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Desert of Desolation

RPG Family or System:

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (1st Edition)

Year:

1987

Nationality:

USA

Authors:

Tracy Hickman, Laura Hickman, Philip Meyers, Peter L. Rice

Art Director:

Dennis Kauth, Ron Kauth, Dave LaForce, Keith Parkinson, Stephen Sullivan, Stephanie Tabat

Publisher:

Tactical Studies Rules (TSR), Wizards of the Coast

Genre:

Fantasy, Fiction

Other websites:

Videos by players :

Summary of the game
Desert of Desolation is an adventure played within the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game, specifically within the Forgotten Realms campaign scenarios. This adventure combines the old modules Pharaoh (1977), Oasis of the White Palm (1982), and Lost Tomb of Martek (1983), published by Tracy and Laura Hickman. Both the old modules and this new edition were some of the first scenarios with a clear Egyptianising setting.
An ancient Raurin obelisk in setting of the desert and ruins (Screenshot by author)
Pyramid of Pharaoh Amun-Ra (Screenshot by author)
Antechamber of the priests, tomb of Amun-Re (Screenshot by author)
Altar of Ra (Screenshot by author)
Egyptomania narratives or motifs
In this new edition, players are teleported to the lands of Bralizzar to fulfil a prophecy and resurrect the Grand Wizard Martek, Grand Vizier of Raurin. Raurin is an idealised transposition of ancient Egypt. Among Martek's notable deeds in the past, the chronicles speak of him imprisoning an Ifrit, a demonic fire genie. According to prophecy, Martek will be resurrected a thousand years after these events to prevent the vengeance of this demon. To prevent Martek's tomb from being usurped and his resurrection from taking place, the tomb was hidden in such a way that, in order to locate it, five gems scattered in five different places in the desert must be collected. The mission of the game is for players to go to these five locations to find the gems that will allow them to find the wizard's tomb and resurrect him to fight the Ifrit.
The Egyptianising elements of these adventures are mainly based on aesthetic aspects. The desert is located along the ancient Athis River, a river that proliferated the Raurin civilisation, much like the Nile. The landscape is more akin to a medieval Egypt, where there are merchant towns where Bedouins stop and caravans pass through the desert. The orientalist gaze of the game is undeniable. The settings are often full of ruins (image 1), where players will face traps, mummies, and ghosts from the time of the pharaohs of this ancient lost kingdom. Thus, in this adventure we find the tomb of the pharaoh Amun-Ra, a pyramid guarded by fanatical worshippers of the ancient gods of Raurin (image 2), or the Temple of Set, with clear Egyptian references.
It is interesting to note that this setting mixes classic elements of medieval fantasy, such as elves and goblins, with elements from other cultures, such as gorgons, genies or djinns, minotaurs, etc. Thus, we can find rooms, such as the antechamber of the priests (image 3), where we can find both Egyptian sculptures and wizards or elves, or we can see our characters dressed in medieval clothes inspecting the altar of the temple of Ra in the city of Phoenix (image 4).

Author: Víctor Sánchez Domínguez

Other information
A.I. Fernández Pichel, V. Sánchez Domínguez, Egypt and Role-Playing Games. Does the World of Darkness Universe Use Ancient Egyptian Sources?, in A.I. Fernández Pichel (ed.) How Pharaohs Became Media Stars: Ancient Egypt and Popular Culture: 207. Oxford: Archaeopress.
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Abraham I. Fernández Pichel

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Abraham I. Fernández Pichel - Rogério Sousa - Eleanor Dobson - Filip Taterka - Guillermo Juberías Gracia - José das Candeias Sales
Nuno Simões Rodrigues - Samuel Fernández-Pichel - Sara Woodward - Tara Sewell-Lasater - Thomas Gamelin – Leire Olabarría
Alfonso Álvarez-Ossorio - Jean-Guillaume Olette-Pelletier - Marc Orriols-Llonch


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