After 10 Years, D&D Needs To Repeat Its Biggest 5e Success

Dungeons & Dragons 5e has been full of ups and downs, and that's especially true of the campaign books. Even ignoring the anthology books, 5e has been defined by a long succession of full-length adventures, ranging from roleplay-oriented stories to classic dungeon crawls. Most of them are entertaining, but they tend to come with their fair share of shortcomings.

For the past ten years, one campaign book has stood out above the rest. The Gothic horror of Curse of Strahd isn't for everyone, forcing the party to endure a world full of tragedy and abandon any hope of a power fantasy. It is, however, perfect for a lot of players, and it's past time for D&D to manage another campaign as widely loved as Curse of Strahd.

D&D Is Overdue For Another Iconic Campaign

A Decade Has Passed Since 2016

The D&D community is often invested in doom and gloom, but all things considered, the game is in a relatively good place right now. While the 2024 rules revisions were far from perfect, they made some compelling changes, and recent books like the anthology Dragon Delves and a pair of Forgotten Realms tomes have been solid follow-ups. In 2026, a new campaign book is the one thing missing.

After Vecna: Eve of Ruin's release in the first half of 2024, 2025 represented a hiatus from campaign book releases, leaving the 2024 rules without a campaign of their own. Backward compatibility does a lot of heavy lifting, but the slight power boost in 2024 can occasionally throw off the difficulty of older campaigns. More importantly, D&D is simply overdue for another truly great campaign.

Curse of Strahd came out in 2016, and the majority of 5e players would likely agree that it hasn't been topped since. To be fair, it entered the fray with a large advantage. The Ravenloft module has been a fan-favorite for decades, and revisions for every edition have consistently provided some of the most memorable D&D experiences. After the rough spots of 5e's first two campaigns, Curse of Strahd's new take on Ravenloft was exactly what the system needed.

Curse Of Strahd Sets A High Standard

Hitting Every Essential Note

Delivering another adventure as atmospheric and compelling as Curse of Strahd could be a challenge, but campaign books could learn from it in other ways. Part of Strahd's magic is the unusual structural balance it strikes. The looming threat of Strahd gives it a fundamental drive, but it's more of a collection of characters, locations, and events than a pre-written story. In the hands of a great DM, it's the perfect toolkit for an experience that puts the party first.

Finding the perfect balance between roleplay and combat is another challenge for D&D campaigns, and some 5e books give up on the prospect altogether. Waterdeep: Dragon Heist and Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage split the bill, delivering a largely social experience in the first module and a mega-dungeon in the second. One of the better modern books, The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, makes every combat encounter optional to appeal to roleplay-focused fans.

No gameplay balance can be perfect for every table, but Curse of Strahd comes close. Negotiating with burgomasters can be just as important as slaying werewolves, and the party will likely handle plenty of both in the quest to defeat Strahd. The constant sense of threat gives every village a dungeon-like sensibility, while the rich lore and characters inject interesting roleplay opportunities into every dungeon.

In 2026, it's not ideal that Curse of Strahd is still the easiest campaign to recommend. It can be a real challenge for new DMs, so it always needs to come with a bit of a disclaimer, and the rules revisions add another layer of caution. Curse of Strahd should feel deadly, and maintaining that balance with a party of 2024 characters can require a little manual adjustment.

The Next D&D Campaign Could Be Anything

Quality Matters More Than Theme

I don't particularly care what kind of campaign D&D tackles next, but I'd like it to be something that represents as many of the game's strengths as possible. Curse of Strahd served as a calling card for the 2014 rules, and the 2024 version needs a flagship of its own. Whether it's another Baldur's Gate tie-in or something more off-beat, like a Dark Sun campaign, any well-executed concept could fit the bill.

Right now, we only know about a few of the D&D books that will release in 2026, and there's no news on a campaign yet. After the 2025 hiatus, however, I'm confident that D&D is cooking up a new adventure for 2026. Hopefully, that break provided the necessary time to nail this one.

Long-format campaigns are a major investment, and DMs and players deserve something worth that much of their time. Dungeons & Dragons 5e has more or less delivered that on a fair few occasions, so Curse of Strahd certainly isn't the only solid option. It might be the only true home run, though, and I'd love for 2026 to finally change that.