Desert location ideas

[Ttttttt]

Hello,

Like the title says please but any ideas of any kind for locations that would be in a desert.
This can be just a name, an interesting idea, or even a seed of something larger.

Thanks!

[GentlemanVoodoo]

Well depends on your desert type. If you are wanting something like the Sahara (a large sandbox) then it would be a good idea to have oasis in them. Though locations like the Sierra Nevada range and other badland types are technically deserts given they lack regular rainfall and little in terms of fresh water sources. Perhaps underground caverns could be a good feature given these types of regions are composed on hills and canyons.

In terms of interesting ideas, the classic one is ruins of some ancient civilization like Egypt exist thus a good set up for exploration if dungeon delving is what your after. Though you could also take the idea as seen from Mad Max: Fury Road, in that a group of people are trying to escape some evil person and have to cross a desert region to get to a safe location. This is also the same thing with the Jewish Exodus story from the Bible you could use if wanting more divine influences for what ever your setting up.

Other examples as well you could reference are Native Americans (such as the Pueblo people) or individuals that inhabit other badland locations in Central Asia for local denizens. Like wise importance of a desert region can be alluded to something like one of the Silk Road paths which did go through some of China's deserts.

But without knowing some more details of what you are needing these are just random ideas. Is there anything specific you are requesting info for?

[Bobthewizard]

Pyramids
Ancient Ruins
Scavenger goblins/halflings/kobolds
Wild Aarakocra
Thri-Kreen
Ankheg
Bullet
Purple Worm
Sphinx
Blue/Brass dragon
Blue/Brass dragon sorcerer
Shadow sorcerer
Nightwalker
Shadows/Spectres
Lich kings
Mummies
Elementals
Mephits
Fiends
Shadows
Genie
Wizard hermit

[Stangler]

I like to start with the real world for inspiration. There are often some really cool natural wonders like the Eye of the Sahara or grand canyon, Delicate Arch, the Dead Sea, Mount Sinai and more.

There are also things like Petra which is awesome. Deserts are also often used as trade routes so you can use that for inspiration. Deserts can also have mineral deposits in weird places so there can be hidden mines and stuff like that. Things hidden beneath the surface is definitely a theme worth exploring.

[Nidgit]

A couple ecological ideas:
A maze of slot canyons
Giant underground caverns
Sky islands (isolated mountain/butte with vastly different biodiversity at the top)
Gullies with flash floods
Shifting sand formations
And oases, naturally

Depends on what kind of desert you're thinking of, if it's sand dunes like the Sahara or Gobi Deserts or more dry scrubland like the American southwest or Australian outback.

[Naanomi]

Giant skeleton of something, inhabited by scorpionfolk or ghouls or something

Isolationistic Desert druids protecting their grove

A caravan looking for help but is really lycanthropes/ghosts/something

An oasis that is really a mimic

Mirages made by illusionists or desert fey

[Unoriginal]

Hello,

Like the title says please but any ideas of any kind for locations that would be in a desert.
This can be just a name, an interesting idea, or even a seed of something larger.

Thanks!

A large tavern carried on the back of an enormous animal, like a desert toad or a thorny devil lizard.

[Sorinth]

I once had a ruined tower at the bottom of an oasis. Beyond a few monsters to fight there was a malfunctioning Decanter of Endless Water that just continuously pouring out water which over many years created the oasis. The players could take the item and it mostly worked as normal item but if they did it would cause the oasis to fall apart, and since the oasis was now a stopping spot for trade routes there were big implications down the line if they chose to keep the decanter.

Jackalweres are always a fun enemy to use, especially since they often lead to Lamias who make great story villains. Combat wise you always need to surround them with allies to make them interesting.

[Catullus64]

Station 15
Once there was a well-maintained highway which traversed the edge of the desert, with handsome caravanserais every eight leagues. Problem was, over the generations, the edge of the desert grew, overtaking the road and putting long stretches into disuse. Though officially still an imperial outpost, the fifteenth station is now a haven for bandits, smugglers, and exiles, while more reputable travelers take the New Road further towards the coast.

The Spring of Want
A legend spoken of by the wandering folk of the desert's edge; it appears in divers places to desperate travelers on the sands, beckoning with water, shade, and fruits, but those who partake are cursed to remain there. The true danger behind the legend is equally strange: the spring lies upon the back of a great sand-tunneling predator, which has stored the waters and cultivated the oasis plants to grow upon its back.

The Weirding Groves
Atop a lonely mesa which rises above the dunes, there grow strange plants that are found nowhere in the world. These pale trees have no leaves, and their stalks are brittle and hard like crystal. When the wind is high, they give a sound like a thousand chimes. The lizard-men know the secret arts of divining the will of the gods from these eerie noises; for a great price they may share something of what they know. One who spends too long in the groves without their ritual precautions may be driven mad by the whispers on the wind.

[Imbalance]

Cactus ents
A false sun that swoops in to attack
Sinking sand
Sand spouts
Sand storms
Extreme temperatures
A flash flood followed by a day of rapid-growth flora and an explosion of insect life before it all rots away to dust again by the winds of the third day
Something entirely out of place, such as an intact submarine
- it was towed away from an oasis so that the fuel would stop tainting the water
-- the oasis pool is actually part of a flooded cave network
--- one of the cave tunnels has a set of enormous pressure doors, an underground lock system for ferrying to the Underdark
---- the other tunnel ends in a stable portal to the elemental plane of water
----- the sub bears signs that it has traveled the cave system extensively. Strangely, the only cargo on board is three bundles of common pillows and a box filled with numerous copies of a book on the mortuary practices of a floating island nation
A steep canyon cut by a glossy stream with a high bridge crossing, but the current seems to be still. Directly below the bridge are large, jagged shards of broken glass, stained, revealing the composition of the flow and the apparent fate of those who previously trusted the structure.
Ruins with pictographs that seem to move