The Colossal Wastes of Zhaar

Large old dormant volcano, there is a cave (dungeon) that leads deep into it and at the bottom of it their is a wizard who is trying to tap into the volcano for power, and his lava abomination minions.

City of NAS AKHU KHAN SHE EN ASBIN Built around the skull-faced sphinx of Temple of the Red Sun, occupied by the Rusted Lich, his 20,000 githyanki and the Maidens Of The Powerslave.

The SALT HILLS OF ZUHN are frequented by the slave gangs of the Mughali Salt Merchants and home to wandering bands of dust ghouls. Caves here often hold fresh water pools and bizarre crystal formations.

Nestled among the mountain tops here is the BLACK MONASTERY. Training grounds for the Hallowed Slayers of the Assassin God.

The brave and desperate mine for rare pieces of high quality obsidian in this igneous rock field infamous for swallowing men whole. Rumor has it there is a stable yet circuitous path through to Hex 0104;. Beware of the fire-o-manders.

At the approximate center of this hex is a giant desiccated cactus with several bodies lying around it. If the bodies are disturbed in any way a swarm of These things emerge from the cactus: http://www.camelspiders.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/Camel_Spider.jpg

Ancient ruins arranged in a circle, moving to the center will teleport would be archaeologists north to Hex 0106. Cultists obsessed with repetition and double-ups lurk about the dunes and constantly pilgrimage from Hex 0106 to Hex 0107 and back again through the portal.

A dozen Jackal-men carrying the Eye of Nagrah Saar to the SALT HILLS OF ZUHN in Hex 0103 . Three are wizards, all carry khopesh swords.

Half submerged in a sand dune are the large obsidian doors that open into the ruined subterranean city of CHICOMECOATL, at one time the Eastern capital of the long dead Snake-men.

Caravan of Serpent-men traders. They sell potions made from their venom.

A band of Suji Loo nomads have anchored their wind canoes here and made camp, while they observe a week of holy obligation.

Fresh water. Wild dogs.

A slave filled pleasure house sits nestled between the dunes here waiting to fulfill weary travelers every desire. The slavers only take the rare spice Alu'eku as payment.

Shining Trapezohedron of Nephren-Ka lies buried in the cruel sands. Through it can be see new worlds, stars, wonders, vast lands beyond the sea.

Kobolds (84 warriors, 51 noncombatants) live in the badlands here. Their leader is a huge burly mutant (stats as gnoll) in plate with a thirsty magic battleaxe - it does an extra 2 points of damage whenever it hits anything with blood.

A group of bandits led by Aslal Horse-Eater live in these hills. They have a prisoner, a Jakalman, rail thin, covered in mange and raving about visions from the Carrion God in Hex 0118

A lone adventurer, raving mad, attempts to flee the desert wastes to the North East. He knows the secret of Hex 0412, but is not lucid enough to share it.

THE JACKAL'S TOOTH An extremely tall, treacherous mountain riddled with tunnels and caves. It is said to be home to JYAN AL-FAR Jackal-Headed God of Carrion.

Scorpion-men guarding the TEMPLE OF THE CRAWLING DEAD. At its apex, corpses lay charred by emerald flame.

A small group of young people, fleeing the TEMPLE OF THE CRAWLING DEAD in Hex 0119. They are starving and frightened, quite eager to get back to their homes.

A Githzerayian sky barge wrecked in a rocky sand dune is now the lair of Dire sand moles. The sky barge came form a great city found in Hex 0811

The Great Fungi City of PSILOCYBEA Ruled by Shaman-priests who can see through the veil of time with mushroom induced trances. They wage a guerrilla war with the City of NAS AKHU KHAN SHE EN ASBIN in Hex 0102 using suicidal deadly spore carrying spies.

Mountains with twisting footpaths and sheer cliffs. The inhabitants of Hexes 0102, 0103, 0104, 0202 patrol for outsiders here, and have elaborate protocols for when they encounter each other. Some find their way from here to SYRINX in Hex 0205 without ever entering the mines in 0204.

The great strip mines that litter this region provide the rock needed to construct the numerous temples of SYRINX to the South.

SYRINX (City) The wailing, banshee-like priests of the great temples seem to provide all their subjects could desire but forbid all forms of entertainment, magic, or ecstatic transcendence. Their first and most sacred temple is rumored to be just to the northeast of Hex 2012 .

A 20-foot tall statue of quartz projects from a sand dune at a strange angle. The headless figure is a humanoid dressed in royal robes.

The covered wagon of Goh Goh Helleborus the nefarious genital collector is half sunk into the shifting sands here. Goh Goh is no where to be found but the wagons contents are intact.

A corpse clings to the top of an obelisk engraved with hieroglyphics of tentacled worms. He climbed it weeks ago to escape the 1d6 graboids that will arrive 2 turns after the PCs find the obelisk.

A small oasis provides fresh water and a respite from the unbearable heat of the desert.

This stretch of desert is dotted with tall brown and green cacti. A very clever strain of GiAnt-mantis has adapted it's natural camouflage to resemble such a cactus.

Scarab swarm covering freshly-cleaned skeletons.

Prince Abdel of Ruined NIZAHD is imprisoned in an underground complex here, his lower body turned made one with the gleaming onyx of his frozen throne.

Bihza the Hunter roams the plain in a tusked dune mask, killing the great mantis ( Hex 0210 ) for its meat.

A perpetual sandstorm rages here. Wilderness Survival/Wisdom checks should be made to prevent getting lost and travel times are halved within the hex. In the center of the storm is a small tomb whose deepest catacombs lead to a tunnel to the dungeon in 0212.

A little bit of stone sticking out of the sand, just enough to trip over, or break the wheel of a cart. If dug up, it looks to be a big statue of a woman with several heads and several arms. Scouting the surrounding area will reveal some weapons buried with her.

Mughali warriors in a pitched battle with Jackal-men on a bridge over a perilous gorge.

Sand goblins stalk this area looking for unsuspecting travelers, they hide in crudely made camouflaged traps/holes and ambush travelers from underneath them.

High in the mountains, nearly touching the sky, are the domes and spires of the wondrous City of TELLACH AVAIL , home to the great Caliph Naxthrool, his craven vizier En Sabath Null and the stunning Labyrinth of Nightingales.

A kelp forest prowled by salt water crocodiles. Refuse (and lost items of value) end up here via the sewage of the City of TELLACH AVAIL in Hex 0218.

A tribe of Nixie isolationist mages live in a series of deep, interconnected tidal pools at the center of this low island. The indigenous Giant Crabs are under the Nixies' thrall and defend the island from all intruders.

Floating City-Temple of the Illustrious Djinni.

A caravan of fire-worshippers proceeds inexorably toward a land they call 'Nazaraleth'.

The ruins of a Mughali outpost. The entire settlement is covered in vibrantly colored toxic fungal growths.

In NIZAHD, Ruined City of The Accursed the once great spires lie shattered and slanted while colossal beasts heave themselves through the rubble. It is said a great palace of Djinn fell from the sky due to the greed of a knight from the west.

The Blessed Silt River makes its first appearance above ground in this verdant forest of abundant wildlife known by locals as "The Grove". The river emerges from a sheer obsidian cliff face. It is rumored possible to follow the river underground through Hex 0104 all the way to Hex 0101.

A 5'x5' stone floor rests in the middle of the sand here. It is a very lost trapper monster.

A raiding party from NAS AKHU KHAN SHE EN ASBIN in Hex 0102 is riding down upon a north-bound trade caravan laden with silks, spices and treasure due for a royal wedding in the Hexenbracken. Rescuers will be well rewarded.

A 20' circle of mysterious ancient stones. During moonless nights, a gynosphinx may be summoned here with a proper offering.

The Panopticon of Isis. It is said that should the Shining Trapezohedron of Nephren-Ka ( Hex 0114 ) be placed in the center of this strange structure, the secret of controlling the Five Signals of the Celestial Sea will be revealed.

The sand in this hex is only 3' deep, below which is a thick sheet of glass, miles across. In certain places, caverns can be seen below.

The size of a small village, the giant turtle Ixilithi lays sleeping in the sand.

A shallow depression in the sand, that grows deeper when disturbed, Underneath is a tiny entrance to the underground Glass Caverns (Hex 0310), about as big as a dinner platter.

A village of Pangolin Men live here and cultivate cacti for the desert termites they farm to inhabit. Although peaceful by nature and welcoming of those willing to trade, the Pangolin Men are capable warriors who's scales provide a natural armor bonus.

A Giant Flesh-Eating Cactus creates mirages to lure the unwary in to its pit traps of digestive acid. Diminutive Ant-men from the south regularly visit the cactus to retrieve useful items from the pits as they are immune to both the Cactus' magic and its digestive acid.

A small sandstone ruin contains the skeleton of a small child holding a large tarnished brass plate that may have once been a reflecting device. A ruined book nearby contains the remains of crude sketchwork and bears the initials "L.P."

The desert drops away suddenly to reveal a lush oasis in a box canyon of red sandstone. Scintillating Nightingales prized by the Caliph Naxthrool of TELLACH AVAIL Hex 0218 can be found here but are guarded by the Jackalwoman shaman Rezivia and her twelve sons.

Seething pools, puddles and small lakes are scattered across this hex that look like deep red and beige tar pits. Gollems made of this goop will occasionally form and dance in the moonlight before devolving back into goop.

The molten glass volcano of KAZEL KAMAK where the Seven Colossi of Kazel sleep. Seven golems of basalt under the command of an unknown force. It is said that Caliph Naxthrool (Hex 0218) is seeking to gain control of the giant constructs.

A talking pheasant with offer the PCs one of three gems and one of ninety-nine knives if they can tell it the four names of sun.

A human family with two children may be found going about their daily business on their mid-sized catamaran. Several thin, slowly pulsing, color-shifting tentacles appear from the husband's right ear and sweep back along that side of his head, the wife has a similar appendage but it appears out of her left ear; the children do not have this feature.

Five pits of cobras ring a broken obelisk too cracked and weathered to read. It is said that the obelisk can be restored each full moon by cracking a cobra egg from each pit on its surface.

Melange.

