Desert of Desolation

An epic adventure includes the revised Desert of Desolation series plus totally new adventures within Raurin, a desert wilderness set within the Forgotten Realms.

A Campaign Adventure for Character Levels 5-10:

Deep blue mists of the night swirl over the sands of Raurin, the incomparable Desert of Dust.

As the cool night air drains the heat from the sand, you & your friends huddle around your campfire, glancing nervously at the giant pyramid in the distance.

Gradually, the winds change direction, bearing a thin streak of white mist toward you from the pyramid.

It swirls & takes shape as a faceless man dressed in ancient robes & an ornate head-piece; moonlight shining through his ghostly body & robes, he lifts his arms toward the pyramid & speaks.

It was magic that conveyed you all to Bralizar, & an ancient map that guided you through the pass in The Dustwall.

But it was, after all, the tales that finally brought you to this place - tales of endless wealth, of spirit-guarded pyramids, of crystalline obelisks, of gemstones with mysterious properties.

Now, as the haunted voice of the spectre before you begins his tale, you wonder if the treasure & the quest are worth the price...perhaps your very lives.

Are you really the heroes of the prophecies, those who will overcome the foretold tests, & those for whom the treasure awaits?

It is time to search your hearts before you venture further into the Desert of Desolation.

Origins (III): The Forgotten Realms. TSR was generally moving away from Greyhawk in 1987, in large part due to Gary Gygax's departure from the company. To replace their primordial campaign, TSR was developing a new setting, which would debut in just two months as the Forgotten Realms Campaign Set (1987). TSR would heavily support their new setting with new products, but they were also retrofitting old products into the new world. One of the first such retconned products would be I3-5: Desert of Desolation.

TSR decided to adapt Desert of Desolation in part because the Forgotten Realms' creator, Ed Greenwood, didn't have many scenarios ready for publication. He had huge piles of Realmslore, but adventures were more troublesome. His Realms dungeons weren't appropriate because they tended to be either megadungeons (which were too big to easily publish, though TSR would find a way in the '90s) and minidungeons (which were too short, as they were intended for just a few hours play). However, most of Greenwood's games were less traditional, more organic sessions, centering on "heavy roleplaying, many subplots, a huge cast of supporting characters, lots of 'loose ends' that led to future adventures, the PCs choosing where to go and what to do, NPCs reacting to PC activities, and politics, trade, and 'day jobs' playing a far larger role than dungeon-delving" — and that couldn't be easily adapted to general play.