Running Breather Episodes In D&D Campaigns

Breather sessions: a moment of respite

After a draining emotional session or a harrowing combat session in our D&D campaign, we can give us and our players a moment to breathe by running a breather or filler episode.

In TV shows, a breather episode is exactly that: an episode after an important episode. The breather episode has little to do with the main plot of the show. Instead, it gives viewers some time to relax before the show picks back up where they left off.

We can use the same concept of a breather episode in D&D. After a particularly nerve-wracking session, run a breather session.

TV tropes as a template for a D&D breather episode

The main thing about a breather episode is that it doesn’t continue the main threads of the campaign. There are a few tropes from TV shows which we can use as a template for breather sessions. We can let the characters go on a side quest, or we can switch the genre or theme for one session. We can also let players take on a different perspective by either letting them play their characters at a different moment in time or let them make new characters for one session and play as NPCs. All of these suggestions shake us out of the campaign’s “routine” to give us and the players a moment to breathe after an intense session.

20 ideas for D&D breather sessions

Here are some ideas for breather episodes in our D&D campaigns:

A side quest to hunt a monster for materials for a magic item
A side quest to help a beloved NPC
An arena session where PCs compete in multiple rounds of a monster-fighting tournament
PCs are invited to a fancy ball, but in the middle of it, they must deal with some drunk-raging nobles
A monster-hunting competition (e.g. who can collect the most giant spider mandibles in one afternoon)
Player characters take part in a town-wide contest in fantastic disciplines
An extended overland-travel session on the way back from the previous encounter with fun random encounters
A side quest which parodies the story of Jack and the Beanstalk
A side quest which mimics or parodies a fairy tale
A “vacation adventure” where PCs face some complications while on vacation
A bizarre adventure where characters must traverse a dream or drug-induced weird landscape
A what-if session where players face what would have happened had they lost the previous climactic encounter
A crime-fighting adventure where characters gain a temporary powerful ability (such as an epic boon) from a divine entity
An adventure with the player characters set before the beginning of the campaign (the PCs might be lower level for this)
A body-switching scenario where through some magical twist, the players play their PC but with the mechanics of another PC
One PC goes on an individual side quest together with NPCs played by the other players
Players play young admirers of the PCs who try their hand at adventuring
Players turn their favorite NPC into a player character and play an adventure with a party of NPCs
An adventure where the players play NPCs working for a villain
Players play an adventure as legendary or mythical NPCs of ancient tales from the campaign world (with new high-level characters)

Switch it up!

Ask your players whether they are interested in a breather session. Give them a few options to choose from at the end of a particularly intense session. Then, as a group, you can take a break from the intensity of your campaign while still staying within the campaign world.