The shrieking wind whips and stings exposed flesh, driving sand into everyone's eyes and mouth and the smallest crevices of the best desert burnooses. For five days, the sandstorm has pummeled nerves and will.
The water is rapidly disappearing, and all fear to sleep lest the storm bury them beneath the drifts. Prayers are offered up to deities, spells of protection are cast, and more speculative strategies are discussed. But to what end? Not all survive a trek across the Great Sand Sea.
Traveling the Sands
No journey into the wilds of the Wild Winds Desert should be approached lightly. While the land is filled with creatures waiting to eat the unprepared, undead waiting to drain the life and moisture from the unsuspecting, and raiders and wild humanoids waiting to take everything important to you, the most dangerous thing about crossing the Wild Winds Desert is the desert itself. While few dain to cross the swirling sands by themselves, the recent rise of passenger trains is making solo journeys easier than ever for those who can afford it. The three main ways people cross the desert are by caravan, sand-ship, or train.
Caravan
There is safety in numbers, and that is as true in the Wild Winds Desert as anywhere else, maybe even more so. With so many hazards, both natural and magical, to keep watch for having an extra pair or three of eyes looking out is never a bad thing. For some folks, caravaning is a way of life. Several halfling clans, tabaxi tribes, and even groups of mixed humanoids (particularly halfling, human, and sand dwarf) have crisis crossed the Great Sand Sea and the High Plains for generations. Horses, Camels, Desert Wyrms, even Dire Tortoises, and Huge Insects are all used by these groups to transport people and goods to every corner of the Wild Winds Desert. This is the slowest, but in many ways, the safest way of crossing the desert. Most Caravans stick to well-tread, well-patrolled routes that have been used for decades. Sometimes, these routes come under the threat of a wandering monster, desperate raiders, or sudden weather events, but a good caravaneer always leaves a warning for the next person to come through.
Large and well-used Caravanserai are found on the outskirts of every city. These bustling trading posts are a hotbed of trade, intrigue, and information. People eager for the freshest news and the best deals will often meet an incoming caravan at the caravanserai as soon as they arrive. Conversely, those eager to get out of town quickly can almost always find someone setting out for the Sand Sea at all times of day and night.
Sailing the Great Sand Sea
The winds of the desert are always blowing. While they can be dangerous and unpredictable, the brave and clever captains of the sandships that traverse the Great Sand Sea harness this wind to allow them to sail across the desert with ease. Sandships can come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, from large, heavily armed, and heavily armored monster-hunting ships to slow-moving traders, to swift skiffs that carry a few people or one family, to nimble single or two-person slashers. These ships all have a place on the Great Sand Sea. Some nobles and wealthy merchants will commission ornately decorated and carved sandships as pleasure crafts to while away their ample free time sailing the safe sands around the great cities.
Not long after they came to the region, halflings made the first sandships. In the following centuries, designs and materials may have changed, but the basic structure has remained the same. A central hull is supported by one or more outriggers to keep the sandship on the surface. the central hull is set with 1 or more sails to catch and direct the wild winds. In the most advanced ships, magic is used to gather and more efficiently direct the wind, making the ships extremely fast and nimble. Most ships' hulls are capped in some form of metal. For racing ships and others that rely on speed copper, or for the extremely wealthy, mithral is used. For battle barges and other ships that need to absorb a lot of punishment, steel or adamantine are the metals of choice, though weight and protection are always gained at the expense of speed and maneuverability. Most trading ships go for a mix of metals, allowing them to be an all-purpose vessel.
Only the largest and most heavily armed and armored ships travel the Great Sand Sea alone. Instead, ships often band together to form small fleets, similar to several families joining together to make a caravan. Despite the rise of passenger trains in the last year, sandships are still the most common way large amounts of goods are moved from city to city. Sandships are also able to go places the trains can't or the caravans won't, making them the preferred means of traveling the desert for adventurers, mercenaries, and others who need to go off the common paths and into the wildest places of the region.
Riding the Adamantine Rails
Five years ago, when Queen Eldeth II the Innovator revealed the first rail line in Tsfun Barg, everything changed in the Wild Winds Desert. Over the next five years, railroad tracks crisscrossed the whole of the Great Sand Sea, making the movement of goods between the cities of the region easier and faster than ever. For four years, the dwarves held a monopoly on everything moving along the rail lines, and the three sister cities grew and prospered.
