Quasqueton: some of us don't give a
flying f damn about breaking the suspension of disbelief, and like "illogical" dungeons just fine. The thing about Pharaoh is: there are a whole lot of cool traps and memorable encounters in the module. It
does play well (and I didn't run it in 1983 - I ran it in the late 90s). Those things you mentioned never bothered anyone in my group, partly because we play Dungeons&Dragons, not Elminster's Ecologies, and partly because most of the problems you mention are easily corrected. Also, there are a whole lot of absolutely awesome encounters in the adventure, like the battle with the M-U Munafik, the unearthing of the Efreet or that palm tree with the pineapples...
As for specific points --
Monsters in the random monster charts don't have hit points listed. Just HD.
Yeah, so what's the problem? Can't roll dice?
Seriously: I got myself a sheet of paper and rolled up hps for a bunch of critters before the game. Problem solved in ten minutes.
There is a group of about a dozen bandits with 2 HD. Half have only 2-4 hit points.
Like the PCs, the bandits could have encountered monsters previously.
There is a maze with only one way in -- jumping into a burning brazier in the temple. The worshippers at the temple haven't figured out the brazier is a teleporter. But there are a couple dozen folks (non-worshippers) in the maze who had to come through the brazier.
There are wondering wizards, bandits, dopplegangers, etc. in this maze, but no explanation on how long they've been there, how they got there (past all the worshippers), or how they survive there. There are monsters in rooms in the maze, with no explanation of how they survive. There are areas in the maze where treasure is just sitting in the middle of the floor, apparently just abandoned and not found by anyone else.
Yeah, that was a bit problematic. I treated the maze as a place of stasis - those who were lost would wander it
For Ever(tm). Problem solved with an ominous twist.
![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
I placed the treasure in the side rooms and added a trap or two.
In many areas, there is ancient writing with hints and clues for the PCs. But for most all of them, there is a 30% to decipher the writing. Just a flat 30% chance, regardless of being a wizard with 18 Int or a dumb fighter. And it doesn't even say this is 30% for the whole party as a group, or for each individual trying to read it.
So assign it to a Read Languages check or Ancient History for Magic-Users (or 3e equivalents!). There, "DM fiat" solved another "game-breaking" problem in
two freaking seconds.
To sum it up, the "problems" you mention are
a) not considered problematic for some people
b) easily corrected anyway.
Seriously, it is not like people in the early 1980s (or the late 70s, when the first, non-TSR edition of Pharaoh appeared) were too dumb to realize that the aforementioned bits are "not realistic" or whatever. They had different priorities, different interests and were more interested in improbable, even surreal adventures in exciting locations than crafting elaborate and "living, breathing" worlds. Also, modules weren't supposed to be the "whole deal". It was encouraged and expected of the DM to adapt and change the things he didn't find appropriate for his games. Moreover, the designers
trusted the DM to be of sufficient competence to make those corrections.
Oh well, enough semi-coherent rambling, back to smoking crack, eh.
