Scholastic's Story Starters kids' writing activity generates creative writing prompts, from general fiction to adventure, fantasy, and science fiction. Adventure story map focuses students attention on the unique characteristics of an adventure narrative.Please take the time to review and to FOLLOW ME ON TPT.I also have a blog where you can get other freebies from time to time.ThinkingLearningCreating.comAdventure Story Map by Michael Allen Kelly is licensed under a Creative Commons.

Remember as you add ideas that you are writing a story. Things that make both quests and novels interesting are falsities, Imagery, and most importantly options. Players can't just play along to what you say they should do. If they don't want to go explore the castle they don't have to. Make them decide what encounters they do.

Allow them to choose to whip off their disguises and battle the unguarded baron or to leave with the information they have gathered. As a DM you have to be vigilant of what the party might do. Problem solving makes for a good quest. Also, make sure that you do not have too many crazy people in your campaign. Also, don't be mean, some people put a lot of effort into their characters.

From D&D Wiki

Remember as you add ideas that you are writing a story. Things that make both quests and novels interesting are falsities, Imagery, and most importantly options. Players can't just play along to what you say they should do. If they don't want to go explore the castle they don't have to. Make them decide what encounters they do. Allow them to choose to whip off their disguises and battle the unguarded baron or to leave with the information they have gathered. As a DM you have to be vigilant of what the party might do. Problem solving makes for a good quest. Also, make sure that you do not have too many crazy people in your campaign. Also, don't be mean, some people put a lot of effort into their characters. Dark mist book. Ask the players what they want to do.

1. Vistaru, Lord of the Mountain, is attacking small towns surrounded by his kingdom in hopes of expanding his army before his assault on the capital.
2. Locals hear chants in the nearby ruins.
3. Someone in the party is secretly a half-wolf
4. Undead threaten cities across the nation.
5. The queen has been assassinated.
6. A large gang/terrorist organization wages war against a local city.
7. The party comes across a gladiator stadium and is offered money in return for fighting.
8. Dragon blood is needed to cure a plague and your group is sent to collect some.
9. A powerful bard hires your party to retrieve a fabled magical instrument from a dead wizard's coffin.
10. Breaking into a dungeon/room/fortress etc. to rescue or capture a person or artifact.
11. The party finds a garbage bin that leads to the seven hells
12. Mysteriously, an entire city has lost its inhabitants overnight.
13. The characters must chase escaping bandits through the countryside/are chased by bandits through the countryside.
14. Discovering a portal to another plane leads to an exploration party.
15. A gorgon is constructing a garden of statues using townsfolk.
16. Statues in a large cemetery come to life at night.
17. A lich is raising a massive undead army.
18. The party finds a small cursed object (marble, figurine, ball bearing) which keeps multiplying every day. They have to find a way to destroy it before its carrier gets crushed under the weight.
19. A giant believes that all humans exist for his dining pleasure.
20. A man with one eye is being hanged for 'looking sinister.'
21. Catacombs have opened beneath the city, guarded by ancient undead who let no one pass.
22. The sacred spear of Lesh has gone missing.
23. There is a black cloaked man in a tavern, though he is dead. Everybody says they saw him walk in just fine.
24. An ogre regards a party member as 'The perfect mate.'
25. A god's weapon has fallen to earth and now there is a race to obtain it.
26. Suddenly an entire country turns black.
27. A party member discovers a great sword made of red metal that has the properties of adamantine, mithril, silver and cold iron, but can be wielded in one hand as if it were a long sword. What is it? (the godly weapon, perhaps?)
28. A party member's armor comes to life and tries to leave.
29. A tribe of trolls is trying to make peace with a nearby village.
30. A mountain village is plagued by inexplicable earthquakes. It's actually the wrath of a Greater Earth Elemental, who had an eye ripped out by a clueless miner who thought it was a normal gem.
31. The party meets several groups of travelers headed in the same direction, claiming to be going to something called 'The Games.'
