D&D 5E Potential Monsters in Quests from the Infinite Staircase Adventures

Cynidiceans, the werefoxes and polymars... oh my!

mxMabsqKx0ekhOTY8BpJe2ZEKePBJbiTiCd44Z8JnOLq2_WIBf72i6vZn1J--ESj4KxPnNcYGiHLXr8wFOJbRHfZLF95LBePcCrkzq1_AI80IDbfMXY_Cue9f2UGsP8F0Rur_dIze6PvZQNT4wjFoD0

Since the adventures contained in Quests from the Infinite Staircase have been revealed, I thought it might be fun to take a look at the monsters appearing in the original adventures and speculate about what new fifth edition monsters we might see in the upcoming anthology.

For each adventure, I’ve split the review into new monsters and other monsters. The former refers to creatures presented as “new monsters” at the end of the original adventure, while “other monsters” covers the rest of the creatures appearing in that adventure. In a few cases, the other monsters were also new to D&D when they were published.


B4: The Lost City (June 1982)
hf1M9YecVaST57EhBiU8_6k2GH44B5FF8yx_1JCZAbAqMZF7DvK0Bixw5tREfpN5f1HmorEsWgTr17CUw2bSD4cbneevpnb6SMWzSpKYGdxaAs8h9ri77EmJGya0q9uobhrkNGx7rF20eS3j_PcQItY

Fifth edition versions of The Lost City monsters have already appeared in Goodman Games’s licensed OAR4: The Lost City (2020). Since that is now out of print (and fetching a considerable price in online auctions), we can safely ignore OAR4 for the purpose of guessing what might be updated in Quests from the Infinite Staircase. There are four new monsters in The Lost City: the banshee, Cynidiceans, the werefox and the polymar. The adventure also features a fair number of monsters from the Basic and Expert D&D sets that haven’t yet appeared in fifth edition.

New monsters
iTK1OUCsapNKXIztHxto_dbPV-qNl8pdoRVm4hqZHUFp-cZNLGoasQlc4in-Do-4rMNKm-rjr_fRHSj0dmmXxoTygXN2x72l6-DqT-zKxXbDkO20EjiTtDXFccyp4Pgrydw7dNZEfHe3pmzBH_rYl6w

The banshee in The Lost City is not the same creature as the banshee in the Monster Manual. The fifth edition version is a spirit of a female elf and is the direct descendant of the groaning spirit in the first edition Monster Manual (1977). This banshee is a ghost-like figure that haunts families, warning of an impending death. Despite having all the characteristics typically associated with undead creatures, The Lost City is adamant that this banshee is not, in fact, an undead creature. When it was reprinted in the Creature Catalogue (1986) it remained definitely not undead and became the “lesser” banshee, presumably to differentiate it from the AD&D banshee. Given the confusing name and nature of this creature, it seems likely that it will just be replaced with an alternative monster in Quests from the Infinite Staircase.

Y9A0LyZRLm61HhFSu7kMgFe0-rpQEdXpuiEGe1U_LHss7vFDwgKTwohcXF-p0V0FECiJ52tEANre0G9eVDQRi6dNn-XdPZfc-RSxaGH8JoL3_dAW46_5l0FUBPvMGq_o-HEOm9hA4Ywm5Ao68VHoZPs

Unusual variations of humans were a popular inclusion in several early Dungeons & Dragons adventures. At least the Cynidiceans of The Lost City have some differentiating characteristics; they are humans who have lived underground so long that they have pale skin, unusually large eyes, infravision, and an aversion to sunlight. They also wear colorful masks and bright clothing. Three factions of Cynidiceans play a role in the story. The Brotherhood of Gorm are lawful male fighters who wear golden masks of Gorm, the god of war. The Magi of Usamigaras are neutral magic-users who wear the silver masks of Usamigaras, the smiling child god. The Warrior Maidens of Madarua are neutral female fighters who wear the bronze masks of Madarua, goddess of birth, death and the seasons. Both Jim Holloway’s art and the list of Cynidicean encounters give the impression that the Cynidiceans are not to be taken entirely seriously. Fifth edition doesn’t typically treat cultures as new monsters, and some aspects of the Cynidiceans might not survive a sensitivity and inclusivity review. A sidebar noting the Cynidiceans’ mutations seems a more likely approach for Quests to take than a monster entry.

jVm50fzkfxWi7dOw7JDJl7lBJAFV3AQwrQ2Pidis-XThe0feheYlvb-8MsD_3LmCfFeNL2SAtvNfT8E9uzJNo8Z18NNhZpbM6f3xL0gzxoPr1S0TpNOfoF0jkq6itAG55PTnWlniONDl1msx5tGcWBk

