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.
Enjoyed this dungeon . My 6th level Paladin had the only weapon that could touch the Clay Golem. He ended up reduced to 3 HP by the golem and we had no access to a tenth level cleric throughout the entire 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. My ranger was a little low level and got chopped up by guards 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. The railroad is annoying and I DM it as a place my adventurers can choose to go to in a sandbox., so to speak. 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. But the Dungeons were fun Tricks traps and treasures were interesting ANd I loved the MAze and the howling Abyss and the time trap fortress. though being dropped into the abyss only to be saved was also annoying .
I have to say, while all of your observations are entirely correct...I loved this series and on completing Martek, my group felt like we had achieved AD&D Nirvana. I thought Oasis was the best of them but all three modules held us captivated for multiple sessions. Very fond memories. The only single module I've enjoyed more was an Expert module Chateau D'Amberville which - for me at least - was the best module I ever played through. Tomb of Horrors is a close second.
I did enjoy this module a lot though being exiled to the desert sucked, freeing the Efreeti sucked and being manipulated into freeing the Djinni sucked. I enjoyed Pharoah's tomb and Loved Marteks tomb. Just so many interesting rooms and ideas. We had more trouble with the Oasis of the White Palm and I lost 3 characters there . Role play/ detective work wasn't our strength. we had trouble interacting with the Paladins / Thieves at the start of Martek too. But loved that adventure.
I do enjoy your videos. Such fun. Always a must share to my Facebook page. 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. I have to admit that you got my wheels turning, wondering whether the Chabang Men (L56a for those who don'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 "pun." 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. ????? Yes? No? Maybe? Whatever? As to the desert? I always thought it was only a small portion of the whole. I doesn't really fit into any setting does it? Faerun'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. I do prefer the original series to the super-module, but I invariably do. It would pair well with: The Lost City, The Dark Tower, Master of the Desert Nomads, Temple of Death, and Day of Al'Akbar, but everyone in the know already knows this. Keep up the great work!
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 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're only 8 sessions into it lol so it'll be a while.
Thanks - quick summary of my opinion of the 3 modules: Pharaoh - Good White Palm - Outstanding Martek - Poor The extra material in the Supermodule was mostly filler. Yes it's a solid campaign overall, but I would prefer to use the original I3 and I4 and discard most of the rest.
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.
I have mixed memories of this, mixed in a literal sense as after the concussions I've had it was easy to mix these three with the two part desert series from the Expert modules (X4 and X5 I think?). I remember mining ideas from the desert modules, but I'm not certain what they were or which series they were from. I'll have to pull these, and X4 and X5, out of storage so I can remember what each series involved. I'll have to do that before I watch the others, just so I know more of what is what. 😀
You’re nitpicking about the hook, which is the least important part of the module and no worse than the hooks in other modules of the time. (“You hear rumors about a haunted X…”) The point is just to get the PCs to go to the pyramid.
i enjoyed both the pyramid and the oasis setting, but i have one *huge* questionmark regarding the writing: why i anu's name are the dervish cultists all of a sudden described as evil? this makes no fucking sense. in bralizar and around the pyramid the dervishes were an interesting group with beliefs not tolerated by the durpari majority, but with their own rules and customs. why are they now worshiping "evil" deities and following clerics with zombies and all that crap? i couldnt belief what i was reading, after such nice descriptions of the oasis settlement, the temple of set and evil cultists make zero sense.... i am puzzled.
![โรงเรียนห้ามรัก โดนจับได้ตาย...!! [เอิร์นไดเม่]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4u02Sbr556Q/mqdefault.jpg)
Always loved the Egyptian themed stuff! Mummies and treasure!
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.
Nice work Ernie, your intro is much better than the official one!
I too think Oasis of the White Palm is the gem of the series (excuse the pun).
This takes me waaaaay back. I can remember playing through this adventure, and we had many of the same questions.
