D&D 5E Quests from the Infinite Staircase TOC and Zargon.

Brandes Stoddard shared the table of contents from Quests from the Infinite Staircase, along with the stats for the elder evil Zargon the Returner, over on BlueSky. Quests from the Infinite Staircase comes out on July 16th, and is an adventure anthology for character levels 1-13.

 

[Stormonu]

What is with that "Corrupted Water" ability? It seem like if that were in effect, all the Cynidians would have long ago died from tainted water supplies.

 

[Necropolitan]

What is with that "Corrupted Water" ability? It seem like if that were in effect, all the Cynidians would have long ago died from tainted water supplies.

Yeah, that's a common issue with monsters that have damaging/destructive/otherwise antithetical to having other creatures around them auras.

Realistically the only things living near them would have to be immune to their aura or stay out of reach at all times, but somehow they're still able to have enough minions/other monsters around to give the PCs a fight.

 

[dave2008]

Do we know what his third lair action is?

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Spoiler: Lair Actions

On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), Zargon can take one of the following lair actions; it can’t take the same lair action two rounds in a row:

Dissolution. Zargon dissolves into a glob of slime, seeps to an unoccupied space anywhere in the lair without provoking opportunity attacks, then re-forms.

Spell Breaker. Zargon targets up to two creatures it can see within the lair. All spells of 5th level or lower affecting the targets end.

Sucking Slime. Zargon creates a 20-foot-radius puddle of slime on the ground centered on a point within the lair. The slime is difficult terrain, and each creature in that area when the slime appears has the grappled condition (escape DC 15). Aberrations and Oozes are unaffected by the slime. The slime lasts until Zargon dies or until it uses this lair action again.

 

[Demetrios1453]

I know this isn't part of the discussion on Zargon, but one thing that got my attention at the very start of the book is the description of one of the doorways of the Infinite Staircase going to the "Paraelemental Plane of Ice". Thus far in 5e, that plane has been called the Plane of Ice or the Frostfell. I'm wondering if we're going back to the older terminology for the Paraelemental Planes in 2024 books (and maybe we'll see the Quasielemental Planes make a comeback?).

(Speaking of the 2024 books, the current core rulebooks now have "2014" after their names on D&D Beyond)

 

[John R Davis]

After a quick flick few I look forward to running. Really like the maps

 

[Nikosandros]

I know this isn't part of the discussion on Zargon, but one thing that got my attention at the very start of the book is the description of one of the doorways of the Infinite Staircase going to the "Paraelemental Plane of Ice". Thus far in 5e, that plane has been called the Plane of Ice or the Frostfell. I'm wondering if we're going back to the older terminology for the Paraelemental Planes in 2024 books (and maybe we'll see the Quasielemental Planes make a comeback?).

(Speaking of the 2024 books, the current core rulebooks now have "2014" after their names on D&D Beyond)

Interesting. I'm a huge fan of those planes, but it would surprise me a bit if they make a comeback.

 

[dave2008]

Interesting. I'm a huge fan of those planes, but it would surprise me a bit if they make a comeback.

Well they are in the 2014 DMG, just not called paraelemental:

 

[Nikosandros]

They also made ash a "paraelemental" plane instead of steam.

 

[Demetrios1453]

They also made ash a "paraelemental" plane instead of steam.

Smoke was the paraelemental plane between Air and Fire . Steam was a quasielemental plane (Water + Positive).

 

[MonsterEnvy]

What is with that "Corrupted Water" ability? It seem like if that were in effect, all the Cynidians would have long ago died from tainted water supplies.

It’s mentioned his lair is far enough that Cynidecia’s main water source is not affected.