From fighting dragons atop ice-covered peaks to exploring Sigil, the City of Doors, D&D Beyond has a variety of adventures that won't break the bank. Ranging from short one-shorts to anthologies with 20 adventures, these books will help you cut down on prep, stoke your imagination, and expand your campaign's horizon.
In this article, you'll find a selection of six adventures available today on the marketplace coming in under the $15 mark, making them a great bang for your buck!
- Dragon of Icespire Peak
- Vecna: Nest of the Eldritch Eye
- Dungeons of Drakkenheim: In Search of the Smuggler's Secrets
- Adventure Atlas: The Mortuary
- Lairs of Etharis
- Heroes' Feast: Saving the Children's Menu
Dragon of Icespire Peak
- Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
- Price: $14.99
- Themes: A classic D&D adventure in the Forgotten Realms, perfect for newcomers.
Dragon of Icespire Peak was the adventure featured in the Essentials Kit, the second introductory boxed set for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. As such, it's a perfect adventure to pick up for new Dungeon Masters and players alike.
This adventure features an open-world introduction to the Sword Coast region, allowing players to pick and choose their quests while getting to grips with all the various styles of play D&D offers. Covering the three pillars of D&D gameplay—exploration, combat, and social interaction—players can do it all, from fighting dragons to exploring ruins to making friends, or enemies, of a multitude of colorful characters.
This adventure is playable with as few as one player and as many as five and is designed to take characters from levels 1-7. This level range can be taken to level 12 with the three follow-up adventures: Storm Lord's Wrath, Sleeping Dragon's Wake, and Divine Contention.
Vecna: Nest of the Eldritch Eye
- Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
- Price: $4.99
- Themes: Uncover the schemings of a famous and legendary D&D villain.
Set in the Forgotten Realms city of Neverwinter, Vecna: Nest of the Eldritch is a suspenseful dungeon crawl for four to six level 3 characters.
In this adventure, the party is tasked with investigating a murder with all the signs of the Whispered One, Vecna himself. Playable in a single session, this adventure makes for a perfect session or filler, but can also be used as a prelude adventure to the epic level 10 to 20 adventure Vecna: Eve of Ruin.
Dungeons of Drakkenheim: In Search of the Smuggler's Secrets
- Publisher: Ghostfire Gaming and The Dungeon Dudes
- Price: $14.99
- Themes: Explore the sewers and catacombs of the ruined city of Drakkenheim, where horrors and mutants lurk.
Set in the fallen city of Drakkenheim, Dungeons of Drakkenheim: In Search of the Smuggler's Secrets is an adventure from Ghostfire Gaming and The Dungeon Dudes, designed for four level 3 characters. Although set within the Dungeons of Drakkenheim setting, this adventure can be run standalone without any other Drakkenheim books. If you own Dungeons of Drakkenheim, the adventure can be dropped right into the larger setting, or it can be used in your non-Drakkenheim campaign to add a dark and terrifying quest for your players.
The adventure takes characters from the settlement of Emberwood Village into the blighted ruins of Drakkenheim via a labyrinth of smugglers' tunnels. Here, they will face a selection of twisted and mutated monsters, their flesh warped by the calamity that befell the city above. Will the party make it to the wealth that awaits within the city walls? And more importantly, will they make it back out again in one piece?
Adventure Atlas: The Mortuary
- Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
- Price: $9.99
- Themes: Venture to Sigil in this collection of adventure prompts and resources for the City of Doors.
Adventure Atlas: The Mortuary offers adventure hooks and setting information for the Mortuary region of Sigil, the City of Doors. Contained within are encounters for all tiers of play, perfect for introducing your players to Sigil and Planescape as a whole.
Adventure Atlas: The Mortuary can be used to segue your group into Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse and ready them for the adventure Turn of Fortunes Wheel. Alternatively, it can start as a jumping-off point to take your players out across the multiverse or through the bizarre and bewitching streets of Sigil itself.
Lairs of Etharis
- Publisher: Ghostfire Gaming
- Price: $9.99
- Themes: Battle legendary monsters where they are at their most powerful in this flexible encounter collection.
If you've ever need a last-minute epic boss fight, Lairs of Etharis has you covered. This collection of 20 different encounters pits players against powerful solo creatures and their minions within their lairs. Each monster will be at the height of its power, so players best come prepared–each lair comes with hooks and hints for the characters to research and gather information from so they're as ready as they can be.
Covering levels 1 to 20 with a lair per level, Lairs of Etharis is brimming with content for every tier of play. Run as one-shots to fill a session, or slotted into a larger campaign, these intricate designed lair encounters will have your players coming back for more each time!
Heroes' Feast: Saving the Children's Menu
- Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
- Price: $4.99
- Themes: A whimsical and light-hearted adventure with a charming culinary theme.
Heroes' Feast: Saving the Children's Menu is a level 10 adventure written by Deborah Ann Woll of Daredevil and Critical Role fame, amongst other accolades. Players embark on a culinary quest to save the day. Set in the Sword Coast, the characters are recruited to not only investigate mysterious goings-on but more importantly save a special meal from being ruined!
Mixing classic fantasy adventure with a dash of whimsy, a pinch of silliness, and a big fistful of cheese, Heroes' Feast: Saving the Children's Menu is a fun one-shot that is ideal for light-hearted and high-spirited adventurers who are taking their first steps into the world of D&D.
Bringing the Adventure for Less
Each of these adventures comes in under $15 and offers an exciting foray into the worlds of D&D. Many of them can either be added to existing adventures or serve as an introductory session for a larger campaign, providing excellent flexibility and reusability.
Head on over to the D&D Beyond marketplace and pick one up today!
Davyd is a Dungeon Master living in the south of England with his wife Steph, daughter Willow, and two cats Khatleesi and Mollie. In addition to D&D, he loves writing, 3d printing, and experimenting home automation, often combining all four with varying degrees of success.