DnDerhead’s Daily Sidequests

d100 Table of Ideas

18 May 2020 - 26 Aug 2020

These 100 ideas are from the current 300+ day run of #dailysidequests on my Twitter feed, @DnDerhead.
Swing by every day for a new adventure idea!

A group of fans of a long-running traveling circus approaches the PCs. The circus is about to go
1 broke. They ask that the PCs use their influence and talents to put on a special performance with
the circus. The income from such a show could save the circus.
A merchant begs PCs for help. They oversold their stock of honey from the Honeycomb Hillock, a
2 hive the size of a large house. Harvesting requires a joint effort of mages with sleep spells and
happens once a year. They plead with PCs to get them more of the honey.
After combat, the slain enemies have disappeared. Each PC who dealt killing damage finds a
3 figurine of the enemy on a fine silver chain around their neck. They are unable to remove them.
As they fight more, more figurines join the necklaces. Why is this happening?
Bridges and ferries along a nearby river are being destroyed. Stones and scraps of wood near
4 each spell out words in various languages in one or two word messages. "Danger." "Trying help."
"No cross." Is someone really trying to help? What are they helping with?
PCs are contracted to capture a cockatrice alive for research. A few days after a museum is
5 robbed. Among the priceless art pieces stolen were four very lifelike statues delivered to the
museum just a day earlier. Someone's up to no good with that cockatrice.
PCs receive info about a dungeon with treasure inside. When they reach the chamber rumored to
6 hold the treasure, they find a mirror of life trapping. The room is rigged to smash the mirror,
releasing the assassins within to kill the PCs. Someone wants them gone.
Bowling has recently been invented and is sweeping the realm. PCs are invited to a bowling
7 tournament. The prize is a favor from the local ruler. Using the abilities available to them, can
they defeat the reigning bowling champions to gain the powerful boon?
PCs find an elaborately decorated journal. The pages are blank at first. As they flip through it, one
8 of them gets a paper cut. Shortly after the journal starts to fill. It is recording their thoughts. Where
did it come from? Can PCs use it to their advantage?
PCs are advised to seek the counsel of the Slumbering Sage, a wise person who has slept for
9 centuries who gives advice by appearing in the dreams of those who rest nearby. When PCs
arrive, enemies attack, attempting to wake them, which legend says will kill them.
PCs receive a vision from a god asking for their aid in retrieving an artifact. When they get to the
10 location, they run into other groups, all claiming to have been sent by the same god. Have they
been tricked? Is the god forgetful? Who should take the artifact?
A secret divination organization wants the PCs' help saving the future. They want to send PCs
11 back in time with an arrow of slaying. They need to make a hero of a specific person who will help
save the world. Unfortunately, the person is clumsy and terrified.
DnDerhead Aug 2020
 A mob has taken control of the city. They are easy to spot, as they all wear dark leather cloaks.
12 The cloaks are actually cloakers, using the mob to gain a foothold secretly in the surface world
granting their aid in combat in return.
A bar opens in a big city, the Calamitavern. The drinks are named after natural disasters. They
13 are amazing. After it opens, there is an increase in natural disasters in the surrounding region.
The drink that sells the most in a night, that disaster happens next.
PCs meet an ancient hermit living in the middle of a graveyard. Having heard of their deeds, she
14 gifts a relic as her dying wish. The scarf will keep the bearer youthful and heal their wounds. She
does not tell them that it saps the vitality of those nearby to do so.
Priests ask for PCs' help. Per a plan laid out before the religion's founder's death, they tried to
15 resurrect them, but it failed. They think the god, not the founder's unwillingness, blocked the spell.
They want to send PCs to god's plane to rescue the founder.
PCs hear about a dangerous artist. People who visit return claiming artist robbed them. PCs find
16 a house filled with almost finished paintings of traps and hazards. Artist sneaks through with
Nolzur's Marvelous Pigments, adding final strokes to turn traps real.
After PCs are renowned/powerful, they are asked to clear a cellar of rats. If they balk, they are
17 told reward is substantial. Little do they know, a club of mages challenges adventurers by sending
rats buffed with all kinds of magic. Enlarged, hasted, you name it.
A malevolent presence invades PCs' dreams. Each long rest, a different PC is targeted. After a
18 few visits, the presence is less monstrous and admits to trying to intimidate the PCs, but now
want to understand. They will continue to visit. How do PCs respond?
The tavern is way too cheery. Everyone is overly friendly, smiles plastered across their faces.
19 Every so often PCs catch something off. A rotten smell when food arrives. A corpse slumped over
the bar turns out to be a living, happy patron. What is this place?
PCs are invited to join in a beautification contest for a city. They have a day to use skills and
20 abilities to create artwork and landscaping for a section of the city. The better they do, the more
