D&D 5E Best Official 1-3 or 1-5 Level Adventures?


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Burnside

Space Jam Confirmed
Supporter
As mentioned, the four adventures in Explorer's Guide to Wildemount each cover levels 1-3 and are all good to very good.

I would rank the Starter Set adventures as Lost Mine of Phandelver (great) > Dragons of Stormwreck Isle (good) > Dragon if Icespire Peak (solid).

Lost Mine of Phandelver is free on DNDBeyond.

The Sunless Citadel from Tales from the Yawning Portal covers levels 1-3 and is a really good dungeon crawl. It is, however, a port of a 3E adventure so not really indicative of 5E style.

Death House, the prologue adventure from Curse of Strahd, is on the one hand a thematically great and original adventure but also, as others have mentioned, probably a bit too deadly for 4 level 1 & 2 characters. Just dial back a few of the combat encounters.

Princes of the Apocalypse has a bunch of low-level adventures in its appendix section. I haven't run or played them and can't vouch for them, but they are roughly linked and cover the levels you want.

Waterdeep: Dragon Heist is imo a hot mess & definitely to be avoided.
 

Parmandur

Book-Friend
Death House, the prologue adventure from Curse of Strahd, is on the one hand a thematically great and original adventure but also, as others have mentioned, probably a bit too deadly for 4 level 1 & 2 characters. Just dial back a few of the combat encounters.
Just hold back that freaking Animated Broom...

Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frost Maiden has a bunch of low Level adventures at the start, to allow a low Level party to go anywhere in the sandbox of the Ten Towns but still run into something to do.
 
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Burnside

Space Jam Confirmed
Supporter
Just hold back that freaking Animated Broom...

Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frost Maiden has a bunch of low Lecel adventures at the start, to allow a low Level party to go anywhere in the sandbox of the Yen Towns bit still run into something to do.
I have run several of these as low-level one shots and players really like them - especially the Lonelywood one (elven tomb).
 

Clint_L

Hero
Been reflecting on this more. Of all the 1-3 level pre-published adventures I have run, my favourite is probably "Frozen Sick," from Explorer's Guide to Wildemount. Even though it's short, it feels like a real campaign. Part 1 is a legit mystery that begins in a town, searching for clues, then culminates in a small cavern complex. Then there's some interesting travel and exploration, significant NPC interaction, some world-building, and a final "dungeon" that feels like you've really accomplished something by the end. It tells a complete story, and works as a great introduction to D&D. I can see why WotC offers it for free.

If you haven't played it or run it, I recommend. Though set on Wildemount, it is easy enough to shift to any campaign world that has an arctic region. And it is really easy to spin it off into a longer campaign. I would run it over 3-4 games, though it would not be hard to build it out into something longer.
 

mamba

Legend
Been reflecting on this more. Of all the 1-3 level pre-published adventures I have run, my favourite is probably "Frozen Sick," from Explorer's Guide to Wildemount. Even though it's short, it feels like a real campaign.
available for free on DDB

 

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