The Best DND Adventures For Low-Level Parties

Summary

• The 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide features short adventures perfect for beginners, teaching key concepts in a concise manner.
• Adventures like The Winged God provide learning opportunities for both players and Dungeon Masters through layered choices.
• Horns of the Beast is highlighted as the best adventure in the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide, offering a memorable and twist-filled quest.

At the core of every great Dungeons & Dragons campaign is a party of eager and thrill-seeking players, a creative Dungeon Master, and exciting adventures to play through. Adventures, in this case, are guides you can use to help plan the activities your players can take on.

You can create original adventures (and even make them available for others to use), but there are plenty of official and unofficial ones that are specifically geared for players just starting or for new characters starting a new campaign. Here are some of the best adventures for low-level parties.

Updated on January 28, 2025, by Alfredo Robelo: Low-level adventures are what most players end up experiencing, no matter if they are new to the game or long-time veterans. The 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide included several adventures that are barely a page long, making them easy to run and fundamental for learning the game, so we’ve added a few of them here.

20

The Fouled Stream

From The 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide

• Intended for characters of first level.

The adventure examples in the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide are meant as a way for readers to understand how to build adventures. This is why the notes of the adventure are barely a page long: this is what your personal adventure notes are supposed to look like, instead of the elaborate lore you usually find in published books.

As such, it works as a great introduction for both new players and beginner Dungeon Masters that want to start the hobby, but won’t be able to handle something too complex. The adventure has a simple hook about a contaminated stream, having the players using it as a guide, befriend a treant, and deal with various dangers that lurk inside a nearby cave.

19

The Winged God

From The 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide

• Intended for characters of third level.

The first three adventure examples of the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide can be played one after the other, and they take players from their first level all the way up to level three. Not only are the players learning their characters (and gaining their subclasses), but the Dungeon Master learns as well, particularly about how to deal with player choice.

The central problem of The Winged God is that a group of kobolds have been forcefully recruited by a red dragon wyrmling into collecting treasure, terrorizing the nearby travelers in the process. Players have many ways of getting hooked into aiding the kobolds, with layers added for players that may ignore each hook and culminating in the kobolds themselves asking for help; basically, it teaches you to be ready for players to not interact with your world.

18

Horns Of The Beast

From The 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide

• Intended for characters of fifth level.

The best adventure by far in the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide is Horns of the Beast, a level five quest that involves traveling, backstabbing and spelunking. The players are hired to escort a merchant to the far reaches of the jungle, and it shows a great way to make a grand journey happen over the course of a single session.

It also has a great twist, with a seemingly innocent ally becoming the final threat. At the end of the adventure, a plot hook about destroying an evil artifact shows itself, guiding the players into having adventures in the upper planes; said adventure isn’t included, so it is up to the Dungeon Master to finish telling that story.

17

Dragons Of Stormwreck Isle

From The Dragons Of Stormwreck Isle Starter Set

• Intended for characters of first level, taking them up to level three.

Dragon of Stormwreck Isle will have your players exploring a mysterious island, but they are caught up in an ancient feud between dragon families. It soon becomes down to the party to determine if this feud can end peacefully or in disaster.

This starter set has everything you need to jump into a short but memorable adventure. The set comes with dice, the core rules, and even pre-generated characters to help those a little daunted by character creation. The adventure will take your players up to level three, but nothing stops you from continuing the story in any direction you please afterward.

16

The House Of Lament

From Van Richten’s Guide To Ravenloft

• Intended for characters of first level, taking them up to level three.

Not only does Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft introduce a wide range of thrilling Domains of Dread to explore, but it also comes with a creepy beginner’s adventure to play. This adventure, The House of Lament, will allow your players to go from level one to level three if they can survive the horrors of this haunted house.

This spooky adventure begins with the party receiving a mysterious message that lures them into the mists. Arriving at the House of Lament, they agree to help communicate with the spirits that haunt the building, soon learning about the many tragedies that have happened here. The more they investigate, the more dangerous the house becomes. If the party can handle this spooky beginning adventure, they are ready to face even more terrifying Domains of Dread in the future.

15

Dragon Of Icespire Peak

From The Dragon Of Icespire Peak Adventure Module

• Intended for characters of first level, taking them up to level seven.