favorably the people of the city will be disposed toward them.
PCs start getting cursed with annoying but harmless effects. The inability to smell flowers. A
21 twitchy eyebrow. An itch on the back right where they can't reach. These curses persist and
multiply. Who's doing this and what is the end goal?
Inanimate object shaped like living creatures start coming to life. Gingerbread cookies shaped
22 like humanoids, children's toys shaped like animals, etc. These objects start trying to shape other
objects into living forms so they can come to life as well.
PCs need the aid of a local monastery, home of the Monks of the Open Eyes. These monks prize
23 constant vigilance over all. The main way to gain their respect is to pull a prank on one of them.
PCs must find a way to trick one of these monks to get their help.
A fan of the PCs' adventures invites them to a party in PCs' honor. The atmosphere is weird and
24 other guests keep making excuses to leave early. The host is busy summoning the devil who
owns their soul, hoping the PCs will help free them from its power.
An ancient dragon is nearing death and has put out a call across the land. They want a new,
25 unique experience and promise to give their hoard to the creature(s) who can provide it. Can PCs
find a way to give a millennia-old being a new experience?
A locksmith offered great rates to replace locks. The smith crafted the locks with crucial pieces
26 cut from a single piece of iron. Overnight, mending was cast on them, sealing them shut, trapping
people inside. What are they doing with people trapped indoors?
DnDerhead Aug 2020
 A salon has a "secret menu" of hairstyles and mani/pedi options that give various short term
27 magical effects. Problem is you have to know the name of the style to request it and those who
receive one are sworn to secrecy. Can PCs gain access to these arcane looks?
PCs find a strangely vibrant mural painted on a wall in an alley. They are sucked into it. Their
28 equipment did not come through. The area around them seems to be quickly drying paint. They
have a few moments to paint what they need to escape the mural.
A wizard asks PCs to help with an experiment. They believe mimics can be tamed and trained.
29 They want the PCs to help them track down and trap a few mimics. If they help in the training
process, they might even get to keep one as a pet.
Past a chamber with an inactive stone golem is a room of trapped chests (some of which are
30 mimics) of various metals. A sign that claims the key to the next room "lies in the chest of
humblest material". It's not in the metal chests, but the torso of the golem.
A warlock opens a portal to the Far Realm. They close it, but not before a strange seed drifts
31 through. It sprouts, growing into a dandelion-like flower whose puff looks like a beholder's
eyestalk. It fires rays before the seeds blow away to spread more plants.
A wizard's polymorph security system goes awry when the PCs set it off. Each player picks an
32 inanimate object to become. Using their mental stats and the physical stats of the animate
objects spell, they must track down the wizard and reverse the effect.
The same NPC offers several quests in a row. They are a big fan of the PCs. As they complete
33 the quests, it becomes more clear that the NPC is involved in creating the problems and dangers
the PCs are solving for them. What is the end goal of this "fan"?
PCs are invited to a party. All guests are renowned for solving mysteries. The hosts arrive.
34 Copies of the same person enter. Each one is different, an illusion, a disguise, a simulacrum, etc.
First to identify the true host gets their pick of prize from the vault.
An arcane prison has been breached, releasing the Light Everlasting, a being of pure light. They
35 can be hurt, but damage makes them smaller, faster, and more lethal. Legend says it can be
slowed and enlarged by healing and light. That's how it was trapped before.
A group of clerics forms a fire brigade. After they begin fighting fires, the number of fires in the
36 city spikes drastically. Coincidentally, donations to the temple skyrocket as the appreciative public
thanks the brigade. Are clerics setting the fire themselves?
An artificer is experimenting with spell amplification. PCs choose a spell and possible
37 enhancements. Larger AoE, increased die size, additional target, etc. Artificer sends PCs after
parts and reagents. If successful, gives PCs the device to test and report back.
A series of secret messages pleads with the PCs to abduct the ruler of a small kingdom. If they
38 do it, the ruler reveals that they sent the messages themself. The kingdom chooses rulers by
lottery, and the ruler can't handle the pressure of the job anymore.
A room has two bowls. One with 20 stones, the other empty. An hourglass starts when PCs enter.
39 If stones are put in the empty bowl, they disappear, summoning a construct, CR = number of
stones used. All stones must be used before hourglass runs out to open a hidden door.
There's a shop filled with artifacts that accepts no coin. Goods are sold for knowledge and
40 experience. Beings can give proficiencies, knowledge of spells, feats, etc. as payment. More
important = more valuable. No one knows what use these are to the proprietor.
A group of ghosts seeks the PCs' help to track down their killers. In order to leave the location,