TOWER OF THE DRAGON SORCERER is the abode of a normally friendly sorcerer. He is currently angry and upset because his lover left him to serve the temples of SYRINX (Hex 0205).

Sand falls from the sky here, but it can only be gathered once. Blowing it in a creature's face causes them to answer the next question truthfully. Desert creatures pass through to drink and feed from Hex 0305.

The one-horned blind minotaur oracle Suug Magog shelters here within the skeletal rib cage of some long-dead giant cetacean. He practices scapulomancy: if brought the shoulder blade of one of the basilisks inhabiting the area, he will tell the bringer's fortunes by feeling the cracks produced when it is heated over fire.

The river's slow-flowing waters provide a lush greenery along the banks. At night the area is patrolled by jackalwere bandits.

A fallen iron star crashed here, leaving a crater that dominates the blasted desert landscape. The star still calls down the sky to the earth, and anyone crossing risks being struck by lightning.

On the banks of this cool clear river, a small shrine has been built in homage to a minor snake deity. Hidden inside is a small clay pot filled with 732 gp.

Mirages seen in this area actually show images from all around the world.

Yurvillia Trull, a gnomish enchanter/illusionist of some renown, lives in a comfortable and totally self sufficient farmstead disguised to look like a broken cart half-buried in the sand. He collects glass formed by the lightning strikes at the crater in Hex 0407 and shapes it into small automatons that aid him in his daily tasks, but never look as they actually are.

The Mosque of Annihilation.

Anyone who sleeps in this hex will find himself back here, with exactly the same gear and physical condition as when they initially entered, upon awaking from sleep regardless of where they may have traveled since. The hex is filled with every sentient creature that has ever entered and failed to discover its secret, many of which have gone insane over the centuries. The lone adventurer from Hex 0117 knows that the only way to end the curse is to kill yourself, whereupon you'll appear, alive, in Hex 0316.

The Mad idiot of 0117 asks anyone who sees him "Why did the Farmer wait 2 streets up to cross the road?" This hex is crossed by dried up streams and the stench of chicken feed, in the center is a 4 level factory farm. The farm is dedicated to the living chicken god Squawk who is the size of a T-Rex and sits on a massive straw bed and her humanoid cult ensures she has a life of leisure.

A tribe of An-An, naked half-men who paint themselves wild colors and hunt with hollow spears. They will trade knowledge of surrounding hexes for goods to anyone surviving their initial attacks. They consider the Pangolin Men in Hex 0313 good eating, and point people looking for water to Hex 0514

Non-aquatic crocodiles with the legs, tails and pincers of black scorpion nest among rust colored dunes.

A caravan, led by Jave Murak, who wears the scorpion crown, carrying silks and fine goods bound for Hex 0102. An armored wagon, pulled by giant six-legged lizards and guarded, at all times, by desert-demon masked warriors, travels with the caravan.

A ghostly souk called T'LAL EL FNA appears in the wastes beneath each new moon. It is said that all manner of enchAnt-ment may be had for a promise, but the eyeless merchants drive a difficult bargain.

An obelisk tells of an ancient Princess of the Snake-men and her Marhaban lover. It is part of the Snake-men's creation mythology, and the priestesses of Hex 1006 would be very interested in it's knowledge.

The western expanse of the mushroom forest of Jangoleera is filled with piles of glass boulders spewed forth by the molten glass volcano of KAZEL KAMAK (Hex 0318). The witch queen Brevia (Hex 0618) sends her scarab minions here to harvest the glass for her Palace of a Thousand Colors.

Pools of boiling mud bubble up from the loam here. This is a holy place for all tribes of the An-An, a place where tribal rivalries are forgotten and all may bathe in peace. They use the mud for bathing, hut-building, and as a base for their colourful daub.

A winding trail climbs to a windswept ledge overlooking a sheer precipice. The Pangolin men from Hex 0313 come here with offerings to propitiate the spirits they believe control the weather. It is considered sacrilege to disturb the site.

Deep below the water there is an artificial grotto that houses a library and a nursery tended by monks with their eyes replaced with rubies. Psychotropic tentacled jellyfish guard the entrance.

Blasphemous offspring of human and Djin meditate in a neglected palace of sparkling stone. They perform arduous rituals to maintain the Obelisk in Hex 0401, ingesting fungus from Hex 0303, and will try to prevent anyone from freeing the efreeti in Hex 0502.

An efreeti bound within an obsidian pillar will negotiate with passers by for its freedom, which requires a blood sacrifice.

A frequent thoroughfare for beast migration. A pride of lions prey on the weak and vultures circle, awaiting the dead.

A field of humanoid bones, some of it underneath a layer of sand, marks this hex as the location of a long forgotten battle. Giant maggots, overfed on centuries old leather may attack if disturbed.

THE WANDERER'S HIDE this area has a secret hidden oasis, you must be incredibly lucky or have been shown where it is to find it (a guide or a map will do). This area is a closely guarded secret and not many people know about it. Within this area you can find a safe place to rest (no encounter roll), fresh water, left food/gear/supplys from other people who know about the place. Anyone who uses any of the food/gear/supplys is expected to put some of their own stuff in its place so that everyone can use it.

A gathering of desert ascetics has met here to exchange news and information. Spending an entire day with them will allow a person to reduce their consumption of food and water while traveling in the desert by 1/2 for a number of weeks equal to their Wisdom score.

A pleasant farming community is based on the banks of the river here, crops being unusually bountiful for the region. Unbeknownst to travelers the farmers bring humanoid sacrifices to a giant horned snail living in a subterranean temple below the farmland.

Along the shaded southern banks of the river grow shriekers and other fungi, an obvious extension of the fungal forests to the southeast. A mated pair of Rocs use the shriekers for easy meals with which to feed the hatchlings in their nest.

GLATHERBLACK was a village of giants that was destroyed when a volcano erupted and coated the community in hot ash. All are preserved in ash, doing their daily activities, or fleeing in terror. Pain and torment etched forever on their faces.

Unwise culinary choices allowed some of the mushrooms from 0508 to get carried into 0509 and it started growing in a few people before the cataclysmic eruption. Their Ashen husks, faces still frozen in terror, wander the mountains here - animated by the surviving fungi feasting on thier carrion interior.

The massive ziggurats of the the city-state of ITZAMNA can be seen for miles around. Ruled by the Socerer-God Ixmucane, self-proclaimed creator of all humanity.

A lone spirit lurks in the sands at night, so old it remembers nothing. By day normal seeming sand dunes littered by bones.

A failed demonic ritual has taken place here in the wind swept dunes. As lighting seemingly bursts out of the dark cloudless sky, slaves in rags run screaming from a black swirling vortex on top of a large stone altar.

A field of shallow depressions between dunes; digging into one will cause either fresh water to spring up, or plunge your hand into a Rot Grub nest. The An-An of Hex 0413 direct travelers looking for water here. The creatures of Hex 0414 feed on the Rot Grubs.

Encampment of Teimlad Dwar, reclusive magic user (Sand to Glass, Glass to Water, Blindness) and stargazer, Teimlad Dwar knows most of the common names of astronomical objects, but not all obscure ones. He has a magical telescope with which structures on the second closest planet are visible, if one looks through the opposite side the area within 30 metres is shown as a day ago.

Sand lice. Sand lice everywhere.

Rocky plateau is a maze of narrow canyons (chance of getting lost is doubled), prone to flash floods in the rainy season. The entrance to the temple of Sul Amon, Master of the Marid, is hidden somewhere in these canyons.

A caravan of giant insects is frozen among the shadows of 10-20 foot fungus stalks. If the ice is dispelled or they are otherwise unfrozen, they will tell you where they buried crystal keys to Brevia's Palace of a Thousand Colors in Hex 0618. They carry trade goods bound for TELLACH AVAIL in Hex 0218.

In a cave here dwells the Pale Lady. Some claim she is the lich of the exiled queen Agrat Bat Mahlat, others that she is a spirit of wisdom. She trains witches, procures succubae and incubi, and barters her potions and poisons in return for favors.

The massive turtle Achauhthil has been waiting a thousand years for his mate, Ixilithi (Hex 0311), to return to their home beneath the waters.

Partially submerged in the stinking mud is a vast stone lion's head. Inside, accessed by a secret door, are the ancient burial chambers of a forgotten psychic warlord. Almost identical stone heads can be found in the sands of Hex 1414 and far below the waves of Hex 2005.

Here where the tainted river Ra'ht Tan flows through the badlands a red crystalline bridge spans across a more narrow section of the reddish brown water. At night it glows eerily and can be seen in the horizon with ease from the edge of the the neighboring hexes.

The area is unnaturally devoid of flora. Fire worshippers ride great lizards down the river from the North, looking for those in Hex 0302, whom have been declared heretics while travelling. They show signs of passage through swamp Hex 0601 and are currently turned around, seeking the oasis in Hex 0505.

Buried in the sand are seven basalt caskets, each about a metre in height and each full of daemonic absinthe. Daemonic absinthe is a neon purple in colour, is twice as potent as the mundane sort, and if drunk by a good-aligned character, will set them on fire.

Small herds of wild camels roam here, defending territory from each other. They are hunted by Sand Cats and burrowing serpents.

In the center of this stretch of desert sits a large ornate mirror, approximately 15', tall placed on top of a stepped platform of black stone. The mirror reflects those who stand before it, but the reflected surroundings are not of the region and are instead of Hex 1411.

This stretch of eroded red sandy hills has been exposing ancient fossilized bones of primordial monsters for aeons. Scholars, holy men and alchemists visit for souvenirs.

A When entered from the East, the metropolitan sprawl of AI BATUR MAL ER ZE is a bustling, crowded center of trade of nearly 100,000 - the natives are ram-horned, golden skinned humanoids. When entered from the West, a few hundred malnourished survivors eke out a living in the ruins.

Dense fungus grows high from the lava and has been shaped into many levels of living bridges over the river by Jackal-men. In places the fungus will whip creatures with tentacles to drink the blood - the Jackal-men attack survivors and loot bodies.

The volcano that destroyed 0509 GLATHERBLACK is here, dead as the village. The colossal ash statue at the top still contains the spirit of the bitter giant sorcerer who had vowed to destroy his hometown.

