Summary

  • Older D&D modules offer unique adventures for typical 5e adventurers, many being rich in lore and good times.
  • Modules like Inferno and The Dancing Hut of Baba Yaga provide high-level challenges with extraplanar twists.
  • Shadows of the Last War is another module that offers a straightforward adventure set in Eberron with a focus on exploration.

For almost fifty years, Dungeons & Dragons has delighted gamers with a treasure trove of modules. There's no shortage of dungeons to delve and dragons to slay, whether you're homebrewing your own adventure, checking out your local gaming store, or picking up an adventure module on platforms like DriveThruRPG.

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While Fifth Edition currently has plenty of pre-written modules, there's also plenty of content from older editions if you're looking for something different. Some older modules have been converted to the latest edition, but the ones on this list have yet to see an official remaster.

8 Castle Amber

Tasha's Cauldron of Everything Art via Wizards of the Coast
  • Edition: First Edition
  • Ideal Levels: 3 through 6

Castle Amber is an old-fashioned dungeon crawl that's great to use whenever you need a side quest with a dimension-hopping twist. While the original module was intended for the Mystara campaign setting, it's not too difficult to adjust details in the lore to make it work for any campaign.

The plot of Castle Amber starts with the players exploring a haunted castle, but things quickly take a turn when the castle contains a portal to medieval France. Spellcasters in your party will also be thrown for a loop as they're forced to contend with the very real risk of being executed for witchcraft in the real-world Middle Ages.

7 Vault Of The Drow

Dungeon Master Screen By Greg Rutkowski
  • Edition: First Edition
  • Ideal Levels: 10

Vault of the Drow is an open-ended adventure module that allows your players to explore the vast Underdark city of Erelhei-Cinlu. By far the module's greatest strength is its narration and world-building, both of which bring the Underdark to life in glorious detail.

Erelhei-Cinlu is a city in the Greyhawk setting, but if you're running this module in Forgotten Realms, you can move the location to Menzoberranzan without needing to change anything important.

While Vault of the Drow was originally created for the Greyhawk campaign setting, it's equally usable for the Forgotten Realms. You can use it as a one-shot, but it really shines when worked into the Out of the Abyss module for Fifth Edition, where you can flesh out the Underdark setting.

6 Savage Tide

Out of the Abyss Cover Art via Wizards of the Coast
  • Edition: 3.5 Edition
  • Ideal Levels: 1 through 20

If you're a fan of Pirates of the Caribbean but just wish it had more dinosaurs, this is the module for you. Savage Tide starts off as a swashbuckling adventure, but quickly takes a turn towards plane-shifting shenanigans near the very end. It also includes an abbreviated version of The Isle of Dread, just for extra measure.

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There are a few Fifth Edition resources you could use to make the conversion process easier. The campaign's main villain, the demon lord Demogorgon, has had his official stat block published in a number of different books. Ghosts of Saltmarsh also has an appendix full of naval combat rules and stats for ships.

5 Inferno

Via Wizards of the Coast
  • Edition: First Edition
  • Ideal Levels: 10 through 14

Inferno is an adventure for high-level PCs that lets you put your players through a hell of a time. While the original module bases itself heavily around Dante's Divine Comedy, you can certainly update the module by making certain details more aligned with traditional D&D lore.

It shouldn't be too hard to convert this module to Fifth Edition, as extraplanar adventures are already appropriate for characters of the original module's level. Since Descent Into Avernus ends at level ten, you can even use Inferno as a continuation or epilogue to an existing Avernus campaign.

4 The Dancing Hut Of Baba Yaga

Baba Yaga's Mortar and Pestle in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything by Wizards of the Coast
  • Edition: Second Edition
  • Ideal Levels: 7 through 20

The Dancing Hut of Baba Yaga is a funhouse-style dungeon crawl that stands out for how weird it is. One room of the chicken-legged hut will have your players thrown into their own digestive systems, like a twisted episode of The Magic School Bus. Another will have them thrown into the reverse isekai that is Alternate Reality Tokyo.

This module is suitable for a Feywild campaign, especially if you want to go with the lore of the Baba Yaga being Iggwilv's adoptive mother. Otherwise, you could throw it into any campaign setting with a strong fairy tale or folkloric vibe.

3 Shadows Of The Last War

Eberron Rising From The Last War Cover Art via Wizards of the Coast
  • Edition: 3.5 Edition
  • Ideal Levels: 2

Eberron hasn't gotten as much love as other settings in Fifth Edition, but it's still a cult favorite. If you love the setting and want a good low-level adventure to get your players accustomed to the world and lore, look no further than Shadows of the Last War.

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This is a fairly straightforward adventure with two dungeon crawls, as well as some overland exploration for your group. You'll need to provide side quests on your own, but for a band of rookie adventurers, Shadows of the Last War is more than enough of a challenge.

2 The Isle Of Dread

Art via Wizards of the Coast
  • Edition: First Edition
  • Ideal Levels: 3 through 7

In a world filled with endless dungeon crawls, The Isle of Dread was one of the first wilderness exploration modules to break the mold. This survival-focused adventure will have your players fighting their way through loads of dinosaurs and facing the elements on a tropical island.

This is a great module to throw in if your players just need a fun side quest with some dinosaurs, so feel free to play around a bit with the set dressing. It's also perfect as a side quest for Tomb of Annihilation, where the tropical setting of Chult is already suited for dinosaur adventures.

1 Age Of Worms

Elder Evils by Michael Komarck
  • Edition: 3.5 Edition
  • Ideal Levels: 1 through 20

A handful of different adventure paths were published in Dungeon magazine, but Age of Worms stands as a cut above the rest. It's an epic adventure that starts your group off by dealing with a necromancer in a small rural village and ends with them taking down an insidious Far Realm cult.

If you have either Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes or Monsters of the Multiverse, the Star Spawn stats will prove invaluable to your conversion efforts. It's advisable to take your time and convert as you go, since Age of Worms has a lot of content to digest.

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