The Best Dungeons & Dragons Settings For High Fantasy Adventures

Key Takeaways

• The Radiant Citadel offers diversity & breaks traditional European tropes, making it a unique
  D&D
  setting.
• Eberron merges magic with technology, introducing airships & Warforged, adding a twist to high fantasy.
• Planescape is ideal for groups seeking fantastical elements, revolving around Sigil & extraplanar adventures.

Dungeons & Dragons is a versatile game, with a comprehensive fantasy adventure framework that can sustain a lot of different types of games. Of course, with its robust spellcasting rules and classic sword and sorcery archetypes, high fantasy is generally the most appropriate flavor for a D&D campaign.

Throughout the TTRPG’s rich history, there have been numerous published settings released to inspire players in their own adventures. These settings come in a wide variety of tones and themes, but here are ten of the best settings for the traditional high fantasy adventures that D&D is best at.

10 The Radiant Citadel

A Fantastical Adventuring Hub

• First Appearance: 5th Edition, Journeys Through The Radiant Citadel, 2022

The Radiant Citadel is the most recent new setting to grace the pages of Dungeons & Dragons, introduced in a 2022 adventure anthology for Fifth Edition. The titular citadel is a massive crystalline landmass floating along the Ethereal Plane. It is inextricably linked to a variety of mystical realms throughout the Material Plane, each of which provides ample opportunity for danger and adventure.

Perhaps the biggest selling point for the Radiant Citadel and its associated realms is its diversity. The anthology draws inspiration from real-life cultures across the globe, making it a perfect choice for groups who want to break away from the ever-present European fantasy tropes that are pervasive in so many other D&D settings.

9 Eberron

Industrial Magic

• First Appearance: 3.5 Edition, Eberron Campaign Setting, 2004

High fantasy is usually marked by a lack of advanced technology, with characters relying on magic or Medieval-era agriculture and commerce to meet their needs. Eberron provides a unique twist on the Industrial era, mixing magic and technology in a way that allows D&D to advance in industry without losing its high fantasy trappings.

The people of Eberron use magic to fuel fantastical mechanisms like airships and trains. The existence of Dragonmarks, hereditary mystical blessings, adds a layer of social intrigue. Eberron is also famous for introducing the Warforged, mechanical people powered by magic who have become a mainstay in the tapestry of Dungeons & Dragons.

8 Spelljammer

A High Fantasy Space Opera

• First Appearance: 2nd Edition, Spelljammer: AD&D Adventures In Space , 1989

Spelljammer is one of D&D‘s most bizarre settings, as it brings the conventional high fantasy adventures of the game into outer space. Adventurers in a Spelljammer campaign travel the Astral Sea in spacefaring ships known as Spelljammers, which range from conventional sailing ships to fantastical fish-shaped vessels.

Despite the space travel conceit, Spelljammer remains firmly rooted in magic and sorcery, as the name might suggest. Exotic alien creatures and mighty dragons await in the endless reaches of the Astral Sea, which takes the discovery and magic of D&D to unimaginable new heights.

7 Theros

For The Gods

• First Appearance: 5th Edition, Mythic Odysseys of Theros, 2020

While Theros made its D&D debut in 2020, it first appeared as the setting for a Magic: The Gathering set in 2013. This mystical realm is an ideal fit for D&D, as its heavy Greek myth inspirations give it a lot of versatility. The sourcebook includes rules for devotion to the gods themselves and gives players the chance to earn mystic boons and divine punishments alike.

While the official Theros setting lacks fantasy mainstays like elves and dwarves, there are more than enough fantastical creatures for players to try out, like the catlike leonine, as well as mythical staples like minotaurs, centaurs, and satyrs. Meddling gods and divine magic are very common tropes in many high fantasy stories, and Theros is one of the best D&D settings out there when it comes to gods.

6 Strixhaven

Back To School

• First Appearance: 5th Edition, Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos, 2021

There are plenty of options for fans of D&D to play as non-magic characters, but with the wide number of spells and wealth of spellcasting classes on offer, many players find spellcasting to be the place where Dungeons & Dragons shines. The massive magic academy of Strixhaven provides the perfect setting to explore the depths of this TTRPG’s magic system.