A small battalion of soldiers from ITZAMNA hunt prisoners for training and sport. There are prisoners hiding throughout the badlands.

High grass savannah where great cats hunt all. Wildfires are common during the dry season.

A sorcerer, two brigands, and a woman pirate travel this trackless expanse to find their father, the Wizard in Hex 0101. They want to extort power from him, and will lie, steal, and kill to get maps and magic from anyone they encounter. They are selling the deed to their ship, stating it's in Hex 0520.

A bone-pale dervish, wandering the desert to prove their love to the Pale Lady of 0519. They expect it will take a long time, but are resolute. They will offer dreams, nightmares, or made-to-order nightmares in trade for artefacts of baubles to win her favour.

Hzzzthzzzthzzz the insect philospher meditates upon a tall spire of crimson stone. Each of his pronouncements are (d6) 1-2 true and useful, 3-4 true but inscrutable, or 5-6 complete falsehoods designed to embarrass his interlocutor in some comical fashion, for Hzzzthzzzthzzz does love a good jape.

Bones, dazed travelers, and frightened animals are picked over by jewellike insects of odd anatomy.

Flower petals fly about on butterfly wings, allergic to their own pollen. Anyone getting sneezed on suffers a random potion effect, and miscability comes into play when a swarm is encountered.

The Army of the Crawling Dead, several hundred Scorpion-men, make their way through the desert wastes. It's unclear who they are marching against.

Ant-men tend their flocks of thousand pound aphids in their rain forest home. Besides being a staple of the Ant-men's diet, the honeydew is sold as a sweetener throughout the region.

The Witch Queen Brevia recently moved her Palace of a Thousand Colors here to avoid the Ant-men of Hex 0618 learning too many of her secrets. Many of her Scarab servants died during the operation, and some floors of her Palace are unstable now. She suspects the Pale Lady in 0519 of stealing her keys, and one of the two froze the insect merchants in 0518.

A giant underwater cave is the lair of a ferocious sea serpent who has collected debris from hundreds of ships she has sunk over the years.

The peaceful Halfling village of LOBRECO lays at the North most tip of the scrubland. The Halflings of the village make excellent guides, being quite familiar with the Northern portion of the region.

VISCID ISTAN Long ago, this cluster of domed pleasure palaces and pools fell into disrepair for reasons unknown. The princes and sultans are gone, but refugees from ITZAMNA ( Hex 0511 ) have built a thriving and energetic trading settlement here in the retrofitted ruins.

When the wind is strong enough (2 in 6 chance), just after the desperately short rainy season, the giant fungus of this region release it's psychedelic spores into the air sending all who travel through here into a deep and intense auditory/visual hallucination. Lasting hours past the last contact with the fugal spores, there is no save for its effect.

A raving, blood soaked, nude, human stands near a rune-inscribed circle (made of gold, obsidian, silver, and gems) and over the bodies of 10 dead humans, a bloody knife in his left hand. If neither he nor the summoning circle are physically disturbed he summons ( http://summon.totalpartykill.ca/ enter values 3, 4, 30) if either he or the summoning circle are physically disturbed enter values 3, 4, 0). Regardless of the outcome, he will attack the party.

Overturned carts are on fire and maddened people rush into the river, heedless of the reptiles peeking above the water and moving in. A tree with the face of a man laughs near the rope bridge, unaware the flames lick his branches. Bloody smears lead North to Hex 0704.

A group of adventurers are searching for rumoured ruins of ACAMAPICHTLI, the capital city of the long dead Snake-men. They are reading a worn and incomplete map of the region upside down, and should be searching in Hex 1415.

The sprawl of AI BATUR MAL ER ZE from Hex 0607 extends here, and has a skilled metalsmith and tattooist. The ram-horned natives hide from raids of surrounding factions. Walking different paths through the streets here will lead to different eras of the main city.

The Singing Mountain is the holy site of the ram-horned men in Hex 0607 & Hex 0707. Long abandoned natural and sentiently-crafted tunnels and chambers honeycomb the mountain. During the change of seasons the East West winds blow forcefully through these caverns. An eerily enchanting melody can be heard for 2 hexes in every direction.

Hidden within this forest of giant mushrooms is the Halfling village of BEETA BAATE. Most mushrooms in the forest are poisonous, but the villagers know which ones are safe, and more importantly which ones grant them the super-strength they use to vanquish all their foes.

Molten flows ooze from openings through which creatures of fire sometimes emerge. The river trickles above, but below flows through tunnels where albino Sahuagin defend themselves from Turtle and fire creatures.

Six mutant halflings are waiting for nightfall. In the meantime, they ride giant scorpions against each other for money and invite passers by to have a go.

An abbey of women devoted to the god of fertility, Yasur Im, protect and care for the large farming community situated along the western bank of the river. The head abbess is dying of a wasting disease and several sisters are already jockeying for position to replace her.

This area is unbearable hot, and even the night does nothing to abate the heat. Small carcasses of birds and lizards dot the landscape and the air shimmers above you. At night a great light shines from the east in Hex 0813.

Here you feel like you are baking, and even the night does nothing to alleviate the feeling. The ground is parched and cracked; the sand packed as hard as stone. At night a great light shines from the east in Hex 0813.

A pack of beasts (hounds, pigs, ponies, what-have-you) recently escaped from captivity in 0702. A few might be hungry enough to attack if the Party has especially delicious things on them. On the other hand, if caught and tamed patiently, the younger beasts may easily be trained, and will make excellent working animals.

A winding maze of wooden tunnels provides relief from the sand and heat of the day, but...
Far within the oaken tower / Exists the one with evil power / Magic channeler of earth's frustration / The Druid sleeps in meditation ("Sleep" The Druid)

Dune traders head North, their Giant Ants laden with the delicious giant fungi that grow in Hex 0817.

There is a large pool of quick sand here, its rumored that at the bottom of the pool is a large underground city run by dragons and sand mages.

At the top of the rugged cliffs overlooking the sea to the south in Hex 0720 stretches out a natural stone ledge. Standing at its edge are 6 followers of the god Al'az Zulg preparing a woman as sacrifice to the material form of the god, the sea creature who dwells deep below.

Al'az Zulg, God of Misogyny and Shame, grows in power with each self-destructive sacrifice its followers proffer. Its material form is that of a gigantic, nude, bloated, floating, hermaphroditic human. Its followers, in Hex 0719, must carefully lower sacrifices in to its gaping maw, for Al'az Zulg is above all things lazy and won't exert itself even to eat.

Each and every day the volcano TEPETL QUIAUTL belches forth the blackest of black molten obsidian. Cuetzpalin, Sword of the Evening Star, Leader of the Free-Men of Hex 1003, is said to wield a magical sword forged from the obsidian of this volcano.

This mountainous area is covered by a thick, black smog, being a mixture of the fumes from TEPETL QUIAUTL in Hex 0801 and the spores from Hex 0703. It is a choking smog that causes travelers to cough, splutter and hallucinate. Daring merchants from VISCID ISTAN in Hex 0702 attempt to bottle the smog for consumption in the refugee city.

Throughout the badlands, giant boulders have been carved with intricate images of the ancient Snake-men. There is a cumulative 20% chance per week of discovering the location of CHICOMECOATL in Hex 0109.

Palm trees blow gently in the breeze along the eastern riverbank, behind is sweeping views of the mysterious desert. Undead crocodiles with the ability to climb and hunt from trees lounge atop the palms.

Sprawling camps of disparate soldiers and hangers-on line the riverbank and beyond, 900 strong under the Eagle and Lightning Bolt flag of Jupiter. Sir Gregor La Scala has gathered his ragtag army of converted locals and odd foreigners to "Bring Peace, Order, and True Faith to the land." In hused tones is speculation of his true age and how he liberated much power for Jupiter's Glory from the mighty Djinni (see Hex 0304).

Chances of getting lost in this trackless waste are increased as blowing sand blots out the sky nearly every day, causing PCs to travel in an unintended direction.

A group of sand goblins has set up camp here along the river next to a crudely constructed bridge. They will demand a toll of 100 Dh'nak to anyone who attempts to cross it. On this stretch of river the water is only 2' deep and can be crossed easily by foot.

A group of Ram-Horned spies are making their way North to get information on Sir Gregor La Scala's forces in Hex 0805. If the clay pot from Hex 0408 is sunk where the river turns and retrieved after nightfall, etched on it will be an ancient map to and of the capitol of the long-dead Snake-men ACAMAPICHTLI in Hex 1415.

Two women in ragged clothes are hiding beneath a rocky outcrop. They are on the run from the guards from the city AI BATUR MAL ER ZE (Hex 0607) and are bound together with 2' of super-strong chain that negates spellcasting in a 10' radius.

In the Shadow of Old Phosphor, the tribe of Soft Shale make their last stand against the encroaching hoardes. They've sworn to fight back any pregressors with a cunning brand of savagery and explicit knowledge of the terrain. Beneath the sands, they've found a temple pledged to the Skin Eaters, an insect swarm that emerges once every other decade to replenish its life-cycle.

A group of 8 Hobgoblin Raiders have taken a group of Pangolin Men prisoner. They are shackled together and being forced to march southward.

The river snakes its way through a hallowed-out extinct volcano housing the sand-goblin city of BTUOB on it's inner walls. The hive like city is built around a sky-ship, that crashed into the volcano long ago, made of a material that was not destroyed by the lava.

Ancient lava flows have turned these mountains into black basalt monoliths. An antediluvian Blue Dragon Mosach the Preeminent lives in the highest peaks.

Streaks of black, powdered basalt from Hex 0812 cut across this area causing it to be called the Tiger Sands. A githyanki airship on its way to the City of NAS AKHU KHAN SHE EN ASBIN Hex 0102, crashed here some months back and its cargo of radioactive music crystals glitter throughout the dunes.

A perfectly round obsidian disk 2 foot thick, with a circumference covering most of the hex lays beneath the sands here. There isn't a cloud in the sky above the hex and there is a bizarre assortment of weird, rusting machinery, lunar rocks, and an abundance of bird corpses littering it.

A stable portal to the elemental plane of fire with fire mephits roaming the area around the portal.

People talk of the literal amber waves of grain here. The grass is often disturbed from beneath by a ground dragon, who will pop up if it smells a diseased person.