32. An earthquake that leaves magical glowing fissures in the ground shakes directly beneath a kingdom's capital.
33. A previously righteous and good god suddenly calls genocide on all that are not his followers.
34. A paladin is after a party member because of a case of mistaken identity.
35. A member of a party of adventurers is on the run from the law but the Duke has asked to see the party. The adventurer is welcome but the guards do no know this and the character must be smuggled into the city.
36. A druid is accused of killing other druids.
37. A very superstitious village is holding a witch trial, and a party member is mistaken for a famous paladin and called to act as the judge.
38. A hidden pathway in an abandoned house leads to a lair of a terrible Demon. The Demon keeps 'slave girls' where a friend of the party is, but the 'slave girls' are secretly Demons in disguise.
39. One of the party members is offered a slave girl as a reward for a job well done. Another character - e.g. a Paladin - finds this outrageous and demands he let her go.
40. The party and some others are raiding a city when they are captured and forced to entertain the king in the gladiator's arena.
41. A bar fight turns sour quick as a ring of metallic transmutation falls into the wrong hands.
42. A large tribe of Orcs are planning a raid on an Imperial city.
43. A Mage summons a demon but is unable to control it and is possessed.
44. The world is hit by an asteroid that mutates anyone that touches it.
45. A large egg of some sort is discovered and the Orcs are coming for it. Will the characters try to hatch it?
46. A thick plague-inducing fog is slowly covering the countryside.
47. A Paladin goes mad, turning evil while still thinking he is good.
48. The characters are shrunk by an evil wizard and have to find a way to reverse the spell.
49. An illusion of peace and tranquility is projected over a town. The characters must escape and discover what is really happening.
50. The God of Time punishes a town/city/village for not worshiping him, making everything happen out of sequence.
51. All the local wild life are killing people; are the Druids to blame?
52. Everyone is turned into monsters and the characters must 'save' the town.
53. The characters are framed for a genocide they didn't cause.
54. While crossing a sea, the boat is sunk by a monster of some variety. The characters are saved by mer-folk but trapped on a deserted island miles from the mainland.
55. A dragon captures the party and takes them to her mountain lair to feed to her wyrmlings.
56. The characters complete a job but their employer is reluctant to pay them.
57. Monsters are attacking a castle; the party must prevent the monsters from taking the castle.
58. A large rock worm is attacking a large city. One of the characters must kill the rock worm before the city goes under.
59. A time warp descends upon an isolated village, setting everyone and everything back a century into the past.
60. Several of the king's tax collectors have disappeared after traveling to a particularly dangerous area.
61. A good cleric tries to establish a temple to his god in a hostile city, hoping to gradually convert the populace.
62. Suspicion arises that the inhabitants of a town are gradually being replaced by impostors.
63. Animals within a particular area are becoming monstrous and mutated.
64. Ships are disappearing within a five-mile radius of ocean.
65. A phantom river barge sails past a small town once per month, leaving malevolent, supernatural occurrences in its wake.
66. A local ruler is suspected of making a pact with a powerful devil or demon.
67. The Assassin's Guild is planning to kill the mayor.
68. A witch's curse is causing a farmer's crops and livestock to die.
69. A mysterious curse is settling on town after town, rendering almost all forms of magic ineffective - e.g. ice and wind magic - while greatly empowering any who make use of Black or Demonic magic.
70. A band of clerics is robbing the graves at a large cemetery, creating an army of undead creatures.
71. A secret vigilante society is inflicting barbaric punishments on 'evil-doers.'
72. The daughter of a nobleman has run off with a seedy, disreputable commoner.
73. A small community of neutrally-aligned Orcs tries to convince inhabitants of a nearby town that they mean them no harm.
74. A formerly good cleric is suspected of secretly worshiping an evil god.
75. a powerful bandit leader is about to be hanged for his crimes, but is sprung from his prison by his cohorts.
76. Kobolds occupy an abandoned mine, using it as a base from which to launch raids on Human settlements.
77. A Sorceress has lost her unique familiar and all efforts so far to reveal the creature's whereabouts have been fruitless.
