To mark the 50th anniversary of Dungeons and Dragons, Wizards of the Coast delves into the past, to dig up six, classic D&D adventures and present them with light updates, new art, and 5th edition rules. These beloved classics include “The Lost City” (1982), “When a Star Falls” (1984), “Beyond the Crystal Cave” (1983), “Pharaoh” (1982), “The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth,” first written in 1976 by Gary Gygax as a tournament adventure, and “Expeditions to the Barrier Peaks” (1980).

Quests from the Infinite Staircase is offered in two editions: a standard, full color edition and a premium edition with gorgeous, metallic foil featuring Nafas on the cover. The value of this compliation can be found in its careful and considerate updates to ensure the adventures designed in the 80s resonate with a modern audience. Remastered with new art, text, and updated rules, the adventures are framed by the mysterious and fantastic Infinite Staircase.

Quests from the Infinite Staircase seems to have been designed with accessibility in mind, because the title provides flexibility for DMs itching to run part or all of this collection. The connecting tissue, the Infinite Staircase, can be accessed by characters of any class or level–provided they find the right door. And, the collection of adventures can either be run as standalone adventures that best fits the party’s level or as a campaign. The Introduction (pg. 4) also points out that, “these adventures complement those in other D&D anthologies, such as Keys from the Golden Vault, Journeys through the Radiant Citadel, and Tales from the Yawning Portal–you can use the staircase to ferry the characters between the worlds in which those quests take place.”

Chapter 1: The Infinite Staircase provides much-needed setting and background to understand what the staircase is, how to access it, and who the titular character Nafas is. Following this framework, Chapter 2: The Lost City is presented in full-color with new illustrations and maps. Included, a short history sidebar credits the team who designed, developed, edited, illustrated, and playtested for the adventure and discusses how the adventure was updated. This sidebar helps make the adventures more accessible while acknowledging the original; new DMs are quickly brought up to speed on the adventure’s historic place in Dungeons and Dragons while marking what changes were made–just in case their players are already familiar with the content. The following adventures are laid out similarly, and the 224-page book ends with two, easy-to-reference appendices: Magic Items and Technology and Creatures.

Quests from the Infinite Staircase is a carefully-reviewed and remastered collection that celebrates the history of Dungeons and Dragons while welcoming existing players to explore an unusual and creative setting. Beautifully-rendered, players do not have to have prior knowledge of the setting or characters before rolling their dice to crawl through “old school-style” adventures filled with traps and surprises.

This collection of six, classic adventures listed at $59.95 appears to have limited availability in hardcover: it is not available on Amazon or Barnes and Noble as of July 16th but it is available at several game stores. Digitally, you can add Quests from the Infinite Staircase for Roll20. You can also purchase a print and digital bundle (or the hardcover) directly from Wizards of the Coast.

If you are curious or want the classic adventures, you can find the individual adventures included in Quests from the Infinite Staircase on DMsGuild.com by purchasing the classic Infinite Staircase adventures on DMsGuild.

This review of Quests from the Infinite Staircase was written by Allie Brooks. Links to DMsGuild are affiliate links. A copy of this title was provided to FlamesRising.com for review.

Tags | DnD, dnd5e, dungeons & dragons, TTRPG, wotc