D&D 5E Quests From The Infinite Staircase

[Paul Farquhar]

"Amun-Sa" means something, sure, so does "Amun-Ra" or "Amen-Re" or the many different variations. To the shock of no one who understands how language works, most Ancient Egyptian god names are also etymologically derived from words that mean things like "heaven" or "protection". Again, fairly meaningless and pointless change.

Some names are also already taken, and belong to beings that people will take offense if their name is taken in vain. "Mickey" and "Mouse" are common English words, but that doesn't mean WotC wouldn't be sued by a megacorp if they used them together. Just because Egyptians aren't going to sue does not mean we shouldn't care that they have suffered centuries of the British (and French) looting and misrepresentation of their culture.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Glad "someone" decided that, because I have the Goodman version and I disagree.



"Amun-Sa" means something, sure, so does "Amun-Ra" or "Amen-Re" or the many different variations. To the shock of no one who understands how language works, most Ancient Egyptian god names are also etymologically derived from words that mean things like "heaven" or "protection". Again, fairly meaningless and pointless change.

The someone is me, I also have the Goodman version.

Amun-Ra is the direct name of a god, while Amun-Sa is not even if it takes parts from god names.

 

[Parmandur]

The someone is me, I also have the Goodman version.

Amun-Ra is the direct name of a god, while Amun-Sa is not even if it takes parts from god names.

I think the changes are excellent, though I would tend to keep the d8 shape of the OG pyramid after the first 5 Levels

 

[Dan Dillon]

Question the Dracolisk is not a monster in this adventure Book, what's in it's place?

I created a Dracolisk stat block for the adventure but sadly it had to be cut for space. I still sigh sadly about it. Hopefully it will find some place to live in the future. A monster I wrote for the Book of Many Things had to be cut, but found new life in Eve of Ruin, so there's always hope for the cutting room floor.

 

[Parmandur]

I created a Dracolisk stat block for the adventure but sadly it had to be cut for space. I still sigh sadly about it. Hopefully it will find some place to live in the future. A monster I wrote for the Book of Many Things had to be cut, but found new life in Eve of Ruin, so there's always hope for the cutting room floor.

I figured it was something like thst: this book is pretty packed.

 

[Zaukrie]

I figured it was something like thst: this book is pretty packed.

It really is dense, and well done. They are getting better at updating things IMO.

 

[Parmandur]

It really is dense, and well done. They are getting better at updating things IMO.

Yeah, Yawning Portal was pretty worthwhile to me at the time because theywere all nee for me, but I really appreciate how they boldly updated these modules.

 

[rokville]

How do you deal with curious players in the Infinite Staircase?

This may be more of a general DM question, but I'm new to DMing and really intrigued by this model of presenting episodic/anthology quests, and especially this quest-giver model.

The book says the doors tend to be unlocked, and they can go anywhere, but tend to present themselves in ways that indicate (at least generally) what is beyond them. That sounds tempting to my Player brain.

If I were playing, I think I'd want to poke my head in some random doors, but as a potential DM, I'm sweating having a bunch of encounters queued up that are unrelated to the given quest.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

 

[Echohawk]

How do you deal with curious players in the Infinite Staircase?

So many thoughts!

I have a similarly curious players in my Spelljammer campaign. If I describe any passing planetoid, ship or object in an even slightly interesting way, someone will want to get sidetracked and investigate. I recently described an adventure location as being "halfway between two astral phenomenon known as the Effervescence and the Relentless Reflection" and of course, they were suddenly more interested in those other two places.

I have a threefold strategy for dealing with this:
1. Gently steer the players away from scenery. Most players can take a hint. ("Although the Effervescence does sound intriguing, you recall that the merchant you are meeting was only going to be visiting the Mercane outpost for two weeks.")
2. Do light prep for the most tempting scenery, just in case. This is typically only a few sentences. (The Effervescence is a region of the astral where strange blue and purple bubbles spontaneously manifest. It is currently inhabited by plasmoid travelers who are investigating ways to harvest the bubbles. A stray scavver has also ended up here and has been troubling the plasmoids.)
3. Accept that sometimes you have to wing it. Perhaps protecting the plasmoids from the predator leads to the discovery that the bubbles are actually a new lifeform (distantly related to the plasmoids) who are being forced out of their pocket dimension home. This leads the PCs to team up with the plasmoids for some dimension-hopping shenanigans to free the bubble creatures forever. Practically speaking, if you realise mid-game that you are about to have to wing it, don't be shy to call for a short strategic break while you gather your wits and jot down some ideas. Also don't be shy about at least trying to wing it occasionally. Some of the best D&D stories happen when the PCs do something completely unexpected and the DM runs with it.

 

[MichaelSomething]

How do you deal with curious players in the Infinite Staircase?

There's always random tables!

You could prepare a few random locations.

If all else fails, you could just open to an evil ninja lair