I’ve by no means had the chance to have a look at the unique Pharoah journey. I’ve heard a imprecise bit in regards to the plot, primarily as a result of it’s set within the Forgotten Realms. To make clear, it’s set within the Forgotten Realms as a lot because the Bloodstone adventures are set there, which means the adventures had been written with none connection to the setting, however when TSR acquired the Forgotten Realms, they had been assigned their very own places.
The Raurin Desert, which is the place this journey is positioned within the Realms, is true subsequent door to Mulhorand, which finally grew to become the Forgotten Realms analog of Egypt. Finally that “like Egypt” was made extra express, as a result of the Mulan folks had been truly kidnapped from Earth by the Imaskari. It’s sort of a large number, particularly since Ed Greenwood’s preliminary touch upon Mulhorand was “it’s sort of like Stygia within the Conan tales, type of Egyptian,” which translated into “completely Egyptian,” versus Stygia within the Conan tales, which is vaguely Egyptian flavored with numerous its personal bizarre stuff thrown in.
Authentic Credit for Pharoah
Design and Growth: Tracy and Laura Hickman
Enhancing: Curtis Smith
Cowl Artwork: Jim Holloway
Art work
There are fourteen items of artwork on this chapter. There are seven maps this time round, though a few of the maps are of smaller places somewhat than bigger buildings or dungeon complexes. There are three character portraits, and three scenes from the journey, in addition to the image of the doorway that results in this journey on the Infinite Staircase.
The Framing Gadget
If the journey is used as a part of an ongoing story with Nafas, the want that Nafas wants the PCs to assist him fulfill is the want of Amun Sa, hoping to restore that injury he did in life. In case you aren’t utilizing that framing machine, the hooks advised embrace having the PCs face exile into Rairun as a punishment for one thing, resulting in their encounter with Amun Sa. The opposite hook simply immediately ties the PCs to the group working on the web site of the tomb, trying to restore the River Athis.
It’s already bought a house in Faerun, however the advised extra places embrace places in Dragonlance (which is attention-grabbing, provided that the journey was written by Tracy Hickman), Eberron, and Greyhawk. Primarily, search for the most important stretch of desert and put it there. So far as I do know, canonically the Athis was by no means restored on Faerun, and that seems like a doubtlessly main setting improvement, all of the sudden having a brand new river showing in a desert area.
Journey Overview
I do know you’re thirsting for extra content material, however for those who’re planning on enjoying on this journey, it’s possible you’ll need to let the present carry you away, as a result of we’re going to be stepping into some spoilers.
Pharoah doesn’t waste any time, as a result of the opening of the journey jumps straight to the ghost of Amun Sa. He reveals up and asks the PCs to assist him reverse a curse that he introduced down upon the land. Amun Sa conquered a neighboring land, whereas dealing with an rebellion in his personal land, however his insurance coverage coverage was to hyperlink his life to the lifetime of the Athis River. If he was killed, the river would dry up.
That apparently wasn’t the deterrent he hoped it might be, and when he takes a spear to the chest, the river dries up, however his soul is barred from getting into the afterlife by the God of Dying, cursing him to wander the Desert of Desolation till a mortal recovers the Employees of Ruling and the Star-Gem of Mo-Pelar, which is able to trigger the Athis to circulation as soon as extra. He desires the PCs to go to the tomb and assist him with this job.
Now, for those who don’t need the PCs to begin in medias res, there may be some steering about how scorching the desert will get for the way lengthy, and the place to seek out the principles for that, in addition to an encounter desk. The encounters are framed as “monster doing X,” which I desire, though a few of the creatures are simply famous as organising an ambush.
On the tomb, there are already some folks engaged on restoring the situation. Sadly, they haven’t gotten so far as they want, as a result of the consultants they introduced with them bought eaten by a purple worm. They’d recognize the assistance exploring that tomb and discovering out what they should do to revive the river.
Contained in the pyramid, varied sections nonetheless include the waters of the Athis, which may take away exhaustion and poisons as soon as per 24 hours per particular person consuming from it. The tomb can be warded in opposition to teleportation, or spells that alter the stone of the tomb. I’m not all the time satisfied that its finest practices {that a} dungeon advanced takes away toys that the PCs have, however it doesn’t really feel too heavy handed right here, particularly provided that gods are concerned within the curse.
The dungeon itself is separated into the next sections:
- The False Tomb
- The Maze of Mists
- Halls of the Higher Priesthood
- Gauntlet
- Tomb of Amun Sa
I’m not going to do a room-to-room description. That is an early version journey, with plenty of traps, however not, , like Tomb of Horrors traps. Many of the creatures encountered are elementals, undead and fiends. There are a number of teams of NPCs that the PCs can work together with, together with a gaggle of bandits misplaced within the tomb, a sphinx that will eat them, however provided that they will’t deal with her riddle, and afterward, the survivor of a doomed adventuring firm and a unusual gnome explorer.
