BehindTheTables: What’s in the DESERT? by Orkish Blade (orkish.blade@gmail.com) Originally posted at www.reddit.

com/r/DnDBehindTheScreen

ACROSS THE WASTELAND…

d20 Interesting Location: You find... d8 Ground: Beneath your feet, the soil is... d6 Who lives in the peculiar tent?
1. A cavern in a canyon wall. 1. Cracked. 5. Pale brown. 1. A merchant of exotic goods.
2. A cave entrance, hidden by a boulder. 2. Hard-packed. 6. Muddy brown. 2. A misanthropic shapeshifter.
3. A hole under a large boulder. 3. Sandy. 7. Deep red. 3. An eccentric monk.
4. A large burrow. 4. Stony. 8. Grey. 4. A nomadic herder.
5. A small cave next to a dry river bed. 5. A nomadic warrior.
d20 Encounters: You come upon...
6. A peculiar tent. 6. An outcast elf.
1. A poisonous snake.
7. A stone house sheltered by a canyon,
2. A giant spider. d6 Who lived in the stone house?
gorge, or bluff.
3. A giant scorpion. 1. A strange hermit.
8. Some nomads’ camp.
4. A giant centipede. 2. A reclusive scholar.
9. An abandoned stone house.
5. A pack of jackals. 3. An eccentric healer.
10. An abandoned campsite.
6. A hungry jackalwere. 4. A poor goatherder.
11. A merchant caravan’s camp.
7. A giant lizard. 5. A mining prospector.
12. An entrance to a rocky cave.
8. The ghost of a traveler. 6. A religious fanatic with his many wives.
13. An old mine in a canyon.
9. A pair of gnolls.
14. An active mining camp. d8 Who resides in the stone house now?
10. A pair of bandits.
15. A village of primitive canyon dwellers. 1. Poisonous snakes.
11. An hobgoblin scout.
16. A secluded monastery. 2. An ogre.
12. An orkish war band.
17. Ruins of an ancient city. 3. A pair of orcs.
13. A roc on the wing.
18. A temple ruin. 4. A mad sorcerer.
14. A wyvern on the wing.
19. An ancient tomb. 5. A paranoid shapeshifter.
15. A strange hermit.
20. An old watchtower. 6. Restless ghosts.
16. A lost traveler.
7. A dangerous fugitive.
d20 Distinguishing Landmark: You see... 17. A poor nomad.
8. Spiders and rats.
1. An oasis with a fruit tree. 18. A suspicious miner.
2. An oasis with a palm tree and flowers. 19. A barbarian hunter. d8 Who built the ancient ruins?
3. An unusually large, prickly desert plant. 20. A mounted barbarian scout. 1. A high elf prince.
4. A pair of prickly plants from the same root. 2. A fiendish cult.
d8 Hazards/Obstacles: You run into...
5. A patch of desert flowers in a shady spot. 3. A dragon cult.
1. A rockslide coming down a canyon wall.
6. A patch of damp sand in the shadow of a 4. Prosperous merchants.
2. A boulder rolling down a canyon wall.
large boulder. 5. A long-dead emperor.
3. A collapsing sand dune.
7. A rocky bluff. 6. A forgotten king.
4. Quicksand.
8. A boulder shaped like a face. 7. An evil queen.
5. Persistent, strong winds kicking up dust.
9. A pair of identical boulders, side by side. 8. A dark sorcerer.
6. A sudden, swirling sandstorm.
10. A boulder sitting atop a larger boulder.
7. A mirage of a city. d12 Who lives in the ancient ruins now?
11. A narrow gorge with a trickle of water.
8. A mirage of an oasis. 1. A treasure hunter.
12. A wide canyon with a trickle of water.
2. A wasteland druid.
13. A dry river bed. d6 Climate: The rains come to this desert...
3. Poisonous snakes.
14. A swiftly flowing, shallow river in a canyon. 1. Once a year for a few days straight.
4. Cursed mummies.
15. A muddy river bed. 2. On a few days scattered through the year.
5. Restless ghosts.
16. A ridge of wind-eroded rock. 3. During the winter months.
6. A hobgoblin warlord.
17. A ridge of jagged rock. 4. Never; melting snow run-off comes yearly.
7. An orkish war chief.
18. A mostly-buried, ancient monument. 5. Never; the land floods briefly once a year.
8. A tribe of kobolds.
19. Twelve large stones, deliberately arranged 6. Never; this place hasn’t had water in years.
9. A territorial griffon.
in a ring.
d12 What’s in the cave/cavern? 10. A pair of manticores.
20. A sheer rock wall with patterns of color in
1. A swarm of beetles. 11. Slavering gnolls.
the rock layers.
2. Lots of bats. 12. A dragon.
d20 Feature: You notice... 3. Many spider webs.
d4 What built the watchtower?
1. A buzzard circles overhead. 4. A troll's stash.
1. An expansive empire.
2. A vulture screams. 5. An ogre's lair.
2. A nearby kingdom.
3. A scorpion scuttles away. 6. Some gnolls’ hideout.
3. Elvish warriors from a past age.
4. A large beetle scuttles away. 7. Bare rock.
4. A hobgoblin army.
5. A toad hops behind a rock. 8. Mummified remains.
6. A lizard crawls under a rock. 9. Some bandits’ hideout. d6 Who holds the watchtower now?
7. A jackal barks. 10. A reclusive sorcerer. 1. A band of desperate outlaws.
8. A snake slithers away. 11. Some abandoned mining equipment. 2. An order of holy knights.
9. A butterfly flutters by. 12. A half-mad prophet. 3. A clan of orcs.
10. A rattlesnake sounds. 4. A hobgoblin war party.
d8 What’s in the hole/burrow?
11. An unusual bird chirps. 5. A fiendish presence.
1. A snake. 5. Centipedes.
12. A gentle breeze blows. 6. Ghostly warriors.
2. A spider. 6. A toad.
13. The wind blows harder.
3. Beetles. 7. A lizard. d6 Who camped here?
14. The wind kicks up dust.
4. Scorpions. 8. A fox. 1. A party of orcs.
15. Small lose stones tumble down a slope.
2. A hobgoblin raiding party.
16. A hint of moisture on the ground. d4 Who built this monastery?
3. Some miners or prospectors.
17. A prickly plant with brightly colored fruit. 1. An order of elementalist monks.
4. A pair of wandering elves.
18. A strange desert flower. 2. An order of mystics.
5. Some refugees or fugitives.
19. A small palm tree. 3. An order of shadow monks.
6. Someone whose purposes are unclear.
20. Several small prickly plants. 4. An order of warrior monks.
d4 Who is/was mining here and for what?
d8 Landscape: This desert is... d4 The temple was built to honor...
1. Greedy dwarves. 1. Copper.
1. Rocky. 5. Boulder-strewn. 1. The sun god.
2. Ambitious humans. 2. Gold.
2. Hilly. 6. Forbidding. 2. The god of death.
3. Tricky goblins. 3. Silver.
3. Bleak. 7. Jagged. 3. The god of war.
4. Industrious kobolds. 4. Tin.
4. Rugged. 8. Wind-swept. 4. A long-forgotten god.