Dungeons & Dragons is more popular than ever, with millions of players worldwide enjoying epic adventures and terrifying monstrous encounters. And while you can create your own adventures from scratch, the folks at Wizards of the Coast, who produce DnD, have created some fantastic pre-built campaigns that are ready to run.
Whether you’re looking for traditional fantasy landscapes, barren wintery deadlands, massive underground cities, or even an adventure on the high seas, these ten official campaign books will keep you busy for months to come. Game on!
Tales from the Yawning Portal
This is the first of two anthologies on this list, meaning that instead of one long campaign, the book is a collection of classic DnD adventures that have been updated to 5e. Dungeon Masters have two choices here: they can pick and choose smaller adventures to run individually, or they can link them together into one long campaign that features the Forgotten Realm’s most infamous tavern: the Yawning Portal.
Storm King’s Thunder
Annam All-Father, the god of giants, has disappeared, leaving the giant clans in conflict. Set in the Sword Coast region of the Forgotten Realms, players must discover what happened and save the land from these rampaging giant clans. This is a fast series of modular adventures that will take players from level 1 to 10, with an ending that your players will remember for the rest of their lives.
Ghosts of Saltmarsh
The second anthology on our list is set in the world of Greyhawk and has a distinct nautical flavor for players who want to face the high seas. Like Tales from the Yawning Portal, Dungeon Masters can run these adventures in a long arc or pick and choose them to run as smaller modules. Starting off in the town of Saltmarsh, players will face pirates, explore underwater cities, and find ancient magical artifacts. It’s a great alternative to land-based campaigns.
Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus
The city of Baldur’s Gate is under attack from demonic forces! Players must travel to Avernus, which is the first layer of the Nine Hells, and stop the fallen angel Zariel from enslaving the Forgotten Realms. They must also save the city of Elturel. Players will go from level 1 to 13 in this campaign and will face all sorts of fiery creatures and demons. This is a tough campaign, so new players may want to beware.
Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
A foul, never-ending winter has been magically cast over the land by the ice goddess Auril, and it’s up to the players to put an end to the curse. They will explore the Icewind Dale region, one of the most popular areas of the Forgotten Realms, thanks to the Legend of Drizzt books. There is plenty of mystery, combat, and exploration in this campaign. If you want a bleak and cold atmosphere, you can’t go wrong with Rime of the Frostmaiden.
Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen
Dragonlance is a legendary DnD franchise that has been mostly dormant since the third edition of the game. Thankfully, the creative minds behind the game have brought the franchise back with this campaign and an associated board game to handle massive battles. Players will grow from level 1 to 11 as they face draconian soldiers under the command of the evil dragon goddess Takhisis.
Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
Waterdeep is one of the most famous cities in the Forgotten Realms, along with Neverwinter and Baldur’s Gate. Dragon Heist is a shorter urban campaign, taking players from level 1 to 5. This is the perfect campaign for Dungeon Masters who are tired of big travel campaigns and want to focus on city factions and politics instead. That said, there are still plenty of monsters to encounter!
Curse of Strahd
Fans of Ravenloft are a shoo-in to enjoy this campaign that takes players from level 1 to 10, but anyone who loves gothic horror will thrive equally. Taking place in Barovia of the Domains of Dread, players are simply trying to escape this realm infested with undead monsters and terrifying creatures. But the real threat is the ruler of Barovia, none other than the vampire Count Strahd von Zarovich. Since Barovia exists in a different realm, players in this campaign can hail from any world… not just the standard Forgotten Realms setting.
Out of the Abyss
This campaign is classic Forgotten Realms fun and features one of the most notorious locations in the entire realm: the Underdark. Players begin the campaign as captives taken to the Underdark by dark elves. From levels 1 through 15, they will discover a deadly threat to the realms and must escape the massive underground domain. There is plenty of fighting, exploring, and roleplaying to be had here. It’s a massive campaign and easily one of the best for DnD 5e.
Tomb of Annihilation
If you have fond memories of the classic 1975 adventure module Tomb of Horrors, then you’ll definitely want to check out Tomb of Annihilation. It takes place in the jungles of Chult (part of the Forgotten Realms setting) and tasks players with stopping a deadly magical curse while exploring mysterious ruins. The campaign takes players from level 1 to 11 and features many fun encounters and puzzles. Players can also take part in dinosaur races… How cool is that?
GamerKoala is an Amazon Associate and may be eligible to earn from purchases
