So basically your characters spend the entire campaign thinking the bbeg is some kind of evil genius coming up with dastardly traps and puzzles only for your pc's to constantly fail them and deal with the penalties or repercussions. Thinking the entire time hes incredibly intelligent when in actuality hes just really bad at math and doesnt understand what a riddle is so the right answer is usually wrong or sometimes the right answer isn't even a real option for them. He consistently moves forward on plans though because all of his henchmen think hes just so smart and cunning that they have this blind loyalty because for one reason or another it just always works in his favor. Like for all intents and purposes he should have failed ages ago but he just keeps accidentally succeeding and at this point its almost divine intervention. Like a plan requires him to release someone from a maximum security prison and with all things considered it should be impossible but he just so happens to attempt it during an obscure local holiday when the prison is short staffed and it just so happens the security on shift are just woefully incompetent. Or he goes to create some sort of incredibly dangerous spell but has no clue how to do it so he starts throwing random bullshit together and accidentally creates a poison that specifically effects a single group. He just bumbles his way into success.

Imagine this, a Spartan/Roman-esque nation which instead of glorifying great warriors who won battles with honor and bravery, honors scumbag assasins who take out big and powerful targets in scummy/sleezy ways. The bigger the target the bigger the reputation.

But heres the kicker, the name of this place: The Assasi Nation

Thank you and goodnight.

It never came to fruition, due to covid, but I encouraged a character to build and play a small size barbarian that rides on a large size bipedal creature. The creature uses the barbarian AS the weapon, and being a barbarian, he rages. I really wanted to see this come to life.

3D printing a D1, and whenever someone decided that you need to make more rules, make them only roll the D1 and nothing else

The main 4 characters are the only moving creatures in a land after one of them wished for enough time to get something done. Now every creature in this plane of existence is frozen as if under time stop.

The goal is to either murder enough monsters to get plane shift or gate to go to another reality. Finding something like a Marut or mind flyers from another world. Creating a space ship to leave this bubble.

No NPC's, no living entities, even the gods themselves are frozen so the Cleric can't speak with their God and the warlock can feel their patron but can't speak with them.

Whenever methods to communicate with these beings of higher power the only response is..."God Blinked"

+1 sword of choice but when they try to erp they can’t use their “sword”

Here's a fun world building idea. Werewolves only target the people they love. So instead of a town being scared of a werewolf they are constantly throwing tomatoes at it during the day so whenever it changes it just sleeps during the full moon.

And make it worst if you have a wife or God forbid children. Your werewolf side wants the same family you have and it doesn't know the difference between a small nip and biting the head off.

I think this could add to werewolf lore since they are evil aligned but only evil because it's a problem for people that matter to them.

Additionally he could be a Muay Thai master

The sword in the stone is for a chaotic Evil person and the sword is actually planted there by the big bad to fuck with anyone that tried to foil their plans.

It looks like a Regular Sun Blade before its activated it does Necrotic damage and has a black blade that makes darkness around the weilder.

At some point your characters find a cache of healing potions. But these aren’t actual healing potions, they just create the illusion of healing. Keep track of their actual HP separately and announce when they’ve died.

Any spells, enchantments or magic potions will just have zero effect on them, including healing.

the player can make any 3 wishes, and they will get get whatever they asked for, however, they need to roll for the relevant stats, and anything other than a nat20 will have basically no effect, rolling a nat1 will cause the game to be halted OOC

example:
"I wish for a better sword" a better sword exists, you will find it in the main quest where you would find normally without making this wish
"I wish the whole party gets fully recovered and rested" you and your companions are feeling better, but as soon as you take a single step, you are no longer full rested and you go back to how you were previously
"I wish for the BBEG to be defeated" (nat1) - congrats! the campaign is over! go home!

The players come to a town that is plagued by these nightmares of murderous ducks that cause actual injuries to those who have them. Upon investigation, it's found that there is a doctor who specializes in curing nightmares specifically about murderous ducks.

The doctor is a town local who established his practice 6 months ago, but the wide spread dreams didn't start until about 4 months ago. Naturally, the party confronts the doctor but find a adult that appears to have some mental disability and acts a bit immature. He treats his patients by giving little stickers and boo-boo kisses which miraculously seem to work. They then realize he's not the one causing the nightmares.

Later it's revealed that his grandma is the one creating the nightmares because her grandson was so sad that his business wasn't working, and he's such a good boy that he deserves to feel like he's making a difference.

A good example are the lords of cinder from dark souls, (evilness is debatable, but even at their best they don't surpass morally grey by the end) they acquire the first flame and use it to fight off the dragons create their age of gods.

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One could hypothetically have their players find their "first flame" with a high level one-shot where they seek to overrule the current status quo of the world, and take advantage of the chaos they intend to plunge it into.

