SEAS OF

SAND
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CONTENTS
Contents................................................................2 Skiff......................................................................62
Credits...................................................................4 Dhow....................................................................63
The Basics.............................................................5 Ketch....................................................................64
How to Use...........................................................6 Junk......................................................................65
MAPPING................................................... 8 Catamaran..........................................................66
Mapping the Seas...............................................8 Duneboard.........................................................67
The Flow................................................................9 CREW........................................................ 68
Islands.................................................................10 Crew Roles..........................................................68
The Three Common Sands..............................11 Morale, Wages, and Shares............................70
The Four Weird Sands..................................... 12 Recruiting Crew...............................................72
Cities.................................................................... 14 Piracy................................................................... 74
Villages................................................................ 15 Infamy.................................................................75
Trade Routes...................................................... 16 TRADE...................................................... 76
Havens..................................................................17 The Merchant Roll............................................76
Island & Sand Shapes...................................... 18 Market Events...................................................78
Island Names..................................................... 19 Seers.....................................................................82
PORTS....................................................... 22 Smuggling & Illegality....................................84
Ports.....................................................................22 Time in Port.......................................................86
Building Ports...................................................23 FAUNA...................................................... 88
Governments.....................................................24 A Field Guide to the Seas...............................88
Characteristics..................................................25 Aprotropaic Camel......................................... 90
Taboos..................................................................26 Aqrabuamelu.....................................................92
Landmarks.........................................................27 Armageddon Locust........................................93
Histories.............................................................28 Buried Titan.......................................................94
Surplus & Scarcity...........................................29 Byssus Barnacle................................................96
City Names.........................................................30 Cameltrap...........................................................97
Village Names................................................... 31 Cosmic Scarab...................................................98
Haven Names....................................................32 Dire Jerboa.......................................................100
Example Ports...................................................33 Drillhead Shark.............................................. 101
SAND......................................................... 34 Echo Ghoul.......................................................102
The Basics of Sand............................................34 Fatamorganite.................................................103
Salt Sand.............................................................36 Greater Dust Moth........................................104
Silk Sand.............................................................38 Heptathalassa.................................................105
Sugar Sand.........................................................40 Imperator Cobra.............................................106
Kiln Sand............................................................42 Jetsam Baleen Whale....................................107
Vulcan Sand.......................................................44 Kenokyriarch..................................................108
Bone Sand...........................................................46 Lecanomorphic Jellyfish.............................109
King’s Sand.........................................................48 Mirror Sphinx................................................. 110
TRAVEL....................................................50 Noctistellean.................................................... 111
Weather...............................................................50 Numinous Noumenon...................................112
Random Encounters....................................... 51 Oasis Beast........................................................113
Survival...............................................................52 Prognosticant Vulture...................................114
SANDCRAFT............................................ 54 Psammead.........................................................115
Sandcraft............................................................54 Pyramind...........................................................116
Acquiring a Ship...............................................55 Quebracho Zaratan........................................118
Naval Combat....................................................56 Rasp-o’-the-Roar..............................................119
Ship Repairs.......................................................58 The Sandkraken..............................................120
Ship Upgrades...................................................59 Shivering Saint................................................121
Coracle................................................................ 60 Theomastix....................................................... 122
Dinghy................................................................. 61 Ur-Crab.............................................................. 123

INTRODUCTION
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Vitric Wyrm..................................................... 124 Ascetic Colony................................................ 157

The Wet.............................................................. 125 Desert Post Office.......................................... 158
Xerodeinosuchus........................................... 126 Doldrums..........................................................159
Yakhdan Snail.................................................. 127 Dune Choir.......................................................160
Young Father................................................... 128 Eye of the Desert.............................................161
Zoantharian Barrel Imp............................... 129 Fairy Circle....................................................... 162
Ordinary Xeric Fauna...................................130 G_d’s Sanding Block...................................... 163
Aquatic to Xeric.............................................. 133 Gigastructural Ruin......................................164
FLORA......................................................134 Glassblower’s Pillar.......................................166
Aggrogreasewood.......................................... 134 The Lights Betwixt........................................ 167
Bedrock Bacteria............................................ 135 Maelstrom........................................................ 168
Centurion Agave............................................ 136 Mirage................................................................169
Commissar Mangrove.................................. 137 Monolith........................................................... 170
Dire Barrel Cactus......................................... 138 Pilgrim Library................................................171
Elder Cactus..................................................... 139 Sandstorm.........................................................172
Face Stealer Anemone..................................140 Shifting Sand....................................................174
Glutinant Brittlebush....................................141 Sugar Flux........................................................ 175
High Purgator................................................. 142 Xeric Geyser..................................................... 176
Infidel Aloe....................................................... 143 Yardang............................................................. 177
Jackrabbit Cactus.......................................... 144 APPENDICES..........................................178
Living Tumbleweed....................................... 145 Appendix A: Trade Goods............................ 178
Miservault Sotol.............................................146 Appendix B: Cargo Tables............................ 188
Mortal Coconut Palm.................................... 147 Appendix C: Dunerider................................190
Palanquin Lily Pad......................................... 148 Appendix D: Xeromancy.............................. 192
Psychogenic Brain Coral..............................149 Appendix E: NPCs..........................................194
Sarcophagic Cactus.......................................150 Appendix F: Ships..........................................203
Sage of the Diviners.......................................151 Appendix G: Messages in Bottles..............210
Sunsbane Fungus........................................... 152 Appendix H: Trinkets................................... 216
Thermokelp...................................................... 153 Appendix I: Tattoos.......................................220
Ordinary Xeric Flora..................................... 154 Appendix J: Revelations..............................228
PHENOMENA........................................ 156 Appendix K: Encounters..............................234
Aeolian Sculpture..........................................156 Index..................................................................262

INTRODUCTION
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CREDITS
JASON RIPPLINGER Cartography anywhither.com
MATTHEW K. Copyediting, Developmental Editing @ubiquitous_che
NUCLEAROBELISK Cover, THE WORM @nuclearobelisk
ROZ LEAHY Proofreading @AllThingsTruly
SAM SORENSEN Illustration, Layout, Writing @HeadOfTheGoat
WALID RAOUDA Additional Writing, Sensitivity Editing wraouda.com
PLAYTESTERS Alina Constantin, Beau McGhee, Ben Dutter, David Joy, dh croasdill,
Isabel Condé, Jake Poirier, Jason Ripplinger, Jen Bourke, John Blau, Lexi Martin,
Oblidisideryptch, Phoebe McCarthy, Shaina Thayer, Tadeo Menichelli, Walid Raouda,
and Will Gallagher.
SPECIAL THANKS Ben Barthel, Ben McFarland, Caroline Sorensen, David Kanter,
D. N. Wilkie, Eli Martin, Ethan Jantz, Hosni Auji, Jared Sinclair, Jarrett Crader, Logan Clare,
Naomi Clark, Thriftomancer, Tony Vasinda, and Will Gallagher.
PUBLISHED in partnership with Space Penguin Ink, LLC
PRODUCTION Adobe Creative Suite
TYPEFACES Adelle Condensed, Rollerscript
THEME SONG “Gethsemane” by OM.
COPYRIGHT Sam Sorensen © 2023
CONTENT WARNINGS Arachnids & insects, dehydration, drowning, gore, incarceration,
starvation, suffocation, and violence.
HACKS & STUFF The art and text can’t be reproduced, but all of the mechanics and
concepts can be used however you want, free or commercial. No bigots. Tell me if you make
something cool.

INTRODUCTION
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THE BASICS
SAIL BY DAY, THE SEVEN SANDS
PRAY BY NIGHT Seven distinct kinds of sand exist in the
By day, the sands are liquid. People sink Seas, each with its own unique traits and
and ships sail. By night, the sands are properties. Sailors live and die by their
solid. People can walk and ships are knowledge of the different sands.
stuck. Different sands have different • Salt. Tiny translucent salt crystals;
definitions of solid and liquid, but this crunchy, brittle, and painful.
basic principle holds: if you’re caught out • Silk. Fine yellow-orange dust, soft
on the sands at dawn without a ship, only and fluffy like snow.
prayer will save you. Welcome to the Seas. • Sugar. Microscopic pale-yellow
sugar grains, sweet and crackly.
• Kiln. Tough ochre brown clay,
THE SKIN almost always solid.
Water is the de-facto currency, measured
• Vulcan. Volatile dark red gravel that
in waterskins, or simply skins (ẞ). Every
explodes when it gets wet.
merchant, pirate, and wanderer accepts
• Bone. Thin, gray, chalky ash that
skins for goods or services rendered. Most
holds no weight.
cities have exchange-wells where skins
• King’s. Stretchy purple-blue
can be traded for silver pieces (1:1).
granules, almost always liquid.
One skin holds a day’s worth of water,
roughly a gallon. If your group uses TRADE SPACE
inventory slots (recommended), one skin The Seas live on trade. Ships ply their
takes up one inventory slot. wares from port to port, caravans march
1 skin = 1 day’s water = 1 slot = 1 silver under the blazing sun, and pirates stalk
their next score. Though danger lies past
every dune, so too does fortune and glory.
THE BULK
Traders deal in “bulk.” One bulk is
roughly equivalent to a 100-gallon barrel MADNESS & WISDOM
of water, 100 skins, or about 1,000lbs. At the mercy of the desert, one might
find G_d. All know the sands hold many
1 bulk ≈ 1,000 pounds ≈ 100 skins truths: some lead to uncertainty and
≈ 100 inventory slots ≈ 1 camel confusion, others to clarity and wisdom.
All require sacrifice.

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HOW TO USE
Seas of Sand is a toolbox setting guide. It details the Seas, its people, its stuff, and its
wonders. It’s also a whole bunch of procedures, advice, and content for you to use in your
game. There’s lots of content here, but no plotline and—other than examples—no fixed
locations or events. There’s no history to memorize, no lore to wade through, and no canon
to adhere to. Seas can slot into an existing game just as well as form the basis of a new one.
Broadly, there are two modes of play in the Seas, the adventure game and the
mercantile game.

THE ADVENTURE THE MERCANTILE

In the adventure game, player In the mercantile game, PCs chase
characters (PCs) delve into flooded ruins down the best deals and opportunities
and broken halls to retrieve wealth long across the Seas. Wealth is always the
buried beneath the dunes. goal, but PCs, merchants and pirates alike,
care far more about trade routes and
Problems take the form of monsters,
seasons than spinning blades and ancient
dungeons, and villainous NPCs.
tombs. Legality, logistics, and devious
Fulminating prophets, rugged beasts,
competitors—these are the challenges
ancient terrors, blood-drinking pirates,
PCs must face. Bloody sea battles against
and unadulterated death by heat.
pirates and beasts still exist, yes, but far
Characters are as classic as ever—fighters,
more common are canny merchants,
wizards, and thieves of every stripe,
hidden shoals, extortionist officials, false-
out for forgotten treasures and hidden
bottomed barrels, hungry pirates, and
wonders. The sands may flense their
volatile markets. Characters are shrewd
skin and scorch their bones, but endless
traders, wily smugglers, daredevil pirates,
bounty can yet be won through bloody
or even humble employees, earning skins
steel and gritted teeth.
on trade winds and guile.
Most games fall somewhere between these two modes of play. PCs can hunt for trade
deals and opportunities amidst dungeon delves and monster-slaying. Between successful
adventures, they might take a few weeks to earn some honest skins and find their next
bargain. As the GM, be cognizant of your players’ goals and interests. The break between
the two styles is not a system or setting guide decision, it’s a table decision. Talk to your
players frequently, see what they’re interested in, and let your preparation and your game
flow from there.

COMPATIBILITY
By default, Seas of Sand uses old-school elf-game mechanics. You know the ones—they
have lots of sword-fighting and backpacking and rolling twenty-sided dice. Assume six
common attributes or some version of them: Strength (STR), Dexterity (DEX), Constitution
(CON), Intelligence (INT), Wisdom (WIS), and Charisma (CHA). ​​Saves are written as
“save vs [threat],” for example, “save vs ancient curse.” Decide which stat or saving throw
in your system is most relevant to the current situation. Rolls made with advantage
or disadvantage roll two dice and take the better result (advantage) or worse result
(disadvantage); advantage and disadvantage are not strictly the higher or lower result.

INTRODUCTION
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INTRODUCTION
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B L ANK MAP

MAPPING THE SEAS

You need a blank piece of regular printer paper and a polyhedral die set to make your
map of the Seas. Provided above is my own map of the Seas, which I use as an example
going forward. For a quick start, you can use the full sample map on page 20 as your own,
no judgment.
Have a ruler handy. I really like non-gridded maps, but they do require more tools.
Have a pencil and at least seven different colored pencils. In theory, you can make your
entire map of the Seas in black pen, but in practice it’s much easier if you make your map in
color, with tools that can be erased. Sketch things in pencil first, then color in afterwards.

HEXES & GRIDS PLACING THE SEAS

By default, a map of the Seas does not If using the Seas in an existing
use hexes, grids, or similar. There are campaign, place the Seas in the same
no mechanics in this book that explicitly area you’d put an ocean. The Seas are vast,
require hexes, grid squares, or any sort of bookended by continents. Hundreds of
abstractions of space. nautical miles at a minimum, thousands at
a maximum.
If you use graph paper, I recommend a
standard increment of 12 nautical miles,
or a factor of 12. Because the Seas are
solid for 12 hours per day, a ship traveling 1
knot (1 nautical mile per hour) travels
1 increment per day, be it a grid-square or
hex. If you increase the scale of your map,
adjust the increment accordingly.

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THE FLOW
The “flow” is the underlying line—angle, stroke, direction, current—that everything
in the map more or less follows. Anything that refers to “following the flow” or similar
means orienting loosely parallel to it.

MAKING THE FLOW ALTERING THE FLOW

1. Drop a die at a random point on • Radial flows. Make the flow multiple
opposite ends of the paper. Long side expanding radial lines, each of which
or short side, doesn’t make a difference. wobbles a bit—like the grain of wood.
2. Roll 1d4-1, then drop that many dice • Multiple flows. Make two or more
between the two points. Make some flows. Useful for particularly large Seas.
lateral space between them so that no • Branching flow. Add (dis)tributaries
one die is parallel to another. that split off from the main flow.
3. Sketch a line connecting the points • Overlapping flows. Make multiple
and dropped dice, one end to the flows overlap. You can even do this with
other. If you have no middle dice, the one flow, if you want looping sections.
flow is a straight line. If you have three • Short flows. Multiple flows that start
middle dice, the flow should wiggle. and stop, for a jagged, uneven Seas.

The flow is the path THE WORM traveled in ancient days, forming the first sands. All
other sands drift in the maker’s path, echoing its eternal progress.

MAPPING
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ISLANDS
Land and soil are rare lifelines amidst the endless liquid dunes. Where solid earth rises
out of the desert, it means water, plants, animals—it means life. Islands are where crops
grow and cities thrive, their loose soil held together by commissar mangroves (pg137) and
dust-bitten rock.
1. Roll 3d6 for the number of islands in 5. If an island falls on the flow, give it an
the Seas. additional 2d4 tiny islands in a small
2. For each island, drop 1d6 onto your archipelago. These chains, as before,
map, noting the result. Where the die should follow the flow.
lands is the island's location, and the 6. Any islands longer in one dimension
numerical result indicates relative size. should roughly follow the flow. This is
Relative consistency matters more than flexible, but angle them to be “parallel,”
strict measurements. if you can.
3. Roll 1d100 for the island’s general 7. If your map feels sparse, add another
shape (pg18). These shapes are flexible: 4d6 tiny islands generally following
interpret as needed. the flow.
4. If an island rolls a 1, give it an 8. If a die rolls off the map, have that
additional 2d4 tiny islands in a small island be part of a mainland, jutting
archipelago. These should be very into the Seas. Any settlements on that
small relative to the others, and loosely would-be island are part of some larger
follow the flow. landmass instead.
Optionally, you can make one or more edges of your map a coastline. Handy for slotting
your sandy Seas into an existing campaign world. For sandbox games set purely in the
Seas, it’s less necessary, but can still be fun.

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THE THREE COMMON SANDS

The three common sands are salt, silk, and sugar (see pg36–41 for details). They behave
similarly, and while they have individual properties, they are broadly interchangeable in a
way that, say, vulcan and kiln sand aren’t. Wise sailors prefer the common sands.

PLACING THE THREE COMMON SAND

1. Roll 1d3 for the central sand: salt, silk, DEMARCATION
or sugar. That sand overlaps the flow. Choose a color for each sand and fill
Draw two lines representing the rolled them in, for example:
sand, overlapping the flow from end • Salt: pale gray; white, in a pinch.
to end. Every few hundred nautical • Silk: orange-gold; straight orange is
miles, vary the line shapes so the sand fine, too.
undulates in size. • Sugar: pale yellow, or just yellow.
2. Place the remaining sands on each
side of the flow sand. These two are In black & white, the sands follow this
likely a little larger in terms of area gradient of light to dark:
than the one that follows the flow;
adjust to taste. Make them curvy! Salt sand
3. Throw patches of each sand inside the Silk sand
others. You can do die-drops and roll Sugar sand
their shapes like islands (pg18), or just
vibe it. Kiln sand
Vulcan sand
Bone sand
King’s sand

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THE FOUR WEIRD SANDS

The four weird sands are kiln, vulcan, bone, and king’s sand (see pg42–49 for details).
Each has strange or unique properties. While you can include huge swathes of these in
your Seas if you want, it makes travel far more perilous. For your first game, best to keep
the four weird sands rare.
While these are presented in order, you should intersperse them. Weird sands tend to
overlap other sands, and thus you don’t want one single sand to override all the others.
(Unless you do, of course.)

KILN SAND VULCAN SAND

1. Roll 2d4 patches of kiln sand. 1. Roll 2d4 patches of vulcan sand.
2. For each patch, drop 1d6 for its 2. For each patch, drop 1d6 for its
location and size, then roll 1d100 for location and size, then roll 1d100
shape (pg18). Kiln sand tends to be for shape (pg18). Vulcan sand leans
rounder, more convex. towards sprawling and spreading, lots
3. Add 1d6 tiny islands for every patch of tendrils and limbs.
of kiln sand. Kiln sand is a close cousin 3. Add 2d6 tiny patches of vulcan sand
to land. across the map. Make things just a
touch spicier.
Kiln sand should go against the flow.
4. If a patch of vulcan sand touches an
It should feel a little out of place and
island, split the island up. Regardless
inconvenient relative to other sands.
of size, cleave in two or three or four.