The werefox is listed in The Lost City as a type of lycanthrope but since it is a fox that can change into a human, rather than a human who can take the form of a fox, it is more accurately classified as a shapechanger, like the jackalwere. Lycanthropic vulpines have an inconsistent history in D&D. There is a foxwoman (a lycanthrope) in the first edition Monster Manual II (1983). She shares the werefox’s charm ability, but the AD&D version can only take female form and it has an in-between form that is a mix between fox and elf. There is also already a fifth edition version of the werefox—the redtooth werefox from Monstrous Compendium Vol. 4: Eldraine Creatures—but that is setting specific, so an updated version of the original seems quite possible for Quests.

v7M415aBlxjDiua9SmwHQdVM7acOp2EvxXs2HhY_xLz39iXx2eFTLEC8X-7AEjRdsfCAnE3iwvJFEFvRGPnMHp4q67lVy-A1CfSfKBTQJXzUwWcJ1yOI9CySaS59v3P6ibvGsamzYsfnbtxMJMMWh9Y

Last of the new monsters in The Lost City is the polymar, which is an underwhelming version of the mimic. Indeed, when it appeared in the second edition Mystara Monstrous Compendium Appendix (1994) it was specifically referred to as a more sociable version of the mimic. While there is a small chance that we’ll see an updated version in Quests from the Infinite Staircase, substituting the adventure’s lone polymar for a mimic would make more sense.

Other monsters
Of the six adventures being updated for Quests, The Lost City is the lone import from Basic D&D instead of Advanced D&D. Nonetheless, the majority of the creatures in The Lost City can be found in the fifth edition Monster Manual, including: basilisk, black pudding, blink dog, blue dragon, carrion crawler, chimera, displacer beast, doppelganger, fire beetle (in fifth edition this is correctly referred to as “giant”), gargoyle, gelatinous cube, ghoul, giant bat, giant rat, giant scorpion, giant weasel, hellhound, hill giant, hobgoblin, hydra (although the version in The Lost City has eight heads instead of five), manticore, medusa, minotaur, mummy, ogre, owlbear (spelled “owl bear” in The Lost City), rust monster, shadow, skeleton, spectre, sprite, stirge, troll, vampire, werebear, wererat, weretiger, wolf, wight, wraith and zombie. Green slime and yellow mold can be found in the fifth edition Dungeon Master’s Guide.

JlVfFIn_jZtrkbMrSK2VZokYJiVChmy62F85AXSsvb_cxmNW5unM7xklHtGWu5ccYMboqXVCTRu-IJeRK1UQgYI72bYGjMStKF4zrKg66lOVcXVoN7DOxSACb_yVT0AIwdcz1VyWH_Yb1Yv8xnQPdMA

Basic D&D has a slightly different set of “core” monsters than AD&D. Several of the monsters The Lost City uses are from the Basic Set (1981) and didn’t make it into the fifth edition Monster Manual, but could be represented by very similar creatures that did. White apes are nocturnal apes that, like the Cynidiceans, have become pale over time. They could be replaced with fifth edition’s generic ape. Rock baboons are a larger, more intelligent version of the baboon but could be substituted with ordinary baboons. The spitting cobra, pit viper and rock python are serpents that could be replaced with fifth edition’s generic (giant) poisonous and/or constrictor snakes. A trilogy of giant lizards, the gecko, draco and tuatara could easily be substituted with fifth edition’s generic giant lizards. Giant shrews would be simple to replace with giant rats. Giant oil beetles and giant tiger beetles do not have fifth edition versions, and while they could also be replaced, it would be a pleasant surprise for some new giant beetle variations to join the Monster Manual’s lonely giant fire beetle.

rWlg24B8XCjKPXmLfyiHRFP_zG4zRgijX52lFKky2GY1MRYe3BOCZOebj38TQ3Y-_7Vg5MblYPPFDjLrYw1WfOLnyEiR0uSuPjyi7T8S6mpX_QqONxgcFUdeqs5gZTEoOzJyxMucoh2_Aoir9o6PMHQ

There are some killer bees guarding a treasure room in The Lost City. Found in the Basic Set (1981) they were renamed as giant bees in the 1983 Basic Set. Giant bees also appeared in the AD&D Monster Manual II (1983), the second edition Monstrous Manual (1993), and the third edition Monster Manual (2000). There don’t seem to be any giant bees in fifth edition yet, but there are giant wasps, a possible replacement. There is also no fifth edition giant ant to use for the driver ants, but since they appear only on a wandering monster table, that entry will probably be replaced.

