Halloween is coming up fast and given that Dungeons & Dragons is known for its scary monsters, magical spells, and dark dungeons, a one-shot D&D adventure is a fantastic way to celebrate this spooky holiday. Dungeon Masters seeking to scare their parties with horror-filled quests, or looking for light-hearted spookily festive escapades can find a lot of pleasure with the resources available this time of year. Halloween has sparked the imagination of many creators and players alike, and special holiday one-shots are great for new D&D players or for offering a fun change of pace to an experienced group.
Generally, one-shot adventures are designed so that they can be played from start to finish in one or two sessions. This format means that they work well for occasions such as Halloween because the creepy adventure shouldn't have to be dragged out all the way to Valentine's Day before completion. These short adventures also provide players a chance to test out new character ideas that may be more stylized or silly without a large commitment.
There are many resources available to find one-shot adventures. The Wizards of the Coast, Dungeon Masters Guild, and D&D Beyond websites are wonderful places to search for D&D campaigns of any size. Below are some suggestions for frightening adventures that are perfect for Halloween escapades.
Death House Is Ideal For A D&D Night Of Halloween Fun
Originally printed as the introductory area for DMs to introduce the Curse of Strahd campaign to players, the one-shot adventure Death House involves exploring an eerily twisted haunted house within the fog of Barovia. This adventure keeps players focused on certain goals to keep them on task despite there being a lot of hidden details inside the house for unsuspecting party members to stumble into.
Wizards of the Coast has released this horror-filled one-shot for free and is ideal for Halloween antics. The milestone leveling mechanic is designed to level characters from levels 1 to 3 and if the party members are enjoying themselves and want to continue with this particularly creepy world, the story will then lead into the larger Curse of Strahd campaign.
A Necromancer's Get Lich Quick Scheme For Halloween
The Liching Hour: A Liar's Night One-Shot For Halloween is a short adventure for parties level 3-5. Players must decide whether they will stop or aid a goblin necromancer named Fizzbang Frazzlepop in his goal to become a lich. Unfortunately, his plan requires summoning the archlich Vecna in this 5e D&D adventure. Cultists, demonic rituals, and more fill this story, which is not to be underestimated.
This one-shot comes via Dungeon Masters Guild in a pay-what-you-want format. While it offers a lot of humor in its story, The Liching Hour is also full of dangers and frights that the party must face. Depending on the group, a DM can easily tweak this to focus heavily on the horror or make it a bit more light-hearted for more easily frightened parties.
A Difficult And Deadly D&D Adventure, Tomb Of Horrors
D&D Beyond's Tomb of Horrors is aptly named. This one-shot is not only full of horror and monsters but is also considered one of the most difficult adventures ever written. In 1975 Gary Gygax wrote Tomb of Horrors to be the ultimate challenge for the players who boasted they could handle anything. The Tomb is a complex dungeon with tricks, traps, and plenty of scary frights.
Players must travel through deadly traps and puzzles in the Tomb of Horrors to reach the demi-lich Acererak's inner sanctum and destroy him before it is too late. The extremely challenging one-shot adventure is a classic which has won many awards over the years and is considered one of the most difficult modules ever created.
Lovecraftian Horrors Where D&D Players Hunt Or Be Hunted
For fans of H.P. Lovecraft, A Shadow Over Pinewood on Dungeon Masters Guild is a Lovecraft-inspired horror one-shot. It runs more the length of a mini-adventure as it can take around 8 hours, and it should be played with 4-6 players at the 10th level or higher. In true psychological horror fashion, this monster hunt adventure evolves as the creature being hunted is an intelligent and ever-changing monstrosity. Players who feel their DM is out to get them will feel even more on edge as they navigate their way through this chaotic world and attempt to avoid the madness that is closing in.
A Crypt Where Time Has Dangerous Consequences
The Horror of Ashwood Crypt: A Horror One Shot Adventure is another terrifying masterpiece on Dungeon Masters Guild. Designed to be played with 4-5 players at the 4th level, it is a dungeon crawl that comes with a bestiary of 5 new frightening monsters and infernal magic that haunts players throughout the adventure.
Players in The Horror of Ashwood Crypt must travel beneath a ruined church to face the evil that has awakened in the crypt beneath. Time is not on the players' side, and the longer it takes them to complete the dungeon, the more difficult the trials become. This one-shot also comes with notes for DMs on how to run horror games to evoke feelings of dread and suspense.
Playing a unique Dungeons & Dragons adventure for Halloween - or really anytime that a DM feels their players deserve to be properly terrified - is a festive way to add creepy theatrics to the table. The game of Dungeons and Dragons naturally lends itself to tales of horror with the settings and monsters which appear in nearly any campaign. As always, please remember to keep in mind the players at the table when selecting an adventure, particularly when it may have content that could be triggering to some.
Sources: Wizards of the Coast (Death House), Dungeon Masters Guild (The Liching Hour: A Liar's Night One-Shot For Halloween, A Shadow Over Pinewood, The Horror of Ashwood Crypt: A Horror One Shot Adventure), D&D Beyond (Tomb of Horrors)