78. The party is sent to deliver the ransom for a woman, who is being held by a gang of brigands.
79. The king's ambassador has disappeared while en route to a hostile country and is suspected of being a traitor.
80. A megalomaniacal Duke has sent his minions in search of a weapon that would make him nearly invincible.
81. The king, a just, good ruler, is somehow being manipulated by his new adviser.
82. A series of murders are being committed with the MO of an executed killer.
83. Clerics are stymied as to how to remove a bizarre desecration that has fallen upon their temple.
84. Strange, glowing runes appear on the door of the town hall, forming a riddle.
85. A local farmer is suspected of breeding hell hounds, after several of the beasts were spotted killing the cattle of other farmers.
86. A Kraken is destroying any ships that try to enter or leave a city's port.
87. During a break from traveling in a big city, the party wakes up to find all of the city's inhabitants missing and the gate locked..
88. A growing maelstrom near a rocky coast is sucking ships down beneath the waves.
89. The party members are hired as marshals to escort a powerful Fallen Paladin back to the city, where he is to stand trial.
90. Magical droughts are descending upon an increasing number of communities.
91. The king sends the party to parlay with an adjacent kingdom contemplating war.
92. Villagers are fed up with a group of troublesome mercenaries.
93. Dryads fight to preserve their forest against an encroaching Human settlement.
94. A cleric asks for your help to rehabilitate a recently caught gang of thieves.
95. Messengers must travel through a haunted swamp to deliver a timely warning to the Queen.
96. Members of a coven have infiltrated the city's populace and are working their black magic.
97. A magical fire in town resists all efforts to extinguish it.
98. An ancient artifact must be retrieved from the bottom of the sea.
99. A druid is framing a Lycanthrope by committing crimes by mimicking their hybrid form.
100. Local bandits are far too well informed about trade caravans. A trade post keeper is suspected of being an informant.
101. A small town is being raided every few weeks by an unusually well organized group of Goblins and Hobgoblins. It turns out that a group of Goblin Shaman ordered these raids in order to draw out the best soldiers and mercenaries in the region before unleashing a massive army of Goblins, Hobgoblins, Bugbears, Ogres and Trolls.
102. A merchant comes to the characters to ask them to retrieve a chest that was stolen by furbolgs. When the group finds the furbolgs, they are told the merchant had been hiring mercenaries to hunt and kill them so he could trade their pelts.
103. A cursed orb serves to reduce intelligent lifeforms into feral states and enraging any animals that come upon it.
104. A young fey must prank the group to be accepted by or meet the dare of a peer group and the characters may not realize it is a classic scenario of peer pressure.
105. A magic ring is found that offers complete immunity to an element, but any party member within a certain range experiences temporary random alterations in their own items.
106. A water elemental demands the party drop a coin in the creek or river in order to be allowed to cross a bridge.
107. A prideful orc is challenged by his friends to arm wrestle the strongest member of the group. From the looks of things they aren't giving you a choice, and they are forcing a wager.
108. The party was once the elite task force for the King only to find out from a Duke they were sent to kill that the King is working for dark forces, gathering the shards of a crystal which his dark master is trapped in. They must now run as outlaws and try to stop this evil being from rising again.
109. A wyvern has made the city gatehouse its home. A siege is on the horizon and the gatehouse must be operational as soon as possible!
110. A skilled warrior joins forces with the party, but a recurring memory disorder leads her to wake up one day believing she has been captured.
111. Distinct armor recently looted by the party turns out to have once belonged to the father of a local hero, who identifies it and confronts the party.
112. A powerful arch-necromancer attempts to conquer the area with his spider minions; the party is sent to kill him.
113. A cabal of powerful golem-builders has sent a messenger to a Kingdom with a threat; submit to their demands or they will unleash their colossi upon the Kingdom.
114. Entering a flooded cave in a boat, the party members find themselves in the company of a paladin and a warlock. The situation soon begins to get out of hand.
115. Each locked in a small cell with a single tiny window, fed the barest amounts of bread and water and deprived of their equipment, the party is held captive.
