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The Simplest Quest Model

by Mike on 19 January 2026

An NPC wants you to do something at a location.

This scenario is just about the simplest quest model you can have and yet it provides a powerful template to build fun adventures for your RPG.

Just fill in the blanks:

Who's the NPC?
Where do they want you to go?
What should you do there?

We can fill out these three questions with results from random tables if we're having a hard time filling them in ourselves. You can find random tables for all these questions in the core generators of the Lazy GM Resource Document.

Here are three examples using the generators above for NPCs, locations, items, conditions, descriptions, and origins.

Ethan Stardazer, a shifty halfling, wants you to go to a shattered ethereal warren to find a decrepit smoky coin.

Elsebee Riddletongue, an optimistic catfolk, wants you to go to a forsaken crystalline vault to recover a monstrous windswept mask.

Baragon Shadowmaker, an enthusiastic celestial, wants you to go to a bloody obsidian tomb to bury a secret.

We still have questions to answer, of course. What is Baragon's secret? What is the bloody obsidian tomb like? What creatures lurk there? What reward does Baragon offer?

But these prompts go a long way to get our minds moving in a direction. We can wrap them in our own gods and factions to tailor them for our game. Grab a Dyson map that fits the theme of our location. Pick out a handful of monsters from our favorite monster book. Fill in some details as we go through our eight steps of lazy GM prep.

Why?

Motivation for both the quest NPC and the characters to follow through with the quest is a consideration as well. Three easy motivations include:

Discovery. What wonderful sights one might see if they fulfill the quest.
Greed. There's a juicy reward for those adventurers who undertake the quest and succeed.
Altruism. They want to save the world.

More Advanced Quest Models

We have other more advanced quest models at our disposal for a richer adventure or campaign through-line:

and we have a solid list of adventure types including:

But the simplest quest model – an NPC wants you to do something at a location – is one of the easiest to fill out and use to build a fun adventure for our game. Keep this quest model in mind, fill in the blanks, and you're off on an adventure.

More Sly Flourish Stuff

Each week I record an episode of the Lazy RPG Talk Show (also available as a podcast) in which I talk about all things in tabletop RPGs.

Last Week's Lazy RPG Talk Show Topics

Here are last week's topics with time stamped links to the YouTube video.

Patreon Questions and Answers

Also on the Talk Show, I answer questions from Sly Flourish Patrons. Here's last week's question and answer.

Taking Notes During the Game

Talk Show Links

Here are links to the sites I referenced during the talk show.

Last week I also posted a couple of YouTube videos on Losing Yourself in the Fiction and Journey to Nurduran – Dragon Empire Prep Session 52.

RPG Tips

Each week I think about what I learned in my last RPG session and write them up as RPG tips. Here are this week's tips:

Show the characters the results of their choices and actions in the world.
Use monuments as vehicles for secrets and clues.
Ask players to describe what their characters are thinking and feeling while camping and resting.
Note improvised NPC names and where the session ended in your post-game notes.
Review your prep notes an hour or so before your game.
Remind players of the goal of their quest often.
Customize published adventures for your players, their characters, your own desires, and your ongoing campaign.

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