Then Commodore Vander and the Lady of Steel Anria Carn revealed their train made in Peloch. This immediately put the dwarven Sister Cities in conflict with the other cities of the region, and war was in the air. Luckily, the war was averted at the Fourth Conference of An Naysan. Since then, trains have become more accessible both to merchants and, for the first time, would carry people. These new people carrying trains are faster and, for the most part, safer than any other means of travel across the Great Sand Sea. This security and speed do come at a hefty price, though, as there are relatively few passenger cars in production, though new ones are worked on with every new mineral bloom.
Sand Scrubbers
These large, slow moving, and heavily armed vehicles are easy to see, often from miles away. They slowly grind across the Great Sand Sea, propelled by a similar mix of mechanical and magical devices that propel the dwarven trains. It is rare for people who are not members of the clan that controls the Sand Scrubber to be allowed onboard, and almost unheard of for non dwarves to be allowed on one. The dwarves that live on them are not without compassion though and any desert nomad worth the name knows that the shade of a sand scrubber is a safe place to seek succor from a wandering monster.
Types of Terrain
Many different kinds of terrains can be encountered throughout the Wild Winds Desert. The People of the Kingdom of the Four Rivers and those around the oases live amongst lush grasslands that pose little danger. It is a different matter as soon as you venture into the Great Sand Sea or the High Plains.
Deep Sand
These areas feature a layer of loose sand up to 3 feet deep. It costs Medium or larger creatures 3x feet of movement to move through deep sand. It costs Small or smaller creatures 4x feet of movement to move in deep sand. Acrobatics checks are impossible in deep sand.
Dense Rubble
The ground is strewn with large stones and shingles of loose rock. Dense Rubble counts as Difficult Terrain. Dense rubble grants disadvantage to all Acrobatics and Move Silently checks.
Steep Slope
Characters moving uphill move at half speed. A character moving more than half their movement speed downhill must make a successful DC 10 Dexterity(Acrobatics) check. If the check fails, the character stumbles and stops moving. Characters who fail the check by 5 or more fall prone, ending their movement. Mounted characters, similarly, must make successful DC 10 Handel Animal checks or face similar results with their mounts.
Light Rubble
The ground is covered with small rocks and gravel, making nimble movement more difficult. Light
rubble gives disadvantage on Acrobatics checks.
Sand Crust
A sand crust appears as normal solid ground, but it actually conceals a layer of shallow sand. If a creature weighing more than 100 pounds (including the weight of equipment carried) enters an area covered with sand crust, it breaks through to the shallow sand below. The creature treats the area as shallow sand, and it must deal with the effects of the sand on movement (as described below). These creatures leave a trail of crushed sand crust in their wake, turning the sand crust they pass through into shallow sand. Creatures weighing 100 pounds or less treat sand crust as normal terrain.
Sand Dunes
Created by the action of wind on sand, sand dunes function as hills that move. If the wind is
strong and consistent, a sand dune can move as much as a hundred feet in a year's time. A sand dune can cover hundreds of square feet and might reach a height of a thousand feet or more. It slopes gently on the side, pointing in the direction of the prevailing wind, but can be extremely steep on the leeward side. Where the wind blows from several different directions, depending on the season, sand dunes take the shape of "stars” with three or more points—but where the wind blows steadily in one direction, sand dunes form row upon row of dusty ridges
Shallow Sand
Shallow sand is common in desert areas. Areas of this terrain feature a layer of loose sand about 1
foot deep. It accounts as difficult terrain, and grants disadvantage to Acrobatics checks.
Natural Hazards
While the supernatural, humanoid, and magical dangers in the Wild Winds Desert are endless, the land itself also holds many dangers.
Heat Dangers
Temperatures of hot(91-110 degrees) or above can be hazardous to the unprepared. People can take damage
from such extreme heat, a condition generally referred to as heatstroke. This damage starts off as nonlethal at lower temperatures while the character is still conscious. Still, it becomes lethal for those already rendered unconscious by heatstroke. A character who takes any nonlethal damage from heatstroke takes a point of es.
Hot
At this temperature, unprotected characters must make a Constitution saving throw each hour (DC 5, +1 for each previous check) or take 1d4 points of nonlethal damage. Characters wearing heavy clothing or any kind of medium or heavy armor have disadvantage on their saves. Characters with any kind of fire, heat resistance, or an adaptation to the extreme heat do not need to make these saves.
Severe Heat
At this temperature(111-140 degrees), unprotected characters must make successful Constitution saving throws every 10 minutes (DC 15, +1 for each previous check) or take 1d4 points of nonlethal damage. Characters wearing heavy clothing or any kind of armor have disadvantage on their saves.
