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.
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.
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Endless Quest: Series One + Endless Quest: Series One # Title Setting Author Published Cover art Interior art ISBN 1 Dungeon of Dread D&D Rose Estes Larry Elmore Jim Holloway 2 Mountain of Mirrors D&D Rose Estes Larry Elmore Jim Holloway 3 Pillars of Pentegarn D&D Rose Estes Larry Elmore Harry J Quinn 4 Return to Brookmere D&D Rose Estes Larry Elmore Timothy Truman 5 Revolt of the Dwarves D&D Rose Estes Larry Elmore Jim Holloway 6 Revenge of the Rainbow Dragons D&D Rose Estes Jeff Easley Harry J Quinn 7 Hero of Washington Square Top Secret Rose Estes Jeff Easley Timothy Truman 8 Villains of Volturnus Star Frontiers Jean Blashfield Larry Elmore Jim Roslof 9 Robbers and Robots Top Secret Mike Carr Larry Elmore Vernon Posey 10 Circus of Fear D&D Rose Estes Keith Parkinson Kevin Nichols 11 Spell of the Winter Wizard D&D Linda Lowery Larry Elmore Jeffrey R. Busch 12 Light on Quests Mountain Gamma World Mary L. KirchoffJames M. Ward Keith Parkinson Steve McAfee 13 Dragon of Doom D&D Rose Estes Clyde Caldwell Harry J Quinn 14 Raid on Nightmare Castle D&D Catherine McGuire Jeff Easley Jim Holloway 15 Under Dragon's Wing D&D John Kendall Larry Elmore Sam Grainger 16 The Dragon's Ransom D&D Laura French Clyde Caldwell Doug Chaffee 17 Captive Planet Star Frontiers Morris Simon Clyde Caldwell Sam Grainger 18 King's Quest D&D Tom McGowen Ben Otero Kevin Nichols 19 Conan the Undaunted Hyborian Age James M. Ward Clyde Caldwell Doug Chaffee 20 Conan and the Prophecy Hyborian Age Roger E. Moore Keith Parkinson Sam Grainger 21 Duel of the Masters D&D Chris Martindale Clyde Caldwell Keith Parkinson 22 The Endless Catacombs D&D Margaret Weis Jeff Easley Jeff Easley 23 Blade of the Young Samurai D&D Morris Simon Clyde Caldwell Gary Williams 24 Trouble on Artule Star Frontiers Catherine McGuire Jeff Easley Mitchell O'Connell 25 Conan the Outlaw Hyborian Age Roger E. Moore Keith Parkinson Ron Randall 26 Tarzan and the Well of Slaves Tarzan Douglas Niles Larry Elmore Ben Otero 27 Lair of the Lich D&D Bruce Algozin Jeff Easley Jim Roslof 28 Mystery of the Ancients Gamma World Morris Simon Keith Parkinson Doug Chaffee 29 Tower of Darkness D&D Regina Oehler Fultz Jeff Easley Mark Nelson 30 The Fireseed D&D Morris Simon Larry Elmore Jeffrey Butler 31 Tarzan and the Tower of Diamonds Tarzan Richard Reinsmith Jeff Easley Jeffrey Butler 32 Prisoner of Elderwood D&D Bruce Algozin Jeff Easley Gary Williams 33 Knight of Illusion D&D Mary L. Kirchoff Clyde Caldwell Sam GraingerJim Holloway 34 Claw of the Dragon D&D Bruce Algozin Clyde Caldwell Stephen Fabian 35 Vision of Doom D&D Mary L. Kirchoff Ben Otero George Barr 36 Song of the Dark Druid D&D Josepha Sherman Jeff Easley Jim Holloway
Collectors' sets contains Books 1–4, contains Books 5–8, contains Books 9–12, contains Books 13–16,
Endless Quest: Crimson Crystal Adventures 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).
+ Endless Quest: Crimson Crystal Adventures # 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 2 Search for the Pegasus D&D Roger E. Moore March, 1985 Clyde Caldwell Mario D. Macari, Jr.Gary Williams 3 Renegades of Luntar Generic Sci-Fi Roger E. Moore June, 1985 Keith Parkinson Mario D. Macari, Jr. 4 Stop that Witch! D&D Mary Clark September, 1985 Larry Elmore Mario D. Macari, Jr.
Endless Quest: Series Two 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).
+ Endless Quest: Series Two # Title Setting Author Published Cover art Interior art ISBN 37 Dungeon of Fear Dragon Strike Michael Andrews 1994 Jeff Easley Terry Dykstra 38 Castle of the Undead AD&D Ravenloft Nick Baron 1994 Clyde Caldwell Terry Dykstra 39 Secret of the Djinn AD&D Al-Qadim Jean Rabe 1994 Jeff Easley Terry Dykstra 40 The Siege of the Tower AD&D Greyhawk Kem Antillies (pseudonym for Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta) 1994 Jeff Easley Terry Dykstra 41 A Wild Ride Wildspace Louis Anderson 1994 Jeff Easley Terry Dykstra 42 Forest of Darkness Dragon Strike Michael Andrews Jeff Easley Terry Dykstra 43 American Knights Gamma World Nick Pollotta 1995 Jeff Easley Terry Dykstra 44 Night of the Tiger AD&D Ravenloft Jean Rabe 1995 Roger Loveless Terry Dykstra 45 Galactic Challenge Amazing Engine Allen Varney 1995 Dennis Kauth Terry Dykstra 46 Bigby's Curse AD&D Greyhawk Anne K. Brown 1995 Jeff Easley Terry Dykstra 47 The 24-Hour War Gamma World Nick Pollotta 1995 Keith Parkinson Terry Dykstra 48 The Test* AD&D Greyhawk Wes Nicholson 1996 49 Sands of Deception* AD&D Al-Qadim Jean Rabe 1996
* 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.
Endless Quest (2018-9) These books were all written by Matt Forbeck. Each one is loosely based on a Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition campaign.
+ Endless Quest (2018-2019) Title Module Published ISBN Escape the Underdark Out of the Abyss 2018 Big Trouble Storm King's Thunder 2018 Into the Jungle Tomb of Annihilation 2018 To Catch a Thief Waterdeep: Dragon Heist 2018 Escape from Castle Ravenloft Curse of Strahd 2019 The Mad Mage's Academy Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage 2019
Related series 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, starting with Faerie Mound of Dragonkind), 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.
Reception The first four Endless Quest books were reviewed by Marcus Rowland in White Dwarf #39 (March 1983). 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. 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.
Reviews Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine #31 #39 Science Fiction Chronicle
References
External links Official publishers site of the 2008 revisions of the series Demian's Endless Quest page
Series 1 , Series 2 and Crimson Crystal Adventures at the Internet Book List
fr:Livre-jeu de la série Donjons & Dragons#Les Quêtes sans fin de Donjons & Dragons