10 Desert Themed Encounters for Dungeons & Dragons
The desert has always been a mysterious, dangerous place. It's a harsh environment to live in and explore, but if you can survive the heat and sandstorms, then what treasures await? Here are ten encounters I've designed that take place in deserts all over the world.
1. Bandits in the caravan
Bandits are a common trope in desert campaigns. It's pretty obvious why—they can attack caravans and be a good source of loot, information, and combat encounters. In addition to being armed bandits (or even better, undead bandits), you might consider adding an encounter with a group of nomads or other travelers who've been waylaid by the bandit group. They may offer assistance if they feel like it, but more often than not they'll just flee once the fighting starts.
If your players are interested in investigating further or want to interrogate one of the captured bandits about what's going on in the area before moving on, let them make Intelligence checks to learn more about what happened as well as details about their leader: where he came from, which direction he was headed when attacked (which might help narrow down his location), whether he believes himself safe with no pursuers close behind him, etc.
Finally, if you're feeling ambitious you could have some kind of confrontation between the bandit leader and someone else who happens across him near where these events took place—perhaps another merchant caravan trying to pass through?
2. Desert terrain puzzle
A desert terrain puzzle is any problem that needs to be solved within the context of a desert environment. A physical obstacle may be something like an oasis with a secret entrance in its water source, or an oasis with a mechanical trap that requires you to solve a logic puzzle in order to gain access to its water. A mental challenge could be something like an ancient temple buried beneath the sand, where you have to find hidden symbols and solve riddles before being able to enter inside.
To give your players some more ideas, here are some examples of desert terrain puzzles:
A massive obelisk stands atop a hill—you must climb up it and descend into the tomb below before sunset.
Your party has been separated by floodwaters during high tide; when this happens again tomorrow night at sunset, whoever does not make it back first will drown as well!
3. Sandstorm
A sandstorm is an encounter that imposes disadvantage on perception checks, ranged weapon attacks, and ranged spell attacks.
The characters are attacked by a massive roc during the storm. The large bird of prey focuses on grabbing the smallest of the group and attempts to fly away with its new meal. It doesn’t stay and fight. The characters must chase down their captive ally during the storm.
4. The oasis is gone!
The oasis is gone! You know the ones I'm talking about, right? The lush green patches of land that provide water to weary travelers in the desert. But what if your PCs are not so lucky this time? What if their oasis turns out to be a mirage? What if it's just a dried-up husk or a pool of brackish water teeming with vermin? What then? Well, here are some ideas:
The PCs may have to solve an environmental puzzle or challenge (such as finding a hidden stream) in order to get water.
They may have no choice but to fight for their lives against desperate people who know where the last remaining supply of fresh water is located—and they won't let anyone else drink from it unless they're willing and able to fight back.
If there isn't any natural water nearby, the PCs might need magic or technology in order to survive until they reach their next destination.
5. Desert island
You are stranded on a desert island. You have your supplies and the ability to survive, but you must find water and food while also finding shelter from the sun and other dangers.
You must also signal for help so that you can be rescued. This might require building a makeshift raft or something similar. It is unlikely that anyone else would be able to get their boat through strong waves such as those found in this area of the ocean (unless they have magic boats). You may see ships in the distance, but unless they have binoculars, they will not be able to see you waving at them from shore because of how far away from shore it is possible for a ship with regular sails will be able to sail before being forced back out into open seas by rough weather conditions caused by storms being blown against them by prevailing winds coming off land masses such as mountain ranges dissecting areas where large bodies of water meet one another at their borders where currents form between them due to differences in salinity levels between two different bodies connected together via shared borders--or something like that!
6. King and his knights
In this encounter, you can have the adventurers stumble into a desert oasis and find themselves face-to-face with King Artorius and his Knights of the Round Table.
King Artorius is a tyrant who uses fear to keep his subjects in line. He rules over them with an iron fist and makes sure that no one crosses him. The knights are loyal only because they know what happens when someone has crossed him before.
