Summary

  • Map meticulously to create a detailed environment for exploration campaigns.
  • Use environmental hazards like weather to challenge and engage high-level players.
  • Don't guide players, let them explore freely and face consequences for their choices.

Exploration-based adventures or even full campaigns in Dungeons & Dragons can be some of the most fun you'll ever have at a DND table. After all, what's more classically high fantasy than traversing a vast countryside, deep dungeon, or immense mountain with your adventuring party, working together to survive?

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However, if you're a DM planning to run an exploration-based campaign for expert players, you might be wondering where to start in terms of planning and running these types of adventures. If that's the case, look no further than this list. Here are some of the best tips and tricks for running exploration campaigns for high-level players.

10 Map Meticulously

Compass Rose And All

Astral Observatory via Wizards of the Coast

One of the most important elements of any great exploration-based campaign in Dungeons & Dragons is mapmaking and mapmaking tools, not just on the part of the DM, but also on the part of the players. The best way to run a gripping exploration campaign is to make sure that, as a DM, you have a clear map of the space, but then also ask the players to map as well.

This tip can be used for a dungeon, forest landscape, or any other type of biome. The point is, filling in a physical map full of encounters, traps, puzzles, and more will help make the exploration feel more grounded. Plus, encouraging players to map alongside you helps get them more invested in the physical space, and allows for better theater of the mind.

9 Use Environmental Hazards Freely

Earth, Wind, And Fire

Infestation via Wizards of the Coast

Many different sourcebooks, including the 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide, offer DMs various environmental hazards and pitfalls to throw at your players. Because most exploration-based campaigns are going to take place in external environments, you should freely use weather and other effects to keep players on their toes.

For example, if a party is exploring a mountain's face, climbing up the face of it, and it starts to rain, consider making the skill checks for climbing more difficult. Alternatively, Tasha's Cauldron of Everything has a handful of specific magical environmental effects for you to use against your high-level table that are highly unique and challenging.

8 Don't Guide Players

Let Them Mess Up

Jungles of Chult via Wizards of the Coast

As a Dungeon Master, it can prove to be extremely tempting to guide players toward a chosen destination, specifically in an exploration campaign, which tends to feel a bit more loose and unstructured. However, when it comes to DM-ing for high-level players, you're going to want to avoid this at all costs for a handful of reasons.

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First and foremost, when you guide players to a chosen destination, you take out all the fun of exploring. The best way to avoid this is to make sure that, no matter what direction players go in, there's always something for them to contend with, good or bad. That way, even if they go in the wrong direction, something is happening that propels the action forward.

7 Track Time

Tick, Tock

Flames Everlasting Skybridge via Wizards of the Coast

For longer stretches of exploration, in which players are trying to traverse a vast landscape of some kind, make sure you're using some kind of time-tracking system. This is useful for a few different reasons, particularly when it comes to high-level tables.

First, the longer something takes to accomplish in a game, the more stakes and consequences you can impose. Second, this can affect players' resources (which we'll dive into in more detail shortly). But, for example, if the party must reach a chosen destination within one week, timing their endeavor and exploration can offer you, as a DM, an opportunity for story consequences down the road.

6 Track Resources

Keep An Eye On Those Rations

Gateway via Wizards of the Coast

On the subject of tracking player progress, if the adventuring party is taking a long and perilous journey across some unforgiving landscape, make sure to track their resources like food rations, shelters, and more. This not only gives your campaign a sense of groundedness but also encourages players to think carefully about a couple of things.

For example, if they're attacked in the middle of the night during a long rest, the party might be forced to consider whether they need to abandon their supplies to survive the encounter. This can force them to then have to forage for food, or take a longer route to their destination to avoid more encounters of the same kind. These types of exploration-based choices can make or break an exploration campaign.

5 Constantly Change Up Random Encounters

Keep 'Em On Their Toes

Eldritch Storm via Wizards of the Coast

On the subject of random encounters, it's important to have a robust cycle of random encounters at your disposal. You don't want to just throw the same bandits or wolves at your players over and over again when they're on the road, as this can feel a little too video-gamey and wreck the immersion of your campaign.

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Consider the environment your players are in, and make sure you're tailoring your random encounters to said environment. Another great tip for cycling out random encounters is to change what types of rolls trigger what types of random encounters. That way, your players won't catch on when something is coming their way.

4 Create Puzzles And Paradoxes

Not Just For Dungeons

Collapsing Bridge via Wizards of the Coast

While dungeons are the primary place you'll see puzzles and riddles in a Dungeons & Dragons game, you should also consider placing these types of encounters in open-air exploration environments. For example, players trying to find their way through a cave system might encounter a puzzle in which they need to roll boulders onto weighted platforms.

Alternatively, consider creating tricky problems for players to solve that aren't necessarily riddles. For example, perhaps the party has come across a large chasm with a rope and pulley system used to traverse it. However, the party might discover that they can only move a certain amount of weight at a time. These types of puzzles can break up the pace wonderfully in exploration.

3 Switch Up Biomes Frequently

Keep It Fresh

North Kingdoms by Bruce Brenneise

Make sure your players aren't just traversing generic fantasy forests or mountainsides over and over again in your exploration campaign. Even if you do want to use a classic natural setting, find some way to diversify the biome or make it stand out.

For example, if you want to have an exploration session set on a mountain, consider covering the mountain in snow to make it more unique. Or, if your party is traversing an ocean, consider throwing a hurricane in their path to make the seas more turbulent than they're used to.

2 Urban Versus Natural Exploration

No Taxis Allowed

Life In A City by Sam Keiser

Just because you're running an exploration-based campaign doesn't mean you can't also have urban environments. After all, sprawling metropolises can be just as difficult to traverse as a forest or cave system. Plus, a lot of the time, high-level players won't expect to have to navigate a city like an exploration encounter.

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The best way to do this is to give your players a specific location to find in a large, bustling city, like a Thieves' Guild, for example. You can give players hints as to where they might find this location, but they'll still need to look for clues, ciphers, and know who to ask. This can make for a great mystery-based exploration session.

1 Level Up Based On Exploration, Not Combat

XP Comes Differently

Vault of Dragons via Wizards of the Coast

Lastly, if your campaign is largely exploration-based and not so much focused on combat, you might want to consider using a milestone level-up system or even awarding XP based on exploration goals, rather than combat. This not only encourages players to explore more to level up, but also makes more narrative sense in the context of the campaign.

As an example, if the party's goal is to find the location of a hidden vault in a mountain, reward them with a level-up when they successfully do so, rather than a level-up when they defeat the monster inside. This will surprise high-level players and encourage you as a DM to come up with tangible exploration-based rewards.

Dungeons and Dragons

Franchise Dungeons & Dragons Original Release Date 1974 Publisher Wizards of the Coast Designer E. Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson Player Count 2+