AD&D Module Review I3 Pharaoh

Comments · 32

• EN

  @enoa4 · 4 years ago

  I ran this back in the 80's when it came out and have fond memories of it.  I've been trying to fit it into my past few weekly campaign and finally got it done.   We finished the trilogy about six months ago.   When I first ran it, I3 Pharoah was my favorite, and Oasis of the White Palm was my least favorite.   Fast forward to the present day, and I think White Palm is the star.  I got around the structural issues in Pharoah by banishing the players into the desert (this fit in my campaign) and needed secrets from Martek to free themselves.   I started them out inside the Sunken City of Pazar and it was sealed shut.  The efreet punch his way out of the dome when the players freed him.   This ensured they would be in the sunken city and they would free the efreet.  It also helped frame the story by starting with the efreet, and by wrapping it in a custom magical banishment, the players were really driven to unravel the mysteries of the desert.    I was able to drop bits of the song of Martek long before they were banished, and it really came together quite nicely.   Thank you for the review of a module I have a real soft spot for.

  10

• MI

  @mikegould6590 · 4 years ago

  This takes me waaaaay back. I can remember playing through this adventure, and we had many of the same questions.

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• BW

  @bwongoid · 4 years ago

  Always loved the Egyptian themed stuff! Mummies and treasure!

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• TR

  @trooks40 · 4 months ago

  Excellent review of this classic module! I’ve heavily annotated the maps to make it easier to run.

  1

• BI

  @biffstrong1079 · 4 years ago

  Enjoyed this dungeon . My 6th level &nbsp;Paladin had the only weapon that could touch the Clay Golem. &nbsp;He ended up reduced to 3 HP by the golem and we had no access to a tenth level cleric throughout the entire &nbsp;three Modules, so that was the end of my first character. I rolled up a NG Hafling Thief who actually was open to some good role playing opportunities in the Oasis of the White Palm. Unfortunately he got polymorphed into an ape which wasnt so bad but then put on a Phylactery Of Monstrous Attention. In the end he simply wandered into the desert to die. &nbsp;My ranger was a little low level and got chopped up by guards &nbsp; I finally played an MU who hid behind everyone for this adventure and the start of the next. Finally started pulling his weight and survived but yes these modules, that I quite enjoyed, proved to be a graveyard for me. <br>The railroad is annoying and &nbsp;I DM it as a place my adventurers can choose to go to in a sandbox., so to speak. &nbsp;I loved the TOmb of the Pharoah and of Martek, I didnt enjoy freeing the Efreeti or learning that the Djinn we freed to combat him was just as bad or worse. &nbsp;But the Dungeons were fun Tricks traps and treasures were interesting &nbsp;ANd I loved the MAze and the howling Abyss and the time trap fortress. &nbsp;though being dropped into the abyss only to be saved was also annoying .

  3

• WI

  @windmark8040 · 4 years ago (edited)

  So glad you mentioned (among other things) the interior art style. I HATED it! I thought the whimsical design made the modules feel like an Abbott and Costello comedy, instead of a horrific wasteland adventure. I loved the map style, though.

  3

• TH

  @ThomasPercy · 3 years ago

  You take no prisoners, Mr. YeOldeGeek. 😀

• AD

  @adampender2482 · 4 years ago (edited)

  Great video as always. I can always count on you to do an honest review. Some give these three modules (Desert of Desolation series) very high marks. I have the super module but never ran it &nbsp;or even read them. My groups never wanted a desert campaign so it never came up. My current group though would probably love a desert campaign as a change of pace. But this would be after our Night Below campaign and they&apos;re only 8 sessions into it lol so it&apos;ll be a while.

  4

• LI

  @Lightmane · 1 year ago

  Hey man, I really enjoy your channel. Just wanted you to know that I&apos;m going to try reading I3 (Pharaoh) on my channel, and I mentioned your review here, and included a link in the description. Don&apos;t know if anyone will click on it, but here&apos;s hoping they do. It&apos;s still uploading to YouTube, so it might be a bit before it&apos;s up. The video is about 30 minutes long, as I talk about some other things that I&apos;m also reading on my channel, and I read the cover (front and back) and show the maps, and then I read the introduction. Gonna be breaking this up a bit. Still not sure how much yet. Anyway, just wanted you to know. ttyl maybe : )<br>Scott

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• SV

  @Svartalf14 · 1 year ago

  Little correction : Tamoachan was inspired by Maya culture, not Aztec.

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• DA

  @davidleonard8547 · 4 years ago

  I do enjoy your videos. Such fun.<br>Always a must share to my Facebook page.<br><br>I concur. I3 has great moments, and a lot of duds. I honestly did not put 2 and 2 together, knowing but not realizing that Hickman was not a TSR man when he pitched this adventure.<br>I have to admit that you got my wheels turning, wondering whether the Chabang Men (L56a for those who don&apos;t have a searchable PDF at hand) might be some Egyptian mythological beast. They are not. I suspect (without asking Mr Hickman) that they might be a &quot;pun.&quot; He was throwing the whole shebang at the players: the Chabang have no HP, and any slashing creates 2 from the original (full strength, not half). They only die when [spoiler redact!] I suspect they are only there to harass the PCs without relief, and wear them down, thus, throwing the whole shebang at them. <br>?????<br>Yes? No? Maybe? Whatever?<br>As to the desert? I always thought it was only a small portion of the whole. I doesn&apos;t really fit into any setting does it? Faerun&apos;s Raurin the Dust Desert is by no means huge in the super-module. I suppose it can be placed in the far west of Greyhawk, seeing that that is a blank canvas. I suspect it was always supposed to be generic. <br>I do prefer the original series to the super-module, but I invariably do.<br><br>It would pair well with: The Lost City, &nbsp;The Dark Tower, Master of the Desert Nomads, Temple of Death, and Day of Al&apos;Akbar, but everyone in the know already knows this.<br><br>Keep up the great work!

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• AN

  @andysimmons2648 · 4 years ago

  I’ve never played this module, or any of the series, which is a real shame. Maybe one day…

  2