Tempted to write a morality story? As exciting as an epic battle scene can be, sometimes the most impactful stories relate to internal battles instead—a character’s fight between doing right or wrong, upholding their values or succumbing to temptation. Here are 20 morality story ideas to get your creative juices flowing and your character fighting for what’s right.

What Makes a Good Morality Story?

Morality stories are one of the ten plot types we’ve been looking at. This type of story explores the value of right vs. wrong; however, unlike some other plot types, the ethical dilemma the central character faces sparks internal conflict rather than external conflict. Instead of the protagonist fighting an external “bad guy” (like in an action or adventure story), they’re fighting a battle within themselves.

The central character must decide whether to remain true to their values or give in to their greatest temptation, whether to sacrifice themselves or someone else, or do something they really don’t want to do for the greater good . . . or not.

Examples of this kind of story are Frozen (where Anna must choose whether to save herself or Elsa) and A Christmas Carol (where Scrooge must choose whether to remain as he is or change his greedy ways and focus on others).

For our full guide on how to write a morality story, check out our article here.

Now, let’s look at 20 morality story ideas to help push your character to their limit. What temptation will your character face today?

20 Tempting Morality Story Ideas

1. After being humiliated for the millionth time by their bully, a high school student is offered an incredible opportunity to reverse their misfortune. All they have to do is transfer everything going wrong in their life to someone else – their bully.
2. A struggling politician is given a second chance to achieve what they’ve always wanted. The catch? They must do it anonymously.
3. A group of college friends are enjoying a sleepover when one confesses a terrible secret. If the group tells anyone, their already vulnerable friend will suffer horrible consequences. But if they don’t, another innocent person may suffer. What will they do?
4. A shop assistant struggling to make ends meet is granted three wishes. They wish for wealth, power, and admiration. However, they soon realize the wishes come with a price—no matter what they get, they will always crave more. They cannot go back to how things were without giving up their wishes. What will they choose?
5. Eager to impress their new boss, an employee agrees to cover a certain, unpopular shift. Everything is going well until the employee discovers the boss didn’t just want them to cover the shift—they wanted them to cover for the boss as well while he does something really wrong. Do they keep quiet (and keep the job they so desperately need?) Or do they disrupt their boss’s shady plans?
6. Desperate for forgiveness after making a hurtful mistake, a teenager agrees to perform increasingly humiliating stunts in exchange for a clean slate. What will she do when it goes too far?
7. Two groups of adventurers race to find a life-changing amount of buried treasure. All is going well for one group until a member becomes trapped after a natural disaster. The rest of the group must then choose: the treasure or their new friend.
8. Two siblings meet for coffee, where the younger sister confesses to having a terrible problem. Will the older brother protect her, like he has tried to do every day since they were kids – or will he protect himself?
9. An otherworldly being forms a pact with a young man: every time the man fulfills one of the being’s requests, he’ll receive a mountain of money. If he refuses, he must pay instead. At first, the being only asks the man to do kind and helpful things for the community. Then, the requests change, and the man must choose between fulfilling the cruel requests or paying the price—one way or another.
10. A police officer who feels invisible and undervalued happens to be in the right place at the right time and is mistakenly believed to be a hero. They revel in the mistaken identity until the same situation occurs again. Do they confess, or do they try to claim their hero title for real (and risk failing)?

11. A worker near retirement age realizes he can pay for his beloved grandchild’s medical treatment—if he steals it from his rude and arrogant boss of nearly 20 years. Will he do it?
12. The passage of time glitches, and a man finds himself reliving the day he died. Does he use this second chance to save himself? Or is there someone else who needs saving instead?
13. A town receives a financial incentive for ensuring their neighbors “stay in line” and follow the seemingly benign rules the mayor sets out. Everyone is happy to oblige – except one.
14. A djinn grants a treasure hunter their greatest wish: infinite luck. But when the treasure hunter learns that their luck comes at the expense of someone else’s, they must decide what means more to them.
15. A fire fighter’s mentor makes a fatal mistake. Keeping the secret means the mentor can retire next month, as planned. But telling the truth could bring a grieving family the answers they desperately seek.
16.  In order to stop a wrongdoing, a worker must commit an equal, yet different, wrongdoing. What will they choose?
17. After years of torment, a young man comes up with the perfect revenge for his childhood bully . . . until he realizes his planned revenge will have consequences for more than just his bully.
18. A woman is given the opportunity for more power than she could have ever dreamed of. The catch? She must swear allegiance to an even more powerful person—and do whatever they ask her to do.
19. A teenage boy finds a strange object that grants his wishes. At first, everything is wonderful: he wishes for money, and everyone in the village wakes to riches. He wishes for food, and everyone in the village wakes to mountains of delicious delights. But then his wishes start to sour. When he wishes for money, skyrocketing bills come with it. When he wishes for food, it arrives spoiled. The only exception is the money and food that arrives in his house. Does he continue using the object, knowing he is the only one who benefits from it now? Or will he get rid of it for the greater good?
20. After many failures, a desperate worker falsely claims credit for a project. They receive the compensation and validation they desperately want, but when they discover the actual worker who deserves it, they must decide whether to keep their ill-gotten gains . . .  or give it back to the real deserving party and face the consequences of their lie.

We hope you enjoyed exploring these 20 morality story ideas.

What is your favorite morality story? Let us know in the comments!