Desert Storm III c: The Badlands

The Badlands is a desolate landscape, searing with heat and battered by torrential winds and ever-lasting sandstorms. The winds themselves are enough to drive one to madness if they stay too long in the Badlands. Remarkably, people live in this place, but their minds are shattered and their morals destroyed, making the Badlands a feral warzone that even the Sultanate wouldn't dare to enter.
With the rising frequency of violent Flaywinds across the entire Osmad Desert, Sultana Nala hopes that the reason for this can be found within the Badlands, and has asked the party to investigate on her behalf. She warns them, however, that they should be prepared for the worst.
The party soon discovers that the Badlands are not as lifeless as they were led to believe. In fact, the party finds themselves in a brutal society that survives within the maddening winds! Multiple factions fight for dominance, including the Scrap Vultures - bandits who take anything and everything they find to build their crazy contraptions with.
A Tabaxi sorcerer who seems to be on their side aids the party in their escape from the clutches of the marauders. She asks the party for their help in finding a close friend of hers that was taken by the scrap lord. Together, they acquire a new vehicle to speed through the badlands. Finding this scrap lord involves fighting through numerous marauders, but when they find him, he will tell the party that he has been sending people to an ancient secret temple to be sacrificed.
The threads converge at this temple, where the dragonborn behind all of this is performing a ritual to summon the pillar men three powerful servants of Rhenos. The party finds, in horror, a giant scale, on the heavy side a large pile of sand, and the other, a pile of dozens, maybe even hundreds of bloody human hearts. As the dragonborn places one last heart - that which belonged to the Tabaxi's friend - the scale tips in favor of the hearts, and with the tablet he obtained earlier, completes the ritual, summoning the three entities, and collapsing the temple shortly afterwards. The party must escape with their lives, not just to escape the collapsing temple, but to escape from the powerful entities that they have no chance of fighting!

Plot points/Scenes

With the high frequency of violent flaywinds in the desert, Sultana Nala Al-Sharaf has asked the party to investigate the suspected source: they must venture into the Badlands (see The Osmad Desert for more). If the party has completed the other quests from the Sultana, they can speak with her in Bekilk before heading out. She would have more information for them based on the reports she received from Turri and Embercity. The party can take the time to ask her about the things they learned while visiting these places.
It takes a few days to journey from Bekilk to the edge of the Badlands. The first half of the journey follows the road to the southwest and should be safe for the most part. They will pass by a few settlements, particularly a small town named Mirage - a tiny village with a mini oasis in the center (which happens to be the reason the town is named what it is). They will also pass a building that looks almost like it was deconstructed. Parts of its walls and roof are missing, seemingly taken from

Entering the Badlands

As you head further southwest beyond the dunes, the wind begins to pick up. At first you can't differentiate it from the normal desert winds you've grown accustomed to, but as you travel deeper through the endless sands, it becomes all you can feel. It gets to the point where you have to push yourself against it, or you fear you will get thrown into the sky. But it is not the strength of the wind, or the sand that it kicks up that gets to you. It is the sound. The howling wind roars like a stampede of angry beasts, like the worst storm you've experienced, but without the rain or thunder. The sound of your companions is drowned out in the gusts, and you can't even hear yourself think.

When outside in the badlands, the party is subject to the Maddening Winds trait of the region (see the side panel). They must bear 1d3 hours of these winds before they find what seems to pass as shelter: a building they can barely make out in the maelstrom of sand. The structure they enter is some kind of archway made not from stone, but from wood and metal seemingly put haphazardly together. A gate blocks the way forward, and one the party enters the structure, a gate closes behind them, leaving them trapped. However, it is a much needed respite from the winds.

The Arena

The gate in front of them opens up into an outdoor space, though the wind is bearable in this space. The space is a circular walled bit of flat ground, about 50 ft in radius. The walls are made of the same metal and wood combination as the rest of the structure and are 10 ft tall. Three other doors are spaced out along this wall. On the ground are about half a dozen corpses of people and beasts. Any adventurer should soon realize that this is an arena.