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BONE SAND KING’S SAND

1. Roll 2d4 patches of bone sand. 1. Drop 3d6 onto the map, then connect
2. For each patch, drop 1d6 for its them to make the king’s sand. If
location and size, then roll 1d100 for you can follow the flow, do so. And
shape (pg18). Bone sand tends to be remember—avoid straight lines!
sharp and angular. 2. If a die shows a 1, add a break in the
3. If the bone sand touches an island, king’s sand. A gap, a stop, a hollow.
sharpen the island’s angles. Make 3. If a die shows a 6, drop another die
coastlines jagged, like daggers or and connect them. Tendrils explode.
skeletal fingers. 4. Repeat step 3 a few more times. You
want a few separate tendrils from each
If it’s plausible for bone sand to be in
explosion point.
a particularly spooky or dangerous
5. If king’s sand touches an island, curve
configuration, take it. Bone sand is
around it, but cut through other
cursed, after all.
sands. A chunk of sand bisected by
king’s makes for interesting navigation.

WEIRD SAND DEMARCATION

Choose a color for each sand and fill In black & white, the weird sands use the
them in: same gradient on the previous page. I
• Kiln: tan-brown, ideally ochre. recommend you use color.
• Vulcan: deep dark red. Not maroon.
For both common and weird sands, you
• Bone: ashy charcoal gray. Two steps
can label the sands with their respective
off from black.
icons (pg88).
• King’s: violet or indigo; anything
deep blue or purple is good.

MAPPING
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CITIES
Roll 1d6+2 for the number of cities. Cities are always on island coasts. Trade is vital to
their survival, as is controlling the local trade routes.
Cities aren’t placed randomly. Eyeball city placements based on these priorities:

CITIES WANT CITIES DON’T WANT

• Lots of land. Land is food and water, so • Bone or vulcan sand. Kiln sand is also
cities like larger islands. best avoided, but some cities embrace it
• Protected harbors. Open coastline as a natural barrier.
isn’t a death sentence, but harbors or • To be too close to their neighbors.
bays that can be strategically covered Cities that are too close to each other
are ideal. tend to fight over, well, everything.
• Access to king’s sand. King’s sand • To be too far from their neighbors.
means easier, richer trade. 500–1000 nautical miles apart is the
sweet spot: not too close, not too far.
• To move. Locations that make no sense
now might’ve been totally sensible 500
years ago.

Remember, these are just guidelines. Cities in unusual locations simply require a bit of
unusual reasoning.

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VILLAGES
Place 1d6 villages within a couple hundred miles or so of each city. Then, add another 1d6
villages far from any city. Villages, like cities, want to be on the coastlines.
Villages follow a few guidelines for their location. Eyeball village placements based on
these priorities:

VILLAGES WANT VILLAGES DON’T WANT

• Land. Agrarianism is a major source of • Bone or vulcan sand. Villages often
food for villages, and the Seas as a whole. prefer kiln sand, as it provides a key
• To either be near a city, or very far barrier against pirates or navies.
away. Most villages fall under a major • To be caught between two rival cities.
city’s broad sphere of influence and These kinds of no-man’s-land villages
jurisdiction, to mutual benefit. A few, tend to have little say in their own fate.
however, prefer independence from
any city.
• Protection. Some pirates burn down
entire villages in a single raid.
• Trade routes. Having a major trade
route nearby ensures a single drought
doesn’t kill an entire village.

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TRADE ROUTES
Trade routes are the key shipping lanes and overland trails that crisscross the sands.
They affect encounter rolls (pg51).
Trade routes don’t have any physical representation in-game: they’re just an imagined
line. Diegetic maps mark them, certainly, but you can’t stare out at the dunes and see the
physical trade routes, although well traveled routes might have sparse markers or warnings.
1. Draw a dotted line linking every city 4. Trade routes can overlap.
to the next nearest city. These are your Intersections at sea are fairly common.
main trade routes. 5. Trade routes want to follow king’s
2. If there are any villages close to a sand. This is usually worth even
trade route, link them to the trade significant diversions. Many trade
route, like branches on a tree. routes coalesce around a single tendril
3. If two cities have a clear path of king’s sand.
between them and the nearest trade 6. Trade routes never cross kiln, vulcan,
route would be long and circuitous, or bone sand. They’re simply too costly
link them. Think like a merchant trying and dangerous. That’s not to say nobody
to save their skins. Where can you cut ever attempts to cross them—just that
down on the time spent sailing? they’re not proper trade routes.

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HAVENS
Add one haven for every trade route on your map, then add 1d4-1 more.
Havens need to be on the sand, but not necessarily on an island. Outlaws and pirates
often shelter on the coasts, but also hide within the corpses of great beasts, volcanic
caldera, submerged sandstone cavern networks, or other, even more hostile locales.
Anywhere they can safely hide from the long arm of the law. Here are a few guidelines:

HAVENS WANT HAVENS DON’T WANT

• To be near trade routes. Trade • To be near cities. Villages are more
routes, being frequently traveled by manageable, but trying to tangle with
merchants, are prime hunting grounds a full city’s navy is a death wish for
for pirate vessels. nearly all havens.
• Vulcan or bone sand. Dangerous sands • Easy access. Havens are protected
discourage both naval expeditions and by secrecy and inhospitable locales.
the odd wandering sailor vessel. Exposed havens don’t last long.

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ISLAND & SAND SHAPES

d100 Shap d100 Shape d100 Shape
01 Agave flower 34 Geometric glyph 68 Potted plant
02 Arrowhead 35 Goblet 69 Pyramid
03 Bearded axe 36 Grain silo 70 Rabbit
04 Broken heart 37 Guitar pick 71 Radiation symbol
05 Broken sword 38 Handshake 72 Ram’s horn
06 Broken teapot 39 Hawk talon 73 Rivulet of water
07 Bunch of grapes 40 Heavy comb 74 Saguaro cactus
08 Camel humps 41 High-fiving bears 75 Saw
09 Carrot 42 High-heeled shoe 76 Scimitar
10 Cat-o’-nine-tails 43 Hooded cloak 77 Serrated knife
11 Claw hammer 44 Horseshoe 78 Shattered shield
12 Club 45 Hourglass 79 Shooting star
13 Cobra, hood flared 46 Intertwined eights 80 Single moth wing
14 Coiled serpent 47 Javelin 81 Skin (ẞ)
15 Concentric circles 48 Jawbone 82 Sleeping cat
16 Crescent moon 49 Just a big glob 83 Spade
17 Crooked fingers 50 Key 84 Spiked flail
18 Crossed swords 51 Lemon 85 Spinal column
19 Deer antlers 52 Lightning bolt 86 Spiral
20 Diamond ring 53 Lion’s mane 87 Splayed hand
21 Dog’s mouth 54 Lobster claw 88 Staircase
22 Eggshell 55 Locust 89 Storm cloud
23 Elephant’s head 56 Mug 90 Sunburst
24 Eyeball 57 Mushroom 91 Swiss cheese
25 Feather quill 58 Music note 92 Toothed cog
26 Feet 59 Narwhal 93 Tricorn crown
27 Femur 60 Nautilus shell 94 Tricorn shield
28 Fern leaf 61 Oil lamp 95 Twin bells
29 Flared skirt 62 Open book 96 Umbrella
30 Flexing arm 63 Opened fan 97 Uneven heptagon
31 Four-pointed star 64 Palm tree 98 Whirligig
32 Full beard 65 Paw-print 99 Widening gyre
33 ‘G,’ the letter 66 Pentagram 100 Wrench
67 Perfect circle

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ISLAND NAMES
d100 Name d100 Name d100 Name
01 [direction] Point 34 Fury Peak 68 Outer Leap
02 [name]'s Rock 35 G_d's Footprint 69 Prince's Way
03 Archon Mesa 36 Geyserfields 70 Prophet's Folly
04 Archpriest's Iron 37 Glimmerdune 71 Pyramid Point
05 Big Loop 38 Greater Palm 72 Raincaller's Rock
06 Blue Chain 39 Green Atoll 73 Saguaro Stone
07 Bone Ridge 40 Helm's Bar 74 Salt Cascade
08 Broken Crown 41 Hero's Bluff 75 Sanctuary
09 Camel's Hump 42 High Fingers 76 Sandytrees
10 Canter's Death 43 Imperator's Fall 77 Second Collapse
11 Cenobiarch of the 44 Inner Leap 78 Shallowsails
Many Dunes 45 Jerboa's Foot 79 Siltstone
12 Chanter's Call 46 Judgment Table 80 Skystones
13 Clay Mound 47 Junkcatcher Reef 81 Smuggler's Laugh
14 Cloudfall Isle 48 Ketchbane Isle 82 Snailshell
15 Crab's Cay 49 Killer's Shelf 83 Sorcerer's Answer
16 Dawn Spike 50 Kiln Palisade 84 Sorcerer's Query
17 Dead Magma 51 King's Sink 85 Stone Thorns
18 Deepsails 52 Knife's Edge 86 Tattooed Slab
19 Distant Dominion 53 Last Pillar 87 That-Which-Is-Not-
20 Doom Quarry 54 Lesser Palm G_d's Fist
21 Drake's Eye 55 Little Loop 88 Third Collapse
22 Driftwood Net 56 Low Fingers 89 Thunderheart
23 Drowned Isle 57 Lower Jaw 90 Tip of the Spear
24 Drunkard's Demise 58 Manta's Belly 91 Trident of [name]
25 Dunerider's Lament 59 Manyglyphs 92 Twin Forks
26 Dustman's Key 60 Manyquills 93 Upper Jaw
27 Elder Reef 61 Marrowheap 94 Viper's Tongue
28 Falcon's Talon 62 Mist-clad Cay 95 Waking Crag
29 Far Wedge 63 Mount of Dates 96 White Nail
30 Felstar Major 64 Near Wedge 97 Widow's Grief
31 Felstar Minor 65 Nestingsands 98 Windshear Point
32 First Collapse 66 Ninepoint Height 99 Wing Above
33 Flying Isle 67 Old Outcropping 100 Wing Below

MAPPING
 Sands
Salt sand
Silk sand
Sugar sand
Kiln sand
Vulcan sand
Bone sand
King’s sand
22

PORTS
When you’re not sailing the Seas, you’re likely in port, be it city, village, or haven. Ports
are where you rest and recuperate, buy and sell cargo, repair and upgrade your ship, recruit
crew members, and otherwise conduct business and leisure.

PACING VILLAGES
Generally speaking, voyages are Small ports with few resources. Fishing
bookended by port visits. PCs leave from and farming dominate village life. What
a port and arrive in a port. These might be they don’t know matters little compared to
the same port or different, they might stop tomorrow’s water.
in the middle somewhere, but most major
Most crews treat villages as waystops.
voyages start and end in port.
They can provide food and water, yes, and
Like at sea, most of the time in port perhaps a few paltry bargains, but little
is spent on a day-to-day basis, but more. Cities are where true riches are
sometimes you zoom in closer to play. won, not their breadbaskets. That said, the
Many of the mechanics around trade or enterprising merchant knows even the
recruitment involve spending time in tiniest village can become a grand market
port, and time is tracked in days (pg86). with a little nudging, and they always need
However, you may find it helpful to zoom a few brave souls for a dangerous task.
in, hour-to-hour or minute-to-minute, to
give events a little more focus. Or, maybe HAVENS
it’s all business, so your players clock their
Free ports, safe from the despotism of
days and return to sea.
law. Hallucinogenic drugs, brutal ship-
sized siege engines, looted luxuries, the
CITIES blood of dead kings, and everything in
The largest ports in the Seas. Walled between. Of course, only fellow outlaws
hives teeming with life, goods, people, and are truly welcome.
news flowing in and out through its docks.
Havens are dysfunctional to a greater
Almost anything can be bought or sold in or lesser degree. Every well is guarded
a city. Rippling cashmeres, glass swords, by a dozen cutthroats; every shipwright
clay-fired barrels, imported timber ships, hounded by a dozen desolate captains;
camel-leather armor, and more (pg178). every fight involves a dozen bloody
belligerents on each side.
Cities are law and order. They have
navies, regulations, customs, bureaucracy, Havens aren’t recognized by cities.
officials—many cities leave their gallows Warships harass them and customs
public, so any would-be criminals can see officials are always sniffing for smuggling.
their confederates swing in the wind. As such, forged ship papers and false
manifests are in high demand (pg84).
Cities are campaign hubs. Mercantile
parties can find their next hot bargain
here, and adventuring crews can find their
leads and rumors here.

PORTS
 23

BUILDING PORTS
Create ports of each type—cities, villages, havens—the same way: roll on the listed
table. Cities have the most features, while villages and havens have only a few. Tables
provide specific examples to use right away or as inspiration for your own entries. You
probably don’t need full details for each port in advance, but ports near PCs should have
complete entries.

1. Roll on the Governments table.

• Villages share the government of their parent city, unless independent.
• Havens have a 4-in-6 chance of being anarchist, otherwise roll.
2. Roll on the Characteristics table and note trade effects.
• Roll at least twice for cities.
• Roll once for villages.
• Havens have a 5-in-6 chance to be violent or chaotic, as preferred, otherwise roll.
3. Roll on the Taboos table.
• By default, havens have no taboos.
4. Roll on the Landmarks table.
• Roll at least twice for cities.
• Villages and havens have a 2-in-6 chance to have 1 landmark.
5. Roll on the Histories table.
• Roll at least once for cities.
• Villages and havens have a 2-in-6 chance to have 1 history.
6. Roll on the Surpluses & Scarcities table for surplus goods and
note the -2 trade effects.
• Roll twice for cities.
• Roll once for villages.
• Roll once for havens, but they have a 5-in-6 chance of an additional surplus from
the following types: delicacies, finery, salt, spices.
7. Roll on the Surplus & Scarcities table for scarce goods and note
the +2 trade effects.
• Roll twice for cities.
• Roll once for villages.
• Roll once for havens, but they have a 5-in-6 chance of an additional scarcity from
the following types: foodstuffs, lumber, tools.
8. Roll up a name or choose your own, and you’re done!
When you’ve got a sense of the port and you want to put some notable NPCs in, consult
Appendix E, pg194.

PORTS
24

GOVERNMENTS
d20 Name & Details
01 Algocracy. Sacred geometry set into the streets determines the course; officials
consult arithmetic-seers for truth; judiciary law decided by brickwork patterns.
02 Anarchy. Individual rulings over rules; syndicalist communes synchronize their
wishes; volunteer duty rosters hang on every street corner.
03 Clan Rule. Family trees set in ancient stone catacombs; each house rules one
trade exclusively; canters keep histories of allegiances, betrayals, and grudges.
04 Cryptocracy. Each night the Bringers collect silent tithe; tobacco-spit markings
declare war; wheels of government turn unseen by living eyes.
05 Demarchy. Bronze lots cast in clay barrels; annual tumbleweed chase decides the
next mayor; citizens’ spit dripping across the dunes decides regime change.
06 Divine Commune. Scripture written by the collective over shared meals; desert
fathers return with edicts from G_d; monasteries of the night sky rebuke the sun.
07 Elective Monarchy. Electors tattoo their marks on preferred candidates; kings
bear crowns of the seven glasses; vassals pledge themselves with oaths of tears.
08 Gordian Bureaucracy. Clerks lie buried beneath stacked letters and missives; all
must join The Line; anything beyond subsistence requires blood-water contract.
09 Guild Confederacy. Thirteen hooded masters rule with the gilded-iron fist of
cartel economics; writ-glass tablets seal secret trade agreements; guild artisans
learn ascending passwords when they rise in rank.
10 Hereditary Monarchy. The 13th Queen, matriarch of her line; endless rival
successor princes; new rulers drink memories of their ancestors.
11 Heroic. Archon-Generals stride naked through their court, adorned in a hundred
scars; bardic councils praise the noble and abjure the wicked; youth of age depart
annually for fame, fortune, and power.
12 Imperial Occupation. Steel-masked soldier-mystics stalk the streets; foreign
nobles drizzle muck into parched mouths; rebel blood waters conqueror gardens.
13 Kritarchy. City walls engraved with a thousand laws; legal students sabotage
each other for position; judges murmur verdict-diatribes for days at a time.
14 Republic. Senators bathe in water collected from each elector; seers validate
results cast in sand; rhetoric schools prime all for high office.
15 Magocracy. Lawbreakers cast into the mirage-void; mystics drink blue ink that
their entrails may portend; sorcerer-lawyers argue cases before conjured judges.
16 Mercantile Oligarchy. Secret conclaves hold cruel games of chance; citizens
taxed in water debt; trade manifests require golden seals.
17 Military Dictatorship. A fortress of glass blades, one for every oathsworn soldier;
legions clad in bronze scream devotions; high admiral commands all.
18 Noocracy. Ambitious youths starve for wisdom; mothers drain enlightenment
into the cups of babes; philosophers debate existence and law in one voice.
19 Theocracy. Laws issued from the prayer-scarves of the faithful; priests chant
rulings in proto-xeric tongues; judges tattooed in scriptural lexica.
20 Xerarchy. What the desert wills, the desert wills; the dunes shift with the
heartbeats of life and death; no G_d, no king, only the sand.