41 they ask to ride inside the party in a modified possession. For the next 24 hrs, each PC has
access to one feature from another class as the ghosts share their experience.
DnDerhead Aug 2020
 A shifty bookseller offers an encyclopedia of monsters, promising that it will give a more detailed
42 look at almost any monstrosity than the reader's ever had. If a reader finishes an entry in one
sitting, the monster the entry is about appears and attacks.
A spa in the mountains boasts of its healing hot springs. The staff all seem overly content. As
43 PCs explore, staff keep trying to subtly tell them to leave. The staff are those who have been
healed by the waters. Once healed, they found they could never leave.
PCs are invited to a BattleBots-style competition. Each team gets a basic construct base to build
44 on. Every kind of artisan's tool is provided along w/ materials. PCs have 24 hours to
modify/upgrade their construct before sending it into battle against the others.
Flying mercenaries have an item PCs need. Their base lies beyond several bridges over chasms.
45 The final bridge drops from under the party. They're safe, as the mercenaries are ready to catch
them, but, if they save themselves, NPCs will be more likely to aid them.
PCs book passage on a ship with all aarakocra crew. Crew keeps trying to get PCs off the boat
46 (swimming, diving for pearls, etc.) If successful, the crew flies off the boat together. PCs watch as
the folding boat reverts back to a box and the crew flies away with it.
Someone puts a strange curse on the PCs: dogs are unaware of them. It largely doesn't come
47 up, but every once in a while a dog will run into them or ignore their calls. Who did this and is this
the only curse they've laid on them? Can it be undone?
A town is covered in webs one morning. PCs are asked to help clean up. No spiders are found.
48 Happens again overnight. A few odd silk worms are found. There's smoke on the horizon. The
web is magically fireproof. Worms were protecting the town from a forest fire.
Find unrelated, busy images (like those from the game Mysterium). PCs meet a seer who has a
49 vision about them. Through psionic abilities, they project images into the minds of PCs. Let
players try to find meaning. Maybe they get it right/plan some stuff for you.
A familiar face pops up in several fights with the PCs. They're sure they've killed the creature
50 multiple times. If they question them, PCs find out the creature can't die permanently. They keep
waking up unharmed no matter what. How did they become unkillable?
PCs are asked to investigate Bare Bones Construction Co. They've been undercutting all guild
51 artisans. They keep their projects guarded and hidden while underway. They are using undead to
work nonstop without pay or food to beat all competitors.
An auction of art pieces devolves into chaos when the statue being bid on animates and sprints
52 outside. Outside waits a crowd of forgeries that also animate and run in random directions. Can
PCs find the true statue in the tumult? Who is behind this?
A rash of burglaries sweeps the country. They seem to be happening in the wake of a traveling
53 theatre troupe. The play they perform is an elaborate enchantment spell designed to get
audience members to bring their most valuable possessions to a drop in their sleep.
To reach their goal, PCs need the help of a powerful being. They only accept gifts as payment
54 and require that gifts be "homemade". What can PCs make from items and various
skills/abilities? If they impress the being, perhaps they'll offer more than one favor.
A wealthy traveler passes through the city, paying for lavish food, drink, and entertainment with
55 strange, hand-sized golden discs. They are slim sections of a golden finger from a massive
golden golem. It is on its way to reclaim the pieces of its finger.
A merchant is selling a suit of armor they claim is the "most attractive armor ever." They
56 guarantee it will "draw others to the wearer like never before." They imply it will enhance the
wearer's charisma. In fact, it becomes powerfully magnetic when donned.
DnDerhead Aug 2020
 An acrobat is challenging folks at a tavern to a game of bar-kour. Each participant must make it
57 across the tavern in the most creative and acrobatic way possible. They also must carry a full
tankard of ale. Winner is judged by the volume of ale left and stunts on the way.
An arcane experiment created sentient pools of liquid metal. Like mimics, they assume the forms
58 of mundane items. When touched by a creature, the metal flows over them, attempting to encase
the creature. The metal hardens, immobilizing the limbs it encases.
PCs enter a room with a chessboard floor. Each picks a position on the board. PC movement and
59 targeting match the piece whose spot they took, but can use spells, weapons, etc. Other pieces
begin playing chess. PCs don't need to play, but destroy all pieces to advance.
PCs get a cry for help through dreams, but something went wrong in the transmission. Each PC
60 only got one of the senses of the dream being sent. One heard, one saw, one felt, etc. Can they
piece together the senses into a whole picture to figure out what's needed?
An experiment with the calm emotions spell goes wrong and the PCs are hit with the arcane
61 explosion. Each gets a random emotion amplified until they are able to find a way to reverse the
effect. The longer it takes, the stronger the emotion gets.
