Friday Encounter: Sandstorm

I have long maintained that adverse weather and environmental hazards are greatly underutilized in RPG encounters. They create realism and vesimilitude by showcasing the many difficulties real-world travelers may encounter and proving that such events don't have to be fantastic to be interesting, and often times present challenges for the players to overcome without having to fall back on combat. Here's an example of how weather can create an interesting encounter.

Sandstorm

This encounter is, obviously, most applicable when the PCs are traveling through a desert (such as those found in Quel'Ahma or Valossa). However, many mechanics presented here could easily be applied to a snowstorm if one wishes to use this encounter in a more wintery clime.

While traveling the desert, the PCs notice harsh winds whipping up sand over the horizon. Before long, their view into the distance is blocked by a great cloud of sand, swirling as high as the eye can see - and it's coming closer! Anyone familiar with the desert, whether PCs or NPC guides, will immediately recognize this as a sandstorm - and the party only has a few brief moments to prepare themselves before the storm is upon them!

There are a number of ways to address this encounter. The PCs might try to take cover or set up some form of shelter, such as a tent, if they have one. However, it may not be so easy to do so in time! Enter Action Time, using a flat d20 roll with no modifiers for the initiative of the sandstorm. The sandstorm starts 90 feet away from the party and moves 30 feet closer to the party on its turn. To set up a tent, the PCs must achieve three successes on a DC 15 Sleight of Hand check, assuming of course that they have the necessary materials. Alternatively, there may be rocks, walls, or other forms of cover that the PCs might try to run toward. It's best if these are placed such that the PCs might need to make multiple move actions to get there. Hopefully, they can get to safety before the storm overtakes them!

If the storm does catch up to the party, however, they aren't out of the woods. Once it catches up to the party, for each round on the sandstorm's turn, roll 1d20. On a roll of 10 or higher, the storm threatens to blow through whatever cover the PCs have. Any PC who attempts to brace the shelter must make a DC 12 Constitution save or the party is affected by the storm (see below) on all subsequent turns until a successful save to stabilize the shelter is made. PCs affected by the storm have Disadvantage on this save. If multiple PCs assist in this, the save is made with Advantage.

Alternatively, the PCs may choose to try and press onward through the storm, braving the danger. If so, they are automatically affected by the storm. Any PCs affected by the storm must make a DC 15 Constitution save or take 1d8 slashing damage from the sand abrading their skin and getting in their airways. Additionally, they gain the Blinded condition on a failed save until they are out of the storm. The sand is impossible to see through - melee attacks in the midst of the storm are made with Disadvantage (unless made by a creature with Blindsight or some form of protection), and ranged attacks automatically miss due to the heavy winds.

After three rounds, the sandstorm passes the PCs by and things proceed as normal. However, if the PCs attempted to move through the storm, they may find themselves lost, unable to guide themselves through the all-consuming sands! Have whoever is leading the party make a DC 20 Survival check; on a failure, they will find they moved in a direction other than what they intended (roll 1d8: 1. north; 2. northeast; 3. east; 4. southeast; 5. south; 6. southwest; 7. west; 8. northwest). If multiple PCs attempt to move through the storm independently, they may become separated this way...

There are, of course, a number of twists one can throw into this encounter. One could turn it into an interesting combat encounter by having the PCs attacked by enemies capable of withstanding the storm in its midst, thus forcing them to deal with opponents they can barely see or hit! Alternatively, one might decide that rather than merely a spell of wind, the sandstorm is actually the work of an angry air elemental or djinn, and it's up to the PCs to placate them in order to proceed safely.

Friday Encounter: The Genie's Lamp

Of all the D&D horror stories out there, I'm sure that a solid chunk of them (if we filter out the ones that involve the words "it's what my character would do," anyway) involve the wish spell. The fun thing about such a spell is that it can do anything. It's a feature that truly shows the infinite potential of a TRPG if what a player can do with it is only limited by their imagination, and encourages the sort of creative thinking and problem solving that make TRPGs truly shine for me. The downside of wish is that giving a player access to infinite potential is very easy to abuse...unless the DM decides to have some fun with it, anyway.