116. A cursed, animated rope tied itself around the wrists of two men who hate each other, forcing them to stay close.
117. The party must travel the globe searching for the pieces of an ancient set of armor.
118. Soon after looking into an enchanted mirror, the characters meet shadowy copies of themselves.
119. The person the group was sent to meet has been replaced by a doppelganger.
120. A powerful Demon offers each of the party members their greatest wish. This is too good to be true.
121. A Sorcerer seeks to uncover a massive ancient construct with world breaking power. The party is sent by the King to stop him. At the end the group must choose whether they should destroy the construction or hand it over to the King.
122. The chosen Queen of (race or sub-type) has arrived! (May have protection and mind-control spells, etc.) She has more followers than one might expect for such a newly declared monarch. All her kin gather to serve her and reclaim their rightful place in the world.
123. A Witch had turned the village children into scarecrows.
124. While exploring an old rundown castle, the group accidentally releases an ancient evil and, in the process, each member is possessed by a Demon. While trying to find a way to stop the creature they released from destroying all they know, they must each wage their own personal and internal war with the Demon whom possessed them to prevent the loss of their soul.
125. A new Outer Plane has been discovered, that of the bleak, dead wastes of Scriothia.
126. The group is thrown into a game where they must find weapons and armor. They start with just the average clothing and no supplies. But they aren't the only ones in the game. Happy hunting!
127. The party is sent to a fort to help defend it from (monster of choice).
128. A terrible ogre has been treated with sedatives by the village shaman. But the drugs ran out and now the ogre is suffering from withdrawal. The party must provide him with counseling and find ways to treat his anxiety and dizziness before he smashes everyone in the village.
129. The heroes seek rather fortune, fame, or power (depending on the characters or individuals). They discover a job that pays steadily and promises a big reward at the end, hired adventurers aboard a captain's ship (their boss) and is sent out to discover new lands with mysteries waiting against a rival explorer organization.
130. The party arrives to new land in binds, ready to be delivered as slaves.
131. The party is kidnapped by a great wyrm and tossed in the deepest layer of its dungeon.
132. The party finds themselves facing an impossible foe (Minor God/Elder Dragon/etc.) who serves an even greater power and is attempting to usher in the end of all they know by bringing his/her master forth. The party must find clues to the locations of ancient tools used to stop the last attempt hundreds of years before, before those same tools are used by their enemy who is also searching.
133. One of the party has amnesia and is in reality a powerful being who is a natural enemy of the group. Will the party remain friends when the memories return? The party members true identity starts to reveal itself as the member starts displaying abilities they should not have. (Works best when you choose a player's character and you don't tell the player)
134. The party is a group of monsters! Gaming from a different point of view!
135. A wild mage in the area talks in his sleep.. random craziness happens whenever he goes to bed.
136. The party is constantly being hassled by a person/company/pixie that is insistent on collecting a very small debt and will not take anything but exact payment.
137. A little girl is in reality a horribly powerful vampire. She wants to play..
138. The party is sent to deliver a package to a private residence, it turns out to be a humiliating task (think pizza delivery). Will the party put up with the insult?
139. A haunted giant tree's inhabitant, a Sage, has his powers tinkered with and accidentally teleports the party to the top of it. Can the party make it out?
140. Your party is sent for a peace talk between dwarven clans, but things get messy.
141. The city is being held under siege by monsters; possibly Voadkyn. These Voadkyn wish “The Sacred”; if 'The Sacred” is returned, the city will be left in peace. If not, the city will be ripped apart piece by piece and all within it killed until “The Sacred” is located. The monsters will not react to questions like, “What is ‘The Sacred’?” except by looking stupidly at our adventurers and repeating again: “It is ‘The Sacred’”. The party mus discover what 'The Sacred' is and return it to the Monsters to save the city from certain doom.
142. Searching for a person (who doesn’t want to be found) on behalf of a well-to-do citizen.
143. An ancient map is found showing locations of 5 ancient cities.
144. A Sphere of Annihilation has appeared. The party must seek out and use the Talisman of the Sphere to prevent the end of all.
145. The party must choose sides or negotiate in a conflict/revolt between overtaxed or oppressed people and their tyrannical rulers.
146. A member of the party receives an inheritance which includes developed land (keep, castle, tower, etc.). Upon further investigation, the party finds it inhabited..