A meteor crashes to the earth nearby. In the crater, PCs find shattered crystal shards surrounding
62 an unconscious, luminous creature. They claim the stars are prisons that have trapped them and
other beings like them for generations. Surely this can't be right, can it?
PCs are asked to bear a dangerous evil artifact to a shrine created by a god of destruction. It is
63 one of the only ways known to destroy such objects. But this item is a forgery. Its true purpose is
to destroy the shrine. Can PCs figure out they're being used?
Higher-ups in a demon cult approach the PCs with a proposition. Their demonic leader prizes
64 ambition and power above all. They have taken their teachings to heart so much that they now
wish to overthrow them. They offer to help the PCs ambush and defeat the demon.
PCs are challenged to a dance battle at a popular tavern. Roll initiative. PCs must use their
65 abilities, spells, etc. to wow the crowd with their performance. Winning the contest gives access
to a VIP section of the tavern where important NPCs congregate.
A wizard is offering to modify memories of criminals to forget the crimes they've committed to foil
66 attempts to get confessions from them. PCs are asked to stop them. The wizard assures them
they help harmless cases where the law is too harsh. What will they do?
In a frozen cavern PCs find a treasure trove encased in ice. If they melt the ice to get to the
67 treasure, it awakens, having been restored to life by the warmth. The PCs find themselves
surrounded by water elementals, left to guard the treasure from the greedy.
PCs go to meet with a powerful political figure but are intercepted by a frantic party planner. They
68 are organizing the figure's birthday party and it's all gone to hell. If the PCs want them in a good
mood when they ask for their favors, they must save the party.
PCs can faintly hear sounds like clockwork through the night. The next day, the layout of the city
69 has changed. Locals don't know what they're talking about and can give directions to buildings in
locations far from their previous position. What's going on?
In a tavern whose rafters are styled like a giant rib cage, a bard tells of an ancient titan. They
70 were punished, limbs and head torn from their body and cast far away. PCs hear rumors of
massive hands, feet, and a rolling head, all moving toward this tavern.
A serial killer is hunting down people born on the same day as them. They believe they can
71 reclaim the life force that they think is shared among them all, becoming more powerful with each
kill. Can PCs figure out the pattern and stop them?
DnDerhead Aug 2020
 A traveling stunt show is a front for a crime syndicate. PCs are warned, however, that direct
72 confrontation would make them targets for the ones behind it. They could, instead, sabotage the
show subtly, so that the audiences leave telling everyone how lame it was.
The people in this village behave strangely, barely speaking at all to the PCs. They seem
73 uncoordinated and surprised by mundane things. They are actually livestock who have been left
transformed to cover the abduction of the villagers.
Images of PCs start appearing in strange places. A likeness in a loaf of bread, a portrait in a
74 puddle after rain, etc. These supernatural-seeming images cause quite a stir among people who
see them. It draws a lot of attention to the PCs. Who's behind it and why?
A cloaked figure asks for help. They need to get away from people and find a secluded place to
75 live. They clink and jingle when they move and talk. When they pull their hood off, PCs see a
construct made of coins and gems. People keep trying to steal bits of them.
In a desperate moment, a wizard encoded a vital message in a construct formed from ice. It will
76 not divulge the message to anyone but the intended recipient. Can PCs help it get there before
the construct melts away completely?
A tower appears and a call for help goes out from it. A mage's experiments went wild and now
77 their tower is unstuck in the planar system. It jumps from plane to plane, carrying all within. The
mage needs protection while they work out how to stop the jumps.
A massive, famous circus doesn't allow any kind of weaponry on premises. A crew of halflings
78 and gnomes, disguised as human children, tries to rob the cash stores on the busiest night of the
circus. They have weaponized toys and candy to get past the guards.
Legend tells of a forge in the Elemental Chaos where powerful weapons were made. It's dormant,
79 since the elder elementals whose powers fueled the forge began to feud. If the PCs can help
them mend their relationships, maybe they can bring the forge back to life.
People in the city complain of headaches. Soon, they also hear a ringing sound. It gets louder.
80 Glasses and stringed instruments begin to hum with the sound. Inter-planar bounty hunters are
using the frequency to block teleportation while they hunt their quarry.
PCs find a temple to a god they've never heard of in a remote town. The priests do not provide
81 the typical divine services. They are, in fact, a group of swindlers who set out to rob the people.
They wound up staying to help them thrive. Will PCs reveal the truth?
Years ago the people of a city vanished, leaving a fine city with a huge library of leather bound
82 books. Others moved in and have no complaints except the screams from the library once a year
