What are roads like on Athas? - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

What are roads like on Athas?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
tashalatora
Nov 24, 2010 1:03:56 I was drawing up an encounter map that would have included the road North of Nibenay and I started wondering if there was an official description of the roads in Athas. The Wanderer's Journal from the original boxed set mentions "ancient stone paved roads".

I'm picturing large blocks of stone instead of continuous paving, done with roman quality to stand the test of time.

The only thing I'm really unsure about is how wide are these roads? They's have to be at least wide enough for a Mekillot. That requires at least 3 squares or 15 feet. Should it be big enough for two caravans to pass each other?

I'd like to know if there's a canon answer as I'll probably use the map a few times.

Thanks
#2
DontEatRawHagis
Nov 24, 2010 7:44:43 I always assumed that the roads were made by the caravans and that they just follow the tracks in the desert. If a sandstorm occured the tracks would be gone and the caravan would have to make a new path.

#3
Bly2729
Nov 24, 2010 8:14:22 I'm guessing it varies widely from place to place. Like in the podcasts and adventures that talk about the road between Tyr and Altaruk, it sounds like that road is non-existent aside from a worn footpath. Especially in the wastes. Maybe you get something halfway decent within a few miles of Tyr. In Balic, I'm guessing as a statesman and Roman, the Dictator has put in extensive roads along the Road of Legions. In Urik, Hamanu probably has some kick-ass roads. Same deal for Nibenay. Draj has the Avenue of Conquest.

All of these are probably decent within the cultivation range of the city, then they drop off.
#4
Dungeoneering
Nov 24, 2010 12:15:08 I would expect that for major, named roads there would actually be a physical Roman-style road, relics from the Green Age (assuming the city went that far back). That wouldn't prevent it from being buried by shifting sands or completely destroyed in some places. And in others there might really only be a worn track. But Athas was once a more civilized place, and even in the age of the sorcerer kings there would be a need for real roads.
#5
DontEatRawHagis
Nov 24, 2010 13:20:41 The podcast worked around it with the Tablelander. Instead of following worn tracks caravans followed their own path with the tablelander.
#6
Kye_Tyrad
Nov 24, 2010 13:28:23 The roads would really depend on what part of Athas you are travelling through. Roads running across the sand dunes would be shifting with the winds, but the roads along the rocky barrens would be fairly well established and easier to identify. The road immediately outside of a city-state would be very easy to travel until you get far enough away where the caravans and travellers go their separate ways. The main roads would be fairly well travelled and would have to support the width of the caravans travelling them and take the easiest route for the size of the caravan. Smaller caravans can probably take a shorter route, where the larger caravans may have to travel the longer route to find areas where their caravan can pass through.

You also have to realize that during the green age when the city-states were actually established the main roads to and from each of the city-states would have been established shortly thereafter. Many of them have probably changed when some of the local cities or villages were started and now have perished. You could utilize this idea to direct the PC's towards ruins of some long lost city or village. (the shifting sands of Athas have uncovered some long lost road that leads the PCs to some ruins)
#7
fromost_the_grimm_02
Nov 24, 2010 13:34:34 The Traveling the Sandswept Roads article has a little fluff on the matter:

"On Athas, the term 'road' means a marked, easily-followed trail, not necessarily a paved road. Near the city-states, the roads may actually be paved with stone or gravel. A few miles beyond the city gates, paving gives way to hard-packed, baked earth and bedrock worn down over centuries by the passage of countless wheels, claws, and sandals."
#8
onionkid
Nov 29, 2010 19:47:42 Taking a page from Dune, the desert dwelling Fremen would sometimes jab pikes with glow-globes on the end into the sand to make a path someone could follow in a sandstorm. That sort of thing could easily be present along roads on Athas.

Imagine 20 foot tall pikes of Agafari wood lining a road. Cloth flags could be attached to them with the heraldry of the city state or merchant house that put them in. It would serve as a calling card essentially saying "This road is OUR turf". The flags could also denote coded messages for traders and templars, warnings like "Bandits ahead" or "Water cache hidden in rocks 2 miles ahead".

