The Endless Quest books were three series of gamebooks. The first two series were released in the 1980s and 1990s by TSR, while the third series was released by Wizards of the Coast. Originally, these books were the result of an Educational department established by TSR with the intention of developing curriculum programs for subjects such as reading, math, history, and problem solving. [1]
The first series of 36 books was released from 1982 to 1987, the second series of 13 from 1994 to 1996.
These were respectively the first and last gamebooks released by TSR. A short spin-off series of 4 Endless Quest: Crimson Crystal Adventures books were also released during 1985. There were also several series of similar books that did not bear the Endless Quest name.
The mechanics of these books involved simple choices in the style of Choose Your Own Adventure books, rather than the game-like randomized elements of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks. However, the stories and characters in an Endless Quest book, while not necessarily more complex than in a Choose Your Own Adventure book, are often more fully developed because the Endless Quest books are much longer. For example, the character referred to as "you" in the text almost always has a name, gender, and backstory. The result is that the books in the Endless Quest series resemble miniature novels with many different endings.
The majority of the books in the series were based on Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), but some were based on other TSR games (e.g. Gamma World , Top Secret ) or even licensed properties (e.g. Conan, Tarzan).
Mirrorstone, a division of Wizards of the Coast that publishes fantasy fiction for children and teens, began republishing the Endless Quest series in January 2008. The first book in the series is a revision of Claw of the Dragon (#34 from Series One). They have updated the book, including making it gender neutral so it can be enjoyed by both boys and girls, and plan to update and publish more of the D&D books pending the success of this first title.
# | Title | Setting | Author | Published | Cover art | Interior art | ISBN |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Dungeon of Dread | D&D | Rose Estes | June, 1982 | Larry Elmore | Jim Holloway | 0-935696-86-5 |
2 | Mountain of Mirrors | D&D | Rose Estes | June, 1982 | Larry Elmore | Jim Holloway | 0-935696-87-3 |
3 | Pillars of Pentegarn | D&D | Rose Estes | June, 1982 | Larry Elmore | Harry J Quinn | 0-935696-92-X |
4 | Return to Brookmere | D&D | Rose Estes | June, 1982 | Larry Elmore | Timothy Truman | 0-935696-93-8 |
5 | Revolt of the Dwarves | D&D | Rose Estes | Jan, 1983 | Larry Elmore | Jim Holloway | 0-88038-020-9 |
6 | Revenge of the Rainbow Dragons | D&D | Rose Estes | Jan, 1983 | Jeff Easley | Harry J Quinn | 0-88038-021-7 |
7 | Hero of Washington Square | Top Secret | Rose Estes | May, 1983 | Jeff Easley | Timothy Truman | 0-88038-022-5 |
8 | Villains of Volturnus | Star Frontiers | Jean Blashfield | May, 1983 | Larry Elmore | Jim Roslof | 0-88038-023-3 |
9 | Robbers and Robots | Top Secret | Mike Carr | July, 1983 | Larry Elmore | Vernon Posey | 0-88038-036-5 |
10 | Circus of Fear | D&D | Rose Estes | July, 1983 | Keith Parkinson | Kevin Nichols | 0-88038-037-3 |
11 | Spell of the Winter Wizard | D&D | Linda Lowery | Aug, 1983 | Larry Elmore | Jeffrey R. Busch | 0-88038-054-3 |
12 | Light on Quests Mountain | Gamma World | Mary L. Kirchoff James M. Ward | Aug, 1983 | Keith Parkinson | Steve McAfee | 0-88038-055-1 |
13 | Dragon of Doom | D&D | Rose Estes | Nov, 1983 | Clyde Caldwell | Harry J Quinn | 0-88038-100-0 |
14 | Raid on Nightmare Castle | D&D | Catherine McGuire | Nov, 1983 | Jeff Easley | Jim Holloway | 0-88038-101-9 |
15 | Under Dragon's Wing | D&D | John Kendall | Feb, 1984 | Larry Elmore | Sam Grainger | 0-88038-076-4 |
