Dungeons & Dragons has been around since 1974 when Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson created it as an alternative to traditional tabletop wargames. Each player made a fantasy character and then the dungeon master guided them through a story, testing their mettle against monsters and NPCs.

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Some DMs built their own stories from the ground up, but D&D also has a long history of releasing pre-stories and settings for characters to explore. These adventures vary wildly in theme, tone, and sometimes quality, but here are some of the best D&D adventures of all time.

Updated March 17, 2023, by Kristy Ambrose: As long as adventurers are willing to take them on, there are always going to be new D&D modules to discover and explore. The library of the Dungeons & Dragons universe is filled to bursting as it is, and modules keep appearing from a variety of sources, both official and homebrew. Some of the player's manuals and most popular boxed sets come with adventures that have dominated the adventuring scene, but there are other adventures hidden in anthologies, lost to time, or available as PDF files, and plenty is available for gamers on a budget, even free of charge.

21 The Light Of Xaryxis

Light of Xaryxis key art by Ekaterina Burmak
Light of Xaryxis key art by Ekaterina Burmak
  • Date Published: August 16th, 2022
  • Written By: Jeff Grubb
  • Levels: 5-8

The whole Spelljammer anthology uses a space-opera aesthetic to put a new twist on the old style of medieval European D&D adventures. Add some pirate intrigue to that, and you have The Light of Xaryxis module.

This unique adventure is designed to take characters through an episodic storyline as their characters progress, with each exciting chapter ending on a cliffhanger. It's part of a much larger boxed set that contains even more options for the sci-fi-minded hero, Spelljammer: Adventures in Space. These adventures have been in circulation since the late '80s, but only recently were they released as part of a boxed set that also included a bestiary and an Astral Adventurers Guide.

20 Critical Role: Call Of The Netherdeep

adventurers gather in angelic wings against sea serpent
Critical Role Call of the Netherdeep Cover Art by Minttu Hynninen
  • Date Published: March 15, 2022
  • Written By: James J. Haeck, Makenzie De Armas, LaTia Jacquise, Cassandra Khaw, and Sadie Lowry.
  • Levels: 3-12

The most recent entry in the D&D adventure library, Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep stands alone as its own adventure, as the Dungeon Master decides, but it's also intended to tie in with the second season of the web series Critical Role. There's a ticking clock as well, with a rival party after the same goal as the main characters.

There's a lot of story and lore to discover here, and the D&D module is an extensive one that's intended to take an average character from 3rd to 12th level. Part of what makes this module great is the sheer amount of fun things to do in this unique setting, which mixes fantasy and horror with an underwater theme.

19 The Isle Of Dread

one eyed mage surrounded by eldritch tentacles with eyes
Reality Break Spell by Brian Valeza 
  • Date Published: 1981
  • Written By: David Cook and Tom Moldvay
  • Levels: 4-14

This classic D&D module is probably one of the most widely circulated D&D adventures in history. This is because a copy of the adventure was included in the D&D Expert Set. Along with this new scope, The Isle of Dread gives players and dungeon masters a completely new type of gameplay focus: wilderness exploration.

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Most D&D adventures up to this point were of the dungeon-crawling variety. The Isle of Dread, however, was a vast tropical island for characters to explore. The overall plot isn't very deep, but what sets this module apart is the freedom players have. They're welcome to go anywhere on the island, encounter several civilizations (of human and nonhuman races), and battle against new monsters like "kopru," and even dinosaurs.

18 Book Of The Raven

Dungeons and Dragons Book of the Raven - Chained Library
The Chained Library via Wizards of the Coast
  • Date Published: March 16th, 2021
  • Written By: Christopher Perkins
  • Levels: 3rd level

One of the many adventures included in the Candlekeep Mysteries anthology, this is one of the modules intended for lower-level players. To add to the creative intrigue of this unique module, you can only find it while researching the Vistani. other planar travelers, and possible routes into and out of the Shadowfell. A raven could also bring the book to you, and should the party choose, they can use the treasure map hidden within to create their own adventure instead of using the existing one.

The Book of the Raven doesn't have a title, but the backstory about how it arrived in the Candlekeep library involves a raven, hence the obvious name. The book is written like a diary, detailing the story of a young woman, how she broke her leg, and her rescue by a kind group of passing Visanti. The story comes to a mysterious ending outside of a dark castle.

