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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Emirikol" data-source="post: 3110356" data-attributes="member: 10638">Cool, that gives you a lot more to work with.  THis is a lot easier when you have more than just a 'desert.'  Don't think that arabic/egyptian can only occur in a desert.  That will give you a lot more options for your encounters.  Get yourself a little map going too if you can and write down some names that 'sound' foreign and that will also help you come up with encounters.Next, start with the basics and a little background.  It will feel more like a WORLD if you don't just use monsters but actually have HUMAN things going on around them:1.  Have two groups of nomads (all nomads are raiders in some form) in the desert.  Example:  Kozaki and Hussari.   Each one needs a name for their chief.  Example:  Fyadh and Dajid2.  You have your blue dragon and the Jann.  They need an alliance and an enemy.3.  Who is the Pasha (king) of the land?   How is he related to the religions of the land?  ISMET OF THE BLUE-DRAGON.  <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasha" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasha</a>4.  What are the top 4 normal animals  (so players can know normal from ABnormal):  Camels, snakes, lizards, and a killer plant/cactus that rolls on the ground (watch the anticipation for this one when the wind blows)5.  Put 1-2 REALLY NASTY creatures out there (Sand-turtle-dragon, the maybe even list the blue dragon) and tell the PC's exactly where they are (use a map and have giant 'x's out there).  This will cause them angst and tell them where NOT to go.6.  Caravan trips traditionally make for boring parts of adventures, but they are a great place to pick up rumors.Now, onto the encounters:a)  Site based - that's what your map is for.  Site based is nice because you can hand out a map and the PC's can see several 'locations' for which to search for the flower.b)  Wandering monster - The open desert typically isn't good for anything other than fly-by monsters.  Pterydactl's that live on rocks in the distance, etc. c)  Searching monster -  Have the monsters track the PC's instead of the typical "oops, some wandering monsters appear..."  ANy kind of large meat-eating beastie is nice here.d)  Environmental hazards - HEAT, HEAT, HEAT.  Make it clear exactly what armor does.  BTW, we house ruled that leather armor or shield are not subject to heat and remind the players of feats that are useful for this sort of thing.e)  Skill checks - Let the PC's use their skills here.  Survival, track, profession, etc.  After several canyoneering trips to Utah, I learned all kinds of fun new things about narrow slot canyons (squeeze, climb, rapel, balance, water in the bottoms of canyons/caves), walking through sand needs to have a fighting penalty to unstable ground,etc.f)  Watering holes are COMMON PLACES FOR ALL MONSTERS btw.  Everythign needs water and just like in Africa, you get a little bit of everything there at night.If you want to break the mold look in your monster manuals and old Dragon magazines and pull out monsters that otherwise wouldn't be there (for example Yeti with less hair can be used to guard oases; oil-creatures can replace water-creatures; things that climb can be in rock formations instead of trees, and don't forget the effect of scrub-brush, sagebrush, and cacti on concealment.  Not every desert is the sahara.)  How about Xorns that eat variations of colored salt minerals in dry lakebeds?So, ifyou needed 5 encounters:1.  A place to gather rumors while with a caravan2.  Pterydactls hunting for food for their babies3.  they have to cross a  nasty canyon and while doing so are beset upon by kozaki Raiders with bows, spells, invisibility cover and concealment4.  A nearby salt lake is guarded by desert xorns5.  A yeti in a turban is demanding food payment by travellers who visit his oasis.6.  Destroyed settlement by raiders burns off in the distance.  The tracks head towards the bluedragon on the map.7.  Bone-battlefield (an idea stolen from Mesopotamia by Morten Braaten..Swords & Sorcery company).Try to make your encounters 'fit.'  The desert is linked by caravan routes..outside of those is a dangerous world seeming worse by rumors from superstitous folk.jh...</blockquote>

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