Dragon of Icespire Peak involves a group of adventurers helping out the people of Phandalin, who have not only a dragon harassing the town but also the threat of orcs taking over the area. The town noticeboard has several quests available, all suitable for a low-leveled party to handle. From exploring a fortress to fighting a giant thunder boar, there’s a lot of variety in the quests. There is also a fun final battle with the dragon at the end of the short campaign.

Dragon of Icespire Peak does feel like a collection of fun side-quests to play rather than a linear story-driven campaign. It is up to you as the DM to expand upon it and add your own details to connect it all. There is a lot of freedom for your players, though, and it feels like an authentic sandbox experience for newcomers to D&D.

From Candlekeep Mysteries

• Intended for characters of first level.

Candlekeep Mysteries is full of fantastic adventures for players of all levels, but it has a tale perfect for those just starting called The Joy of Extradimensional Spaces. While at Candlekeep, the famous and enormous library, a group of level one adventurers discovers a portal that leads to Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Mansion. Inside, they are soon trapped and must solve various puzzles to return to the real world.

This short adventure has it all: combat, social encounters, puzzles, and more. The idea of a book trapping the party in another domain is an entertaining concept you could easily place into any campaign setting.

13

Lost Mine Of Phandelver

From Phandelver And Below: The Shattered Obelisk

• Intended for characters of first level, taking them up to level four.

The Lost Mine of Phandelver is an adventure well known by beginners as it comes in an official Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set. It serves as an introductory to D&D 5e and recommends characters starting at levels one or two. It takes place in the Forgotten Realms setting and in a region close to the iconic D&D city: Neverwinter.

The Phaldelver starter set is now included in the Phandelver And Below: The Shattered Obelisk campaign.

Players start out escorting a caravan to the village of Phandalin but soon find themselves swept up in danger and intrigue. This adventure has five pre-generated characters to help your players get started, six dice, a rulebook, and the adventure book itself.

12

Confrontation At Candlekeep

Showcased During GenCon 2013

• Intended for characters of second level.

Confrontation at Candlekeep was originally a playtest adventure showcased during GenCon 2013. It was initially intended and presented as an adventure for multiple groups, run by several DMs at a time and a coordinator known as the First Reader.

It’s recommended for level two characters and takes place during the Sundering in the Forgotten Realms setting. Candlekeep is under attack by the cultists of Asmodeus, and it’s up to each party to defend different areas of the stronghold. Each group has its own set of encounters, and they can ask for and offer assistance to other groups.

11

Ghosts Of Saltmarsh

From The Ghosts Of Saltmarsh Adventure Module

• Intended for characters of first level and takes them up to level 12.

For levels one to 12, the Ghosts of Saltmarsh adventure covers more levels than others, so if you’re trying to take a single party through many levels, a module of this scope covers much of that ground. It includes several nautical-themed adventures, such as Salvage Operation and Isle of the Abbey.

The book also includes new backgrounds that players can use to build their characters as they work to save a quaint little fishing village threatened by pirates, smugglers, and plenty of nautical-themed monsters.

10

Suits Of The Mist

From Van Richten’s Guide To Ravenloft

• Intended for characters of first to second level.

In Curse of Strahd, adventurers are transported to the perpetually overcast and dread-filled land of Barovia, and Suits of the Mist explains how they get there. The adventure is divided into five one-hour experiences that can be played together or separately.

Your players find themselves in the town of Phlan and make their way to the Crossing Inn. There, they overhear many of its patrons complaining about a family of Gur, nomadic people with a preconception of being dishonest. If the party chooses to, they can take on the task of finding this Gur family. This episodic adventure is recommended for characters of levels one to two.

9

Waterdeep: Dragon Heist

From The Waterdeep: Dragon Heist Adventure Module

• Intended for characters of first level and takes them up to level five.

The whole of Waterdeep: Dragon Heist is full of amazing adventures and makes for a great starter campaign. Adventurers find themselves in the city of Waterdeep. Called upon by a famous explorer for aid in a quest, the party is entwined with a deep and bitter conflict between influential organizations within the city.

One of the highlights of this adventure is that four villains can be the ‘Big Bad’ as the season the adventure takes place in determines the villain. It’s intended for characters levels one to five, with Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage picking up right after the conclusion.

8

Curse Of Strahd

From Van Richten’s Guide To Ravenloft

• Intended for characters of first to third level and takes them up to level ten.