The wind seems different here. It is no longer howling, instead it now sounds like a cacophony of voices shouting. Your vision clears, and it turns out that it is not the wind, but an actual crowd of spectators in circular rows around you. One voice booms above them all: a voice from a half-naked beast of a man who basks in the adoration of the crown and looks at you all with crazy eyes that crave violence, and a long handlebar mustache that reaches down to his chest.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, looks like fate has given us one last event for the evening! These fellows have just wandered into our arena, and it couldn't have been a more interesting group! We are in for a treat today! We got some dude, we got a bird, and we even have... I don't even know what the fuck that is I have never seen that before! Can they fight? How long can they last? Place your bets people I got a feeling about this one! Let's give them a proper Badlands welcome and FIND OUT!"

The arena is overseen by Shaxx, a gladiator whose love for violence is outmatched by his love of being the center of the crowd's attention. There are no rules in the arena, as long as one side prevails over the other. There are four rounds the party must triumph over to win.
In the first round, the marauders throw out their prisoners and those who are too far lost to the winds to be productive. 8 bandits who have completely lost it attack indiscriminately. There is also 1 guard, a soldier from the Sultanate that was captured. He is convinced that he must fight for his freedom and only then can he go home. He is also mad from the winds and cannot be negotiated with. Lastly, there is one cowardly commoner who will run away and try to hide.

"So far these freaks do not disappoint! What do you think, everyone?" The crowd cheers, their chanting and yelling almost as maddening as the wind outside. "That was the easy round. I could do that with my eyes closed! But I wouldn't cause I want to see the blood as they scream! Everyone, keep your eyes open as these freaks head into THE NEXT ROUND! Lets see what we have in store for them!"

The second round consists of 4 Death Dogs that must be defeated.

"AMAZING! With no effort they took out those poor doggies! I'm on the edge of my seat here! DO YOU LIKE WHAT YOU SEE?!!" The crowd once again explodes with a cacophony of cheers and screams, not directed at you, but rather the host. "WHO BRINGS YOU THESE GLORIOUS FEATS OF ENTERTAINMENT ON A BI-WEEKLY BASIS???!!!" The crowd erupts, chanting "SHAXX! SHAXX! SHAXX!" getting faster and faster as the host takes in the applause. He then turns his attention back to you. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Two rounds down, two more to go! Just how much can these guys take?! Place your bets everyone as we begin, ROUND THREE!!!"

The third round consists of 3 Ankhegs that must be defeated.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT I'M SEEING! Three rounds down! Unbelievable! We got some new champions in the making here people! If they can make it past this last round, they will become LEGENDARY GLADIATORS!!! You remember who was the first to make it past all four rounds and become the first champion? That's right, THIS GUY! If they make it past this final round, they will be almost as good as me, Shaxx! Ladies and gentlemen, it's time. Bring out... EL DRAGON!"

The fourth and final round consists of a captured Wyvern nicknamed El Dragon. The Wyvern has its wings tied and therefore cannot fly. If it gets below half its hp and it takes fire damage, the rope that binds its wings becomes frail and breaks. The Wyvern will then fly into the crowd and cause chaos. Shaxx and the audience not being eaten will still enjoy the show though and encourage the fight to continue.
When the wyvern is slain, the party is victorious. The crowd cheers in heroic glory as confetti and copper pieces are thrown at the party. Shaxx instructs the attendees to give the party their "gold medals," which appears to be nothing more than a metal hoop. Anyone who demonstrated spellcasting is given a similar but slightly different one. Still, the marauders force the party to put them on since they won. Shortly after the party puts on the metal bands, they quickly shrink and clasp around their necks tightly. A shock hits them from the collars, sending them into unconsciousness.
If the party refuses to put on the collars, Shaxx and about a dozen berserkers teach them a lesson in "accepting gifts" and beat them unconscious (after the last four fights, the party should be very low on resources and easily dispatched). Should a player be unconscious at the end of the arena fight, they will be stabilized by the marauders. If they are killed and have made it to at least the wyvern fight, they will be revived by the marauders through unconventional means. The revived character will have a level of exhaustion that cannot be reduced by any means. What they did to the character remains to be seen...