The towering mushroom forests here are especially lush and vivid. Ant-men consider this area to be sacred, a holy-land.

Scorpion-men battle to the death at the base of the active volcano TOLTECAT. The winner of the tournament will fling himself into the volcano, a willing sacrifice to the Crawling God.

The great pyramids of the Scorpion-man city of XOCHIPEPE can be seen at a great distance. It is ruled by Yolotle the Kind Hearted: there is no crueler a despot.

This island is basically a mountain covered in fungi and mushroom forests. Strange purple undead roam the island's interior in 1d4+1 packs, the victims of fungal spores from the purple death's head mushrooms that grow on the islands western slope.

Abandoned farmsteads abound in this lava plain.

This vast a featureless stone plain is deceptively empty; below the surface there is a vast maze of lava tubes inhabitant by twisted outcasts from Hex 1003.

At the base of the tallest mountain in this region is a tunnel that leads deep underground to a large round subterranean chamber, The Key of Akremek. Lining the chambers walls for it's full circumference are carved doorways opening to natural lava tube tunnels that extend for unknown lengths, one such on the northern wall lead beneath Hex 0902.

Here in a lifeless patch of cracked desert sits a shrine built of bones and the tattered dry husks of man and animal alike. This is the shrine to Aru Kep Bohet, lord of dryness and desiccation.

The bones of a long dead giant turtle are worshiped by a nomadic tribe of Jackal-men. The tribe can be found wandering in hexes throughout the Eastern desert, but always return here to pray.

Flecks of diamonds are mixed in with the sand near the river, with a small industry of workers sifting through the sands to collect diamond dust.

A host of 523 Githzerai march Northeast from a recently awakened portal, heading to bind the Efreeti in Hex 0502 to an engine they have and recover their ship in Hex 0201. Their leader has a nearly accurate map of the area with topography and fauna, and they are avoiding the burrowing spider sand traps here.

16 well provisioned outriders from YEELA YAHUTA in Hex 1411 race to investigate the forces gathering in Hex 0805. They are led by the Iron Golem Magestor, the eyes and ears of the Sorcerer-Queen Leila Lalia.

150 ill-equipped Ram-horned soldiers camp outside a boarded-up shack, waiting on word from their spies in Hex 0808. They avoid the shack superstitiously, for it is the former lab of the inventoress Malux Ja Na. Unbeknownst to all she is trapped on one of the many invisible layers by her mad clockwork contraptions.

Guards from AI BATUR MAL ER ZE ( Hex 0607 ) searching for the women in Hex 0809 . They do not know why but have been told to bring them in at any cost.

Black rails perch on the vast numbers of saguaro that grow here. They mock passersby mercilessly in the common tongue.

The richly appointed mansion of Sir Bibble the Euphonic; Advisor to Princes, "Father of Nations", "Peacemaker", "The Enlightened", The Coveted, The Lusted, He Who's Fingers Pluck Most Vigorously, Foremost Bard in the World resides here with 999 hand-picked goblin guards and innumerable hangers on of various races (among them at least 2 kings) all potential lovers. It is a rare day that a very well-guarded entourage does not arrive at or depart the manse.

Food and addictive herbs are farmed here, upriver by Sand Goblins, downriver by the Ram-horned people, or Marhaban. They are not friendly to each other and have distinct border protocols.
The Sand Goblins burn the addictive herb on the basalt cliffs of Hex 0812 to keep the Blue Dragon Mosach the Preeminent pacified, but he is getting a tolerance.

Sand Goblin hunters stalk 52 Ram-horned Marhaban riding great insects across the dune hills on their way to join the forces in Hex 0909. The Sand Goblins have trapped many areas and left light valuables resting on patches of quicksand. They are violating a treaty.

The Seven-Horned Annihilix Of Judgement sits on its seven-foot obsidian throne (an upside-down skull), seven candles burning on each of its horns. Rivulets of wax sweat whisper to travelers, and those who please it are twisted painfully into new shapes for unfathomable purposes. Once a Marhaban, he will try to prevent Snake-people from getting the obelisk in Hex 0416

A working well in the middle of the desert is a welcoming site. It's 200' deep, and under its water is the entrance to the TOMB OF THE SHALAK-NUR.

Quicksand reduces travel speed to 1/3rd (or roll vs Petrification and be swallowed by the desert to be trapped in the lost city of AMHERIB, which is inhabited by skeletons and desert halflings that are very hungry. The smell like beef jerky).

A lost band of 8 treasure hunters are looking for the fabled city of AMHERIB ( 0916 ), seeking its fabled amber dome. They're 4th level rogues but were recently robbed by a wizard whose tower is in 1017 but visible from here.

Unnamed Oasis. Water causes hallucinations, travel into random adjacent hex after drinking from the water. Considered taboo by locals, which means you have a 1 in 8 chance meeting desert raiders here each day planning to rob confused outsiders. The raiders have their own water supplies.

Glass desert. Reflective sand may cause blindness. Plus 2 on attempts to summon efreeti, minus 4 on attempts to bind them.

The ships of 6d8+12 families and individuals of the Mi Hi people are temporarily lashed together to form what is called SEA HOME. These nomadic people live their entire lives on the sea. The family in Hex 0320 is a member of the Mi Hi people and each married couple in SEA HOME has the tentacle appendage described in Hex 0320.

Thousands of carbonized corpses are found in huge mounds with eroded walkways through the mounds revealing tragic faces of ancients caught in some disaster. Clouds of ash seem to watch intruders or seek communication but cannot speak.

A desolate charred waste with a series of trenches and a strange concrete bunker with observation ports looking towards desolation in 1001. A complex of labs, barracks and store rooms under the bunker may hold secret of what really happened.

Black impenetrable mountains have tunnels of lava tubes riddling them, home to Degenerate albino mutants, refugees from the disaster of 1001. A few relics of their civilization can be found in their holy places but they remember nothing of their past and live to eat and breed and kill.

Djinni, Efreeti, Demons and spirits gather here every seven months in 7times7times7 (343) lavish floating pavilions to divide the domain and it's magic. Those who agree to serve one of them (errands, spying on other factions in the gathering, skullduggery, etc) can gain the favor of Fate for one month.

An enormous beetle carcass, as big as an elephant, has been hollowed to create a small shack. Inside the walls are covered from floor to ceiling with jars containing rare spices and ingredients at very reasonable prices. Some say Bzul'lek, the owner of the shop, deals in much more rare or perhaps illicit goods if paid the right price.

The shadow of an invisible staircase reveals it's location but doesn't make it any easier to climb once you're on it. Above is the TEMPLE OF QUMARKAJ, concentric circles of mud brick halls attended by priestesses who become more serpent-like towards the center and know the ancient history of the Snake-men.

A large priamid surrounded by some smaller priamids are here.

Gigantic ornate jars containing strange horse size monsters preserved in magical coloured fluid are found exposed here. Wizards come here to research this ancient mystery.

Corpses, caravans, and half-constructed buildings are buried in the sand. Huge finned worms hunt anything heavy or noisy.

TEL AMUR, is a semi exposed ziggurat. No entry can be found but hundreds of raspy voices within can be heard chanting by night.

Giant ants collect nuggets of metal like meteoric star stones, peaceful unless you rob them or tease with metal. Pets of a minor craft godling. Giant ant-lions with illusion powers worse.

Scorpion-man settlements are on the rocky sand, distrustful of outsiders but known for great parties. Yak-men living on the mountain mine metal scraps and gems from caves to fire them from a great cannon that fell from the sky in ancient times. They trek to laugh at the creatures gathering them in Hex 1011 and Hex 0906.

A tribe of Lava Children live in stone huts across the barren lava field. They are under constant threat by Mephits and a renegade Fire Giant.

GRUBSHANK Beneath the sandy loam here, Sand-Goblins live in a Cu Chi Tunnel-like system of crawlspaces and tunnel traps.
They feed upon the sand-grubs which are drawn to their underground water resevoirs.

Some of their number are fighting a guerilla war in Hex 0913, in defiance of a treaty.

The sand here is hard-packed and easy to travel over. The dunes are also not so high here and provide great visibility southward to Hex 1015. The dunes are reduced in size by Wasp-men that make their homes in the hard pack. They are mortal enemies with the Scorpion-men in Hex 1012.

Four obelisks surround a low mound. The images tell of the great evil buried there, the perils of joining the hemispheres, and the Wasp-men who have protected it since ancient times. Under the mound, encased within the successive wards of gold, silver, lead, oak, rowan, ash, and bone, is sealed one hemisphere of the Devourer of Worlds. The Scorpion-men in Hex 1012 have found the other hemisphere and seek to join them to attain ultimate power.

The gruesome remains of an exploration party. Four men, all missing their tongues and eyeballs and their skin is a strange orange color. Among their belongings is a map of the pyramid complex in Hex 1007

A ship lies in the sand, crewed by friendly skeletons. If payed with three buckets of water, they will magically transport one to the waters of Hexenbracken.

Built into the mountain side is ADABIS THE CAVE CITY Stronhold of the Desert Gnomes, ruled by Queen Ashurah IV.

Eating the flowers on the Cursed Cowl causes an hour of vomiting, and a night of visions. One may see 333 Snake-men waiting for revenge for centuries; 111 faithful warriors with no souls; 20,000 servitors of the rusted dead; a jug that is a key; and an Efreeti that plugs the dam of fate, struggling against time.

Heavy brownish sea-foam washes in from the sea here and builds up on the pebbly beaches. It is merman sperm washed in from their breeding grounds in this hex. On the nights of the full moon, mermaids beach themselves and deposit their eggs in the sand.

Massive stratovolcano KA RUKH KA spews clouds of poisonous gas. A thick magma flows down a vent in the southern face of the mountain. Mephits and Fire Elementals frolic wickedly here.

Canals of lava in concentric circles have been constructed on this part of the lavafields. The canals ring around an abandoned Snake-men altar that is guarded by a Wyrm that lives in the canals.

Anybody travelling through the mountain pass between Hex 1102 and Hex 1104 must pass between two carved statues of Snake-men warriors.

