The versatility of Dungeons & Dragons (DnD) is what has made it a relevant board game since 1974. The fifth edition (5E) was released in 2014 with new campaigns for players to jump in on, and because there are so many adventures to choose from, starting on your own with your friends can be overwhelming.
First of all, you’ll need to learn the rules of the game and decide who will be the Dungeon Master (DM) and who will be the player. We’ve already explained how to play DnD 5E and how to create a character step-by-step. Only the DM can read the campaign book, though, since it contains all the story’s details.
Most campaigns require three to five players minimum to play smoothly, but if you can’t find a party that size, the DM can adapt the story to keep the campaign balanced by reducing the number of goblins in a cave or letting the players begin with a higher level, for example.
You can play DnD 5E one-on-one even though the game was designed to be played with a group. They are called DnD Duets and the DM can play along by controlling an NPC. The player can also have a sidekick or just roll with one hero in the story and adapt along the way.
Here are the best DnD campaigns to play if you’re just starting out.
Lost Mine of Phandelver
The Lost Mine of Phandelver is one of the best campaigns to have as your first, and Wizards of the Coast agrees since it has included it in the official D&D Starter Set. The story has four chapters and was made for four to six players, taking them from levels one to five.
The greatest aspect is that the book helps the DM by treating them like it’s their first campaign. There is a brief explanation of their role in the story, how to read the book, and it presents possible scenarios that the players might face and how to react to them as a DM.
The story will be a great first experience for players as well, as it contains some RPG classics like fighting goblins, exploring dungeons with secret doors, a dragon, and uncovering a mystery. It’s a great way to get to know the dynamics of DnD, the Forgotten Realms setting, and understanding the rhythm of a campaign.
Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
The Waterdeep: Dragon Heist has nine parts and was made for three to five players, taking them from level one to at least five. The party will participate in a treasure hunt and will be caught in the conflict between two power groups from the city.
The book won’t hold the DM’s hand through the story like Lost Mine of Phandelver, as it focuses much more on the characters’ and villains’ backgrounds and the adventure’s settings than teaching how to play. The story offers more customization by allowing the DM to choose the main villain of the campaign and the season in which the adventure occurs.
Players will have to use more of their smarts and charisma to deal with the problems of the city instead of their swords and shields. They’ll be surrounded by the urban culture and scenery following clues and outsmarting the competition without killing them.
Curse of Strahd
The Curse Of Strahd campaign is a long but fun one. With 15 chapters, it will take the players from level one to 10 in a fantasy-horror adventure. It’s best to have a party of three to seven players to take down the vampire Count Strahd von Zarovich and end the curse placed in Barovia.
The Death House is an introductory adventure for characters who aren’t yet level three, so if you prefer to start the adventure right away, you can skip Deat House and take the party’s level to three automatically. But we recommend you play this mini-campaign to set the gothic horror tone of the story.
This is one of the most popular campaigns in the Wizard of the Coast’s repertoire so the DM will be able to find several additional contents to better understand the story and use the characters and places to create their own adventure. One point that DM’s can change is the villain’s motivations, for example, making him more complex than just an evil lord.
The horror setting will break the player’s expectations of encountering goblins, dragons, and warriors, which are replaced by ghosts, werewolves, and ghouls of Barovia. The party will also meet interesting NPCs that can become allies or creepy enemies.
Tales from the Yawning Portal
Tales from the Yawning Portal is a collection of seven dangerous dungeons for players to explore. The Yawning Portal is a famous tavern in Waterdeep where the tales of your party’s achievements are being told, as the name suggests. The adventures can also be adapted and used in your own campaign.
The DM can also use the Yawning Portal as a quest center. The players can find NPC’s who give them the directions to each adventure. The first adventure is named The Sunless Citadel. It was made for first-level players and is considered to be a great introduction to a first-time DM, while the other adventures will require characters to be higher-leveled.
This book will be a stereotypical DnD campaign with a lot of dungeon crawling, but it teaches players how to deal with different situations while exploring huge dungeons, fighting different types of monsters, and finding lost treasures on the way.
Storm Kings Thunder
The Storm Kings Thunder book is longer than the previous ones. This campaign was designed for four to six players and will take them from level one to around level 11 throughout its 12 chapters. The journey will put players against different types of giants that have gone rampant for a mysterious reason.
The DM will have a harder time with this campaign, so we recommend that you play the Lost Mine of Phandelver or other campaigns first to get accustomed to a Dungeons and Dragons book before this one since it might feel overwhelming to start DMing with a 256-page book. The campaign itself is not complicated when compared to other books and you’ll have a lot of opportunities to make your own additions.
Players will have epic encounters with giants in Storm Kings Thunder. There will be a lot of dangers they’ll face that will require them to make smart decisions and think outside of the video game mentality. They will get more familiar with the Forgotten Realms world they encounter groups and locations present in other campaigns.
Which of these campaigns sound the most intriguing to you? Let us know in a comment below!
Published: Nov 12, 2021 11:18 am