10. Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh
The heroes battle against the bats of a mysterious manor.
Created for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, this adventure revolved around an abandoned mansion on the outskirts of the town of Saltmarsh. Adventurers uncover strange clues and leads from 1st to 3rd levels. Eventually, the adventurers discover the source of these strange occurrences in Saltmarsh and then do battle against the dangerous denizens that lurk in the waters and mists of Saltmarsh.
- It is an excellent adventure for low level adventurers.
- It is the first of three modules that surround the town of Saltmarsh. The story can continue if the players are having fun.
- The eerie scenes of Saltmarsh are unforgettable, from ghostly ships to secret alchemical labs.
9. Ruins of Undermountain
What dangerous traps and creatures lurk down in the bowels of the earth?
Less of a dungeon and more of a dungeon complex, this adventure was a behemoth of information when it was published for the second edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Packed with seven dungeons that could either be run in its preferred setting of Undermountain or dropped into any other world, this adventure had everything a party needed for a dungeon crawl. On top of that, this box set came with player and dungeon master aids, ensuring that the mountain of information could all be easily accessible.
- Perfect for the long-running and incredible games that weave an epic and unforgettable tale.
- Challenges face both the players and their characters as both the monsters and the dungeon itself in all of its terrifying grandeur.
- With four full-color maps, an adventure book, and another tome simply detailing the history and dungeon layout of Undermountain, the sheer amount of information makes it hard to not get caught up in the game.
8. Desert of Desolation
Under the watchful eyes of long dead pharoahs, can you conquer the shifting sands of the desert?
A compilation of three modules, this adventure contains some of the best desert dungeons that have ever graced the pages behind a dungeon master’s screen. The Egyptian style adventures have the players investigating trap-filled pyramids, solving a kidnapping in an oasis, and an epic quest through a multi-level tomb to resurrect a powerful wizard.
- With mummies, djinn, and pyramids it is an amazing adventure that pays homage to the Egyptian cultures and mythology that led to it.
- Temples and tombs galore in this compilation of adventures, each that has their own flair and style. No matter how many dungeon delves the players go through, there will always be something new to encounter beneath the sands.
- From surviving the dry and scorching sands of the desert to navigating the society that springs up around the oasis, there is something in these adventures for everyone
7. Red Hand of Doom
The dragon swoops down over the hobgoblin hordes as you and your party members wonder how you will survive.
This adventure marketed as a generic game that could be dropped into any fantasy setting, the epic story behind the Red Hand of Doom made this anything but generic. It was created to take players weeks to months to complete and the story ends on a climax to make all of the time worth it. Set in a sparsely populated frontier, the adventurers are soon put face to face with a band of hobgoblins that serve the great dragon goddess Tiamat. It is a race against overwhelming odds to save the people of the frontier and to keep the darkness of the hobgoblin hordes at bay.
- It features the immensely popular and incredibly hateable NPC villain, the half-dragon Azarr Kul. A villain both fun to play through for the dungeon master and a villain satisfying to fight, it is an excellent addition to the story.
- With battles against not only hobgoblins but giants and dragons, the players will be kept on their toes, wondering what the next threat will entail.
- While the challenge of stopping the massive horde of hobgoblins can be daunting, the resulting stories will be memorable, whether the heroes win or lose.
6. Keep on the Borderlands
Keep the frontier safe and use a fortress as your home base as you fight the creatures beyond civilization.
Created by Gary Gygax, this adventure was designed for new players and had all the hallmarks of great games. Featuring both a keep that functioned as a base of operations and a network of caves that hold dangerous denizens is a great balance of threat and safety for new players. Plot twists abound show the myriad of stories that role-playing games can tell and draw the players emotionally into this amazing adventure.
- Using both dungeon crawls through the caves and small adventures in the surrounding wilderness, it is a great opportunity to see all the areas that Dungeons & Dragons excels at.
- It has undergone a number of reprints into more recent systems. No matter what edition of Dungeons & Dragons a group is playing, Keep on the Borderlands is a great adventure to bring to the table.
- Not just made for new player characters, this adventure has a number of great tips for the fledging dungeon master in order for you to flesh out your skills.
5. Isle of Dread
Travel back to when dinosaurs roamed the earth and test your mettle against these prehistoric beasts.