Enjoyed this dungeon . My 6th level Paladin had the only weapon that could touch the Clay Golem. He ended up reduced to 3 HP by the golem and we had no access to a tenth level cleric throughout the entire 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. My ranger was a little low level and got chopped up by guards 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.
The railroad is annoying and I DM it as a place my adventurers can choose to go to in a sandbox., so to speak. 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. But the Dungeons were fun Tricks traps and treasures were interesting ANd I loved the MAze and the howling Abyss and the time trap fortress. though being dropped into the abyss only to be saved was also annoying .
Haha, Clay Golems are nasty!
I have to say, while all of your observations are entirely correct...I loved this series and on completing Martek, my group felt like we had achieved AD&D Nirvana. I thought Oasis was the best of them but all three modules held us captivated for multiple sessions. Very fond memories. The only single module I've enjoyed more was an Expert module Chateau D'Amberville which - for me at least - was the best module I ever played through. Tomb of Horrors is a close second.
X2 was a masterpiece
I did enjoy this module a lot though being exiled to the desert sucked, freeing the Efreeti sucked and being manipulated into freeing the Djinni sucked. I enjoyed Pharoah's tomb and Loved Marteks tomb. Just so many interesting rooms and ideas. We had more trouble with the Oasis of the White Palm and I lost 3 characters there . Role play/ detective work wasn't our strength. we had trouble interacting with the Paladins / Thieves at the start of Martek too. But loved that adventure.
I do enjoy your videos. Such fun.
Always a must share to my Facebook page.
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.
I have to admit that you got my wheels turning, wondering whether the Chabang Men (L56a for those who don'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 "pun." 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.
?????
Yes? No? Maybe? Whatever?
As to the desert? I always thought it was only a small portion of the whole. I doesn't really fit into any setting does it? Faerun'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.
I do prefer the original series to the super-module, but I invariably do.
It would pair well with: The Lost City, The Dark Tower, Master of the Desert Nomads, Temple of Death, and Day of Al'Akbar, but everyone in the know already knows this.
Keep up the great work!
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 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're only 8 sessions into it lol so it'll be a while.
Thanks - quick summary of my opinion of the 3 modules:
Pharaoh - Good
White Palm - Outstanding
Martek - Poor
The extra material in the Supermodule was mostly filler. Yes it's a solid campaign overall, but I would prefer to use the original I3 and I4 and discard most of the rest.
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.
Subscribed. I really need to run a fantasy Egypt game in the near future. Thanks for this video.
I’ve never played this module, or any of the series, which is a real shame. Maybe one day…
You take no prisoners, Mr. YeOldeGeek. 😀
I have mixed memories of this, mixed in a literal sense as after the concussions I've had it was easy to mix these three with the two part desert series from the Expert modules (X4 and X5 I think?). I remember mining ideas from the desert modules, but I'm not certain what they were or which series they were from. I'll have to pull these, and X4 and X5, out of storage so I can remember what each series involved. I'll have to do that before I watch the others, just so I know more of what is what. 😀
We only ran one DL module and I agree, the gameplay was poor. A linear story. Didn’t like it despite it’s apparent popularity
You’re nitpicking about the hook, which is the least important part of the module and no worse than the hooks in other modules of the time. (“You hear rumors about a haunted X…”) The point is just to get the PCs to go to the pyramid.
I would agree. Give my party the opportunity to go off in the desert.
i enjoyed both the pyramid and the oasis setting, but i have one *huge* questionmark regarding the writing: why i anu's name are the dervish cultists all of a sudden described as evil? this makes no fucking sense. in bralizar and around the pyramid the dervishes were an interesting group with beliefs not tolerated by the durpari majority, but with their own rules and customs. why are they now worshiping "evil" deities and following clerics with zombies and all that crap? i couldnt belief what i was reading, after such nice descriptions of the oasis settlement, the temple of set and evil cultists make zero sense.... i am puzzled.
So overall, it sounds like a great basic idea for a module, but the product is is kind of sucks.
It contains some excellent ideas, but as was often the case with Hickman's modules, it needed more pairs of eyes checking it all over.