To be completely protected against severe heat, a character must have more than just adaptations for hot temperatures. They must have fire resistance or immunity in order not to have to make the save. Those adapted to the heat or wearing heat protection have advantage on the save.
Extreme Heat
At these temperatures(141-180 degrees), unprotected/resistance characters take 1d6 points of lethal damage per 10 minutes (no save). In addition, unprotected characters must make successful Constitution saving throws (DC 15, +1 per previous check) every 10 minutes or take 1d4 points of nonlethal damage. Characters wearing heavy clothing or any kind of armor have disadvantage on their saves.
In addition, those wearing metal armor or coming into contact with very hot metal are affected as if by a heat
metal spell (which lasts as long as the character remains in the area of extreme heat). Even characters with heat resistance must make saves against this heat, though with advantage.
Burning Heat
Increasing temperatures sometimes push past even Extreme Heat and graduate to actual burning—when material objects catch fire spontaneously due to the heat. For instance, paper catches fire at 451º F (and dried-out skin catches fire at around the same temperature). Characters carrying fuel for their lamps or other combustibles discover that it catches fire at around 260º F. Water boils at approximately 212º F, and many potions or elixirs could quickly boil away to nothing somewhere near that temperature range.
In a region in this temperature range, characters take 3d10 points of fire damage per round. In addition, those wearing metal armor or coming into contact with very hot metal are affected as if by a heat metal spell (which lasts as long as the character remains in the area of burning heat). Generally, nonsupernatural methods of protection against heat offer no protection in areas of burning heat, and various levels of heat protection are meaningless if a creature is on fire unless it is immune to fire.
Conditional Temperature Variations
Temperatures can vary significantly with decreasing elevation or time of day. The presence of wind can also affect the desert environment's relative heat and drying effect. A character might require no special precautions during the evening or at higher elevations, but at noon or inside a deep caldera, otherwise tolerable conditions can become dangerously hot. Conversely, with the onset of night, the temperature in a desert can drop sharply, producing cold conditions even in the most torrid latitudes. The most common factors that affect temperature are described below.
Altitude
Regions that are comfortable at higher elevations can become very hot at lower levels. Some desert regions, particularly dry seabeds, are depressions in the surrounding landscape and might even be below sea level. The
temperature increases steadily when descending in elevation.
Night
When most people think of the desert, they conjure up visions of shimmering heat haze, sand, and blazing sun. These features do exist—during the day. The clear, dry air at night allows the land to give up the day's heat with frightening rapidity. Within a few hours, the killing heat of the day is replaced by the chill of the night. It is quite possible to succumb to cold in the middle of the desert. The temperature drop might be so great that characters without adequate protection against cold run the risk of hypothermia.
Noon
In many climates, high noon (and a few hours afterward) is the hottest time of the day, as the sun shines directly onto the planet's surface. In the arid, cloudless environment of the waste, there is no barrier against the sun's blaze. Rocks can get hot enough to cook food or even produce first-degree burns. In most places, temperatures rise steadily after sunrise. In the waste, this increase is more pronounced, with temperatures rising very quickly between night's chill and midday's heat.
Wind
Although a cool breeze on the skin can be a blessing during the day, many desert environments have winds that actually exacerbate the hot, dry conditions. A furnace blast blowing over a barren plain not only heats the air, it carries away precious moisture from the surface of the skin. If enough fluid is lost, the body responds by constricting surface blood vessels, increasing core body temperature and raising the risk of heatstroke. Winds that are hot or hotter, as well as strong or more powerful, increase the effective temperature by one category.
Dehydration
As the body loses fluids, biological processes begin to break down. This leads to pallor, shaking, nausea, and eventually, a complete collapse of the nervous system. Though dehydration can occur in any environment, the combination of high heat and low humidity typical in desert environments makes it an omnipresent threat there. A character must consume 1 gallon of water per day to avoid dehydration. In particularly hot environments (those above 90º F), characters need double the normal amount. The amount of water required to avoid dehydration increases by 1 gallon per temperature category higher than hot (so 3 gallons in severe heat, 4 in extreme heat, and so on). A creature can go without water for a number of hours equal to 24 + its Constitution score. After this time, the creature must make a successful Constitution save each hour (DC 10, +1 for each previous check) or take 1d6 points of nonlethal damage and a point of exhaustion. In particularly hot environments (those above 90º F), the time a creature can go without water before making Constitution checks is reduced by half for each category above Hot(so 12 + Constitution score hours in Severe Heat, 6 + Consitution Score in Extreme Heat, and so on).