Strixhaven is another import from Magic: The Gathering that serves as a school for aspiring spellcasters of all stripes to hone their craft. The school is split into five factions, giving players plenty of inspiration for variety in aesthetics and backstories, and with the menacing Oriq lurking in the background, there’s ample conflict to furnish a whole magical campaign.

5 Dragonlance

Riding To War

• First Appearance: 1st Edition, Dragons of Despair, 1984

Epic battles and grand wars are hallmarks of the high fantasy genre, and few D&D settings are as well suited to this as Dragonlance. The world of Krynn, where the setting takes place, is caught in a conflict between the forces of good and evil, and as the name suggests, dragons are right at the heart of it.

Dragonlance contains numerous high fantasy hallmarks, like fallen knights, fabled artifacts, and, of course, dragons. The titular Dragonlances are mythical weapons that allow even non-magical warriors to slay the fabled fire-breathing creatures, and these are just some of the powerful sources of magic and power that await adventurers in Krynn.

4 Ravnica

The City Of Guilds

• First Appearance: 5th Edition, Guildmaster’s Guide to Ravnica, 2018

The world-spanning city of Ravnica, a realm of magic and intrigue, has been one of the most prominent settings in Magic: the Gathering since its debut in 2005. In 2018, Wizards of the Coast brought the setting to Dungeons & Dragons, letting fans of both games pursue quests in this grand and chaotic city.

Ravnica is defined by its ten warring guilds, each of which struggles for control of the city. Each guild uses different types of magic and is associated with different fantastical creatures. Dragons and demons prowl the streets of Ravnica, as do more unique creatures, like bioengineered frog monsters and shambling masses of fungus. The variety of the guilds gives players plenty of options for character builds and backstories, and despite the urban setting, Ravnica never abandons the high fantasy trappings of its game of origin.

3 Exandria

Mercer’s World

• First Appearance: 5th Edition, Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount, 2020

Critical Role is a franchise that needs no introduction. The massively famous actual-play campaign turned animated TV series has been credited with getting a majority of modern D&D fans into the game. This popularity is due to the charisma of the stream’s seasoned cast of voice actors, as well as the incredible DM skills and worldbuilding of Matt Mercer, including his creation of a brand-new setting: the world of Exandria.

Wizards of the Coast gave fans a chance to follow in Mercer’s footsteps with the release of the Wildemount campaign setting in 2020, following some unofficial guides published by third parties. This book gives players access to a wealth of lore from Mercer’s home-grown world, letting them tell their own stories in the famous DM’s realm of magic, mystery, and danger.

2 Forgotten Realms

Respect The Classics

• First Appearance: 1st Edition, Bloodstone Pass, 1985

While the world of the Forgotten Realms is not the first campaign setting D&D ever had, it’s certainly the most ubiquitous, especially for modern fans. It’s the official default setting for 5th Edition, and serves as the setting for the recent movie Honor Among Thieves movie, as well as the massively successful Baldur’s Gate 3.

Just about every high fantasy trope modern fans associate with D&D is present in the Forgotten Realms, making it the ideal setting for a traditional swords and sorcery adventure. Powerful dragons, menacing demons, and divine angels watch over a diverse cast of fantasy races, from elves to orcs to dwarves. What the Forgotten Realms lacks in outlandish, genre-defying twists, it more than makes up for in reliability and accessibility.

1 Planescape

Worlds Untold

• First Appearance: 2nd Edition, Planescape Campaign Setting, 1994

Planescape is an ideal setting for groups who want to turn the fantastical elements of their campaigns up to 11. This setting revolves around Sigil, the legendary City of Doors, an extraplanar metropolis riddled with portals to the various otherworldly planes that make up D&D‘s complex cosmology.

Sigil, therefore, functions as a sort of melting pot for reality itself in D&D; players can expect to rub elbows with angels, devils, and dragons alike, sometimes in the same bar. Planescape turns many commonly-held assumptions about morality and ethics on their heads, and due to the otherworldly nature of its inhabitants, campaigns and schemes can have implications that stretch on for centuries. For players who want to dive deep into the grandest and strangest things D&D‘s realms have to offer, Planescape is the perfect fit.