VAST DESERT
Tier 2 Traversal
A parched expanse of sandy dunes, desolate salt flats, and windblown rock formations.
Impulses: Dehydrate, show desolate beauty, threaten danger on the horizon
Difficulty: 14
Potential Adversaries: Acid Burrower, Desert Raiders (Jagged Knife Bandits), Landshark , Sandwyrm
FEATURES
Endless Sands - Passive: Countdown (8). To cross the desert, the party must complete the countdown. It ticks down whenever a PC succeeds on an action roll to navigate the seemingly endless expanse.
How do the PCs travel through the desert? What beyond the extreme distance and lack of water makes this area difficult to cross?
Water Supply - Passive: When the party starts their journey, place a number of tokens on this stat block equal to 1 + the number of PCs in the scene. Remove a token at the end of each long rest or when a PC fails an action roll to navigate the desert. When a token would be removed but there are none left, each PC must mark a HP and a Stress. A PC can add a token to this stat block by using a downtime move and making a successful Knowledge Roll to hunt for water.
What sorts of water-preserving flora or terrain features have the PCs heard might be found in this desert? How do the PCs collect and carry the water they find?
Shifting Sands - Passive: The ever-shifting dunes and the whipping wind make trailing creatures through this environment difficult. Action rolls to track creatures through the desert are made with disadvantage.
How do the dunes and landscape shift whenever the heroes rest? What is covered or uncovered by the wind?
Thunderstorm - Action: Spend a Fear to have a torrential downpour soak the land. Each PC must either seek shelter from the storm or collect rainwater. Each PC who seeks shelter marks a Stress. The PCs who collect rainwater make a group action roll.
On a success with Hope, add 1d4 tokens to the Water Supply.
On a success with Fear, add 1 token to the Water Supply.
On a failure with Hope, each PC who took part in the group action roll marks a Stress.
On a failure with Fear, each PC who took part in the group action roll marks a Stress, and the PC who rolled the lowest takes 2d8+4 physical damage from the storm.
How does the storm look to the heroes as it rolls in from miles away? Is the storm natural or unnatural? How can you tell?
Sandstorm - Action: Spend a Fear to summon a sandstorm that disorients and harries travelers. Each PC takes 2d6+3 physical damage. Until the sandstorm dissipates, a PC who makes an action roll must succeed on an Agility Reaction Roll to avoid the swirl of rocks and debris or take 2d6+3 physical damage.
What do the dwellers of this desert wear to weather the sandstorms? How are the dwelling places the party finds here designed to withstand the winds?