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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Echohawk" data-source="post: 9325712" data-attributes="member: 9849">S3: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks (February 1980) <img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/AS4JpbfwCPWLwszKwMPDQcxH7mZmMBApgs6RAvOXZKzcFe5Vz3UTnNNWA5z2t_0ReOrxrhem5HJ603TofAdUfLKrRdIk9HXbLY0PViXCcPHlvo3RiMSDq2AyMlcM2tUQu1_g0NZ9-3Qoa-oNZEMhAs8" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 134px" /> The sixth and final adventure in Quests from the Infinite Staircase is Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, TSR’s foray into science fiction themed D&D. All of the new monsters in the original Expedition were updated in some way in Goodman Games’s licensed OAR3: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks (2019), but for the purpose of guessing which monsters will be updated in Quests, it is probably safe to ignore OAR3. New monsters <img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/JZven7cob1Z2q4xOX_aVBVJn8H-ZsR2oJOnHAI3TNBtti9WDdEL33veqM5SKVKy0XU7D9UoeP8szuCEbp8d8N2PepnrHwIr8eARMQPZHT59ghnsaYdzKamTipNClljtTVV6-mbG4uzu2P-XeXWOsCH4" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 114px" /> The unusual sci-fi flavor of Expedition to the Barrier Peaks means that the two pages dedicated to new monsters cover both monsters and machines. Vegepygmies and russet mold are the new monsters. Vegepygmies are humanoid plants who form communities of up to a few hundred, but smaller hunting and scavenging groups are typically encountered. Russet mold is a type of plant that is dangerous only because it emits clouds of irradiated spores. The mold can also be used by vegpygmies to propagate. Both creatures already have fifth edition analogs in Volo’s Guide to Monsters (2016) and Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse (2022), but a reprint in Quests from the Infinite Staircase doesn’t seem unlikely. <img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/AsNyKa7Xt2YKLd4JrHns1YIStPzLMX8XFYUHBiNYq1W4hKTBG_Pr1CHWXu1ARmEq2H8xjEYMyB86ssq5ipOURJzVrDkmjmYqNf-aSHgFnx-35wtv4ZfMK5vOZgtb0z4tw-lt-Ieo9o89FZ4E4kdXzlI" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 102px" /><img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/9mTumWMUZsv0U92DIUej0auqP3CC-IKk7EASQ9Wb5W3uKdhIz9e--XiYSHA8ODxhw8ic5zUtWnU-eJ0mGNTzYMuuyAKhuiopQpb96xEDVx47BxlCUO7Ci9lkbWRSzjm9fC9Z5N2UqtfHN5JDmZBWlQY" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 101px" /><img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/bZW5QqZIorpcQVaaWrVhTERDY6NdzAYbOb0WjCUlQaovEf_oW1U4_wwvxHGE4gDD8z1YVhZM6ZOB2oVjcDXNurIZhZpriFIO8bjfwZW6YVNpIqOTjoHcwO7bNFuK6slU2pNCFY0-272MgY8H5um2AlE" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 115px" /><img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/U5CB3OP75gQdKHJk0UlvBEk9P6UShfEi1oFBQ4sofApTdiyOb41iXVeV4Qn6rLyO0T8rbQ2n-vKqQStoRyJJSp8o7V9aCGj_iXgpmqpGyDn_5mcOoDgJg_WlfNbOJatgGGXBw94c1TSGOjnGbXztWZk" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 137px" /><img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/EgFL50SpSZJiN7yD5Urlm-NzLFEDvt4rLTQiECGpz_z9QAJ6gucE-64ROW_AqZ5xheSE4Zx8eChS9BOZQK2lfa3NrI1CIeUYLDgJkhVYpwd1kypYxhCdg8eNydJCjpiemP63IcwG8f9iRH_hlcvCMkk" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 150px" /> The other creatures with full stat blocks and descriptions are advanced constructs. Androids are shiny humanoids, and have a variety of specialized purposes. Mentioned in Expedition are a nurse, a surgeon, several physical training androids (a boxing/wrestling trainer, a fencing instructor, a karate master and a weight lifter) and guard androids. Several of them are malfunctioning, making them a threat to adventurers investigating the crashed spaceship. Monster descriptions for some of these seems like a sure bet for Quests, especially given that the promotional artwork for this adventure features three of the physical training androids. <img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/jeUoO9GuHJlcozcjvn7oMhqBCFLAjMwxRuJtGbH0b9MNh2jXcAyEHyYphkLDmlaFCzG7xA1RHX82w9CNKmtNxryK5xBzy0rZNdFqAeX6svCoT7r0T-ehZ2IbdkOrrjzJN-cgLf9MfNFfCLk02FF1i-U" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 115px" /><img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/mcY-iuKLYjmZYghMg9DL2yU_4np4CcC6PbQ4Vljm4pr1X_ONLJD9me_5EPhfZURCwUO7j98hYOFLofezCHa0Ljiicjup9Ug108c-Fs-niu-LTP4fJdoV-SoahY_CwDeze8tdyYiENj5_7ASBC4mXvDw" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 225px" /><img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/dMNS1l6y3yTgeipMPQSAbbK9dT7jtVPCIZlBHRaoBY3Raf6HMIkD0pIumjOrQX5cxIQn-Q4ZHPGOGS_fLEnym8S-BKq8mYr1_4LLDK9QF9wimcxj90IqZQ1xPC0qyrybtVyJTs5GKprTufAKfcFtYW4" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 201px" /> Robots are more mechanical in nature, but also have multiple types, with separate stat blocks