Here's an encounter that plays on an old trope to get players thinking of how well they use their wishes. Perhaps it's a bit trite. Practically everyone has seen a genie someone had to throttle in a bottle, right? (Is my theater kid self showing?) But the reason cliches like this exist is because there's something about them that appeals to us, and a lot of them could very easily make for some fun scenarios at the table. Part of what appealed to me about D&D growing up was the idea of stepping into the same kinds of stories I loved and getting to make the decisions for the protagonist(s), and I think there's something to be said about presenting players with recognizable scenarios that have been the plot of many a TV episode or thought experiment to see how they would approach them.

The Genie's Lamp

This encounter can be used anywhere. It could be in a dungeon, in the wilderness, after defeating a major opponent, or perhaps even in a town. It doesn't even have to be in Quel'Ahma (or wherever genies come from in your setting); captive genies fetch a high price on the black market, and the sorcerers who control them may spread far and wide. Whatever the case may be, the PCs should come across a brass lamp carved with elaborate designs - it might be abandoned, pawned off at a market, or looted off a defeated foe.

If the lamp is rubbed, a cascade of sparkling smoke pours from the spout - and from that smoke manifests Tahir Avram Majdi abd al-Malik, a noble djinn who has been held prisoner in the lamp for centuries, bound under the spell of a cruel magician who wished to harness the genie's powers for his own gain. Recognizing the PCs are unfamiliar to him, Tahir introduces himself and expresses his gratitude for being freed from his prison. As is customary among his people, he agrees to grant them a taste of his power as a reward for their generosity, promising three wishes, with no rules or restrictions applying (other than that they cannot wish for more wishes), before he returns to the flying city of Tasshen.

The twist is that the long years of confinement and servitude have caused Tahir to grow resentful of all mortals, and he sees the PCs as no different than the wizard who bound him in the first place. He still offers his services to them - it's tradition, after all - but secretly, he only intends to pay lip service to the idea. In reality, Tahir wants revenge, and he will go through whatever means necessary to twist the PCs' wishes against them, in a scheme to teach them that they cannot hope to control such great and powerful entities and get away unscathed.

Whatever the PCs wish for, Tahir will execute it in way that will harm, inconvenience, or negatively impact them the most while still falling under the parameters of what they wished for. He will never refuse a wish or produce something other than what was wished for, but his definition of "what was wished for" is a broad one, and he weighs his interpretation heavily against the PCs. Use your judgment on how to best twist a wish. For instance, if a PC wishes for a magical sword, Tahir will give them one that is cursed (it's still magical; they never asked for a good enchantment). If they wish for an adversary to be dead, Tahir might ensure that their death creates a power vacuum that an even greater foe could occupy - or even turn that enemy undead, but still very much active and against the party, and quite possibly stronger than before!

If the PCs call Tahir out on his tricks, he will not lie or make excuses, simply pointing out that he still gave the PCs what they wished for. If they attempt to harm him, he will jump back into the lamp and hide there, refusing to emerge until it is rubbed when the PCs have no harmful intentions. If the PCs try to get rid of the lamp, it will keep mysteriously turning up in their possession, though Tahir himself will never appear unless summoned by rubbing the lamp.

This is, effectively, a way to challenge the PCs into thinking creatively to try to outsmart the genie. They might twist their wishes to be as specific as possible, for instance - though Tahir will still try to find whatever loopholes he can. A truly creative PC might be able to weaponize Tahir's wishes into creating cataclysms that will be as harmful to enemies as they are to the party themselves!

Once three wishes have been made, Tahir keeps to his word and vanishes off to Tasshen, glad to finally be rid of those pesky mortals. The lamp then becomes an ordinary lamp, worth 80 GP.

The Castes of Quel'Ahma

Social stratification in Quel'Ahma is set up according to a caste system that reflects how closely one can trace their lineage to the great genies - the more genie blood one has in their veins, the more power they hold in society.