The Lost City’s living iron statues are not the same as the fifth edition living iron statues in Ghosts of Saltmarsh (2019). Basic D&D has “living statue” equivalents of most of AD&D’s core golems. Golems and living statues aren’t quite the same thing, but they are pretty close, so a replacement with an iron golem in Quests is a strong possibility.

4Q_Kz8Qqw9qvFZQ00_5qR549mvIBhNWqDqO9GvtanZuHWyBXogGLffz2DbJBTte_jLxllEfTNiwtgrUu0EzBkPnCcvO_U9GKsS-iyNMrkAUIfOoPT6Up_gTkiMG0q7rVZasF-e0M6CIwn42DvmlOF1Q

This brings us to the thoul. At least one theory is that this monster is the result of a typesetting error mixing toads and ghouls in Book III of the original 1974 D&D boxed set. The first proper description of a thoul was in the Basic Set (1981), where it is described as a magical combination of a ghoul, a hobgoblin and a troll. This monster is odd enough to deserve a monster entry, but only appears on a wandering monster table in The Lost City, so would be trivial to replace in Quests.

wQ4Vq3VexX4jaG2pgrPZ_Jv-SzLOVyJyadrEYYpszb_DEzeZQHxpA-bgIMFwb0o6V1U1RA52Tx36S8LD6ERY569vyLk0_h3Gao0zyvBxxTMrI95fhdTyLMwgLWlU10VWp-t14ch5eGXD-QQVeuZDZK4

As well as monsters from the Basic Set (1981), The Lost City also used five creatures from the Expert Set (1981). The bone golem is one of several golem variants debuting in the Expert Set. It is made from the bones of dead men and sometimes has additional weapon-wielding limbs attached. The bone golem was reprinted as the skeletal golem in the Mystara Monstrous Compendium Appendix (1994) and D&D has several other golems made of bones, but none in 5th edition. However, since the bone golem appears only once in the adventure, an updated monster entry seems unlikely.

The caecilia worm first appeared in Monster and Treasure Assortment: Sets 1-3 (1980), which is strange since it didn’t appear in any of the original assortment sets. Instead it seems to have been edited in to replace various other monsters specifically for the Sets 1-3 compilation. This is despite it not getting a monster entry until the following year’s Expert Set where it is described as a thirty foot long gray wormlike creature that swallows prey whole. There’s really no need for an updated version of the caecilia, which can be easily replaced with a purple worm or the young purple worm from Princes of the Apocalypse (2015).

xm6fWyaFOAYAE2X7HD3Ka3zyGbeFQrFa3yB9w2hJkeaVpY74byJyxWi-oBet_csJVntRylYqm0UgAdM2hEVU314q9rGxRNzsY3uOk4Nbqrkn6MbStZuHEnghKX5-usq6fj1Vx_mOpxm9ZNLmNeZswZ8

The devil swine is another refugee from the Expert Set (1981). A lycanthrope with human and hog forms, devil swine have a taste for human flesh and the ability to charm those they meet. Although the devil swine was reprinted as the wereswine in the second edition Mystara Monstrous Compendium Appendix (1994), it faded from D&D after that. A replacement creature seems likely for the devil swine’s single The Lost City appearance in Quests.

The lesser djinni is a bit of an oddball. It seems intended to be a less powerful version of AD&D djinni, but in its initial Expert Set (1981) appearance it is described as a free-willed air elemental with a human-like appearance. The text of later descriptions amends this to be a free-willed enchanted creature from the elemental plane of Air, instead of an actual elemental. However, this fairly redundant monster is unlikely to get any sort of update in Quests.

ULAm2W2axr2ZQfMfN-c1SfGBgIL9ILEmFoWMnEYbRjiZPjdlO0hPSKPjKzIMSxRKkRPmoWvWwAc4LfzJI05G2SppLLaHibXYJF8C3TTsZQQrvayi_Fh2gBeDMkUtYSnIajTvOjjAlShe1BgTtmBpx0s

Although fifth edition doesn’t yet have a wood golem, there have been a surprising number of them in D&D history. As well as the Expert Set (1981) version, there is a wood golem in Imagine #19, another in Dragon #119, an Athasian version appears in Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix: Terrors of the Desert, and Dragon #341 has yet another. The original Expert Set version is a golem carved from wood, so essentially an animated wooden statue. The wood golems in The Lost City aren’t integral to the plot, but they did get their own illustration, which probably increases the odds of seeing an updated version in Quests.

