Welcome to the Third Continent campaign.
"This is a spoken statement."
These are character thoughts, unless otherwise stated. They can also be used for emphasis, or to show a whispered phrase, etc. As usual, try to "show" instead of "telling."
This is description. Use it to describe actions or objects.
Dice expression. Please roll in the open.
Use this to quote other players. Quote only the part you are addressing.
Our story begins in the middle of nowhere.
A group of escaped prisoners find themselves sprawled out across a small expanse of smooth alabaster rock, amid multi-colored dunes the size of large mountains that stretch into the sky. A gushing spring is nearby, clearly the only source of hydration for miles, if not farther, spilling down into a dark cave entrance. A giant lizard cools itself under an outcropping of rock.
The sun is descending in the sky, and soon drops behind one of the larger dunes, affording all some respite from the intense heat.
It is 7:00pm, or thereabouts, and the small group ponders what to do next.
"We should make our way back to Snyderholm, if we can."
"Agreed. Does anyone carry anything to carry large amounts of water?" Eli stoops to refill his water pouch.
"Sounds like a good plan...do we know the way? I remember that there is a road somewhere going through this desert. I believe Snyderholm is to the North. We should travel by night if possible, and gather as much of this water as possible before we leave." Ariana looks around at the landscape to try to determine where they are in the desert in relation to the tallest mountain peak, the sun, and any other geographical marks visible.
All that you can see is sand and sky, but you know that the tales of Keller's Basin place it somewhere near Baronrun. It's a guess, but you are more likely to be near Baronrun than Snyderholm if this is indeed Keller's Basin.
You squint into the bright sunlight, trying to spy something beyond sand...sand...endless sand...and you fail.
Carys checks over her meager belongings, making sure everything is there. She puts everything neatly back into her pack and swings it onto her back. "Shall we go then? Snyderholm is north?"
"North, yes."
Eli squints at the position of the sun, his shadow, and listens for the wind.
"North, yes."
Eli squints at the position of the sun, his shadow, and listens for the wind.
You can easily determine North as a bit of time passes. The spring where the lizard lay underneath an outcropping of rock is nearly directly north from the cave entrance. The road is most likely to be due East, as it runs a bit off-center North-to-South through the huge desert, and Keller's Basin is said to be in the center or near center of the huge dunes. If you keep heading East, you're likely to find it.
"Hm, no, wait..." Eli pauses, thinking. "Let's go east. There is a road that way that leads north. When we find it, we don't have to worry about getting lost among the dunes. We can take it to Baronrun, and on to Snyderholm."
"I say we wait an hour or two for the heat to pass and we move on."
Everyone must now make a fortitude save against the extreme desert heat. Each of you has five levels of heat exhaustion:
1- Healthy (all is as normal)
2- Thirsty (character now wants water as a secondary goal)
3- Dehydrated (character now needs water as a primary goal)
4- Heat sickness (speed reduced to 5ft, -5hp per hour)
5- Death
You start at 5 right now. You must pass a fortitude of 5 every hour that you are in the desert from 10a.m. to 7p.m. You may forego the fortitude save if you have a drink of water. Whatever you choose to store water in, tell me and I will calculate the amount of "drinks" it contains. Ask me in discussion for any clarifications :)
You may take multiple drinks and multiple rolls privately, as long as you keep track with the others somehow if you are using a shared container. You only need to post status changes of your heat exhaustion level here.
"Yes, please, let's wait a bit. It's too hot. Maybe we can wait over in the shade with the lizard?" As Ariana speaks, she fills her waterskin from the pool.
After filling his waterskin, Eli drinks from the spring.
Eli's waterskin contains 25 drinks of water when full.
Some clarification: the heat exhaustion should be the following:
-1 Normal
-2 Thirsty
-3 Dehydrated
-4 Heat sickness
-5 Death
You must pass a fortitude save of 5 every hour (including one right now to start). Rolling a 1 IS an automatic fail in this case.
You may forego the save if you have a drink of water instead that hour.
Feel free to post your saves (if you are not drinking water) to your character sheet for tracking. You can also use the discussion forum or a spoiler on here. Same for keeping track of water stores. This will be too tedious if we try to post everything on here, but I want this desert to be difficult for you :)
Nodding to Ariana's suggestion, Eli moves to the outcropping of stone to rest until nightfall.
Ariana moves towards the shade to rest as well.
As the group moves closer to the shade, the lizard wakes from what appears to have been a brief slumber. It watches them, seemingly exhausted.
As dusk settles, the lizard rises and begins to move back toward the cave entrance, slowly.
"It's getting dark. Let's get going."
Carys takes a few drinks from the pond and then settles into the shade and flips through her spellbook aimlessly. As dusk is settling, she takes one last drink of water, packs her things, and looks ready to follow the group.
Ariana stands at Lucas' suggestion, packs what little she took out, and says, "Yes, shall we?"
Eli rises and shoulders his pack. "We shall. Eastward."
The ranger sets a pace to the east.
