Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 oldfamiliarscene Jun 30, 2010 19:10:55	So, I'm starting up a new campaign arc to close out the heroic tier for my group.  So far it's been kind of a railroad with branching paths, and I wanted to try a full on sandbox for a couple levels with a variety of story points sprinkled about.  The group is currently stranded in the middle of a desert, and I want to populate the area with encounters and points of light.  The group is currently level 8.  Their ultimate goal is a pretty standard "find the 3 or so lost artifacts to stop an evil cult from completing their apocalyptic ritual", but I want to make sure this is dotted with some social intrigue among the native desert inhabitants as well as inherent obstacles in exploring a forgotten and abandoned civilization.  I figured I'd draw on the collective brainpower of the DnD forums to help me with some ideas. Basically, help me out by posting suggestions for random encounters, skill challenges, encampments, delves, power groups, monsters, pre-published material, fluff, crunch...basically anything you think would be cool for a group to do as they explore a desert that was once a great empire!  Here's some background if it helps, don't feel restricted as I'm painting on pretty much a blank canvas here. In this world the empire of Arkhosia fell not from war with Bael Turath but from a civil war between the followers of Bahamut and Tiamat.  This was centuries ago, and in the time that passed the once great kingdom has been reduced to a desert wasteland spotted with the ruins of the ancient empire.  I envision the dragonborn that remain as a largely nomadic race, with many clans continuing to wage the war amongst themselves.  Civilization has moved west to rebuild as the human empire rose on the other side of the Redpeak Mountains in more fertile land.  Bahamut's and Tiamat's power waned after the great war sapped their influence, but they may still hold considerable sway in the desert ruins where once great temples stood as a beacon of their majesty.  Anyway, thanks in advance for help and suggestions.
#2 tedium Jul 02, 2010 18:05:16	An archaeologist's camp investigating some ancient ruins (possibly accidentally unleashing something, maybe just a crazy old guy with some magic weapons for sale, or pointing the PCs to a dungeon too dangerous for him to retrieve some important item.) Pick a race not yet introduced in the campaign as desert nomads (I personally plan to use the Thri-Kreen), either as bandits, traders, or just a constant background presence (with some knowledge to share if their trust can be gained) Leaving this without suggesting sandworms would be remiss of me, but I wont expand on that.  An oasis may hold a link to the feywild, a traditional graveyard for some large beast (possibly dragons, maybe an elephant-analogue) may have links to the shadowfell. A temple to Tiamat, split for each of the heads, has been adapted and taken over by a cult dedicated to the Elemental Lords (the red halls become the fire halls, the white halls are thawed to make the water, the blue halls become air, just black and green take some extra remodelling (one for earth, one left deliberately empty to remind of the lurking horrors of the Void) Prospectors find some valuable mineral, triggering a gold rush on the borders of the desert
#3 TregMallin Jul 05, 2010 8:18:40	What if the nomads use... not camels... not horses...  but big draft lizards to get across the desert?  They are helpful not only in transporting people and goods but also in finding water. Oh... and don't forget to wear the lizard-skin clothing when you ride them.  They are rather dumb, and the clothing transfers you from the food category to the not-food category.
#4 BRJN Jul 05, 2010 17:13:04	Kobolds like dragons, if you want to introduce some of the Dragon2009 guys.  they could live int he ruins. I commend to your attention Lawrence of Arabia's Seven Pillars of Wisdom.  There is plenty of good stuff in there for scenarios as well as plot lines. Tatooine and Dune are well-known desert worlds that you can steal background stuff from. Fremen in the desert (well, really tough wanderers who stay away from town and expect you to stay away from the desert) would make a good 'random' encounter.  Unless you need to Diplomacy and Religion a few to pick up a vital piece of information. Desert can be sandy like Arabia, rocky like the Gobi (central Asia) or more like Arizona (cactus at the bottom and more plants as you go up the mountainsides). You could place a Nile River in the middle of the desert, or maybe more interesting is the dry bed where the river used to be.  This would be a natural travelway through otherwise nasty slowing terrain fields (sand seas, rock/gravel outcroppings). A mirage that is more than it appears might be a good way to introduce accidental extraplanar travel or a hint of madness to the quest du jour.