Sand and Wind
Winds in the Wild Winds Desert can be violent or even deadly. Worse still, winds laden with grit—whether volcanic ash, sand, blowing soil, dust, powdered charcoal or bone, or even tiny chips of precious gems—pose various hazards.
Sandstorms
Severe and stronger winds pose a far graver danger than winds of equal velocity within landscapes that support a ground covering of grasses, hedges, and other terrain features that preclude instantaneous erosion. High winds are always accompanied by duststorms or sandstorms in desert areas covered by sand, loose earth, or grit. The stronger the wind is in such regions, the more severe the effect.
Contrary to popular belief, nonmagic duststorms and sandstorms do not bury people alive. The accumulation does not occur so quickly as to prevent escape or digging, but a sandstorm can suffocate and kill victims by burying them under the accumulation. The heaps of debris left behind might be deep enough to cover small buildings, though. The landscape is drastically reshaped after a major storm, which could remove landmarks and cause a party to become lost.
Duststorm
Duststorms arise in desert areas when the wind speed rises above 30 miles per hour. A duststorm blows fine grains of sand that reduce visibility, smother unprotected flames, and even choke protected flames, such as a lantern's light (50% chance). A duststorm leaves behind a deposit of 1d6 inches of sand. Visibility in a duststorm is reduced, so all creatures within a duststorm take a disadvantage in a Duststorm.
Sandstorm
Sandstorms arise in waste areas when the wind speed rises above 50 miles per hour. Sandstorms reduce visibility to brownout conditions (see below), smother unprotected flames, and choke protected flames, such as a lantern's light (75% chance). Moreover, sandstorms deal 1d3 points of nonlethal damage each round to anyone caught out in the open without shelter and pose a suffocation hazard (see the Suffocation in a Sandstorm sidebar). A sandstorm leaves several feet of fine sand piled in its wake.
Brownout
Sandstorms create brownout conditions. Swirling grit obscures the horizon and makes it nearly impossible to get one’s bearings. Any character in brownout conditions caused by a sandstorm has disadvantage on Perception and Survival checks. These effects end when the character leaves the brownout area or enters a protected shelter.
Flensing Sandstorm
Flensing sandstorms arise in desert areas when the wind speed rises above 74 miles per hour (flensing sandstorm conditions can also occur during a tornado in a desert setting). These sandstorms are deadly as they pick up small pieces of rock, gems, or other debris and whirl them around at deadly speeds. Flensing sandstorms reduce visibility to brownout conditions, smother unprotected flames, and choke all protected flames. Moreover, flensing sandstorms deal 1d3 points of lethal damage each round to anyone caught out in the open without shelter and pose a suffocation hazard (see the Suffocation in a Sandstorm sidebar). A flensing sandstorm leaves large piles of sand in its wake.
Whirlwinds
The baking ground of the waste heats the air above it very quickly, producing spinning winds of varying intensity. When the weather is clear, the rapidly rising hot air forms a dust devil. This resembles a tornado but is smaller and relatively weak, with winds rarely exceeding 60 miles per hour. Still, winds that reach higher speeds are strong enough to deal damage. At ground level, visibility within a whirlwind is reduced to practically nothing, granting total concealment to creatures within.
A tornado is the most violent kind of mundane whirlwind, with winds exceeding 200 miles per hour. It is very localized, though—the widest tornado is less than a mile across, and most have a diameter of only a few hundred feet. Tornadoes move relatively slowly across the landscape but can make sudden, erratic turns that are impossible to predict. Once the whirlwinds reach these speeds, they become deadly to be in.
Sand Dunes
Sand dunes are wandering things, although the mundane variety travels no more than a couple of hundred feet in a year. This is enough to eventually overrun farmland and choke out forests, but it is not an immediate hazard to most creatures. However, the constant action of the wind on sand produces potentially hazardous situations.
Collapse
A sand dune has a long, shallow back slope shaped by the wind and a sharp leading edge with a steep drop on the lee side. This edge is precarious, with the pull of gravity just balanced by the tendency of sand grains to stick together. Coarser sand or lighter gravity produces higher and steeper dunes, while fine grains or heavier gravity produce low dunes with gentler slopes. However, the wind can swiftly shift the balance, blowing sand off the edge and triggering a sudden collapse. A collapsing dune is every bit as dangerous as an avalanche and follows the same rules (as described in the Dungeon Masters Guide).
