The contents of an upcoming DnD book, Quests from the Infinite Staircase, have been revealed via preorder pages on retailers Roll20 and DriveThruRPG. The book is an anthology that connects six “classic” DnD adventures together via a central narrative device, all updated to work in DnD 5th edition. Here’s what to expect.
Quests from the Infinite Staircase is designed to work as either a single DnD campaign, or as a selection of disconnected adventures that your DnD Dungeon Master can incorporate into an ongoing game. According to the DnD release schedule it will be available on July 16 this year.
According to the DriveThruRPG listing, the titular Infinite Staircase is “home to the noble genie Nafas, who hears wishes made throughout the multiverse and recruits heroes to fulfill them”. That should provide a very easy framework for interdimensional adventures. YouTuber AJ Pickett gives a lore deep dive on the Infinite Staircase in the video below:
The six adventures in Quests from the Infinite Staircase are:
Beyond the Crystal Cave
Originally published in 1983, the original Beyond the Crystal Cave tasks the players with navigating a pocket dimension to recover a pair of eloped lovers. Unusually for a module of its time, most of the adventure can be navigated without fighting if the players want to. It was published by TSR’s UK division, and written by Graeme Morris, Dave Brown, and Tom Kirby.
Expedition to the Barrier Peaks
A legendarily wacky adventure written by Gary Gygax in 1980, Expedition to the Barrier Peaks sees the players exploring a mysterious, metal-walled structure buried in the mountains. We won’t spoil the twists or the WTF moments, but we have to mention the Froghemoth, which is… well, it’s a really big frog. Kind of.
Pharaoh
Pharoah, published in 1982 and written by Tracy and Laura Hickman (of Dragonlance fame) is an old-school dungeon crawler set in the pyramid of Amun-Re. While it was originally a standalone module, it was followed by two further modules that built on the story, so it will be interesting to see how much of that gets incorporated into the new version.
The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth
The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth, originally written by Gary Gygax in 1982, starts with an overland adventure packed with random encounters, and culminates with a delve into the titular caverns. It was originally a tournament module but was greatly expanded for its full release. A shorter version of the same adventure will be available this month as an organised play event for Wizards Partner Network stores.
The Lost City
The Lost City, written by Tom Moldvay and published in 1982, starts with a lost caravan in the desert, descends through a sand-covered pyramid and finally uncovers the titular lost city. Unusually for an early module it features multiple factions vying for survival, who all have a stake in fighting back the dark forces of the villain.
When a Star Falls
Published in 1984, When a Star Falls sees players questing on behalf of the master of an order of ancient monks. It’s another module published by the TSR UK division, and written by Graeme Morris.
While Quests from the Infinite Staircase promises to make these adventures fully compatible with the latest version of the DnD rules, it could be a lot of fun to play them using only the DnD classes and DnD races from the early 1980s: leave the Warlock 5e Dragonborn behind in favor of a classic Human Cleric, Dwarf Fighter, or Elf Wizard.
To see what we thought of the last DnD adventure anthology that wrapped a host of disconnected adventures in a multi planar framing device, check out our Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel review.