In the decade since the release of D&D 5E, Wizards of the Coast has published twenty-one adventures, including the recent addition of Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep; some featuring standalone, setting agnostic dungeons, while others immerse the character in the lore of the world.
While some adventures fail to grab the community's attention, whether due to writing, low usage, or a failure to bring something new to the game, fans on Reddit voiced their favorites; ones that stand out, add to the game, or otherwise stay in the minds of players and DM's alike.
Curse Of Strahd
A remake of a classic adventure, Curse of Strahd takes players through the grim realms of Barovia in a horror filled adventure as they work against the titular vampire. While the sandbox format of the adventure can make it hard to run, especially for DMs with a large D&D group, Redditor captaincowtj15 still feels its the clear top. Ravenloft, the origin of both the setting and story of Curse of Strahd, has consistently been among the fan favorite campaign settings, one of the few to appear in every edition of the game.
Icewind Dale: Rime Of The Frostmaiden
Set in the Icewind Dale region of the Forgotten Realms, the icy adventure takes players through themes of horror and survival, leaning on the already present themes inherent to the frozen setting; Redditor twoisnumberone calls the adventure "very atmospheric," if a bit scattered, focusing on the group of communities known as Ten-Towns as they endure the dark, never ending winter, waiting for the characters to put an end to it.
Tales From The Yawning Portal
In the words of Redditor straightdmin, Tales of the Yawning Portal is "a bunch of the most highly rated classic adventures." While the set of seven adventures can be viewed and used individually, the book is presented as an adventure that can be run from level 1 to as high as the group wants to go. Written in an ambiguous campaign setting, the book includes suggestions on how to integrate it into any official D&D world, or your own homebrew setting, making it perfect to try out some of Reddit's best D&D homebrew classes.
Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
Waterdeep: Dragon Heist takes players through an urban adventure in the Forgotten Realms titular city looking for a hoard of gold. The first of two adventure modules in the Waterdeep storyline, the module is succeeded by Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage.
Despite the detailed descriptions the book introduces, Dragon Heist is often criticized for only running from levels one to five; but as Redditor Darkstar_Aurora points out, part of what makes the adventure a favorite is the plethora of well established NPC characters from Forgotten Realms lore.
Waterdeep: Dungeon Of The Mad Mage
The second installment in the Waterdeep storyline, Dungeon of the Mad Mage takes the fifth level adventurers from the end of Dragon Heist and propels them through a super dungeon to reach level twenty, the only officially published way to do so. Because of the chance the adventure gives players and DMs to reach the highest tier of play, Redditors like Dizzy_Employee7459 begrudgingly grant it a place at the top of the list.
Storm King's Thunder
Storm King's Thunder puts the players in the shoes of being under the shoes of Giants, an upheaval in Giant society causing problems for the humanoid's of smaller size. Storm King's Thunder takes players through levels one to twelve as they contend with the Giants' attempts to earn favor with their gods. Chris Perkins discussed the inspiration for the module, an AD&D 2E book titled Giant Craft and the structure of their society. Perkins, lead designer of the book, was also one of Critical Role's best guest characters, Shale.
Ghosts Of Saltmarsh
Similar to Tales of the Yawning Portal, Ghosts of Saltmarsh serves as a collection of adventures rather than a single one; Redditor straightdmin calls it “just a collection of classic dungeons” while acknowledging that “the ones chosen are classics for a reason."
Set in the Greyhawk setting by default, the collection of classic nautical based adventurers can easily be setting agnostic, carrying characters from level one to twelve if played as a concurrent campaign in whatever world the game is being run in.
Lost Mines Of Phandelver
One of the most popular starting adventures, Redditor Burnt_Bugbear calls Lost Mines of Phandelver "really solid, especially as a starter adventure." Set in the Sword Coast Region of the Forgotten Realms, the adventure carries players through the first five levels of the game, preparing them to explore the rest of the campaign setting. Released as part of the D&D 5e Starter Set, Lost Mines of Phandelver serves as many player's introduction to the game; not only does it carry a lot of nostalgia, it inspires a lot of name recognition.
Tomb Of Annihilation
Inspired by Gary Gygax's classic Tomb of Horrors module, Tomb of Annihilation takes players through the wilderness of the Forgotten Realms, D&D's classic setting, searching for an artifact known as the Soulmonger. While the module has a reputation for character death, some have the unpopular opinion that DM's should let D&D characters die. Redditor SweatyToerag points out some of the highlights of the adventure's exploration, posing the question "how can you not love a dinosaur and zombies infested Jungle setting?"
Wild Beyond The Witchlight
Jumping into an extraplanar adventure, The Wild Beyond the Witchlight brings players into the strange lands of the Feywild. The adventure, centered around the Feywild centric Witchlight Carnival, features peaceful resolutions for every encounter. Redditor MrTurboIce calls the adventure "literally the best thing from WotC I read," but acknowledges that not everyone will agree, saying "I can understand if combat heavy or hardcore fantasy DM's might not like it." Still, The Wild Beyond the Witchlight took a brave, unique approach for an adventure, making it stand out among the rest of the published adventures.