Forgotten Desert
From Shahara
Contents |
History
Nomadic communities roamed the desert.
During the Upheaval, communications with these people was impossible. After the Upheaval, they were not heard from again.
Places
Vehicle rental shop
Amsil, city of desert, emerald jewel of etc etc
Landscape
Rumors
In the Forgotten Desert is a broken tower sealed in sand. Archaeologists are still looking for the tower, for its treasures may yet lie undisturbed. Adventurers may research the origins of the tower or escort an archaeological expedition. Travel lightly now; the deep does not easily give up its secrets.
The nomads of the Forgotten Desert were working on technology to harvest pure, clean water from plants before the Upheaval. Remains of their research may still be out there, from research notebooks to actual prototypes. Now only the desert knows for sure.
Burrowing monsters tunnel through miles of stone beneath the sands to create their homes. Some of these places are accessible only by deep, narrow pits. With enough burrowing, even a city could sink.
Notable Events (Fulfilled PC quests)
Sample Wilderness Encounter Table
The desert is divided into three areas based on ratings: safe, unsafe and deep. These ratings act as travel advisories for expeditions and foreigners. Safe areas are few: there's Amsil, a couple outposts and a vehicle rental shop. Unsafe areas are the default rating for the entire desert, and the deep rating applies to a central part of the desert past the advisory markers.
Base EL: 6
Safe Area Encounters (EL 1-3)
Unsafe Area Encounters (EL 4-8)
a minefield
a sandstorm
a group of 1d2 sand sentinels
a band of kobold water raiders
a pair of wandering gunslingers
a merchant caravan
1d2 dire wolves
1d8 rabid, rending dire hyenas
skeleton chimera (CR 4, MM 227)
basilisk (CR 5, MM 24)
1d2 Large fire elementals (EL 6 or 7, MM 99)
1d2 Large earth elementals (EL 6 or 7, MM 97)
Deep Area Encounters (EL 6-9)
a massive sandstorm
a war trap
a group of sand sentinels
a deep desert druid
a pack of roaming tar hounds
Deep desert druid
A woman stands silhouetted against the sunlight, across the dunes. She raises her staff. The ground beneath you begins to swirl in a whirlpool of sand as far as you can see.
These desert druids are the wild guardians of the deep desert. They are the sentient untamed, the intelligent ferocity of the uncharted interior. They are always hostile and very territorial.
All desert druids carry a spinstaff, so named for the sphere of animated sand that tops such a weapon. In the hands of a desert druid, the spinstaff can be used to cast whirlpool of sand once per day.
stat block here. AL NE. Prepared spells (expeditious retreat and stat effects to help drowning)
Whirlpool of Sand. Dru ?. (School of magic.) Duration, Range, Radius of effect. Swim checks to avoid drowning.
Spinstaff. info here
Tactics. A spinstaff wielding druid (percentage chance?) will use whirlpool of sand as soon as possible. If the spell is outright countered, the druid will attempt to flee. She will return later with more deep desert druids. Survival is not assured.
Bloodsun shaman
A dark-skinned man stands crouched in the middle of a steep dune. His eyes glimmer white and his skin pulses with glowing red tattoos. In one hand is a rune-etched spear. A yellow scarf, tied to the shaft of the weapon, flutters in the mirage-heat.
Bloodsun shamans are leaders of the Bloodsun tribes, various factions of clansmen who are at war with each other and with the deep desert druids. When the Upheaval came, the shamans only became more powerful.
stat block here. maybe a bugbear or hobgoblin. Ftr/Dru.
Tactics. Bloodsun shamans never fight alone. They are accompanied by invisible Bloodsun rangers, buried sand elementals, tar hounds or a combination of all three. Before combat, shamans will buff themselves with haste and bull's strength. They like melee combat against less-armored opponents. After casting frenzied rush to kill, they will most certainly go after spellcasters.
Frenzied Rush to Kill (Sp). Bloodsun shamans are trained in a mode of combat that makes them more barbarian than fighter or druid. By using a standard action to use Frenzied Rush to Kill, the shaman gains +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls against unarmored targets, +4 rage bonus to Strength and +7 to grapple unarmored targets. This effect lasts for 1d4 rounds per level.
Rune-etched Spear. As spear +2.
Heat Resistance. Bloodsun shamans have resist fire/5 and a +4 saving throw bonus to all fire-related and heat spells and effects.
==Sand sentinel== The sands in front of you shift and up rises a black-skinned humanoid. Its face is chiseled from black metal. It wears a dull ivory armor. Its eyes are pinpoints of red light. It raises its weapon and attacks!
These automatons are relics of a past age of war. Your movements have awakened a group of them. They rise like undead skeletons and attack anyone who does not wear, in plain sight, a Talisman of the Fargatherer. A Spot check (DC high) reveals the constructs buried in the sand. Failing the check results in stumbling upon the sentinels and activating them.
stat block here.
Talisman of the Fargatherer. An item identifying descendants of an inventor known as the Fargatherer, for his planar travels to learn and to create a variety of constructs. Knowledge (planar) DC high.
Dull ivory armor. Deflects heat. Very heavy ceramic armor. Tightly integrated with sentinel, so it's not loot.
Tactics. Bash, slam to paste. Then sleep again.
Development. The sand sentinel(s) may guard the entrance to a dungeon with good secrets and even greater dangers. Or the Talisman controls the sentinels.
Making a sentinel. Construct rules here: materials, difficulty, etc.
Tar hound
A pack of hounds move to surround you, blocking escape. Their fur is splotchy, a mixture of a black oozy substance and sand. They look thinner than wolves but twice as hungry. Even their drool is the same black stuff.
Tar hounds are magical beasts born in the furious storms of the deep desert. They secrete a black, sticky substance known as tar.
stat block here. Like intelligent wolves.
Tar spit. Ranged touch. Effects of tar hitting eyes (successful attack roll is eyes).
Secrete (Su). Tar hounds can secrete tar as a free action. If an attack hits and the tar hound has secreted, the weapon is stuck fast. Pulling the weapon out of the tar is a standard action.
Tar harvesting. Side-quest.
Training. Tar hounds as bodyguards. Although they secrete tar a lot, it is a controllable. Maybe feral races use the tar as glue.
Epic tar hounds. The tar is a symbiote that attempts a disarm on successful hits. If a weapon is disarmed, the tar then uses it against the hound's enemies.
==War trap== A giant crystal flies from the ground and hovers in the air. A sphere of blue energy surrounds it. Lightning crackles within the sphere.
The war trap's appearance is the same as the giant, laser-shooting crystal used by Valdis' mages in Dungeon Siege 2.
This artifact is used to guard certain places, to serve as an alarm and to neutralize intruders. Detect Magic may reveal the war trap. Either a mechanical trigger activates the war trap and therefore detect magic does not apply, or it does apply.
The crystal casts lightning bolt as a ?th-level caster twice per round. It has hardness ?, hp ?. The energy sphere protects the crystal and has DR 2/magic.
Stat block here. EL medium or high?