16 | The Dragon's Ransom | D&D | Laura French | Feb, 1984 | Clyde Caldwell | Doug Chaffee | 0-88038-077-2 |
17 | Captive Planet | Star Frontiers | Morris Simon | Jul, 1984 | Clyde Caldwell | Sam Grainger | 0-88038-078-0 |
18 | King's Quest | D&D | Tom McGowen | Jul, 1984 | Ben Otero | Kevin Nichols | 0-88038-079-9 |
19 | Conan the Undaunted | Hyborian Age | James M. Ward | Jun, 1984 | Clyde Caldwell | Doug Chaffee | 0-88038-120-5 |
20 | Conan and the Prophecy | Hyborian Age | Roger E. Moore | Jun, 1984 | Keith Parkinson | Sam Grainger | 0-88038-121-3 |
21 | Duel of the Masters | D&D | Chris Martindale | Sept, 1984 | Clyde Caldwell | Keith Parkinson | 0-88038-154-X |
22 | The Endless Catacombs | D&D | Margaret Weis | Sept, 1984 | Jeff Easley | Jeff Easley | 0-88038-162-0 |
23 | Blade of the Young Samurai | D&D | Morris Simon | Nov, 1984 | Clyde Caldwell | Gary Williams | 0-88038-155-8 |
24 | Trouble on Artule | Star Frontiers | Catherine McGuire | Nov, 1984 | Jeff Easley | Mitchell O'Connell | 0-88038-169-8 |
25 | Conan the Outlaw | Hyborian Age | Roger E. Moore | Dec, 1984 | Keith Parkinson | Ron Randall | 0-88038-222-8 |
26 | Tarzan and the Well of Slaves | Tarzan | Douglas Niles | Jan, 1985 | Larry Elmore | Ben Otero | 0-394-73968-X 0-88038-206-6 |
27 | Lair of the Lich | D&D | Bruce Algozin | Mar, 1985 | Jeff Easley | Jim Roslof | 0-88038-212-0 |
28 | Mystery of the Ancients | Gamma World | Morris Simon | May, 1985 | Keith Parkinson | Doug Chaffee | 0-88038-217-1 |
29 | Tower of Darkness | D&D | Regina Oehler Fultz | Jul, 1985 | Jeff Easley | Mark Nelson | 0-88038-204-X |
30 | The Fireseed | D&D | Morris Simon | Oct, 1985 | Larry Elmore | Jeffrey Butler | 0-88038-171-X |
31 | Tarzan and the Tower of Diamonds | Tarzan | Richard Reinsmith | Dec, 1985 | Jeff Easley | Jeffrey Butler | 0-394-74188-9 0-88038-205-8 |
32 | Prisoner of Elderwood | D&D | Bruce Algozin | Feb, 1986 | Jeff Easley | Gary Williams | 0-88038-283-X |
33 | Knight of Illusion | D&D | Mary L. Kirchoff | Jun, 1986 | Clyde Caldwell | Sam Grainger Jim Holloway | 0-88038-284-8 |
34 | Claw of the Dragon | D&D | Bruce Algozin | Sept, 1986 | Clyde Caldwell | Stephen Fabian | 0-88038-306-2 |
35 | Vision of Doom | D&D | Mary L. Kirchoff | Dec, 1986 | Ben Otero | George Barr | 0-88038-307-0 |
36 | Song of the Dark Druid | D&D | Josepha Sherman | March, 1987 | Jeff Easley | Jim Holloway | 0-88038-442-5 |
TSR also released a spin-off series of four Endless Quest: Crimson Crystal Adventures books during 1985. These books add a small twist in the form of a clear sheet of red plastic that comes stapled to the inside. This plastic piece is removed and then overlaid on top of certain portions of the book to reveal hidden images (by acting as an optical filter).
# | Title | Setting | Author | Published | Cover art | Interior art | ISBN |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Riddle of the Griffon | D&D | Susan Lawson (pseudonym for Margaret Weis and Roger E. Moore) | March, 1985 | Keith Parkinson | Mario D. Macari, Jr. Gary Williams | 0-880382-10-4 |
2 | Search for the Pegasus | D&D | Roger E. Moore | March, 1985 | Clyde Caldwell | Mario D. Macari, Jr. Gary Williams | 0-880382-11-2 |
3 | Renegades of Luntar | Generic Sci-Fi | Roger E. Moore | June, 1985 | Keith Parkinson | Mario D. Macari, Jr. | 0-880382-18-X |
4 | Stop that Witch! | D&D | Mary Clark | September, 1985 | Larry Elmore | Mario D. Macari, Jr. | 0-880382-51-1 |
The second series differed from the first in several ways: they were printed in smaller type, the section numbers were independent of the page numbers, they were based on different original games, and they were not officially numbered (collectors and gamers use the numbering shown below, continuing from series one, for convenience).