Blowout
A change in wind direction can produce a blowout, hollowing out the center of a dune and leaving a large cavity. This cavity is not always visible, and a thin layer of safe-looking sand might cover a vast tomb that swallows people and animals without a trace. The crust covering a blowout is too weak to support any creature larger than Tiny. Noticing a blowout requires a successful DC 10 Survival check; however, dashing or running characters are not entitled to a check. Characters enveloped by the sand begin to take damage and suffocate as though trapped by an avalanche. Sand dunes that have been stabilized by grasses or shrubby trees are much less likely to collapse. Still, even such a place can hide a blowout if the undergrowth in the area is thin.
Sun Dangers
In the clear, dry air of the waste, nothing blocks the sun's rays, which can pose dangers of their own.
Glare
The sun can be extremely dangerous to unprotected eyes, drying and irritating the tissue. Areas of white sand, salt, gypsum, or similarly light-colored material reflect the sun’s glare into the eyes even when not looked at directly. Sun glare is doubly dangerous during winter months when the sun is low on the horizon and thus difficult to avoid looking at. Characters traveling in such conditions must cover their eyes with a veil, dark lenses, or a similar eye covering. Those whose eyes are unprotected in such conditions are dazzled unless they pass a DC 10 Consitution save repeated every hour. Such characters take disadvantage on ranged attack rolls, Perception Checks, Survival Checks involving sight, and Investigation Checks. These penalties are doubled for creatures with light sensitivity. Characters who take the precaution of covering or shielding their eyes automatically eliminate the risk of being dazzled by sun glare and take no penalties.
If a creature fails to save by 5 or more, it is blinded. Glare-induced blindness lasts as long as characters remain in an area of sun glare and for 1d4 hours thereafter, or 1 hour thereafter if the character enters a shadowed or enclosed area. The dazzling effect of sun glare can be negated by a remove blindness spell, but an unprotected character still in an area of sun glare risks immediately becoming dazzled again when the spell's duration expires.
Sunburn
Sunburn is a serious hazard when traveling in the desert. A mild sunburn is merely distracting, but more severe burns can be life-threatening. Avoiding sunburn requires covering up exposed skin, wearing hats or robes, or carrying a parasol. Protective lotions also keep the skin safe, and beings native to torrid climates have developed dark skin pigmentation to protect against the sun. Of course, wearing heavy clothing carries its own risks (increasing the likelihood of succumbing to heatstroke), and sunlight reflected from light-colored surfaces can still reach beneath a hat
or shade.
Characters who take even minimal care to protect their skin from direct sunlight (a hat, a cloak, or other body-covering garment will do) are not subject to sunburn. If a character is caught out in the sun and completely unprotected, serious consequences can result. After 3 hours of exposure, the character is mildly sunburned and takes 1 point of nonlethal damage. After 3 hours more exposure, the character develops severe sunburn and immediately takes 2d6 points of nonlethal damage and a point of Exhaustion. This damage is repeated every 3 hours.
Characters or creatures with naturally dark (or tanned) skin pigmentation naturally resist sunburn. Such individuals can remain in the sun unprotected for 6 hours before becoming mildly sunburned and for 12 hours before becoming severely sunburned.
Mirages
As the air heats up over the desert floor, shimmering convection currents appear. These currents blur and distort features behind them and can even produce optical illusions called mirages. A mirage is formed at the boundary between hot air at ground level and a cooler layer higher up, which acts as a lens to refract light and reflect images of more distant objects. Mirages can disorient travelers in the waste by obscuring landmarks or making distances seem shorter than they actually are.
A character encountering a Mirage must make an Intelligence save DC 12 to disbelieve it. If they fail, they have disadvantage on all Survival checks while in the area of the Mirage.
Supernatural Hazards
In desert wastes, where one's survival always hangs by the narrowest of threads, heat and thirst are not the only dangers. Supernatural hazards are places where the land is infused with deadly power, and most magical hazards can easily lure the unwary to dusty graves. Some supernatural hazards are noticeably different at a glance, such as the bloody tint of a red sea or the swallowing darkness of a patch of black sand. Other forms of supernatural terrain resemble ordinary landscapes and can
be identified only by someone who knows exactly what to look for.
A few supernatural desert hazards are magical without being particularly threatening, and desert denizens put them to good use. Even those who can tame this awesome power know to always respect the magic of the desert, for it has risen up against countless conquerors and buried their mighty works and cities under mountains of sand and silence.
