Fantasy seeds come in all shapes and sizes. They can be useful for generating different aspects of roleplay from individual encounters to epic campaigns. Encounters, adventures, campaigns, and quests are common terms in the TTRPG world, but they do not always have shared meaning. This table
Seeds come in all shapes and sizes; they can be useful for generating many aspects of roleplay from individual encounters to epic campaigns. Encounters, adventures, campaigns, and quests are common terms in the TTRPG world, but they do not always have shared meaning. For purposes of this site, the breakdown is as follows:
| Level | Description | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Encounter | A brief scene in which the characters are actively interacting with something or someone in the environment. | 5 minutes to an hour or so, depending on the ruleset and challenge level |
| One-Shot | A single adventure that can be completed from start to finish in a single gaming session. | 1-4 hours |
| Adventure | A single scenario tied together by a particular plot point that is completed over a series of sessions. | 1-5 sessions |
| Campaign | An overarching story the revolves around a specific group of characters across multiple adventures. | 6 sessions or more |
| Quest | A structured mission with a specific goal, often provided by individuals outside of the group of characters. | Varies |
For GMs familiar with these terms, feel free to skip the next section, which elaborates on each of the terms.
Some Elaboration
An encounter is a brief scene in which the characters are actively interacting with something or someone in the environment. Encounters are often described as social (noncombat) encounters and combat encounters. Both would be played by the game’s ruleset. Encounters can also include enviornmental hazards, such as storms or obstacles in the way of progression. Encounters can involve exploration, traps, puzzles, or any combination thereof. The average encounter will last between a few minutes ot an hour or more of actual playtime. The actual length is dependent upon the type of encounter and the ruleset.
A one-shot is an adventure that can be completed in a single gaming session. A good one-shot has a clear objective and presents challenges that can be overcome in that single session. The party might explore a five-room dungeon to kill the mummy or deliver a package to another village or save the festival from the monstrous guest who hopes to interrupt it. A one-shot might also have timed components. For example, a party might have three hours of real time before the ruins they are exploring collapse.
One-shots are great choices when the usual GM wants or needs a break. They are great for trying new rulesets before committing to longer campaigns. A one-shot is the perfect type of game for playing with a group who can only meet sporadically. They can even be done “book club style,” where a group alternates GMs and systems. All one-shots are adventures, but not all adventures are one-shots.
An adventure is a single scenario or story tied together by a plot completed over one or more sessions. For example, across one or more sessions, a party starts in a settlement, gathers some rumors, learns of a nearby dungeon, travels to said dungeon, explores the dungeon, and returns to the settlement with treasure. Alternatively, an adventure might involve characters solving the mystery of who murdered the king or might be shipwrecked and forced to explore an island
A campaign is an overarching story that revolves around a specific group of characters across multiple adventures. Using the conventions of Pathfinder 2e’s GM Core Rules rulebook (2003), brief campaigns might include two adventures, extended campaigns up to five, and an epic campaign can include six or more long adventures. Oftentimes, campaigns will have a main theme, such as stopping a war, finding the artifacts that will return the deities to their realm, killing some big bad evil guy, or finding the location of the lost king. These themes can drive dozens of adventures, starting with the characters at their lowest levels and ending with near superheroes in certain rulesets.
Not all campaigns have a central theme or objective. Sandbox-style hexcrawl adventures, popular in the OSR style of gameplay, will traditionally allow the characters to build the story. There is a sandbox of land (i.e., a map) with landmarks, dungeons, settlements, and other sites. The characters explore the world around them coming up with new adventures along the way. There is no central villain. No world to save. There is still plenty of adventure to be had between the sites and the random encounters that someone will face.
Finally, there are quests. These are structured missions with a specific goal, often provided by individuals outside of the group of players (e.g., a patron, a shop owner, a cleric, a merchant, etc.). In the Glass Cannon Podcast Shadowdark campaign, the party met a merchant who was looking for his colleague. He offered the party money to find her. That was their quest. A quest could be to kill a wolf stalking the forest or to find the Great Magical Weapon in the Dungeon of Doom. Quests can be tied to encounters, adventures, or full campaigns. Quests are commonly used as hooks to draw characters into some adventure. It can always be useful to work toward something.
Encounter Seeds
Encounter seeds are brief scenarios appropriate for a single encounter. The encounter seed does not contain monster statistics or determine what will happen. It is more than a mere monster you would see in a random encounter list, but an encounter seed is quickly digestible during gameplay. A GM want three to six encounter seeds prepared for a particular session. Here are some examples of encounter seeds:
A figure in black crawls out of the window at a lord’s manor and gets onto a waiting horse.
While talking to the party at the settlement gate, a town guard is struck by an arrow coming from a nearby wooded area.
An artist offers the party a chance to buy one of her paintings, promising that it will be worth quite a bit once people know who she really is.