PORTS
 25

CHARACTERISTICS
d20 Characteristic Trade Effects
01 Academic. Etched notes cover surfaces • Beer +1, Wine +1
as lectures drone into the night. • Alchemicals -1, Texts -3
02 Artistic. Swirling portraits of beasts • Alchemicals +1, Finery +1, Wine +1
mix with music that vibrates the spine. • Weapons -1
03 Ascetic. An ever-expanding mass of gold • Delicacies +2, Finery +2, Spices +2,
kept for all to see. Luxuries are taboo. Texts +1
04 Chaotic. One day, a camel is the subject • Armor +1, Weapons +1
of adoration; next, it's the dinner-meal. • Delicacies -1, Tools -1
05 Closed. Portcullises rusted shut; • Armor +1, Lumber +2, Metals +2,
smuggling is an art. Free Trade is taboo. Weapons +1
06 Creative. Notes and plans adorn alley- • Glass +3, Metal +2, Scrap +2
walls; the commons fund public art. • Tools -1
07 Debaucherous. Wine flows faster than • Beer +2, Liquor +2, Spices +2, Wine +2
water; strangers find heat in the dark. • Texts -2, Tools -2
08 Frenetic. Runners churn the cobbles; • Beer +1, Camels +2, Wine +1
money counted in minutes, not water. • Tools -1
09 Industrious. Saws sing in time with the • Lumber +2, Metal +1
beat of hammers. Laziness is taboo. • Alchemicals -2, Tools -2, Scrap -2
10 Kleptocratic. Wells “protected” by • All Goods +1
soldiers; coin-purses chained to belts.
11 Militaristic. Glass and bronze blades • Armor +2, Glass +2, Lumber +2,
adorn every surface. Disloyalty is taboo. Metal +2, Weapons +2
12 Monastic. Rooftop monks murmur from • Beer +1, Foodstuffs +1, Tea +1
clouds of incense. Secularism is taboo. • Texts -2
13 Nurturing. Every house nurtures a • Cloth +2, Tools +1
small garden. Orphanages have twice as • Delicacies -1, Foodstuffs -2, Spices -1
many carers as children.
14 Pluralist. Open gates greet all; settling • Cloth +1, Foodstuffs +1, Tea +2,
takes mere days. Inhospitality is taboo. Texts +1
15 Prim. Laundries steam through the • Delicacies +1, Finery +1, Glass +1,
night as litterers suffer lashes on the Salt +1, Spices +2
post. Uncleanliness is taboo. • Camels -1, Scrap -2
16 Opulent. The clatter of coins mixes with • Finery +3, Lumber +1
the idle splash of water. • Cloth -1, Rations -2
17 Ordered. Streets bear numbers instead • Texts +2
of names; bells ring every quarter-hour. • Beer -1, Liquor -1, Wine -1
18 Sleepy. Constant din of wind as dust- • Beer +1
haze coalesces in every crevice. • Delicacies -1, Foodstuffs -1, Weapons -2
19 Superstitious. Whispers hold sacred • Salt +1, Spices +1, Texts +1
invisible truths.
20 Violent. Knives are sold on every corner • Armor +3, Weapons +3
and the scent of blood hangs heavy.

PORTS
26

TABOOS
d20 Taboo Trade Effects
01 Art. Self-expression exists in the • Alchemicals -1, Glass -3, Metal -1,
moment. It must never be preserved. Texts -2
02 Buried Dead. The sands must be paid • Foodstuffs -1, Lumber -1, Metal -1
their due.
03 Disloyalty. All must support the local • Weapons +1
dictates, no matter their cost. • Texts -2
04 Drinking. Alcohol is the water of That- • Alcohol is illegal.
Which-Is-Not-G_d. • Beer +3, Liquor +3, Wine +3
05 Foreigners. Only those of native sand • Foreigners are illegal outside
are truly welcome. designated areas.
• All Goods +1
06 Foul Language. Oaths are for G_d, not • Beer -1, Liquor -1, Wine -1
for idle tongues.
07 Free Trade. Only those approved may • Unapproved trades are illegal.
conduct deals.
08 Hunting. Woe to those who disturb the • Delicacies +2, Foodstuffs +2
natural order.
09 Inhospitality. All guests must be • Cloth +1, Foodstuffs +1, Tea +2
welcomed equally.
10 Laziness. Work together for the • Lumber +1, Metals +1, Scrap +2
common good! • Beer -1, Tools -3
11 Luxuries. They distract from what truly • Delicacies and Finery are illegal.
matters in life. • Delicacies +3, Finery +3, Spices +2
12 Magic. Sorcery only leads to disaster. • Magical works are illegal.
• Alchemicals +2, Glass +1, Texts +2
13 Open Religion. Pray in your closets, not • Alchemicals -1, Metal -1, Texts -2
on street corners.
14 Public Romance. Courtship is private • Beer -1, Finery -1, Wine -2
and precious.
15 Secularism. Faith is essential. • Spices +1, Texts +1
16 Sex Work. The body is a temple. • Finery -2, Liquor -1, Wine -2
17 Singing. Music is of the divine; • Texts -1
humanity is mundane.
18 Uncleanliness. All strive to be spotless. • Camels are illegal within port.
• Beer -2, Camels -3, Liquor -2, Wine -2
19 Violence. All disputes must be settled • Weapons are illegal.
peacefully, without bloodshed. • Weapons +3
• Armor -1
20 Waste. Water is for life and naught else. • Delicacies -1, Foodstuffs -1,
Lumber -1, Spices -1

PORTS
 27

LANDMARKS
d30 Landmark Tales & Legends
01 Aeolian Sphere “...no, no maintenace. Only the winds and the will of G_d…”
02 Ascetic Pits “...Old Tyraxos said the same thing to my grandmother,
just there. She spat on him and he praised G_d for it…”
03 Central Oasis “...wages in bribes, but now I get access twice a week…”
04 Cistern-Vault “...Hassan’s seen them! Millions and millions of skins,
guarded by a sandstone monster bigger than a junk…”
05 Concentric Walls “...sand-faeries! No one else could do it! It’d be impossible!”
06 Divine Geometry “...follow this line across the streets and it joins 28 others,
merely one pyramid of a broader enneagram…”
07 Exposed Catacombs “...the plague-dead still reeking like they died yesterday,
even though they’ve been dead for five hundred years…”
08 G_d’s Tree “No! Never touch it, or you’ll be struck by lightning! We
collect fallen branches, but never touch the tree itself.”
09 Glass Streets “...boil the soles off your feet, sizzling like a camel flank…”
10 Great Stone Belfry “...drove Master Khendu mad, said they could hear G_d…”
11 Holy Mount “...she was lifted by the wind like an Archon of old…”
12 Inverse Pyramid “...Sala the Fool! Now they’re Sala the Vision, of course…”
13 Obsidian Temple “...smote the prince with lightning—there’s the crack…”
14 Old Town “...every St. Sahure’s Day, when the thirteen-year siege
was broken, but none of the rats lived to see it…”
15 Poison Fields “...you can smell it on them, like sulfur and limestone…”
16 Primordial Ribs “...every full moon. The Carvers have the most important
job in the city—we use the bone for all kinds of things!”
17 Sacrificial Labyrinth “...My neighbor Rabiya said she set foot inside and had
nightmares for a month afterwards…”
18 Sand Baths “Try it! Come try it! It’s free! Let it soak into your skin…”
19 Scintillating Mirror “...caught in the amplified rays, burnt like kindling…”
20 Sky-Column Ring “...built these columns to house the divine form of G_d…”
21 Slag-Melted Gate “...Exarch Q’nas double-crossed the dragon, so it came
back and spent a day and night lapping at it…”
22 Ship Graveyard “...the ghosts still sing before they slit your throat…”
23 Titan Sarcophagi “...the shaking every solstice used to terrify my children…”
24 Twin Lighthouses “...dashed the entire Horizon Fleet to bits…”
25 Undying Flame “...vulcan-sand psammead offered it freely, for our light…”
26 Volcanic Altar “...enlightenment as they were consumed by magma…”
27 Waterfall “...vomited out by a gargoyle-angel, a gift blessed by G_d…”
28 Wooden Palace “...raided three forests, two south and one north…”
29 WORM Mound “...before the first bricks were laid. Still rumbles, too…”
30 Xerified Forest “...broke her bargain, the psammead turned it all to sand.”

PORTS
28

HISTORIES
d20 History
01 Blessed by G_d. Wells sprung from solid stone, one in each district, and angels of
vengeance smote an invading fleet across the sand. This place is protected.
02 Catastrophic Disaster. Armageddon locusts demolished half the port in a day.
Were it not for a flock of golden, apotropaic seagulls devouring the locusts, it
would have been the end.
03 Cursed by That-Which-Is-Not-G_d. Children died in their parents’ arms as sand
poured from their mouths; oases ran white with salt and brine; vulcan sand
detonated beneath the streets.
04 Drought. Wheat-fields turned to naught but tumbleweed as people drank blood
from desiccated corpses in desperation. To this day, priests hurl curses at the
endless blue sky.
05 Ex-Imperial. Once they ruled across the sands, until the hundred-year storm
damned them to ignominy.
06 Fabled Treasure. Some say pirates built the port looking for lost gold. Others say
they were seeking deepwater reserves, the last tears of the oceans that once were.
07 Grand Ideal. Founded by a council of noble sailor-philosophers. From this port
the sands shall be made a garden.
08 Holy Site. Shazalayah the Gift died here. Their blood turned to gold upon the
sands, healing ten thousand lepers.
09 Inexplicable Phenomenon. Green skies, red clouds, sounds you could smell,
sights you could taste. On that day, the desert unleashed wonders.
10 Joined Forces. A marriage between two great lords, anointed in seven sands.
11 Liberated. With steel and blood and fire, the people drowned their viceroy in dust.
12 Mysterious Benefactor. All at once, wealth and water poured forth from an
empty cave, and righteous edicts appeared in dreams.
13 Mythic Founding. Before the sands were Seas, THE WORM vomited the stones
upon which the port stands.
14 Old Grudges. Ruins mix with new buildings and incomplete texts hint at old
enemies among friendly faces.
15 Rebuilt. A court of angry psammeads reduced their home to little more than
glass. One year and a day later, the psammeads rebuilt it in a single night.
16 Rejuvenation. They said it would never last, but the people re-etched the temple
glyphs, layered the crumbling walls with carved granite, and cast the streets in
fired kiln sand.
17 Revolution. The conclaves of golden kings were cast down by violet prophets.
Woe to would-be conquerors.
18 Seat of Power. Once, prophet-kings gazed far beyond mortal sightlines. They
traveled unceasingly for water to fill the vaults of an Empire.
19 Succession Crisis. Siblings dressed in each others’ bloodstained silks while
armies built barricades from ancestral statues.
20 THE WORM’s Will. The island rose up from upon THE WORM’s back. When
THE WORM passed, soil rose from its corpse and its bile became water.

PORTS
 29

SURPLUS & SCARCITY

d20 Trade Good (+/- 2) Surplus Sources or Scarcity
01 Alchemicals Laboratories, universities, apothecaries.
02 Armor Tanneries, smithies, armories, forges.
03 Beer Breweries, hop fields, inns, taverns.
04 Camels Pastures, fields, scrubland, trade routes.
05 Cloth Mills, tailors, weavers, cobblers.
06 Delicacies Estates, hunting guilds, livestock, xericultures.
07 Finery Courtesan guilds, diplomatic corps, elite clothiers, jewelers.
08 Foodstuffs Farms, orchards, fisheries, gardens, dairies.
09 Glass Refineries, forges, glassblowers, temples.
10 Metals Mines, quarries, reserves.
11 Liquor Distilleries, refineries, breweries.
12 Lumber Carpenters, orchards, lumberyards, forests.
13 Salt Mines, refineries, salt-flats.
14 Scrap Scavengers, wreckers, gardens, carpenters.
15 Spices Farms, gardens, greenhouses, orchards.
16 Tea Farms, estates, gardens.
17 Texts Universities, libraries, monasteries, clerks.
18 Tools Workshops, artisans, mills, foundries.
19 Weapons Smithies, bowyers, fletchers, forges, workshops.
20 Wine Vineyards, religious orders, estates.

PORTS
30

CITY NAMES
d50 Name Title d50 Name Title
01 Al-Alkwarin All-Seeing 26 Khousfalamin Of a Thousand
02 Al-Asmayil Beloved Temples
03 Al-Faslayouf Benevolent 27 Layoumlayla Queen's Lagoon

04 Barbarid Camel's Respite 28 Mamloukhiya Rainswept

05 Bibtessim Canalborne 29 Mizteghrif Saints' Rest

06 Biskanter City of Kings 30 Moukhtarma Sphinx's Gaze

07 Boustakhn City of Pigs 31 Naftouzin Sun’s Warmth

08 Daamtafaar Dawn's Crest 32 Neghtakhib Temple’s Gift

09 Dakhnour Deep Harbor 33 Ofzaariyeh The Basin

10 Demlahon Deepwells 34 Qawlimath The Fortieth

11 Emtistarou Eight-Sided 35 Qilmqourab The Gemstone

12 Ethbariyan Enlightened 36 Rahmanir The Glass Hand

13 Ghizbarak Eternal 37 Rohoulat The Golden Palm

14 Ghomiydah Falcon's Nest 38 Roumiyah The Green City

15 Hafizhouz Glorious Morn 39 Rughtasum The Hanging Sun

16 Hamzeriy Harmonious 40 Saksoukh The High Honor

17 Homsijarak Highwalled 41 Tatawoulat The Long March

18 Huskhatim Honeycomb Hive 42 Ulflayzem The Mountaintop

19 Ibchamoun House of G_d 43 Umbustuq The Multitude

20 Ilmensaal Lion's Mane 44 Wjoodahum The North Port

21 Intehara Mother Garlic 45 Yiftikhir The Reach

22 Jemjiddan Most Generous 46 Ymiariat The Twin Spires

23 Jhoumjoun Much-Lauded 47 Yuomyinokum The Winged City

24 Kazmazir Oblative 48 Zeghzouyan Thrice-Blessed

25 Khasritan Of Myriad 49 Zimtazim Twice-Anointed

Delights 50 Zounjabeel Wise Ones' Hall

PORTS
 31

VILLAGE NAMES
d100 Name d100 Name d100 Name
01 Afs 34 Jjarn 68 Rabta
02 Akhb 35 Jour 69 Res
03 Akra 36 Jumla 70 Rizq
04 Amfal 37 Kaamin 71 Rjiel
05 Atphil 38 Khatim 72 Rouwa
06 Azkar 39 Khmon 73 Rula
07 Baek 40 Konthar 74 Siiam
08 Basta 41 Kufla 75 Skefn
09 Birit 42 Laqit 76 Soukh
10 Biyel 43 Leth 77 Srra
11 Bourna 44 Lirma 78 Sujf
12 Brrot 45 Lyam 79 Syouf
13 Ciam 46 Miiath 80 Szim
14 Damar 47 Mobn 81 Taib
15 Daour 48 Mourha 82 Tamr
16 Darba 49 Mugh 83 Tauz
17 Doomin 50 Nablis 84 Tekth
18 Draj 51 Nenm 85 Tothik
19 Duarna 52 Niml 86 Traas
20 Dyoum 53 Nofra 87 Ulia
21 Emtar 54 Nuor 88 Uqra
22 Faroon 55 Oghrib 89 Uuma
23 Fikhr 56 Ort 90 Wakyr
24 Gaamal 57 Ourfa 91 Wien
25 Ghyim 58 Outhr 92 Wofq
26 Goorn 59 Pbirta 93 Woll
27 Hjem 60 Pefta 94 Yazdi
28 Hleim 61 Phalif 95 Yemsal
29 Hoasim 62 Pojba 96 Yimla
30 Iflah 63 Qam 97 Ymar
31 Imth 64 Qfir 98 Zafr
32 Iysra 65 Qipla 99 Zemt
33 Jiamer 66 Qnaf 100 Zift
67 Qulq

PORTS
32

HAVEN NAMES
d50 Name Title d50 Name Title
01 Abjkal bel Bait-of-the- 26 Kokh Lyom Pirate's Pride
Ghelm Vulture 27 Lesh bala Sem Prince's Ruin
02 Alf min Zaha Black-Bannered 28 Lihim el Dis Profaned Seat
03 Beb il Biet Blighted-by-G_d 29 Liijit Ghas Ramshorns
04 Bughit Weljeb By-The-Shadow 30 Met el Menz Rat's Tail
05 Burj Barja City of Gold 31 Moufti w Zir Red Haven
06 Damr mat Cradle of Chaos 32 Murtad yan Serpent's River
Kamel Khas
07 Ekht Mafikht Cutthroat's Neck 33 Nukh ta Min Silken Shore
08 Ertah al Qin Deadman's Beach 34 Oun min Spicer's Cove
09 Fahiz w Salam Disfavored Khyoum
10 Fakh Bi-nzal Dusk's Watch 35 Qaam Maal The Empty Grave
11 Fijir min Salam Edge of the World 36 Qarn wel Elim The Ribs
12 Fokh bala First Among 37 Qatl min Qasim The Slap
Moakh Equals 38 Quf w la Tuquf The Spit
13 Fus mat'Rus Forgotten 39 Ran el Hezn Thrice-Cursed
14 Ghali w Mali Gate of Blades 40 Sarjah w Hoss Throne of Bones
15 Ghayran Adab Hard-Bitten 41 Souf el Sem Tiger's Tooth
16 Guzgha al Rezi Immolated 42 Taiem al Ein Twice-Sunken
17 Hat Basra Killer's End 43 Usyaf al Riz Tyrantsbane
18 Hojin Khams King's Folly 44 Wahd Waliin Unconquered
19 Imthal w Thal Kinslayer's House 45 Wazi Jjamil Unholy Kingdom
20 Izra w Mizra Knife-Crowned 46 Yntaj al Mawra Vault of Dust
21 Jaaf w Jem Last Call 47 Yom ma Yom Windshorn
22 Jal el Dam Legion's Rest 48 Zahra min Wolf's Den
23 Jebl el Biss Long Noose Shjar
24 Jezr Mish Lost Home 49 Zinjar al Rin Wrecker's Refuge
25 Kanl Khet My City 50 Zughir al Bash Youngblood

PORTS
 33

EXAMPLE PORTS
CITY: OBLATIVE KAZMAZIR
Government: Mercantile oligarchy. Ruled by a conclave of Merchant-Princes.
Characteristics: Violent and Monastic. Warrior-monks challenge anyone who dares
show disrespect.
Taboos: Secularism and Luxuries. The Conclave has exclusive rights to luxury goods.
Those outside the faith are distrusted.
Landmarks: Cistern-vault and ascetic pits. The vault, called the Source, is closely
guarded by the Merchant-Princes for its pure, sand-less water. The public fighting
pits—the Amphitheater of the Everyman—host brawls and duels between the city’s
fractured monasteries.
History: Catastrophic Disaster. Some hundred years ago, the sands flooded the whole
of Kazmazir for three days and three nights. Elders warn it could happen again.
Surpluses: Glass and Texts. When the monks aren’t fighting, they pour out essays,
treatises, and volumes on every aspect of daily life, or they cast increasingly-complex
glassworks for both artistic and combative purposes.
Scarcities: Alchemicals, Delicacies, and Metals. Asceticism demands simplicity.
Trade Totals:
• Alchemicals +2, Armor +3, Beer +1, Delicacies +5, Finery +3, Foodstuffs +1,
Metals +2, Spices +3, Tea +1, Weapons +3
• Texts -3
• Delicacies and Finery are illegal.