49vXogtXMN_dTFL__HmLOiw7vrSdqeFFZ0SnedJls3fGXvmM2R2fBTJodxLEzzqXS0KI_iz_uX48tdIlybVm-YSJIEqU2EBK4IZoUkyeZKoRktYeCbfj4aWFWhIGXqRzBrF-0V_VihOeMcSjAuRSR9I

We wrap up the monsters from The Lost City with, of course, Zargon. Described as a fifteen foot tall humanoid figure with the head of a lizard, a single red eye, a single sharp horn, six taloned tentacles instead of arms and six more tentacles instead of legs. (Quite how any part of this could be considered “humanoid” is left as an exercise to the reader!) Zargon is the primary antagonist in the adventure, and although it doesn’t get a Monster Manual style write-up in The Lost City, it will almost certainly get one in Quests from the Infinite Staircase. It has to be noted that Zargon has already been mentioned several times in fifth edition. The Player’s Handbook (2014) includes Zargon as an example of a Great Old One who might act as a warlock’s patron, Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes (2018) lists Zargon in the sidebar on Elder Evils, and Monstrous Compendium Volume One: Spelljammer Creatures (2022) includes Zargon on a list of Great Old Ones who might be a benefactor of an arcane lich. The promotional video for Quests confirms an Elder Evil stat block. The coming of Zargon has been heralded!

So what’s the verdict for The Lost City?​
  • A near certainty for a full update: Zargon.​
  • Quite likely to get a full update: werefox.​
  • Likely to be updated but not get a full write-up: Cynidiceans.​
  • Might get an update: wood golem.​
  • Small possibility of an update: banshee, bone golem, caecilia worm, devil swine, giant oil beetle, giant tiger beetle, polymar, thoul.​
  • Unlikely to be updated: driver ants, giant draco lizards, giant gecko, giant shrew, giant tuatara, killer bees, lesser djinni, living iron statue, pit viper, rock baboon, rock python, spitting cobra, white ape.​

In the next installment, we will be turning our attention to UK4: When a Star Falls

What do you think of the monsters in The Lost City?
Do you have any fond memories of encounters with these monsters?
Do you have a favorite creature you’d like to see updated for fifth edition?
 

log in or register to remove this ad

Stormonu

Legend
I thought for sure I've seen Caryatid Column stat blocks in some official 5E book (I'd swear it was in Monsters of the Multiverse, Bigby's or Planescape), but I can't find it now.
 

log in or register to remove this ad


Echohawk

Shirokinukatsukami fan
I3: Pharaoh (January 1983)
2thEGP2s8qBiE_pdkSIsydAW9BBBIIF6mPyx3D0t12k2OJirXKZq8XcTc3tqAWVoRs2WR0TLlpZFmVGse1SmcBW9gwQZdhGmE23pHjgAIjUXfgZ5z4cMVLx2qDaelW5OyGKX4ax3R-bvEY_aDreDpKI

Pharaoh
used a few creatures from first edition sources that have yet to appear in fifth edition, and included entries for five new monsters. Two of these (the dustdigger and thunderherder) are actual monsters. The Pashas of the Efreet are more powerful versions of normal efreet. The Symbayans are a group of human tribesmen and the Thune dervishes are also variant humans dedicated to protecting holy shrines.

New monsters
_9CUZjQLeazX0jIwHUinil9KmTTU1hHgcRpCYmMeo7b6fUIzUG2IV6_fpB8HlusBkUtXTgE5tQK8vrRp-BYsWesCffJQLyFM5oP4R5clMwdgtGK5M8_1aQVQxKzOAkV3KHHNBjW7n9_c4xr7N4rtNzg

The dustdigger is a sort of giant starfish that hides under the sand, projecting an illusion that will lure in passing travelers, which it then folds in on and consumes. It reappeared in I4: Oasis of the White Palms (1983), I5: Lost Tomb of Martek (1983) and was reprinted in the first edition Monster Manual II (1983) before vanishing completely from D&D lore. A fifth edition version in Quests from the Infinite Staircase seems reasonably likely.

F4a_pfCZS4hfBG37QYFb9qkr9XUYhOf4oKTF7NPRDPZNzuBWPXqODMjg8npNKK0UhxqiA01WbKSC5IeYp-55KEdkhowE1xvg-tEsnZo8MNHHn1DoJRzodd8pFRWGCRMpMy1yA1N64T4hBEfNVWaiBak

Thunderherders are relatives of the purple worm, but at least in their Pharaoh incarnation, they are not hostile and are dangerous only because of the earthquakes that their stampedes cause. This creature was updated for third edition in Sandstorm (2005) as the ashworm but that version was a more aggressive creature with a poisonous sting. It will be interesting to see if a fifth edition version stays closer to the original, or leans into the more monstrous third edition take.