Jackal-men desperately mine a purple mineral and seek brave souls to help apply it to the mutants of Hex 1003. They are raising an army for Abn Rex An, an intelligent Tyrannosaurus Hex. They also need help dealing with fire creatures encountered in the mines.

Giant insects herd here, captured and trained for mounts by the various peoples of desert and mountain. The Ram-Horned Marhaban are the best trainers, other tribes less so.

111 statues are an automaton army that can be activated from a device in ACAMAPICHTLI in Hex 1415, capitol of the long-dead Snake-men. Sand-colored flying manta attack those trying to steal the sparkling gems in their chests.

An ex-assassin is in a fight with zombies and skeletons who rise from the sand. He will only survive with help. He is on his way to Hex 0809 to help the two women and take them to Hex 1111.

A sprawling, disused temple to Netira, Goddess of the Cleansing Sand, has become occupied by hundreds of refugees from Hex 1911. When the group arrives, a robed man claiming to be the last priest of Netira is pleading with them to leave the temple. He claims their sacrilege will bring calamitous retribution by Netira's hand.

A old mummy that has regained its human form is in this area with some of its undead protectors. The mummy is trying to find living people to switch with its protectors.
Any random encounter rolled in this area is the mummy and its cohorts.

Silent Insect-people tend colored flames and chimes on stone altars. Their services depend on how one solves their puzzles - the right combination of light and tone can summon or repel specific species and send messages to any place in the desert, among other things.

Saqfa Zojaj, a charming and strikingly beautiful woman with burned but healthy hands, runs a glass foundry here. Craftsmen fashion boringly mundane glass goods as a front for their secret business of producing exquisite, illegal, glass war devices, including arrows & spears with flechette heads and piercing weapons with hollow ends intended to deliver live creatures such as scorpions and flesh-eating scarabs onto or into a victim.

The sand here is glassy and sheer in places. This area is profoundly dangerous for the shifting, cracking glass-sands and the jets of super-heated magma that erupt randomly. Vents and tubes of magma have passed under this portion of the desert from Hex 1113, causing super-hard glass to form: glass which Saqfa Zojaj in Hex 1111 uses to forge her war devices.

Every now and then, this volcano gets fitful and fretful, and buries the surrounding communities. It really only wants a friend, though. Someone to sing to it. If only someone would give a bit of love, it would totally stop asploding every so often.

(The Needy Volcano may be influenced by the powerful spirit of the First Child, a powerful ghost of the very first sacrifice ever made to the volcano. It loves music.)

Grand Prelate Glyphilius Inkswell, mortal representantive of Libria, goddess of knowledge, has taken residence in a tent here at the banks of the river. His 15 acolytes make scrolls from paper harvested in Hex 1115 which they offer to buy from passers-by.

The purple spores of this forest of giant orange mushrooms induce severe fatigue in non-insectoid humanoids. The great paper palace of the Wasp-men, VIZZYNIX, hangs in glowing splendor beneath the cap of a giant fly agaric more than 700' tall.

Well, 3 lions.

A sand giant member of the Tribe of El Bardin (Hex 1318) leads a dozen sand goblins in chains eastward as prisoners of war.

A long forgotten abbey in the upper mountainside allows two hexes of visibility (plus the ever-active volcano in Hex 1417). Guarded by two wights.

In the weeds is a stilt hut where lives a desert hag who creates concoctions from the flowers of the Cursed Cowl ( Hex 1019 ). Her name is Morgmesh and she despises the Pale Lady ( Hex 0519 ).

Dolphin mating grounds.

The groundwork here resembles the outline of the volcano in Hex 1101. Further investigation shows gigantic tread tracks to the unknown north, and bits and pieces of strange metal sticking out of the floor. If seen from space, looks like a failed terraforming installation.

Rock platforms provide just enough footing over the lava to a crystal tube a mile out that leads under. A cache of powerful weapons is in there, but Fire Mephits and Lava Oozes protect it.

Slaggy mountains. Geology indicates this hex had several active volcanoes not 100 years ago.

KRAGSHAVEN -- the people in this village clothe and behave as if they live in eternal winter, with no obvious ill effects to their health from wearing heavy furs and having big fires heat up their hoses. On starless nights, you can find a portal to the Kraal here.

42 Mughali live in and protect an ancient outpost of the Marhaban in which a ship's wheel is set into a column and there are grates in the walls. In a room they avoid, 25 mummified White Elves lie as if they were running from the corpses of 3 women of indeterminate species.

The bard Ta'Rehk can be found here playing his masterfully crafted Oad. When approached he recites a poem about the fallen adventurers who sought out the Trapezohedron of Nephren-Ka (See Hex 0114).

A hidden well near the northern caravan trail leading to ALIPAHL. It's location is guarded closely by a tribe of white elves which sell water to the traders passing by.

ALIPAHL, walled trading post of the Marhaban, is becoming a small city both in and outside the walls. It is run in a more hierarchical and military fashion than usual, but one can earn their trust.

Rising from an oasis is a white tower with a copper onion dome. Here, the mad, bad and skeezy wizard, Othamagos, makes his home, along with the greatest creations to come from his parthenogenesis vats, his seven deadly houris.

Locusts swarm here and a lone prophet lives off them and wild honey. His only valuable property is 40 years of poetic moral fables recorded on hide in a long lost script.

Four Desert Gnomes (from Hex 1018) ride on battle goats on a secret mission to Hex 1208

A succubi in disguise is seeking a prophet to kill, will ask if anyone seen him or ask to join any she meets. The prophet in 1210 and his books are her prey to earn a promotion.

NALUT This town is little more than an oasis with a handful of shacks and a fortified inn. The inn is cozy and welcoming with good, if overpriced food and drink, at night, there is a 25% chance that the bard Ta'Tehk from Hex 1206, will be playing here.

The ruins of an aqueduct and guard house. Two girls from NALUT (Hex 1215) are hiding out here after robbing the home of a wealthy merchant.

A lush garden of fig and olive trees. Two nomads sit under a tree smoking hashish from a long wooden pipe.

A tribe of nomads are camped upon a mesa here. Their chieftain, Yosab-Am, lies dying, poisoned by a Scorpion-man from Hex 1012.

For some reason, Ant-men have created a bizarre but successful farming community here seeking to live as humans. This community appears as a well-meaning, but unintentional, parody of human civilization.

The cruel Entomancer Abniz Dzir controls the insect peoples of the desert with wicked, hidden magic (Hexes 0314, 0618, 1011, 1217 etc) and will make them turn on anyone he does not like. He is in love with the hag in Hex 1119 and the Pale Lady in Hex 0519 but they revile him.

Volcano holds the abandoned lair of Zyrax the Destroyer, the dragonic king who strafed the lands and turned most of them into desert 1,111 years ago. Inquisitive adventurers will find an unhatched dragon egg here (but the volcano kept it warm and it will hatch in 1d10 years if left to it's own devices).

Trained dolphins perform acrobatic feats to starboard, while their accomplices, Otter-folk, sneak aboard from larboard to steal. If noticed the Otter-folk will flee to the water, riding their dolphins getaway mammals.

THE HALLS OF ASH AND FIRE is a fire giant stronghold known for it's fine steel forged at incredible temperatures. The fire giants hold a rare great wyrm magma dragon captive to power their volcanic forges.

Past volcanic activity have covered this expanse in tear-shaped beads of black glass. These can be gathered and sold to the sisters of the abbey in Hex 0712

Fire based magic cast within the crumbled ruins of a tower are greatly amplified here. Some say a powerful efreet is trapped below the ruins.

The PALACE OF THE SUMMER PHARAOH is cooled by the shadow of the mountain in Hex 1303; it is a neutral place for all peoples of the desert to gather for arena competitions, bathe in the acres of pools, and negotiate treaties. The Pharaoh of Summer title carries much land, power, and a standing army of 60,000 - it is currently held by a woman. Aquatic Vampires maintain the pools at night.

Riders carry sealed and coded messages bound for the Rusted Lich in Hex 0103, Sir Gregor La Scala in Hex 0805, and Sir Bibble the Euphonic in Hex 0912. The messages for Sir Gregor and Sir Bibble are accepting marriage proposals those two made to the Summer Pharaoh, although they state different names for her. The message for the Rusted Lich is offering to unite her power with his in a military partnership.

A raiding party of Qullans are tracking the riders in Hex 1305 They are armed with broadswords and nets.

The Greenshoe clan of white elves lives in an expansive home beneath the dunes that can only be accessed by cleverly hidden, and cleverly trapped, trap doors.

An outpost of the Army of the Summer Pharaoh (see Hex 1304) - travelers may be searched, escorted North, fined for illicit goods, or helped. Underground is a dead portal that once led to The Kraal; it trapped the wicked White Elves in Hex 1307 here.

A stone slab can be discerned beneath the sand. The slab leads down into a subterranean tomb where Sons of Kyuss await.

The 32nd Monolith of the Toad Gods. Graffiti pleads for readers to return the Monolith to it's home (in The Kraal) by sacrificing an An-An from the small illiterate tribe that live around the monument itself, an Insect Monk in Hex 1110, a Son of Kyuss in Hex 1309, the Prophet in Hex 1210, the Mummy in Hex 1109, and then return here and have one request fulfilled by the Toad Gods.

A desert goblin riding trained giant scorpion sells trinkets and water and maps to passers by.

Crow-men are disguised as Priests of Aru Kep Bohet, lord of dryness and desiccation on a trek to the temple in Hex 0904. They are actually a bandit collective dividing recent hauls from NALUT in Hex 1213 and a heist gone wrong from further East that left them with a Flying Carpet.

A caravan of supplies bound for Saqfa Zojaj's Glass Foundry in Hex 1111. Desert creatures hide from the sun in a series of old abandoned shacks.

Four Hobgoblins ride on war elephants. They carry long bows and are hunting Pangolin Men.

Vultures feed off the corpses of a looted caravan while lizards and scorpions wait their turn. One of the corpses clutches an iron rod, a control devices for the time travel chamber in some hex to the Southeast.

Owls with the faces of men and women perch in the scraggly trees near the river. Velociraptors have a feeding area in the eastern 2 miles, and Sahaguapede tribes occupy the southern 2 miles.

