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It can be tough trying to pull inspiration for a D&D campaign. The possibilities are nearly endless, but it’s nice to have a reliable starting point. One fantastic place to draw inspiration from is the world of literature.
Whether contemporary or classical, fantasy or otherwise, books are a great source of inspiration for any D&D campaign. Characters, plot threads, or even just setting and tone can be pulled right from a book to kickstart a new game.
10 Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer Gets Weird
Annihilation, which was adapted into a movie in 2018, tells the story of an anomalous area on the southern coast of the United States and the various expeditions sent to investigate it. Annihilation invites readers to explore ideas about identity, both as a person and as a species. A fantasy world as diverse as D&D’s is ready to grapple with these questions.
9 The City We Became By N.K. Jemisin Puts Cities Front And Center
In The City We Became, N.K. Jemisin weaves a wild story about cities coming to life via their avatars and the extradimensional Enemy that threatens them.
The City We Became follows the five avatars – one for each borough of New York City – as they search for their sixth compatriots, the avatar of New York at large. This premise alone could spawn a hundred campaigns, with players either playing as the avatars themselves or as regular people trying to guide and aid them in their task.
8 The Earthsea Cycle By Ursula K. LeGuin
The Earthsea Cycle is a tremendous work of fantasy, and responsible for inspiring later series like Harry Potter. The world of Earthsea is ripe for a campaign, with hundreds of regions to explore. It would take some tweaking to fit all of D&D‘s lore into Earthsea, but it could be done. The Earthsea books combine high adventure and fantasy with deep contemplations on responsibility, power, and the consequences of ego. A D&D campaign =should be prepared to do the same.
7 American Gods By Neil Gaiman Puts A New Spin On Divinity
American Gods is full of evocative and imaginative characters that could easily be used for a D&D campaign. The gods in American Gods are all relatively mortal people, with their various pantheonic abilities and portfolios adapted to their mundane lives.
This kind of thinking could be applied to a D&D campaign, with fallen and weakened gods as the patrons of an adventuring party, or even as the player characters themselves.
6 Bram Stoker’s Dracula Is A Classic For A Reason
Dracula’s influence on D&D is obvious in the form of the Ravenloft setting and Count Strahd von Zarovich. This classic campaign setting and villain are great, but the novel Dracula actually has a lot of other things to draw from. Dracula takes place within his castle for a decent stretch of the story, but much of the book takes place after the vampire has traveled to England. An intrigue-based vampire narrative focused on players hunting the creature from safe-house to safe-house in a rush to keep him from killing again offers a fresh take on the D&D vampire hunt.
5 The Tale Of Tallest Rabbit By Rodrigo D. Lopez Is A Unique Fairy Tale
The Tale of Tallest Rabbit is written by a long-time Game Master, and the influence of fantasy games is clear throughout. The book follows a young girl who finds herself in a fantastical world where stories are used as replacement for currency.
Her journey accompanying a warren of rabbits to their new home is used as a framing device to tell several other, equally charming stories. The Tale of Tallest Rabbit would be a great starting place for a D&D campaign for younger players, or anyone just looking for a lighter tone.
4 Take On A Unique War Story With M*A*S*H
While the film and TV show are perhaps better known, M*A*S*H started as a novel based on the author’s experiences in the Korean war. The medics of the 4077th MASH, or Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, have all kinds of wacky adventures in-between their harrowing time saving the lives of injured soldiers. This premise alone could kickstart a campaign, with players having some kind of home base from which to strike out on adventures.
3 The Hobbit By J.R.R Tolkien Gets At D&D’s Origins
Tolkien’s influence on modern fantasy is impossible to understate, and D&D is no exception. So many things about D&D’s world come right from Tolkien’s books, and The Hobbit is still a great place to look to for inspiration. Every set piece in the novel from the main cast getting captured by goblins, to their run-in with the trolls, and the spiders in Mirkwood fit perfectly into a D&D game. Playing a game based on The Hobbit is almost too cliche, but some things are classics for a reason.
2 Follow A Treasure Map In Treasure Island By Robert Louis Stevenson
This classic adventure novel has an easy setup for a campaign – follow the treasure map – but Treasure Island has even more to offer with intense intrigue, compelling characters, and vivid environmental descriptions. Long John Silver is one of the most iconic figures from literature, and any facet of his personality or motivation would make for a great NPC ally, adversary, or both. Plus, ship-based campaigns are an evergreen favorite among players and GMs alike.
1 Dive Into Sci-fi With Out Of The Silent Planet By C.S. Lewis
Lewis is best known for The Chronicles of Narnia, but he also wrote the Perelandra trilogy of science fiction books, starting with Out of the Silent Planet. This book follows a linguist who is placed on a spaceship against his will and brought to an alien world. He escapes from his captors and explores the planet on his own, meeting all sorts of bizarre life forms and environments. Out of the Silent Planet does an incredible job of describing the alien, and anyone looking to set their D&D game in a place far removed will find ample inspiration here.
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