Dungeons & Dragons Quests from the Infinite Staircase (D&D Adventure Anthology Book)

An amazing set of iconic historic adventures, decent advice for running the game

Great selection of campaigns for new amd experienced DMs alike imo

In celebration of the 50th anniversary one of the slew of books released was this selection of adventures from Basic and Advanced DnD from the 80s. Following the format of anthologies such as The Yawning Portal and Ghosts of Saltmarsh, and taking a narrative inspiration to link them together as other anthologies (Candlekeep, Radiant Citadel, Golden Vault) we have a selection of six adapted adventures on offer. The premise is quite cool: the disparate adventures (which could easily be part of a Greyhawk campaign as most were designed for) are accessed via portal doors from the mysterious Infinite Staircase, which is similar in idea to Sigil/Planescape. The patron if required is a genie called Nafas who lives in a palace on the Staircase and is responsible for it's supervision. I think for some groups this would work, others less so (like the other anthologies I suppose). The Lost City is an update of B4, held to be one of Basic DnD's best and written by Tom Moldvay. It's a fairly fun low level dungeon set inside a ziggurat with various factions vying for domination against the threat of a cult of an elder evil. Essentially the PCs have to escape the ziggurat once inside. It's fun with the factions but suffers from the scale needed for low levels, namely there's only a dozen members of each faction detailed. A meatier scrap against Zargon would be fatal, until maybe 8th level; the additional material fleshes out the setting nicely, and would be fun to play, although perhaps ruining the flow of a larger Staircase campaign. Oddly the adventure gave me early Dr Who vibes. Next is the update of When a Star Falls, UK4, by Graham Morris. It retains the quirkiness of the UK modules (which featured as U1-3 in Ghosts of Saltmarsh), with a perhaps more modern vibe than others from the early 80s. It has a strong story base, which woupd become more of a fashion with Dragonlance. And it's a good yarn, with some intruige, some good set encounters, and a superb hook with the memory web. Yet it feels a little disjointed, and some of the maps are terrible (the wilderness one, and a mistake on the tower map). I really enjoyed Beyond the Crystal Cave, which was originally UK1, and presented a different tone to other modules of the time, being story-focused and not especially combat orientated. The premise has been kept, with a Fey twist, and the PCs embark upon a journey to a Fey Realm to retrieve two young lovers. It has aged well, although I'm not sure given the de-emphasis on combat that the recomended levels are required. The maps are well done, and the new monsters well designed. Pharaoh (originally I3) was Tracy Hickman's first offering for TSR pre Dragonlance and Ravenloft. It is truncated here, removing much of the wilderness section, and locations in the desert. It focuses on the pyramid which I love as a clever dungeon, and as a 3d structure. Having the original helps as the maps aren't as deductive when presented here, and the side plan which helps a lot is tiny in the images. It's a great (slightly daft) dungeon crawl in a pyramid with a great BBEG and some cool locations. Definitely a good choice (although the comedic spoon gnome still makes no sense on how he's lived 5 years with just spoons). Perhaps my favourite is the faithful update of the Gygax dungeon, the Lost Caverns of Tsojancth (S4). I've reviewed the original elsewhere, but this update has stood the test of time. It's a hardcore dungeon crawl with constant combat, challenge, daft traps/puzzles, and environmental features to overcome. It works even without the "it's magic" handwave, and the lower Caverns demonic incursion is well written. The finale with Drelzna is one of my favourites as, if played right, is damned tough as they battle in a giant ball in essence. Missed some of the OG monsters (like the Xag Ya, Xag Ye) but appreciate page count might have precluded 5e versions. Finally, we have the legendary S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks. At the time this was a marmite adventure wherein DnD did sci-fi, at a convention module, to raise awareness of both versatility and other games like Metamorphosis Alpha. 40+ years on, with Spelljammer etc under our belt its not so novel but still fun. I'm glad they kept the style of the original energy weapons as the art was my favourite part of the original. The update here has kept the key aspects, but shifted around the encounters (to increase chance of PCs doing the cool stuff and not just empty rooms or hordes of vegepigmies), dropped a couple of levels, and shoe-horned a narrative in. The narrative kind of works, and would need some skill at DMing to play the computers duplicity correctly. I'd also suggest the clue about the sole scientist survivor being better signposted than just the android barman. Overall, it's a sympathetic update and I enjoyed it, although I disliked the map style (black maps are too dark for me; they did similar with Revels End in Golden Vault and it sucked). Overall, these are good updates of six originals and I'd play all six. The last four work better for me, but that might be taste. 5 stars, and would happily read more of the same!

Great product and value

Prima Deluxe, bedankt.

Mir macht das Buch mit seiner Vielfalt Spaß. Ein paar gute und ein paar richtig tolle Abenteuer und Ideen. Schön gestaltet.

Product arrived in perfect condition. The adventure itself is really fun and my whole group seems to be enjoying it. Love the old-school quests and retro artwork/maps.

Great variety for inspiration