D&D: Five Places to Look for Quests
Because you can find exciting adventures anywhere in D&D if you know where to look for the right kind of quests.
D&D is not a video game. You can’t just run around looking for people who have a giant exclamation point over their heads. But you’d be surprised how many people don’t know that you can decide to go find your own quests out there. You don’t have to wait for the DM to have a guy come up to you in a tavern looking for a lost artifact.
In fact, you can head out into town and find your own quests—if you know where and how to look for them.
Start With the Shops
One of the best ways to get yourself a quest is by asking your local shopkeepers what they need help with. This is a great thing to bring up when your party has some downtime. On those shopping episodes, ask the shopkeeper if they have any problems, if they need any help getting stuff.
Or ask “what would you need to make ________” and then fill in the blank with something cool like “a saddle for riding on a dragon” or “the perfect sword” or “a cloak that reflects the light of the moon even in pitch darkness”. You know, just whatever pops into mind that you might want.
Whatever they answer with? There’s a quest right there: get the shopkeeper that item(s). And you know what you’ll get, the thing you want them to make.
Join a Guild
Again, this is a great “we’re in town activity”. Ask the DM if there are any guilds in town. Ask about a guild related to your class, like a Thieves’ Guild is a common fantasy archetype, or a Warriors’ Guild or a Magic School or even an Artisan’s Guild if you make stuff. Whatever your character likes to do, ask the DM if there are organizations that revolve around doing that thing.
Then find them and ask what it takes to join. This lets the DM know that a.) you’re interested in doing more of that thing, and b.) that you’re paying attention to their world. DMs love it when you pay attention to their world.
Once you know what it takes to join, you’ve got a quest: Join the Guild or whatever the organization is called.
Tell Me Your Troubles
This one you can do any time you’re in a tavern. It’s pretty easy. Find an NPC—no, not the mysterious hooded figure who is sheathed in an air of arcane mystery and ominous portent. Like find the server, or the innkeeper who’s polishing a glass, or the goblin that your DM is hastily trying to describe as blandly as possible.
Then ask them what’s going on in their lives. Buy an NPC a round of ale and ask them to tell you their troubles, friend. And then, you have a quest, Help the NPC solve their problem! This works for forlorn lovers, heartbroken bards, goblins who just want to steal that big ham hanging in the back of the smokehouse. If an NPC dreams it, you can help them achieve it.
Clerical Errors
There are temples to the different gods in many cities. And these are often hotbeds of quests just waiting to happen. First of all, if you belong to one, you can go ask them and see if they need any help. Easy quest finding right there.
But even if you’re not a member of one, this is another great way to find out what troubles NPCs are having that you can take care of.
Listen to someone’s prayers—what are they hoping for? A cure for an illness? There’s a quest “heal little Suzie” or whatever. Are they praying for help with an upcoming trip? There’s a quest. This is another great way to try and find someone to help.
Quests Begin at Home, Which is Where the Heart is
Finally, if your character has living relatives or a chosen family they’ve found, maybe there’s an NPC you’ve got a relationship with—whatever the case, you can ask them what they need help with, sure. That’s an easy quest.
But another great quest you can sort of do on your own is to find the perfect thing for them. A gift for an NPC that really suits them can let the DM know “oh they like this guy”. If you know a scholar NPC, bring them that rare tome you found in the dungeon after you’ve investigated it.
You can turn your random loot into quests—find the right person for the thing and give it to them. Then watch what happens.
Anyway, give one of these a try the next time you want to get a little more invested in the world you’re playing in. It won’t work at every table, but see what happens!