If a beginner to a mid-level party is keen to get into horror, and the Ravenloft universe specifically, Curse of Strahd is an obvious choice. This adventure is for characters levels one to ten and uses the same dark, Victorian aesthetic as the original.

Players can bring in lower-level characters they already had or start new ones here, using the game’s options to create unique, Gothic-themed characters. Accessories like maps and a deck of special cards are also available to add even more to the immersion factor in this classic adventure.

7

City Of Danger

From The Adventurers League Elemental Evil Series

• Intended for characters of first to second level.

The City of Danger adventure is the introduction to the Elemental Evil series of the D&D Adventures League. Its intended skill level is for a group of one to two level characters. Players will find themselves on the southern shores of the Moonsea and enter the city of Mulmaster, which is known for being full of corruption and under the sway of the Church of Bane.

Adventurers will explore the city, taking in the sights and the people and figuring out why Mulmaster has the reputation it does. It’s made up of five mini-adventures, each one different from the last. It offers plenty of roleplaying and combat opportunities and has a few challenging puzzles for your players to solve.

6

Embers Of Elmwood

From The Adventurers League Elemental Evil Series

• Intended for characters of first to fourth level.

Embers of Elmwood is another adventure in the Elemental Evil series. It’s set in Mulmaster, and players can jump into it after they complete the City of Danger. In it, the party of adventurers will find themselves digging deeper into the main plot of the series as a woman drifts into the city’s harbor.

She’s delirious and only speaks the words “ash and fire.” The tattoo she bears is the only clue the adventuring party has to start with as they try to figure out what happened. This adventure’s suggested skill level is for characters of levels one to four.

5

Harried In Hillsfar

Free Download From The Fourth Edition

• Intended for characters of first to second level.

Harried in Hillsfar follows the Rage of Demons storyline and presents an excellent introduction to it. It’s a set of five short adventures that can be played separately or together and comes free with the fourth edition of Dungeons & Dragons’ official magazine, Dragon+. It takes place in the city-state of Hillsfar, which recently evicted all non-human residents.

Adventures will face cultists, undead, and demons as they progress through each quest. It comes with plenty of encounters, puzzles, and riddles meant for a party of level one to two characters.

4

Lost Laboratory Of Kwalish

From The Lost Laboratory Of Kwalish Adventure Module

• Intended for characters of fifth level.

You might know of the Barrier Peaks module, an adventure that involves a group of savage raiders and a mystery buried deep within a mysterious range of foreboding mountains. The Lost Laboratory of Kwalish is an alternate adventure in these same mountains.

The Lost Laboratory of Kwalish is for slightly more advanced players and starts at level five. It includes some extra magical items and the lore of inter-planar travel, an ideal choice if the party is into that kind of thing and is at the perfect level to face the challenge of using special gear.

3

Dues For The Dead

From Tyranny Of Dragons

• Intended for characters of first to fourth level.

Dues for the Dead is an adventure from the Tyranny of Dragons storyline that has adventurers exploring the city of Phlan. In this particular adventure, a priest of the god of the dead, Kelemvor, hires the party to investigate the strange disappearances of several other priests.

The priests also have another problem that needs to be contended with. Undead are rising from the catacombs of the Valhingen Graveyard. Dues for the Dead is a great adventure if you and your friends love dungeon crawls. There are tons of exciting NPCs that make the experience even more enjoyable too. It’s aimed at groups levels one to four.

2

Bounty In The Bog

From The Adventurers League Elemental Evil Series

• Intended for characters of first to fourth level.

Bounty in the Bog is from the Elemental Evil adventure series. Adventurers have to venture into the Flooded Forest and face off against bandits. It’s up to them to take care of a group of bandits causing trade problems along the Northern Road.

The adventure can be broken up into two parts, starting with a roleplay section with the mission provider and going over the plan to lure the bandits out. The second half deals with fighting said bandits and exploring their hideout. It’s recommended for an adventuring party of one to four level characters.

1

Wolves Of Welton

From The Winghorn Press Website

• Intended for characters of second and third levels.

The Wolves of Welton is a one-shot adventure created by Winghorn Press. It’s free to download on the Winghorn Press website and is considered a great adventure for first-time DMs and lower-level players of second and third levels. The adventuring party is tasked with helping the town of Welton with a wolf problem.

Wolves have been stealing their sheep at alarming rates, causing a food shortage. What seems like a simple mission to exterminate some highly cunning wolves unveils something much greater.