There are tons of mysteries associated with Dungeons & Dragons the top one for me being how to get your whole party to come to a session. Every time our DM suggests a time and place it seems like everyone is busy walking their goldfish, just came down with a cold, or has a work emergency. But we’re not here to talk about that sort of mystery, let’s focus on the ones in the story itself.
Your standard DnD campaign always contains some mystery elements – your party can be tasked with finding a long-lost sacred artifact that nobody is exactly sure what it is, or maybe trying to figure out the secret motivation of a murderous cult. I mean, no adventure would be fun if everything was discussed in heavy detail before – half the fun is in the suspenseful atmosphere and surprising reveals along the way. If your friends are huge fans of the plot twists and are always trying to figure out what comes next, why not pump up the mysteriousness to the max and try out a DnD mystery one-shot? These modules will force players to use their critical thinking and problem-solving skills but also provide a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction when they unravel clues and discover secrets. Also, they will get the chance to play Sherlock Holmes for a day (or many days, depending on the length of your campaign) and who doesn’t like that?
I’ve compiled a list of my favorite mystery DnD modules for all the DMs that wanna dabble in this genre, but don’t have the time or energy to make a homebrewed adventure for their players. These are going to vary in tone and length and there is certainly going to be something for everyone so be sure to stick around until the end!
Disclaimer: Some of these adventures might contain content that is disturbing or unsettling to certain individuals so I’m going to include a content warning beforehand to prevent players from being upset, or triggered. I strongly suggest you discuss the content warnings with your group before starting an adventure so nobody is caught by surprise and everyone has fun!
10. A Murder in Mossbank
To kick off this list, I’ve got a nice little classic DnD whodunnit for you. I have a confession to make – I love a good murder mystery, and this one hits all the beats of a standard one and really hits the spot for mystery fiends. A beloved member of the Mossbank community is murdered and your party is offered money to find the murderer. But then *gasp* another person is killed during the investigation. Will your party be able to find the culprit before he strikes again and another innocent member of the community bites the dust?
If you have 2-3 hours to spare, I suggest giving this module a shot since it’s pretty fun and lighthearted. It has minimal opportunities for combat but your players will have their hands full with the suspicious NPCs, interesting things, and places to investigate.
9. Murder on the Eberron Express
While we’re still on the murder mystery train… get it – train? I’ll let myself out.
Okay, bad jokes aside, as you’ve probably guessed by the title, this murder mystery one-shot was inspired by Agatha Cristie’s Murder on the Orient Express. The story starts after a person is murdered on a train and the party needs to find the murderer before they manage to get off at the next station. Don’t worry though, even though the premise might be familiar to a lot of people, it’s still a very interesting story to play! One super interesting aspect of it is that the DM can choose whether an NPC or a PC is the murderer, which will truly make your players question everyone around them and build an atmosphere full of suspense and paranoia.
This is a 3-5 hour one-shot made for level 6 characters. It’s spooky and dark, has a noir feeling and the ticking clock makes it super tense too. In my opinion, it has all you’d want in a whodunnit, so be sure to check it out.
8. The Mystery of the Red Death
If you’re looking for a bit longer classic whodunnit, then the Mystery of the Red Death is a perfect choice for you. This DnD mystery module takes two to three sessions to complete and is intended for a bit of a larger party of 4-6 players around level 3.
After an alchemist turns up dead, killed by a concoction of her own making, the “Red Death” the player party needs to find the murderer before they strike again. The story is very player-driven and includes a non-linear investigation, a high-society dinner party, and five suspects for your players to question. Will they succeed in finding the culprit in time or will they escape detection and succeed in their evil plan?
7. A Fey Mystery of Glen Dour
Content warning: witches, ghosts, rats, body horror, death
Moving on from murder mystery modules, I have a pretty spooky plain mystery story for you. Lady Sorcha Hannigard has gone missing on her wedding day a long time ago. The only clues to her whereabouts are in her abandoned mansion that now houses many sinister beings, including a witch coven. This is a mystery horror adventure created for character levels 7-9 with a playtime of 8-12 hours. Will your party be able to uncover the mystery of Lady Sorcha’s disappearance before succumbing to the evils of the house?
