There’s something about a good old-fashioned dungeon crawl that I really enjoy. You gather the party, stock up on supplies, head into some forgotten ruin, and spend the next several hours opening doors that probably should have stayed closed.
It’s D&D at its simplest, and when done well, it’s a ton of fun.
However, I’ve also seen dungeon crawls turn into an endless routine of entering a room, fighting three monsters, taking their gold, and moving to the next room. Repeat that fifteen times and even the most enthusiastic players will start wondering when something interesting is going to happen.
A good dungeon needs more than monsters. It needs places worth exploring, secrets worth discovering, and some reason for the players to care about what’s around the next corner. Factions, traps, puzzles, environmental hazards, etc. You get the point.
With that in mind, I’ve put together some of the best D&D dungeon crawl modules for 5e. Some are short enough to finish in a few sessions, while others are enormous megadungeons that can support an entire campaign.
1. The Sunless Citadel
The Sunless Citadel is probably where I’d start if I wanted to introduce a group to proper dungeon crawling. It’s included in Tales from the Yawning Portal, runs from levels 1 to 3, and has pretty much everything I expect from a classic D&D dungeon.
The party investigates a ruined fortress that sank into the earth long ago. Inside, they encounter kobolds, goblins, traps, strange creatures, and a rather unpleasant magical tree.
What makes this adventure particularly good is the relationship between the kobolds and goblins. They’re competing factions, and the players can get involved in their conflict instead of simply killing everything they see.
That gives the dungeon some personality. The creatures have reasons for being there, and the party’s decisions can affect how the rest of the adventure unfolds.
The layout is also manageable enough for a newer DM. There are plenty of rooms to explore, but the adventure isn’t so enormous that you need a separate notebook just to remember where the stairs lead.
Watch the early encounters, though. Level 1 characters are pretty fragile, and a few unlucky rolls can make the opening much harder than intended.
Regardless, this is one of the better introductory dungeon crawls available for 5e, and it works well as a starting point for a longer campaign.
2. Abomination Vaults
Abomination Vaults originally came from Pathfinder, but Paizo released a complete 5e conversion that takes characters from level 1 to 11.
The adventure revolves around Gauntlight, a strange lighthouse near the town of Otari. Beneath it lies a massive dungeon filled with monsters, traps, ancient secrets, and the remnants of a sorcerer’s rather unpleasant plans.
The dungeon itself has ten levels, each with different environments, creatures, and problems to solve. There’s also a proper story connecting everything, which helps explain why the party keeps going deeper.
I particularly like the relationship between the dungeon and Otari. The town gives players somewhere to rest, resupply, interact with NPCs, and occasionally remember that the world contains people who aren’t actively trying to kill them.
This also helps make the campaign feel more natural. The party explores, discovers something dangerous, returns to town, prepares, and heads back down.
There are opportunities for negotiation and roleplay inside the dungeon, too. Some inhabitants have their own motivations, so not every encounter needs to end in combat.
The main warning is that this is a substantial campaign. You’ll want to read ahead, keep track of the different dungeon areas, and understand how the larger story develops.
Also, make sure you’re getting the 5e version, since the original Pathfinder edition uses entirely different rules.
For a long dungeon-focused campaign with an actual storyline, this is one of my favorite recommendations.
3. Scarlet Citadel
Scarlet Citadel from Kobold Press is another excellent option for groups that want a proper dungeon campaign. It takes characters from level 1 to 10, with six large dungeon levels beneath the ruins of an old magical fortress.
The setup is classic fantasy. Long ago, powerful wizards used the citadel for their experiments. Now it’s abandoned, or at least abandoned by anyone you’d particularly want to meet.
Naturally, adventurers keep going inside.
The dungeon contains original monsters, magical traps, puzzles, strange environments, and plenty of opportunities for the party to make terrible decisions. Some encounters are straightforward fights, while others require a little more thought.
There’s also the nearby town of Redtower, which serves as a convenient base between expeditions. I always appreciate that in a dungeon campaign because it gives players somewhere to spend their gold and recover before doing something stupid again.
One thing worth mentioning is that Kobold Press uses several original creatures, so experienced players won’t necessarily recognize every monster they encounter. That’s a nice change if your group has been playing D&D for years and knows the Monster Manual almost by heart.
The downside is preparation. The dungeon is fairly large, and there are enough interconnected areas that you’ll want to understand what’s going on before running each section.
The separate map folio can also be useful, particularly if you play in person.
If you’re looking for a traditional dungeon crawl with modern 5e mechanics, Scarlet Citadel is a very solid choice.
4. Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
If you want a dungeon crawl that can take characters from level 5 all the way to level 20, Dungeon of the Mad Mage is the obvious official choice.
The adventure takes place beneath Waterdeep, in the enormous underground complex known as Undermountain. It belongs to Halaster Blackcloak, an extremely powerful wizard who has apparently decided that filling an underground labyrinth with monsters, traps, and magical nonsense is a perfectly reasonable hobby.
The dungeon is enormous. Each level has its own inhabitants, locations, threats, and secrets, and the deeper the party goes, the stranger things become.
This makes the adventure ideal for groups that genuinely love exploration. There’s always another passage to investigate, another faction to deal with, or another dangerous area waiting below.
However, the sheer size can become a problem.
Unlike some other adventures on this list, Dungeon of the Mad Mage doesn’t have a particularly strong central storyline pushing the characters forward. Much of the motivation comes from exploration, treasure, and whatever personal goals the players bring into the dungeon.
