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Message: <blockquote data-quote="El Mahdi" data-source="post: 4646548" data-attributes="member: 59506">All your descriptions were good, and you are absolutely correct about deserts not just being sandy, however the above statement isn't correct.  The defining issue of deserts is the lack of precipitation, not the lack of moisture upon the surface.  Along with the aforementioned rivers, deserts can have alkaline/salt lakes, which although not able to support much (if any) life, would still be considered "moisture upon the surface".  Technically, Antarctica has one of the largest (if not the largest) desert region on the planet.  And that's with up to 1 mile of frozen "moisture" covering the surface.  The layer of ice and snow just doesn't melt due to the constant freezing temperatures, even though these regions get maybe only an inch or two of precipitation per year (or less).  Personally, I feel that a better defining factor is how much water is available for living organisms, rather than the amount of precipitation.  But the above is the official defining factor. Also, not all deserts are hot.  There are temperate deserts, cold deserts (Antarctica), and high altitude deserts (which can be both hot or cold, or hot and cold).  The need for increased water is definitely a necessity in any desert, and heat can increase that need even more, but the need for increased water is based more on the aridness of the region than the heat.  Increased water intake is just as important in a temperate or cold desert as in a hot desert, and the amount of water intake required is fairly consistent whether cold, temperate or hot. Also, as I believe someone made mention of earlier, salt is just as important as water (although usually easy to find in a desert - except for Antarctica, although there is a frozen Antarctic salt lake in a barren, snowless, rocky canyon).  In this context, salt is more than just sodium chloride.  Natural unrefined salt - such as salt licks, sea/lake salt, and salt purposely harvested from evaporating water - also contains potassium, magnesium, calcium, and other trace elements - all things required by the body for electrolyte balance and blood pressure/fluid level control.  Extreme water intake, without enough electrolyte intake, can kill just as easily as dehydration (resulting in seizures, coma, and heart failure).  Also, sudden changes in salt intake (whether sudden increase or decrease) can cause dangerous electrolyte imbalances or blood pressure drops/spikes. But, despite the harshness of the environment, I would think your "Fremen" (if they are anything like Herbert's) would have evolved and adapted to a certain extent.  That would mean that their bodies may work more efficiently, especially in how much water they give up for perspiration and evacuation (you know - "going to the bathroom"<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f631.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":o" title="Eek!    :o"  data-smilie="9"data-shortname=":o" />), making them require decreased intake of both, and more effiecient at maintaining homeostasis. Another factor to remember about deserts is differential temperature between night and day.  Hot deserts are exactly that, very hot.  But even a hot desert's temperature can fall significantly at night, especially high altitude deserts.  I've spent time in Afghanistan when the temperature was 110°+F in the day, and then dropped to 50°F within an hour or two of the sun going down.  Even though 50° isn't necessarily cold, your environment just changed 60° in a matter of an hour or two.  When you are used to very high temperatures, hypothermia is possible during night time temperatures.  From first hand experience, I can tell you that after a 110° day, a 50° night is coooooooollllllldddd!  There are quite a few high altitude desert regions in the United States that are also like this.   I'd like to add though, I also, really like your campaign setting.  I'm subscribing this thread so I can have it later for reference.  Good stuff.  Keep us updated on how it goes and what ideas you end up using in your games.<img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/glasses.png"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt="B-)" title="Glasses    B-)" data-shortname="B-)" /> </blockquote>

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