You could always look at video games for side quests. WoW is a good example, Diablo, Everquest, Ultima. All of these games have no ends to the types of quests they have.
Things you can look at doing: Search and Destroy Type: Go somewhere kill somebody. Destroy the facility at location x, Courier Type: Take object x to destination y. Go somewhere collect object x, Protect/Escort Type: Protect someone or stand your ground for n amount of time. Ensure NPC gets to destination y, Explore Type: Uncover the map. Find somebody or something. Follow the clues. Respond to hot/cold type messages, Find a certain person, Find a person and battle, Find an item, Find the next town Mission: Village raid, Description: The village is swarmed with bandits....and you have to do like 3 fights killing bandits in the village. Then you get on your robotic medevil horse and chase after the bandit leader who flees. Then its a turn based battle side by side on horses, you could use potions and magic here or just slash at him, Obstacle Course