given for two main categories: police robots, and worker robots. The robots are more numerous than the androids and it is possible for the players to obtain a remote control box for the repair robots, giving them limited control over the machines. Monster entries for at least some types of robots are a sure bet for Quests from the Infinite Staircase. Other monsters A lot of the monsters encountered in Expedition to the Barrier Peaks can be found in the fifth edition Monster Manual: couatl, displacer beast, doppelganger, gray ooze, intellect devourer, mind flayer, phase spider, roper, shambling mound, shrieker, umber hulk and will-o’-wisp. There is a brown pudding in Expedition, but it is a brown-coloured black pudding, so we can probably consider that covered by the Monster Manual too. <img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/grblTl_cTHBFgpJclFnPvHNLXiK8jXQsFbP_mquKEtEeFsBGatEcmjYIYfUw4D1EyMyZxMV9tGJtLVMH_F7MUE2RTviVixL5rdTGNQkRixg7jBQ0-VEhW5_ya7hnYH8D99GWuh40FadmVnkkY3MHj_0" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 224px" /> A few Expedition monsters have already appeared in other fifth edition sources. Green slime and yellow mold are detailed in the Dungeon Master’s Guide. The aurumvorax from the dangerous animals section of the spaceship has a fifth edition version in Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel. (2022). The froghemoth, slithering tracker and trapper are in Volo’s Guide to Monsters (2016) and Monsters of the Multiverse (2022). Quests from the Infinite Staircase could reprint some or all of those monsters, with the froghemoth being a near certainty, since it gets singled out in the <a href="https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/1687-quests-from-the-infinite-staircase-six-remastered" target="_blank">product announcement</a>. As noted in the review of Pharaoh, the trapper is also likely to be reprinted, since it appears in three of the Quests adventures, while the lurker above will probably become simply an upside-down trapper, an approach also taken in Goodman’s OAR3 version. <img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/rvaTxxJfzHX4gRiG4MIBVssdCo1O2GpMhKa9Q6qTBpbszD9cKoBP77O824T83mgKRjO-miyEHBAK4_R7q9-uQNPU4-VKoHFs61nSz-JTYioof1ZS88BTsOMRtpnEGP-dC_hruUoYeT62TnxjLgV_Tac" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 158px" /> Expedition introduced a variety of dangerous plants to D&D. Four of these were detailed further and reprinted in the Monster Manual II (1983) but with new names: the globe palm became the retch plant, the snapper-saw became the forester’s bane, the strangle vine became the choke creeper, and the vampire thorn vine was renamed to bloodthorn. The horrid plant and the purple blossom plant don’t seem to have been promoted to full monsters, but several of these plants could be covered by descriptions of them as hazards. <img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/guMwJ8Dsn2htik8owKE3YaMy5-c3_RIKC3GSoP9uZTEugx5cRCNy_ysuoknqfjW0FyifVmD8LRgjbEalnNq8HHfhd9jQTAGSxJVwOxy7EKbNCO_04rz0AC6qaFHvw9b-qYYsxs66noE8mvRURQqBB3A" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 102px" /> A slightly better known plant is the tri-flower frond, which has already appeared in Tomb of Annihilation (2017). The plant puts its targets to sleep with its pollen, drains their body fluids and dissolves the bodies, with each of its colorful flowers responsible for one part of the process. A reprint in Quests from the Infinite Staircase seems likely. <img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/j0KX3yVm6-st8DWkFEUSGSnmQEILEu7rB6SA8iY1h1SJI97S30xobFvU8WFg1ejolBXernAjC3Rfxy-CFWTbI80gYT4DGR7ZUaF58utbSbDgFMi9pwtjWv7KIZVhnUFhmtnesVIbf56eq-vMTO4zF18" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 108px" /> Even more likely is an update of the bizarre wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing (also known as “The Cute Little Bunnyoid on the Stump”), since we’ve already seen promotional images of this creature. This monster pretends to be a rabbit on a tree stump, but is really a tentacled predator. Although it is described in the Monster Manual II as a “vegetable monster”, it seems like it should be an aberration in fifth edition. The reference to a bunnyoid in the wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing is a recurring theme in the adventure, with baboonoids (essentially more intelligent baboons), leechoids (described as “nearly the same” as giant leeches), and lizardoids (described as near-dinosaurs). These are likely to have abbreviated stat blocks in the text of the adventure rather than full monster entries. The same is true of the brilliant fish (similar to a piranha) and the scintillating phosphorescent fish (a pretty but poisonous fish) if they aren’t simply treated as hazards or dropped