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Rolling Dunes
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passive
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Travel across the desert is disorienting and exhausting. Set a
Progress Countdown (8) representing the journey. Characters might roll Instinct for navigation, Knowledge to recall a route or analyze a map, Presence to bolster the spirits of the traveling party, Strength to pull a cart, etc.
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What landmarks let the party know they’ve gone in circles? What carrion-eaters watch the party as they languish? What insight might they gain from local animals?
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No Place to Hide
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passive
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The punishing sun makes taking downtime during the day impossible unless the PCs find meaningful cover from the heat.
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What dangers lurk in the night while the party rests? Do they travel at night as well, or just rest and plan for the next day?
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Mirage
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action
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Spend a Fear to create a mirage on the horizon. Each PC must make an Instinct Reaction Roll to identify the mirage as fake. On a failure, a PC can take a Hope if they insist that the mirage is real and add one to the
Progress Countdown as they take the group off-course to confirm.
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What form does the mirage take? Is it a fake oasis, a friendly traveling party, a hated foe, or something else?
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Sandstorm
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action
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Spend 2 Fear to introduce a sandstorm. Call for a Group Action (with the leader probably rolling Instinct) to represent the group finding cover before the storm hits. On a failure, each PC marks
1d4+1 Stress. On a success, each PC marks a Stress. Once the Sandstorm clears, the next roll to traverse the desert is made with disadvantage due to the changed landscape.
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Who notices the sandstorm first? How do the PCs protect themselves from sand getting everywhere in their clothes and supplies? What is lost in the scramble to find cover?
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Shifting Sands
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reaction
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After a sandstorm or downtime, reveal something that had been previously buried and covered by the sand.
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Do they find the ruins of a settlement that could serve as shelter? Do they find a wrecked merchant caravan with goods intact, wondering what happened to the merchants?
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Oasis
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reaction
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If a PC rolls at least a 19 or higher (or a critical) on a roll to navigate within the environment, they locate an oasis. Each PC immediately gains a Hope. Additionally, while in the oasis the PCs may take downtime during the day despite the
No Place to Hide feature.
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What makes this oasis so hard to find? Is anyone else present when you arrive? Has someone tried to seize this site by force?
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Punishing Heat
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reaction
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When a PC makes a roll to traverse the environment during the day, they must make a Strength Reaction Roll or mark a Stress and lose a Hope.
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Where do you most feel the heat? What do you do to try to stay cool? Are you still sweaty when the sun goes down and the temperature drops?
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