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Message: <blockquote data-quote="HeavenShallBurn" data-source="post: 2896457" data-attributes="member: 39593">Depends on conditions, but a LONG wayBased on your description of flat desert be prepared to find ways around giving the party a line of sight.  Exactly how far depends on conditions in the air and how broken the ground is, how much scree or rock and the background contrast.  But in a flattish rocky desert you can spot a man walking from a mile or more easily, never more than about four or five unless you have elevation on them.  From the back of a wagon, I'd say about the same as a truck which can stretch to maybe five or six under the right conditions with a little height advantage(even a few feet can make a difference).  In the air?  Expect to see that griffon, dragon, etc, from ten or fifteen miles.  Movement really stands out against a clear desert sky.  And even at night remember light discipline if you're going this route.  the light from a single match or cigarette can be spotted at three or four miles if there aren't any other artificial lights to hide it.  Campfires are like signal beacons visible for miles.  Sounds can carry a long way in the desert too, but it can be hard to tell exactly which direction they're coming from and echoes can distort things a long way away.  In dune conditions the sound of blowing sand(there's always a wind in the desert it seems like) can mask other noises and wear at your nerves.  In rockier places the smaller rocks are always shifting as wind and heat work on them.  There are little background sounds of rocks shifting and things you can't quite describe from the terrain itself.Edit: Mechanically I'd expect to find these in the Sandstorm book since it dealt with desert conditions, but I've only skimmed it.  Should have realized you wanted game mechanics rather than RL</blockquote>

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