Summary
Ongoing campaigns are always fun inDungeons & Dragons. But, sometimes, as a Dungeon Master, you need just a simple, standalone adventure that isn’t meant to comprise an entire campaign. But if you’re a DM running a table full of expert, high-level players, you might be wondering what the best standalone adventures are.
That’s why we’ve created this list. For this list, we’re looking at individual adventures in Dungeons & Dragons from various sourcebooks, with a focus on adventures that are limited in scope. All of these adventures can prove to be a challenge for high-level players, either in terms of combat difficulty or roleplay.
Starting Level
7th
This first adventure can be found in the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide. Though it’s relatively low-level compared to some of the others on this list, it earns its spot by being a great way to introduce seasoned players to the new system of renown introduced in this sourcebook.
In the adventure, players will attend a ball in the Fey Realm, trying to increase their renown with various NPCs at the dance. There is also a combat encounter introduced as part of this adventure. Should players succeed in thwarting the attack on the ball and successfully increasing their renown scores, they’llearn a charmfrom the Baron of the Boreal Ball.
13th
Like almost all of the standalone adventures in Candlekeep Mysteries, The Canopic Being revolves around a central investigation to discover what has happened to a certain sage in Candlekeep. What’s most fun about this adventure is its horror elements, which help it stand out from the rest of the adventures in this book.
The central hook of the adventure is that players discover their names are printed in a book that long preceded their arrival. The book details a ritual that will allow a Mummy Lord to plant their essence in a living being. The personal stakes for the characters make this adventure highly engaging.
1st
Yes, this adventure is technically for 1st-level adventurers, however, it is easily scalable. The reason this horror adventure makes its way onto this list is its unique flair and roleplay potential. The House of Lament is an adventure in which players must uncover the secrets of a decrepit manor through seances.
What makes these seances so fun is that you can actually run them by printing out a copy of the Spirit Board found in this adventure. This highly unique gameplay element is sure to surprise even the most seasoned of Dungeons & Dragons players.
5th
This adventure, found in the Spelljammer: Adventures in Space module, serves as a fantastic introduction for expert players to the world of Wildspace. For players who have neverplayed in Wildspacebefore, this one is a must-have.
What’s best about this adventure for high-level players (despite its low starting level) is that it thrusts characters right into the middle of the action, without much ramp-up time. The adventure essentially starts with an attack from an empire of astral elves, from which players must escape. This high-octane jumpstart is great for D&D players who think they’ve seen it all.
14th
One of the highest-level adventures found in Candlekeep Mysteries, The Scrivener’s Tale once again offers expert players an intriguing mystery to uncover. Similar to the Canopic Being, players are drawn into the adventure thanks to mysterious markings imprinted on them by the physical copy of The Scrivener’s Tale.
In this adventure, players must uncover the secrets of these marks, track down a former adventurer who gifted Candlekeep the book in the first place, and resist the calls of an evil archfey bound within the tome’s pages. This terrifying adventure is incredibly fun and engaging, and will require players' full attention to complete successfully.
10th
This adventure comes from the Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel module, which features a ton of interesting adventures set in this storied locale. The adventure hook for this campaign is simple enough: players must track down a legendary dragon that attacks a nearby town, and discover why the dragon has been angered before hunters slay the creature.
What makes this adventure fun is that it features some great combat encounters, while also encouraging players to really focus on their roleplay skills. Plus, the legendary dragon, known as a bakunawa, is a highly unique creature with an engaging stat block.
3rd
For lovers of extraplanar adventure, this next standalone campaign is great. The Turn of Fortune’s Wheel adventure starts players in the planar metropolis known as Sigil, subsequently taking them on a journey throughout many different realms, with Sigil serving as their home base.
This adventure is a great way to introduce players to extraplanar travel if they’ve never done so in any of their other campaigns before. And, even though players start this adventure at level three, they can end it at level 17, depending on how their journey unfurls.
10+
This reskin of a classic Dungeons & Dragons adventure originally written in Gary Gygax’s campaign is a great challenge for expert players. Not only does this adventure offera great dungeon crawlfor players, but it also really challenges players' minds, as the dungeon is more based on traps than combat encounters.
What’s perhaps most interesting about the Tomb of Horrors adventure is that it’s not necessarily designed for any specific level of character. While adventurers that are level ten or higher definitely have a better chance of survival, in theory, you could plug any level of adventurer into this campaign.
For high-level players who love roleplay and political intrigue, this next adventure is ideal. Buried Dynasty follows a group of level 13 characters as they investigate and explore the empire of Great Xing. This empire’s current ruler, the White Jade Emperor, is about to draw to a close, and a struggle for the throne looms large in the background.
What’s perhaps most interesting about this adventure is the element of deception. Players will be enlisted to help explore a nearby archaeological dig in the name of historical research, which is meant to help keep control over the empire. However, in actuality, they are looking for a substance that can help sustain the emperor’s rule.
9th
If you’re interested in combining mystery with some elements of cosmic horror, Kandlekeep Dekonstruktion is an excellent adventure choice. This adventure sees characters race against the clock to stop a cult from literally launching a tower from Candlekeep into space.
As mentioned, the most intriguing element of this adventure is the ticking clock. Early on in the adventure, characters will feel an earthquake. From then on, they have one hour to deactivate a countdown timer, or they fail the mission. This can prove highly exciting for high-level players, who will have to think fast to succeed.