-J9BsxOPNa6u19HzRWrzJyd5KS7hsveYQEUtXpf6Gtw5cD363riIRj4wBaV5zuD-EntURpUpnapaYipRwdW2NvvOzz_EsJ7RvXENy5PzZlmUhAaRjB52m-OydKHrKUBG6EKIzec5gOjTAJTnH4C3yVQ

There are six Pashas of the Efreet, serving as Viziers of the Fire Sultan. They are more powerful than normal efreet and can cast a bunch of magic-user spells. Only one of them appears in Pharaoh and, somewhat amusingly, the stat block makes it clear that this Pasha will not grant a wish, even though it can do so. For Quests, a modified efreeti stat block in the text of the adventure seems more likely than an updated monster entry for the Pashas.

Gn8trhIozizvudQsGDu08t4UUtLPSQe3mtA-0u5u80TLcMgowpLJ3uf9bP1uWUoKGZrclMlDVwoderyCISUNVhou7QBscMurQruz5YmsdBszw6xSh1Q2YbfekpmpgH1P3YqSTqm8IwKhOmnD3ytzNe4

The Symbayans are humans and don’t really have any defining characteristics beyond being desert-dwelling tribesmen. They are unlikely to have a monster entry in Quests from the Infinite Staircase as fifth edition has increasingly steered clear of treating culture as a reason to distinguish monsters.

XzDNqpqMl5LGY89VRuLWTDQgLhoPNvG-pHSjJAN0pWfh2sTXIlfvZR5nMvObZAg-2Bu628sr3s0IoOnTNCFUr4JhNIibl5i-p5637iWGFeoHd3aCGJ6qxlNYsCb1fhc3CE2wnvYx-LtU_Fzn1apGcbo

The same is true of Thune dervishes who are human tribesmen driven by a holy quest to protect religious freedoms and holy shrines. They are slightly more interesting than the Symbayans, in that they declare a Bloodquest—a fight to the death—on anyone who damages or steals a holy item. Adventurers who view holy places as nothing more than a source of treasure, beware!

Other monsters
As with the other adventures collected in Quests from the Infinite Staircase, the majority of the monsters featured can be found in the fifth edition Monster Manual, including: androsphinx, bandit, camel, clay golem, doppelganger, draft horse, ghoul, giant rat, giant spider, knight, minotaur, mummy, purple worm, wight, and wraith.

Several more of the monsters in Pharaoh are humans who do not have exact fifth edition analogs but which aren’t likely to get monster entries: cutpurses, a cleric (and clerics with titles: the Holy Iaseda and an Assistant Holy Iaseda), a paladin, and a wizard. There is also a curious “Sharpers” entry in the random encounter table for the maze. Other than some basic stats, the adventure offers no explanation of who these sharpers are, so they are presumably some sort of swindlers, based on the generic English meaning of “sharper”. As well as various humans, there are also some dwarves and a gnome in the adventure, neither of which has a fifth edition monster entry, but which can be easily created as NPCs.

The giant tarantulas and huge tarantulas lurking in Pharaoh are likely to be replaced with generic fifth edition giant spiders. The adventure also includes stats for a large venomous snake into which the pharaoh’s ruling staff can polymorph, but that will likely be replaced with fifth edition’s less accurately named poisonous snake.

1u6K7bM50_gMa4I10Vv0XFjrgy8W9fWQ-VA3VA9avAkmlnuk91URnszCGhpa9XkPiTy9ypWdTEMhS52zCnP2Cg9LSjCByshhk3Idj9Il8dzzdZA63MgNA4Oc8P5MphQE9s92g9Tngcs6GjKEu2nUu7s

The trapper was originally published in Strategic Review #5 (1975) and reprinted in the first edition Monster Manual (1977). It received an Ecology article in Dragon #84 (1984) and a second edition update in the Monstrous Compendium Volume Two (1989). We already have a fifth edition version in Volo’s Guide to Monsters (2016) and Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse (2022), but since three of the Quests from the Infinite Staircase adventures include a trapper, a reprint seems fairly likely.

