 Cover of the first edition | |
| Authors | Logan Bonner, Matt Sernett, and Jeff Morgenroth |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Role-playing games |
| Genre | Dungeons & Dragons |
| Publisher | Wizards of the Coast |
Publication date | 2012 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Trade hardcover) |
Into the Unknown: The Dungeon Survival Handbook is a supplement for the 4th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.
Into the Unknown contains an assortment of new powers, equipment, feats, character themes, and three player races; the svirfneblin, the kobold and the goblin. For Dungeon Masters, the book contains dungeon-building advice and details, including lore on classic dungeon monsters, companions for adventurers, a few treasures, and tips for incorporating players' character themes into an adventure. [1]
There are three chapters and two appendices in this book: [2]
Into the Unknown was written by Logan Bonner, Matt Sernett, and Jeff Morgenroth and featured painted artwork by Noah Bradley. [3] [4] It was published on May 15, 2012 by Wizards of the Coast as a 160-page hardcover book. It is now available online as a PDF. [3] [5]
Shannon Appelcline commented that the ninth season of Encounters, Web of the Spider Queen (2012, 13 weeks), was "the start of a trilogy of Seasons that would close out the 4E Encounters and confront players with the entire drow race. Tied into Into the Unknown: The Dungeon Survival Guide (2012), a general look at the Underdark." [6] : 195 Appelcline also wrote that ''D&D 4e (2008-2012) production became wobbly in the year following the Essentials (2010) experiment, then on January 9, 2012, Wizards announced that the edition was coming to an end. A few mass-market 4e books trickled out in early 2012, but Into the Unknown was the last of them, leaving D&D 4e with a lifetime of less than four years. [...] A few 4e-statted books later appeared in giveaways and as part of the Encounters programs, but following Into the Unknown, Wizards' mass-market production turned to edition-neutral books — repeating the pattern of the 3e transition, where Wizards became reluctant to publish edition-specific books about a year out. [...] Though it had been foreshadowed in April with a convention adventure, Into the Unknown was the major release that kicked off "Rise of the Underdark", Wizards of the Coast's biggest multimedia metaplot ever, running from May 2012 through the end of 2012. The crossover focused on Lolth driving the drow to attack the surface world, but Wizards went further than that by using it as an excuse to generally spotlight drow and the Underdark in all of their media. [...] In all, it was a rather impressive product release of over 20(!) linked books and events!" [3]
John ONeill from Black Gate stated that "Into the Unknown makes me want to pick up my dice again. In terms of sheer inspirational value, it surpasses any title since Frostburn (2004) and Sandstorm (2005). Even if you never play D&D again, Into the Unknown is still a great value, especially for collectors and old school gamers who appreciate the fine art of dungeon design." [7]
Shannon Appelcline commented that after the debut of the Underdark in the Dungeoneer's Survival Guide (1986) "it was a long time before D&D returned to this fertile ground. Dungoenscape (2007) covered some of the same material, but with most of its focus on dungeons. Then Dungeon Survival Guide (2007) reused the original name, but was mainly a nostalgic look at classic dungeons. Into the Unknown: The Dungeon Survival Handbook (2012) consigned the classic name to a subhead but was still the book most in tune with the original: it includes player mechanics, GM advice, the Underdark … and even a look at a few classic dungeons." [3] [8]
Wired commented that "if you turn to supplements like this for more than the numbers – for things like quest ideas, character motivations and new settings – then Into the Unknown deserves a spot on your D&D shelf." [1]
DieHard GameFan said that "If you’re a 4e fan, you’ll definitely want to consider picking up this book for the sheer wealth of ideas it contains. Even if you’re not using Fourth Edition, flip through Into the Unknown: The Dungeon Survival Handbook; you might just like what you see." [2]
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.
The drow or dark elves are a dark-skinned and white-haired subrace of elves connected to the subterranean Underdark in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game. The drow have traditionally been portrayed as generally evil and connected to the evil spider goddess Lolth. However, later editions of Dungeons & Dragons have moved away from this portrayal and preassigned alignment. More recent publications have explored drow societies unconnected to Lolth.
Menzoberranzan, the "City of Spiders", is a fictional city-state in the world of the Forgotten Realms, a Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting. The city is located in the Upper Northdark, about two miles below the Surbrin Vale, between the Moonwood and the Frost Hills. It is famed as the birthplace of Drizzt Do'Urden, the protagonist of several series of best-selling novels by noted fantasy author R. A. Salvatore. Menzoberranzan has been developed into a video game and a tabletop RPG setting.
The Dungeon Master's Guide is a book of rules for the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. The Dungeon Master's Guide contains rules concerning the arbitration and administration of a game, and is intended for use by the game's Dungeon Master.
The Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting is a role-playing game sourcebook first published by TSR in 1987 for the first edition of the fantasy role-playing game Advanced Dungeons & Dragons that describes the campaign setting of the Forgotten Realms. It contains information on characters, locations and history. Various revised and updated editions have been produced over the years.
Several different editions of the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game have been produced since 1974. The current publisher of D&D, Wizards of the Coast, produces new materials only for the most current edition of the game. However, many D&D fans continue to play older versions of the game and some third-party companies continue to publish materials compatible with these older editions.
Descent Into the Depths of the Earth is an adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy roleplaying game coded D1–2. It was written by Gary Gygax, and combines two previously published modules from 1978, the original Descent into the Depths of the Earth and Shrine of the Kuo-Toa. A sequel to the first two modules, Vault of the Drow, was also published in 1978. All of these D-series modules were produced for use with the 1st edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) rules.
The warlock is a character class in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It was introduced as a non-core base class who practice arcane magic in the supplemental book Complete Arcane for the 3.5 edition of Dungeons & Dragons. In 4th and 5th edition, the warlock is a core class.
The Underdark sourcebook for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting of the 3.5 edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.
City of the Spider Queen is a 160-page adventure module set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, for use with the 3rd edition of the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons.
The Forgotten Realms Player's Guide is a supplement to the 4th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.
The Sundering refers to two events that occurred in the fictional timeline of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. It is also the title of both a series of novels published by Wizards of the Coast and a multimedia project Wizards of the Coast used to transition Dungeons & Dragons from 4th Edition to 5th Edition. This project explored the Second Sundering story and included the aforementioned book series, the free-to-play mobile game Arena of War developed by DeNA and an adventure series for the 4th Edition D&D Encounters program.
Dark Sun Creature Catalog is a supplement to the 4th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.
Vor Rukoth: An Ancient Ruins Adventure Site is a supplement to the 4th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.
Heroes of Forgotten Kingdoms is a supplement to the 4th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.
Heroes of Shadow is a supplement to the 4th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. This was the first post-Essentials Dungeons & Dragons release and the supplement was designed to be compatible with both the Essentials line and the base game.
Neverwinter Campaign Setting is a supplement to the 4th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.
Madness at Gardmore Abbey is an adventure for the 4th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. It was the third super-adventure for the edition and it was part of the Essentials line.
Heroes of the Elemental Chaos is a supplement to the 4th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. This book is one of three source books, along with Manual of the Planes (2008) and The Plane Below: Secrets of the Elemental Chaos (2009), from this era that details the Elemental Chaos from the 4th edition World Axis cosmology.
Menzoberranzan: City of Intrigue is a system-neutral supplement to the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game published towards the end of 4th edition.