6. The Mystery of the Missing Bodies
Somebody is stealing bodies from the crypt and it’s your parties’ job to figure out who! The priestess suspects that the call is coming from the inside of the house (or rather the temple). She thinks that at least two of her acolytes are at fault since this had to have been a group effort, but the question is which two? This is a spooky one-shot whodunnit adventure that’s based on investigation and low on combat and can be adjusted for smaller and bigger parties too.
5. The Fairie Coffins
Content warning: horror, body horror
The main attractions of Nulfi’s House of Curiosities, the priceless dolls from the Fairie Coffins, have gone missing and it’s the adventurer’s job to find them and bring them back to their rightful place. Sound simple enough, right? Well, not really. There are some creepy Chucky-like dolls wandering around, mighty fey magic, and an ancient evil lurking in the shadows waiting to be brought back to wreak havoc on the world.
If your party dares to step into this haunted House of Curiosities, then they will experience a mix of combat, social and investigative encounters, come across new monsters and creatures and discover a few new magical artifacts. Will your characters be able to find the Fairie Dolls and survive the evil that lurks within the house, or will you end up filling those coffins yourself? This is a DnD mystery horror one-shot 4-6 hours long intended for a party of three to six level 1 characters.
4. Night of the Walking Dead
Content warning: murder, zombies
If you’re a fan of zombies in media, then look no further, this module is perfect for you! At the start, your group will find themselves in the eerie swamps of Souragne where they’ll encounter all sorts of weird and interesting creatures. After some wondering, they will stumble upon a house whose only occupant is Luc, a young man in a trance-like state who occasionally breaks his silence only to spout some nonsensical rhymes. On your quest to help Luc you will have to research his dark family history, but maybe you’ll stumble upon more than you’ve bargained for! Night of the Walking Dead is a spooky and complex mystery adventure meant for 4-6 players levels 1-3.
3. Candlekeep Murders: The Deadwinter Prophecy
Imagine this – it’s a dark and gloomy night in the dead of winter. Your party approaches the gates of Candlekeep but finds them barred and there’s no guard in sight. Then they find out that the Keeper of Tomes has been murdered and his body has been mutilated and since they’re the only people who weren’t there, they have to solve the murder.
You got me, it’s another murder mystery, but it’s much different than the other two I already mentioned. This is a very complex and extremely detailed murder mystery module that will take players a hefty 8-12 sessions to complete, so players (and DMs) beware! But holy cow, it’s worth it. This is a part of the anthology series Candlekeep Mysteries, the lore of which is interwoven in this story too. It has so many locations to explore, the NPCs are nuanced and complex and you’ve even got a few new creatures to battle! It does require a lot of reading and prep work by the DM, but the material is pretty straightforward so the story is not too hard to run once you get started.
When you finish the murder mystery part of the story, the adventure is not over – you can also run a treasure hunt to find the legendary Vault of Secrets before its tomes fall into the wrong hands and the future of the world is at stake.
2. Secrets of the Blind Palace
Content warning: body horror
Lord and Lady Von Croft wish to hire a party of brave adventurers to retrieve their only son’s body from a haunted pleasure palace so he can be resurrected. They offer a hefty price in gold, a magic scroll, and the help of a bard, the only survivor from the previous expedition, who has been rendered silent since the escape from the notorious Blind Palace. Will your player party be willing (and able) to venture into the haunted pleasure house, discover all its secrets, recover the body within 24 hours, and defeat the evil that resides inside? This story is very engaging, you have lots of areas to explore, it offers chances for imaginative roleplay and most importantly, the choices you make during the game will impact it meaningfully, so be careful.
This is a 5-7 hour adventure (one or two sessions long) intended for a party of 3-7 characters of levels 1-4.
1. The Middlewich Horror – A 5e Mystery
Content warning: body horror, ghosts, infestation, paranormal imagery
In this adventure module, you and your party will discover the story of the Middlewich family and the curse that has left them and their servants haunting the estate decades after their death, poisoning the grounds, and not letting anyone leave. The party will basically act like Ghostbusters and their goal will be either to break the curse or otherwise evict the ghosts from the premises in any way possible. This is a very short module, taking only 4 hours and it’s intended for 2-6 players around level 3. But don’t be fooled, even though the story seems brief, it’s full of interesting NPCs, social encounters, combat, and a lot of investigation, and has a satisfying resolution to the story.
