d20 Urban Quests for City Campaigns and Adventures
Everyone knows that if you go out into the wilderness, you’re going to stumble across an adventure. That’s just Adventuring 101 basics. But not everyone knows that there are just as many adventures to be found in the city beyond finding out where the best drinking hole is.
In fact, many adventures in the city are completely different than what you might find out in the Wild, and can give your adventures variety, an important element for every campaign. These adventures are often filled with intrigue and, instead of fighting wild monsters, adventurers are called on to fight other people, typically using words instead of swords.
d20 Urban Quests
1) Jewel Heist
The local Thieves’ Guild is planning to steal the King’s Jewels from the royal museum. These jewels are behind multiple magical protections and expert guards, and are only available for a few nights before they return to the king’s vaults after this special presentation.
2) Grave Tidings
The local graveyard has been the site of many strange happenings. Graves are being dug up, the bodies removed, but there have been no reported sightings of any undead. To make matters worse, the groundskeeper disappeared a month back, and all replacements have disappeared within a single night. Many are beginning to think the graveyard is just cursed, while others are ignoring the issue, deciding that it is just wild wolves digging up the bodies.
While the city is confused as to what is happening, a necromancer is working on the perfect stitched atrocity to unleash. They are working within a large mausoleum and have almost perfected their monster.
3) Gang Uprising
While the city is relatively safe, the docks have always been the site of criminal activity. Recently, a young upstart brute has been going around and forming a hardened gang. The guards are worried that the gang has already grown larger than they can handle, especially as the gang seems to have acquired secret allies within the noble class who seem indifferent about the gang’s activity.
4) Blood Games Tournament
The city is bursting with excitement! The Blood Games have returned to the city after over 30 years of being outlawed. Gladiators, magical monsters, and more are arriving in the city for this huge spectacle! Adventurers who join the games have the chance of more wealth than they can spend in their life… unless they die first.
What few people know, however, is that the Blood Games are being brought back as a distraction. The original ruler who outlawed them has been assassinated, and an imposter has taken over the throne.
5) Circus Slaughter
The circus is in town, and families are coming out in droves to laugh, eat carnival food, and take part in festival games. Every night, there is a new performance, and many show up every night to not miss a single performance. However, one attendee is not so caught up with the festivities as they have realized that the clowns and acrobats are not who they seem.
Occult symbols and sigils are found throughout the festival, and the attendee is taking careful notes. They are worried that the circus is working on summoning an eldritch being, or perhaps infecting all the attendees with a mind virus that will tie them to the eldritch being. While looking for adventurers to help them on their investigations, the attendee is found out by the circus and killed in a gruesome display, their body left for all to view on the far side of the city to keep people from guessing that the circus was involved.
6) Traitorous Court
A duke is assassinated, and the noble court is in an uproar. Nobody knows why the duke was killed, but the king is secretly calling for adventurers to a meeting. The king is worried that the duke, who was their spymaster, was killed by a rival nation’s spies. The king needs the adventurers to root out the spy and ensure that the kingdom is safe from its rivals.
7) Orc War Party
A massive orc raiding party, bigger than has been seen in generations, has suddenly appeared outside the city walls. Orc squads have breached the walls and are fighting soldiers throughout the streets. The city was unprepared for this attack and is struggling to push back the invaders. Adventurers are called on to help bolster the city guard and the kingdom’s small army as siege engines hurl rocks and flaming boulders into the city.
8) Jailbreak
The local jail, filled with all manner of criminals, was recently attacked by a powerful gang in the city. Ripping down the walls, all of the criminals escaped into the city. The city guard is now offering large bounties on each of the criminals, as well as an even larger reward for the capture of the gang responsible for the jailbreak.
9) Magical Devastation
A sudden blast has ripped several blocks of the city apart. There are few survivors, and the city is working hard to save those trapped in the rubble. The city guard is looking for who is responsible, but their detectives are coming up empty-handed. Can adventurers step in and find out who is responsible, if it will happen again, and put an end to this threat?
10) Unfinished Project
An inventor has almost finished their project to build a powerful construct that will help protect the city, but they are missing a few important items, like a soul gem, adamantine springs, and arcane runestones. Unfortunately, they were killed just as they were gathering these last few items. Was this an assassination? Was it to stop this project from finishing? The king is worried about what the inventor’s death could mean and is seeking answers and for someone to finish the project.
