Dungeons & Dragons: Quests from the Infinite Staircase
This is a review that I’ve been looking forward to for a number reasons. Even though Vecna: Eve of Ruin is largely considered to be the final adventure published under the 5E banner, this new book, Quests from the Infinite Staircase could also technically hold that title. Sure, it’s not an original 5E adventure module. But there are adventures in the book and they are compatible with Fifth Edition rules, right?
All joking aside, Quests from the Infinite Staircase is in fact another collection of 5E conversions similar to the previously published Tales from the Yawning Portal or Ghosts of Saltmarsh. The curious difference this time around is that some of the adventures included here were previously ported to Fifth Edition as part of the Original Adventures Reincarnated line. For some readers, this knowledge may bring about two questions. First, how are these official conversions different than the semi-official OAR releases? And second, if you already own the OAR books, is this book still worth buying? The good news is, I’ve spent the last several days pouring over this new release and comparing it to the OAR books and I think I have the answer. But before we get into all those specifics, let’s take a broad look at just what is included in this new collection.
Like many of the other recent adventure collections, Quests from the Infinite Staircase provides a specific concept that links the various adventures together (albeit loosely). As you might have guessed, this time around it is the Infinite Staircase – a literal extradimensional staircase that connects various planes of existence. A brief summary of the Infinite Staircase is included in the Dungeons Master’s Guide, but this book provides much more information on the concept. The first chapter of this book details the Infinite Staircase itself. It describes the environment, provides encounter tables, details noteworthy locations and NPCs, etc. The book is designed to be run as a campaign, linking each of the included adventures to one of the portals that can be found on the Staircase itself. The adventures included in the book have been adjusted so that if you were to play the campaign as intended, it would take players from level 1 all the way to level 11 and beyond.
The following adventures are included in Quests from the Infinite Staircase:
The Lost City – This is a classic adventure from the original Dungeons & Dragons game. Originally published in 1982, this retro-style dungeon crawl takes place in an ancient desert pyramid. The original release included detailed maps and descriptions for the top half of the dungeon, but left the bottom portion open so that Dungeon Masters could fill it with whatever creatures and traps they desired. This official 5E conversion fills in the blanks of the original by offering a new details on the bottom half. This adventure is designed to take players from level 1 to level 4.
When a Star Falls – Originally a first edition AD&D adventure that focuses on the search for a fallen star and the recovery of some prophetic books. This has been redesigned to take players from level 4 to level 6.
Beyond the Crystal Cave – Another original D&D adventure. This one is set largely in the Feywild and focuses more on interaction and role-playing than hack-and-slash combat. This adventure is aimed to take players from level 6 to level 7.
Pharoh – This adventure was originally the first part of trilogy for 1E. It is an Egyptian themed dungeon crawl. Designed to take players from level 7 to level 9.
The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth – Arguably the most anticipated module in this collection. The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth is a Gary Gygax original. It was written as a convention module but later converted to 1E and published by TSR. Players are tasked with retrieving a treasure from the abandoned lair of Iggwilv (AKA: Tasha). This version of the adventure will take players from level 9 to level 11.
Expedition to the Barrier Peaks – Another Gygax adventure. Also a convention module, this adventure is famous for mixing sci-fi elements with classic swords and sorcery fantasy. The adventure begins with players venturing into a cave in search for the origins of some rather strange monsters. However, further investigation proves that the cave is actually the entrance to a buried spaceship filled with aliens, androids, and other strange technology. This version of the adventure is designed from players starting at level 11.
One of the first things I noticed when I received this book was how thin it seemed to be for a collection that was supposed to hold a total of six full-length adventures (not to mention several chapters of fluff). Heck, the OAR releases of The Lost City and Expedition to the Barrier Peaks both are individually bigger than this entire book. In many ways, this was enlightening for me. It cast a spotlight on just how much detail is cut out of these adventures when they are reformatted for these collections. This has always been the case, but I have to admit that the cuts seem to be a bit deeper this time around. That being said, it doesn’t mean that these conversions are of poor quality. They are not. Everything a DM will need to run these adventures is found within the pages of this book. However, the discerning eye will reveal that a decent amount of content was cut, modified, or simplified to make the adventures fit into the concept of the “Infinite Staircase” campaign.
Let’s take The Lost City for example. The OAR conversion includes the ENTIRE original adventure converted to Fifth Edition. It also includes an expansion of the lower levels created using notes from the original author. This version does the same to the top part of the pyramid, only with not as much detail. The bottom half is once again filled in with new content (like it was in OAR). Except this time around the expansion is vastly different and not as extensive. Also, a lot of the background information regarding the adventure setting and lore has been eliminated from this release so that it can fit into the Infinite Staircase concept better. Similar changes were made to Expedition to the Barrier Peaks.
Players who own both products may ask themselves which versions of the adventures they should run. I would give you this answer; It depends. If you want to go all-in with the Infinite Staircase set up, then the adventures as they appear in this release is certainly the way to go. On the other hand, if you’re wanting the full vanilla experience that was originally intended, the OAR versions are without a doubt your best bet. Still, the completionist in me can’t help but cringe a little. Knowing that Pharaoh is only the first part of a trilogy grinds greatly on my OCD. I have no doubt that had this adventure been a OAR release we would have not only got a full conversion but likely the inclusion of the related modules.
All things considered, this collection is pretty solid when you take it for what it is. It’s important to remember that 5E is not 1E or Basic D&D. The rules are different and the experience is different as well. These conversions trim the fat from these old adventures so that they fit nice and neat onto the plate of 5E. Of course, many of us like the fat.
