More details have been revealed about Quests of the infinite staircasethe upcoming Dungeons and Dragons anthology that Wizards of the Coast is calling “the first adventure book for the 2024 rules.” During a recent press conference, managing game designer Justice Ramin Arman shared more details about the anthology’s six adventures.
Quests from the Infinite Staircase, out July 16, brings to life six old-school adventures, each playable independently over three or four sessions. If you want to tie them together, the DnD book provides a setting and quest-giver to tie the adventures together: Nafas, the cool but potentially campaign-ending noble spirit, and the titular Infinite Staircase himself.
This location has a long history. “The Infinite Staircase is first mentioned in 2nd edition during Planescape,” says Arman. “It was recently mentioned again in the 2014 Dungeon Master’s Guide.” “It’s this extradimensional staircase that winds across an infinite expanse,” he adds. “It has all these doors that lead to every plane, every world, and places that would otherwise be hard to reach.”
“What makes it special is that all you have to do is stumble upon the right door to find the infinite staircase,” says Arman. “As a DM, it’s a really easy way to introduce planar travel into your group.” This means that traveling between key DnD settings like Ravenloft, the Feywild, and the Forgotten Realms has never been easier.
Time can get a little wonky in interplanar space, and Infinite Staircase is a book that combines the old and the new. In addition to bringing decades-old adventures into 5th edition, Arman sees the anthology as a celebration of D&D’s fiftieth anniversary, and as a flagship book for the new era of One DnD.
“I always try to approach projects with reverence, especially in these cases where we’re taking something that’s been and bringing it forward to be explored by new and returning players,” he says. While Arman says it was important to keep “the spirit” of the old adventures, “we had an eye on the future to make sure there was no friction.”
According to Arman, this book is “the bridge between the old and the new” Dungeons and Dragons. “I prefer to think of it as the first adventure book for the 2024 rules, rather than the last book with the 2014 rules.”
Arma says that each of the adventures in the anthology was also chosen to showcase what D&D has accomplished in its half-century of existence. Some are incredibly popular adventures from back in the day, while others are more obscure but still hugely influential. Others may even be the first time a classic DnD monster has appeared.
The first adventure in the anthology is The Lost City, which is designed for adventurers of levels one through four. We’ve played some of The Lost City, and it feels like terribly like an introduction to D&D. According to Arman, “the original adventure tried to teach new DMs how to be DMs.” While much has been rearranged, this main goal remains.
The Lost City is about finding and exploring the ancient city of Cynidicea, much of which now lies underground in a half-buried Ziggurat. During your adventures, “the characters will encounter these strange factions, remnants of a bygone civilization, all fighting for [Cynidicea’s] faded glory”.
These mergeable factions promise strange roleplaying games, unique buffs, and animal-themed masks. Deeper within the Ziggurat lies a secret, more sinister faction that worships a massive, supposedly indestructible tentacle monster called Zargon. Arman does not I recommend fighting Zargon again, but “low level characters can interact with him and come back to fight him later”.
Next up is When a Star Falls, “the first adventure in this book that came from the British TSR team.” As the name suggests, you’re on the hunt for a fallen star, because some evil sages want to use its prophetic power for evil deeds. The adventure runs from level four through level six.
Arman doesn’t share too many details about the adventure’s plot, but the monster stat blocks provide some hints. Players will encounter the Memory Web, a living web that stores the memories of the creatures it kills. They’ll also spot some Derro, Underdark humanoids currently engaged in mysteriously reanimating the dead. And “yes, there are dragons” in this adventure, Arman says.
Beyond the Crystal Cave was also originally written by the British TSR team and is clearly inspired by Shakespeare. You’ll be looking for “two young lovers who ran away from their parents because they didn’t approve of their relationships”.
The level six through seven adventure takes place in a beautiful magical garden that looks so much like the Feywild that Wizards of the Coast adapted the adventure to take place there. You talk to gnomes and talking unicorns, and you don’t even have to fight them. “Even in the ’80s, it was ahead of its time because you could complete the garden section without having to fight,” Arman says. “Chris Perkins said that this adventure was the inspiration for The Wild Beyond the Witchlight.”
This domain of pleasure is ruled by an Archfey known as The Gardener. The original adventure featured a more traditional Green Man figure, but Arman says, “we wanted to feature a Guardian of Nature-type Archfey instead.”
This is followed by an adventure called Pharaoh, first created by Dragonlance’s Tracy and Laura Hickman. The characters are “begged by the spirit of a long-dead pharaoh” who wants to be freed from a curse. This naturally involves exploring an Egyptian-style pyramid, which Arman says has been made “a little more deadly.” Less traditionally, you’ll also visit a boat in the clouds.
In addition to ramping up the challenge, Wizards of the Coast also tried to make this adventure more inclusive. “We actually reached out to someone who specializes in Ancient Egypt,” Arman explains. Additionally, “we removed or repositioned some of the less culturally sensitive things to keep the spirit of the adventure and let it shine in the best way.”
Adventure four is Lost Caverns of Tscosjcanth, the first half of which was released earlier this year as a tournament adventure. “The two parts that you’ll see that weren’t in there are the wilderness exploration part before the actual dungeon,” Arman says, “and the second half of that dungeon – now you get the bigger caves.” This adventure runs from level nine through 11.
The witch Tasha (or Igwilv, as she’s called here) is a larger presence in the updated version of the adventure. You’ll also meet Drelnza, Tasha’s vampire daughter.
Arman says Expedition to the Barrier Peaks is “probably my favorite adventure” in the anthology. This level 11-13 adventure is known as “the adventure that gave your group laser guns.” It’s set on a crashed spaceship and features a variety of quirky robots. “The characters will encounter all sorts of fun futuristic technology in this adventure,” Arman says.
There have been many changes to this space age classic. The maps are apparently smaller and the whole thing has been given a loose story structure. “We’ve also moved some encounters around to place more memorable encounters in places players are likely to visit.”
This includes nightclub encounters, which we think every spaceship should have. “As great as the original adventure is, it’s also a bit silly at times, and we want to keep that silliness in the new update,” says Arman.
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