There is a style of Dungeons & Dragons campaign that I quite enjoy. It is one that does not use a campaign-long plot but instead provides a picaresque experience, with the adventurers travelling from place to place and dealing with various situations as they encounter them. It is one that is very easy to construct, especially for new DMs.
The characters may be heroic, or – more in keeping with some of the antecedents of Dungeons & Dragons (such as Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser) more mercenary and roguish; looking to exploit each situation for their gain.
One of the reasons I enjoy such a campaign is because it requires little preparation. You can prepare each session without reference to past or future events; each stands alone, with the characters the only continuing elements.
This style does not mean that you can’t drop in continuing elements, but rather that such is not required. You will likely discover characters and themes reoccur. And the campaign may eventually progress to a more structured affair. However, it is straightforward to start!
Beginning the Campaign
To start the game, you need a short adventure, and you need a reason for the characters to undertake it.
What you do not need are lengthy and complicated backstories, nor a home town. For the picaresque campaign, the characters wander from town to town. Each session begins in the same way: they come into a settlement, a quest giver approaches them, and they go on the quest.
Thus, in many ways, you do not need a unique campaign beginning. The only thing special about it is that the characters are level 1. If you have experienced players, you could begin it at third level, with them already established adventurers. However, if the players are new, the first couple of levels help them understand how the game works. Keep them!
Most likely, the adventure needs to run 2 to 4 hours, depending on your preferred session length. I would tend for shorter for the very first adventure, allowing time for the players to discuss what they are playing and the events of the scenario afterwards.
Selecting Adventures
There are a plethora of short adventures on the DMs Guild, and you can filter many of them by level. (I also have a tool that allows you to do that). Not all the adventures are good, but when you get down to it, it is hard to get a short adventure wrong. Most experiences come from what you and your players do, not what is in the adventure. And you can always change things with which you disagree.
You can also design adventures. For a short, one-session scenario, here is a basic structure you can follow:
- Adventure Hook
- Two or three Encounters
- Climax
Mix up the encounter types and add complexity as you feel warranted.
Small dungeons, fetch quests, negotiations, and escort duties – all those are ideas on which to base an adventure.
Rate of Advancement
Whether you use milestones or experience points is up to you. I tend towards experience points, but I am old school like that!
The typical advancement rate for the lower levels (1-4) is one or two sessions per level, while from Tier 2 onwards it takes two or three adventures for each new level.
However, you can alter this. Perhaps you want to run a mini-campaign with fast advancement. Perhaps a ten-session mini-series with a single session per level. Or you very much enjoy running adventures at level 5-8, so you slow down progression for those levels.
Discuss these choices with your players before the campaign starts (in a Session 0), so everyone is on the same page.
Player Choices?
One of the odd things about the campaign I am discussing is that it is not a sandbox/open world campaign. Instead, it is the DM presenting an adventure each session which the characters undertake. The players have no choice in the selection.
Again, this requires the co-operation of your players. In my experience, many players appreciate this – and it is certainly a lot easier to prepare! (But discuss it with your players in a Session 0).
The effect feels like an episodic television series without an arc; such as early series of Star Trek or Doctor Who.
If you do not mind a little further preparation, you can select two or three potential adventures in advance and give the players a choice on what to play next. That gives them a little agency and could make all the difference.
Map? What Map?
You do not even need a campaign setting. Each town can exist by itself; details of how the characters get to one to another can be hand-waved, with the entirety being a marvellous dislocation unrelated to any set map.
Alternatively, choose a frontier area of a setting and place each town wherever you like. It is unlikely that every settlement you use is on a map, and you can use those already described for inspiration.
Breaking the Rules
Now I have described the parameters of this type of campaign; you can happily ignore any or all of them for your campaign! This is one way of constructing a game, and just because you start with this structure does not mean you need to continue with it.
Run longer adventures. Have the characters based in the same town for session after session. Introduce a larger story arc. Have recurring NPCs. Do whatever you need to make the game your own!
The picaresque campaign often gives you a chance to learn what adventures and stories your players want, so you can add such elements as they express their desires.
No Plot, But a Story
Even though you have not determined the arc of the campaign ahead of time, you still develop a story from the campaign. It is the story of the characters. Each session adds to the legend of the characters and provides moments that you will talk about later. The time the rogue deceived the goblins into accepting sand instead of gold. The time the paladin repulsed an orc horde. The time the wizard found the lost spellbook of Raz the Terrible.
The campaign exists in whatever form you enjoy. Go and experiment and have fun!