0hGvtPiQrU4gQHnam6YWI_nFnfyMiAw0_-hI_QSXQARFxhEqq-Z95abA4GnfhcVYCHsIBtO7a1kz0wSs7CvMjr-8V-VOE7DKd2-cZjGuc4dVxqaJWdBohG4x50c3SDX0yk2u8WP9bUnvMYVUpd14LdA

There is also the upside-down version of the trapper—a lurker above—in Pharaoh. The lurker actually predates the trapper; it comes from Strategic Review #3 (1975) and was reprinted in the first edition Monster Manual (1977). We got a (nearly) fifth edition version in the D&D Next product Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle and there are also lurkers in The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth and Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, but the description of the fifth edition trapper makes it clear that it can also cling to the ceiling, so a separate lurker above seems unlikely.

aZvRh8tC56tEdt1aQOAfk4NIg1LCJdGAxtudGC96mgGio0XiXbRyiKl3xLVTzYwLdX-OXNk4axnOydNPPTfnfC70EU-9RBRdSMq5fD08MOdsiT_Wz6Lg9n2b5YEN_WhrNwVAMTx0sX2xQ_Gyy05krRQ

The sandman is a creature from the first edition Fiend Folio (1981) that also featured in the second edition Al-Qadim product Assassin Mountain (1993) but appears to have fallen out of favor since then. Sandmen are one-trick monsters with the ability to make creatures fall asleep, but other than that, they are harmless. Since the adventure’s lone sandman is a random encounter, a substitution seems more likely that an updated monster entry.

Fruityflies are harmless creatures that look like pieces of fruit, but have wings. Eating a fruityfly grants a temporary boost to Strength and Dexterity. For some reason they were renamed to fruitflies in the I3-5: Desert of Desolation compilation. It seems unlikely that these will get a monster update, but they might get a one line stat block in the text of the adventure.

The adventure features an ex-high priest named Munafik who is now an evil sorcerer. Munafik has created two Chabang men; these are not humans, but magical creations seemingly made of mud. Munafik’s creations are more likely to get abbreviated stat blocks in the text of the adventure than full monster entries, but Munafik himself could appear as an NPC.

MUnNNTnKh1yf7FLTT6Nbn8B8WjmgniNwQAjio72fCGaokERMK9Bpf4mFFiSxjkGHLGQAWvYN2BiwyaytF5eXWjB0IEgmMHGSDfcIKK2sm8bUPAtlsr9EMiAS82liXIiv2-3wzJjSuQilJ2jIF9PedTk

Finally, there is a “monster” referred to as a pet fist. This is described as a gigantic bronze fist clasped on top of a bronze forearm. This guards Munafik, who is sitting in the throne behind the fist. Although it is described as bronze, once destroyed the fist collapses into mud (like the Chabang men). The fist will probably be treated as a trap rather than a creature in Quests.

So what’s the verdict for Pharaoh?​
  • Very likely to get a full update: dustdigger, thunderherder.​
  • Quite likely to get a full update: Munafik.​
  • Likely reprint: trapper.​
  • Likely to be updated but not get a full write-up: Chabang men, fruityfly, Pasha of the Efreet, pet fist, Symbayans, Thune dervish.​
  • Small possibility of an update: sandman.​
  • Unlikely to be updated: giant tarantula, huge tarantula, large venomous snake, lurker above.​
In the next installment, we will be turning our attention to S4: The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth

What do you think of the monsters in Pharaoh?
Do you have any fond memories of encounters with these monsters?
Do you have a favorite creature you’d like to see updated for fifth edition?
 

I3: Pharaoh (January 1983)
2thEGP2s8qBiE_pdkSIsydAW9BBBIIF6mPyx3D0t12k2OJirXKZq8XcTc3tqAWVoRs2WR0TLlpZFmVGse1SmcBW9gwQZdhGmE23pHjgAIjUXfgZ5z4cMVLx2qDaelW5OyGKX4ax3R-bvEY_aDreDpKI

Pharaoh
used a few creatures from first edition sources that have yet to appear in fifth edition, and included entries for five new monsters. Two of these (the dustdigger and thunderherder) are actual monsters. The Pashas of the Efreet are more powerful versions of normal efreet. The Symbayans are a group of human tribesmen and the Thune dervishes are also variant humans dedicated to protecting holy shrines.

New monsters
_9CUZjQLeazX0jIwHUinil9KmTTU1hHgcRpCYmMeo7b6fUIzUG2IV6_fpB8HlusBkUtXTgE5tQK8vrRp-BYsWesCffJQLyFM5oP4R5clMwdgtGK5M8_1aQVQxKzOAkV3KHHNBjW7n9_c4xr7N4rtNzg

The dustdigger is a sort of giant starfish that hides under the sand, projecting an illusion that will lure in passing travelers, which it then folds in on and consumes. It reappeared in I4: Oasis of the White Palms (1983), I5: Lost Tomb of Martek (1983) and was reprinted in the first edition Monster Manual II (1983) before vanishing completely from D&D lore. A fifth edition version in Quests from the Infinite Staircase seems reasonably likely.

