Geography of the Tablelands

I may speak of the Tablelands as if they are a single type of terrain, but this is far from true. The Tablelands consist of six different kinds of land: stony barrens, sandy wastes, salt flats, rocky bad lands, scrub plains, and inland silt basins. Each is as different from the other as the Sea of Silt is from the Ringing Mountains. They are lumped together for the purposes of geographical description. All occur in the same general area, but no one should make the mistake of assuming that the similarity goes much beyond their location.

Stony Barrens

Stony barrens are the most common type of terrain in the Tablelands. They consist primarily of large sheets of exposed bedrock - mostly orange-red sandstone. Of course, the bedrock is constantly being weathered away, so the barrens are littered with stones ranging in size from pebbles to boulders. Large areas of rock are covered by a thick layer of red dirt, as well as waist-high drifts of coarse orange sand and puffy heaps of yellow dust. If you have any other choice, don't travel across open ground on stony barrens. Unless you're traveling on a road or well-worn path, the loose rocks make footing treacherous. Humans and demi-humans (including elves) can move at only half their normal walking speed when traveling these areas. Kanks can travel at standard walking speed, but not any faster. On the other hand, mekillots barely notice the change in footing, for their great weight grinds rocks into powder. However, only a fool would try to pull a wagon through this terrain; even the sturdiest wheels would be pulverized within a matter of miles. Flora and Fauna For every rock in the stony barrens, there are a dozen thorns. Cactus grows everywhere and in every conceivable shape: squat spheres covered by long yellow needles, twisted masses of ground-hugging tubes, tall spine-covered barrels rising as high as twenty feet - even in tangled masses with tree-like limbs. Many of these cacti are sources of both food and waters provided you are willing to work your way past their thorns. If you are not familiar with a particular cactus, however, it is best not to attempt eating it or stealing water from it. Some cacti have mobile needles that will work their way deep into your flesh, not stopping until they reach your heart or another vital organ. The meat or fluid of other cacti is toxic, and there are even a few that shoot poisoned needles at any animal passing near them. The fauna of the stony barrens is varied. Here, you will find most of the animals of Athas wild erdlus, mekillots, inix, etc. Of course, there is also an abundance of predators: braxat, tembo, belgoi, and the like.

Sandy Wastes

The sandy wastes are what many people imagine when they think of the open desert: a vast expanse of yellow sand, piled into dunes of various shapes and sizes. There are many different kinds of dunes. Where there is a strong, steady wind blowing from one direction, the dunes are called mekillot dunes. This is because of their great size and shape, which resembles the hump of a mekillot's back. Stretching anywhere from one-half to several miles in length, and lying parallel to the path of the wind, these dunes often rise as high as 750 feet and can seem like mountains - especially if you happen to be the unlucky fellow who must cross a couple of hundred miles of them on foot. Wave dunes are the product of moderate winds which blow steadily from one direction. They look like an oasis pond on a windy day, with sharp, evenly spaced ridges of sand. The crests of these dunes are only between fifty and a hundred feet high. They are not difficult to cross, but I have known the regularity of their spacing to drive impatient muls into a killing frenzy. Crescent dunes form where the sand does not completely cover the ground. They result from a one-directional wind blowing sand more readily over the dune's low tips than its high center. These are my favorite kinds of dunes, for you can almost always find a way to go around rather than climb over them. Star dunes are the most interesting. They are twisted masses of sand with tentacle-like ridges extending in all directions - sometimes for many miles. They form in areas where winds from many directions meet, causing the dune's radial arms to twist back on itself. As a traveler, I have always considered star dunes my friend. Because they change shape slowly and seldom move far, they serve well as landmarks in seas of shifting sand. In any dune region, the traveler occaslonally hears a vibrant booming echoing across the sands. This muffled thunder usually continues for five minutes or more, and can be so loud that you must shout to make yourself heard. Druids and clerics explain this roaring by saying that it is caused by avalanches of sand tumbling down the steep slip-faces of the dunes. Personally, I think the elven explanation is more likely the booming is caused by the tolling bells of an ancient city that the dunes have buried. Of course, not all sand lies in dunes. Where there is no wind, it may form a yellow plain, as level as a salt flat and seemingly as endless as the Sea of Silt. Similarly, it is heaped in great fan-shaped hills at the base of the Ringing Mountains, where it spills out of the canyons running out of the high country. Whether it lies in a flat plain or is heaped into great piles and dunes, traveling through sand is hard work. Human and demihuman travelers must rest at least twelve hours a day and have an adequate supply of food and water, or their speed quickly decreases and they find themselves too exhausted to continue moving. The other great hazard of the sandy wastes as the sandstorm. On a bad day, the wind howls so loud that it drowns out the voice of a screaming man, and it stirs up so much sand that you cannot see farther than a few feet in front of you. Under such circumstances, I advise you to stop wherever you are and wait out the storm. To do otherwise is to lose your way or become separated from your companions. Plants are few and far between in the sandy wastes, for they must fight a constant losing battle with the wind as it works to bury them beneath a fine layer of sand. Still, there are occasional clumps of tough grass, wiry stems of ocotillo, and scrawny sprays of salt brush. Most of these plants are harmless, if not nutritious, but be careful before allowing your mounts to graze on anything with a purple hue - such plants often drive mekillots and inix into murderous rages. Kanks don't seem to be affected by these plants, however, I have no idea what the purple plants would do to a man who eats them. As in the stony barrens, you will find most forms of animals in the sandy wastes. The anakore (see Chapter Five Monsters of Athas) seems to be particularly common here.

