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Wednesday, 5 July 2023

Exilon Wasteland Wandering 2 Desert



I will do one for mountains and sea possibly forest or jungle but low priority and my monster island and other forest stuff will be usable. I have written the same articles twice and maybe more. This setting is inspired by a mashup of bronze age near east and mederteranean but also has classic fantasy tropes as this is meant to be the extreme past of my normas setting.

Maybe a underworld deathland tables for when you accidently find the borderlands or in necromancer kings land.

d10
 Marsh Wasteland Discoveries
1 Graze Lands
2 Nomad Camps
3 Monster Lairs
4 Hermit loners
5 Abandoned buildings & Ruins
6 Hidden Folk Camps
7 Creature Swarms
8 Strange Sands
9 Elder Horrors
10 Supernatural beings

d100 Exilon Wasteland Wandering 2 Desert
01 Rainfall here creates short-lived seasonal grasslands attracting herds, predators and hunting peoples
02 Rainfall here creates short-lived seasonal wetlands where thousands of birds visit and other creatures hibernate underground when dry
03 Desert grazelands with large burrowing rodents and visiting herds with a 1in6 chance. Preditors pass through most nights d4 1=lion 2=leopard 3=hyena 4=wolves 5=wild dogs 6=Jackals
04 Ostriches and giant flightless birds here are hostile to humans and locals know them as demon birds and depict them as supernatural evils
05 Pride of lions dominate the area with local springs and lots of game and other animals
06 Seasonal body of water grows from small oasis to muddy puddle. The more water the more game and predatory animals
07 Grasslands here swarming with locusts who quickly eat everything and then leave after laying millions of eggs here. An idol of an insect god was left here long ago but it is not very impressive 
08 Herd animals travelling here are hostile and territorial and dangerous to lions and hunters d6 1=buffalo 2=camels 3=gazelle 4=deer 5=auroch 6=cattle
09 Good hunting area with springs and rocky outcrops and some vegetation. Caves and rocks have ancient campsites and rock art that was used to summon game reborn from the underworld
10 Unusual herd animals gather here and hunters come to prove themselves here
11 Nomad family camp will show hospitality and food 
12 Nomadic smugglers camp here with goods intending to defy royal decrees and tax d4 1=drugs 2=weapons 3=spice 4=ivory
13 Namad herders camp here with thorn bushes used as animal pens. Many shepherds in the area are based in the camp. Will sell livestock, meat, milk, hide and cheese d4 1=goats 3=cattle 3=camels 4=horses
14 Nomadic slavers camp here while kidnapping people, and intend to leave the area soon before anyone sees them
15 Nomads of a persecuted minority in hiding, wary and suspicious but if helped very grateful and loyal. Often are in trouble and in need of help against stronger peoples
16 Nomad mystic monks camp here patroling ruins and watching for evil cults seeking ancient forbidden magic. Adventurers may notice some good-condition ruins here 
17 Nomad cultists camp on the move as always persecuted. Secretive and paranoid and always need victims to d4 1=eat 2=sacrifice 3=torture 4=enslave
18 Nomad herders camp from the local kingdom, friendly and willing to trade. They will call on their king if bothered for help
19 Nomad merchant camp with exotic trade items d4 1=lapis stone 2=flint 3=copper 4=gold
20 Spies of a foreign power disguised as nomads to spy on people and make maps
21 A rocky hill cave is the lair of a family of manticores
22 A tall pointy hill has a griffon cave on the peak and horses in the region are rare
23 A rocky cliff has a ledge where peryton nest
24 A gargantuan roc nests in a rocky peak here and elephants roam the rich pastures here
25 A dragon has a cave lair here full of ancient treasure
26 Catacombs here a sprawling labyrinthine tomb attract minotaurs to the area
27 A herd of brass cattle live here and trample intruders they do not approve of or who covet their calves. The biggest breath fire and the herd each night sleep in a volcanic cave when called by a beautiful singing voice
28 A desert hydra crawls under the sand to ambush people and has a secret cave of treasure
29 Chimera hybrid monster placed by the gods here terrorised travellers and animals
30 Mutant creatures lurk here with weird hybrid features and extra tentacles
31 Old tent-dwelling sorcerer is a sage and diviner who has regular visitors despite the evil humanoids and monsters around her home
32 Stone hut where a monk of a now lost order sits and is fed up with the world
33 Elderly mad old priest offers to cure all ills by trepanation and they have surgical tools they used on themself nearby
34 Old hermit with animal friends who lives in a cave and does not want to teach anyone their secret mystical doctrines
35 A petty god bound here by standing stones needs helkp to escape
36 A sage working on a mystical doctrine is frequently tested by monstrous animals and demons
37 An ancient mendicant sits on a stone in a trance and does not want to talk, animals leave them alone. Old hermit was a court official thought dead who prefers hiding out with animals
38 Priest of nature cult lives here using magic to aid animals and make creatures to drive humans away 