F4a_pfCZS4hfBG37QYFb9qkr9XUYhOf4oKTF7NPRDPZNzuBWPXqODMjg8npNKK0UhxqiA01WbKSC5IeYp-55KEdkhowE1xvg-tEsnZo8MNHHn1DoJRzodd8pFRWGCRMpMy1yA1N64T4hBEfNVWaiBak

Thunderherders are relatives of the purple worm, but at least in their Pharaoh incarnation, they are not hostile and are dangerous only because of the earthquakes that their stampedes cause. This creature was updated for third edition in Sandstorm (2005) as the ashworm but that version was a more aggressive creature with a poisonous sting. It will be interesting to see if a fifth edition version stays closer to the original, or leans into the more monstrous third edition take.

-J9BsxOPNa6u19HzRWrzJyd5KS7hsveYQEUtXpf6Gtw5cD363riIRj4wBaV5zuD-EntURpUpnapaYipRwdW2NvvOzz_EsJ7RvXENy5PzZlmUhAaRjB52m-OydKHrKUBG6EKIzec5gOjTAJTnH4C3yVQ

There are six Pashas of the Efreet, serving as Viziers of the Fire Sultan. They are more powerful than normal efreet and can cast a bunch of magic-user spells. Only one of them appears in Pharaoh and, somewhat amusingly, the stat block makes it clear that this Pasha will not grant a wish, even though it can do so. For Quests, a modified efreeti stat block in the text of the adventure seems more likely than an updated monster entry for the Pashas.

Gn8trhIozizvudQsGDu08t4UUtLPSQe3mtA-0u5u80TLcMgowpLJ3uf9bP1uWUoKGZrclMlDVwoderyCISUNVhou7QBscMurQruz5YmsdBszw6xSh1Q2YbfekpmpgH1P3YqSTqm8IwKhOmnD3ytzNe4

The Symbayans are humans and don’t really have any defining characteristics beyond being desert-dwelling tribesmen. They are unlikely to have a monster entry in Quests from the Infinite Staircase as fifth edition has increasingly steered clear of treating culture as a reason to distinguish monsters.

XzDNqpqMl5LGY89VRuLWTDQgLhoPNvG-pHSjJAN0pWfh2sTXIlfvZR5nMvObZAg-2Bu628sr3s0IoOnTNCFUr4JhNIibl5i-p5637iWGFeoHd3aCGJ6qxlNYsCb1fhc3CE2wnvYx-LtU_Fzn1apGcbo

The same is true of Thune dervishes who are human tribesmen driven by a holy quest to protect religious freedoms and holy shrines. They are slightly more interesting than the Symbayans, in that they declare a Bloodquest—a fight to the death—on anyone who damages or steals a holy item. Adventurers who view holy places as nothing more than a source of treasure, beware!

Other monsters
As with the other adventures collected in Quests from the Infinite Staircase, the majority of the monsters featured can be found in the fifth edition Monster Manual, including: androsphinx, bandit, camel, clay golem, doppelganger, draft horse, ghoul, giant rat, giant spider, knight, minotaur, mummy, purple worm, wight, and wraith.

Several more of the monsters in Pharaoh are humans who do not have exact fifth edition analogs but which aren’t likely to get monster entries: cutpurses, a cleric (and clerics with titles: the Holy Iaseda and an Assistant Holy Iaseda), a paladin, and a wizard. There is also a curious “Sharpers” entry in the random encounter table for the maze. Other than some basic stats, the adventure offers no explanation of who these sharpers are, so they are presumably some sort of swindlers, based on the generic English meaning of “sharper”. As well as various humans, there are also some dwarves and a gnome in the adventure, neither of which has a fifth edition monster entry, but which can be easily created as NPCs.

The giant tarantulas and huge tarantulas lurking in Pharaoh are likely to be replaced with generic fifth edition giant spiders. The adventure also includes stats for a large venomous snake into which the pharaoh’s ruling staff can polymorph, but that will likely be replaced with fifth edition’s less accurately named poisonous snake.

1u6K7bM50_gMa4I10Vv0XFjrgy8W9fWQ-VA3VA9avAkmlnuk91URnszCGhpa9XkPiTy9ypWdTEMhS52zCnP2Cg9LSjCByshhk3Idj9Il8dzzdZA63MgNA4Oc8P5MphQE9s92g9Tngcs6GjKEu2nUu7s

The trapper was originally published in Strategic Review #5 (1975) and reprinted in the first edition Monster Manual (1977). It received an Ecology article in Dragon #84 (1984) and a second edition update in the Monstrous Compendium Volume Two (1989). We already have a fifth edition version in Volo’s Guide to Monsters (2016) and Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse (2022), but since three of the Quests from the Infinite Staircase adventures include a trapper, a reprint seems fairly likely.