VILLAGE: ZAFR
Government: Mercantile Oligarchy. Ruled by the Conclave of Kazmazir.
Characteristics: Ascetic. Zafrites adhere to the teachings of Kazmazir’s monks.
Taboos: Luxuries and Free Trade. As in Kazmazir, delicacies and finery are illegal and
only those approved by the Conclave may trade freely.
Landmarks: Mountain Terraces. The little village is famous for its farming terraces
hewn straight into the rock at dizzying angles.
Surplus: Lumber. From the forested mountain.
Scarcity: Tools. Mountainous terrain makes it difficult to build workshops.
Trade Totals:
• Delicacies +5, Finery +5, Tools +2, Spices +4, Texts +1
• Lumber -2
• Delicacies, Finery, and unapproved trades are illegal.

HAVEN: BEB IL BIET, GATE OF BLADES

Government: Anarchy. A pirate haven, through and through.
Characteristics: Chaotic and Violent. As before, a classic pirate haven.
Landmarks: Ringed Walls. Protected by the Bladed Walls, layers of ancient weapons
encircle the haven. A challenging assault, even for a seasoned navy.
Surplus: Beer, Delicacies, Finery, Salt, and Spices. Smugglers usually trade in luxuries.
Long ago, some wayward monks landed in Beb il Biet and started a brewery.
Scarcity: Cloth, Foodstuffs, and Tools. Pirates rarely cover the basics.
Trade Totals:
• Armor +4, Cloth +2, Foodstuffs +2, Tools +1, Weapons +4
• Beer -2, Delicacies -3, Finery -2, Salt -2, Spices -2

PORTS
34

THE BASICS OF SAND

LIQUEFACTION POINT
Sand is generally liquid by day and solid
by night, but each sand has a specific
temperature where it transitions from
solid to liquid, or vice versa. For example,
if a sailor lit a bonfire on the sand at night,
it would liquify the sand beneath, causing
bonfire and sailor alike to sink.

HEAT
On the sandy ocean floor, bedrock
bacteria (pg135) constantly move and
churn up heat. They drive the convection
currents enabling the entire physical
ecosystem of the Seas. Hot sand rises,
cools on the surface, slowly sinks down,
and then heats up again. Sunlight merely
ensures full liquidity on the surface.
When the sand cools, only the first
couple dozen feet solidify while the
rest, beneath the crust, remains liquid.
The lower sands churn endlessly, always
simmering. By night, purely-xeric
creatures dive deeper into the sands to
avoid getting stuck in solid sand.
When the sand gets very hot, strange
things happen to it. It expands, explodes,
changes its shape, or otherwise is altered.
Days of high heat can be more dangerous
than even sandstorms.
The further down into the sand you go,
the hotter it gets. At the sandy ocean
floor, temperatures reach upwards of 500°,
driving away all but the most durable and
tenacious of creatures.

Sand Liquid Limit Solid Limit Liquefaction Point

Salt 100lbs 1,000lbs 80°
Silk 25lbs 200lbs 60°
Sugar 50lbs 500lbs 70°
Kiln 25lbs 5,000lbs 170°
Vulcan 75lbs 750lbs 90°
Bone <1lb 1,500lbs 70°
King’s 50lbs 2,000lbs 40°

SANDS
 35

WEIGHT LIMITS DIVING

Each sand has two weight limits, solid Sand-diving with a specially made suit
and liquid, anything heavier sinks. is extremely dangerous, but sand-diving
Depending on a sand’s weight limit, very without a suit is a death sentence.
light creatures can walk across the surface Sandsuits, made from reinforced xeric
during the day. Conversely, certain heavy shark-leather and a special alloy of brass,
creatures sink in some sands, even at night. allow the diver to descend to depths of up
to 350° in relative safety.
The exception to this rule is that ships
never sink. Their hulls are ritually Sand-diving is slow, about ¼ normal
worked a dozen times by shipwrights and swimming speed. The suit is thick and
xericulturists to ensure that even with a heavy and large, slowing travel.
great weight, they never sink. Unless they
Visibility is zero beneath the surface.
spring a leak or take a ballista bolt in the
Xeric creatures sand-sense for detection
hull, in which case they very much sink.
(pg133), but divers can only feel around
blindly in the dunes.
SWIMMING & ROWING
Swimming in sand is extremely difficult. Divers must bring their own air
If someone falls into the sand, they can try supply. Minutes-long air bladders are
to slow their descent at best. People sink the conventional wisdom, though other
slower in sand than water, but more surely. methods are rumored to exist.

Rowing in sand, as a galley or canoe would, Sandsuits cost about 2d4 × 1,000ẞ, and
is nearly impossible. Imagine dragging a are only available in cities. A diver could
ship solely by your arms. If a ship has no retrieve sunken cargo worth ten times the
sails, it drifts. investment, but buying a sandsuit means
drawing unwanted attention!

SANDSHOES
Sandshoes are strips of cloth woven
across oval metal frames, strapped to
the feet. Much like snowshoes, but with
solid cloth latticework, rather than cord
or rope.
While wearing a pair of sandshoes,
the walker’s speed is halved, but their
effective weight is reduced to 1% of their
normal weight. This enables people to
walk across most varieties of sand, even
when liquid. Camels can wear sandshoes,
too, provided they wear two pairs.
A pair of sandshoes costs 50ẞ.

SANDS
36

SALT SAND
LIQUID LIMIT: 100lbs. Where oceans once were, salt sand now
SOLID LIMIT: 1,000lbs. remains. Salt sand is common in the Seas.
LIQUEFACTION POINT: 80°. Liquifies It supports a wide variety of xeric fauna,
every morning just after dawn. though flora is rare as the salt drains their
life-sustaining water.
HEAT REACTION: Evaporates into tiny
razor-sharp dust. Evaporated salt sand Salt sand has a mixed reputation amongst
inflicts hundreds of tiny cuts on exposed sailors. On the one hand, it’s reliable and
flesh. Anyone caught in evaporated salt tough—anyone gone overboard can likely
sand suffers double damage from all be rescued before they sink. On the other
physical sources and 1 damage per day. hand, salt is anathema to things living on
Symptoms include: frequent nosebleeds, land: salt coasts are bereft of land plants,
bloody stool, and coughing up blood. and crops won’t grow on the salt. Likewise,
Evaporated salt sand takes 1d6 days to salt exacerbates wounds. Salt sand in an
settle and return to liquid form. exposed cut sharpens the pain; long days
WATER REACTION: Dissolves into on salt sand irritates the eyes, nose, and
slurry. When wet, it dissolves entirely ears. Still, salt sand is so common that
into brackish water. Salt slurry isn’t nearly everyone has had to make their own
particularly dangerous on its own, but is peace—that, or go mad.
difficult to sail through or walk across,
even while wearing sandshoes.
REFINING SALT SAND
LIQUID TEXTURE: Crunchy, flaky, and Industrious cities can refine salt
brittle. Thin wafers stacked atop each sand into pure salt, but it is a long
other, ground into bits. alchemical process. It includes:
SOLID TEXTURE: Rough, crusty, and • Heating, to remove grit but not
dense. An uneven plane of wafers. Solid melt the sand.
salt sand breaks off in flat chunks. • Bleaching for a month, to
COLOR: Translucent gray. Light shines remove impurities.
dimly through it. • Blessing the salt with four
DUNES: Jagged, angular, and prone to sacred oils, to purge any latent
small cliffs. Salt dunes jut and spike like demons or worse.
ice floes or rock formations.
SOUND: A constant crackling rumble. Salt encounters can be found in
It’s so brittle that ships cause a continuous Appendix K, pg234.
low churning sound.

d20 Names for Salt Sand d20 Names for Salt Sand
01 Alkalesia 11 Painbearer
02 Bitter sand 12 Pepper sand
03 Bracken sand 13 Pillar-flats
04 Briny seas 14 Rock sand
05 Crackling beds 15 Saline sand
06 Desert mica 16 Silver sand
07 Dry ice 17 Soda sand
08 Flensing sand 18 Sting sand
09 Glass sand 19 Wafer sand
10 Ocean sand 20 Xeric halite

SANDS
 37

SANDS
38

SILK SAND
LIQUID LIMIT: 25lbs. The oldest and finest of the sands, silk is
SOLID LIMIT: 200lbs. the closest counterpart to water. Try to
LIQUEFACTION POINT: 60°. Liquifies grasp a handful, and it slips through your
just before dawn. clasped fingers. Its dunes are never fixed,
always drifting and shifting with the wind.
HEAT REACTION: Gets thinner and
lighter. The liquid limit drops to 5lbs Among sailors, silk sand is the most
and the solid limit drops to 40lbs. Ships beloved. Dusty, cloying, and gets on
kick up huge clouds of dusty silk sand, everything, but it’s also relatively harmless
approximately Zest × 50’ in diameter. and predictable. People sink during the
WATER REACTION: Thickens, rapidly day, but can walk at night. Ships cut
growing sticky and sludgy. Wet silk sand through it like so much air. Its orange,
is effectively sticky quicksand: halve Zest gold, and yellow dunes are synonymous
in wet silk sand. Gets in every crevice. with the Seas. Untold poems, songs, and
landscapes glorify silk sand’s appearance,
LIQUID TEXTURE: Fluffy, airy, and
reaching far beyond the sandy coasts.
light. More like fine dust than proper
desert sand. Despite its adoration, silk sand is the
SOLID TEXTURE: Swishy, dusty, and deadliest of the common sands. Because
pillowy. Footfalls dust off the top inch it’s so light, any sailor that falls overboard
or two. is like as not to drown. Once submerged in
COLOR: Baked golden-orange, fading silk, most die coughing and choking.
into yellow or tan in places. When the
sun sets, the line between horizon and silk
SILK BATHS
is nonexistent—it’s all smooth gold.
As a water bath is a luxury for the
DUNES: Rolling, gentle, and always
rich alone, most bathe in silk sand.
moving. Silk dunes are most like waves of
Good inns keep a tub or two ready.
water. They rise and drift with the wind.
Silk baths aren’t quite as effective as
Ships easily cut and crest across them.
proper water baths— water soaks
SOUND: Soft, warbling, and brassy. A
and soothes, silk scrapes and scrubs.
tone like a muted saxophone or trumpet,
an uneven melody beneath a ship’s keel.
Silk encounters can be found in
Appendix K, pg238.

d20 Names for Silk Sand d20 Names for Silk Sand
01 Angelflour 11 Ol’ faithful
02 Bathing sand 12 Powder sand
03 Choke sand 13 Satin sand
04 Dead millstones 14 Scrub sand
05 Desert finery 15 Shimmer sand
06 First love 16 Silken dust
07 Gilded expanse 17 Spider’s sand
08 Golden sand 18 Subtle sand
09 Micro psammo-particulate 19 Wave sand
10 Moth sand 20 Woven sand

SANDS
 39

SANDS
40

SUGAR SAND
LIQUID LIMIT: 50lbs. Of the common sands, sugar is the most
SOLID LIMIT: 500lbs. complex. On its face, sugar is sweet and
LIQUEFACTION POINT: 70°. Liquifies at simple, but beneath the surface it churns
dawn, solidifies at dusk. and thrashes as it endlessly divides and
recombines. Anything left on a dune of
HEAT REACTION: Melts and boils,
sugar sand ends up encrusted in a light
becoming deadly caramel (see Sugar
layer of sugar crystals. Green sailors love
Flux, pg175).
sugar sand—sweet, crunchy—and old
WATER REACTION: Coalesces into
sailors despise it—unpredictable, cloying.
crystal. One skin creates a crystal the size
Many a novice crew has perished by not
of a person, but pour a bulk of water onto
treating sugar sand with all the respect
it and it forms a crystal the size of a skiff.
it is due.
A cracked-open crystal has a 50% chance
of revealing a skin’s worth of sweet, gritty Despite its mixed reputation among
sugar-water, often distilled into spirits. sailors, most cityfolk appreciate sugar
sand. Because of its richness, flora on
LIQUID TEXTURE: Grainy, crunchy,
sugar coastlines tend to grow faster and
and crystalline. Tiny crystals rubbing and
healthier. Likewise, game animals nibble at
scratching against each other.
the sweetness, making for great hunting
SOLID TEXTURE: Crispy, crackling, and
grounds. Naturally, sugar sand is much
tacky. Crystals stick together, splitting
loved by children who need only lick their
and cracking with weight.
lips for a free treat.
COLOR: Pale, ridged, uneven yellow.
When it crusts onto things, it leaches a bit Sugar encounters can be found in
of their colors. Appendix K, pg242.
DUNES: High-crested, sweeping, and
misshapen. Sugar dunes form atop larger
sugar crystals beneath them. While
the surface sands blow frequently, the
underlying structures hold fast.
SOUND: Constant shkk-shkk-shkk.
Sugar sand constantly breaks and reforms,
and thus its shuffling song never ceases.

d20 Names for Sugar Sand d20 Names for Sugar Sand
01 Candied sand 11 Nectar-o’-the-dune
02 Cane sand 12 Psammo-sacchar
03 Caramel sand 13 Putrefied sand
04 Confection sand 14 Sailor’s candy
05 Desert-dessert 15 Spun sand
06 Dune-confit 16 Sticky sand
07 Flash sand 17 Sugarwaste
08 Good glass 18 Sweet sand
09 Honeydunes 19 Syrup sand
10 Malted sand 20 Yellow sand

SANDS
 41

SANDS
42

KILN SAND
LIQUID LIMIT: 25lbs. Scholarly tradition holds that kiln sand
SOLID LIMIT: 5,000lbs. is a semi-liquid landmass, not sand,
LIQUEFACTION POINT: 170°. Solid but sailor and caravaneer tradition
except in high heat (pg50). It is, in many supersedes academia. Kiln sand is almost
regards, more like land than sea. always solid, making it a preferred path
for the shipless. It sprawls outwards in
HEAT REACTION: Liquifies. Since the
vast flatlands, criss-crossed with gaps and
kiln is almost always solid, it takes serious
breaks in the even surface. Kiln can’t hold
heat to actually turn to liquid.
settlements or, more critically, drinking
WATER REACTION: Turns moldable
establishments, meaning the sand is truly
and pliant, then hardens like brick as it
worthless to a sailor.
dries. An hour after being moistened, kiln
sand is pliant and flexible, like wet clay. While the chances are low, there is the
As it dries it becomes harder and tougher omnipresent threat that the sun burns
than even ordinary kiln sand, not unlike too hot, and the otherwise solid ground
brick or light stone. liquifies. When this happens, the kiln
swallows anything and everything atop it.
LIQUID TEXTURE: Dense, viscous, and
Those few that aren’t entirely submerged
heavy. Sloppy and spreading like wet clay.
end up trapped in a living prison of sand,
SOLID TEXTURE: Lumpy, sedimentary,
sentenced to a miserable death by thirst.
and crumbly. Like layers of old pottery
Still, caravaneers and explorers sometimes
left to bake too long.
gamble on the kiln remaining solid enough
COLOR: Deep-baked ochre brown.
to cross, claiming it’s no more dangerous
DUNES: Half-formed cliffs and hillsides,
than sailing.
if any. Kiln sand normally forms into
vast flats rather than dunes, riddled with Kiln encounters can be found in
cracks and fissures. Appendix K, pg246.
SOUND: Burbles and wheezes when wet,
dry clodding thumps when solid.

d20 Names for Kiln Sand d20 Names for Kiln Sand
01 Baked sand 11 Kiln flats
02 Brick sand 12 Ochre sand
03 Camel’s friend 13 Pilgrim’s sand
04 Clay sand 14 Potter’s sand
05 Clod-dunes 15 Quarry sand
06 Drab sand 16 Sailor’s clay
07 Exile sand 17 Shatter sand
08 False land 18 Ship’s bane
09 Fired flats 19 Slab sand
10 Fissure sand 20 Thumperslabs

SANDS
 43

SANDS
44

VULCAN SAND
LIQUID LIMIT: 75lbs. Volcanoes are rare in the Seas, but
SOLID LIMIT: 750lbs. vulcan sand more than makes up for
LIQUEFACTION POINT: 90°. Liquifies their absence. With its red hue and
just after dawn, solidifies just before dusk. sulfuric odor, vulcan sand is famous
among braggarts and widows alike. Some
HEAT REACTION: Explodes in a grand
believe G_d created vulcan sand as a divine
conflagration. It erupts when it reaches
punishment. Because water only stokes
200°. Explosions tend to chain together,
the flames, only other sands can douse its
destroying ships, camels, and people alike.
fires. Of course, in most cases any other
WATER REACTION: Explodes in a
sands are leagues away.
grand conflagration. Dumping a skin
overboard creates a small fireball. Vulcan sand is not impossible to traverse.
Dumping a bulk of water overboard To crews careful enough to not let any
creates an explosion big enough to destroy water touch the sand and lucky enough to
ships outright. Veteran sailors often eat avoid the hottest days, vulcan sand is no
salt before sailing through vulcan sand to worse than sugar or salt. Most captains
stave off sweat. avoid it out of hand, but a few dare for a
chance at something greater.
LIQUID TEXTURE: Gritty, harsh, and
rugged. Digging with bare hands rubs Its dangerous qualities make it a natural
fingertips raw. ally to pirate havens. Most navies wouldn’t
SOLID TEXTURE: Gravelly, stony, and dare sail their fleets into vulcan sand, and
porous. Like a hard sponge. so havens are free to grow beyond the
COLOR: Deep crimson, scattered with bounds of law.
bits of gray, black, and orange. Poets
For many sailors, pirates and merchants
describe it as blood mixed in with ashes.
alike, vulcan sand is a chance to prove
DUNES: Rough and rolling, interspersed
one’s mettle. Where others might walk
with huge sandy craters dotted across
across a bed of coals barefoot, crews in
the sand. Undisturbed vulcan dunes are
the Seas take a “shortcut” across the fiery
actually quite gentle, but those are far and
vulcan sands.
few between.
SOUND: Dull grinding and grating, Vulcan encounters can be found in
intermixed with muffled explosions. Appendix K, pg250.
Sailors describe the passive sound of
vulcan sand as worse than a battlefield.

