Bored of the same old trope of a travelling band of mercenaries, that owe some sort of debt, as your Sci-Fi campaign? Let's take some inspiration from existing work and come up with new ideas.

While I'm describing these campaign ideas for a Sci-Fi setting, you could most likely make them work in a fantasy setting as well.

1. Going Places

A classic plot in fiction is the Travelogue. Somebody has to go from point A to B. And what happens between these two points is what is interesting for the viewer or reader. This type of plot goes back to ancient China with Journey to the West, but you might be more familiar with a more contemporary story: The Lord of the Rings.

In this campaign you're travelling thus from one point to another. This could have different hooks:

• Far from Home: Think Star Trek: Voyager. Your crew got stranded in an unknown part of space and has to find a way home.
• There's treasure to be had: One Piece or Treasure Island but in space (hey the idea is not so far off, Disney had the same idea years ago). Race to some hidden planet or artifact in the vastness of space.
• Return the MacGuffin: Here we go into the classic Lord of the Rings territory. It's the journeys of Sam and Frodo. Safe the universe by returning something very important.

2. Galaxy in Peril

A classic hexcrawl can also fit in a Sci-Fi setting. Focus on a small part of the universe. A small sector. But there are multiple problems brewing in this part of the galaxy. Your crew is part of some sort of peace-keeping force.

The problems can be political in nature. Or even teeter to the strange. An inspiration is Mythic Bastionland. Instead of knights you can have some ancient order (*cough* Jedi *cough*) that has to handle these issues.

You can even go a bit more into the darker side, and imagine a universe like Warhammer 40k. Humanity has scattered so much, that communication between different colonies is very hard. So everybody has to fend for themselves. There's chaos streaming in everywhere so somebody has to keep stuff at bay.

This kind of campaign also lends itself to a West Marches style of a campaign.

3. In the dark forest

One of my all-time favourite television show is Stargate SG-1. And this lends itself to a campaign naturally. Humanity just discovered some form of FTL or other means of exploring the vastness of space. But there's already a force, that tries to subjugate all other species in the universe. Now it is up to your team of adventurers to find ways to defend themselves against this enemy. They can travel to other planets to find ancient technology, allies or more information about the enemy.

Alternatively you can also play the very beginning of human exploration of space. Go out find new civilizations or claim new planets for the ever expanding human race. Of course, not everyone will be happy about this. The players can be part of a colonization force, that tries to find a new suitable planet for colonization.

Which brings us organically to ...

4. They're right behind us

The enemy proved to be far too strong to handle. Humanity is about to be extinct and now only a handful of ships remain. If this sounds familiar, well this is pretty much the premise of Battlestar Galactica. Or in a smaller scope, you can even think yourselves on the run, similar to FTL.

As a new dimension you now also have to keep track of a fleet of survivors. So the first priority becomes in finding resources and keeping as many people alive as possible. But also a way to either defeat your pursuers or at least get them off your scent. You have a limited time on planets to explore, before you have to reunite with the fleet and jump ahead.

5. A safe place to stay

Or get into an even more political nature. Babylon 5 was an exceptional series (man, I miss the 90s). Political intrigue, conspiracy, some old prophecy and military conflict. The show had it all. And all centred around a single space station.

You don't need to prepare hundreds of planets and star systems. Factions are more in the forefront and a strong conflict that produces tension, that only you can resolve.

This type of campaign tends to be more about diplomacy and political intrigue. But you can still have some exploration outside of the station. Some missions to retrieve something, send a diplomatic party or end a military conflict.