Dungeons and Dragons 5e Official Adventure Module Tier List

Dungeons and Dragons‘ fifth edition is nearing a big change, with updated 2024 rulebooks poised to switch up the system later in the year. Only two major adventure modules remain for this era of Dungeons and Dragons, placing a capstone on a decade of adventure books.

Late 2024 and early 2025 will see new core rulebooks for D&D, texts that will upgrade 5e while still being backwards-compatible with all the adventures released thus far. This list will rank these adventures based on how easy they are to run, what new things they bring to the table, and how much they allow for customization to fit DM and player needs. In addition, this list will not include partnered modules (such as the Stranger Things or Critical Role tie-in products) or the smaller adventures exclusive to D&DBeyond and/or the DMsguild. It will also treat anthology modules, such as Candlekeep Mysteries, as one text.

S-Tier – Dungeons and Dragons 5e Official Adventure Modules

• Dragon of Icespire Peak

• Lost Mine of Phandelver

• Curse of Strahd

S-Tier modules are the cream of the crop, and Dragon of Icespire Peak takes the cake in this area. This ‘Essentials Kit’ adventure is great for those new to D&D, whether they’re a first-time player or a new dungeon master. It’s an incredibly customizable adventure, with a great starting town and a series of episodic quests that can easily be turned into one-shots. It also features a dragon to battle, something new players will definitely want out of their first D&D game. Lost Mine of Phandelver is similar, if a bit less customizable.

It also runs a little long for a starter adventure, but it more than makes up for it with its many iconic setpieces; many 5e players will be nostalgic for their first time seeing that arrow-ridden horse cadaver by the side of the road, as well as the goblin encounter that follows.

Curse of Strahd constantly tops lists for the best D&D module, and it’s easy to see why. Giving fans a break from the Forgotten Realms with the gloom of Ravenloft, Barovia is a fantastic horror setting. It’s filled with dismal setpieces and tragedy, as well as a memorable villain who constantly interacts with players. Its world is full of dangers outside the players’ level that will force them to flee or fight with their wits, making the haunted realm feel alive.

A-Tier – Dungeons and Dragons 5e Official Adventure Modules

• Journeys Through The Radiant Citadel

• Waterdeep: Dragon Heist

• Out of the Abyss

• Tomb of Annihilation

• Keys from the Golden Vault

Journeys Through The Radiant Citadel is debatably very close to S-Tier, with a variety of smaller adventures and a nice quest hub between them, making it very customizable. This D&D book is great for DMs, with advice on character description, pronunciation guides, and types of fantasy scarcely seen in 5e. Keys from the Golden Vault is less evocative and will require a bit more elbow-grease from the DM, but it’s nonetheless a great anthology.

Though a tad long, Out of the Abyss balances a great detail about the Underdark while providing good formatting and solid hooks throughout, making it easy to scan. Its prison-escape opening is also fantastic for getting the party together. Tomb of Annihilation and Waterdeep: Dragon Heist operate at opposite ends of the spectrum; the former provides a tough-as-nails D&D experience with a vast array of unique traps, while the latter is an urban adventure for low-level characters with a great deal of customization options. Both texts will run well for their respective demographic.

B-Tier – Dungeons and Dragons 5e Official Adventure Modules

• Dragons of Stormwreck Isle

• Ghosts of Saltmarsh

• Candlekeep Mysteries

• Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk

• Wild Beyond the Witchlight

• Tales from the Yawning Portal

B-tier modules are decent but can be excellent in the right hands. This is especially the case for Dragons of Stormwreck Isle, Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk, and Wild Beyond the Witchlight. The first is great for a beginner table but can be a bit too simple in some areas. Shattered Obelisk makes a strange choice with its continuation of The Lost Mine, but players with a taste for cosmic horror will love it. Wild Beyond the Witchlight has some odd lore, but it’s great for players who want to do more than swing swords and engage in combat in D&D.

Ghosts of Saltmarsh, Candlekeep Mysteries, and Tales from the Yawning Portal are all anthologies and all great for DMs who want to pluck out adventures and drop them into an existing campaign. Ghosts of Saltmarsh is the best of the three, with a more consistent difficulty level and some interesting ship rules (which see little application, unfortunately). On the other hand, Yawning Portal runs the full gambit of difficulty—featuring a 5e conversion of the infamous Tomb of Horrors. DMs should be wary of this dungeon, as its gauntlet of obtuse puzzles and instant death traps aren’t conducive to typical 5e play.

C-Tier – Dungeons and Dragons 5e Official Adventure Modules

• Baldur’s Gate Descent into Avernus

• Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage

• Icewind Dale: Rime of The Frostmaiden

• Storm King’s Thunder

• Tyranny of Dragons

• Princes of the Apocalypse

Much of what’s in C-Tier is still plenty of fun, but requires a lot of work on the DM’s part or falls short in terms of memorability. This is certainly the case for the last three, with Storm King’s Thunder in particular feeling more like a Forgotten Realms sourcebook than an adventure (though the way it lays out all its major NPCs at the start of the book is something more adventures should do). On the contrary, Dungeon of the Mad Mage will be great for those into D&D‘s funhouse dungeon crawls, but a slog for others.

Baldur’s Gate 3 fans might be attracted to Descent into Avernus, but it’s recommended that DMs cut Baldur’s Gate from the module. Its inclusion doesn’t contribute much and its balancing is way off, but the section in Avernus itself has some great spectacle, infernal fantasy, and Mad Max-style war machines.