d20 Names for Vulcan Sand d20 Names for Vulcan Sand
01 Blasting sand 11 Gauntlet sand
02 Crimson tides 12 Hell flats
03 Demon dunes 13 Igneous sand
04 Desert crematorium 14 Navybane
05 Devil’s forges 15 Psammothermite
06 Devil’s sand 16 Pyro sand
07 Ember sand 17 Red sand
08 Flame sand 18 Smolder sand
09 Flicker sand 19 Smuggler flats
10 Fury sand 20 Trigger sand

SANDS
 45

SANDS
46

BONE SAND
LIQUID LIMIT: <1 pound. If the Seas are a blessing from G_d ,
SOLID LIMIT: 1,500lbs. then bone sand is a curse. It is avoided
LIQUEFACTION POINT: 70°. Liquifies at and feared by sailors and city folk alike
dawn and solidifies at dusk. Spirits, ghosts, demons, cultists, sorcerers,
and fouler things haunt the sand. Strange
HEAT REACTION: Shifts and shivers
visions and afflictions abound.
as the dead stir. The surface quivers as
the sand reanimates buried corpses into Falling into bone sand is, in effect, like
undeath (2d6 shivering saints, pg121). falling through air, plummeting through
WATER REACTION: Screams as if in fine dust until splattering against the
pain. In small quantities, the sound is bedrock beneath. Of the few documented
barely audible. Sailors hear constant low naval battles fought on bone sand, all
whispering—the endless tiny screams as suffered catastrophic losses.
the sand connects with sweat on the skin.
While its sun-lit form is more dangerous,
LIQUID TEXTURE: Ashy and thin, like solid bone sand at night is far more feared.
flour. Doesn’t sift or strain like silk, but To be stuck atop a plain of solid bone is a
when shaken behaves like dust. traumatizing experience. The haunting
SOLID TEXTURE: Solid bone. Bone sounds echoing across the ossiferous
sand hardens into a single gigantic slab of dunes make sleep difficult. Most crews
ossiferous material. wait out the night in silent dread.
COLOR: Deep-dark gray, flecked with
Bone sand also has a reputation for
white and black.
revelation, albeit at a cost. Scholars,
DUNES: Rippling mounds. Never more
adventurers, and prophets venture into the
than a foot or two high. Ships cut straight
bone in search of wealth, truth, or wisdom.
through them.
Those few that return possess forgotten
SOUND: Dead silence.
knowledge and haunted dreams.
◼ Whispers. Any who sleep near
Bone encounters can be found in
bone sand must roll 1d20 on the
Appendix K, pg254.
Revelations table (pg228). If open
to the sky, roll 1d50 instead. If skin
physically touches the solid bone
slab, roll 1d100 instead.

d20 Names for Bone Sand d20 Names for Bone Sand
01 Barrow dunes 11 Hollow sand
02 Black sand 12 Marrow waves
03 Curse sand 13 Ossuarrissea
04 Dead sand 14 Rattler’s revenge
05 Death 15 Reaper’s sand
06 Desert’s closet 16 Screaming sand
07 Doom sand 17 Spectral seas
08 Fate sand 18 Spirit sand
09 Gaunt sand 19 Vulture sand
10 Ghost sand 20 Whisper sand

SANDS
 47

SANDS
48

KING’S SAND
LIQUID LIMIT: 50lbs. Like a monarch, king’s sand stands
SOLID LIMIT: 2,000lbs. alone, unique amongst its fellows. Where
LIQUEFACTION POINT: 40°. King’s sand other sands clump and cluster, king’s
is almost always liquid, even at night. runs in tendrils, sprawling in long narrow
expanses through the dunes. These tendrils
HEAT REACTION: Expands and floods
form popular trade routes, filled with
to three times normal size. Tendrils of
merchants and pirates.
king’s sand expand like swollen rivers. As
they cool, they slowly revert. For all intents and purposes, king’s sand
WATER REACTION: Grows slick and is permanently liquid. Any aspiring
fluid, almost frictionless. In this state, merchant knows that every day spent
it runs quicker than water. A ball of wet upon king’s sand cuts costs in half, as
king’s sand rolls for miles; a ship with a crews can sail through the night.
wet hull gains +50% Zest in king’s sand.
Though silk and salt grow lighter and
For the few that can afford it, king’s sand
airier, king’s sand truly swells when hit by
affords truly immense speed.
intense heat. The king’s territory expands,
LIQUID TEXTURE: Malleable, stretchy, with all the benefits and drawbacks such
and gelatinous. A lump of king’s sand desert conquest brings.
stretches like putty or bread dough before
Amongst sailors, king’s sand is genuinely
breaking in two.
regarded as a monarch, beautiful and
SOLID TEXTURE: Gummy, rubbery, and
powerful—but who wants to sail only
tough. Similar to muscle. Rarely seen and
where the king permits?
poorly documented.
COLOR: Rich violet-purple, dotted with King’s encounters can be found in
bright blue, green, and turquoise. More Appendix K, pg258.
glorious than any royal dress.
DUNES: Swirling, sloping dips and
divets. Strands of king’s sand stand out
amidst serpentine dunes.
SOUND: Soft, low, melodic humming.
Discordant, but on rare occasions, it
harmonizes like an ancient temple choir.

d20 Names for King’s Sand d20 Names for King’s Sand
01 Blueblood 11 Natural trade route
02 Conquering sand 12 Patrician sand
03 Court sand 13 Psammeo regis
04 Coward’s sand 14 Royal sand
05 Desert river 15 Serpent sand
06 Dominion sand 16 The Divine Trail
07 Lavender sand 17 Vineyard dunes
08 Lord’s roads 18 Violet sand
09 Merchant’s sand 19 Winding sand
10 Mother’s milk 20 Wine sand

SANDS
 49

SANDS
50

WEATHER
Roll 1d100 on the Weather table each day.

d100 Weather
01–10 Cloudy skies. A pleasant 90° with shade.
11–45 Cooler days. Pleasantly cool for the Seas with temperatures around 100°.
46–50 Sandstorm. A sandstorm brews on the horizon (pg172).
51–95 Hotter days. Roiling heat, with highs around 115°.
96–99 High heat. Scorching death north of 120°. All sands react to the heat.
100 Rain! A rare gift from G_d. All sands react to the water.
Doubles Doldrums. Dead wind; sailing is impossible (pg159). Ignore results of 100.

Lower rolls mean lower temperatures; higher rolls mean higher temperatures. Rain and
high heat bring all sorts of dangerous problems—see each sand’s reactions (pg34).
Don’t keep this a secret from the PCs. Make the table and its result known. The historical
weather patterns of the Seas are common knowledge.

OPTIONAL RULE: MEASURING THE WIND

The rules as written assume there is enough wind in the right direction when
traveling. If the group wants the complexity of wind speeds and direction, here is a
basic way to calculate them:
• Wind speed in knots (see Zest, pg54) is equal to the ones die of the weather
roll multiplied by 2. A result of 3 means a wind of 6 knots (6 nautical miles per
hour), a 7 means a wind of 14 knots. The wind speed effectively replaces your
ship’s Zest rating while traveling, but going over your ship’s maximum Zest can
rip off your mast, as if you were going flat out (pg54). A result of zero means
there is no sailable wind for the day.
• If the result is even, wind blows from the west; if it’s odd, it blows from the
east. The Seas are equatorial, and thus they have reliable trade winds blowing
east-west nearly all the time. Sailing directly into the wind is possible, but
requires “tacking”—zig-zagging back and forth at an angle as close to the wind’s
direction as possible—and a successful Zest check (see Zest, pg54).

T R AV E L
 51

RANDOM ENCOUNTERS
Every day at sea, roll for random encounters based on sand type. Each of the seven
sands has its own random encounter table. Alternatively, use the Generic Encounters
table. In either case, lower rolls are more mundane, closer to civilization; higher rolls are
stranger, prone to danger and mystery.
Random encounter tables for each of the seven sands can be found in Appendix K, pg234.

SHIPPING LINES GENERIC

& PORT SANDS RANDOM ENCOUNTERS
When making encounter checks, if the d100 Encounter Type
crew is within 50 or so nautical miles of
a port or trade route, roll twice and take 01–20 Ship, caravan, or other
the lower result. This makes ships, small traveling groups (pg203).
islands, and empty sands more common; 21–30 Nothing but sand.
preferable to merchants and pirates alike. 31–40 Uncharted island or
If the crew is more than 200 or so outcropping.
nautical miles from a port or trade route, 41–50 Common xeric flora (pg130).
roll twice and take the higher result. 51–60 Common xeric fauna (pg154).
Way out in the dunes, things get weird fast.
61–70 Xeric phenomena (pg156).
Tell your players these things. Make
71–80 Unusual xeric flora (pg134).
sure they understand that in regularly-
traveled sands, ships and pirates alike are 81–90 Unusual xeric fauna (pg90).
common, but in distant sands, strange and 91–99 Rare flora, fauna, or
dangerous things are the norm. phenomenon.
100 THE WORM.
THE RITUAL MONTAGE Primes Message in a bottle (pg210).
PCs spend a lot of time traveling
through vast expanses of desert. Doubles Roll again, and use both
Embrace this. Make every day into results. Results stack if you
a little ritual montage: they roll for roll doubles again.
weather and encounters, sail for a
time, deal with random and planned GENERIC ATTITUDE
encounters, the sands solidify, and
When encountering a creature, roll for
the night watch begins. If they get
their attitude if it's not clear from their
sidetracked or explore all the better,
description or context.
but eventually, they return to the
daily ritual montage of travel across 2d6 Attitude
the endless dunes.
02–03 Hostile or aggressive.
04–06 Unfriendly or defensive.
07 Cautious or guarded.
08–10 Friendly.
11–12 Trusting and helpful.

T R AV E L
52

SURVIVAL
WATER FOOD
This is the law of the desert: every day, Everyone needs about one pound of food
every person needs one skin of water. per day. This is less dire than water—the
This cannot be altered, changed, or need is still there, but far less severe.
avoided. Everyone needs water, every day.
Every day without food, subtract 1 from
Every day PCs go without water, 3 core attributes or equivalent. PCs
subtract 3 from each of their core decide which attributes drop day-to-day.
attributes or equivalent. Dehydration Hunger kills an ordinary person in about
kills a regular person in about three days, three weeks.
sometimes less.
Eating three full meals in a day recovers
Drinking a skin of water recovers 3 all of your attributes lost to hunger by 1.
points in each attribute, up to their
previous maximum. This, obviously, FINDING FOOD
doesn’t apply to attributes lost from other
As with water, there are three main
sources, like hunger or curses.
places to find food on the Seas: in cities,
from the desert’s natural ecology, and
FINDING WATER from once-living meat.
There are three principal places to find
Costs vary significantly, but food is
water in the Seas: buying from a city,
always available in settled areas. Sold
getting lucky, or drinking the blood of
in inns and taverns, at street stalls, or
living creatures.
straight from farmers & fishers.
In cities, villages, and havens, there is
Compared to water, food is relatively
nearly always water available for sale.
common on the high Seas. Xeric life is
Most settlements are deliberately built on
plentiful: fish, crustaceans, and birds are
oases and reservoirs.
common and easily caught. Likewise, most
A crew may stumble across some desert flora is edible.
unexpected source of water in their
In dire straits, flesh provides a great
travels. A hidden oasis, a lost barrel of
deal of food, just like water. About half a
water, some strange beast or plant that
person’s weight is edible meat.
carries water with it. Regardless of the
specifics, these are fortunate finds, rarely
replicable or reliable.
When the situation turns desperate, the
blood of humans and animals can sustain
someone for a time. Problems eventually
emerge—blood is full of things other than
water, like iron and salt. Seasoned sailors
tell tales of ships with dead crews, their
teeth stained red with each other’s blood.

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HEAT EXHAUSTION
Heat exhaustion is a severe medical condition brought about by the body heating up
too quickly. High temperatures result in more rapid overexertion and a fast descent into
feeling extremely worn-out and tired. Eventually, it can progress to sunstroke, where the
body begins to shut down. Starting with the kidneys, organs and other critical functions
begin to fail.
Whenever one of the following occurs, fill-in one inventory slot to represent advancing
exhaustion:
• Spending four hours in direct sunlight.
• Four hours of hard manual labor with no breaks.
• Spending an hour in direct sunlight in heavy gear like plate armor or a sandsuit.
• Spending an hour in direct contact with liquid sand.
• Spending ten minutes beneath the sand.
PCs suffer exhaustion from multiple sources simultaneously. If, for example, the PC
undergoes four hours of labor in direct sunlight while wearing chainmail, they suffer 6
inventory slots of exhaustion.
When all of a PC’s inventory slots fill up with heat exhaustion, their speed is
halved and they collapse from sunstroke within the hour. They die after one hour of
unconsciousness. It’s a grim way to go, facedown in the sand.
During times of high heat (pg50), all exhaustion times are quartered. An hour in
sunlight, 15 minutes in heavy gear, or just a few minutes beneath the surface—all cause
heat exhaustion.
Each hour spent in shade, cooling, and/or resting recovers one slot of exhaustion. Thus,
one hour spent in shade while still active and hot recovers one slot of exhaustion; one hour
spent in the shade resting with a wet rag on the forehead recovers three slots.

DAY-TO-DAY THE PROPHETS’ WAY

Most of the time, ordinary crew aren’t Sorcerers and oracles can survive for
in serious danger of heat exhaustion, months in the desert without food
starvation, or dying of thirst. Nothing or drink, sustained solely by visions
an evening’s rest in the shade and a hearty and prophecy. Crews long thought lost
meal won’t solve. sometimes return after months, raving
and wailing but alive. This is the way of
Bring survival elements in during
the prophets.
desperate times: long treks, getting
marooned, drifting, doldrums, and so When a PC would die from thirst,
on. Make each element of survival a hunger, or heat, they may instead roll
dangerous ticking clock. 1d100 on the Revelations table (pg238).
PCs may do this as many times as they’d
like, but each time increases the roll by 10.

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SANDCRAFT
“Sandcraft’’ is a catch-all term for all sandfaring vessels. Though primarily ships, they
also include boats, rafts, duneboards, and other vessels.
Sandcraft float on liquid sand and water. Shipwrights treat the wood with pitch, tar,
and complex concavity-based carpentry. Xericulturists infuse the wood with gum Arabic,
ammonia, and massicot to add a level of xerophobia to ships’ hulls. Prophets anoint the
wood in apotropaic salts and spice melange, then carve tiny prayers into the wood grain.
Sandcraft are generally smaller than traditional ships. Deep keels lose speed too quickly
in sand, sand is denser and heavier than water, and the raw lumber itself is expensive. It’s
rare for sandcraft to have multiple decks beyond a main deck and a cargo hold.

SANDCRAFT SANDCRAFT SPEEDS

ATTRIBUTES Sandcraft have four basic levels of speed:
Sandcraft have four core attributes: • Full stop. No sails, nothing else. If
Bulk, Zest, Twist, and Crew. These four you’re moored or anchored, you’re
govern the mechanical interactions of going nowhere. Otherwise, you’ll
sandcraft. PCs can make sandcraft checks slowly drift with the dunes.
using Bulk, Twist, or Zest as a positive • Half sail. Half your Zest. Twist
modifier to the roll. checks at half sail gain advantage.
• Full sail. Full speed ahead, equal to
Bulk is a measure of a ship’s raw size. It the ship’s Zest.
determines the following: • Flat out. Grants up to 5 additional
• The amount of cargo space. A Bulk 3 Zest for an hour, but there is an
ship can carry three bulk of cargo. X-in-6 chance the ship loses a mast
• The total crew and passenger from the strain, where X equals the
capacity. A Bulk 3 ship can Zest added.
comfortably house three people. Switching between each speed takes
• The amount of damage the ship can approximately one minute. Switching
sustain before sinking (pg56). faster or skipping a speed (e.g. half sail to
Zest is a measure of a ship’s top speed in flat out) requires a Zest check.
knots (nautical miles per hour).
Twist is a measure of a ship’s
SHIP ATTRIBUTE LIST
maneuverability. The higher the Twist, Sandcraft Bulk Zest Tws. Crw.
the more able a ship is to turn, move, and Coracle 1 1 +4 1
adjust quickly.
Dinghy 2 3 +2 1
Crew is the minimum number of Skiff 4 4 +2 2
crewmates required to sail. Any less and
the ship can only drift. Dhow 8 6 +0 4
Ketch 12 8 -2 6
SHIP’S MIRRORS Junk 20+ 6 -4 16
Ships larger than a dinghy are Catamaran 2 × 10 12 +2 12
equipped with ship’s mirrors.
Duneboard 1 4 +6 1
These mirrors can be used to send
basic messages over long distances,
typically from ship to ship. If broken,
ship’s mirrors cost 100ẞ to replace.

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ACQUIRING A SHIP
In general, it’s assumed that PC crews have a ship. Either PCs begin with a ship or they
acquire one through play.

STARTING WITH A SHIP

You can just give the crew a ship of their own to start out with. Starting with a ship
opens up their horizons from the get-go, and is generally recommended.
A dhow is a good starting ship. Ketches are fine, too, but are a bit more specialized,
whereas a dhow can provide a stronger sense of progression and advancement. Skiffs work
as well, but they’re small and can’t support a lot of NPC crewmembers.
Roll on the Ship Origins table when PCs receive their starting ship. Alternatively, start
the crew in debt for immediate tension and goals. A starting debt of 1d6 × 1,000ẞ is enough
to add serious pressure, but adjust as needed. Generate an appropriate NPC who holds
their debt using Appendix E on pg194.