147. Every night, fey creatures from a nearby grove kidnap a person in their sleep and force them to take part in a drinking contest.
148. Rumors of disappearing ships creates food shortages in a local fishing town. The party investigates..
149. A strange creature is hiding within one of the players and the others must choose to help or to Kill..
150. The Dead have risen and, while not attacking the nearby towns people, they refuse to let anyone pass in order to protect their still-living loved ones from something that now inhabits the graveyard..
151. A curse has been set to kill all animals in the country..
152. An inn keeper leads you to a quest where you must kill a necromancer but it turns out the inn keeper was the necromancer.
153. A dwarven embassy let's in peasants to increase the city population but they won't let anyone leave.
154. The party meets a crazed horse breeder who kills travelers and feeds them to his horses.
155. A small village has a conflict between two chefs on what is the better way to prepare a famous dish in the town. It has the village split into two different sides.
156. A potent curse placed on a pious priestess has a succubus manifest through her body at inopportune times. Each is conscious of what the other does when she's controlling the body, and while they've gone over the initial shock, their differences always lead them to argue and struggle for control.
157. There is a cult in a city that has 100 chickens and the soul of a great hero is trapped in one of the chickens and they don't know which one it is so they worship all of them.
158. There is an underground group of criminals that is branched into separate groups with the leader of each branch having a significant ring and once all gathered together it was unlocked their hidden magical properties.
159. A wise old mage has gone blind and requires you to create a potion reversing the spell only on what he describes each item looks like
160. There are five shards of a legendary dagger hidden across the land and they are well hidden. If the party gathers them all they get a legendary prize.
161. A dead man rises from his grave and, oblivious to his own death, goes back to living with his family.
162. A large group of wild animals attacks a population with strategy. They are being lead by a druid in animal form.
163. The town's local hero has gone missing hunting kobolds in the mine.
164. Neighboring kingdoms on opposite sides of a mountain are about to go to war. The only way to stop it is to escort the emissary to the other kingdom - through the mountain passage.
165. The party notices a spider sitting under a peculiar web near a temple of Lolth: its lines read 'I have been cursed for desecrating the temple. Find my Druid son, he can turn me back to normal'
166. Three Mul from Athas stumble through a portal, and are deposited into a city on the Sword Coast. They are baffled by the differences between the two worlds.
167. A knight asks you to capture a relatively weak monster and sic it on his kind hearted but cowardly squire, hoping he will toughen up from the fight.
168. You are trapped in a small cell for days on end. You are not told why.
169. A riot has erupted on an island, government aid is nowhere to be seen, and gangs are feuding to claim turf and riches. Will the party be the virtuous heroes trying to save innocents and re-establish order, lend their strength to one of the factions, or just do their own thing?
170. Various people have been found drained of all their blood recently. A culprit is caught, but while they confess to being a vampire they claim to be innocent.
171. A succubus is 'haunting' the dreams of willing victims in exchange for money and favors.
172. Two feuding demons have decided to settle their differences by picking two groups of mortals and directing them like chess pieces.
173. Animals and monsters in an area have gained sentience and the ability to speak. They're mostly friendly, but hunting is an important part of the region's economy and the local lord will have none of it.
174. A fountain that spouts water which heals all sickness has erupted from the ground. Those who drink from it become dependent and violent and soon start killing anyone who approaches the font.
175. A mysterious assassin is on the loose. The only clue is their arrows, which have a distinctive design and always strike the victims through the heart killing them instantly.
176. A civilization which has been cut off for centuries offers to pay you handsomely if you bring them pieces of modern culture and technology.
177. The party is chasing after a certain monster around the continent
178. After a string a recent freak earthquakes, a ravine opens up near a small, remote village, with what appears to be a large fortress made entirely of dark stone at the bottom.
179. One of the party members is secretly a vampire and is attempting to hide it from the local authorities.
180. The inhabitants of a local village all vanish over night with no trace and no sign of struggle, the party is hired by a family member of a missing villager to investigate.
