Desert Death

[Thumperganker]

Alright so there is all kinds of death that can be found in the desert wastes besides monsters. I'm looking for the best of what can kill players , monsters or otherwise. Of course ignore the obvious, heat, run out of food/water stuff. Thanks for any help you guys give

[Flickerdart]

Blue Dragons live in desert environments, can burrow and have a power that spoils water. A crafty Blue Dragon can harass a party with that power for quite a while before finally emerging to kick them around.

[Kelb_Panthera]

Sandstorm has everthing you could think of on this subject, and a few things that'd probably never occur to you.

For example; magical mirages that turn you into a faerie bound to them (I can't remember whether it turns you into an outsider or a fey so: faerie,) "Extra-quick" sand that drops you straight to the bottom of the pit with no ability to swim in it and no water involved, necromantic sand that slowly drains the life out of anyone that lingers on it too long, magical wind that can shred the flesh from your bones in moments, just to name a few.

[prufock]

- scorpions, spiders, and other bitey things (attracted to your fire and like to sleep in your boots)
- snakes (they love to curl up next to or even in your bedroll you while you're sleeping)
- wind (draws the water out of you via convection, blows sand in your eyes)
- sandstorms
- contaminated water (disease or minerals)
- sunburn
- eye strain
- mirages
- temperature drop at night
- skin irritation and chafing
- heatstroke and heat exhaustion
- foot maladies from being in your boots at 50 degrees all day
- heat cramps in your limbs
- sand pits (areas dug out by animals/monsters that collapse when you walk on them)

[Cirrylius]

Extreme isolation has its own problems, especially in an area as devoid of resources as the desert. Food and water are the most obvious examples, but anything that causes slow, slight, but irreversible damage can go from annoying to lethal with no "home base" or support network. Potions, charged or single-use magic items, and alchemical items run out. Very slow (but resistant) poisons or diseases gradually nibble away at stats. No local church means your cleric has to decide eventually whether to provide comestibles or healing. beasts of burden become an especially valuable resource.

[kitcik]

Watch The Mummy movies...

[Gwendol]

Formians. They're nasty.
Blue dragons, as noted.
All kind of vermins, especially scorpions and scarabs.
Pyramids, temples, graves, containing lost treasure, guardians, and traps.
Dune-like sand worms

[CTrees]

Getting lost.

Seriously, especially in a typical "endless dunes" type setting, theres a reasonable chance of many parties eventually failing a check to avoid it.

[Agent 451]

Hypothermia. It's kind of poetic, really.

[DarkEternal]

I remember my entire party was once practically killed by a sand golem(had no casters). It suffocates you real good, real quick.

[Gavinfoxx]

Getting lost.

Seriously, especially in a typical "endless dunes" type setting, theres a reasonable chance of many parties eventually failing a check to avoid it.

Unless they, you know. Take 10. In which case they will never fail a check if they can make it at all, unless the check DC changes for some reason, which should be obvious...

[Kuulvheysoon]

Unless they, you know. Take 10. In which case they will never fail a check if they can make it at all, unless the check DC changes for some reason, which should be obvious...

Let's see.... looking in Sandstorm here, it's a +4 if there's a heat shimmer in the air, as well as being defined as 'trackless' (+2 each). Easy enough to toss on Mirages (another +4). So along with the base Survival DC of 12, that gives... a 20. So unless you have a ranger/Survival person with you, it's entirely possible to get lost. Toss in a dust/sandstorm (+4/+6) if really necessary.

[Eugenides]

Unless they, you know. Take 10. In which case they will never fail a check if they can make it at all, unless the check DC changes for some reason, which should be obvious...

Uh.. as I understand it the DC does change based on terrain/visibility. So then the check doesn't become an auto-success with taking 10, and you can't take 20.

[Kelb_Panthera]

Uh.. as I understand it the DC does change based on terrain/visibility. So then the check doesn't become an auto-success with taking 10, and you can't take 20.

The skill description says that retries V getting lost are dissallowed if you're lost due to a specific circumstance.

If you're just lost in the more general sense you may be able to take 20 if you don't mind being automatically lost for 20 hours, depending on your DM.