Details #15-21 (Depthcrawl24)
Here's the third week of details for my depthcrawl project, Xeric Sands. This week got a bit challenging. Hopefully I don't run out of ideas for details... But I know I got it.
You can read the second week here.
15. Radiant
Albedo is so high during the day in this area that it becomes difficult to occupy it without shielding the eyes, and even harder to move through.
Wanderers are always surprised during encounters, unless otherwise equipped or adapted to deal with the blinding terrain. Similarly, attacks are impaired.
16. Sparsely Vegetated
Small tufts of dry grass dot the landscape, securing dunes and providing shelter for small critters. Any groundwater below is insufficient for wanderers, however.
17. Howling
A howling, wailing, or trumpeting noise rings out across the landscape at a frequent rate. Attempting to trace the noise is (likely) futile; attempts to sleep in the area equally so.
18. Rainbow
The grains of sand are smooth bits of colored glass, like broken bottles beaten by the sea.
19. Guardians
Massive statues carved from turquoise stone are scattered about the area. They were once animate. Most lay in pieces, but there is a 1-in-6 chance an area has an intact guardian standing over it.
In total, an area's worth of turquoise chunks might be valued at hundreds of gold*, but transportation is a challenge; expect 1d6 g per inventory slot. An intact guardian is priceless to an arcanist.
* or a lot more if not using Into the Odd
20. Iron Discs
Massive, thick, iron discs are wedged in the terrain, as though they dropped like coins from the sky. They are etched with intricate patterns.
21. Circular
Strange geographies of this area get wanderers all turned around. There really is no "Deeper" here; somehow, you trek in circles until you Go Back one level, to a new location.
This also means there are two weeks left before I add to the PDF on Itch and increase the price! I'm planning to increase the price to $8, but we'll see how challenging the next two weeks are lol.