • Name one person. Someone your character already knows here: a friend, a rival, a boss.
  • Set the tone out loud. The same premise can be a farce or a tragedy. Say which, and what should stay out. That conversation has a name: Session Zero.

There are more premises, with scene openings, on the worlds pages. New to playing alone? Start with how to play without a group or the solo RPG guide.

Play one tonight

Paste any of these, or your own sentence, and the game master sets the first scene. Free to start, no card needed.

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