The Prison

The party can apply a short rest during their unconsciousness, waking up in a prison cell with most of their gear taken. Anyone who demonstrated spellcasting in the arena is silenced by the collar. They notice that they are not alone in their cell. There is a female Tabaxi in their cell, golden fur and white hair that goes down one side of her face, some bandage wraps around her arms, and a similar collar around her neck. This Tabaxi is Ta'kheela, a sorcerer who also found herself captured here. She gestures to the party (she is silenced by the collar) to help her get the collar off of her, and she will get everyone out. On the back of the collars is a latch that can be picked by a lockpick. A DC 15 lockpicking check can break the collar. One Ta'kheela is freed, she asks everyone to "stand back, please," and fireballs the door, blasting a hole through their cell wall, allowing them to escape.
Once outside, Ta'kheela formally introduces herself. Ta'kheela (pronounced similarly to the liquor, but with no relation) is a sorcerer who was made into a vessel for an Efreeti that now possesses her. She came to the badlands to find a friend of hers (a human named Kiran) that was taken by the Scrap Lord. She also hopes to find any clues to the whereabouts of the individual that made her into what she is. She tries her best to keep the Efreeti contained within, but sometimes the Efreeti will try to violently take control from Ta'kheela. The party gets to see this happen outside, as she suddenly collapses and yells out in pain:

Ta'kheela suddenly yells in pain and collapses onto the ground. She moans in discomfort as you see her struggle against seemingly nothing, her hands and arms becoming wreathed in flame and her eyes becoming this radiant shade of orange. You even notice smoke coming off of her. "Get away!" She yells. Then, almost as soon as it began, the flames dissipate and she relaxes, panting heavily. She then gets up and, as if nothing happened, says "Sorry about that, where were we?"

If questioned about it, she'll say "It's nothing," but if they insist, she explains:

"Do you know what Djinn are? You know, genies in a bottle, 'you get three wishes' and all that? So you know they come in brass lamps or bottles, yes? Well did you know they can also come in other things. People have tried to bind them for their power in bottles, gems, barrels, vases, and... well... people. Many of these don't work, they aren't strong enough to hold the Djinn's power and they break out easily, but it turns out that people make remarkably good vessels. Sometimes they even get the Djinn's powers for themselves. The problem with using people is, see, they have cracks, which the Djinn tries to escape from. Only problem is that it can't leave so instead it takes control of the person, and the process is... very, very, painful. It just so happens that I am a vessel for an Efreeti, one of the more angry ones. That's why I try to keep my cracks sealed. And no. I cannot grant wishes."

Ta'kheela has been here before and knows a little about the place. The party just now realizes that, while they are still in the badlands and the winds are still raging, they are in some sort of settlement that looks like something straight out a post-apocalyptic society. Ta'kheela finds them tiny earplugs that will help them resist the maddening winds and leads them to a place where they can get transportation from someone she trusts.

The Open Badlands

Ta'kheela takes the party to a small wood and scrap shop where they meet Wrench, a kobold artificer with a shattered mind. Despite his lunacy, Wrench is an expert vehicle technician, and can maintain almost every kind of vehicle, even those not from the material plane. Ta'kheela asks Wrench for a favor of giving her and the party a Duneskimmer so they can escape the settlement. With a little bit of convincing, Wrench shows the party a Duneskimmer large enough for the party, and outfitted with some upgrades. (Or the Scav-enger powered with meat)
On the duneskimmer, Ta'kheela explains that she has business with the Scrap Lord, and she will agree to help the party with whatever they are doing as long as they help her first. During their transit, they will be intercepted by a gang of marauders on their own pair of duneskimmers. Once the marauders are dispatched, the rest of the journey is mostly uneventful.
The party will arrive at a large Settlement known as Ottuk, which is built on a mountainside. Hundreds of ramshackle huts and scaffolds line the mountain wall, leading up to a large worm carcass, its skull looming over the land. The Scrap Lord doesn't just see anyone, however, and the party must prove themselves to see him first. Alternatively, there is always violence.

Beyond the veil of sand and the howling winds, you see your destination before you. A settlement built at the foot of a mountain, put together from bits of scrap and junk. Snaking up the mountain is the carcass of a massive serpent or worm like creature. Its skull looms over the town, ever gazing out into the badlands.
Its metal gates are closed.