17 Expedition To The Barrier Peaks

Dragons fly near a crumbling citadel in D&D
Dragonlance - Shadow of the Dragon Queen Chapter 6 City of Lost Names Opener by Wizards of the Coast
  • Date Published: 1980
  • Written By: Gary Gygax
  • Levels: 8-12

When you picture a Dungeons & Dragons game, you probably have a very specific aesthetic in mind. Classic sword and sorcery fare, complete with pseudo-medieval Europe vibes. What made Expedition to the Barrier Peaks so special was it took that classic feeling and threw it headfirst into a science fiction setting.

Characters in this D&D module set off into the mountains to find the source of the monsters plaguing a nearby duchy. Instead of a cave, what they find is the entrance to a crashed spaceship, still full of semi-functional robots and other alien creatures. This makes for such a unique and memorable adventure, that many old-school players still count it among their favorites.

16 Castle Amber

artwork for Dungeons and Dragons Forgotten Realms
City of Splendors: Waterdeep by Scott M. Fischer
  • Date Published: 1981
  • Written By: Tom Moldvay
  • Levels: 3-6

The second adventure to be designed for use with the Expert Set, this module embroils characters in the drama of the Amber family. The party is drawn to a castle surrounded by a thick, deadly mist. The mist is the result of a curse laid by the dead wizard Stephen Amber, as a punishment for his family for murdering him. Of course, it also traps the players' characters. The only way to escape is to explore the castle, frequently encountering the rest of the Amber family, who seem to be a few scrolls short of a spellbook.

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The chaotic nature of the module didn't appeal to everyone. Some players considered it too random, where a literal roll of the dice could be deadly for the entire party. The D&D module has been described as similar to the work of both Edgar Allen Poe and Lovecraft. Despite the brutal difficulty, many still love the adventure for the atmosphere of the setting.

15 The Sunless Citadel

Adventuring party with a healing priest flanked by two melee fighters. Sunless Citadel, D&D module 3e
Sunless Citadel, D&D module 3e cover art by Todd Lockwood
  • Date Published: 2000
  • Written By: Bruce Cordell
  • Levels: 1st and up

Players more interested in a traditional D&D experience will enjoy The Sunless Citadel, especially if they're getting used to the myriad of changes that came with the 3rd edition. The game is straightforward to keep the learning curve less traumatic, which is ideal for players not only new to this edition but to the game entirely.

Experienced players might get bored, but the underlying story is fairly interesting, a step up from the usual generic fantasy adventure. That being said, however, this module has a generic dungeon with a not-so-generic dragon at the end.

14 The Sinister Secret Of Saltmarsh

ghosts of saltmarsh cover art aquatic d&d art
Ghosts of Saltmarsh cover art via Wizards Of The Coast
  • Date Published: 1981
  • Written By: Dave J. Browne and Don Turnbull
  • Levels: 1-3

The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh was an introduction to a brand-new underwater campaign. Players explore the sinister haunted mansion on the outskirts of a town called Saltmarsh and learn the secrets of the evil alchemist that lived there.

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The D&D module incorporated horror elements but framed it as more of a mystery that players were trying to solve. It placed a lot of focus on investigation and problem-solving instead of run-of-the-mill dungeon crawling.

13 The Wild Beyond The Witchlight

artwork for Dungeons and Dragons Feywild the wild beyond the witchlight
Witchlight Carnival by Tyler Jacobson
  • Date Published: September 21, 2021
  • Written By: Chris Perkins, Stacey Allan, Will Doyle, and Ari Levitch
  • Levels: 1-8

The first D&D adventure to take place in the various planes of reality that make up the Feywild, the players are tasked with defeating the evil hags seeing to overthrow the good archery, and Dungeon Masters take them through various planes of altered reality on their journey.

It's not just the unique adventure and setting that make this one of the best D&D adventures, but also the new additions to the D&D lore in the form of two new playable races; the Fairy and the Harengon. Other new additions include the ability to resolve virtually every conflict with a non-violent solution.