entirely. <img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/m3OJKU3LaH15N7EYusg0cdTXyZ4NInexgj4uVowSwQEVp7c7HV2daFYQUHVjiVYEBzk6xSbqeLcCnBZqru2VkAdcyfWRLbCAs89G34xEY3AIfIJkDP8x-o0QsPSmiqiMPWGPQUhfAQwpwhj6z0Ipa_Y" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 194px" /> Returning to plant creatures, we have the gasbat. Gasbats float around waiting for unsuspecting adventurers to accidentally ignite their highly volatile vapors and then explode. OAR3 updated these using a description of a hazard rather than giving them a monster block. This seems a likely approach for the fifth edition version, since the poor gasbat has never had a full monster stat block. <img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/X3Qi7POxWww_5fyzbx7b9qXZXPUpH8gZ1irnY790TNVCRDzkrvYF1dXqjCuckyOSSERI0UcflikoQXgX4q43H5mML1gmBbbOgFpifGYQPYw6HZz7i9QIo4z6y6E-0YGEYffSp-vwvyPY9ft2zfnmtJ8" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 169px" /> The eye of the deep is an aquatic cousin of the beholder from the original Monster Manual (1977). It had second and third edition versions, but seems to have fallen out of favor for fourth and fifth edition. An updated monster entry for this once core creature is a strong possibility for Quest from the Infinite Staircase. <img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/1Ca3m0VXwgmbWVulEf-ujY8cZ6xG6qi83QhC-uzCibVpENdRtKI5sPopeFokqEPxn__yrTX3ky984fGp66kxRCEEikHK62Ydikr4FVZFLbjytR5F9mwdKaQ7wx519cNKD2M9Mv_IuZNeMjAmclVIwVc" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 129px" /> The shedu is another creature from the Monster Manual (1977) that has skipped recent editions. A human head, equine body and huge wings make up this lawful good, plane-hopping, psionics-wielding beast that loves nothing more than to help allied creatures. Like the eye of the deep, the shedu appears in only one encounter in Expedition, but that might be enough for it to get an updated stat block. <img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/EDEHS-gZA7FV1vmjv2C0o9O5uHtxHGcQgXesm8XnkPi7cB-A4L3PcUWd6XJuMhJhd4Suc1a2aQom0AHiXJ7yXyKj0xA6cXlvNYtyawBapmO_fPTlsImPMM0ReHmBKqAtzAkbdB7I3fYBKkI9benj9uQ" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 191px" /> The squealer is a gorilla-sized predator with a characteristic third arm on its back. It gets its name from the habit of mimicking the cries of distress of other creatures, luring them into an ambush. It was reprinted in the Monster Manual II (1983) and the second edition Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two (1995), but has been absent for a few editions. Is it significant enough to get a monster entry in Quests? We’ll see. <img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/7waQxQDbi_W0Up_6J142V1WKyAu6oTa_sIch0iop33xRZlWTsvxvdRf4LMgojZ4wyaN57envxmJMBudr-Ejo7mn3ib6V-LZvkoznHEdv23HqHbJUHULbEDY7nGR-bsssLVWgB4sqDee2WarTnYAiFYo" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 228px" /> When the webbird was reprinted in the Monster Manual II (1983) it was made clear that it is not actually an avian, but more likely a feathered insect or arachnid. Small creatures, webbirds are only really dangerous in groups. They attempt to drop webs onto targets, snare them and then use a chest appendage to lay eggs inside the victim’s body. The webbird make it into second edition in the Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two (1995) and third edition in Dungeon #148 (2007) but hasn’t yet featured in fifth edition, so a monster entry in Quests from the Infinite Staircase is a distinct possibility. So what’s the verdict for Expedition to the Barrier Peaks? <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A near certainty for a full update: android, police robot, wolf-in-sheep’s clothing, worker robot. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Very likely to be reprinted: froghemoth, russet mold, tri-flower frond, vegepygmy. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Quite likely to get a full update: eye of the deep, squealer, webbird. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Likely reprints: slithering tracker, trapper. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Fairly likely to get a full update: globe palm, snapper-saw, strangle vine, vampire thorn vine. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Likely to be updated but not get a full write-up: baboonoid, brilliant fish, gasbat, leechoids, lizardoids, scintillating phosphorescent fish. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Small possibility of an update: horrid plant, purple blossom, shedu. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Unlikely to be updated: brown pudding, lurker above. </li> </ul> What do you think of the monsters in Expedition to the Barrier Peaks? Do you have any fond memories of encounters with these monsters? Do you have a favorite creature you’d like to see updated for fifth edition?</blockquote>

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