Ship Origins
d6 The PCs...
01 …are employees of a merchant company.
02 …are employed by or are themselves nobility.
03 …stole the ship and got away clean. Starts with cheaply-made forgeries.
04 …are military or intelligence operatives for the nearest city port authorities.
05 …are named inheritors in the last captain’s will.
06 …refurbished a former ghost ship no one else would touch.

BUYING A SHIP
Lumber is expensive and not all ship types are available in every port. When looking for
a ship, consult the Ship Costs and Availability table.
Each week, there's an X-in-6 chance a given ship is available. Reduce this by 2-in-6 for
villages, and 1-in-6 for havens. Commissioning a shipwright to build one from scratch costs
the same, but takes time. Add any additional costs from upgrades as well.

Ship Costs & Availability

Sandcraft City Village Haven Availability Build Time
Coracle 100ẞ 150ẞ 150ẞ 8-in-6 4 hours
Dinghy 400ẞ 500ẞ 600ẞ 7-in-6 2 days
Skiff 2,500ẞ 3,500ẞ 5,000ẞ 6-in-6 1 week
Dhow 10,000ẞ 12,500ẞ 17,500ẞ 4-in-6 2 weeks
Ketch 20,000ẞ 40,000ẞ 60,000ẞ 3-in-6 1 month
Junk 50,000ẞ+ - 150,000ẞ+ 2-in-6 3+ months
Catamaran 75,000ẞ - 200,000ẞ 2-in-6 2 months
Duneboard 300ẞ 600ẞ 750ẞ 4-in-6 1 day

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NAVAL COMBAT
Mechanically speaking, naval combat works much like ordinary combat. Each side rolls
initiative, then combatants declare actions and roll dice. What follows are best practices
for running combat at sea, not hard and fast rules. Adhere to the fictional world first.

THINK IN MINUTES SIEGE WEAPONS

Until boarding actions occur and hand- Launching a siege weapon (ballistae,
to-hand combat breaks out, most ship catapults, flamethrowers, etc.) takes
actions take about one minute. Shifting about a minute, and typically requires
between sailing speeds, launching or a check. Generally, loosing ballista bolts
reloading siege weapons, mustering the and trebuchet payloads is far less about
crew to repel boarders, launching grapnels physical talents than it is timing, instinct,
and boarding planks—all take roughly one and training.
minute each.
When rolling to hit with siege weapons,
Once regular combat begins however, use 20 - target’s Bulk as the threshold.
return to rounds. In the time it takes to Big ships are far easier to hit than small
reload a ballista, six enemies could cut the ones, let alone coracles or duneboards.
PCs to ribbons. On the flipside, however, in
the time it takes the enemy to reload their BULK AS HEALTH
own ballista, the PCs could have leapt
Each point of Bulk is roughly equal to
aboard to hold everyone at cutlass-point.
10 HP, or 2 HD. When a ship reaches 0 HP
Emphasize the contrast between naval it’s going down.
and regular combat. Things move slowly
Ships don’t have armor, but they ignore
and deliberately up to and until boarders
damage from normal attacks. A dagger
start leaping from one ship to the next.
can never cut through the hull of a ship.
Once melee begins, all hell breaks loose.

PHYSICAL SPACE
Ships are big. Even skiffs and dhows
have several dozen square feet of deck
space, and are dozens of feet from end to
end. Likewise, they are vertical spaces:
masts and sails can be climbed, above and
belowdecks can have separate fights.

IMPROVISE
This is a roleplaying game, not a
wargame. The rules for ships and combat
exist to elide the areas of play that we
ourselves can’t or don’t want to go through
purely via roleplay. They aren’t hard limits
or boundaries. Let players get creative
with their strategies, let unexpected
elements collide, and let the game move to
the fringes of the system.

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NAVAL COMBAT IS CHAOS

When a ship sustains significant damage, roll 1d20 on this table. Roll a smaller die for
lesser damage or effects.

Naval Chaos
d20 Effect
01 Sprung a small leak. Somewhere below decks, most likely. The ship isn’t sinking,
but starts to if nothing is done.
02 Damaged signal mirrors. Blinds nearby crew momentarily, and only G_d knows
what you’re signaling now.
03 Cargo spill. A barrel tips over or a crate comes loose, sliding and rolling
everywhere.
04 Sand wave crashes over the deck. Anything loose gets swept to one side, possibly
overboard (-1 Twist and Zest until bailed).
05 Rigging twists. The ship veers hard in a random direction until someone gets up
there and corrects the course.
06 Torn colors. If not fixed immediately, the flag is lost. Port authorities pose a
problem, to say nothing of the shame.
07 An NPC crewmate turns coward. They run for the hold, most likely.
08 Scattered navigational charts. They drift and flap over the deck—if you don’t
recover them, you’ll be lost at sea.
09 Dangerous contraband breach. Mysterious foul-smelling foam begins bubbling
below decks, or worse.
10 Ruptured water barrels. In less than a minute, a whole bulk’of water is lost.
11 Endangered ship’s papers. Whether by accident or design, the enemy’s blows
draw near your manifest and papers—vital in legitimate ports.
12 Fire! Randomly determine where it starts.
13 Splintered main deck. The hole poses no immediate danger to the ship, but may
easily break a sailor’s neck during a skirmish.
14 Sailor overboard! Randomly determine who.
15 False or mistaken orders. The crew fall into sudden confusion, much to the
enemy’s benefit.
16 Hidden boarders (1d4). They appear opposite from the fighting, or wherever is
most disastrous.
17 Torn sail. If it isn’t patched or furled immediately, it rips off (-1d4 Zest depending
on which sail).
18 Loose rudder. The ship can only turn with the wind until repaired.
19 Broken mast. Cut the ship’s Twist and Zest in half until repaired. If all masts are
broken, the ship cannot sail.
20 Dangerous interloper. Roll an additional encounter.

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SHIP REPAIRS
Repairs are bought and paid for like any other good or item, but their prices vary with
the price of wood and the type of repairs needed. Repairs are usually cheapest in cities,
then rural villages, then pirate havens.
If PC crews have the necessary materials and tools, they may attempt repairs at sea.
Every day, the lead repair-person (usually the carpenter) makes a check; on a failure, roll
once on the Naval Chaos table (pg57).

Repair Type Material Cost City Village Haven Time

Basic hull or deck 1 bulk of Scrap or 100ẞ 125ẞ 200ẞ 2 days
repairs (per bulk). 0.25 bulk of Lumber
New mast. 2 bulk of Scrap or 500ẞ 800ẞ 1,200ẞ 5 days
0.5 bulk of Lumber.
New rudder. 1 bulk of Scrap or 200ẞ 600ẞ 1,000ẞ 3 days
0.25 bulk of Lumber
+ 0.5 bulk of Tools.
New sail (per yard). 2lbs of cloth. 1ẞ 3ẞ 5ẞ 1 minute.

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SHIP UPGRADES
Ships can be upgraded with new abilities or enhancements. Upgrades are powerful,
expensive, and game-changing.
All upgrades have three costs: skins, time, and Bulk. Any Bulk used by an upgrade is
permanently spent: cargo cannot be stored there. If PCs buy upgrades in ports where the
requisite materials would be extremely rare, jack up the prices appropriately.
Generally speaking, upgrades can only be acquired in cities and havens. Villages just
don’t have the unusual materials or skill sets.
Many upgrades are illegal for ordinary ships to have. To get them, crews either need
special dispensation from a city’s government and navy, or go to a haven and pay the
exorbitant costs. Illegal upgrades are underlined.

Upgrade Bulk City Haven Time Notes

Ballista 1–3 1,000ẞ per 3,000ẞ per 4 days per Range 500’ × Bulk.
Bulk Bulk Bulk
Ballista Bolt 0.1 25ẞ 50ẞ 1 minute ~10’ long.
Ballista Cable, 0.1 15ẞ 30ẞ 1 minute Attaches to bolts.
100’
Ballista Chain, 0.2 10ẞ 25ẞ 1 minute Attaches to bolts.
100’ Halves range.
Battering Ram 2 2,000ẞ 5,000ẞ 2 days Deals 1 Bulk
damage per 5 Zest.
Bladed Siding 1 2,000ẞ 3,000ẞ 3 days Cuts ships and
boarders.
Boarding Planks 1 500ẞ 1,000ẞ 1 day 40’ long.
Retractable.
Catapult 3 4,000ẞ 6,000ẞ 1 week Range 1,000’.
Diving Bell-Tank 2 750ẞ 1,500ẞ 2 days Grants 2 hours of
air. 100’ chain.
Fireproof Sails 0 10ẞ per yard 25ẞ per yard 1 minute Leathery-brown
per yard look.
Flamethrower 2 7,500ẞ 15,000ẞ 1 month 100’ cone. 25ẞ of
oil per shot.
2 minute reload.
Gunwale 0.1 75ẞ 200ß 1 hour Pintle-mounted.
Crossbow
Ironclad Masts 20% 2,000ẞ × 4000ẞ × 1 day per +[Bulk / 5] Zest,
total Bulk Bulk Bulk rounded down.
Reinforced Hull 10% 1,000ẞ per 2,000ẞ per 2 days per Negates Naval
total Bulk Bulk Bulk Chaos effects on
the hull.
Smuggler’s Holes 1:1 200ẞ 100ẞ 1 day Hides an equal
per Bulk per Bulk per Bulk amount of bulk
converted converted converted. in the cargo hold.

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CORACLE
BULK: 1.
ZEST: 1.
TWIST: +4.
CREW: 1.
LENGTH: 5’.
MASTS: None. Cannot go flat-out.
SAIL: None.

City Village Haven

100ẞ 125ẞ 200ẞ

Coracles are tiny circular boats, built for a single sailor and short journeys. They
have no sails, so they have to be rowed with single or dual oars. Though slow on the sand,
they are also nimble. Ideal for narrow coves and awkward berths. Still, they’re unsuitable
for journeys longer than a day or two. Coracles are popular primarily among hunters,
fishers, rich enthusiasts, and smugglers. They’re cheap, reliable, and easily repaired. Widely
available, even tiny villages usually have a coracle for sale.

Unusual Coracle Materials

d20 Material
01 The hollowed-out trunk of an old rotten cypress tree.
02 Woven branches, held together with dried tar and muck.
03 Broken and discarded oars.
04 Palm fronds, layered and lashed together with twine.
05 Dried and bleached camel leather, stretched over an iron frame.
06 The broken-off bow of another, different ship.
07 The remnants of a clay-firing kiln.
08 The congealed crust from the inside of a glass furnace.
09 A huge round shield.
10 The hollowed shell of a large sea turtle.
11 Half a wooden wine-barrel.
12 The roof of a desert hut.
13 Lashed-together bones of a half-dozen bodies.
14 A live, semi-domesticated yakhdan snail (pg127).
15 A ship’s catapult bucket.
16 The crow’s nest of a junk.
17 Hollowed and dried husk of a large barrel cactus.
18 A dire jerboa sled (pg100).
19 A single enormous sandshoe.
20 Half of an egg from some very large creature.

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DINGHY
BULK: 2.
ZEST: 3.
TWIST: +2.
CREW: 1.
LENGTH: 12’.
MASTS: 1.
SAIL: 30 yards.

City Village Haven

400ẞ 500ẞ 600ẞ

The all-purpose one-person sailing ship. Dinghies are used for every conceivable purpose:
fishing, trading, scouting, smuggling, ferrying, everything. Because of their relatively
cheap cost and ease of use, dinghies make for excellent training ships. Dinghies feature
prominently in festivals and celebrations, and represent nostalgia, tradition, or new
beginnings. While it’s borderline suicidal to cross the sands alone in a dinghy, some still
attempt it. The few who do succeed are lauded and mocked in equal measure.

Improbable Dinghy Tricks

d12 Use
01 Bait. Canny merchants send a dinghy a few miles ahead of them, ideally loaded
with something flashy. Novice pirates go for the dinghy as the merchant escapes.
02 Bargaining chip. For crews short on skins, a dinghy is a useful tool to sweeten the
pot. “And the dinghy, too,” is a common idiom for “everything you’ve got.”
03 Coffin. For the select few, like merchant-princes and admirals, being cast out to
sea in a treasure-laden dinghy is a fine way to meet G_d.
04 Construction frame. A dinghy makes for a good roof-frame template. Builders
stack bricks atop the dinghy’s keel, then remove the ship once the roof is done.
05 Drum. Some peoples of the Seas flip their dinghies and other small ships over to
beat on their keels during festivals.
06 Hammock. Hang a dinghy below decks on ropes as a large hammock—very
popular with couples.
07 Improvised net. Poke a few holes in the bow, dip the dinghy beneath the surface
and catch some fish!
08 Portable lumber. Lumber merchants, after purchasing cargo, have a carpenter
make it into a dinghy. Drag it behind the main ship in gentle sands and it can pull
extra cargo without losing value.
09 Sand block. During a sandstorm, flip over the dinghy and use it for clean air.
Better than suffocating from the storm’s winds.
10 Siege mantelet. On the deck of a ship or outside a port, a dinghy flipped onto its
side provides cover from encroaching attacks.
11 Smokehouse. Flip the boat over, set a small fire, and use it to smoke fish. Best
done on salt or sugar sand for that extra flavor.
12 Tent. For the few caravan-fleets that portage their boats overland, a dinghy
flipped on its side provides decent shelter from the desert nights.

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SKIFF
BULK: 4.
ZEST: 4.
TWIST: +2.
CREW: 2.
LENGTH: 25’.
MASTS: 1.
SAIL: 100 yards.

City Village Haven

2,500ẞ 3,500ẞ 5,000ẞ

Skiffs are large enough to fend for themselves, but too small for most crossings.
Crossing the Seas is possible, certainly, but with just two crew it’s risky. On the flipside,
skiffs are too big for most larger ships to carry as they might a dinghy or coracle, so they
serve in larger fleets instead. City garrisons, military navies, the occasional merchant fleet:
that’s where skiffs find a home. That, and with desperate people looking for a way across
the unending sands.

Skiff Support
d12 Role
01 Ballista platform. A gutted skiff’s hold has enough room for an entire ballista,
bolts, and repair materials.
02 Boarders. A skiff loaded with raiders can easily outflank a larger ship.
03 Boarder-hunter. Large vessels, particularly junks, employ skiffs equipped with
crossbows to shoot down any boarders climbing the sides.
04 Bomber. The crew loads a skiff with barrels of vulcan sand and a full water skin,
then jam its rudder and send it unmanned into the middle of an enemy fleet.
05 Courier. Ships carrying mail and messages are usually lone skiffs.
06 Diving platform. Skiffs get fitted out with bell-tanks and sandsuits, and serve as
the main point of operation for divers.
07 Emissary vessel. When two warring navies need to make peace, they send out
skiffs with a mediator and their guard, to meet and talk terms.
08 Scout. Outfitted with sand-patterned sails, scout-skiffs get sent ahead to watch
for threats.
09 Search & rescue. Skiffs are the most common ships used to search for survivors
and pick through the wreckage.
10 Smuggler’s dropoff. If a large ship can’t risk losing their smuggled goods to an
inspection, the crew loads the contraband onto a skiff with a pair of crewmates
and leaves it out at sea. Then, they sell off the legitimate cargo and pick up the
skiff after business concludes.
11 Snatchers. When pirates sink a ship, they send out a skiff to collect any cargo
spilling off the sides before it sinks.
12 Tugboat. If another ship gets beached or stuck, skiffs equipped with hooks and
chains can get them unstuck.

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DHOW
BULK: 8.
ZEST: 6.
TWIST: +0.
CREW: 4.
LENGTH: 60’.
MASTS: 2.
SAIL: 240 yards.

City Village Haven

10,000ẞ 12,500ẞ 17,500ẞ

Dhows are the most common type of long-distance sailing ship. The dhows’ popularity is
due to two key factors: their capacity and their reliability. Dhows can be made from many
kinds of wood, in many shapes and sizes, and with many techniques—the design just works.
Every tiny village port and shipwright company has their own unique spin on the dhow.
No two are quite alike. Likewise, the crew size, large lateen-style sails, and hefty cargo hold
means dhows can hold their own on the sands or in the marketplace.

Dhow Variants
d12 Variant
01 Baghlah. Bigger and heavier, with a large aft-castle. Commonly used by wealthy
merchants and military transports. +1 Bulk, -1 Zest.
02 Battil. Smaller and lighter, but built with higher gunwales. Favored by pirates and
military ships. -1 Bulk, provides +2 AC against ranged attacks.
03 Beden. Slender and shallow, built more for speed and navigability than size.
Popular with mail-ships and couriers. -1 Bulk, +1 Zest, +1 Twist.
04 Boum. Mid-weight dhow, with twin symmetrical sails, rather than the standard
hanging-crossbeam design. With a proper pilot at the helm, they sail faster, but
amateurs sail slower. +1 Zest with a helm, -1 Zest if anyone else is navigating.
05 Dhoni. Smaller variant built with slats across the exposed inside, like an
overgrown canoe. One of the oldest dhow designs. +1 Bulk, but roll with advantage
on the Naval Chaos table (pg57).
06 Felucca. Single-masted, but with taller, larger sails. Adapted from watercraft
designs used to sail up rivers. +1 Zest and Twist when sailing against the wind.
07 Ghanjah. Large and broad, with curved stems and transoms. The wider surface
area serves to show off custom designs. Shipwrights honor their wealthiest
patrons with elegant engraved stems. Worth at least an extra 1,000ẞ.
08 Pattamar. Built with multiple smaller masts, scaled up or down as the locale
demands. Up to +2 Bulk and Zest, or down to -2 Bulk and Zest.
09 Sambuk. Distinguished by a sharp, cutting prow. +2 Twist to escape rough sands.
10 Shu'ai. Smaller and lighter, with lower sides. Fishers and hunters hang their nets
low over the gunwales. -1 Bulk, advantage on fishing and netting checks.
11 Uru. Heavy, multi-decked ships, much-beloved. +2 Bulk, -1 Zest, -1 Twist.
12 Zaruq. Mid-weight, with a slightly narrower design. Favored by militaries of older
houses, more tradition than anything. Worth an extra 500ẞ to the right buyer.

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KETCH
BULK: 12.
ZEST: 8.
TWIST: -2.
CREW: 6.
LENGTH: 80’.
MASTS: 2.
SAIL: 600 yards.