Since time immemorial, the genies have held sway over the Quel'Ahman desert. These magical beings command great power, and they embody the four elements that shaped Quel'Ahma and all other lands, which caused them to come to be seen as emissaries of the cosmic forces and being in some way closer to perfection. But in ancient times, the genies grew content in the power and respect they were afforded - and they saw fit to exert it. They amassed vast harems of humans in an attempt to spread their noble lineage, or merely to slake their baser desires (for even if the genies were more perfect beings, they were just as vulnerable to mortal temptations). Their children were the genasi - those of mixed genie and mortal blood.

As time went on, the population of genasi increased more and more, and the genies began to fear that they were diluting their issue too thoroughly with mortal stock - that the genasi had tarnished the perfection of the genies by mixing it with the follies of mankind. To that end, the genies issued an edict that has been law in Quel'Ahma ever since - the formation of the three castes.

Humans make up the lowest caste of Quel'Ahman society, and are the most numerous in number. They are the common people - the laborers, farmers, soldiers, and slaves. Under the philosophy of Elementalism, it is believed that all earthly creatures, including humans, are composed of all four elements in equal parts - but for this reason, each individual element is impure, making it harder for that being to attain true perfection (humans are believed, under Elementalism, to still be capable of perfecting their beings, but it is harder for them to do so compared to genasi or genies. They are encouraged to strive toward being as perfect as they can be). As the genies care not to risk their magnificent immortal existences in the toils and trifles of everyday life, it is the humans who are tasked with all the dirty work they wish not to sully their hands with. One does not see an almighty djinn engaging in hard labor, after all.

This does not mean that humans in Quel'Ahma are doomed to a life of squalor and poverty. It is, in fact, quite possible for humans to attain wealth and influence, and some of the finest scholars and the most well-traveled merchants have been of human stock. But their lives are fleeting and their powers diminished compared to their masters, giving them less opportunity for advancement, and they are not often trusted with more important positions.

Sample NPC: Mahmoud ibn Yusha is a trader in Hajar, a nexus of several important caravan routes that pass through Al-Riyah. As the city is a cosmopolitan one, with many travelers from foreign ports passing through, he has made great business buying and selling goods from many lands, and he is keen to flaunt his wealth in treasures from foreign lands, trimming his turban with furs from the north and his robes in silks from the City-States, among other things. He is regarded as somewhat of an eccentric; some of his peers argue that he has grown too much like the Northerners he deals with, and has taken to a love of gambling and strong drink. However, he uses his connections well, and has befriended several merchants and their entourages, making him privy to all sorts of information that passes through the city and beyond.

The Genasi - those who can trace their heritage back to mixed mortal and genie parentage -  make up the middle caste of Quel'Ahman society. Though they were descended from the mingling of great and lesser beings, their population grew so great as to earn them recognition as a separate caste, and now it is expected that genasi marry and associate with other genasi to avoid diluting their genie blood any further with that of mere mortals. If mortals are composed of the four elements in equal parts, then the genasi have a greater percentage of one element compared to the others, granting them longer lives and greater attunement to magic - they are thus seen as being closer to the pure, unrefined form of their respective element, but not attaining the purity of a true genie. They can still grow old and die, and their powers are diminished compared to their forefathers, but humans still treat them with awe and respect - if not fear. Generally, genasi of a given type are more commonly found in the emirate corresponding to their element, but exceptions occur, be they well-traveled merchants or simply well-connected officials.

Genasi are the executive class of Quel'Ahma. They are clerks, government officials, and merchant-princes, often overseeing particular towns or businesses for the benefit of their genie masters. Often born into wealth and privilege, the average genasi can expect to not have to deal with the back-breaking manual labor of humans, but they cannot afford the idle luxuries of a true genie either - rather, it is they who must manage the humans on behalf of the genies, to ensure that everything proceeds under the auspices of order. Still, their long lives and relative freedom warrants them plenty of time to themselves, and many are philosophers and scholars, turning their attention to decoding the mysteries of the universe while their underlings take care of the hard labor.