When it comes down to it though, neither King Artorius nor his knights are nearly as powerful as they would like people to think they are—he’s just a man after all! And while the king may be able to control some magic through his crown, he certainly doesn’t know have the powerful of an experienced adventurer.
The characters are offered a chance to rid the world of a tyrant, but is killing a king and his knights in a desert a proper punishment? If the characters do, then nearby areas fall under economic collapse and begin to be taken over by warlords, all of which are much worse than the tyrant king.
7. Ambush!
This is a good place to give the players a chance to show off their fighting skills. You can set up an ambush using monsters or other threats that are slightly more powerful than those you have used thus far. For example:
Two ogres and two large spiders (MM p.16) attack the PCs on the road while they are traveling through a forested area. The party has fought such creatures before, but now they realize that something is different about this encounter—the ogres are carrying weapons and armor! (The ogres were in town earlier that day looking for mercenaries.)
A group of thieves hide in an alleyway waiting for unsuspecting travelers as they pass by on their way home from work or shopping at market stalls; there are five thieves in total: two rogues (MM p.34), one fighter (MM p.35), one cleric (MM p.32), and one wizard (MM p.36). The thieves have been watching these people for weeks before taking their first opportunity to rob them; unfortunately, things don't go quite accordingto plan... especially when one of them gets scared off by something unexpected happening nearby!
A group of adventurers are lost in the wilderness. The party has been traveling for days without seeing another soul; they are beginning to get tired and hungry. Finally, they see a village in the distance beyond some trees. However, as they approach it becomes apparent that something is wrong—the village is completely deserted! Houses have been ransacked and burned down, but there are no signs of battle anywhere around town; it appears as though everyone just left their homes one day and never came back.
8. Puzzles in the pyramid
You will increase the difficulty of your encounter by using puzzles as a way to slow down the action. This can be done by creating a sense of wonder and confusion for players who are not familiar with this type of encounter. If you have new players, puzzles are an excellent way to introduce them into the game and make the environment more immersive.
The most basic form of puzzle is taking away player roles from them (like handing off initiative cards). This encourages teamwork between players and sometimes even creates more roleplay opportunities if they are able to use their character's strengths or weaknesses and communicate with other characters about what they should do next.
Puzzles can also be used as an introduction for new monsters or creatures if you want players to have time getting used to fighting something different before throwing them directly into combat with it! Puzzles work well in dungeons because they give characters something else other than combat that they can focus on while exploring a location—and since these encounters usually take place underground or in caves where there aren't many natural light sources available anyway, they become perfect opportunities for creating tension-filled moments where only some kindling may keep everyone safe from whatever horrors lie within its darknesses."
9. City of Ruins
Imagine you've been wandering in your desert for days, maybe weeks. The sun has scorched your skin and made it feel like the inside of an oven. Your water supply is running low, and you don't know if you'll make it out alive.
Then, suddenly, a towering tower appears on the horizon—a city! A place of refuge from the harsh elements! You hasten towards it in hopes of finding shelter from the merciless sun. But what will you find when you get there? Will this be a place where humans live and thrive or are there monsters lurking within its walls? Perhaps bandits use this city as their base of operations—or maybe they're just using its ruins as cover while they loot nearby caravans?
10. Pharoah's Tomb
If your players are looking for a good tomb, they need look no further than the Pharoah's Tomb.
This place of death is also a place of life. It's a place where mystery and wonder lie waiting to be discovered. Danger, intrigue, and burial all inhabit this one location as well. The fact that it’s also still being excavated makes it even more interesting for your players who love exploring ancient ruins and exploring new places in D&D games!
Your desert campaign just got a little more interesting!
There’s no need to be intimidated by the unlimited possibilities of the desert. If you give yourself the chance, you can create an entire world from sand and heat.
We hope you enjoyed these ideas for desert encounters. If you have any more ideas, let us know in the comments or by emailing us at [email protected] We’d love to hear from you!
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