#5 ThroneMonkey440 Jul 05, 2010 22:18:44	I am doing a similar thing in my campaign except my PCs are level 4, have just finished Keep on the Shadowfell and now have to cross the desert to get to one of the PC's parents, from whom the party has received an ominous letter . . . Anyway they cross the desert on a caravan with a new NPC friend, who tells them that they will stop halfway across to get new supplies at a sort of oasis/rest house. I decided that gnolls would be desert race in my campaign world, so the PCs are harassed by gnolls and eventually split up from the rest of the caravan, who eventually come back as zombies. They also have to negotiate with the leader of the Gnoll tribe to purge the forces of Orcus (who are responsible for the zombifications) from the desert. Of course the situation is complicated by the fact that the Gnoll Pack Leader is only teamed up with the PCs because they have a mutual enemy, and would feast on their blood under any other circumstances. I also plan on having and encounter similar to the Sarlac pit from Star Wars. My Sarlac will be a "solo" composed of many parts. It will have a large central mouth and various tentacles each with different HP and statblocks. Sandworms are an obvious thing to do, although I don't think I will use any.  One thing I would definitely recommend is buying the "Desert of Athas" dungeon tile pack. Its like $10 and has a ton of stuff you could use for a desert adventure. Carts, forts, oasis,. It has all these cool 3D terrain things. Definitely worth the money.
#6 danharrogate Jul 06, 2010 11:02:44	I am currently creating a campaign which includes a large amount of desert. I have bought two packs of Desert of Athas tiles and can recommend them too. I posted my ideas about a month ago for simular ideas and got the following: a sandstorn hits the party just before they are attacked by a sand people. The storn causes minuses that the attackers dont suffer from. land elementals (in this case sand or even rock) could be used for an encounter idea too. think about lack of water and what effect that may have on the PCs judgment of situations. do they need to slaughter their mounts to provide enough food? sand traps and poisonous creatures (scorpions etc) could also be a hazzard. to add an element of fun. The only access to water the party have is from a strange plant. The water itself is spliced with a mind altering drug. further ideas for ruins and encampments. if the land was a desert during the great empire that once existed, it would be safe to say that each settlement would have a water source, that could be the reason the party must enter the ruins. you already have a good list of possible encounters from the posts above and your original ideas, but what about a pack of wolves or a flock of vultures. rather than the typical 'humonoid' creatures what about a more realistic enemy. Insects could cause them problems. As stated above deserts dont have to be flat and endless, you could have a huge ravine (like the grand canyon) or an old sea that has dried out leaving a salt plane. in my campaign the party have to pass through a desert with little or no resources and the effects of this will cause them problems when they first clear it. they will find a village in a grassland just pass the desert just as it is being attacked. will they have the strengh to defend the locals, will they be able to defend themselves? do some research on tribes and cultures that still live in deserts today. see how they get food and water and what dangers they face. the great thing about fantasy is you need to give reality a little tweak to make it seem completed alien. one of the items they need to stop this cult could be in the caravan all along. one could be deep in a cave or a well. maybe part of what they need is scripture carved into the walls a ruin. are parts of the code missing? do they need to take a guess and risk failing? as a last minute idea.. what about fishlike creature that swim through the sand and jump out to attack?
#7 BRJN Jul 09, 2010 20:45:59	A sand elemental might have a big aura that blinds you when it is undamaged, a small aura of blinding after you get a hit on it, and a small aura of attack penalty when it is bloodied.  It explodes in a close burst if you kill it (for a one-turn blinded maybe) The area south of the Dead Sea is a super-desert in my Testament campaign notes.  Not only is it hot and dry, but this area has been cursed by the One True God.  (Good luck finding the ruins of Sodom and Gommorah underneath it.)  Scenes abound of broken and un-natural sights.  Petrified trees, people turned to pillars of salt, a thin layer of ash underneath the sand/dust that covers everything, smashed-up bottom halves of houses, an olive oil jar half-full of formaldehyde, a few stunted pricker weeds the only plant life, scorpions or spiders the only animals, twisted vultures (pterodactyls?) high overhead, fields of bones that used to be a flock of sheep, mummified beasts of burden, no man-made objects remaining.  The PCs should be wanting to get in, do their business, and get out fast before they go mad and die here too. Sand sharks and bullettes would be the top predator, or maybe magically impelled to hinder the PCs while Rivaldo the Recurring (NPC villian) gets in and steals whatever item they were looking for, right out from under their noses. Terrain can be your friend/enemy: a canyon poses an incredible defensive position if you are facing one direction, but is an easy passage going the other.  Probably it is shaped like a funnel, as seen on a map.  Part of the challenge is finding a good way to get around to the other end. Wise old desert hermits may be found hiding out in one place or another.  Some of them might have useful advice, or know enough about desert survival to be worth a bonus to Endurance checks.  A few might be worth a +X to Religion checks for the rest of the module, if you have a friendly interaction with them.  (Give your Invoker a new friend.)  One is rumored to be a retired swordmage...