Sample NPC: Zakariah al-Diklah bin Eli al-Su'ud is the administrator of the town of Mesenshah, and an envoy to the Emir who ensures that his word is carried out. He is a loyal servant to the Emir and respects his judgments, but is not without ambition - he has led an initiative to open up relations with the outside world, in particular sending more envoys to Wulin in the hopes of strengthening trade with the far-off land. However, he will not hesitate to back off if convinced that doing so is in the Emir's wishes. When dealing with others, he is strict and businesslike - he finds it unbecoming of a noble genasi like him to be tied up with mistakes and unprofessionalism.

The Genies - djinn, efreet, marids, and dao - are the ruling class of Quel'Ahma. They are immortal beings of the elements, composed of their respective element in its purest and unmixed form, and are thus seen as models of elemental perfection that mortals must strive toward in all regards possible. As beings of great magic, they command power over even the wisest of genasi, and they have lived long enough to master untold knowledge. It is no surprise, then, that genies are treated with awe and reverence, in a matter some foreigners have compared to living gods.

Quel'Ahma is divided into four emirates, and the Emir who rules over each one is a genie with power over the corresponding element. Those these spirits keep the company of genasi courtiers and whatever human envoys are lucky enough to be granted access to their marvelous palaces, they socialize with their own kind, usually comprised of their extended families, which can grow quite large and house many generations beneath one roof. As can be expected, this puts aspirants for the throne (though genies are immortal, they often grow bored of ruling for too long and choose a successor before abdicating) in close contact with one another - and this can cause palaces to turn into hotbeds of intrigue as competing factions jostle with one another for their place in line. The homeland of the genies is the holy city of Tasshen - the dwelling place of the Sultan of all Quel'Ahma, and a flying city that soars above the clouds. No mortal has ever laid eyes upon it, and any who set foot in it would be summarily disintegrated.

Despite the importance of their positions, the genies of Quel'Ahma tend not to be active rulers. They are content to live in splendor and opulence, spending their immortal existences in the pursuit of decadence. After all, they have genasi to worry about the complicated business for them. This hands-off approach to ruling does, however, mean they can easily be swayed by ambitious viziers who tell them what they want to hear while furthering their own schemes, and there have been many times where the disgruntled populace rose up against their genie masters who spent their taxes on their own dalliances - though the power that the genies wield is an effective deterrant to unrest.

Ironically, as creatures of magic, genies may possess great power, but power can be worked on them as well. With the right spells and rituals, it is possible for a genie to be bound into a physical object, such as a lamp or ring, and forced to work its powers for the benefit of its captor - even if that captor is a mere mortal. Much like fairies or demons, they are creatures of their word, and if outwitted they have no choice but to serve those who gained power over them. Of course, binding a genie in such a way is a grave offense and a symbol of insubordination in Quel'Ahma, but it is one way in which mortals have fought back against their masters. If a genie is freed from such imprisonment, it is customary for them to reward their gracious rescuers with three wishes.

Sample NPC: Najii Rafiq Itamar al-Gefen ibn Mahir Amjad is the Emir of Al-Riyah. A powerful djinn known for his skill in magic and his ability to see into the future, he is well respected by his people, who view him as the embodiment of the wind itself. As such, no one dares offend him, lest he call storms against them and strand their ships. Despite such a fearsome reputation, though, the Emir is a jolly soul who spends much of his time drinking, feasting, and laughing in the company of his court. He's quite laid-back and takes little seriously; compared to other genies, he is unusually lenient with letting strangers into his court, and has been known to entertain noted guests with grand spectacles if they are present in the area, merely to enjoy their company. He leaves much of the heavy lifting to his courtiers and officials, allowing himself to enjoy such luxuries, but he is as mercurial as the wind, and it would be unwise to believe that he would not pose a threat if offended.

Note that foreigners - be they those from outside Quel'Ahma, Caravan People, or citizens of the independent cities not under the sway of the Sultan - are not considered to be part of any castes, not even that of humans. This allows them to enjoy more mobility and opportunity than may be limited to human Quel'Ahmans, but also means they cannot depend on the genasi or genies to protect them if they fall back to their authority.