181. Your party members are champions of the land for different reasons, but they don't remember why, and they all meet at a local tavern and discover each other, so they go questing to find out their past starting at square one, and their champion's gear and their memories are locked away in the final dungeon after each party member completes a trial built around their character
182. The ginosaji is attacking someone who offers the players money to save him. (This is not a joke I used this as an adventure and it worked great)
183. A formerly dead cult returns, ravaging a city in their attempt to bring back a lost god. You and your party are chosen by that same god's rival, a powerful necromancer, to prevent the cult from returning the lost god to power.
184. While at the tavern, a group of bandits with bombs strapped to their chests take everyone hostage, including your party and the local baron. You must escape with your lives!
185. They find a letter on a dead human enemy with the symbol of three feathers: black, grey, white. The three people associated with each feather call themselves The Crow, The Owl, and The Dove.
186. The players are demons of the abyss trying to make their way up in the world.
187. A cult like group of Paladins are hunting down and killing gods demi-gods and divine like beings on account of who they say is Bahumut the god of justice, but they think they are doing it for the primordial Uther, but it is really a giant ruse by a God of Trickery and lies.
188. In the island nation of Cors'culad, the five Pirate Lords are preparing to go to war with each other. All are looking to inherit the title of Grand Admiral, which is the ruler of the islands.
189. Your party stumbles across the corpse of a recently murdered merchant. On his body is an I.O.U for a vast sum of money, promising payment from someone with a name you don't recognize. If your party can track down whoever owed the merchant money, they just might be able to cash it in for a small fortune. On the other hand, more honest characters might suspect foul play and want answers to the questions that the merchant's suspicious death raises.
190. The local arena or theater is offering good money for demonstrations of skill. Has your party got what it takes to put on a good show for the audience?
191. Is fighting samey, cliched cults getting boring? This time, your party is the cult! Try to practice your good, genuinely well-intentioned faith as best as you can in an oppressive regime!
192. A prominent if eccentric shopkeeper suddenly needs to leave town for a week, and he wants your party to watch his shop while he's gone.
193. A ghostly figure mounted on a horse made of living shadow has been sighted on a section of road, terrorizing travelers and caravans.
194. Your party unknowingly and inadvertently foils an assassination attempt. The would-be assassins now want revenge against you for foiling their plans.
195. A cursed letter is making its way around a city. It can only be passed on once by an alive target and if the target does not pass it on, or is the recipient from a living person, he will die. Who is behind it and can it be stopped?
196. A beautiful white tower appears overnight. It has no visible means of entry and it's heavily warded against all forms of magic. Why is it there? What mysteries does it hold?
197. A bumbling, absent-minded wizard with a fondness for dangerous experiments wants your party to tidy up his improbably messy tower.
198. A floating head needs help finding his body.
199. Something has been digging tunnels under a city. People are falling into sinkholes, houses are collapsing, and the government is at its wits end. Your party has been asked to deal with it.
200. A plane of existence that is one large prison has had a breakout in a very small wing and the party is hired as bounty hunters to find these creatures.
201. A character in the party is turned into a genie, imprisoned in a lamp and marooned in a remote uninhabited location.
202. The party has been captured and thrown into an arena. They must face strong foes, mythical creatures, and dragons. Can they come out on top alive?
203. The party walks into an inn to rest and have a drink or two. While drinking, a fight between an alcoholic orc and a drunk dwarf erupts at the far end of the bar. The fight escalates to a dangerous level and the whole bar becomes a free for all arena. Will the party cease the brawl peacefully or join in and beat up everyone in the bar?
204. The party meets a shy hill giant whose beloved pet goat has been kidnapped by some nasty ogres who are threatening to eat it. The hill giant is too scared to fight the ogres himself, so he asks the party to rescue his goat.
205. An extremely old man wants the party to bring him some dead rabbits (or other animal or monster) for 5 gold each (or whatever seems fit). The party spends a few days at most in the forest, hunting. When they return with the corpses, they see a very young boy crying on the doorstep. The party learns that the old man had died and that this is his great-grandson. The little boy offers the party their well-earned money from his allowance. The party will be rewarded later on in the campaign if they refuse the offer.
206. The players start as campers when a merchant asks if they want to trade, after the trade the merchant gets the players thrown in jail.

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