How to take-on the desert

[Balor01]

PCs in my campaign are lvl 5 and I had quite a few occurrences, when they got lost and starved in a desert/forest/caves ...

So this time they will actually talk to someone who knows lay of the land (ranger) and take with them all appropriate camels, tents, a guide (mentioned ranger, etc ...)
Here is my main question: Expenses!

Now we are not talking about dirt-cheap stats from PHB/DMG, but an amount somebody sane would charge for his assistance in a desert. Also, if I missed something regarding equipment, please remind me.

So far I have:

PCs will get a camel each + 1 camel to carry tents, extra water, etc.
They will get their guide on a war camel (advanced camel) with additional camel for his stuff.

Most monsters in the desert are CR 6. What level should ranger be to be reasonable for him to be able to get around in such desert? (I was thinking lvl 8)

What could present expences: renting 4 camels for PCs + 1 for equiptment, renting guide with his war camel + camel for his stuff.

How much do you think would that cost? And did I forget anything regarding what would be good to take into the desert?

[JadePhoenix]

First of all - do you have Sandstorm? That could help.
Each dromedary should cost 75gp, according to Sandstorm.
A level 8 warrior mercenary costs 16sp a day, according to Arms & Equipment Guide. 16gp a day for a Ranger as a guide looks fine. But that is if he is a guide and a guide only - otherwise, aside from his pay, he should get a fair of the loot. Since he is risking his own equipment, let's make it double. 32gp a day.
Since he is a desert-based Ranger, I would make him a race that gets fire resistance. A level of Horizon Walker never hurts, as well. So, a tiefling Ranger 7/Horizon Walker 1 is what I suggest (just to keep it simple).
And... that's it. So we're at 375gp base cost and 32gp a day for the Ranger.

[Daftendirekt]

We discovered a while ago that if you have a cleric in your party, deserts are boringly easy. Endure Elements and Create Water. Bam. 80% of the problem solved.

[JadePhoenix]

We discovered a while ago that if you have a cleric in your party, deserts are boringly easy. Endure Elements and Create Water. Bam. 80% of the problem solved.
Until your cleric is killed in an ambush... or someone targets you with dispel magic. ^^
Even buying wands ends up more expensive than simply buying water, camels and a guide. Also, if you invest your resources this way, your cleric gets to keep his first level spells for actual combat (this guys are only level 6, afer all).
But, yeah, magic makes it easier. It always does.

[Zale]

Potions of Endure Elements then? One standard action in the morning and you can go dancing through the sand without getting a sunburn.

[JadePhoenix]

Potions of Endure Elements then? One standard action in the morning and you can go dancing through the sand without getting a sunburn.

That's 50gp a pop. It gets really expensive. A guide is cheaper, and you can pay him later.

[Alefiend]

Since he is a desert-based Ranger, I would make him a race that gets fire resistance.

I can't argue with you on mechanics, since of course it makes the job much easier and more comfortable for him/her. But I don't see a need for this fluffwise. A ranger or scout who is adept at desert survival shouldn't need fire resistance, but a guide who naturally resists the main danger of the desert is not going to have a very good feel for the capabilities and endurance of the party. Indifference to desert heat will get the ranger's employers a quick case of heatstroke and some 2nd degree burns to go with it.

If this is something the OP wants to use for fleshing out the guide's personality and behavior, though, I'm all for it.

[deuxhero]

What a waste. Wands are cheeper for daily use, and with a ranger guide, you have someone with the spell on his list.

[Daftendirekt]

Until your cleric is killed in an ambush... or someone targets you with dispel magic. ^^
Even buying wands ends up more expensive than simply buying water, camels and a guide. Also, if you invest your resources this way, your cleric gets to keep his first level spells for actual combat (this guys are only level 6, afer all).
But, yeah, magic makes it easier. It always does.

Yeah, we were 12th level when we went to that desert. The cleric casting a couple orisons and a few 1st level spells was nothing. I think we had one other caster that could do Endure Elements as well, so between the two of them the whole party was covered.

[MukkTB]

Create Water and Goodberry. Travel at night to not get sunburned. Have everyone agree that spellcasters make traveling through harsh climates boring.

A handful of spellcasters could survive on a derelict space station with no functioning life support system.

[Talionis]

A handful of spellcasters could survive on a derelict space station with no functioning life support system.

I agree with this, but the desert can still be a challenge. Do things to separate the party. Dealing with the desert conditions is also depleting some of their resources, at low levels this can be an issue.

But I would agree as you get higher in level, it becomes much more challenging for the DM to do anything with the environment that spellcasters can't actually make work for them. Just don't forget things like slipsand, and if the party becomes separated or can't see in a sandstorm, you can still make some challenges that at the least will deplete the resources of the party a little more quickly.

[MukkTB]

I looked up goodberry and found that I'm wrong. It does require a physical berry to start with. I think I now need to make an urban arcana style adventure where the characters are cultists on a space station right before everything goes wrong.