# | Title | Setting | Author | Published | Cover art | Interior art | ISBN |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
37 | Dungeon of Fear | Dragon Strike | Michael Andrews | 1994 | Jeff Easley | Terry Dykstra | 1-560768-35-5 |
38 | Castle of the Undead | AD&D Ravenloft | Nick Baron | 1994 | Clyde Caldwell | Terry Dykstra | 1-560768-36-3 |
39 | Secret of the Djinn | AD&D Al-Qadim | Jean Rabe | 1994 | Jeff Easley | Terry Dykstra | 1-560768-64-9 |
40 | The Siege of the Tower | AD&D Greyhawk | Kem Antillies (pseudonym for Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta) | 1994 | Jeff Easley | Terry Dykstra | 1-560768-94-0 |
41 | A Wild Ride | Wildspace | Louis Anderson | 1994 | Jeff Easley | Terry Dykstra | 1-560769-28-9 |
42 | Forest of Darkness | Dragon Strike | Michael Andrews | Jeff Easley | Terry Dykstra | 1-560769-32-7 | |
43 | American Knights | Gamma World | Nick Pollotta | 1995 | Jeff Easley | Terry Dykstra | 0-099540-21-5 1-560768-99-1 |
44 | Night of the Tiger | AD&D Ravenloft | Jean Rabe | 1995 | Roger Loveless | Terry Dykstra | 0-099540-81-9 0-786901-14-4 |
45 | Galactic Challenge | Amazing Engine | Allen Varney | 1995 | Dennis Kauth | Terry Dykstra | 0-786901-58-6 |
46 | Bigby's Curse | AD&D Greyhawk | Anne K. Brown | 1995 | Jeff Easley | Terry Dykstra | 0-786901-78-0 |
47 | The 24-Hour War | Gamma World | Nick Pollotta | 1995 | Keith Parkinson | Terry Dykstra | 0-786901-98-5 |
48 | The Test* | AD&D Greyhawk | Wes Nicholson | 1996 | 0-786904-85-2 | ||
49 | Sands of Deception* | AD&D Al-Qadim | Jean Rabe | 1996 | 0-786904-94-1 |
* These were never released. The Test was written, turned in, and ready to print, but dropped at the last minute. Sands of Deception was written, but dropped as well. [2]
These books were all written by Matt Forbeck. Each one is loosely based on a Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition campaign.
Title | Module | Published | ISBN |
---|---|---|---|
Escape the Underdark | Out of the Abyss | 2018 | 9781787410510 |
Big Trouble | Storm King's Thunder | 2018 | 9781536202441 |
Into the Jungle | Tomb of Annihilation | 2018 | 9781536202410 |
To Catch a Thief | Waterdeep: Dragon Heist | 2018 | 9781536200669 |
Escape from Castle Ravenloft | Curse of Strahd | 2019 | 9781536209235 |
The Mad Mage's Academy | Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage | 2019 | 9781536209259 |
The related Super Endless Quest series changed its name to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Gamebooks starting with the fourth book; these books added a more complex game system to stories that otherwise share the same style with the Endless Quest books. A bookmark-style insert was provided with simple Dungeons & Dragons statistics for the book's main character, and a dice-rolling mechanic was added for determining the character's fate within the story.
The Fantasy Forest series of gamebooks (1982–1983) is quite similar to the Endless Quest books, but it is aimed at a somewhat younger audience.
Other similar series from TSR included HeartQuest (interactive romances, set in the world of Dungeons & Dragons), Catacombs Solo Quest (more complex again than Super Endless Quest), and 1 on 1 Adventure Gamebooks that were each a pair of books for two players/readers.
TSR also used the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Gamebooks format for books tied into their Marvel Super Heroes roleplaying game, published as single-character Adventure Gamebooks, and later as 1 on 1 Adventure Gamebooks, and featuring licensed Marvel Comics characters.
The first four Endless Quest books were reviewed by Marcus Rowland in White Dwarf #39 (March 1983). [3] Rowland rated Pillars of Pentegarn as 5 out of 10, Mountain of Mirrors as 4 out of 10, Dungeon of Dread as 6 out of 10, and Return to Brookmere as 7 out of 10. [3] Rowland also reviewed the next two books in the series, giving both Revolt of the Dwarves and Revenge of the Rainbow Dragons 5 out of 10. [4]
Star Frontiers is a science fiction role-playing game produced by TSR from 1982 to 1985. The game offers a space opera action-adventure setting.
Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories. Several years later, it was published for the D&D game as a series of magazine articles, and the first Realms game products were released in 1987. Role-playing game products have been produced for the setting ever since, in addition to novels, role-playing video game adaptations, comic books, and the film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.
Spelljammer is a campaign setting originally published for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, which features a fantastic outer space environment. Subsequent editions have included Spelljammer content; a Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition setting update was released on August 16, 2022.
Dragonlance is a shared universe created by Laura and Tracy Hickman, and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR, Inc. into a series of fantasy novels. The Hickmans conceived Dragonlance while driving in their car on the way to TSR for a job interview. Tracy Hickman met his future writing partner Margaret Weis at TSR, and they gathered a group of associates to play the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. The adventures during that game inspired a series of gaming modules, a series of novels, licensed products such as board games, and lead miniature figures.
Jeff Grubb is an author of novels, short stories, and comics, as well as a computer and role-playing game designer in the fantasy genre. Grubb worked on the Dragonlance campaign setting under Tracy Hickman, and the Forgotten Realms setting with Ed Greenwood. His written works include The Finder's Stone Trilogy, the Spelljammer and Jakandor campaign settings, and contributions to Dragonlance and the computer game Guild Wars Nightfall (2006).
