Desert of Desolation is a compilation adventure module published by TSR for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy roleplaying game. It combines three previously published individual modules: Pharaoh, Oasis of the White Palm, and Lost Tomb of Martek. The modules were made for use with the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) rules. Pharaoh was created by Tracy and Laura Hickman soon after the couple married in 1977, and published by TSR in 1982. Oasis of the White Palm was a collaboration between Tracy Hickman and Philip Meyers, and Hickman wrote the Lost Tomb of Martek on his own; both were printed in 1983.
Each module is an Egyptian-styled adventure. The individual modules were well received by critics at the time of their release, and the compilation garnered accolades in the early 2000s.
Plot summary
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is an Egyptian-styled adventure that includes a pyramid map and a trap-filled maze.
Oasis of the White Palm
Oasis of the White Palm is an adventure in which the player characters come to the Oasis of the White Palm to find out that Shadalah, intended bride of the eldest son of the sheikh, has been kidnapped. The sheikh suspects that his enemies are holding her somewhere within the oasis. The PCs must solve the mystery before they can progress further. After the characters establish contacts at the oasis, they must go to the temple of Set and then the crypt of Badr al-Mosak, and the adventure will finish in the city of Phoenix; there, the PCs must acquire the three Star Gems (the one from Amun-Re's tomb in the previous adventure and two more introduced here) and set the djinni free if they plan to move on to the next module. The Oasis of the White Palm module contains wilderness maps, and also includes a number of smaller adventures.
Lost Tomb of Martek
The goal of the PCs is the tomb of the millennium-dead wizard Martek. The tomb can be found in the immense Desert of Desolation, and most of the action in the adventure happens inside the enormous tomb of Martek. The player characters have to traverse a sea of glass using skate-ships, and then go through the Crystal Prism and the Mobius Tower to get to the final crypt. The adventure is organized into seven parts, taking the party from the desert through a number of planes on their way to the Citadel of Martek. They must use the Star Gems to revive the dead wizard. When they have done so, he lets them choose from a variety of magical treasure, and leaves to defeat the Efreet.
Publication history
In 1977, Tracy Hickman and Laura Hickman (co-creators of the Dragonlance campaign setting) were married. Soon after, while living in Provo, Utah, they wrote the adventures Pharaoh and Ravenloft. The Hickmans privately published their first two adventures, Rahasia and Pharaoh, which earned them a local reputation. DayStar West Media Productions published Pharaoh as part of the "Night Ventures" line of adventure scenarios in 1980, as a sixty-eight-page book. Tracy was working with a business associate who left the Hickmans to cover thirty-thousand dollars in bad checks, driving them to declare bankruptcy, and Tracy Hickman decided to sell their adventure modules to TSR, "literally so that I could buy shoes for my children". TSR decided to buy the modules, and also hired Tracy as a game designer: "They said it would be easier to publish my adventures if I was part of the company. So, we made the move from Utah to Wisconsin." In 1982, TSR published Pharaoh as a thirty-two-page booklet with two outer folders, for the first edition of AD&D. It was designed for 6-8 player characters of levels 5–7, and formed the first of the three-part Desert of Desolation module series.
Oasis of the White Palm is the sequel to the Pharaoh module. TSR published this adventure in 1983 as a thirty-two-page booklet with two outer folders, and the adventure was written by Tracy Hickman and Philip Meyers with cover art by Jim Holloway and interior illustrations by Keith Parkinson. It was intended for 6 to 8 characters of levels 6–8. Lost Tomb of Martek is the third module in the series, and was designed by Tracy Hickman, for 7th-9th level characters. Lost Tomb of Martek was published in 1983 as a 32-page booklet with two outer folders.