After hearing screaming, the party realizes that several people have fallen into a sinkhole into an ankheg burrow.
Before entering a dungeon, the party hears a sound and realizes someone has followed them all the way from town.
While each of these technically could yield something broader, they would start as a single encounter. None of them are obviously combat encounters, though they could devolve that way. Giving the party a chance to role play is always good, even if combat is likely to follow.
Adventure Seeds
Adventure seeds provide enough context for a GM to run one or more sessions. An adventure seed can be narrow enough to support a one-shot adventure and broad enough to support several sessions of play. The seed does not need to have a clear beginning and end to the story. It does not need a specific party hook (but can include one). It just needs to present the party with a situation that can be extended across one or more sessions. Here are some examples of adventure seeds:
The party finds a fairy stuck in a jar. If they rescue her, she explains that she was captured by a sadistic wizard who took her and members of her family but accidentally left her behind. She wants to rescue her family and hopes the party will help.
A sinkhole opens in the characters’ home village and exposes temple ruins no one knew existed.
A man yells down at the party from a rooftop. He descends a ladder and asks the party if they have seen three stone gargoyles that have gone missing.
Someone has dug up three graves in the local cemetery. The area cryptkeeper is unhappy about it and is seeking answers.
A falconer heads to the tavern to show off what his falcon found today. It is a human hand with a fancy ring.
A couple of these do have hooks tied to them. The party found the jar and was asked for help. That was a hook. In other instances, the party would need to choose to get involved. While it might be tough for characters in a TTRPG to ignore temple ruins, they are not forced to explore them. Missing gargoyles? Cool. The characters can keep their eyes open without engaging in any further action.
Seeds are not adventures. Even adventure seeds are not adventures. They are seeds. They are inspirations. There is some creative muscle necessary to go from missing gargoyles or a found hand to several sessions of play. The seed requires further preparation (i.e., growth) to be useful. More on that here ($$$).
Campaign Seeds
Campaign seeds are broad seeds that present ideas to cover several linked adventures. These seeds can start generally, if desired, as that would give the GM plenty to work with while building the campaign. Consider these examples:
A plague has been spreading across the region, and local clerics appear powerless to stop it.
Drow have been seen on the surface, while days are becoming inexplicably shorter.
Zombies have risen from cemeteries throughout the land and begun to walk to the same central location.
Ever since the storm passed over the city, magic has not been working like it once did.
Orcs and goblins have joined the Fanatics War, leading the Hysin Elves to change their allegiance.
These seeds open so many doors for characters and for the GM. They can each be linked to some theme or overall objective (e.g., stop the plague, defend against the drow, destroy the undead, restore magic, end the war). However, they could also lead in other directions. The plague could be divine punishment from a deity a party cleric serves. The characters might be servants for a general in the Fanatics War. The chaos is their chance to escape; they are not responsible for stopping the war.
Side Quest Seeds
Side quests do not need anything different from traditional encounter or adventure seeds, but they are nice to have in case the party gets stuck or seems bored. Giving the party something to do on the side of a main quest can be beneficial to pr$$$$$$$
One Seed to Bind Them All
A general seed is a seed that can apply to anything from an encounter to a campaign. Sometimes these are the most interesting seeds. Consider the following seed from the previous chapter:
The home of an esteemed historian is in flames. As a crowd begins to gather, the elderly man walks out of the front door and whispers, “Let it burn!” He collapses to the ground, dead.
This could lead to anything from a single encounter to a full campaign. Really!
Assuming the characters are among those in the crowd, the incident itself could be an encounter. The man falls to the ground. Perhaps the characters watch in horror, or they could run up to the man and try to help him. They might interact with others in the crowd. Maybe everyone assumes the man set the fire himself and the encounter ends there. Maybe there is a fire cultist seen running from the home. The party could chase down the cultist and combat might ensue. A fire elemental might rise from the flaming house, attacking bystanders with the party becoming involved.
The same seed could be used for a one-shot or for a longer adventure if the party decides to get involved further. The historian studied ancient rituals, and a cult wanted to strongarm him for knowledge about a sacred site where they could revive their lost fire demigod. They burned the house after getting the information they were seeking…or the man intentionally set fire to keep them from getting information. With a good hook, this could lead to a full adventure where the party might encounter the cult and end with a climactic showdown at the ruins of a hidden temple.
This could even be the start of a full campaign. Sticking with the earlier plot point, the cult learned what they needed to revive their demigod. After his revival, the cult begins to increase in strength and cause problems throughout the region. The party must find a way to grow stronger, arm themselves with powerful weapons, and eventually destroy the demigod yet again. This would involve multiple adventures, starting with investigating the crime, moving to finding powerful weapons, and eventually defeating (hopefully) the cult and the demigod.
All of this from a 35-word seed!