Expedition to the Barrier Peaks is a 1980 adventure module for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game written by Gary Gygax. While Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) is typically a fantasy game, the adventure includes elements of science fiction, and thus belongs to the science fantasy genre. It takes place on a downed spaceship; the ship's crew has died of an unspecified disease, but functioning robots and strange creatures still inhabit the ship. The player characters fight monsters and robots, and gather the futuristic weapons and colored access cards that are necessary for advancing the story.
Ravenloft is an adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. The American game publishing company TSR, Inc. released it as a standalone adventure booklet in 1983 for use with the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game. It was written by Tracy and Laura Hickman, and includes art by Clyde Caldwell with maps by David Sutherland III. The plot of Ravenloft focuses on the villain Strahd von Zarovich, a vampire who pines for his lost love. Various story elements, including Strahd's motivation and the locations of magical weapons, are randomly determined by drawing cards. The player characters attempt to defeat Strahd and, if successful, the adventure ends.
The Warlock of Firetop Mountain is a single-player adventure gamebook written by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, and illustrated by Russ Nicholson. Originally published by Puffin Books in 1982, the title is the first gamebook in the Fighting Fantasy series. It was later republished by Wizard Books in 2002, and Scholastic Books in 2017. As well as launching the Fighting Fantasy series, the gamebook inspired two direct sequels and five novels, and has been adapted into a board game, an audio drama and a video game.
Oriental Adventures is the title shared by two hardback rulebooks published for different versions of the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy roleplaying game. Each version of Oriental Adventures provides rules for adapting its respective version of D&D for use in campaign settings based on the Far East, rather than the medieval European setting assumed by most D&D books. Both versions of Oriental Adventures include example campaign settings.
Sorcery!, originally titled Steve Jackson's Sorcery!, is a single-player four-part adventure gamebook series written by Steve Jackson and illustrated by John Blanche. Originally published by Penguin Books between 1983 and 1985, the titles are part of the Fighting Fantasy canon, but were not allocated numbers within the original 59-book series. Sorcery! was re-published by Wizard Books in 2003, and later adapted into a video game series by Inkle from 2013 to 2016.
Deathtrap Dungeon is a single-player adventure gamebook written by Ian Livingstone, and illustrated by Iain McCaig. Originally published by Puffin Books in 1984, the title is the sixth gamebook in the Fighting Fantasy series. It was later republished by Wizard Books in 2002.
Rose Estes is the author of many fantasy and science fiction books, including full-length novels and multiple choice gamebooks.
The Forest of Doom is a single-player adventure gamebook written by Ian Livingstone, and illustrated by Malcolm Barter. Originally published by Puffin Books in 1983, the title is the third gamebook in the Fighting Fantasy series, and the first of several to feature the character Yaztromo. It was later republished by Wizard Books in 2002. The gamebook was also adapted into a video game.
The Ghost Tower of Inverness is an adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, set in the game's World of Greyhawk campaign setting. The module's title refers to an ancient magical tower located in the southern Abbor-Alz Hills. The "C" in the module code represents the first letter in the word "competition," the name of C1 – C6 module series.
The DL series is a series of adventures and some supplementary material for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role playing game. These modules along with the Dragonlance Chronicles trilogy of novels, which follow one possible adventure series through the modules, were the first published items that established the Dragonlance fictional universe. The original DL series was released from 1984 to 1986, with the final two modules added to it in 1988. In the 1990s these roleplaying adventures from the original series were collected and revised for 2nd Edition AD&D as the three DLC Dragonlance Classics modules. There were also versions of the module series released in 1999, 2000 and 2006.
Dragons of Despair is the first in a series of 16 Dragonlance adventures published by TSR, Inc. (TSR) between 1984 and 1988. It is the start of the first major story arc in the Dragonlance series of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) role-playing game modules, a series of ready-to-play adventures for use by Dungeon Masters in the game. This series provides a game version of the original Dragonlance storyline later told in the Dragonlance Chronicles trilogy of novels. This module corresponds to the events told in the first half of the novel Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Its module code is DL1, which is used to designate it as the first part of the Dragonlance adventure series.
Fantasy Forest is a series of ten gamebooks published by TSR, Inc. from 1983 to 1984. The books are works of children's literature; eight of them are set in the fantasy world of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game created by TSR, Inc., and two are set in TSR's science fiction world of Star Frontiers. They have been compared to other gamebook series, such as Choose Your Own Adventure or Endless Quest.
Dungeons & Dragons novels are works of fantasy fiction that are based upon campaign settings released for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.
Kara-Tur: The Eastern Realms is an accessory and campaign setting for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.