39 Tower where a lone cranky wizard lives. There is no door and petty chores are done by invisible spirits
40 Madman in the cave has written a blasphemous demonology doctrine on tablets and evil pilgrims visit and try to impress the madman with acts of sacrifice and torture. If the book gets out demonology will become more common
41 Lamia lairs in a ruined temple with her charmed thralls here, she pretends to be a benevolent sphynx by day
42 Lonley ruin of wizards palace haunted by succubi and demons by night
43 Ruin guarded by golems that patrol the area and repair damage
44 Ruin where lurks a sphynx who often demands adventurers must answer a riddle for permission to loot the ruins or might trade other knowledge for gems
45 Ruined snake temple around oasis crawling with snakes ruled by a naga
46 Ruined poisonous wasteland full of statues and some seem not that old. It's a complete mystery d4 1=basilisk 2=medusoid 3=gorgon 4=cockatrice 
47 Ruins here are searched by humans and other hidden folk seeking a djinn bottle lost here and may grant wishes. In reality, all kinds of dinn kin spirits live in an intact palace below and humans are not welcome 
48 Ruined necropolis where ghouls dwell, some are more powerful rulers and others are shape-shifting spirits who can turn humans temporarily. Some ghoul god did something here long ago causing all this, perhaps answers in the catacombs
49 Crumbling monumental mausoleum or pyramid home of a powerful undead mastermind with minions in the area and even a secret village or nomad camp. Claims to have ruled the area long ago and wants to get it all back
50 Ruins of a city of a pre-human race that enslaved the region with black magic long ago. Sleeping horrors and traps are within. Occasionally adventurers awaken some elder horror
51 Secret village of scorpion-centaur folk serving their king
52 Secret village of horrible abhuman beast folk who prey on humankind d6 1=hyena folk 2=snake folk 3=jackal folk 4=goat folk 5=lion folk 6=lizard folk
53 Secret village of abhuman beast folk who prefer to remain secret and often dispose of snooping trouble makers d6 1=monkey or baboon folk 2=onager folk 3=
54 Secret village of changeling spirit folk who pretend to be human, maybe mixed types or just one clan d6 1=vegetation spirits 2=elemental spirits 3=animal spirits 4=undead spirits 5=demons or devils 6=angels or arkons
55 Secret village of desert demihumans usually under the sands or may occupy ruins or have a nomad camp. Humans fail to track or catch them and often get killed trying, Many set traps and cultivate animal friends d4 1=dwarf 2=elf 3=halfling 4=gnomes
56 Nomadic humanoids have a secret underground ruin home kingdom here d4 1=kobolds 2=goblinoids 3=cyclops orcs 4=recently created orcs made and ruled by a wizard 
57 Village of djinn folk in disguise who avoid showing powers and living humble lives and dream of being human. At some point, they will reveal their true form and have to kill everyone who sees them
58 A camp of demon bounty hunters seeking people cheating hell. Devils don't want to get their hands dirty so hire these guys. They have a few prisoners in bone cages and have warrants from underworld gatekeepers 
59 A sylvan glade where a dryad or nymph and her pets and lovers dwell
60 Village of shapeshifting dragons living humble lives with treasures in underground caves, Some of the people here are charmed and kept as pets
61 Giant bugs and lizards thrive especially in the caves underground, at night many come out to hunt
62 Scorpions of all sizes swarm here from merely hand size to wagon size 
63 Giant burrowing predators dwell in the sands of this area including d4 1=sand squid 2=land sharks 3=sand worms 4=giant ant lion or other insectoid. Remains of dead litter their tunnels
64 Vast insect swarms commanded by demon insects lurk here guarding some secret treasure, usually famine locusts or plague flies 
65 Swamp crawling with giant amphibians with a ruined temple on an island
66 Giant sand snakes swarm here around strange ruins of serpant folk
67 Giant trapdoor spiders are common here with hidden burrow enterances
68 Giant ants and antlions common in sand here with many great anthill mounds
69 Giant flies here drape corpses in trees and rocks and used to feed giant maggots
70 Giant scarab beetles make nice roads they roll their giant dung balls on sometimes crushing people 
71 Sea of fine dust difficult for normal travel, local hidden folk or some cult might know how to cross without drowning or being eaten by sand monsters
72 Sand elementals roam here smothering and dehydrating wanderers. They say a wizard or hidden people use the elementals and perhaps there is treasure and owners are long dead
73 Dust clouds here make travel harsh and guards an ancient library tended by spirit folk and a minor deity
74 Dust clouds here seem to form gigantic figures enacting mythis battles in the sky. A shrine records and oserves this and pilgrims visit
75 Mumified animals swarm here from under sand guarding an ancient ruins d4 1=cat 2=jackal 3=crocodiles 4=bulls 5=ibis 6=lion
76 Glass plain from some magical battle long ago melting sand into this magical area - travel on glass is dangerous but some hidden people know the lost art.  Perhaps there is some secret in the centre