That’s fine if your players enjoy that kind of game. If they need a strong narrative reason to visit every dungeon level, you may have to provide one yourself.
I’d also recommend making good use of the different factions. Without those interactions, the campaign can become a long sequence of fights, which gets repetitive surprisingly quickly.
Still, there’s an incredible amount of material here, and it’s one of the few official 5e adventures designed around taking high-level characters through an enormous dungeon.
5. The Lost City
The Lost City is a classic D&D adventure that received an updated 5e version in Quests from the Infinite Staircase. This version is intended for characters from levels 1 to 3.
The party discovers a mysterious stepped pyramid in the middle of the desert. Inside are the remains of a forgotten civilization, dangerous creatures, strange cults, and a much larger mystery beneath the ruins.
What I like about this adventure is that the dungeon has an actual society living inside it.
Different factions worship different ancient gods, and the players can interact with them, make alliances, or get themselves involved in conflicts they barely understand.
That makes exploration more interesting because the party isn’t simply moving through empty rooms looking for treasure. There are people here with their own beliefs and problems, and some of them can be surprisingly helpful.
The adventure also has that older D&D feeling where the dungeon is a strange place that doesn’t necessarily exist to accommodate the players. Some things are dangerous, some are mysterious, and others are just plain weird.
The DM should familiarize themselves with the different factions before running it. They’re a major part of the adventure, and it helps to know what each group wants.
Also, the dungeon has appeared in several different editions. The 2024 version is the shorter, low-level adventure, while Goodman Games published a more extensive 5e adaptation that can support a longer campaign.
For a group that likes exploration mixed with faction politics, The Lost City is definitely worth considering.
6. White Plume Mountain
White Plume Mountain is another classic included in Tales from the Yawning Portal, this time designed for 8th-level characters.
Three legendary magical weapons have been stolen, and the party is sent to recover them from the dungeon beneath a strange volcanic mountain.
Simple enough, right?
Well, the dungeon itself is anything but simple.
It contains unusual traps, puzzles, environmental challenges, bizarre rooms, and some very dangerous inhabitants. A lot of the encounters feel like someone deliberately tried to come up with the strangest possible obstacle and then built an entire room around it.
Which, to be fair, is probably not far from the truth.
This is a great dungeon for players who like being challenged in ways that don’t always involve combat. They’ll need to pay attention, think creatively, and occasionally accept that the obvious solution is probably a trap.
The adventure is also relatively short compared with the megadungeons on this list. You can run it over several sessions without committing to another year-long campaign.
The downside is that some of the older design choices can feel a little arbitrary. Not every obstacle makes perfect sense, and the adventure occasionally expects players to experiment until something works.
I’d recommend reviewing the more unusual rooms beforehand and deciding whether anything needs adjustment for your group.
Still, if your players enjoy puzzles, strange magic, and unpredictable dungeon encounters, White Plume Mountain is a lot of fun.
7. Dead in Thay
Dead in Thay is the final recommendation here, and it’s probably the one I’d choose for an experienced group that wants a large, dangerous dungeon without starting another full campaign from level 1.
It’s included in Tales from the Yawning Portal and is intended for higher-level characters, beginning around level 9.
The adventure sends the party into the Doomvault, an enormous underground complex controlled by the Red Wizards of Thay. Their goal is to disrupt the wizards’ operations and ultimately destroy the magical systems supporting their plans.
The Doomvault is divided into different zones, each containing its own monsters, traps, and challenges. There are laboratories, prisons, strange magical experiments, and plenty of enemies who aren’t especially pleased to see adventurers wandering around.
What makes it interesting is that the dungeon feels like an actual working facility. Different areas serve different purposes, and the party gradually learns more about what the Red Wizards are doing.
There are also magical barriers and keys that control movement through the complex. That adds another layer to exploration because players can’t simply walk wherever they want.
The DM needs to prepare these systems carefully, though. The dungeon is complicated, and keeping track of access between areas can become confusing if you haven’t studied the layout.
Combat can also be demanding, particularly because the party is operating in enemy territory where reinforcements and coordinated responses make sense.
For experienced groups that enjoy tactical combat and exploring large, interconnected locations, Dead in Thay is a strong option.
Which Dungeon Crawl Should You Run?
If you’re introducing players to dungeon crawling, I’d start with The Sunless Citadel. It’s a manageable adventure that teaches exploration, faction interaction, and the importance of thinking before attacking everything.
For a longer campaign with a good balance between story and exploration, Abomination Vaults is probably my first choice.
If you want a more traditional fantasy megadungeon, go with Scarlet Citadel.
For an enormous official campaign that reaches level 20, choose Dungeon of the Mad Mage.
If you enjoy factions and strange underground societies, The Lost City is worth looking into. And if you want a shorter adventure full of puzzles and unusual encounters, White Plume Mountain should do nicely.
Finally, for experienced parties who want a dangerous high-level dungeon, there’s Dead in Thay.
Regardless of which one you choose, I’d recommend making exploration matter. Track resources, give monsters reasons to move around, let factions react to what the party does, and make sure the dungeon changes as the players explore it.
A dungeon shouldn’t feel like a collection of rooms where everyone is waiting for the adventurers to arrive. Ideally, the players should get the feeling that things were happening down there long before they showed up, and will continue happening whether they get involved or not.
Unless they kill everything, I suppose. That does tend to put a stop to things.