City Village Haven

20,000ẞ 40,000ẞ 60,000ẞ

A ketch is a proper sailing ship: fast, sleek, and strong. It’s a sign of success: prosperous
merchant vessels, dangerous pirates, warships of the line—all ketches. In practice a ketch
is more or less a dhow, but bigger and better. Ketches are faster, can carry more cargo, and
take more crew. Otherwise, they fill a similarly-ubiquitous role to a dhow, just at a higher
level. Like dhows, many ketches are customized to suit the crews’ needs.

Ketch Modifications
d12 Modification
01 Battlement decks. Instead of the main deck, wide battlements run along the
gunwales over an exposed lower deck. Ideal for multiple siege engines.
02 Bowsprit sails. Extra lateen sails strung between the foresail and bowsprit,
lessening the strain on the masts overall.
03 Crows’ wires. Crews string extra rigging between multiple crow’s nests, allowing
for efficient movement high above the ship.
04 Full forecastle. With extra anti-crew weapons atop it.
05 Forepeak platform. Rather than mounting to the main deck, crews rig the
weapons to the forepeak, just beneath the bowsprit.
06 Gunwale shields. Heavy round shields mounted along the edges of the topdeck.
Crews can take cover behind them and repel boarders simultaneously.
07 Lazarettes. Criminals and hostages are just as profitable as cargo. Ketch holds
make excellent prison cells for transfers or mobile incarceration.
08 Metal vaults. Steel-lined holds for added protection against breaches. The
tradeoff is that it slows everything down, and—of course—it’s scorching hot.
09 Sidesails. Rather than vertical sails, they protrude from the sides for some extra
room on the main deck.
10 Split mainsails. In place of a single large mainmast and mainsail, the ship has two
smaller masts with two matching, smaller mainsails.
11 Topsail over mizzensail. The back sail—the mizzen—has been replaced with an
extra high-elevation topsail rigged solely along the mainmast, allowing the entire
mizzenmast to be removed.
12 Water hold. The lowest hold works as a single watertight chamber. All the ship’s
water is in this singular hold, like a well.

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JUNK
BULK: 20+.
ZEST: 6.
TWIST: -4.
CREW: 16.
LENGTH: 140’.
MASTS: 4.
SAIL: 1,300 yards.

City Village Haven

50,000ẞ - 150,000ẞ

Junks are whales. They trawl across the Seas knot by knot, hauling more cargo and people
than any other. As such, junks are exclusively for rich merchants and admirals. Their size
makes them prone to idiosyncrasies, coloring each one’s reputation.

Junk Quirks
d12 Quirk
01 Cranes. The largest junks need special cranes built onto their decks to lever cargo
out of their lowest holds.
02 Crew unfamiliarity. Crews on larger junks, like luxury barges, may not know
their fellow crewmates at all.
03 Dedicated soldiers. For the slow junk in dangerous sands, a retinue of
professional soldiers is essential.
04 Extra mirrors. Junks keep an extra set of ship’s mirrors, either to communicate
with two ships at once or, on rare occasions, from one end of the junk to the other.
05 Full night crews. Junks keep a skeleton crew at night to maintain the ship and
keep an eye out.
06 Hierarchy of mates. First, second, and sometimes third mates, bosuns, and
adjutants, too: junks can be a mess of power plays and gossip.
07 Livestock. Junks keep live animals on-board for food, or even have whole decks
dedicated to animal husbandry.
08 Multiple cargo holds. Junks always have at least two cargo holds, but may have
as many as three or four.
09 Spare passengers. Junks often have extra bunks to spare, for those in need of
cheaper, less comfortable passage.
10 Subsurface decks. Junks sit deep enough in the sands that many have decks that
are fully below the surface. Ideal for temperature sensitive cargo.
11 Supply runners. Stows smaller ships, either in their holds or in tow, for supply
runs while the junk trudges on.
12 Village docks. Villages don’t usually have large enough berths for junks, so some
junks with village ties build custom docks—named after themselves, of course.

SANDCRAFT
66

CATAMARAN
BULK: 2 × 10 (parallel hulls).
ZEST: 12.
TWIST: +2.
CREW: 12.
LENGTH: 80’.
MASTS: 3.
SAIL: 900 yards.

City Village Haven

75,000ẞ - 200,000ẞ

Only the most rich and powerful can afford catamarans. While a junk may have the
greatest size, a catamaran is faster, nimbler, and far more able of a ship, without sacrificing
prestige. The parallel hulls, spacious accommodations and large crew complement mean
that the catamaran can do it all and more, in style.

Catamaran Features
d12 Luxury
01 Custom mastheads. Each mast forms a linked work of art—lovers, perhaps, or
fencing duelists.
02 Deck seating. Couches and devans are brought onto the main deck for
passengers. Crew simply work around them.
03 Duneboard tow. Through a complicated rope-spooling mechanism, catamarans
tow a duneboard behind them, allowing the rider to perform breathtaking stunts
at dizzying speeds.
04 Fireworks. Foolhardy catamaran owners bring out alchemical fireworks to set off
over the sands, usually to open or close parties.
05 Full beds. Rather than the standard hammocks, cabins instead have beds, with
real feather mattresses and pillows.
06 Guest wardrobes. Full sets of luxury clothes on-board to outfit any and all
potential guests.
07 Musicians. A permanent minstrel (or three) on hand to serenade the voyage.
08 Sculpted gunwales. Though it takes double the lumber or more, intricately-
carved decorative gunwales, full of tiny detail and texture, are worth every ounce.
09 Shade rigging. The rigging includes stretches of gauzy fabric to cast a
comfortable shade on the decks below.
10 Tapestry sails. Complete woven artworks on the sails, either in patterns or
depicting some image.
11 Trawler nets. Though nets slow the ship down, catamarans move so quick
that they can afford to trawl for fresh fish as they sail. Because, of course, a
catamaran’s owners and passengers deserve only the best.
12 Water baths. In the richer cabins, there is enough water to bathe! The water is
then filtered and used for crew cooking.

SANDCRAFT
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DUNEBOARD
BULK: 1.
ZEST: 4.
TWIST: +6.
CREW: 1.
LENGTH: 9’.
MASTS: 1.
SAIL: 20 yards.

City Village Haven

300ẞ 600ẞ 750ẞ

When foreigners hear tales of the sandy Seas, they always start with a dunerider.
Little more than a plank of wood and a sail, lone riders careen across the dunes, leaping
and hurtling through the air. In truth, these stories are mostly accurate: duneboarding is a
daredevil’s mode of travel, and many riders practice stunts and tricks to prove their mettle.
Duneboards are always unique to their owner, festooned with decoration and art. Despite
their carefree reputation, talented duneriders can always find employment as scouts,
outriders, and psammologists.

Duneboard Art
d20 Depiction
01 Coursing waves amidst a huge sandstorm.
02 Sedate, relaxed palm trees on a twinkling orange sea.
03 An attractive, well-endowed youth, all curves and sultry smiles.
04 Intricate layering floral patterns.
05 Wavering gradient of each of the seven sands.
06 A fish skeleton, wickedly sharp and stylized.
07 The fractal descending ribs of a single palm leaf.
08 Complex interlocking geometric designs.
09 A drillhead shark (pg101).
10 Sprawling knife-etched and sun-burnt doodles.
11 A roaring, snarling face, more demon than human.
12 Lines and lines of minute scriptural text.
13 High-contrast wood grain done in deep indigo ink.
14 An avenging angel wielding a flaming spear.
15 Solid block of bright green.
16 A grumpy, annoyed psammead (pg115) surrounded by psychedelic sculpture.
17 Three-dozen crossed blades, pointed inwards.
18 G_d’s Sanding Block (pg163), in all its glory.
19 The maw of THE WORM.
20 A xerodeinosuchus (pg126) about to snap a ship within its jaws.

SANDCRAFT
68

CREW ROLES
HANDS SERGEANTS-AT-ARMS
Basic sailors and crewmates. They Battle masters. They lead boarding
perform all of the day-to-day tasks actions at sea, and provide extra muscle
of maintaining and sailing the ship: elsewhere when needed.
setting the sails, handling cargo, keeping
PC sergeants-at-arms gain +1 to-hit
watch, cleaning the decks, and others
during ship combat.
as the voyage demands. All crewmates,
regardless of their usual role, can perform
the tasks of a hand. If, say, a surgeon COOKS
completes their duties early, they can step Chefs and friendly ears. More than that,
in as a hand. though, they often serve as a willing ear
for weary crewmates. Cooks always know
PC hands gain no special benefits.
the best gossip on the ship.

HELMS PC cooks gain advantage on checks to

get information or news out of the crew.
Navigators and pilots. Their chief
responsibility is the ship’s heading, at the
wheel and the chart. Most helms are also QUARTERMASTERS
trained in mirror-sign, and operate the Keepers of the ship’s books. They’re
ship’s mirrors. responsible for paying wages or shares,
and keeping the ship in the black.
PC helms gain advantage on Twist and
Zest checks while at the wheel, and can PC quartermasters know when they’re
communicate in mirror-sign (pg54). being scammed, and can appraise trade
goods on sight.
CARPENTERS
Keepers of the ship’s health. With their CANTERS
tools and ample lumber, they can keep a Ships’ magicians. While good captains
ship sailing through nearly any damage. recognize their value, most sailors distrust
canters. How can one measure someone
PC carpenters roll twice and choose one
who breaks the laws of the world?
result on the Naval Chaos table (pg57)
while repairing at sea (pg58). PC canters can read message in a bottle
glyphs, and gain advantage when
SURGEONS identifying flora, fauna, and phenomena.
Keepers of the crew’s health. If a
crewmate is sick or wounded, it’s the
surgeon’s task to keep them alive.
PC surgeons gain advantage on checks
made to heal and stabilize crewmates.

CREWS
 69

PLAYERS AS CAPTAINS
It is strongly recommended that,
CAPTAINS when the PCs find themselves
Leaders of ships. They are the undisputed in command of a ship, they elect
commander of the ship and the crew— a single captain from among
their wishes are to be fulfilled and their themselves. Some players might
orders are to be obeyed. feel uncomfortable taking orders
from another, or being the one to
PC captains add their CHA modifier to issue those orders. It’s important to
morale checks (pg70). discuss these issues ahead of time,
The role of captain is not chosen like other but having a single captain may drive
crew roles: interpersonal drama and make crises
more manageable.
Captain Selection Methods
d6 Method
01 Election by the crew, one vote per share.
02 Outbidding other contenders for a merchant company contract.
03 Trial by combat, spilt blood offered to the sand.
04 Appointed through naval hierarchies, won through valor and intrigue.
05 Seniority, based on years spent without touching solid earth.
06 Anointed by a prophet in a ritual saltwater-pouring.

CREWS
70

MORALE, WAGES, AND SHARES

The single largest decision for crew morale is whether to pay in wages or shares.

WAGES vs SHARES MORALE

Paying in wages means that each Check the crew’s morale when:
crewmate gets paid a fixed number • The crew is mid-crisis, like a
of skins per day. This is common on sandstorm or hostile attack.
merchant and naval crews. • The crew suffers a defeat.
• The crew is mistreated: brutal
Paying in shares means that each
orders, late pay, poor conditions.
crewmate receives a portion of the
• The captain is incapacitated, killed,
overall profits. This is common on
dying, or missing.
smuggler and pirate crews.
To make a crew morale check, roll 2d6
Standard Crew Pay and compare it to the current crew
Role Wage Share morale. If the result is below their morale
rating, all is well. If it’s equal, the crew
Hand 0.2ẞ 1
is angry and grumbling. If it’s over their
Helm 0.5ẞ 1 morale, the crew becomes mutinous. Crew
Carpenter 0.5ẞ 1 Morale starts at 7.
Surgeon 1.5ẞ 1 Crew Morale Modifiers
Sergeant-at-Arms 1ẞ 1 Condition Modifier
Cook 0.5ẞ 1 Default 7
Quartermaster 1ẞ 1.5 Captain is alive and well +CHA mod
Captain 5ẞ 2 Paid in wages -2
Canter * * Paid in shares +2
Canters do not ordinarily take set Unfed -2
wages or shares. Either they work out a Unwatered -5
private contract with the captain, or the Unpaid -3
agreement is ad-hoc—canters take their
choice tidbits and the crew tolerates it. Extra food, booze, or fun +1 each
Cook onboard +1
Canter onboard -2
Recent victory +2
Recent defeat -2
Brutal orders -2
Doldrums -1 / day
Natural disaster -2
Infamy +1 per

CREWS
 71

CREWS
72

RECRUITING CREW
When recruiting crew in port, make a Recruitment Roll. This represents the culmination
of PCs advertising, bargaining, and the general winds of fortune.

PROCEDURE RECRUITMENT RESULTS

1. Declare which crew role to employ. If 3d6 Result
hiring for multiple roles, make multiple
Recruitment Rolls. 07- Crewmate is unavailable.
2. Consult the Recruitment Modifiers 08–10 Crewmate is available, but with
table, noting relevant entries. a quirk.
Modifiers come from PCs’ actions 11–13 Crewmate is available with a
and reputation according to the perk and quirk.
Recruitment Modifiers table. PCs
should do all they can to get the best 14–15 Crewmate is available with two
deal before rolling. perks and two quirks.
3. Roll 3d6 on the Recruitment 16–17 Crewmate is available with
Results table, adding or three perks.
subtracting modifiers. 18+ Crewmate is available with a
4. Roll on the Crew Perks table for the choice of three perks.
potential crewmate. Possible hires
show off their good side.
5. Decide whether or not to hire the
crewmate.
6. After hiring, roll for any quirks.
Quirks always show up later.

RECRUITMENT
MODIFIERS
Condition Modifier
Passed a relevant INT, +1
WIS, or CHA check.
Spent a week searching +1 / week
for sailors.
Have a contact in port. +1
Infamy, in legal ports. -1 / 3 Infamy
Infamy, in havens. +1 / 3 Infamy
Hiring in a village. -1
Hiring a cook, sergeant, -1
helm, or carpenter.
Hiring a surgeon or -2
quartermaster.
Hiring a canter. -3

CREWS
 73

CREW PERKS CREW QUIRKS

d20 Perk d20 Quirk
01 Big and muscular. Handy in a 01 Constantly bickers. Prone to
brawl or fistfight. start fights.
02 Crack shot with a bow. 02 Addicted to a drug. Needs their
03 Excellent climber. daily fix or they can’t function.
04 Talented liar, even on the spot. 03 Can’t hold their liquor. Gets
drunk constantly and carelessly.
05 Possessed of a genuine academic
education. 04 Complete fool.

06 Loyal, and discrete. Can be 05 Spills their guts to anyone they

trusted to keep a secret. talk to, no matter what.
07 Has a tattoo kit, and knows how 06 Coward. Bolts at the first sign of
to use it well. trouble or danger.
08 Knows mirror-sign, and can work 07 Petty thief and liar. Can’t leave
a ship’s mirrors. shiny things alone.
09 Trained in fishing and crabbing. 08 Vicious and cruel. Likes to toy
with their prey.
10 They naturally like camels, and
camels naturally like them. 09 Zealot. Follows a strict religious
code, urging the crew to do the
11 Noble-born. Still has one or two same as well.
friends in high places.
10 Deeply in debt. Running from
12 Extremely slim and light, perfect their creditors.
for walking across the surface of
liquid sand. 11 Arsonist. Likes to start fires and
watch things burn.
13 Keeps three knives on their
person at all times. 12 Terrible, horrible, awful stench.

14 Good singer and musician. They 13 Miserable, depressed, unlucky,

know dozens of sea shanties. and won’t shut up about it.
15 Has an eye for scams. Knows a 14 Deeply gullible. Believes
deal that’s too good to be true. anything anyone tells them.
16 Grizzled veteran soldier who 15 Ambitious. Wants to be captain
fears nothing. at the worst times.
17 Knows a thousand knots. 16 Overly-developed sense of honor.
Will challenge anyone.
18 Can name every constellation
and navigate by the stars. 17 Skims water from the barrels.

19 Has deep lungs, is able to hold 18 Has a tattoo kit, and has no idea
breath for over five minutes. what they’re doing.
20 Weathered and experienced. 19 Serial gambler. Always takes a
Knows random bits of sea-lore. bet or dare, no matter the price.
20 Cursed.

Re-roll any quirks that directly contradict an existing perk.

CREWS
74

PIRACY
Pirate crews have their own code in the Seas, their own ways of life, their own customs
and culture. They have unique procedures for selecting crew roles, negotiating shares, and
even hazard pay.

ELECTIONS HAZARD PAY

On pirate crews, all crew positions are In addition to shares, pirate crews award
elected. From cooks to captains, every extra skins to wounded crewmates. The
crewmate is voted on by the crew as a exact payments vary according to the
whole, majority rules. Any crewmate can Compensation table.
call for a new vote, except during battle.
During battle, the established hierarchy Compensation
is absolute. Lost Body Part Payout
Elections can be treated just like crew First eye 100ẞ
morale checks (pg70). If everyone has a Second eye 300ẞ
day or two’s warning, candidates can try to
butter up the crew to vote for them. Tongue 50ẞ
Ear, nose, per 5 teeth 5ẞ
SHARES Finger 10ẞ
Pirate crews pay in shares. Every Thumb 50ẞ
crewmate that gets a vote gets a share, and
Hand 150ẞ
everyone on the ship gets a vote. Many
pirate crews court wage-paid sailors with Arm 200ẞ
promises of better pay. That’s not to say Foot 50ẞ
every pirate crew is rich and successful—
Leg 150ẞ
many aren’t—but at least the pay scheme
is more egalitarian.

CREWS
 75

INFAMY
Pirate crews have a shared statistic called Infamy, which measures their collective
reputation, fame, and ability to inspire dread. Infamy affects many different rolls and
situations—sometimes beneficially, sometimes as a liability. Gain Infamy whenever
the crew meets a condition on the Infamous Acts table. If a crew gains Infamy, they are
effectively a pirate. Crews begin with zero Infamy.