The Scrap Lord

Despite the conditions of the Badlands, the Scrap Lord, Kaya, is fairly composed compared to the other inhabitants of the Badlands. He got to his place through strength and he knows it. Kaya, in contrast to the other warlords of the Badlands, wishes to one day see the clans of the badlands unite into one unstoppable force, with him as the great Khan leading them into battle. However, his current efforts are focused towards the improvement of his own clan into formidable soldiers. Recently, one way he is doing this is by sending useless prisoners and weak individuals to the dragonborn Ghesh as part of an arrangement. Ghesh promised "ruin to the Sultanate" as long as he handed over people to be sacrificed. He sends people to a secret ancient temple covered by an eternal sandstorm, at which point they become Ghesh's problem.

Sitting upon a throne of bone and scrap, is a handsome man, with metal bands of armor and brightly colored cloth adorning his otherwise shirtless body. You can immediately tell he seems far more mentally stable than many of the other marauders you have encountered thus far. He reclines in his throne, his head resting on his fist, as he looks upon you all with interest.
"Now this is interesting. Who are you and what business do you have with the Scrap Lord?"

The Scrap Lord will not give up information freely. Unless the characters speak up first, Ta'kheela will demand the Scrap Lord tell her what he did to Banefre.

Ta'kheela steps forward with fire in her eyes. "Remember me? Where is Kiran?"
The Scrap Lord smiles with recognition. "Ah so it is you. I had assumed Shaxx would have turned you into a rug by now. You must be some kind of remarkable because he only lets the interesting ones live. As for your friend, well, he certainly isn't as interesting as you. He left with the rest of the garbage."

If the party does battle with the Scrap Lord, he will fight then until he believes they are worthy enough to have his audience. At which point he ends combat and allows the party to speak to him, answering basic questions. He will also tell them where he sent Ta'kheela's friend.

Parent Plot

Desert Storm III: The Ivory Palace

Maddening Winds

The powerful, howling winds of the Badlands drives all those who wander in its wastes for too long to madness. Nonmagical flames are extinguished, controlled flight is almost impossible, and conversation is only possible by yelling. In addition, an intelligent creature exposed to and that can hear the winds must make a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw, gaining a level of exhaustion on a failure. Reaching 6 levels of exhaustion in this way does not kill them, but instead they gain a form of indefinite madness. The inhabitants of the Badlands have either embraced this madness, or have developed means of protecting themselves by muffling the sounds of the wind. A creature who has minor hearing protection (by covering their ears or wearing earplugs) have advantage on the save, and complete protection requires no save. The strong winds are also suitable for Duneskimmers, special vehicles designed to tread across the desert through the use of sails that can't be used practically anywhere else.

Duneskimmers

A sailing vehicle unique to the Osmad Desert. Effective in theory, Duneskimmers are lightweight wooden vehicles that resemble catamarans, but instead of sailing on a sea of water, they glide through the sea of shifting sands with the power of wind. At least that was the intent, but the coarse sand and the inconsistency of the wind throughout most of the desert make horses and camels more effective. Duneskimmers need very strong winds to counteract the friction between its hull and the sand. This makes the duneskimmer only effective during sandstorm-like weather, or when a source of wind is created through the use of magic. Engineers and mages have experimented with designs for decades, some even trapping air elementals to provide propulsion. The only place where the necessary wind power is consistent, is the Bandlands, making Duneskimmers the main mode of transportation across large distances. Many duneskimmers there are outfitted with armor, weapons, and other unorthodox decorations.
Mechanically, in the Badlands, a duneskimmer has a speed of 80 ft/turn, or 8 mph. It will continue moving at the speed it was moving on its previous turn. A pilot can take an action to control the vehicle, changing its speed and direction. It has 60 hit points and its immune to poison and psychic damage. When it falls to 0 hit points, it violently tumbles and falls apart, throwing all its passengers off. A passenger who falls off takes a number of d6 bludgeoning damage equal to its move speed divided by 10 (so at 80 ft, passengers take 8d6 bludgeoning damage).