A ferry crosses the river here, the ferryman pulling the boat across by a thick rope anchored to either shore. But the real ferryman was killed yesterday, this is a Snake-man in disguise and his lizardman cohorts hide under the water.

A group nomadic sand giants calling themselves the Tribe of El Bardin has set up camp here. They are engaged in skirmishes with the sand goblins of this desert.

BUTTER TOP Halfings and fire giants symbiotically cohabitate in this medium sized community on the southwestern slope of one of the smaller mountains here. Fizdu Rockwaggle, an halfling of some means, offers a large ruby as reward to any who will act as escort and return his recently widowed daughter who lives in LOBRECO in Hex 0701.

SEEG'SHA DO Halfing fishing and farming village. Very friendly with BUTTER TOP (Hex 1319) to the north as well as the otter-folk in Hex 1220.

A haunted place known as the Valley of the Undying Crypts. Several small pyramids serve as entrances to deep underground crypts swarming with undead monsters.

A gathering of minor dieties (or kami) takes place at a pine temple in the middle of a flat valley. Humans are considered to be unclean here during this time, and will be driven out.

Giant lava crabs creep around burning magma pools.

Prison palace for the Summer Pharaoh's family members.

Guard checkpoint of the Army of the Summer Pharaoh; violent windstorms are frequent here and the outpost is adapted for it. Travelers will be checked, although hospitality and friendliness are attempted. When Sand Giants gather in Hex 1406 they can be seen from here.

Toward the SouthEast of this sandstorm-prone area the Sand Giant Ceremony of Gnashing and Wailing has been interrupted by a murder of Wyvern Horrors. Fight in progress.

A caravan taking an ill-advised route is caught in a sandstorm. Sand Goblins are moving in to loot.

In a shallow depression in the sand sits a cube of blue ice, a metre per side, that never shows any sign of melting, even in the most intense desert heat.

UNI STILL, a thriving Goblins village and citadel, is built upon and within the ruins of a large ancient Snake-men trading outpost. Underground catacombs stretch out for miles and miles in all directions,

An ancient Snake-men building with many rooms and twisting hallways is haunted, and seems to change over time. The Goblins of UNI STILL Hex 1409 would like to use it but none seem to ever return.

YEELA YAHUTA stands at the base of the great mountain in Hex 1411. A legion of Iron Golems manage the city and its affairs, controlled by their queen, the sorceress Leila Lalia, who lives alone in a palace high atop the mountain.

A woman in black enameled scale mail and an elfin sword, she's lovely but completely hairless and has a black tongue. This is Narotha, one of Othamagos' near successes (Hex 1209). The willful Narotha left her creator's service long ago and is currently here on a bounty from the Hundred-Eye Shah in the east, for the Crow-men currently in Hex 1312, whom have eluded her with their diquise.

Ancient roads of the Empire of the Snake-men still rise above the sand, and anyone straying from them will be attacked by predators from underneath. Dotting the landscape are old doors and foundations of buildings long worn away.

A boy shepherds a flock of burrowing owls that scamper off, burrow, and return with something. They've been trained to hunt insects and smaller animals and to collect anything shiny or metal; there is a chance the boy may have collected something of great value.

Magical wards conceal and lock the solid gold doors that lead into ACAMAPICHTLI, the majestic subterranean capital city of the long dead Snake-men. These are the only doors into the city, keeping that which destroyed the Snake-men trapped within.

A freestanding door at the end of an ancient road is inscribed with runes that are the instructions for a ritual. If completed and the clay pot from Hex 0408 is used to open the door, an army of 333 Snake-men will emerge and begin marching Northwest. They will not enter their former capital city in Hex 1415, but will tell of many riches locked therein.

The air is thick with sulfurous fumes as a relatively new volcano pulses lava steadily to the south. Lava Oozes break away from the stream to hunt, and twisted coal men capture slaves with tridents. Pieces of the a military outpost and armory of ACAMAPICHTLI Hex 1415 are buried amongst the rocks.

A large river of lava runs through this hex. Goblins are here in crude gas masks trying to gather some of the lava in containers, it doesn't seem to be going well for them.

A man in an outrigger canoe is using a cormorant to fish, a young girl holds the end of the bird's leash; she's "helping". Several manned fortifications are arrayed along each coast of this delta, each flies a different flag.

The fast-moving lava and fresh water from the river meet here offshore, creating spiral rock formations underwater. The cooled lava deposits are rich with rare minerals.

On a crumbling cliff of ash over a volcanic crater is a ancient skycar shell. While it looks like a burned out wreckage, crystal pods half buried contain intact wonder workers of the distant past

Hidden in a valley is a 50 meter high monolith of smooth polished basalt. A coven of Crow-men perform strange rituals during the night of the new moon. During these rituals, a secret door opens into a mysterious realm and closes at dawn.

Hairless cave-bears with Gust of Wind breath and blind Goat-men fight anyone who attempts to cross these mountains. Fungus that helps resist heat and those that cause violent fevers grow together in the cracks.

The Monastery of ABUL DHAIHAN, A peaceful enclave of Goat Monks who worship the nameless desert goddess in Hex 1505 The monastery has been occupied by Qullan raiders.

An immortal celestial being of radiant beauty descends here each night and walks slowly through the desert, finally disappearing into the rising sun. Any intelligent living creature who witnesses its passage will be filled with peace and incapable of taking any malicious or violent action until the celestial is out of sight.

Within this hex there is a single 100 foot tall evergreen tree standing among the dunes. Standing at the base of the tree at mid-day every day for seven days and staring into the sun through the branches for one hour will permanently blind the observer, but also allow them to cast, once per day, a fireball spell, as a caster of one level less than the character (arcane casters can even scribe the spell into a spell book/scroll as if they had successfully researched it). They will also know one of the names of the sun (see Hex 0319).

In the Painted Dunes of Amaranaset-Sa the people of that name, who were once Mughali, wear the faces of the men they kill and hunt with trained birds and throwing swords. They will try to lead tough prey toward the nest of Wyvern Horrors in the North of this area.

A merchant's cart with many hangers-on. They are mostly actors and mercenaries hired by one who has a magical great-axe hidden, with which he plans to chop down the tree in Hex 1506 and sell it to the Witch Queen Brevia in Hex 0619.

At the bottom of a large dune the corpse of a Snake-man baby will tell of the future or past in the cracked voice of 1,000 years of doom to any casting shade upon it. At the top of the dune sits an old man in a loincloth, spinning a bullroar that will teleport those he is pleased with to their true goal; all who are teleported are changed in some way.

A strange flock of white pygmy deer forage in the weeds along a dry riverbed. A two-headed boy sits on a rock and watches over them.

A pit covered with a withered carcass is filled with glassy grains of sand. These grains are actually eggs of a parasitic, flesh-boring crab-species, they will hatch if warm flesh comes in contact with them (After 5d6 days, an infested creature will feel compelled to dig a pit and lay over it).

A man wearing a fine thawb and carrying a rune-inscribed, iron shod staff, marches along with his bodyguards, two dangerous looking An-An warriors (Hex 0413), outcasts from their clan. He is returning from Hex 1509 where his future was foretold and his true goal denied. He is in no mood for conversation.

Inexplicably a fountain is bubbling clean, fresh water in this hex, zombies shamble aimlessly around it. Water elementals below the fountain poison travelers with the fountain and use them as zombie slaves.

An upthrust of red sandstone rises 600 feet in the air. Harpies nest on and circle about it.

A crashed airship. Its cargo is silver ingots. Stirges and biting insects nest near the thin trickle of water which condenses against the ship's shiny skin. The flammable gas which once kept the ship afloat has seeped into the cargo hold, making voices high pitched, breath short and open flames dangerous.

Some survivors from the crew of the crashed airship in Hex 1515 Their fire has attracted a group of Jackal-men.

Nothing but sand, cacti, and strange looping tracks made by sidewinders.

A few huge snakenests, stretching all over with wee holes every five feet or so. There is also one traveller: a stowaway from the crashed airsihp in Hex 1515, all heatsick and dehydrated. If fed and cared for, she will share a night of wonderful storytelling, with hints at some of the desert's other mysteries.

An aerie of malevolent harpies inhabits the peaks of this mountain range, harrying any travelers in the surrounding low areas.

An unpredictable whirlpool opens sporadically in this hex. Cumulative 10% chance per hour that it opens up somewhere interesting. The An-An believe that it leads to the underworld, and float their dead and dying into it on kayaks made from mud and reeds.

Centuries of laborers toiling to bring ice down from the "Old Men" have packed and smoothed the snow covered earth in to a natural luge track. Daredevils risk yeti and ice troll attacks on the way up for the thrill of the miles long ride to the bottom.

Shadowed by mountains part of the day and receiving rain from a weather fluke (see conditions in Hex 1601), these few miles of scrubland are tended as the holy site of ~6ft intelligent mantises. They allow creatures to feed from it in controlled areas, but strictly regulate it's use and passage through it.

The pirate crew of a great wooden ship that can sail sand as if sea are stocking up on drinkable water and herbs at a tiny oasis just outside the domain of the Mantis-people (see Hex 1602).

Corpses recently fallen from one of the many airships crashed elsewhere in the desert. Goat-men who want to search them are in a fight with natural scavengers.

Sand, sun, the occasional cactus. Heat shimmer makes it very easy to get lost and go in circles here.

Mantis-men driving cactus juggernaut in huge circles lost from 1605

In a small, sheltered oasis, can be found a small, withered, blind and completely mad level 2 Goat-man warrior begging for alms. The flora in front of him is charred and blasted. He has spent a year under the tree in Hex 1506 and will cast fireball at any who refuse to donate.

Half buried in the sands here is the Pyramid of The Serpent Headed Prophet. Though looted of its original treasures millennium ago, the pyramid, when it hasn't been forgotten under sands, has periodically served as base of operations for one group of undesirables or another, most recently, to a particularly bloodthirsty and brutally effective gang of bandits led by the nomad turned assassin, Kamal the Killer, who wields the deadly blade "Spiller of the Silver Blood."

The Great Wyrm of Gloom, Techatnazl, burrows endlessly here, causing shifting sands, uncertain footing, and no end of sadness in the slave quarters of the far reaches of the Northern Outpost of the Great Empire of KARAKT-ZUL directly to the East. The Wyrm's gloom affects all in the neighboring areas except around the old man in Hex 1509.

