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Bringing terror to the table this Halloween doesn’t have to be a nightmare. Here are five ideas for spooky D&D one-shots.
Halloween is the perfect time to gather friends around the table and tell spooky stories, and nothing is better for storytelling than Dungeons & Dragons. Fortunately, Wizards of the Coast has released a lot of material in the last year that is absolutely perfect for horror one-shots, and there are a plethora of ready-made adventures in a multitude of unnerving moods and settings available for DMs to integrate into their game.
Whether the regular party is taking a break from their main adventure to play something quick and terrifying, or the DM’s looking for a quick game to spook a table of new adventurers this Halloween, there are plenty of pre-made adventures that can be completed in a single session. Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft even offers tips on putting together unique world-settings with horrifying big bads players won’t soon forget.
Prepared!: Haunting at Velston by Kobold Press
A classic from the creators at Kobold Press, “The Haunting at Velston” is available for free or to purchase as part of Prepared!: A Dozen Adventures for Fifth Edition. This particular adventure draws players into a mysterious town left abandoned and destroyed 50 years earlier by a great battle. Located on a major trade route, the ruins seem a waste to the local constabulary, but rumors of the land’s haunting have them scared to level the town and redevelop it to build their prosperity.
As the players explore the ruined town searching for clues and loot, they encounter evidence of the horrific battle and hear a mysterious cry of alarm draws them toward the woods nearby. Coming face to face with human ghost, he directs them toward the woods, where they encounter dangerous spirits and unearth a tragic grave that prompts a melancholy reunion that will resonate with the players long after the game.
Candlekeep Mysteries: Shemshime’s Bedtime Rhyme
After unearthing a strange children’s book in Candlekeep Library, the player’s learn of its mysterious arrival 600 years earlier and the madness that struck the one who delivered it. Set in the Firefly Cellar area, the players learn more about the bizarre “singing madness” that overtook the courier. After spending the night in the cellar, they wake up humming an uncanny tune that leads to their imprisonment until they can get to the bottom of it.
Trapped, the party will have no choice but to follow the clues and discover who unleashed Shemshime’s curse upon the inhabitants and find a way to destroy him before they all lose their minds and die singing that wretched tune. Defeating this horrific shadow creature is no easy task, but carefully examining the book he escaped from and the accursed song affecting everyone gives all the clues needed for the party to triumph over the evil ear-worm threatening to drive them all mad.
Tales from the Yawning Portal: Tomb of Horrors
“Tomb of Horrors” is the most horrific dungeon grind ever developed. Created in Gary Gygax’s original campaign, it’s designed for players levels 10-14. As they delve into they mysterious, labyrinthine crypt deep beneath the earth, won’t be able to even imagine what lies in wait. Little is known about the tomb, and even those searching for answers with the advantage of “legend lore” will likely find nothing more than hearsay and mystique surrounding this dank, terrifying place that time itself seems to have forgotten.
The lure of treasures untold is often more than enough for adventurers to look past the lacking information. As they delve deep within the final resting place of a demented demilich named Acererak, who revels in their suffering as they traverse the many traps and horrors within, the horrors they face may be too much. If they survive, however, the rewards they reap will be more than worth the pain and suffering they endure within the Tomb of Horrors.
Van Richten’s Guide: House of Lament
Drawn through the mists to investigate an eerie house known as Halvhrest House, the party of adventurers slowly discover it is plagued by a dark entity that awakens as they explore and stir it from its slumber. Designed for level one players, “House of Lament” leads the adventurers on a horrifying exploration that leads to creepy encounters, maddening nightmares with every long rest and spooky seances that awaken the house to create the perfect Halloween atmosphere.
Created as an introduction to the Dread Domains, this two-part adventure can stand alone or work as a launching point for an ongoing horror campaign chock full of ambient darkness with gothic or traditional horror flare. Just about any adventure set in the Dread Domains is perfect for a Halloween-themed one-shot, so take some time to explore if the “House of Lament” isn’t spooky enough.
Create Your Own Adventure
Part of being a Dungeon Master is tapping into the mind for unique and interesting ideas that will fit well into 5e. With hundreds of monsters to choose from, just about any setting could be the backdrop for a horrifying Halloween adventure. There are also Planes of Existence beyond the Dread Domains that are ripe for horror settings. Take the Nine Hells, for example; just about anything that happens in there promises to be terrifying.
Consider a setting like a Carnival of Horrors, where the clowns are more than they seem and the House of Mirrors leads to a spooky pocket dimension. A seemingly abandoned town could lure the party into a bizarre zombie apocalypse where they are the only ones standing between the walking dead and the rest of the world. The players could even be plunked down into a Lovecraftian tale, complete with a creepy mental institution plagued by a whispering Old God growing more powerful as it feeds upon their madness. The possibilities are endless, especially when combing through the Monster Manual and the multitude of online resources in search of terrifying creatures that inspire fear and instill dread.
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