With most of the adventures early in Dungeons & Dragons focused on dungeon crawls, hence the name, this adventure was designed to use wilderness encounters. It does only have a simple plot involving a mysterious island with a temple at the heart of it causing all manner of weirdness to unfold. This adventure shows that simple can still be immensely fun with the standard tropical island fare of pirates and treasure making appearances.
- Prehistoric creatures appear in the adventure making it a wonderful time for your characters to test their mettle against dinosaurs.
- The ending creatures that occupy the temple have strange mental abilities which will stick with your players no matter their experience.
- With a number of different reprints into different editions of Dungeons & Dragons, it is suitable for any table and any ruleset.
4. Temple of Elemental Evil
The ancient temple beckons to any foolish enough to traverse its demonic gates.
Known as one of the best dungeon crawls in Dungeons & Dragons history, this adventure starts at 1st level with tired, weary, and poor adventurers. As they force their way deeper into the dark motives and dungeons of the minions of the Elemental Evil, the adventurers grow in strength and riches. By the end of the adventure, they have grown strong enough to challenge the demon of the temple itself. With dungeons lauded for their incredible design and a story that has survived the test of time, this adventure is a great addition to the storybooks.
- Rated as the 4th greatest Dungeons & Dragons adventure of all time.
- Starting with facing bandits, then cultists, and building to a demon means the threat of the story is always real without feeling hopeless for your players.
- With the 1st level starting line, seeing your character grow in strength and riches is satisfying each time you sit down to continue the adventure.
3. Tomb of Horrors
Even the strong may not survive the gaping maw of the Tomb of Horrors. Tread lightly and keep your eyes peeled.
Likely one of the most known dungeons just based on name alone, the Tomb of Horrors has scared players who have not even walked its treacherous halls before. It was created by Gary Gygax himself to teach players who thought their characters were indestructible a lesson. Tomb of Horrors has a trove of traps, enemies, and challenges built for one reason and one reason only. Complete and total annihilation of characters.
- If you want to try to survive a dungeon crawl where players are encouraged to have a stack of back up characters ready, this is the challenge for you.
- Test your own characters against the mind of the creator, Gary Gygax, himself.
- Join the ranks of the victorious as you face the lich Acererak at the end of his Tomb of Horrors.
2. Ravenloft
As the all-knowing master of Barovia looks down upon you, will you take up the charge to bring light back into the land?
When writers Tracy and Laura Hickman came together with Dungeons & Dragons to create a gothic horror adventure, Ravenloft was born. Winning a number of awards, frequently near the top in all ranking lists for tabletop role-playing game adventures, and containing one of the most memorable villains in media, Ravenloft is an experience that all players must have at least once. Strahd von Zarovich is the vampire ruler of Barovia and he keeps the local populace under his rule of fear and terror. The adventurers enter Barovia and cannot escape. They only have one choice. Fight against the terrors of the night.
- A plot set by randomly drawing Tarot cards makes each adventure in Barovia new and exciting.
- The overall mood is dark and bleak. If you enjoy playing under stressful conditions and bringing the light of hope to those you rescue, this is a good chance to let that side of you shine.
- The villain himself, while abundantly evil, is motivated by his own sense of love and humanity. What follows is a gripping story that will not let you go until you are drained and done.
1. Queen of the Spiders
Be among the first to descend into the Underdark and take on the spider worshipping dark elves. In a world without light, can you stay alive long enough to succeed?
An adventure module that is part of a gargantuan campaign, Queen of the Spiders introduce the characters to the ethereal, strange, and dangerous depths of the Underdark. Involving the dark elven drow, this massive campaign eventually weaves its webs around the characters in the final battle against the goddess of spiders herself, Lolth. Queen of the Spiders can include up to seven parts, yielding a huge story full of facing evil, exploring the otherworldly caverns of the Underdark, and trying to keep your sanity in the unending tunnels of the drow.
- Involving fights against humans, giants, spiders, and elves, there is an enemy for any character’s taste. It never grows dull and becomes curiouser and curiouser as you uncover the threads that connect these seemingly disparate enemies.
- A number of dungeons populate the pages of this adventure, but each of them have their own secrets to uncover. From the flaming halls of the fire giants to the massive underground temple complex filled with strange fish people, there is always a new secret or stranger figure beyond the next curve.
- Ending in the Demonweb Pits, your characters, should they survive, will be able to say that they traveled to hell and back in order to save the world from the evil of the Spider Queen Lolth.
