Starting a Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition campaign is a daunting task for anyone. For those new to the hobby, it can be tough to even know where to start. Luckily, D&D 5e has many ideal beginner adventures, both official and unofficial. These are published modules with most of the work. They include maps, monsters, and a story laid out for the DM and players.

For beginners, it's best to keep it simple. This doesn't mean the module should be too easy or boring, just that it shouldn't be overwhelming. Pre-made adventures that sit between levels one and five and don't feature an overabundance of moving parts are perfect for new players.

Updated on December 11, 2024, by Jenny Melzer: As the tabletop ten continues to expand and welcome new players by the thousands, both experienced and new DMs have a plethora of options available to help them launch players seamlessly into the game. This list has been updated to include more short adventures and campaign options, as well as to adhere to CBR's most current standards for formatting.

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19Quests from the Infinite Staircase: The Lost City

Level 1 Short Adventure

The 2024 adventure collection Quests from the Infinite Staircase is a 50th anniversary celebratory revisit to adventures past that honors the game's roots, and within in it are six adventures originally released during the original Advanced Dungeons & Dragons first edition in the early 1980s. The very first adventure in the collection, "The Lost City" is perfect for six first level characters eager to unearth the mysteries of Cynidicea, an ancient city that fell to ruin and darkness before disappearing in the deserts.

"The Lost City" is an excellent introduction to the game, as it balances adventure, storytelling, and dungeon crawling in ways that offer those new to the game an accurate portrayal of the game's many aspects and mechanics. A mysterious and intriguing adventure made fresh for the modern Fifth Edition rule set, players will encounter everything from cultists, traps, and puzzles to mages, monsters, and a hungry god that will never be sated.

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18Defiance In Phlan Has 5 Mini-Adventures to Get Players Started

Levels 1-2 Short Adventure

Defiance in Phlan comprises five mini-adventures. Each is only about an hour long and designed to teach new players the basics of D&D 5e as they go. The combat is quick, NPC interactions are simple, and the objectives are crystal-clear, ending just as the players hit level two. If the entire group is new to the game, or if time investment ability is low, then Defiance In Phlan is a great way to start so everyone can get used to gameplay.

Defiance in Phlan tells an archetypal D&D story as a cult overtakes Phlan. The adventure avoids complex narratives in favor of focusing on the misadventures of the low-level players. This adventure is light on story, but that further helps sell it as one of the best D&D 5e modules for beginners. As a part of the overall Tyranny of Dragons campaign, players can continue exploring the story through level 10. Because it's thematically linked to Hoard of the Dragon Queen and Rise of Tiamat, there is also potential to build a long-term ongoing game that could scale characters all the way to level 20.

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17Lost Mine of Phandelver Can Be Connected to Much Larger Adventures

Lost Mine of Phandelver is the original starter set adventure for D&D 5e. It's an instant classic, designed as a beginner D&D campaign to help new players learn the game. Lost Mine of Phandelver solidly covers levels one through five. It's not much more than thirty pages long and has all the monster stat blocks needed in the book, negating the need for a D&D 5e Monster Manual on hand. More recently, the starter set adventure was changed to Dragons of Stormwreck Isle. But in 2023, Wizards of the Coast released Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk, which included and expanded upon the original adventure in some detail.