The abandoned kivas of a once thriving community, driven off along with all wildlife by the influence of Techatnazl in Hex 1609, are now used by smugglers, slavers, and other nefarious types. People rarely speak while here.

Despite dire, but vague, warnings of doom, An-An are using the stones of an ancient ziggurat to build their village in its ever decreasing shadow. They are days from removing the stones imprisoning the forgotten demi-god Jaek Entep Ro "The Phylactor" from his treasure filled cell.

Slaves and great beasts pull a caravan from the Capitol of the Great Empire of KARAKT-ZUL in some hex to the SouthEast meeting a resupply caravan from the Northern Outpost in Some Hex to the NorthEast. They are on an exploratory trek to the Snake-man ruins to the West in Hexes 1409 - 1415 and 1611.

A verdant oasis, lush with ripe fruits and fresh waters is nestled among the jagged black Cliffs of Bhat. Deep in the center of the pool a large metallic canister lies broken and leaking. Anyone eating or drinking here gains a random mutation in 1d4 days.

An outer settlement beyond the furthest ring of slave hovels, this small village of KARAKT-ZUL loyalists take in the shivering wrecks who speak of a nonexistent mountain to the North and put them to work before the shock of the desert wears off.

A trail of fresh blood leads over the rocks and down into the ruins of an ancient well.

A recent earthquake has created a long, narrow crevasse that has completely drained the oasis that once defined this area. At the center of the drained oasis is an unlocked hatch made of petrified bone.

Local farmers drive long taps in to the cacti of this semi-arid scrubland to extract a naturally occurring liquor. The harpies in Hex 1519 conduct raids on the farms, flying off with bottles and kegs of the booze.

The peak of the highest mountain in this range has a flattened top with two 20 foot high ornate stone thrones. Disease filled clouds waft through the air.

The Harpies of Hex 1519 and Aquatic Vampires that haunt the shore to the South allow violently colored plant creatures to compulsively style their hair and paint their faces, bringing any visitors to meet their "Pretty Friends".

Aquatic vampires use tightly woven parachute-like nets to bring air down into the underwater caves here. The caves contain a variety of warm-blooded men and beasts which have been brought here from the surface. The vampires keep them alive on a diet of local sealife and use them as a replenishing source of nourishment.

Didjeet, leader of a rogue faction of the Mantises from Hex 1602, has taken refuge here in the mountains after a failed coup d'état over the elders. He believes the scrubland should be used for profit, while the elders merely police the land allowing outsiders to just take their water.

A lone Iron Golem lays inert in the brush, part of a long forgotten expedition to the North. It can be reanimated if sufficient magical energy is expended in its presence, forever serving the first person it sees. Once awoken there is a 1 in 20 chance per week that the Sorcerer-Queen Leila Lalia of Hex 1411 will become aware of the creature and will send a battalion led by an Iron Golem to bring it back.

Qullan raiders swarm around a great hive structure made from sand and spit. At the top, 30 ft up and growing, some of them emerge with wasps' wings and stingers. The Qullans of Hex 1306 and Hex 1504 came from this camp, but would find it much changed recently.

An underground lava flow from Hex 1805 has reached an oasis here. The waters have become fouled and undrinkable. However, it has become a very comfortable natural hot spring. It is often frequented by a group of samurai warriors (from a distant land) that originally disembarked from their ship at Hex 1904.

SAROMATAE Over two score years ago an army of Amazons attacked the Great Empire of KARAKT-ZUL and lost. Rather than return home in ignominious defeat, the surviving Amazons chose to wander the sands, eventually subsuming a tribe of An-An that had impressed them and settlling this village.

Abandoned Watchtower. A 300 meter high tower rises from the dunes. 143 Desert Goblins have taken control of the tower and are armed with longbows. Their leader - a cruel Hobgoblin called Kargull has taken an Amazon princess from SAROMATAE (Hex 1705) captive.

One of the many, miles long Catacombs underneath UNI STILL, in Hex 1409, opens up to the surface here. Supplies are transported from UNI STILL to the goblins in Hex 1706. Undead Snake-men have to be periodically fought back to keep control of the passage.

Soldiers from KARAKT-ZUL's northern outpost to the east meet a group of elites from the capital to the south. They are massing to slaughter the bandits in Hex 1608 but are losing morale from the Great Wyrm of Gloom in Hex 1609 .

A raised, ancient but servicable road runs through the desert leading to Hex 1708 and Hex 1709. Travel speed is greatly increased on the road but it is often used by armies on the march, many of which employ forcible conscription.

The crumbling remains of very ancient palace. At night, undead shadows roam this place, despondently trying to reenact their lives, but passing of time and the influence of Techanazl in Hex 1609 have caused them to forget much of what living was, though not their hatred for those that still live.

Thousands of sandstone statues of human warriors poised for battle. All seem to show the same amount of aging as if they were placed there together.

A tribe of the An-An has been walking in circles in this hex for 40 days and 40 nights, cursed by their god.

An unoccupied waystation along the path from the Capital of the Great Empire of KARAKT-ZUL to the Northern Outpost provides shade and shelter for weary travellers.

A group of Dwarven bandits are leaving KARAKT-ZUL (Hex 1614) with a cart full of stolen contraband.

The derelict hangar where the airship that crashed in Hex 1515 on it's maiden journey was built by Aven Harbon, a mad technomancer. He has chosen this hex as a building site due to the special qualities of the quartz sand in the area. His aides are technolomancically uplifted sand goblins (roll on mutation tables, treat as mechanical improvements).

A small hidden oasis is here, it has small trees and a nice river.
The entire area is actually a false image cast by a powerful wizard, he is trying to steal from weary travelers to make himself more powerful.

A small group (d6+2) of travellers has just gotten free of Hex 1716 and is heading toward a grove they've heard about in Hex 1718. They tell the group about it, and how much they are looking forward to eating of the 'magical' fruit. They are led by a small, smug (talking) tabby kitten with a strange accent.

The trees here are full of fruit and only 45% are poisonous (1D4 damage and 1D6 temporary con damage)

Scattered on the slopes of this volcano are hundreds of lava golems, frozen while it is inactive. When the volcano will be active again, the lava golems will return to an animated state and each day 1d10 will start roaming the lands randomly for a month. After that time they'll return to their home to 'freeze' again.

A Greater Amphibious Scorpion makes its lair in a cave under the run-off of lava from Hex 1719. (The Amphibious Scorpion is often sought for its carapace in the construction of various weapons/armour and most especially, the biologic variant of the Apparatus of Kwalish.)

A group of anarchistic druids gather here to plot the release of the captive great dragon in Hex 1301, THE HALLS OF ASH AND FIRE. They want to see it's destructive power unleashed on all the desert.

Hunters from GREIFENHORT search for the manticore Martyaxwar, rumoured to make its home in this scrubland. They are unaware that Martyaxwar stalks them, ever hungry for the flesh of humans.

A beautiful forest once stood here only, but was eaten by the sands. The dead trees are filled with stirges.

Lava tubes carry lava from the volcano in 1805 to 1704. The ruined glass forges of the Techno-Mage Zedek Riftfire can be found here but are still guarded by his army of glass golems.

Giant psychedelic mushrooms constantly shed hallucinogenic spores. Many creatures come here and trip out. Chance of having a bad trip, based on mental wellbeing of the individual. Those affected by the spores have a 1/100 of having a flashback on any given day for the rest of their lives.

Ziggurat of the Cybergorgon Queen. 25% chance of encountering one of her robo-beastman patrols.

Fire-breathing Goats can be found standing in the trees of this untended grove. They dine on the unripened fruits of the caplam trees (which can be harvested to make flammable oils). The goats are very protective of their feeding grounds.
Consuming the caplam fruit is inadvisable for non-goats.

The Mountain of Sorrows The slopes of this mountain are where Death Monks perform sky burials for their holy chosen.

Traders heading for ALIPAHL in their heavily guarded camel train. The camels are bastards.

The Northern Outpost of The Great Empire of KARAKT-ZUL is here being laid siege to by a vast army of over 15,000 Ram-horned Marhaban warriors.

In these broken lands lies aging, outcast prince covered only in a lion-skin cloak. He was once heir to the Great Empire of KARAKT-ZUL, but was cast out when his father was cast out by a rioting mob on accusation of a sour bride.

A mixed group of runaway slaves from the Great Empire of KARAKT-ZUL are hiding in the scrublands, gathering strength for a desperate push across the desert to freedom. They will do anything to avoid recapture.

The City of TEKHAT MAL. A great city within the Great Empire of KARAKT-ZUL, famed for it's slave auctions and silvercraft. The half-ogre slave master, Gorun Tyr, will pay a kings ransom for the return of his property, the slaves hiding in Hex 1811.

An army of sand goblins (50d6) disguised as cacti approach the city of TEKHAT MAL in Hex 1812, one steathly step at a time. Their plan is to sack the city and flee to their stronghold in Hex 2013. The goblins must remove their disguises before they can attack (2 rounds to do this).

A herd of wild camels, including a rare blue one, roam this area. Camels that have eaten their favorite treat, the desert radish, spit for d4 damage up to 30 feet.

Hundreds of Sandstone Elementals are hauling buckets of desert sand to the highest peak in Hex 1916. They will not attack unless they are prevented from completing their seemingly never-ending task.

The tunneling of an Ant-men colony deep beneath the sands has freed d8 Pyrite Elementals that now patrol the Ant-men's abandoned tunnels. Dwarves in the party should be able to instantly recognize that the elementals are made of worthless "fools gold"; pity the group without a Dwarf in this instance.

An underground complex here, accessed from a hatch beneath a statue of a giant insect-headed god contains ancient secrets and a passage into the heart of The City of TEKHAT MAL ( Hex 1812 )

This Mesa is roughly 1,200 feet high. From the skies it looks like a giant coffin. If you were to blow the lid off, you'd find a meticulously prepared resting place for a 300' high being, of which nothing is to be seen other than a 50'x50' bloodstain.

Hidden amongst the treacherous rocky shoreline to the northwest of this hex can be found the partially submerged ruins of the ancient Snake-man city of SI'ASH FASS. Once majestic, it is now mostly a navigation hazard.

