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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Echohawk" data-source="post: 9324015" data-attributes="member: 9849">I3: Pharaoh (January 1983) <img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/2thEGP2s8qBiE_pdkSIsydAW9BBBIIF6mPyx3D0t12k2OJirXKZq8XcTc3tqAWVoRs2WR0TLlpZFmVGse1SmcBW9gwQZdhGmE23pHjgAIjUXfgZ5z4cMVLx2qDaelW5OyGKX4ax3R-bvEY_aDreDpKI" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 171px" /> 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 <img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/_9CUZjQLeazX0jIwHUinil9KmTTU1hHgcRpCYmMeo7b6fUIzUG2IV6_fpB8HlusBkUtXTgE5tQK8vrRp-BYsWesCffJQLyFM5oP4R5clMwdgtGK5M8_1aQVQxKzOAkV3KHHNBjW7n9_c4xr7N4rtNzg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 253px" /> 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. <img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/F4a_pfCZS4hfBG37QYFb9qkr9XUYhOf4oKTF7NPRDPZNzuBWPXqODMjg8npNKK0UhxqiA01WbKSC5IeYp-55KEdkhowE1xvg-tEsnZo8MNHHn1DoJRzodd8pFRWGCRMpMy1yA1N64T4hBEfNVWaiBak" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 287px" /> 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. <img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/-J9BsxOPNa6u19HzRWrzJyd5KS7hsveYQEUtXpf6Gtw5cD363riIRj4wBaV5zuD-EntURpUpnapaYipRwdW2NvvOzz_EsJ7RvXENy5PzZlmUhAaRjB52m-OydKHrKUBG6EKIzec5gOjTAJTnH4C3yVQ" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 195px" /> 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. <img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/Gn8trhIozizvudQsGDu08t4UUtLPSQe3mtA-0u5u80TLcMgowpLJ3uf9bP1uWUoKGZrclMlDVwoderyCISUNVhou7QBscMurQruz5YmsdBszw6xSh1Q2YbfekpmpgH1P3YqSTqm8IwKhOmnD3ytzNe4" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 214px" /> 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. <img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/XzDNqpqMl5LGY89VRuLWTDQgLhoPNvG-pHSjJAN0pWfh2sTXIlfvZR5nMvObZAg-2Bu628sr3s0IoOnTNCFUr4JhNIibl5i-p5637iWGFeoHd3aCGJ6qxlNYsCb1fhc3CE2wnvYx-LtU_Fzn1apGcbo" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 221px" /> 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. <img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/1u6K7bM50_gMa4I10Vv0XFjrgy8W9fWQ-VA3VA9avAkmlnuk91URnszCGhpa9XkPiTy9ypWdTEMhS52zCnP2Cg9LSjCByshhk3Idj9Il8dzzdZA63MgNA4Oc8P5MphQE9s92g9Tngcs6GjKEu2nUu7s" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 158px" /> 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. <img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/0hGvtPiQrU4gQHnam6YWI_nFnfyMiAw0_-hI_QSXQARFxhEqq-Z95abA4GnfhcVYCHsIBtO7a1kz0wSs7CvMjr-8V-VOE7DKd2-cZjGuc4dVxqaJWdBohG4x50c3SDX0yk2u8WP9bUnvMYVUpd14LdA" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 150px" /> 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. <img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/aZvRh8tC56tEdt1aQOAfk4NIg1LCJdGAxtudGC96mgGio0XiXbRyiKl3xLVTzYwLdX-OXNk4axnOydNPPTfnfC70EU-9RBRdSMq5fD08MOdsiT_Wz6Lg9n2b5YEN_WhrNwVAMTx0sX2xQ_Gyy05krRQ" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 131px" /> 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. <img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/MUnNNTnKh1yf7FLTT6Nbn8B8WjmgniNwQAjio72fCGaokERMK9Bpf4mFFiSxjkGHLGQAWvYN2BiwyaytF5eXWjB0IEgmMHGSDfcIKK2sm8bUPAtlsr9EMiAS82liXIiv2-3wzJjSuQilJ2jIF9PedTk" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 177px" /> 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? <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Very likely to get a full update: dustdigger, thunderherder. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Quite likely to get a full update: Munafik. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Likely reprint: trapper. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Likely to be updated but not get a full write-up: Chabang men, fruityfly, Pasha of the Efreet, pet fist, Symbayans, Thune dervish. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Small possibility of an update: sandman. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Unlikely to be updated: giant tarantula, huge tarantula, large venomous snake, lurker above. </li> </ul> 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?</blockquote>

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