Quest from the Infinite Stairs – release date and what to expect

The latest D&D adventure anthology

As in previous years, an adventure anthology will be released as part of the D&D release plan for 2024. This new anthology will bridge the past and present, bringing back six classic first edition adventures to celebrate D&D’s 50th anniversary.

These collections of standalone adventures are staples in the D&D 5e lineup, and include standouts like Tales from the Yawning Portal, Ghosts of Saltmarsh, and most recently, Keys from the Golden Vault.

Designed to be played independently or as part of a larger campaign, these anthologies offer a variety of themes, settings, and challenges for players at different levels, and usually contain adventures that can be completed in a single session.

So let’s see what the 2024 adventure anthology, Quests from the Infinite Staircase, has to offer.

Quest details from the Infinite Stairs

Announced at PAX Unplugged in December 2023, Quests from the Infinite Staircase is set to release on July 16, 2024 and will include six remastered adventures for players from levels 1-13.

If D&D Beyond follows its usual preorder procedures, fans who preorder will have access to the book two weeks early. And thanks to the new Local Game Store Early Access program, select retailers will be able to sell the book in their stores to gain customers before the official release date. Based on a previously linked D&D Beyond post, it looks like LGS Early Access for Quests from the Infinite Staircase will begin on July 9, 2024.

As of now, there is no information on whether the book will include any new character options, magic items, or monsters. Typically, adventure anthologies don’t include new character options, but new magic items and monsters have been nearly ubiquitous in previous releases.

What adventures are there in the Infinite Stairs quest?

This isn’t the first time Wizards of the Coast has updated older adventures for the popular fifth edition. Drawing on 50 years of adventures, the company has released books like Ghosts of Saltmarsh and Tales from the Yawning Portal, both of which include popular modules that have been remastered for the latest edition.

Not only does Quests from the Infinite Staircase draw from older adventures, but it also devotes many pages to each adventure, in contrast to newer adventure anthologies such as Keys from the Golden Vault and Candlekeep Mysteries.

Considering that Quests from the Infinite Staircase only contains six adventures, compared to thirteen and seventeen in the newer anthologies, it’s not surprising to see adventures averaging 30 pages, with some reaching as much as 60, like Dead in Thay from Tales from the Yawning Portal.

Descent into the lost cave of Tsokanth

At this time, it’s unclear all of the adventures Wizards of the Coast will be remastering for the final 5th edition adventure anthology, but a press release from D&D Beyond states that “Descent into the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth” will be included in the book.

Originally created by D&D co-creator Gary Gygax, Descent into the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth takes players to the former lair of the Witch-Queen Iggwilv, a legendary archmage whose influence continues long after she is gone. The adventure is set deep within the Yatir Mountains, where players must navigate mazes riddled with danger to discover hidden treasures and secrets.

Celebrating D&D’s 50th anniversary and Gygax’s love of convention play, this version of the adventure has some twists, including a tournament-style version for 9th-level characters, and Wizards of the Coast says there will be prizes for the highest-scoring groups at Gary Con and PAX East.

Additionally, the adventure will be available for free to D&D Beyond users starting March 26. Wizards of the Coast is also making the adventure accessible with little to no preparation thanks to integration with pre-generated characters and maps.

What is an infinite staircase?

“Quests from the Infinite Staircase” aims to bring back old adventures, but it also looks to bring back the “Infinite Staircase,” the hub players use to access the remastered adventures.

Previously featured in Tales from the Infinite Staircase, a Planescape-focused adventure for D&D’s second edition, this paradoxical demi-dimension was said to connect different planes of existence. Known as one of the best-kept planar travel secrets in the multiverse, the Infinite Staircase forms a three-dimensional labyrinth that spans every possible dimension, leading adventurers to countless new realms.

How to Connect Adventures

The practice of providing bases where adventurers can begin their quests is common in modern D&D anthologies, with the inclusion of bases of operations such as Candlekeep and Radiant Citadel being examples of this.

The 2e module also had the unique feature of allowing players to choose adventures in any order they wanted, which was likely possible because the module was aimed at players levels 3-7, but it’s unlikely this feature will be featured again in the 5e remaster, which is aimed at levels 1-13.

Legend from the Infinite Stairs

The Infinite Staircase was explored most in depth in Tales from the Infinite Staircase, but the D&D 5e Dungeon Master’s Guide also contains some notable content.

The DMG describes the Infinite Staircase, alongside other methods of travel in the Outer World, as a mysterious extradimensional staircase connecting different dimensions, accessible through an inconspicuous door in a secluded, often overlooked location.

Their appearance varies from a simple staircase to complex, gravity-defying structures in open space. Entrances exist in many planes, though they are poorly known and sometimes guarded by powerful guardians such as devas, yugoloths, or sphinxes.

Nafas the Genie

It’s not yet clear how much of the 2e version of lore we’ll see in Quests from the Infinite Staircase, but we have received information about Nafas, a benevolent spirit who is a new addition to the D&D canon.

Not much is known about this new character other than that he hires heroic adventurers from across the multiverse to grant wishes and how he came to live on the Infinite Staircase, but we’ll keep you updated with more details as they are released!