Dungeons & Dragons: What Is The Infinite Staircase?

Summary

• The Infinite Staircase connects various dimensions through portals, appearing as an unremarkable door with varied staircase materials.
• The Iron Shadow, originating from the Shadowfell, consumes creativity and can transform characters, requiring a Wish spell for reversal.
• There's also a genie. Be sure to say hi.

Created as a Second Edition (or 2e) adventure for the Planescape setting for Dungeons & Dragons, Tales from the Infinite Staircase received a much-needed revamp in July 2024. While the book originally asked the players to use the staircase to descend into the demon lord Graz'zt's realm, Quests From The Infinite Staircase leans more into the ability to run a series of one-shots.

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The adventure returns to the Infinite Staircase setting but brings six fresh quests for Dungeon Masters to run, as well as advice on how to incorporate the staircase into gameplay. So, what exactly is the Infinite Staircase?

What Is The Infinite Staircase?

The Infinite Staircase is a winding staircase connecting various 'portals' to different dimensions. While not wholly dissimilar to Sigil and the Outlands, the Infinite Staircase is extradimensional and appears as an unremarkable door.

Despite its bland appearance, the actual staircase varies within the space, going from wood, to stone, to clouds, to abstract approximations of what stairs should look like. Simply, if you can imagine it, the staircase can do it. Worse, the stairways descend and ascend at random and vary in gravitational status by step.

It can be found anywhere, with little reason as to why, though it often turns up in long-forgotten places such as dusty closets or crumbling alleyways. Typically, a powerful creature will guard the entrance of (or know of) the Infinite Staircase, though anyone can access it.

The Infinite Staircase exists in a state of perpetual twilight, with the doors to the other planes providing light to any adventurers who dare traverse it. These doors take on characteristics of the plane they represent, often warping to reflect what lies beyond them. They are immune to all damage and cannot be altered by spells.

The Infinite Staircase is an easy way to transition between modules or campaigns, especially for parties that wish to use the same characters in different adventures.

The Infinite Staircase has appeared throughout Dungeons & Dragons properties and has seen many famous faces, with even the avatar of Selûne coming across it in one series!

What Is The Iron Shadow?

The Iron Shadow acts as a tainted miasma that rolls over the stairways, attempting to consume all and any creativity from the planes. It originates from the dark, gloomy door of the Shadowfell, as most awful things do, and lingers over unique areas to feed itself,

Characters are no safer from its malaise than the portals are, either, finding themselves sapped of their motivation and cheer should the Iron Shadow find them particularly palatable. A creature that walks through it or starts its turn within the shadow may gain a level of exhaustion.

Should they fall to it, the character will certainly become a shadow. A Wish spell is the only way to reverse this transformation. Other creatures created by the Iron Shadow are Shadow Dragons and wraiths.

Nafas And The Infinite Staircase

The Infinite Staircase is bound by one law: a noble genie must overlook it. As such, it's occupied by a noble genie called Nafas, who was quite literally born to do so!

Noble genies possess the ability to reshape reality. For example, should they wish, they could turn a goblin barbarian into the archmage Mordenkainen or an archmage into a goblin. They could do all of this with a single word!

Though he doesn't rule or reshape the staircase in any way, he does entertain guests within a palace where he regales them with tales of adventurers and adventures that have passed through the Infinite Staircase's doors.

He may appear within the Infinite Staircase to guide the players to his home, where quests may be doled out in exchange for powerful wishes.

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