Salt Flats

The salt flats are just what the name implies: immense plains of salt-crusted ground. Salt flats are generally level and packed as hard as stone, so traveling over them is fast and easy. However, forage for pack animals and prey for hunters is all but nonexistent. Those traveling through a salt-flat are well advised to take along enough food for themselves and their beasts. They should also carry an ample supply of drinking water. Although there are oases in the salt flats, the water is usually so bitter and salty that it is undrinkable. In some cases, water can be found that seems safe to drink, but is tainted with a slow-acting poison. I have always tried to avoid travel on the salt flats, for they are a harsh place. This is nowhere more evident than in the shocking lack of plant and animal life found upon them. Here and there a traveler might find a hearty weed or dwarf cactus, but by and Large these foul regions are wholly lifeless.

Rocky Badlands

The rocky badlands are labyrinths of narrow, twisting canyons winding their way through a region of high ground. The canyons are walled by cliffs of crumbling rock, and the hilltops consist of little more than knife-sharp ridges separating one canyon from the next. There tend to be concentrations of oases in the badlands, so they are a natural haven for hermits, raiding tribes, and creatures of all sorts. Traveling in the badlands is not particularly difficult - provided one is willing to stay in the bottom of the canyons and has no particular desire to move in a straight line. Those wishing to go somewhere other than where the canyon leads quickly discover that scaling the canyon walls - often sheer cliffs - is a practical impossibility, especially if they have much cargo. Mountains often lie at the heart of the badlands. Usually, these mountains are little more than massive pinnacles of stone rising far above the surrounding hills, but they are occasionally true mountains standing thousands of feet high. No matter what their height, mountains are usually inhabited by one or two vicious creatures who consider any attempt to climb the peak an encroachment on their territory. Flora and Fauna The gulches of the rocky badlands are often covered with diminutive trees bearing tiny silver, gold, or purple leaves. There is also an abundance of low-lying brush with serrated, silver-white leaves, as well as spherical gray-yellow bushes with thorny stems standing as tall as a man. The twigs of the trees make excellent grazing for any reptile, but kanks die within a few days of eating even a mouthful of these twigs. Don't let anything eat the serrated leaves of the low-lying brush, as the sharp leaves slice up the intestines of whatever eats them. As throughout most of the Tablelands, nearly any kind of beast can be found in the rocky badlands, but tembo, belgoi, and silk wyrms are especially common.

Scrub Plains

Scrub plains are small tracts of dusty land dotted with clumps of grass, thorny bushes, and occasionally even spindly trees. These tracts are relatively scarce in the Tablelands. Because the scrub provides the best forage available, herders tend to over- graze these plains, stripping the land of all foliage and reducing it to a sandy waste or stony barren. What the herders do not inadvertently destroy, Defilers often annihilate. Although the scrub plains are not lush by any standard, they contain more vegetation per acre than most other Athasian terrain. Because of this, Defilers are often attracted to these areas when first learning their black art, practicing new spells, or trying to find a safe refuge. Given the destructive pressure of these two forces, it is a wonder that there are any scrub plains at all in the Tablelands. Most of the remaining tracts still exist only because they are watched over by druids. When they realize that a Defiler has en- tered their territory, these druids do everything in their power to drive him from the area or kill him - usually the latter. The druids treat herders more kindly, simply keeping a close eye on the herding tribes and their flocks. If the herders try to take their flocks into a pasture in danger of being overgrazed, or if they stay in the same place too long, the druids will subtly guide the herders away by summoning a ferocious creature or a plague of insects. In cases of especially dense or stubborn herders, the action may be more severe. I was once traveling with a party of elven nomads who refused to move on, even though they were perfectly aware that they were angering the local druid. The standoff finally ended with the druid opening the earth and swallowing the tribe's entire camp. No elven lives were lost, but the herders had to resort to raiding in order to Survive. Travel in the scrub plains is generally easy and uneventful. The greatest danger facing most travelers is that they will anger the local druid or run across a predatory animal. Flora and Fauna The scrub plains are covered with sporadic clumps of brown-green grass, thorny hedges, and tall, wispy trees with drooping branches and long, spear-shaped leaves. Occasionally, when a rain has fallen in an area within the last thirty to sixty days, an entire field will be covered with wild flowers and leafy green plants. Generally speaking, most of the plants in the scrub plains are safe for both humans and beasts, but halflings and dwarves should avoid eating anything with purple spots (unless they are fond of terrible stomachaches and feverish deliriums). As in the rest of the Tablelands, nearly any beast can be found in the scrub plains - though with much greater frequency. Jozhal and gith can be an exceptional problem here.

Inland Silt Basins

These areas are much the same as the Sea of Silt, save that they cover a much smaller area. Most of the time, they are shrouded by a gray pall of windborne silt, and the dust is still so deep that a man cannot wade through it. There are rumors that certain hidden pathways follow the course of long buried city walls. I cannot attest to the accuracy of these tales, but even if they are true, I would hesitate to trust my life such a treacherous trail. Those traveling across an inland silt basin must use the same methods as those traveling in the Sea of Silt itself, and can expect to meet the same hazards. Therefore, I suggest that anyone contemplating such a journey read the entry describing the Sea of Silt before embarking. Flora and Fauna I have found that the creatures dwelling in and around the silt basins are similar in most respects to those found in the Sea of Silt itself. With the general exception of silt horrors, the information presented above for the Sea of Silt can be assumed to apply to Silt Basins as well.