The Maze of Mists is the most important a part of the dungeon, and I’m not likely thrilled with the mists themselves. The DM is instructed to make it arduous for the PCs to know the place they’re going and the place they’ve been. The mist barely components for them in any respect. I don’t like this. I don’t know not inform my PCs the place they’re going in a way that doesn’t really feel adversarial.
The Halls of the Higher Priesthood could be accessed by tracing the circulation of the Athis as much as the place its flowing from, however there may be additionally a teleporter outdoors of the maze. The monks had been attempting to reverse the curse, and the teleporter has an phantasm of a flame consuming no matter is positioned on it. The folks used to suppose they had been sacrificing meals and items to the gods, however it’s truly teleporting issues to the Halls. If the PCs determine this out, they teleport straight to the Halls, slicing out the Maze of Mists.
At this level, I ought to point out that one of many story-based milestones is escaping the Maze. Whereas it might really feel actually rushed if the PCs work out the teleporter early on, I believe in the event that they teleport to the Halls of the Higher Priesthood, I might take into account that escaping the Maze. However that’s simply my ideas on the matter.
The 2 NPCs that the adventurers can meet give them some vital data. There’s an undead excessive priest up right here, and he survives being destroyed so long as his coronary heart survives, which one of many NPCs can level them in the direction of. Nafik is sort of a cross between a mummy and a lich, and once you confront him, there’s a actually cool big assemble arm that tries to swat the PCs through the combat.
If the PCs deal with Nafik, they will take part within the Trial of Reality which is sort of 98% assured with find yourself inflicting somebody on the desk to cite Monty Python and the Holy Grail due to the way it’s phrased. This does result in a cool sequence the place the PCs experience a waterspout, uncover a chamber that teleports them 10,000 toes above the tomb to get better the pharaoh’s gem. As soon as they arrive again from their stratospheric sojourn, they will enter the precise tomb and retrieve the workers from the highest of the sarcophagus. Amun Sa tells them that they will have any treasure they discover, teleports them again to the doorway, and so they see the Athis river flowing out of the pyramid as soon as once more.
Ideas on Chapter 5: Pharoah
I ought to observe up entrance that the journey does pull on the D&D trope of “folks from someplace else save a tradition they encounter,” somewhat than having adventurers from that tradition interact with the journey, though a few of the hooks enable for native characters. I actually like that there’s a restoration workforce on the web site, each to make the pyramid really feel rather less remoted, and to ensure the locals are actively concerned within the restoration.
It’s sort of humorous to me that the folks engaged on the restoration ask the PCs to not take something culturally related, although Amun Sa instructed them they might have every thing, however the Employees of Ruling looks as if it’s fairly culturally related. The final large prize the PCs get is the primary one they want to surrender. In case you’re utilizing this as a part of Quests from the Infinite Staircase, it’s most likely fairly straightforward for Nafas to present them an merchandise that works the identical manner, in case your gamers are actually hooked up to it.
I actually want I favored the Maze of Mists, however I simply don’t like the way it’s framed. I might be a lot happier if the PCs simply needed to make a save or a test sometimes to undergo one thing that reminds them they will’t see that far, with out ensuring they will’t see forward or behind them. This recommendation additionally sort of sucks, as a result of one of many conventions of 5e is that if somebody is saying that they’re mapping within the occasion, they will all the time retrace their manner again out of a dungeon.
There are some nice set items on this journey. I really like the visible of the PCs trying down 10,000 toes to the pyramid, and the large hand slapping them round whereas they combat the undead priest is a neat complication for a combat, although technically the PCs can simply beat the hell out of the hand like they might one other monster. The potential 10,000-foot drop illustrates a little bit of a obtrusive subject with D&D falling guidelines, in which you could fall 10,000 toes, and take 20d6 injury, which common 70 hit factors. However that’s not this journey’s fault, it’s the belief that there needs to be a falling injury cap primarily based on terminal velocity.
Whereas The Misplaced Metropolis positively felt like an older version journey in locations, I really feel like that is the primary one which pulls ahead an affectation from a earlier version that detracts from the journey. I’m going to be pondering over do one thing with the mist that doesn’t simply hold the PCs from discovering what they should do within the tomb.
If you want to additional delve into the Desert of Desolation, and also you need to contribute to my RPG shopping for habits, you might use the affiliate hyperlinks beneath. Thanks!
