The Best D&D Modules for Halloween

It's that time of the year, my favorite holiday; the night of spooks, goblins and ghastly things. Each year my group does a one-shot Halloween themed adventure and I figured I would give my opinion on what I consider the best Halloween adventures. Like everything on this blog, this is my opinion and I try to only evaluate modules I own and have run previously, so take it for what it is, but enjoy all of the amazing Stephen Fabian art incoming.

Ravenloft (I6): the original module from the Hickman / Weis team where we are first introduced to villain Strahd, a vampire with a tragic story. If running this one as a one-shot, skip all of the background and just run Castle Ravenloft itself. One of the greatest modules created is perfect for a Halloween scenario.

 

The Haunting of Harrowstone: Part of 1 of the Carrion Crown adventure path for the Pathfinder Roleplaying game. This adventure sees the characters come to a small village that is quickly becoming plagued by the spirits of an abandoned prison on the outskirts of town. Well those ghosts aren't going to go away on their own, the characters will need to venture into the haunted ruins and save the town.

Death Frost Doom: From Lamentations of the Flame Princess, you can likely expect things to go wrong for the players, and you would be correct in that assumption. An exploration of an out of the way cabin in a frigid country-side turns into the revelation of an apocalyptic cult and it's undead leaders being unleashed. Good thing we're just running a one-shot here, this campaign is ending sooner than expected! Really great and atmospheric module, highly recommend.

Night of the Walking Dead: Back to the domains of Ravenloft for this one. Themes are centered around a Bayou like village about to experience a night of terror. This adventure is clearly an homage to the pulp culture movie, Night of the Walking Dead with a Dungeons and Dragons spin. Props for not having the domain lord involved in this adventure, as the night goes on the threat increases unless the characters address the root of the issue driving the dead to march on the small village. This is a very underrated module and probably one of the best for the 2nd edition Ravenloft line.

Castle Xyntillan: This one may be a bit too whimsical and gonzo at times for some, but there is no better module to represent a romp through a haunted castle than this one. This is everything Tegel Manor should have been. A cursed family with dark secrets still plaguing the castle where riches are abundant for the brave and foolhardy to explore. This is one of the best modules ever produced for the OSR. The faction dynamics of dealing with the various and numerous family members presents a complicated mess for the players to weed through, and I mean that as a sincere compliment. This adventure is like being on the Haunted Mansion ride at Disney expect you may not survive.