''Doors to the Unknown'' is an accessory for the 2nd edition of the ''
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons
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 ...
''
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures.
The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
role-playing game
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...
.
Contents
''Doors to the Unknown'' is a short adventure campaign involving four 'blink portals' which appear in
Sigil
A sigil () is a type of symbol used in magic. The term usually refers to a pictorial signature of a spirit (such as an angel, demon, or deity). In modern usage, especially in the context of chaos magic, a sigil refers to a symbolic represen ...
every 500 years and disappear again after two months. The
player character
A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional Character (arts), character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters tha ...
s would need to explore these portals and discover their secrets, which may involve restricted planes inhabited by powerful hyper-real monsters, and origins with the death of the god
Aoskar
Sigil ( ) is a fictional city and the center of the Planescape campaign setting, for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game.
Publication history Development
Sigil was originally created for Planescape as the setting's "home ba ...
by the
Lady of Pain.
Publication history
''Doors to the Unknown'' was published by
TSR, Inc.
TSR, Inc. was an American game publishing company, best known as the original publisher of '' Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). Its earliest incarnation, Tactical Studies Rules, was founded in October 1973 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye. Gygax had bee ...
in 1996.
Reception
Trenton Webb reviewed ''Doors to the Unknown'' for ''Arcane'' magazine, rating it a 6 out of 10 overall.
He commented: "In the early '70s there was a spate of low-budget multi-story horror films where four people were thrown together to tell their tales in turn. ''Doors to the Unknown'' borrows this format and suffers from the nagging suspicion - the creators had loads of good ideas but no great ones."
He stated: "The challenges are classic ''Planescape'': find the keys to the portals, dive through, do a deed and get back. An extra gulp factor is added with the fact that these portals kill non-key holders, and that after exactly two months they close for another 500 years - so if you're not back by then it's game over."
Webb continued: "Each of the portals leads to a unique mini-plane that poses specific challenges, three of which are good fun. The universe's junkyard, a hyperreal jungle and future-world of Logicus Prime all provide very different takes on 'standard weird planes'. Even the dull cave crawl that forms the fourth plane is spiced up considerably with a healthy dose of backstabbing intrigue."
He added: "The overall plot that is supposed to fuel the whole campaign doesn't really have the narrative cohesion that's required, though. Players who are going to have other things on their mind - such as getting back home - aren't given enough clues or guidance."
Webb concluded his review by saying, "The vagaries of ''Planescape'' are one of its true blessings, because it enables games to be played in a fast 'n loose style, which is why it's imperative that recognisable core themes are maintained, and why ''Doors to the Unknown'' fails. It serves up four mini-adventures which fail to coalesce into the single great adventure it wants to be."
References
{{Planescape
Planescape supplements
Role-playing game supplements introduced in 1996