The Pharaoh’s Vault – Level-1 D&D + Shadowdark Adventure by Derek Ruiz is a role playing game supplement published by Elven Tower for use with Shadowdark and Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. This is an adventure for level 1 characters.
The supplement is available as a PDF from DriveThruRPG for $3.95 but was purchased at a reduced price thanks to a special offer. The PDF comes in four versions, one for Shadowdark in colour and one in greyscale, and one for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition in colour and one in black and white. Each PDF has 16 pages with one being the front cover, one the Table of Contents and Credits and one being an ad. A zip file contains 17 jpg maps, different versions of the same two maps, some black and white, some colour, for players and GM and different variants for VTTs.
Adventure Primer has background to the adventure. It explains how a pharaoh was buried with a renowned blade, and how all pharaohs were embalmed whilst living and transformed into undead vessels. The desert is now, oddly, a forest and how some researchers at a nearby town are looking for the tomb and the blade. The researchers are detailed and there is a d6 table of rumours.
The Forest Ziggurat covers the outer regions outside the tomb.
The Blade of Aeons has legends about the blade.
The Forlorn Tomb covers the underground locations and the factions active in the area.
Adventure Conclusion wraps things up.
Dread of the God has some fluff about the undead pharaoh.
Statblocks has these.
The Pharaoh’s Vault – Level-1 D&D + Shadowdark Adventure in Review
The PDF is bookmarked with major sections linked, though not all point to the right pages. The Table of Contents is to the same level of depth and is hyperlinked, but with the same errors. Navigation is decent. The text maintains a two-column format and appeared to be free of errors. As well as the maps, there are a variety of colour and black and white illustrations. Presentation is good.
The legendary blade, given that this is only a level 1 adventure, is naturally not that impressive. It’s said to have more powers, over time, that can be unlocked with years of study, though no information at all is given on unlocking them or any game effects, essentially making this a slightly magical sword unless the GM does more work. Other than that, it’s a fairly straightforward adventure, though one in a rather peculiar place, a desert that has become a forest. The Pharaoh’s Vault – Level-1 D&D + Shadowdark Adventure can be found by clicking here.
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