Of course, the time honoured tradition of placing heads on pikes would also be alive and well. What better way to show that your caravan guards have killed a notorious bandit prince than by jabbing his skull onto a pointy stick bearing your house's flag?
#9
603
Nov 29, 2010 20:52:20 One option is what they used to do in northwest Texas and other large, flat areas- you have large cairns, huge poles, or waystones of some kind set every quarter-mile or so. They're so big you can't miss them, so you just travel from one cairn to the next. They're also large enough that the average sandstorm won't completely destroy them, and caravans are assumed to move slowly enough that they can stop to repair damaged markers.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 tashalatora Nov 24, 2010 1:03:56	I was drawing up an encounter map that would have included the road North of Nibenay and I started wondering if there was an official description of the roads in Athas. The Wanderer's Journal from the original boxed set mentions "ancient stone paved roads". I'm picturing large blocks of stone instead of continuous paving, done with roman quality to stand the test of time. The only thing I'm really unsure about is how wide are these roads? They's have to be at least wide enough for a Mekillot. That requires at least 3 squares or 15 feet. Should it be big enough for two caravans to pass each other? I'd like to know if there's a canon answer as I'll probably use the map a few times. Thanks
#2 DontEatRawHagis Nov 24, 2010 7:44:43	I always assumed that the roads were made by the caravans and that they just follow the tracks in the desert. If a sandstorm occured the tracks would be gone and the caravan would have to make a new path.
#3 Bly2729 Nov 24, 2010 8:14:22	I'm guessing it varies widely from place to place. Like in the podcasts and adventures that talk about the road between Tyr and Altaruk, it sounds like that road is non-existent aside from a worn footpath. Especially in the wastes. Maybe you get something halfway decent within a few miles of Tyr. In Balic, I'm guessing as a statesman and Roman, the Dictator has put in extensive roads along the Road of Legions. In Urik, Hamanu probably has some kick-ass roads. Same deal for Nibenay. Draj has the Avenue of Conquest. All of these are probably decent within the cultivation range of the city, then they drop off.
#4 Dungeoneering Nov 24, 2010 12:15:08	I would expect that for major, named roads there would actually be a physical Roman-style road, relics from the Green Age (assuming the city went that far back). That wouldn't prevent it from being buried by shifting sands or completely destroyed in some places. And in others there might really only be a worn track. But Athas was once a more civilized place, and even in the age of the sorcerer kings there would be a need for real roads.
#5 DontEatRawHagis Nov 24, 2010 13:20:41	The podcast worked around it with the Tablelander. Instead of following worn tracks caravans followed their own path with the tablelander.
#6 Kye_Tyrad Nov 24, 2010 13:28:23	The roads would really depend on what part of Athas you are travelling through. Roads running across the sand dunes would be shifting with the winds, but the roads along the rocky barrens would be fairly well established and easier to identify. The road immediately outside of a city-state would be very easy to travel until you get far enough away where the caravans and travellers go their separate ways. The main roads would be fairly well travelled and would have to support the width of the caravans travelling them and take the easiest route for the size of the caravan. Smaller caravans can probably take a shorter route, where the larger caravans may have to travel the longer route to find areas where their caravan can pass through. You also have to realize that during the green age when the city-states were actually established the main roads to and from each of the city-states would have been established shortly thereafter. Many of them have probably changed when some of the local cities or villages were started and now have perished. You could utilize this idea to direct the PC's towards ruins of some long lost city or village. (the shifting sands of Athas have uncovered some long lost road that leads the PCs to some ruins)
#7 fromost_the_grimm_02 Nov 24, 2010 13:34:34	The Traveling the Sandswept Roads article has a little fluff on the matter: "On Athas, the term 'road' means a marked, easily-followed trail, not necessarily a paved road. Near the city-states, the roads may actually be paved with stone or gravel. A few miles beyond the city gates, paving gives way to hard-packed, baked earth and bedrock worn down over centuries by the passage of countless wheels, claws, and sandals."
#8 onionkid Nov 29, 2010 19:47:42	Taking a page from Dune, the desert dwelling Fremen would sometimes jab pikes with glow-globes on the end into the sand to make a path someone could follow in a sandstorm. That sort of thing could easily be present along roads on Athas. Imagine 20 foot tall pikes of Agafari wood lining a road. Cloth flags could be attached to them with the heraldry of the city state or merchant house that put them in. It would serve as a calling card essentially saying "This road is OUR turf". The flags could also denote coded messages for traders and templars, warnings like "Bandits ahead" or "Water cache hidden in rocks 2 miles ahead". Of course, the time honoured tradition of placing heads on pikes would also be alive and well. What better way to show that your caravan guards have killed a notorious bandit prince than by jabbing his skull onto a pointy stick bearing your house's flag?
#9 603 Nov 29, 2010 20:52:20	One option is what they used to do in northwest Texas and other large, flat areas- you have large cairns, huge poles, or waystones of some kind set every quarter-mile or so. They're so big you can't miss them, so you just travel from one cairn to the next. They're also large enough that the average sandstorm won't completely destroy them, and caravans are assumed to move slowly enough that they can stop to repair damaged markers.