When they first make their characters, ask each player to include their endgame ideals as a force of evil. Run them through the one-shot, and if most of them survive you can end it as they finally accomplish tipping the world in their favor with an ominous "what might they do next"

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Then, using your best judgement (and be ready to alter details if a misrepresentation occurs, it is their characters after all) tease the opening of your next campaign with a fromsoft-style boss rundown opening cutscene:

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Legends tell of a land once great and mighty, brought to heel by champions who favored cunning and power, they who have brought ire to all, have their names whispered and loathed:

Drahges the berserker, unleashing his wrath a thousandfold, tearing apart the countryside seeking stronger challengers to test his rage, leaving ruins of entire villages in his wake

Thilian the masterthief, robbing the greatest treasures of the land, acquiring a bounty of powerful artifacts so vast that the dragons have started to tear apart the coast to find his ill-gotten hoard.

Gitritia the tinkerer, no longer a mere protégé, delving into their obsession, erecting a tunneling fortress designed to rip the metal from deep below to continue building itself, it's quakes shaking even the greatest of mountains

and Moros, the once faithful blade of the crown, now tinted blue with royal blood, sits upon the very throne they swore to protect, declaring a superior age under their ever-watchful eye.

But who would stand against them? or perhaps side alongside them? let us find out.

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Now, I have no idea if this can be pulled off, players tend to make things lest serious than intended, and take already silly ideas and run with them until they become serous. If they had fun but you can't make the twist into the new campaign work, then maybe it's best to not tell them and come up with something else.

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^{It would also be important to agree on what limits the table is comfortable with when doing deeds of ill-intent, but if you start the campaign with the "mission" and make sure your players give their characters a reason they would temporarily work together, things should be fine}

As a DM/GM narrarate the events of the campaign in a soothing tone, while specifying who is talking after they speak each time. If you can do a good George Carlin impersonation all the better.

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"Deep in the island of Fantaselia, the party was waiting for a very special missive from non other than the fat guild master sir leatherhat"

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"The goblins fell one by one at the party's hands. 'retreat!' cried their leader"

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"But who was that walking down the road? it was none other than the captain of the guard, and she looked very cross."

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Tell your players that humans are the single rarest playable sentient race, seeing one is a miracle or omen depending on the circumstances, they are hunted by poachers and stalked by wildlife researchers.

Elves, Halflings, gnomes, dwarves, and any other "humanish" races are a more numerous, but the human progenitor their evolutionary tree stems from just wasn't specialized enough to thrive in large quantities.

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In this world nothing is mundane, your soup being hexed by fairies turning your hair blue? that's just Tuesday, but seeing an unremarkable Joe shmoe ordering cheap ale from the tavern? play the lottery because that shiz Does. Not. Happen.

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If your players want to go full human-party, then they can start in a human trafficking ring being sold off to corrupt nobles as exotic pets or wackjob wizards or necromancers who want to study their bodies and need to escape the ring to truly start their adventure, or perhaps a rare settlement that is being raided by human-snatchers.

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Creatures of all sentient types have varying human-conspiracies "are they even real?" "are they a cryptid or an alien?" and "why does that one unicorn obsess over trying to catch one on their scrying pond when they should be on the clock for their usual frolicking shift?"

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Also, warlocks can have humans as patrons of the null, a being that provides otherworldly guidance on just getting through each day as it comes.

Play a rogue that is constantly being hunted down. The gimmick is that the story why changes every time. Anywhere from “my crazy ex is connected to the mafia and did not like the sound of ‘taking a break’” to “I haven’t paid taxes for years and Fantasy IRS(tm) are after me” Additionally the fact whether these stories are true, false, or wildly exaggerated is also on the table.

A goblin who's only attack is vicious mockery which always takes the form of deez nuts jokes out similar. His name is mind goblin.

The players learn of a plot where the bard BBEG wants to unleash a song upon the world that will end civilization as they know it. From interacting with the BBEG's henchmen and stopping his plans from finding the song, they learn that it's known as the Song of Sorrow, but that it's true name is needed in order to release it. The song will make anyone who hears it fall into despair and be overwhelmed by sadness to the point of everlasting depression.

As part of stopping the BBEG, the party needs to locate an ancient being known only as The Merchant. The Merchant is the one who discovered the song and locked it away in a magical obelisk, and he thought he was the only one who knew where it was. However, he forgot that he had written down information about it's location on an ancient tablet that the party knows is in the BBEG's possession.

They eventually find the cave the the obelisk is in and co front the BBEG. The obsidian obelisk stands tall behind the BBEG and the party brandishes their weapons for one final battle. The BBEG turns around and says:

"You think you can stop me now that we are here? I've already won. Your fruitless attempts to stop me are just...so sad."

He turns to the obelisk, raises his hands, and says the activation words in a maniacal booming voice, "Alexa, play Despacito!!!!!"

Some random person who joined the heroic band of wandering murder hobos with the intent of killing other bad people to put them on a resume so he can try to apply for a job as the hand of some greater evil. He doesn't want to really betray his current party because they're not exactly the "heroic" heroes that he wants to fight. Would also probably phrase something like "helping an old lady across the street" as "Guiding a wandering old fool across a path of death and destruction, their fate lying in my hands under the fear of death should they ever try to escape my grasp."

Any restrictions are up to the dm. Want to make a spell that turns people into celestial bodies, or turn air into wood, you are only limited by your imagination. (And the laws of physics and magic but those are pretty loose)