Master of the Desert Nomads

I am going to cheat here a little bit and just throw in x5 and x10 into this review. My memory is not the greatest at remembering back to my youngster days but I have fond memories of x10 Red Arrow, Black Shield in particular. What makes this series of adventures so great is their epic scope and character. The players have to interact with the politicians, generals, statesmen of the various kingdoms of the realms.

The adventure starts out innocently enough, the players are recruited to join an army expedition into the great western desert to stand up against the marauding desert nomads. (Hence the title of module.) It is not long until they encounter the enemy and uncover vital information. They are sent out into the desert to meet up with the first expedition and deliver the vital information to the army commanders.

Along the way they face ancient desert evils.

I remember being impressed as a youngster by the many strange new monsters the players encountered, flying monkeys, wheeled moving pyramids, a man scorpion formed from a pile of bones.

I also was impressed that a magical amulet the players looted was actually a magical spying device that the main evil leader of the nomads could use to track the players moves. (Sort of a tokenesque palantir in amulet form) My players naturally picked up and wore the amulet thinking it had beneficial magical properties.

My memory of x5 is actually very shaky compared to x4 and x10. I don't think I was impressed with it nearly as much as the others. I am not exactly sure why. I remember it seemed short and anticlimactic. The ending of x4 seemed more suspenseful. Near the end of the player's epic journey, they reach sanctuary in the mountains where old monks take the players in and offer them food and lodging, only to find out later that they are some freakish werewolf type creatures.

Read a different take on this module by going to

Mark Bertenshaw's Review for Master of the Desert Nomads