It’s approaching that time of year again. It’s time to inject some spooky, Halloween vibes into your DnD 5E group.
Running a Halloween one-shot can be one of the most gratifying and frustrating experiences as a DM. Horror is by far one of the hardest environments to effectively maintain in 5E. Thankfully, by following some modules from dedicated writers, the whole thing can become a lot better.
The best adventures for a DnD 5E Halloween one-shot
While there are a few good official campaigns with horror themes, the best DnD 5E horror one-shots come from DMsGuild. Most of these two-to-six-hour campaigns cost less than $10 USD through the site. These adventures can easily work their way into pre-established campaigns or survive on their own merits with a new party.
The Haunt
The Haunt, by Phil Beckwith, is a well-regarded horror module designed for level five characters. It involves the ancient Montarthas Manor, a colossal building from a time before orc raiders tore the rest of the town apart.
The manor is an excellent romp, with plenty of horror-inspired encounters that players are asked to tackle.
It’s also got quite a lot of heart to it. Exploring the Manor is enjoyable, but so is learning all of the information about the manor and the dead town around it. The PDF is really well-designed for a DM who loves their storytelling.
And, if you like how they write things, then don’t fear—though, perhaps you should—because The Haunt is a member of a trilogy of adventures by the same publisher.
The only real qualm we have with this adventure is that it is bulky. Players that are wanting to explore the Manor should expect a minimum of two and a maximum of four sessions doing so. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, since it’s a great way to catapult into a higher-level, spooky campaign.
It also supports integration onto Virtual Tabletops, making it slightly easier to run with distant friends.
Treat or Trick: A Halloween Adventure
Treat or Trick, by Chris Ramsley, is a small but respected book for level two characters. A celebrant at a local festival goes too far, and a dark curse infects the town. Luckily, the town fair’s own party games offer the key to victory.
This is one of the more campy Halloween tales—making it perfect for a party looking for more of the youthful themes of the season. The festival is good fun and, while the curse does add horror elements to the world, the way to beat the curse is almost nostalgic in how childlike and hilarious it is.
Of the adventures on here, this one is perhaps one of the harder ones to scale. It’s designed for the Proficiency Two range of characters at the most. It’s not the end of the world to scale it higher, but some monsters might seem underwhelming for higher-level parties even with number adjustments.
Happy Jack’s Funhouse
Happy Jack’s Funhouse, by Jeff C. Stevens and Remley Farr, is a particularly terrifying campaign involving the titular Happy Jack, a clown that evokes Pennywise in style.
Designed for any adventurer between levels three and 10, the bulk of the adventure takes place within Jack’s Funhouse. This campaign has it all; terrifying clowns, a haunted circus, and a fairly unearthly vibe. If you were ever scared of traveling circuses as a kid, this campaign should work for you.
And it’s not too scary. Jack offers a lot of opportunities for levity and comedic relief during an otherwise heart-wrenching campaign setting. This is a great mixture since it lets you have fun with your friends while spooking them right to their core.
The only problem we had with the book was adjusting it to higher levels. Sure, the book does a great job of ensuring that higher-level characters don’t break the game. But, we couldn’t get the same scares out of casters with fifth-level spells as we could with smaller, less powerful ones. We definitely recommend this for lower-level characters, but don’t let that recommendation stop you from inserting this excellent traveling circus into your campaign.
The Madhouse of Tasha’s Kiss
The Madhouse of Tasha’s Kiss, by Jeff Stevens and Remley Farr, is a terrifying book by the same authors of Happy Jack’s Funhouse. In this tale, an entire village enters a mysterious wagon labeled “Tasha’s Kiss.” Entering this proves to be a true madhouse, full of perverse themes, creepy monsters, and bloody horror.
Unlike Happy Jack’s Funhouse, there’s a lot less room to be comedic with this tale. The story is engrossing—and, at times, quite gross—and designed to terrify rather than entertain through its blood and gore. You’re entering the slashing 90s with this book, making it perfect for a group that’s legitimately interested in being scared out of their wits and introduced to legitimately terrifying imagery.
This book is supported on Virtual Tabletops, making it a breeze to run online without too much prep time.
Halloween in Phandalin
Halloween in Phandalin, by Chad Engler, is an additional adventure designed to be run alongside Lost Mine of Phandelver, one of 5E‘s most popular beginner modules.
This module adds an undead air to the poor town of Phandalin, which can’t seem to catch a break. Intended for low-level adventurers, this campaign has the party exploring a Lich’s playground underneath a pre-established campaign setting. This leads to fun interactions with the townsfolk and some extra stakes for players who enjoy Phandalin as a campaign setting.
That being said, of all of the modules suggested here, this might be one of the more “standard” ones. There are going to be several problem-solving moments that are reminiscent of standard dungeon crawls as players explore the underground. Creepy moments with the undead will be contrasted with enjoyable fights. This makes it great for players who come to DnD 5E for combat and conundrums, rather than just to get scared on Halloween.
The Witch of Underwillow
The Witch of Underwillow, by Merric Blackman, is a campaign for very low-level adventurers, starring the kidnapping of a child.
Blackman does an excellent job introducing adventurers into the atmosphere of an untrustworthy village on the precipice of panic. There’s a lot of room to grow, as well, with many spaces for extra encounters, new enemies, or additional NPCs to help change the world to your needs.
It’s also designed for low-level play, which is where horror games thrive. It’s a good jumping-off point for new adventurers thanks to its low level. You don’t have to worry about crafting a level nine Wizard with all of the bobs and pins in the way.
The Witch of Underwillow is notable, not just due to being a good horror campaign, but being a fairly good introduction to DnD 5E as a whole. It’s worthy of consideration for all seasons, though October does paint it in a much more sinister light.
The Haunting of House Hargrave
The Haunting of House Hargrave, by Greg Bilsland, is a one-shot for five or six players involving a haunted mansion. One of the players is secretly assigned to be the mansion’s heir, adding some interparty conflict into the fray.
Rather than just being a fun horror area thrown into a campaign, The Haunting of House Hargrave is designed top-to-bottom as an introduction point for a campaign or a standalone adventure. That’s because of a big plot twist partway through about the curse itself that Bilsland paints beautifully.
A great time with friends, this campaign is still on the longer side, perhaps more comfortable with two sessions instead of one—Exploring the mansion is a great time and shouldn’t be rushed.
Tales from the Yawning Portal
If you want to start a new campaign with horror elements, Tales from the Yawning Portal offers a handful of spooky adventures that can kick-start your November.
There are three campaigns in particular that work well for the season: Dead in Thay, Tomb of Horrors, and The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan.
Dead in Thay is a dungeon crawl that focuses on high-level play and taking down Liches. While far from traditional horror fare, there’s a feeling of worry the entire time and several NPCs that your adventurers will have to keep alive, even as they aid.
The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan is a solid mid-level campaign that sends players through a hidden shrine to a vampire god. The story is left a bit in the dust, but there are several terrifying monsters and ghoulish rooms awaiting players. It’s perhaps the easiest of our recommendations to slide into a day or two of adventuring.
Tomb of Horrors is a high-level dungeon crawl with way too many traps, dangerous monsters, and terrifying dual encounters. The story is very light, giving you a lot of room to either add stakes or just kill monsters with your friends on a spooky autumn night.