D4 male sperm whales are violently competing for a harem of 2d10+12 females. Ships approaching within 200 feet of the whales will be treated as new competitors.

A well camouflaged swamp bulette stalks this midge infested mire. In its belly_treasure_sack is a magical Brass Shovel 1d6+2 (no other effects), a magical Shield emblazoned with the image of Itztli (gives 1 point of damage reduction to melee/ranged attacks, Cleric or Fighter only), and a Wand of Metal Attraction (MU/IL/Bard only, once a day the wielder can activate the wand to pull a single metal object to him from up to 30 feet away, effect lasts as long as the wielder concentrates. If the object is held by an uncooperative party an opposed strength check at +4 is made, failure ends the effect)

GREIFENHORT, a human city that specializes in taming wild animals and wilderness monsters. Griffin eggs will be bought for top money. The Greifenhorters believe the druids in 1801 to be crazy hippies, but don't know about their plan to free the dragon (or they might want to support their cause so they can try to tame it).

Very rocky ground causes movement of half speed, horses and mules must make save or be injured. 4 mountain lions on the prowl.

Samurai camp. These warriors have only recently arrived at the desert's edge and realize that they are poorly equipped for dealing with the desert. They can also be seen at Hex 1704 where they regularly bathe or anywhere between, making the trek.
The samurai are interested in trade or commerce that would get them some desert clothes and armour. They have plenty of high quality weaponry crafted in their far off homeland.

At the top of the mountain is an old fortress full of mummies, zombies, wraiths, and revenants. Every night at sunset they re-enact the last moments of a terrible battle that claimed their mortal lives.

The An-An consider this place taboo and looking at the gloomy forest of towering, pale, molted mushroom and its undergrowth of virulent looking fungi, it's easy to see why. In addition to dangers that some of the very poisons fungi growing here provide, the place is teaming with fungal monsters of every stripe. One mushroom that grows here is popular with the aristocracy in TEKHAT MAL (Hex 1812) for its mild but pleasant euphoric properties.

Lair of Charybda the sea hag. Nobody would go here if not for her beautiful daughters and mage-wise sons. It is said that if you woo the sea hag, she will share the secret of immortality with you.

A small boat bobs upon the waves, its sail ruined. Inside is a skeleton clad in bright red leather armour, clutching a scroll case. Inside that is a drawing of the mountains in Hex 1909.

The Port City of Seresan Built centuries ago, this enormous city is built into the mountains at the edge of the sea. Seven lighthouses rise from the mountain peaks to guide boats on the sometimes treacherous water. It is a bustling place of trade.

These lush hills are home to a tribe of molemen.

At the top of the mountain lays a long abandoned observatory, hidden by magic. One magical telescope allows one to view the surface of the moon, while the other allows one to view any Hex in the region.

Slaves and indentured servants live in straw huts, trekking miles into TEKHAT MAL in Hex 1812 every day to work. Gravity is unstable in this area, and people will suddenly fly into the air, although most come down again and locals can usually predict where it will happen.

Military barracks and training grounds for the Northern Outpost of KARAKT-ZUL and the city of TEKHAT MAL . Rows and rows of tents.

A battallion from TEKHAT MAL has seized the port of this undefended fishing community. The fisherman have turned to smuggling to bypass the new restrictions and tarriffs the military has instated.

The "stumps" of hundreds of cacti give evidence to some recent harvest. Hundreds of goblin tracks lead to the north west.

Hundreds of Sandstone Elementals are using sand from Hex 1815 and their lifeforce magic (which will ultimately destroy them at the conclusion of their project) to construct a 10000x10000x10000 foot cube of solid sandstone at the summit of the highest peak in this mountain range. This is the pinnacle of Sandstone Elemental art.

The DAUGHTER OF THE MOUNTAIN MONASTERY the nuns in this monastery follow the Path of the Mountain Daughter, who healed Itzamna (Hex 0511) back in the god times. They are pacifist healers, practicing some sort of mystic T'ai chi ch'uan. A slaver from TEKHAT MAL (Hex 1812) fell in love with one of the nuns, but she killed herself rather than be taken by his men, he then sent some of his best killers to punish the nuns but the assassin have seemly disappeared off the face of the earth.

Flying lemurs hunt abnormally large and succulent insects in this tropical rainforest. If the otherwise placid flying lemurs suddenly bolt enmasse, the party had better be on the lookout for the silk web firing (1 mansized net per spider per encounter) flying spiders (non-poisonous).

A carpet of seaweed on a windless stretch of sea caught many sailors by surprise. Distant relatives of the sand goblins harvest the seaweed for food and are not beyond raiding ships stuck in this organic muck. Creatures lighter than 30 pounds can walk on the weed carpet, above 30 pounds make a dex check at -2 per 10 pounds over every turn or risk breaking the carpet and drown.

In a featureless salt marsh, 500d4 mute, ~5 year old children, simultaneously possessed by a the spirit of a wizard, attempt to carry/drag off any party members they can or otherwise corral them to the wizard's tower at the heart of this area. The first PC that enters the sundered tower must make a save vs spell or become the new host body for the wizard that started this mess with an epically failed magic jar/clairvoyance/clairaudience combo spell. Every 10 rounds another possession attempt will be made on party members inside the tower. If the magic jar is found and destroyed the children's will returns and they will tell you they've been abducted by the wizard from communities all over the desert, each carries a clearly visible gold coin strapped to his/her arm.

Movement through this hex is halfed because of a rockslide that happened a few days ago.

Saline fields at the south border of this hex. Sea elves harvest the salt and sell it all across the desert.

SALTENHAVEN, the swimming harbor and trade point of the sea elves. Main export is the salt they get from Hex 2002.

The kelp from this hex has the unusual property that if kept wet during & after harvesting it will not rot and remains completely pliable. It will dry completely and permanently to the hardness and strength of hardwood of double its mass one turn after being exposed to air. The sea elves in Hex 2003 sell it in specially crafted earthenware pots by the yard.

Sea bulettes have gone in to a feeding frenzy around the corpse of an enormous harpoon-studded whale. Several canoes are headed away from the whale to the south.

A large number of caves are found within this area, they all lead to a center tunnel that goes through the heart of the mountains.

A town of wooden huts connected by bridges stands well above the high water line of this tidal flood plain. Fishing lines can be seen leading in to most of the dwellings.

A small island, just off the coast of Hex 2007, connects to the mainland floodplain via a land bridge passable only at low tide. Here the marilith Semyaza has taken over a wizard's tower after a summoning gone wrong. She keeps the pretense of the reclusive wizard still living there while she builds a powerbase, but the inevitable deaths, disappearances and odd sightings in Hex 2007 has alerted the townsfolk there that something is dreadfully wrong.

The Giant Turtle Huitzilihuitl lives, who lives amongst the reefs, is the only living witness of the rise and fall of the Snake-men.

Near the center of this area is an unbreakable glass tube with steps leading down under the waves. A series of 8 foot tall, magically lit tubes snake through the water, allowing excellent views of the local wildlife; pirate mages are using this as their hidden base.

Here, along the ruins of a mountain fort, where great herds of swine feed on grounds fertilized by a terrible battle is where Yonian, giant razor-back of legend, has made its home.

YAT, is a village of fisher folk and mountain men near the mouth of a river. The hunters here know of Yonian in Hex 2011. Every few days a small procession of villagers takes straw dolls and food to a mountain outside the village, where they are placed outside of the cave of the hermit-sage Yasi Wolo.

The mouth of a cave conceals an enormous hanger for airships. This is Karesh Kazel's Ship Works. His creations are among the finest in the land and he creates beautiful luxury ships for the nobels of TEKHAT MAL (Hex 1812)

The Imperial Seat of The Great Empire of KARAKT-ZUL floats high above the waters here on waves of magical energy being subtly sapped from the Sandstone Elementals of Hexes 1815 and 1916, though none now living know this or much else of the ancient magics of this tremendous and beautiful "City Above the Sea." Transport to and from the city is accomplished in giant scarab styled gondolas lifted by Rocs charmed and thus controlled by the Illustrious Vizier of the Aires. The beautiful Seranda el Teran, cousin to the Emperor, is the current holder of the powerful Amulet of Aire which confers this title and such control over Rocs, she will thus pay handsomely for the hatchlings of the Rocs in Hex 0508 or simply information about such.

The water here is extremely deep almost impossibly deep. At the bottom lurks some beast only knows as "the deep one"

Several nuns from the DAUGHTER OF THE MOUNTAIN MONASTERY (Hex 1917) frolic in the shallows here. A reef of iridescent coral can be seen beneath the water. The coral is harvested by the nuns and made into enchanted jewelry. If anyone attempts to vex the nuns, a giant golem made of Coral will rise from the water and attack.

For the Giant Dragonflies and Wasps that breed in the fungus of Hex 2018 the water here is a portal to Hex 0819 of Hexenbracken, and they fly back and forth often; this will work for any that ride them, although they are not easily tamed. For any not riding a Giant Dragonfly from this area it is a normal sea inlet.

An old building made of decaying books is overtaken by the fungal forest; a few spellbooks can still be harvested. Eating the fungus here causes nausea and hallucinations, but at the end of a month one will grow small dragonfly wings and be able to use the waters of Hex 2017 as a portal once per day. The Giant Dragonflies and Wasps of Hex 2017 breed and feed here, but mainly live in the neighboring hexes.

Cytorrak, sorcerer and ancient nemesis of the wizard in Hex 1920 sails with a ship full of jackal-headed men to destroy his foe at last. He has no idea of the situation his foe has gotten himself into, and he will be confused.

MOUNT NAZARAD - "The Forbidden Mountain" Atop this lone peak is a temple carved from yellow and green jade. Within the depths of the mysterious temple is a room of portals that lead to (1d6:) 1 - FIRNHEIM (Kraal Hex 1504) 2 - THE HATEFOREST (Kraal Hex 1609) 3 - DASTREICH VALE (Hexenbracken Hex 1610) 4 - THE MAW (Hexenbracken Hex 2219) 5 - City of NAS AKHU KHAN SHE EN ASBIN (Hex 0102) 6 - ITZAMNA (Hex 0511)