12 Castle Greyhawk

Expeditions to the Ruins of Greyhawk cover art by Michael Komarck
Expeditions to the Ruins of Greyhawk cover art by Michael Komarck
  • Date Published: 1988
  • Written By: Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson
  • Levels: 1-25

It seems like a safe, almost stereotypical D&D adventure at first, but then you start to notice the weird inside jokes, parodies, and strangely familiar characters. It's worth playing just to get into the history of this module, which was created by Gary Gygax himself for personal use with family and friends way back in the '70s.

It wasn't until the late '80s that an official Castle Greyhawk module was released by D&D, and by then it was so chock full of puns, pop culture references, and even a few measured shots at Gygax himself that it put some players off. Updated versions of the D&D module, entitled Greyhawk Ruins and Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk, take a more serious tone and eliminate the more cheesy comedy.

11 Desert Of Desolation

D&D Candlekeep Mysteries - House of the All-Seeing Orb by Sidharth Chaturvedi - A Canopic Golem
House of the All-Seeing Orb by Sidharth Chaturvedi
Canopic Golem via Wizards of the Coast
  • Date Published: 1983
  • Written By: Tracy and Laura Hickman
  • Levels: 5-7

The Desert of Desolation trilogy collected the stand-alone adventures Pharoah, Oasis of the White Palm, and Lost Tomb of Martek. The Hickmans originally published the first adventure privately, but when they hit some financial trouble, they decided to sell them to D&D publisher TSR. Instead, TSR decided to hire Tracy as a game designer.

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The Desert of Desolation module was presented and formatted so excellently that it became the standard way to present encounters for later third-edition adventures. While the first adventure Pharoah was more of a typical dungeon crawl, the sequels established a backstory and atmosphere that elevated the entire series.

10 Queen Of The Spiders

The Spider Queen is sitting on a throne flanked by two trollish guards, an Illithid and another human.
Queen of the Spiders, cover art by Keith Parkinson
  • Date Published: 1986
  • Written By: Gary Gygax
  • Levels: 8-14

Commonly referred to as a "super module," Queen of the Spiders collects a grand total of seven previous adventures in a massive campaign. It starts with the modules comprising Against the Giants, which you might be familiar with if you picked up the recent 5e book Tales from the Yawning Portal.

At the end of that module, players are introduced to the plotting drow priestess Eclavdra, and the following adventures chronicle the adventurers' descent into the Underdark. It all culminates in the lair of the drow's patron goddess, Lolth. This series of adventures introduced both drow and the Underdark into the D&D canon, and both remain popular elements of many campaigns to this day.

9 Reavers Of Harkenwold

A soldier with a mace and a banner approaches a burning building. 
Cover Art, Reavers of Harkenwold, by Adam Gullespie and Ben Wootten
  • Date Published: October 19, 2010
  • Written By: Richard Baker and Christopher Perkins
  • Levels: 2-3

It's a small D&D module that's included as part of the Dungeon Master's Kit, and since this particular bit of literature is on the "Essentials" materials list for DMs, most players might already own a copy of this and don't even know it. There are two parts to this adventure, so there's enough for the players to do but not too much for a DM to digest.

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The setting, Herkenwold, is being crushed under the boot of a local tyrant, and only the heroes of the adventuring party can stop them. It's a simple, almost hackneyed premise, but there's a lot of room to be creative, and if the players are fairly new, an uncomplicated story is one of the best D&D modules to lower the learning curve.

8 Icewind Dale: Rime Of The Frostmaiden

ice wind dale snowy owlbear and art
Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden Cover Art via Wizards of the Coast
  • Date Published: September 15, 2020
  • Written By: Chris Perkins, Stacey Allan, Bill Benham, et al.
  • Levels: 1-12

This module has all of the hallmarks of a classic D&D adventure, plus the added challenge of cold-weather survival and an equally chilling horror theme. In Rime of the Frostmaiden, your party opens a crack in a glacier that leads to the dungeon known as the Caves of Hunger.

Part of the adventure is discovering what's been hidden here, but you can bet some nice loot is waiting at the end of this frosty, haunted labyrinth. Beyond the dungeon, you can explore the whole region of Ten Towns and the secrets that lie beneath the snow.

7 The Temple Of Elemental Evil

Dungeons & Dragons people kneeling in dark, foreboding alleyway
Shadowfell Via Wizards of the Coast
  • Date Published: 1985
  • Written By: Gary Gygax and Frank Mentzer
  • Levels: 1-8

Gary Gygax published a D&D module in 1979 called The Village of Hommlet, which was a fully detailed village where a party could base an entire campaign. Six years later, a follow-up to the adventure added the titular Temple of Elemental Evil, a five-level dungeon with over 200 possible encounters.

