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Many Dungeons and Dragons groups default to playing long campaigns composed of interlocking adventures and running storylines. This can be a great way to play D&D, but it’s far from the only way. Some groups have rotating members or only meet every once in a while, making an episodic structure more optimal.
Luckily, there are hundreds of published D&D adventures out there that accommodate just this style of play. These adventures are designed to allow players to get a full experience in just one sitting, with story beats all wrapped up at the end. They work great as one-shots for groups who won’t necessarily play together again or to fill in a night when some players are missing.
10 Kobold Hall Is A Great Starter Scenario
The introductory adventure found in the 4th Edition Dungeon Master’s Guide is short and sweet and delivers everything a good dungeon should. Characters are tasked with putting a stop to a series of kobold raids by investigating their lair in the ruins of an old manor house. The kobolds utilize their pet drakes, along with dart and boulder traps, to keep the characters at bay.
One of the adventure’s highlights is a tetherball-like game the kobolds play that involves trying to knock characters into a pit of slime with a heavy weight suspended from the ceiling. “Kobold High” culminates with a battle against a young white dragon, giving players a taste of one of the game’s most iconic monsters.
9 Goblin Arrows Can Easily Be Made To Stand On Its Own
Though “Goblin Arrows” is only the first chapter of the bigger 5th Edition adventure The Lost Mines of Phandelver, it actually makes a great adventure on its own. The full adventure has the characters escorting a shipment to the city of Phandalin on behalf of their patron, Gundren Rockseeker, when they are ambushed by a goblin raiding party. To finish the adventure in one night, the Dungeon Master can simply have Gundren be in the goblin cave, rather than needing to find him later. This small dungeon is surprisingly dense with traps, terrain, and enemies that make it a great challenge for a single session.
8 Save The Holidays In The Longest Night
First published in Dragon Magazine and later reprinted in Dragon Magazine Annual, this holiday-themed adventure is equal parts fun and challenging. “The Longest Night” features the Barony of Harkenwold, a small region beset by a red dragon named Cazakk the Blessed.
Each winter solstice, Cazakk flies throughout the Barony collecting a tax of gifts like a twisted D&D parody of Santa Claus. The characters are tasked with slaying him, which will likely involve tracking him to his lair in an old watchtower. They will need to contend with dragonborn, abishai, and hoard scarabs to save the holiday.
7 The Ruins Of Castle Korvald Is Full Of Classic Enemies
Published in the 4E sourcebook Draconomicon: Chromatic Dragons, “The Ruins of Castle Korvald” has lots of iconic D&D monsters to fill out an evening of adventuring. The young white dragon Khekolak has taken up residence in a ruined castle and allied with a nearby orc tribe to take over the area. The castle is located atop a mountain, so reaching it is a task all itself, and falling is an ever-present danger. Along with the dragon and his orc allies, the castle is infested with carrion crawlers, gelatinous cubes, and ancient homunculi to keep characters on their toes.
6 Negotiate A Truce In A Dish Best Served Cold
Functioning as an easy dovetail into the Storm King’s Thunder campaign, “A Dish Best Served Cold” turns the tables and has the characters working to broker peace between a town and their frost giant neighbors. A group of monster hunters called the Blood Riders kidnaps a young frost giant, endangering a long-lasting treaty between the giants and the village of Stagwick. The adventure has a good mix of exploration, roleplaying, and combat, making it a great self-contained experience.
5 In Volo’s Wake Is Fun Damage Control
Part of the Adventurers League lead-up to the release of Volo’s Guide to Monsters, “In Volo’s Wake” is actually made up of six mini-adventures. It takes place after the titular Volothamp Geddarm, commonly known as Volo, travels through the town of Phandalin doing research for his new book.
The book’s success brings a wave of tourism to Phandalin, along with heaps of trouble. The modular nature of this adventure makes it easy to play for as little or as long as the group needs.
4 A Wizard Is Horror Through And Through
Despite its simple title, A Wizard is a terrifying adventure scenario that is equal parts Alien and The Thing. The initial hook is familiar; go to the evil wizard’s tower and defeat him to save the town. But what awaits the characters there is a den of horror and monstrosities to terrify even the most seasoned adventurers. The adventure is written to be compatible with a variety of OSR games, so some tweaking may be necessary to adjust the stats to match any given system. A Wizard can be found on the designer’s itch.io page.
3 The Curse Of Dread Pirate Zarr Is Swashbuckling To The Max
This nautical-themed adventure has the characters investigating the undead pirate captain Zarr. He is wreaking his revenge on the town after its navy executed him, or so the story goes. The Dread Pirate himself has a fairly complex history to uncover, and it becomes quickly apparent that there is more to the story than the navy is letting on. The adventure is designed to be easily read on a smartphone and contains very helpful and intuitive internal links to make navigation a breeze. The Curse of the Dread Pirate Zarr is available on itch.io.
2 1-6 Oozes In The Dark Is Short And Sweet
Oozes take center stage in this 5E hex-crawl, as the name suggests. The characters set out into a series of caves in search of treasure and are met with a colony of gray oozes intent on devouring them and their equipment.
The module also contains a small random encounter table to complicate travel between cave entrances, as well as a list of treasures and notable locals. A beautiful print-and-play version can be found on itch.io, published by Deus Ex Minima.
1 Bakto’s Terrifying Cuisine Is A Culinary Masterpiece
Keep things light with this comedic, food-themed mini-adventure. The characters must create an original dish to please the demon Bakto in order to escape certain death. Alternatively, they can attempt to deduce Bakto’s secret allergy and attempt to poison him. Since this adventure is written to be mostly system neutral, it will need some small adjustments to use with 5E D&D. The adventure is just two pages but contains a 14 room dungeon, plus several random encounters. The printable adventure, which is designed to fold up like a diner menu, can be found on Roll 4 Tarrasque’s itch.io page.
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