Living Spells
Fire is the element that most has a life of its own. It can grow, move, shrink, and burn, all with a will of its own, in the Wild Winds Desert that is more true than anywhere else. Any fire spell higher than a cantrip cast within the desert has a small chance of becoming permanent. These permanent spells gently move throughout the desert until either extinguished or dispelled. Some of these spells, over time, gain animus and even sentience. Creatures such as Hephris the Fire Serpent and Roardan the Horse of Flame are believed to have started as fire spells long ago. Many cities and villages have special wards carved into the architecture to keep fire spells from becoming permanent, lest they be overrun by roving fireballs and slithering scorching rays.
Reality Rifts
The veil that separates the prime material from both the inner and the outer planes is paper thin in the Wild Winds Desert. Any spell above second level that moves a creature or an object between planes has a chance of creating a rift to another plane. Sometimes, these rifts are short-lived; some seem to be permanent. The oldest documented rift is near Manitrah and has been open for over a millennium.
Flamestorms
Throughout the Wild Winds Desert, but particularly in The High Plains, magical fire falls from the sky like rain—a phenomenon that desert-dwellers call a flamestorm. Flamestorms occur somewhat frequently, though they are hardly an everyday occurrence. These treacherous storms are presaged by the formation of dark clouds in the sky, which the uninitiated might mistake for rain clouds. A clever-eyed or familiar observer quickly notices, however, that the flashes of light in the clouds are more reddish-orange than ordinary lightning and that the darkness under an approaching storm cloud is pierced by streaks of ruddy light.
The fiery raindrops produced by flamestorms automatically ignite any flammable item they touch; otherwise, they burn out immediately. The raindrops themselves are not magical, though the storm clouds that produce them are. The constant crackle and low roar of the falling fire provide significant noise, making it a great time to sneak about if you don't mind the flames falling from the sky. A flamestorm generally lasts 1-3 minutes.
Plains of Glass
Very high temperatures melt sand into glass. Lightning strokes from thunderstorms might produce a number of small glassy areas, and a volcano's eruption can eject "bombs" of glass. Additionally, the energy produced by magical power, such as a Firestorm spell or a Wall of Fire, can create a wide expanse of fused sand that stretches for miles.
Traveling on a plane of glass is treacherous. The surface is as slick as an ice sheet. The entire area counts as difficult terrain. Additionally, Acrobatics and Stealth checks have disadvantage, and any movement more than walking requires a Dexterity save to not fall.
Glass plains are often fractured, with jagged shards sticking out in all directions along huge fissures. Anyone who falls or is knocked prone while on a glass plane risks getting shredded by these jagged forms. Additionally, any sufficiently concussive attack or spell may send up a spray of glass shards ripping through the air.
Phantom Cities
Most mirages vanish when a viewer approaches them closely, but certain mirages persist even after the viewer has fully entered them. The most common of these are phantom cities—cities that appear completely real but vanish as soon as the viewer departs the city's border.
Phantom cities always appear as fantastic edifices, existing against all probability in the harshest surroundings: gold-roofed buildings in the heart of bandit country; fountains gushing wine and water; cool breezes stirring palm fronds; and happy, healthy, physically perfect citizens going about their days with contented smiles. They might tell fantastic tales of how their city is magically protected from evil and from the elements and of how they live for centuries rather than for years—all, they claim, because of the magical power of their city.
To those who visit a phantom city, they seem real; a visitor can climb high towers or wander through verdant valleys where no tall trees, cliffs, deep canyons, or even sand exist. The magic that makes these cities appear is strong and soothing, making it so visitors rarely want to leave. Whole caravans have been swallowed by these cities to never be seen again. Time moves differently in these cities; sometimes, hours in are only moments on the material plane, and this is often met with delight. The opposite can also be true; many wanderers have been lured into a Phantom City and left hours later to find days or even years have passed back home.
The last and most feared hazard of Phantom Cities is being taken with them. Anyone within the borders of a Phantom City, when it fades from the prime material, runs the risk of being stuck inside it until it reappears on the prime material, however long that may take.
Hazards of the Wild Winds
The wild winds that give the region its name are nothing to be trifled with lightly. The winds of the desert are nearly always in motion pushing the sand and people of the desert about in their endless dance. It is not known why, but those who attempt to fly high in the air, including with spells like Windwalk, are rarely seen alive and never found unscathed. Those few who have been known to travel into the clouds above the Wild Winds Desert have almost always returned broken and mad.