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The adventure became the new standard for "dynamic dungeons." Not simply dungeon crawls, The Temple of Elemental Evil was a dungeon chock full of intelligent monsters and NPCs. These NPCs would react to incursions by the player characters, fortifying and strategizing as necessary. Not to mention there were a total of four factions competing for control of the temple that players needed to keep tabs on, making for an enthralling web of conspiracy.

6 White Plume Mountain

Dungeons and Dragons White Plume Mountain map art
White Plume Mountain art via Wizards of the Coast
  • Date Published: 1979
  • Written By: Lawrence Schick
  • Levels: 5-10

If you're a DM or player that would rather have a modern fairy tale-type adventure that's defined by loot and wacky magical beings, White Plume Mountain is one of the best choices of all the D&D modules. This module still has all of the things that make D&D great, such as ruined dungeons and magical, overpowered weapons.

What sets it apart is epic set pieces like erupting volcanoes, enchanted traps, and weird monsters. It's not an adventure for more serious players, but not everyone is up for the Tomb of Annihilation.

5 Keep On The Borderlands

D&D: Savalirwood with shadowy figures lurking in the dark woods.
Savalirwood by Jonah Baumann
  • Date Published: 1979
  • Written By: Gary Gygax
  • Levels: 1-3

Perhaps one of the first adventure modules players encountered, thanks to its inclusion in the D&D Basic Set, helped define the iconic picture of the game. Players were based at the eponymous Keep and could make multiple forays into the nearby Caves of Chaos.

The caves were notoriously deadly and unpredictable and notably didn't scale based on depth. Party-killing encounters could be found on the very first level alongside much easier goblins and kobolds. While it might not have depth later adventures would adopt, it can't be ignored as one of the best archetypes for every dungeon crawler to follow.

4 Tomb Of Horrors

D&D Tales From The Yawning Portal - Entrance To The Tomb Of Horrors - A Fighter Listening Through A Locked Door
Tales From The Yawning Portal Via Wizards Of The Coast / Locked Door By Olga Drebas
  • Date Published: 1978
  • Written By: Gary Gygax
  • Levels: 10-14

Here it is, the most infamous module in the history of D&D. Created by Gygax specifically to put overpowered characters in their place, Tomb of Horrors is not designed to be bested. In fact, it's intended to kill you.

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Supposedly a puzzle dungeon, most of the "puzzles" are so opaque that there's little way to know what you've done wrong until you're already rolling a new character. The very definition of a meat grinder, you might want to have several reserve character sheets if your DM whips out this terrible tomb.

3 The Ruins Of Undermountain

D&D The Essentials Kit - Dragon Of Icespire Peak - Icespire Hold Map
Icespire Hold Map Via Wizards Of The Coast
  • Date Published: 1991
  • Written By: Ed Greenwood
  • Levels: 1st and up

There are dungeon crawlers and mega-dungeons, and then there's the final word on mega-dungeons, the adventure of Undermountain. This dungeon is so massive that it touches on other famous locations in the D&D universe, literally located under both the city of Waterdeep and the famous Yawning Portal Tavern.

At least, those are the two most commonly used entry points. The most recent incarnation of this module in the 5e edition is entitled The Dungeon of the Mad Mage and it consists of 23 harrowing levels.

2 Rise Of Tiamat

D&D Tiamat Awakening and about to breathe some fire while a wizard stands on the ground in front
The Rise of Tiamat Cover Art by Tyler Jacobson
  • Date Published: 2014
  • Written By: Kobold Press writing team
  • Levels: 8-15

A sequel to Horde of the Dragon Queen, The Rise of Tiamat continues the party's battle against some of the most fearsome dragons in D&D history. Tiamat is more than a dragon with five heads; she's an entity with the power of a god and the queen and mother of all evil dragons.

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Both volumes were released together as an anthology entitled Tyranny of Dragons, and for those adventurers that want an old-school fire-breathing serpent-fighting module, it's one of the best D&D has to offer. The Horde of the Dragon Queen takes characters from levels 1 to 7, and the next module in the series continues seamlessly at level 8.