as the books leak blood. Maybe the former population never truly left.
An arcanaloth gourmand offers PCs a deal. They will not kill them if they prepare a meal
83 seasoned with the deadliest poisons and acids they can find, as their immunity allows them to
enjoy the subtle flavors such toxic and caustic delights provide.
A group of illusion wizards terrorizes ships at sea, conjuring images of a terrifying ghost ship
84 crewed by undead monstrosities. Fewer and fewer captains are willing to sail. One company,
conveniently owned by the wizards, is close to a monopoly on sea trade now.
A necromancer offers lots of money and resources to the PCs if they will simply provide corpses
85 and undead specimens as they go about their adventures. They are unwilling to share many
details of the purpose of their work. Are PCs comfortable with the arrangement?
A carnivorous plant has evolved to eat people. It can grow into a fake town. Over the years, it
86 figured out that people trust a populated town more, so it allows a community to live in it, feeding
on visitors in exchange for keeping the residents safe and fed.
DnDerhead Aug 2020
 PCs need to recover an ancient text hidden within a massive library. Other groups have been
87 hired with another goal: destroy the text at any cost. PCs must balance fighting off the other
groups, putting out fires, stopping floods, etc. to find the text in time.
A god of luck is angry with a nation's new gambling laws. Now gambling equipment and lucky
88 tokens are animating, tormenting the populace. Flocks of playing cards dive bomb travellers. Dice
trip the unwary and pummel them. Horseshoes hurl themselves at passersby.
PCs meet the same NPC in different places. Each time, they say they've never met the PCs and
89 they have a different job and a life in each location. They have no idea about the other thems out
there. Did someone make clones of the NPC without their knowledge? Why?
Tired of seeing history repeat without change, a scholar writes a book that is supposed to
90 magically convey the feeling of history's awful wars. It went wrong. It pulls readers into a
dimension of endless battle. The book has found its way into the PCs' path now.
Some stars in the night sky grow dimmer gradually. Eventually, they appear to go out completely.
91 Then, patches of darkness start to appear on the world at night, as if these dark stars shine
darkness down. Any caught in the dark starlight are blinded for a time.
Crimes keep being attempted around the PCs by people acting very strangely. Criminals and
92 victims alike are overacting, like they're all pretending. After a few of these, PCs spot people
observing and taking notes. Is someone evaluating their performance? Why?
Clerics of a lesser-known god find their powers waning. Spells return more slowly. High level
93 spells go wrong. Divination stops working as the god falls silent. Most of their magics still work, so
the god lives but is either hurt or hidden. Can PCs sort it out?
Heading to a village, PCs are told of a shortcut. Shortcut leads to a copy of the village a few miles
94 from the real one. Those who made it are honing acting and forgery skills for a future heist. If PCs
catch on, maybe they can stop them. Or get in on the heist.
A strange mist appears and doesn't dissipate with the sun. Any who spend too much time in the
95 most fall unconscious. Then they sleepwalk and make strange patterns with rocks on the ground.
Can the mist be cleared? Who sent it and what do the patterns mean?
In a tavern full of tough, drunk, and short-tempered patrons, someone swaps a PC's tankard with
96 a cursed one. Whenever a creature drinks from it, their voice comes from the tankard, hurling
insults at random creatures. The Ventriloquist's Folly strikes again.
Gravity weakens in a city. At first, people just feel a spring in their step. Then they're leaping
97 buildings effortlessly. While some play, others fear they will keep getting lighter until they float
away. Can PCs find the cause and reverse it before floating off?
PCs are invited to play Bulette Barricade, a sport where teams construct quick forts out of scrap
98 materials and then make noise and tremors in their opponents fort's area to draw bulettes in the
ground toward it to destroy their fort while keeping theirs standing.
At the same time daily for years, lightning strikes the same spot near a village. A shrine is built
99 around the spot and a religion is forming. It seems harmless enough, but it certainly doesn't seem
miraculous enough to attribute to a god. Should PCs investigate?
A powerful artifact has been found. It is a quill that can be used to strike through a word written
100 on any surface once per day. That word disappears from its language and any written source.
Can it be found and contained before too much knowledge is lost?

DnDerhead Aug 2020

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Eberron, the dragon
ampersand, Ravnica and all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are
trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries.

This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast and/or other authors. Such material is used
with permission under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.

All other original material in this work is copyright 2020 by Matthew Anderson and published under the
Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.

DnDerhead Aug 2020