You set out East.
As night truly falls and the moonlight illuminates the ghostly white sands, you begin to traverse the first valley between two mountain-sized dunes. Two hours under the cover of night, you crest a decent-sized dune and see nothing but sand until the horizon. It takes much effort to keep trudging ahead, and your pace is slowed by the deep sand.
Around 2:00am, it becomes quite cold. Before you lie salt flats, a long stretch of nothing. The salty crust is treacherous to tread, and has formed thinly over a deep muck. Most likely, this place was once a lake. To the east, across the flats, lie more white, mountainous dunes.
It is an hour into crossing these perilous flats (3:00am) that you notice some strange formations, about the size of a horse, appearing to be embedded into the ground nearly a half mile in the distance. The moonlight is fading, so they are difficult to make out.
You aren't sure, but it seemed that one of them moved just now.
Eli continues onward, but watching the oddities ahead carefully.
"Do not approach it. We need to find shelter before morning. We must keep going."
Several feet of muck lies below a salty dry crust, and you would be hard-pressed to "dig" much of anything out. Also, the muck is carbon-based, the remains of animals and plants, and smells foul. If you were to dig a shelter, you might be sick from the smell, and that is assuming that the muck wouldn't just seep back into fill up the hole.
"Agreed, Strongjaw. Those look to be giant beetles, buried up to their backs. While I would enjoy the challenge, not all of us are built for the desert wastes. Perhaps another time. Pray that we find a place to hunker before the sunrise."
Eli continues east, careful to give the creatures a wide berth. He doesn't trust the flats and keeps a watchful eye on the path ahead.
Eli furrows his brow. He touches his waterskin, to be certain of its place. He glances over the rest of the group, but says nothing. We will rest if we find shelter. When we find shelter. There is no hesitation in his eastward strides.
1d20+6
The group journeys on throughout the night, and arrives near the middle of the salt flats at daybreak. The heat is instantaneous, and begins to sap their strength from around 7pm onward. Another 3 hours will let them reach the dunes at the far end of the flats. Perhaps there is shelter to be found among them?
Accustomed to this climate, Eli squints at the dunes in hopes of finding shelter for the fairer folk.
The heat is strong but Lucas endures. An hour in, he's dying for some water. He quaffs some when the ranger isn't looking.
Show no weakness. Earn respect.
The water was cool and refreshing: just what he needed. He matches Eli stride for stride, assuming Arianna is alright...
Ariana doesn't look so great after the first bit of sun, and so she takes a sip of water. The water cools her off, and now that she's had a taste for it, she continues to sip as they trek towards the dunes in search of shelter.
"I don't know how much longer I can take this heat. It's terrible."
"It's not far now. Maybe after this you'll have that bronzed skin you saw on those women from the trading caravan? That'll be worth it right? Hahaha."
Lucas is sincere in trying to keep her spirits high, but the comparison is too funny for him not to laugh.
** spoiler omitted **
Accustomed to this climate, Eli squints at the dunes in hopes of finding shelter for the fairer folk.
The dunes on this side of the salt flats rise above you, but not to the extent of the ones you left behind. They are a much more manageable size, and the group will be able to make better time through them. They are also a golden color, instead of the white before. Besides these things, however, you see something that looks large and artificial. It does not match the sand.
As you gain a bit of ground for a better look (knowing the kinds of things that desert and sun can do to a man), you shake your head and look again. It must have only been a mirage, making a few cacti appear to be a building of sorts. No other obvious shelter presents itself to your sight.
Eli does not change his pace, eventually stepping up to the cacti. Drawing his dagger, he prepares to remove the spines in order to harvest water and the fleshy innards of the cacti.
The cacti all seem to contain water. You are able to sheer off enough needles to access the innards of the plant, but you accidentally spill some several times. You are able to obtain 5 "drinks" worth of water, as well as enough flesh to make a passable meal for 2 persons from the few you carve up (this takes little time).
"Carys, Ariana, eat." Eli offers the portions to the ladyfolk. He fills his dry hands with cactus water, and gulps it down.
"Refill your waterskins if you need to, but there is only a little left. I would prefer to keep moving until we find shelter."
He looks to each of his four companions to see how the weather is wearing on them. Satisfied that no one is in immediate danger, he waits for the others to eat and collect the water before resuming his ground-eating pace.
Fort
#2
#3
Carys trudges along quietly behind the others. Clearly, she is not enjoying the heat and quietly enduring the bitter sun at the back of the group. She accepts Eli's food gratefully and attempts a drink from the cactus.
"Where did you learn that trick old man? I'll have to remember that. Show me again how to take the spines off."
"Not much to it, Strongjaw. See? You catch on quick."
"Thanks, that is quite a trick." Ariana eats some of the cacti, puts some of the liquid in her water skin, and then continues on with the others.
"Bloody hell! I thought my pack seemed a few pounds heavier. Alright gobo, no more loafing."
Eli readjusts his pack to distribute the weight.