One of the best aspects of Dungeons & Dragons is that your adventure can take place where you wish. Space, earth, a medieval fantasy world, or any place else your imagination can conjure up as an inspiring setting for the players to explore.

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While your setting can be entirely your own creation, there are also a number of settings created by D&D publishers Wizards Of The Coast over the years that have served as the backdrops for their many adventure modules. Several of these settings have become so popular that they're now synonymous with the Dungeons & Dragons experience.

8 Tomb Of Horrors

Dungeons and Dragons Tomb of Horrors by Jeff Dee
Tomb of Horrors by Jeff Dee

Tomb Of Horrors is a classic adventure from all the way back in the 1st edition days (Although it's been re-released with accommodations for nearly every edition since). Technically this isn't a setting, but a locale that can be placed within any of the other settings on this list.

Still, once players have entered the Tomb Of Horrors they'll discover a world all its own with more dangers around every corner than anywhere else on the surface. This is really a campaign within itself, hence its inclusion here, and it is a notoriously tough locale. Do not enter with any characters you're afraid to lose...

7 Mahasarpa

Dungeons and Dragons Mahasarpa Map
Mahasarpa by Rob Lazzaretti

There was a time, in the early days of the 21st century, when Dungeons & Dragons became strangely fixated with implementing east Asian classes, characters, and folklore into the game. This is by no means a bad thing if it's done well, and anyone who's interested in playing a campaign based in an ancient Asian-inspired fantasy land should look no further than Mahasarpa.

The exact cultures being drawn from are a mix of Indian, Chinese, Sri Lankan, and Cambodian. Sadly, this setting hasn't made a return for 5e yet, but it's out there if you're interested in running a campaign in this unique environment.

6 Eberron

Dungeons and Dragons Halfling Waiter Serving Ale In A Bar Beside Singers And Gamblers
Eberron Night Club by Suzanne Helmigh

Eberron is one of the newest official settings in Dungeons & Dragons (It came out in 2004, which doesn't sound that new, but there haven't been many new settings released over the last 18 years), and already it's made a lasting impression. What's unique about this world is its blend of fantasy and technology.

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While you still have the magical and fantasy elements D&D is known for, there's steampunk-esque technology like robots and aircraft. Not to mention the war-torn continent, fraught with high tension and espionage, gives the campaigns set within a gritty tone that can feel like a spy thriller or even a wild-west movie if the DM spins it right.

5 Forgotten Realms

artwork for Dungeons and Dragons Forgotten Realms
City of Splendors: Waterdeep by Scott M. Fischer

If you want to play a classic Dungeons & Dragons adventure in the high fantasy world of beasts and wizards that the pen and paper game is known for, the Forgotten Realms are where you seek. This is basically the "standard" setting for D&D and is most players' intro to the game.

The majority of the adventure modules published by Wizards Of The Coast are set in this land, which makes it probably the most expansive setting of all those listed here. You can go everywhere from the frozen wasteland of Icewind Dale high up north, down to the regal city of Waterdeep, or even farther south to the universally well-known Baldur's Gate. You will never run out of places to explore in the Forgotten Realms.

4 Feywild

artwork for Dungeons and Dragons Feywild the wild beyond the witchlight
Witchlight Carnival by Tyler Jacobson

If the Forgotten Realms aren't mystical enough for you, Feywild is the most magic-soaked plane of them all. Feywild is beyond the material plane - it's a world filled with fairies, whimsical magicians, and no shortage of other enchanting creatures.

Feywild is almost the antithesis to a setting like Ravenloft. Where Ravenloft is slogged in darkness, destitution, and one demented creature after the next, Feywild is charming and loaded with brightly colored locales and characters.

That doesn't mean there isn't danger to found, though. WoTC just released one of the 5th edition's best modules based in this setting.

3 Spelljammer

Spelljammer Ship by Bianca Morelos
Spelljammer by Bianca Morelos

Spelljammer is one of the most unique settings on this list, with endless possibilities brought up in its planet-hopping realms. The Spelljammer setting can almost best be surmised as "pirates meets sci-fi fantasy" with its blend of magical worlds and galaxy-traversing galleons.

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In this mixture of swashbuckling and magical space action, you can be a captain and crew traversing worlds on a high quest or a stowaway on a ship trying to find a safe world to call home. Sadly, Spelljammer hasn't been supported much by WoTC since D&D's 2nd edition. It's been a while since we got any original adventure modules set on the space-faring ships. Hopefully, the setting will make a major return at some point in the future.

2 Dark Sun

A foreboding landscape with warriors wielding weapons
Dark Sun by Brom

In many ways, the Dark Sun setting feels more like Dune than Middle Earth. It's a desert land and post-apocalyptic setting that will see you navigating around the hazards presented by marauders, slave traders, and corrupt tyrants that are almost scarier than the massive desert beasts that prey after the brutal sun has gone down.

If the standard fantasy setting in the Forgotten Realms and Mystara is growing tired to you, Dark Sun may be the place you want to seek adventure. Dark Sun has not been touched by WoTC in 5e, yet, but there have been mentions of it recently that have players excited about the possibility of a Dark Sun adventure coming in the future.

1 Ravenloft

artwork for Dungeons and Dragons Ravenloft curse of strahd
Creeping Hut by Jedd Chevrier

If you talk to a Dungeons & Dragons player or game master about their favorite campaigns, they're definitely going to gush about Strahd Von Zarovich's cursed lands. Ravenloft is the perfect setting for anyone who wants to lean as far as possible into the grotesque horrors of D&D.

Playing through a Ravenloft campaign, you'll probably notice where it's influenced a number of horror-fantasy worlds over the decades, like the equally gothic and twisted video game world of Bloodborne. Vampires, zombies, living puppets, and witches in sentient houses are just a few of the horrifying creatures you'll find in this gothic place. ​​​

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