The mysteries of the high winds are not the only windy hazards in the region. Winds closer to the ground can take on many deadly forms. A wise or careful wanderer is always listening to any changes in the wind.
Flaywind
The terrible flaywind is feared throughout the world. It propels sand with such velocity that it reduces a living creature to bare bones within hours and exposed bone to fine powder in a matter of days. A flaywind strips the flesh from those unlucky enough to be caught within it.
A creature caught in a flaywind, or any object with hardness less than steel's, takes 1d4 points of lethal damage per round instead of the nonlethal damage dealt by a sandstorm. Wearing heavy clothing (or any form of armor) reduces the damage, but it cannot protect entirely from the abrasion. A barricade or enclosed space is the only sure protection. Some wandering tribes will use flaywinds as a way to clean or scour materials or hides they are transporting, but this is a delicate move since too long in the winds can destroy valuable resources.
Necrotic Flaywinds
When a flaywind arises in an area of black sand (see below) or other areas of strong necromatic energy, such as the land surrounding the bottomless crater, the storm is known as a necrotic flaywind. A creature killed by such a storm is reduced to bone, which the negative energy of the black sand then animates into a skeleton. When a necrotic flaywind passes on, it might leave behind armies of skeletal beings or whole villages or caravans left lifeless.
Furnace Wind
When the furnace wind blows, any open water dries up, and flammable materials ignite. A furnace wind arises at midday, seemingly blowing from the sun itself. Some think these winds are Aurifar's divine fury or judgment. It sweeps fiercely over the ground and then passes as quickly as it came. A typical furnace wind lasts 4d4 rounds. In addition to the normal effects of such a strong wind, it deals fire damage. The stronger the wind, the hotter it is. Furnace Winds strike quickly and with little warning.
Phantom Voices
When the winds blow in the desert, it is easy to imagine that one can hear voices calling across the sands. This is a natural phenomenon. However, when the voices carry on conversations with a traveler, magic is at work.
Phantom voices are sometimes known as the spirits of the sand because they seem to know a great deal about the desert from which they emanate. They are able to point out dangerous areas and provide information about monsters that might be encountered. Unfortunately, they only answer direct questions, and only if the questioner makes a small sacrifice to them first by pouring
onto the dry ground the contents of a full waterskin. Properly propitiated, the phantom voices answer with complete accuracy—provided they actually know the answer. (The voices are not omniscient.) Answers other than a simple yes or no are expressed in vague terms.
These voices never rise above the level of a whisper as though they were originating from some distance away. Some travelers find them extremely disturbing despite their helpfulness because, once the voices are provided with water, they continually clamor for more. The voices depart after several hours, but in the meantime, those attempting to rest find it nearly impossible with phantom voices whispering "Water? Water?" all around them.
Wailing Winds
Where the winds blow constantly across the dunes, thin streams of sand pour from the dune tops with an eerie hum. Sometimes these singing sands are infused with a malevolent presence. Some claim that the spirits resent the presence of the living in their desert. Others believe the unearthly moans come directly from the planes—perhaps a howling wind from Pandemonium or cries from souls tortured in the red-hot vaults of Dis.
Whatever the source, an area of wailing winds is detrimental to those who hear it. A creature within the area affected by a wailing wind's sound must make a DC 15 Wisdom save or fall subject to a
confusion effect (as the spell) for as long as the victim is able to hear the sound. Blocking the ears with wax or something similar seals out the sound and grants a new saving throw with advantage.
Hazards of the Sand
The most common sight for anyone traveling the Wild Winds Desert is sand stretching from one horizon to another. For those unwise to the ways of the desert, all sand looks the same. The people who spend their lives crisis-crossing the Great Sand Sea know the truth: no two patches are the same. Some may bring you fame and fortune, while other patches promise nothing but death.
Slipsand
Tiny nodules of glass can form in the splash of a meteorite impact or as the result of a supernatural collision or powerful spell. Such particles have extraordinarily smooth, slippery surfaces. For this reason, a field of slipsand is far more deadly than the quicksand of the swamps and jungles or even supernatural softsand (described later in this section). The surface gives way readily under the slightest weight, swallowing up anything unfortunate enough to step on it. It is impossible to swim through or tread in slipsand; a creature caught in it sinks to the bottom and begins to suffocate when it can no longer hold its breath. Slipsand looks no different from ordinary sand or dust from a distance, and a DC 15 Survival check is necessary to notice it.