0hGvtPiQrU4gQHnam6YWI_nFnfyMiAw0_-hI_QSXQARFxhEqq-Z95abA4GnfhcVYCHsIBtO7a1kz0wSs7CvMjr-8V-VOE7DKd2-cZjGuc4dVxqaJWdBohG4x50c3SDX0yk2u8WP9bUnvMYVUpd14LdA

There is also the upside-down version of the trapper—a lurker above—in Pharaoh. The lurker actually predates the trapper; it comes from Strategic Review #3 (1975) and was reprinted in the first edition Monster Manual (1977). We got a (nearly) fifth edition version in the D&D Next product Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle and there are also lurkers in The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth and Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, but the description of the fifth edition trapper makes it clear that it can also cling to the ceiling, so a separate lurker above seems unlikely.

aZvRh8tC56tEdt1aQOAfk4NIg1LCJdGAxtudGC96mgGio0XiXbRyiKl3xLVTzYwLdX-OXNk4axnOydNPPTfnfC70EU-9RBRdSMq5fD08MOdsiT_Wz6Lg9n2b5YEN_WhrNwVAMTx0sX2xQ_Gyy05krRQ

The sandman is a creature from the first edition Fiend Folio (1981) that also featured in the second edition Al-Qadim product Assassin Mountain (1993) but appears to have fallen out of favor since then. Sandmen are one-trick monsters with the ability to make creatures fall asleep, but other than that, they are harmless. Since the adventure’s lone sandman is a random encounter, a substitution seems more likely that an updated monster entry.

Fruityflies are harmless creatures that look like pieces of fruit, but have wings. Eating a fruityfly grants a temporary boost to Strength and Dexterity. For some reason they were renamed to fruitflies in the I3-5: Desert of Desolation compilation. It seems unlikely that these will get a monster update, but they might get a one line stat block in the text of the adventure.

The adventure features an ex-high priest named Munafik who is now an evil sorcerer. Munafik has created two Chabang men; these are not humans, but magical creations seemingly made of mud. Munafik’s creations are more likely to get abbreviated stat blocks in the text of the adventure than full monster entries, but Munafik himself could appear as an NPC.

MUnNNTnKh1yf7FLTT6Nbn8B8WjmgniNwQAjio72fCGaokERMK9Bpf4mFFiSxjkGHLGQAWvYN2BiwyaytF5eXWjB0IEgmMHGSDfcIKK2sm8bUPAtlsr9EMiAS82liXIiv2-3wzJjSuQilJ2jIF9PedTk

Finally, there is a “monster” referred to as a pet fist. This is described as a gigantic bronze fist clasped on top of a bronze forearm. This guards Munafik, who is sitting in the throne behind the fist. Although it is described as bronze, once destroyed the fist collapses into mud (like the Chabang men). The fist will probably be treated as a trap rather than a creature in Quests.

So what’s the verdict for Pharaoh?​
  • Very likely to get a full update: dustdigger, thunderherder.​
  • Quite likely to get a full update: Munafik.​
  • Likely reprint: trapper.​
  • Likely to be updated but not get a full write-up: Chabang men, fruityfly, Pasha of the Efreet, pet fist, Symbayans, Thune dervish.​
  • Small possibility of an update: sandman.​
  • Unlikely to be updated: giant tarantula, huge tarantula, large venomous snake, lurker above.​
In the next installment, we will be turning our attention to S4: The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth

What do you think of the monsters in Pharaoh?
Do you have any fond memories of encounters with these monsters?
Do you have a favorite creature you’d like to see updated for fifth edition?


Very interesting. So far between all these adventures there are few creatures to update, it makes me wonder if they will add some new creatures to these adventures that weren't in them originally. For example I could see them putting some Mulhorand monsters in Pharoh like Werecrocodiles. I could see Sandmans getting an upgrade so they do more.
 

Stormonu

Legend
I adore Pharoah, but sadly have never run it.

I think we might get a generic Dervish or Avenger stat block to represent the Thune - something on the level of a CR 2 Ranger/Paladin maybe.

My guess on the fist is it will be redone as a Bigby's Fist spell.
 


The dustdigger is a sort of giant starfish that hides under the sand, projecting an illusion that will lure in passing travelers

I immediately love the dust digger and want to use one in a game now.

Looks like they replaced the illusion power with a charm power to lure in prey.

Which is too bad for Hexmage because he probably would have made they Intelligence save versus the illusion.
 




Voidrunner's Codex

Remove ads

Voidrunner's Codex

Remove ads

Top