11) Burning Building
An arsonist is going wild, setting buildings on fire that are devouring whole city blocks. No one is quite sure who the arsonist is, or how they can create such blazing infernos (though magic is suspected). The attacks don’t seem wholly random, but no one has figured out where the next attack will be. The truth is that a demonologist is drawing sigils throughout the city to open a gate to the Abyss. When they do so, bits and pieces of the Abyss burst through, creating a conflagration of fire. Soon, they’ll have a steady enough portal to the Abyss that demons will be able to pour in.
For inspiration on how to include a burning building in combat, check out our article: Burning Building - Encounter Location.
12) False Accusations
All of the members of the party have been accused of crimes, and the guards attempt to apprehend them. The adventurers must answer for their crimes, though many of them (if not all) are false accusations. However, eyewitnesses immediately identify the adventurers as the perpetrators.
A group of doppelgangers has adopted the identity of the adventurers, causing mayhem and devastation. The doppelgangers are working for a rival and are attempting to remove the adventurers before they can uncover a secret plot.
13) Merchant Woes
A trade caravan that just arrived in the city has had all its cargo stolen by the Thieves’ Guild. They need adventurers to find their cargo, as much of it is rare material and almost irreplacable without considerable expense.
14) Zoo Unleashed
An eco-terrorist group made up of druids and rangers has broken into the city’s zoo overnight and released all the natural and magical beasts within. The beasts are running rampant in the city, and to make matters worse, they are now targeting the private zoos of nobles and adding their collection of beasts to the city. The city is in disarray as guards fail to properly capture the beasts and instead kill them. They are calling on adventurers to use their expertise and help them trap these escaped beasts.
15) Bard Battle
It’s the annual battle of the bards, and musicians from all over are arriving in droves to perform. Unfortunately, many musicians are finding it hard to speak or even make noise. It’s almost as if someone is casting the silence spell on them, but it doesn’t seem to end, and many have been silenced for days on end with no ability to perform. Is this some sort of curse or magical disease affecting sound? Or is a rival bard merely removing competition?
16) Smuggler’s Assistant
A smuggler is attempting to bring in large amounts of weapons and illicit goods into the city, but is struggling with how to do it. Ideally, they would use the sewers, but they are chock-full of dangerous monsters that reside down there. Perhaps if adventurers were willing to go down and clear the way, the smuggler would be more than happy to share a portion of their profits.
17) Coup
In a single night, a coup has happened in the city. The ruler was unseated and a duke has taken their place. Many of the city’s nobles are confused about what they are supposed to do, as the army seems to be behind this sudden change. The duke is now calling for all nobles to swear fealty or face punishment. With the king nowhere to be seen, the loyal nobles are looking for the king and any adventurers who can help them save their city.
18) Missing Tavern
Ten years ago, a tavern and all its occupants suddenly disappeared. Mages and experts were summoned, and they examined the area, but no one could figure out what had happened. Eventually, the mystery was dropped, and people moved on with their lives. Well, the tavern and all its occupants have returned, and none of them know that time has passed.
The only oddity is that they have all returned with their bodies swapped with other occupants. For example, the human bartender now has the body of a female goblin he was serving ale to at the moment of disappearance, while the goblin has the body of an elven ranger she had been trying to steal a few coins from. The party is called upon to try and figure out what happened to them and if it can be reversed.
19) Downpour
A lone drifter has arrived in the city with black storm clouds following them to the city. The drifter claims that a great upheaval and calamity will fall upon the city, but that there is still time to stop it. Just as the black storm clouds broke and rain began pouring down, the drifter disappeared. It’s been three months since the drifter arrived, and the storm clouds have not stopped pouring rain. No druid has been able to stop the clouds, and arcane masters are stumped as to what the clouds even are. The only thing everyone can agree on is that if the rain doesn’t end soon, the city will soon drown.
20) Slumbering Tarrasque
Beneath the city, it is rumored that there is a slumbering tarrasque. However, a cultist group dedicated to the tarrasque is attempting to awaken it and bring about the end of the age, and potentially the world itself. By assassinating and torturing nobles, they hope to gain access to the key to the magical wards that secure the tarrasque and start a ritual of awakening.
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