Slumber Sand
Appearing in patches up to 1d3×100 feet across, slumber sand is deceptively ordinary-looking sand. However, when characters walk or ride over it for any length of time, their passage kicks up a cloud of fine dust. Those who inhale this dust are affected as though by a sleep spell. If the creature fails a Constution save, it falls asleep for 8 hours minus a number of hours equal to the creature's Constitution modifier.
Areas of slumber sand can be identified as such from a safe distance with a DC 20 Survival check. Slumber sand has a number of uses, both magical and medicinal. It is well-prized by alchemists and apothecaries alike.
Softsand
Though actual quicksand cannot exist in dry environments, softsand can provide a similar effect in completely dry terrain. Not nearly so deadly as slipsand, softsand is not actual sand but extremely light, powdery dust. Generally scattered harmlessly about by desert winds, it can sometimes collect in pits shielded from the wind, where it looks like ordinary sand. A character approaching a patch of softsand can identify it with a DC 10 Survival check.
A typical patch of softsand is 20 to 50 feet across. Characters usually make it 10 feet into the softsand before beginning to sink. A character in softsand must make a DC 15 Athletics check to move 5 feet in any direction and must get a result of 10 on an Athletics check every round simply to remain where they are without sinking. A character who gets a result of 5 or lower on this check sinks below the surface and begins to suffocate.
A character below the surface of softsand can climb back to the surface by first making their way to the edge of the pit. Climbing out of a pit of softsand, once a character has reached the edge of the pit, requires a DC 15 Athletics check.
Any character not trapped in softsand can extend a rope, branch, spear shaft, or similar object to the trapped character, then make a DC 15 Strength check to pull the victim to safety. The victim must make a DC 10 Strength check to retain a grip on the branch, pole, or rope, however. A victim who fails to hold on must immediately make a DC 15 Athletics check or fall beneath the surface. If both Strength checks succeed, the victim is pulled 5 feet closer to safety (toward the character holding the branch, pole, or rope).
Mirror Sand
When ordinary sand mixes with deposits of tin or silver, and the resulting granules are polished by windblown dust to a mirror finish, the sand itself can reflect light—and heat. Travelers in the desert dread mirror sand because it is extremely unsafe to cross in daylight. In addition to raising the temperature, mirror sand effectively blinds anyone who gazes at it—sometimes permanently.
A creature that wishes to make a Perception check while traveling over mirror sand must first make a DC 10 Constitution save. Any creature that fails this save cannot open its eyes long enough to take a good look around. The DC increases by 2 each consecutive round that the
creature has already been looking around. If the creature gets a natural 1 on the Constitution save they become blinded.
Black Sand
Mundane volcanic lands sometimes feature black sand composed of ground-up cinders. Other than its striking color, such sand is no different from any other. However, magical black sand is a vile peril, whether on the scoured surface of Minethys in the Tarterian Depths of Carceri (where the Plane of Shadow overlays the Elemental Plane of Earth) or in lands cursed by foul magic. Black sand is infused with shadowstuff and negative energy. A region of black sand literally swallows light; magical darkness rises to a height of 20 feet over the surface. In addition, creatures that come in contact with the sand take 1d4 points of damage per round from negative energy. Upon reaching 0 hit points, they crumble and join the black sand.
Permanent areas of Black Sand are found throughout the area around the bottomless crater. Some say that the throne of the ruler of Hildakoen Hiria is made out of compressed Black Sand.
Spirit Dunes
The fastest dunes advance only a couple hundred feet each year, but dunes made of sand under the influence of unearthly winds or particles of unusually fine material(such as ground bone or glass) might move many times faster. A "racing dune" is a mountain of grit that travels at least 1 foot per hour—often faster. It can choke an entire city in days, and even smother sleeping creatures. These dunes, threatening as they are, pale in comparison with spirit dunes.
Certain sand dunes seem to resent the disturbance caused by the passage of mortal feet across their surfaces and seek to exact a grim vengeance for the presumption. These spirit dunes move under their own magical power, rolling like great waves of sand as they pursue those who trespass against them. They move as though blown by a powerful yet undetectable wind. They relentlessly pursue trespassers to the very edge of the waste—the limit of their domain. As long as their prey travels upon the sands, spirit dunes always know where to find it.
Spirit dunes kill by enveloping their prey and suffocating it. A spirit dune seems almost like a living creature, except that no amount of ordinary damage can stop it. Spells that manipulate or shape earth can slow a Spirit Dune down but the only known way to destroy one is with an Earthquake spell.
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