77 Slumbering dunes where dreams and illusions manifest to torment people who try and avoid the place. People here often lured from friends with mirages of treasure and atractive lovers. Any sleeping here feel strangers fumbling in their dreams and memories. A gate to the dreamlands is buried here and used to evacuate local ruins here
78 Coloured sands tainted with other minerals that atract alchemists and strange creatures. Very atractive to see from afar
79 Sands here mixed with those of hell and move and shift, radiating evil and smothering travellers. The sands protect a gate to hell currently closed
80 A shortcut where people crossing report it takes no time to cross and there is nothing to see. Some forbidden zone in the middle teleports travellers through the area
81 Inhuman ruin in a harsh desert inside are reptilian mummies and sealed underground vaults
82 Strange conical buildings with ramps where some prehuman molusk race observed the stars for when the stars were right. Underneath are caves and strange magic crystaline machines and strange stone tablets
83 Under a great sphynx and necropolis are great caves where undead toil building new monuments for mummy master
84 Ancient wells with stone lids are common here, most are empty. Some of those intact hold demons of the outer void who came to destroy the world and were imprisoned. One by one they lids were opened and demons killed over thousands of years. The cult are struggling to open one afain and may recruit adventurers. The will lie and claim treasure is inside but such magic is alien anf always makes you pay
85 A great stone monument or artificial hill has been built on the remails of a slain evil avatar of a god of darkness. An arkon in human form lives here to watch for trouble
86 Ruined fortress but seems to be built inside out to contain something inside. If great wall passed a great pit inside drops into a enormous sinkhole into a underground kingdom of necromancers built around a dead evil god
87 Great cliff carvings of prehuman evil races with human slaves and several pre human languages scholars and cultists would like. All kinds of weirdos are attracted to this monument 
88 Huge stone monoliths aranged around region with binding symbols carved into them. Inside the area malignant spirit beings are trapped and cannot become physichal. This prison has held but sometimes someone is offered treasure and power to attack the wards and eventually they will fail 
89 A darkness godess was buried here and is several miles wide. Occasionaly parts wake up ad erupt as tentacles or monsterous dog heads. Insider her live a cult who guard a relic meant to be released at the chosen time to reseas another horrible old god 
90 Once area had water ways and canals and was conquered by fish people. Ruined streets have their script, idols and artwork, Sone say remnants may live in the old cisterns and sewers
91 Swarming with monster minions of the underworld god like hell hounds, giant snakes, fire salamanders, daemons and undead 
92 Swarming with mutated creatures spawned by a prehuman chaos cult ruin. An idiotic god is trapped in a slime filled chasm spawning creatures
93 A heavenly dragon watches the area
94 A gigantic golem stomps around here crushing intruders who seek to rob the treasure vaults of a god here. It seems to have rooms inside
95 A flaming chasm full of fire or acid torments a chained d4 1=titan 2=giant deity 3=elemental noble 4=demon that will offer rewards to any who free it to start the apocalypse and free others of its kind and open the gates of hell. You will be taken care of be assured
96 Border stones where ancient city states contested long ago. Some pushed over and broken. They aloso act as shrines for the city state cults. By night ancient undead awaken in theoir old armies to refight battles and move the stones. The gods watch this battle and play forces like chess
97 A splendid tample hidden by illusions and mirages where beast spirit folk and abhumans tend the god when they visit this secluded place. Unwanted visitors mostly are turned into animals or stone
98 An elemental node here is a danger to travel and produces monsters d4 1=earth node a huge moving sinkhole in the sand 2=air node a fierce sandstorm that flenses flesh from bones 3=fire node in a volcanic vents, or burning pits of gas surrounded by calcium, sulpher and nitrite mineral springs and boiling mud. Area stinks and has smoke clouds 4=water node is a beautiful spring where nymphs and faerie play and sometimes a godess bathes here as it has restorative powers
99 Miserable old god in ruined temple now petty in power wants death and tells adventurers how for knowledge or treasure. Other gods will warn those interested that even a petty god is not for mortals to kill
100 A great ruin here of a zigurat built as a gateway to heaven and destroyed when the king angered the gods and doomed the city here to waste. By night cursed citizens arise and are desperate for som wine or food but flesh and blood will do. A secret invisible staircase will take you to the outer gate of heaven meet the arcadian fields and sylvan woods. Two minor gods watch this gate and will warn users and might offer useful advice if recognised in these avatars and respected   

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