Infamous Acts
Action Change
Taking a prize worth 10,000 skins. +1 / 10,000ẞ
Defeating a well-known ship in battle. +1
Blockade running, dangerous smuggling, or daring heists. +1
Slaughtering villages, leaving a crew to die of thirst, or brutality. +1
Changing ship, crew, captain, or flag. -1 each
Losing a battle. -1
Getting caught, seized, jailed, or otherwise incarcerated. -1
Escaping capture, fleeing charges, or evading hunters. +1
A year passes without gaining Infamy. -2

OFFERING SURRENDER
When pirates close in on a prize, they can offer the crew of the target vessel surrender,
rather than battle. Many crews would rather hand over their goods than risk death
in open combat. The target ship makes a morale roll (pg70), modified according to the
Surrender table. If the target crew succeeds with an even result, they run; on an odd result,
they stand and fight. If the target crew fails, they surrender.
NPC crews start at 8 morale.
After defeating a prize, through surrender or battle, pirate crews can recruit directly
from their victims as if making a Recruitment Roll (pg72).

Surrender
Pirate Modifiers Change Victim Modifiers Change
Infamy -1 per Merchant -1
Black flag -1 Warship +2
Larger ship -2 Pirate +3
Siege weapons -1 per Crew paid in wages -1
Sergeant-at-Arms present -1 Crew paid in shares +2
Canter present -2 Dangerous environment -1

CREWS
76

THE MERCHANT ROLL

When PCs buy or sell cargo in a port, they make a merchant roll. This represents the
culmination of PCs haggling, bargain-hunting, and the general winds of fortune.

PROCEDURE BASELINE PRICES

1. Select an amount of cargo in bulk for d20 Trade Goods Cost
sale or purchase, noting the Baseline
Price. If PCs have multiple types of 01 Alchemicals 5,000ẞ
cargo, they roll for each. 02 Armor 2,500ẞ
2. Consult the Market Modifiers table, 03 Beer 200ẞ
noting relevant entries. Modifiers
come from a port’s traits (pg22), market 04 Camels 500ẞ
events (pg78), and PCs’ actions and 05 Cloth 2,000ẞ
reputation according to the Market 06 Delicacies 1,500ẞ
Modifiers table. PCs should do all they
can to get the best deal before rolling. 07 Finery 50,000ẞ
3. Roll 3d6 on the Market Price table, 08 Foodstuffs 200ẞ
adding or subtracting modifiers. Add 09 Glass 50ẞ
the modifier when selling, subtract the
modifier when buying. 10 Metals 300ẞ
4. Adjust the Baseline Price of the goods 11 Liquor 1,250ẞ
by the modified Market Price result 12 Lumber 10,000ẞ
for the final price. Lower is better for
buying, higher for selling. For example, 13 Salt 30,000ẞ
one bulk of spices (20,000ẞ at baseline) 14 Scrap 1,000ẞ
with a result of 7 sells for 14,000ẞ, a net 15 Spices 20,000ẞ
loss. If buying though, then the 7 means
a hefty discount! Once the price has 16 Tea 400ẞ
been set, negotiations are over. If PCs 17 Texts 3,000ẞ
want a better deal, they’ll have to find it 18 Tools 600ẞ
somewhere else.
19 Weapons 750ẞ
20 Wine 500ẞ

Examples of each trade good can be

found in Appendix A, pg178.

TRADE
 77

MARKET MODIFIERS MARKET PRICE

Positive for selling, negative for buying. 3d6 Price Change
A not sign (¬) means an always unhelpful
modifier: negative for selling goods, 03- -90%
positive for buying. 04 -70%
05 -50%
Condition Modifier
06 -40%
Passing an INT, WIS, 1
and CHA check. 07 -30%
Searching for bargains. 1 / week 08 -20%
Having a relevant 1 09 -10%
contact in port. 10 0%
Infamy in legal ports. ¬1 / 3 Infamy 11 0%
Infamy in havens. 1 / 3 Infamy 12 +10%
Goods are illegal in ¬1 13 +20%
port.
14 +40%
Trading in a village. ¬1
15 +60%
Port Traits. See Port
16 +80%
details, pg22.
17 +100%
Market Events. See Market
Events, pg78. 18+ +200%

TRADE
78

MARKET EVENTS
Markets are unstable. The sweetest bargains come only once in a year’s rainfall. When PCs
dock, roll for that port’s market event. Market events last for 1d6 weeks. Rather than rely
on luck, PCs may consult a seer to predict market events ahead of time (pg82).

d50 Event Trade Effects

01 Art Competition. The best artists rush • +1 Alchemicals, +2 Lumber,
their finest creations. +2 Metals, +2 Texts
02 Blockade. Ships encircle the port, their • Port closed and all trade blocked.
intentions clear. • +2 All Goods
03 Bumper Crop. More fruit than glass. • -2 Foodstuffs, -2 Spices, -2 Tea
04 Bureaucratic Overhaul. The system is • No customs check.
dead. Long live the system. • +1 Texts
• -3 to any illegal goods
05 Camel Plague. Carcasses in the streets. • +3 Camels, +1 Foodstuffs
06 Caravan Jamboree. A dream shared by • +2 Foodstuffs
a hundred captains calls for celebration! • -3 Camels
07 Conquerors Return. A charismatic • Recruitment rolls +2.
tyrant arrives to cheers and gifts. • -2 Armor, -2 Delicacies, -2 Finery,
-2 Weapons
08 Divine Visitation. Angel, prophet, • +1 Tea
messenger. Remind the earth of G_d. • -3 Glass, -2 Liquor, -2 Wine
09 Dock Collapse. Swallowed by the sands, • Stuck in port for 1d6 days.
taking good sailors with it. Families wail • +2 Lumber
as bodies are pulled from the dunes. • -2 Scrap
10 Dock Worker Strikes. The red hand • Port is closed and all trade blocked.
against the silver palm. • +2 all sales.
• -2 all purchases.
11 Drained District. Through great effort, • Add 1 new landmark to the port.
the port folk make a piece of land viable. • 1-in-6 chance village becomes a city.
• +3 Lumber, +1 Foodstuffs, +3 Tools
12 Drought. Wells run dry. Officials execute • Water is worth double in silver.
water thieves by exsanguination. • +2 Beer, +3 Delicacies, +3 Foodstuffs
13 Eureka! Orange lights and heavy scents. • -3 Alchemicals, -3 Glass, -1 Texts
14 Famous Prophet Lectures. Wisdom • -3 Texts
pours forth like so much rain.
15 Fashion Renaissance. Chic aristocrats • +3 Finery
display outlandish designs. • -1 Cloth
16 Feasting Moon. Eat, drink, make merry, • +2 Beer, +3 Foodstuffs, +1 Liquor,
warm the night beneath the moon. +2 Wine
17 Festival of Limes. Treats and jubilation • +1 Delicacies, +3 Foodstuffs
for all comers! • -2 Weapons
18 Funerary Obliteration. Only in the void • +3 Liquor, +1 Spices
do folk find peace. • -1 Delicacies, -1 Finery

TRADE
 79

d50 Event Trade Effects

19 Ghost Awakening. Spirits blunder into • +1 Alchemicals, +1 Glass, +2 Salt
their former homes, seemingly unaware
of their state.
20 Giving Wind. All are kindred, all are • Free drinking water.
welcome, all feel the wind. • -2 Beer, -2 Foodstuffs
21 Guerilla Politics. Demonstrations • +1 Armor, +1 Foodstuffs, +1 Metals,
appear like fire and vanish like smoke. +3 Texts, +1 Weapons
22 Hovering Mirage. The city’s borders • 2-in-6 chance to encounter a
blur and shimmer in the sun. Blessed mirage-gate (pg169).
are the smugglers. • -2 all goods, but 2-in-6 chance
purchased goods are illusions.
23 Ill Omens. Seers draw glyphs in fresh • Random good +3
ash as vultures circle the port. • Different random good -3
24 Labor Shortage. Crickets hum where • Trades take an additional 1d4 weeks.
workers once sang.
25 Martial Law. Justice blinded by steel. • Punishment rolls +1d4.
• +2 Armor, +2 Weapons
• -2 Texts
26 Military Mobilization. Smithies roar • Recruitment rolls -2.
and new brass adorns every able body • +3 Armor, +1 Lumber, +1 Metals,
that can be found. +3 Weapons
27 Miraculous Wellspring. Water wells • -3 Wine
gush crimson wine.
28 Monolith Appears. Immobile haunting. • +1 Alchemicals, +2 Texts
29 Month of Meditation. Naught but quiet • +2 Tea, +2 Texts
reflection, at least publically. • -1 Liquor, -1 Wine
30 Myriad Procession. Scents and colors • +1 Alchemicals, +3 Spices, +1 Wine
blur together in incandescent frenzy.
31 Noble Debauchery. Naked and drunk, • +2 Delicacies, +2 Finery, +2 Liquor,
they bathe each other in water. +2 Wine
32 Open Revolution. Streets turned to • Port and trade closed without
flanks and fronts. appropriate contact.
• Reroll government (pg24).
• +3 Armor, +2 Scrap, +2 Lumber,
+3 Weapons
33 Palace Coup. Bloody crowns wrested • +1 Armor, +1 Weapons
from severed hands. • -2 Delicacies, -2 Finery
34 Pilgrimage. Tides of seekers and • +2 Beer, +2 Camels, +2 Tea, +2 Texts
supplicants wait for a sign.
35 Pirate Raid. Bounties on every corner • +1 Armor, +2 Delicacies, +2 Finery, +2
read “dead or alive.” Spices,+2 Salt, +1 Weapons
36 Refining Breakthrough. Junk and trash • +1 Alchemicals, +3 Glass, +2 Metals,
are worth their weight in silver. Luck +3 Scrap
upon scavengers. • -3 Liquor, -3 Salt

TRADE
80

d50 Event Trade Effects

37 Remembrance Festival. Grind the teeth • +2 Salt, +1 Wine
of dead saints into flour for bread. • -1 Foodstuffs
39 Repeated Rainfall. Elders laugh like • Water is worth half in silver.
babies each new morning as the wealthy • -2 Beer, -1 Delicacies, -1 Foodstuffs,
fear for their profits. -2 Wine
39 Rich Vein. A gift from G_d. • -3 Glass, -3 Metals, -2 Salt, -1 Tools
40 Riots. Magisters’ silks burn as banners • Port closed to foreigners.
of revolt unfurl. Rioters crack water • All trade is illegal.
vaults asunder. • +1 Armor, +1 Liquor, +2 Weapons
41 Serial Killing. Eyeballs threaded on • Punishment rolls -1d4 (pg85).
strands of hair taunt authorities. Who • +2 Armor, +2 Weapons
will be next?
42 Shrinemaker’s Day. Thousands of tiny • +1 Lumber, +3 Scrap, +2 Tools
saints venerated in tinier temples.
43 Social Reform. Arguments at every • Reroll 1 port characteristic (pg25).
table. Theses nailed to every door.
44 Spreading Corruption. Silver in the • 4-in-6 chance of 1d100 × 10ẞ fine.
pocket replaces food on the table. • +1 Delicacies, +1 Finery +1 Spices
45 Sunken District. The desert reclaims • 1-in-6 chance city becomes a village.
that which it gave, drifting into the • 2-in-6 chance village or haven is
abyssal dust. entirely abandoned.
• +2 Lumber, +2 Tools
46 Thieves’ Taxes. Not all dockworkers are • 3-in-6 chance a bulk of random
dockworkers. Not all thieves are thieves. cargo stolen.
• +1 Legal Goods
• -3 Illegal Goods
47 Tidal Dune Shift. Workers, walls, and • +2 Lumber, +2 Metals, +2 Tools
sands all rise in equal measure. • -2 Scrap
48 Unearthed Tomb. Ghosts surge through • +1 Spices, +1 Salt, +3 Texts
the open air. They must be laid to rest. • -1 Finery
49 Utter Catastrophe. A sanding block • Havens and villages destroyed.
(pg163), armageddon locusts (pg93), or 4-in-6 chance city destroyed.
an unending sandstorm (pg172). G_d’s • +3 Glass, +3 Lumber
wrath incarnate. • -3 all other goods.
50 Wildfires. Brush fires or carelessness. • +3 Lumber, +1 Foodstuffs, +1 Spices

TRADE
 81

TRADE
82

SEERS
“Seer” is a catch-all term for prophets, fortune-tellers, mystics, and sorcerers of trade.
Seers divine the flow of water, coin, and blood: they whisper to the dunes and the dunes
reply. Mechanically, the GM pre-generates a market event at the relevant port instead of
waiting until PCs arrive. To quickly generate a seer, roll on the Seer NPC table (pg199).
Consulting a seer means asking what market event occurs next at a specific port. The
further the specified port from the PCs and the more accurate the seeing, the higher the
price charged by the seer.
To calculate the cost of a seeing, start at 10ẞ and multiply the cost according to the
Seeing Cost table. Thus, a seeing for the distant city of Ghizbarak costs 40ẞ if PCs only pay
for a 1-in-6 chance of accuracy. If they wanted a more accurate reading, say a 4-in-6 chance,
it costs them 240ẞ. Potentially worth it if thousands of skins in profit hang in the balance.
Once costs are paid, the GM rolls for accuracy in secret. If it succeeds, PCs get the
information they asked for. If it fails, the GM consults the Seeing Inaccuracies table for
what gets lost in the vagaries of prophecy. Since the PCs won’t arrive at the port right
away, the GM may work in the inaccuracies as they travel.

SEEING COST
Variable 1× 2× 4× 6× 10×
Distance nearby close distant far vast
Accuracy 1-in-6 2-in-6 3-in-6 4-in-6 5-in-6

Inaccuracies FINDING A SEER

d6 Seeing Inaccuracies • Cities have 1d6 seers available. 1-in-6
chance a seer ship-sees.
01 The location is slightly off. The
• Villages have a 1-in-4 chance to have a
market event occurs at a nearby
seer. 1-in-6 chance the seer ship-sees.
port instead.
• Havens have a 3-in-4 chance to have
02 The time is slightly off. Market a seer. All of them ship-see, but most
event lasts one week less. are strictly controlled by whoever rules
03 The event is slightly off. Choose a the haven.
similar market event instead.
04 The location is wildly off. The
market event occurs at a random
port instead.
05 The time is wildly off. Market
event lasts three weeks less.
06 The event is wildly off. Roll a
random market event instead.

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SHIP-SEEING
In addition to locations, some less scrupulous seers scry for ships. Ship-seeing works
just like regular seeing, except the seer looks for a particular ship instead of market events.
Because it’s such a valuable tool for pirates, ship-seeing is illegal in cities and villages and
costs double the normal amount of skins.
When ship-seeing, the core question changes from “what market event is occurring” to
“where is this ship at a given time in the future?” In this case, the “distance” in a seeing is
not literal physical distance, but rather distance from the present. A nearby ship-seeing is
less than a day, while a vast ship-seeing could be months or even years from the present. In
the event of an inaccuracy, inaccurate locations and times still apply, but a different event
is replaced with a different ship—the seer has the time and place right, but the wrong ship.
If caught ship-seeing, PCs roll on the Punishment table (pg85) according to the price of
the ship-seeing itself. The seer is usually exiled.

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SMUGGLING & ILLEGALITY

Illegal goods turn a high profit, but at great risk.

THE FOUR FORGERY

DOCKING CHECKS Stolen ships need doctored or entirely
When PCs dock in a legal port, officials new papers. Costly, but necessary.
check the following:
Stolen, scavenged, or smuggled goods
1. Papers. Ships all have papers listing
need to be hidden or disguised as legal
their name, home port, and captain.
cargo on the manifest.
If those don’t match the current
state of the ship, or if a ship doesn’t Forged papers and manifests have an
have papers at all, port authorities X-in-6 chance of fooling authorities, up
investigate the discrepancies. to 5-in-6. PCs increase their chances by
2. Flag. Honorable ships fly the flag of commissioning quality forgeries. Flags
their home port. If they’re caught are just flags—illegal flags are real flags,
flying a false flag, no flag, or a black just acquired illegally. Consult the Forgery
flag, authorities rush to arms. Costs table when commissioning forged or
3. Manifest. When a ship leaves a port, illegal items.
officials check the cargo against the
manifest, then sign it. When a ship FORGERY COSTS
arrives in port, officials check the
signed manifest for inconsistencies Item Cost
with the declared cargo. Fresh papers Xd12 × 50ẞ
4. Contraband. Officials with reason
Altered papers Xd6 × 50ẞ
for suspicion may search a ship for
illegal goods. Wise smugglers plan Fresh manifest Xd8 × 50ẞ
for such eventualities. Altered manifest Xd4 × 50ẞ
City or village flag 25ẞ
HAVENS & ILLEGALITY Custom black flag 50ẞ
Illegal goods may be freely sold
in havens, but havens are not The best way to hide contraband is to
recognized by legal ports. Anything avoid suspicion entirely. Most port
can be bought or sold and no authorities won’t check every single crate
docking checks are made. To legal or barrel without reason. Alternatively,
port authorities, however, goods crews may conceal contraband in
bought in a haven might as well be smuggler’s holes (pg59).
stolen. Because of this, pirate crews
tend to trade only with havens.

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PUNISHMENT Punishment
If a crew is caught bringing in illegal Xd4 Sentence
goods, they’ll be detained pending
01 • Nothing. Lucky break.
punishment. Punishment is based on the
amount of skins hanging in the balance. 02 • Fined 2d6×10ẞ.
Port authorities, like most, are motivated 03 • Contraband seized.
by cash. • Fined 4d6×10ẞ.
Roll a number of d4s on the Punishment 04 • Ship detained for 1d6 days.
table, based on the profits of the crime. • Contraband seized.
• <100ẞ: 1d4 • Fined 6d6×10ẞ.
• 100–1,000ẞ: 2d4 05 • Ship detained for 2d6 days.
• 1,000–10,000ẞ: 3d4 • Contraband seized.
• >10,000ẞ: 4d4 • Fined 8d6×10ẞ.
• Captain jailed for 1d6 days.
FLIGHT & BOUNTIES 06 • Ship detained for 3d6 days.
PCs may flee from punishment. Clever • Contraband seized.
crews flee in the morning. More than one • Fined 10d6×10ẞ.
foolish crew has fled in the afternoon, only • Captain jailed for 1d6 weeks.
to get stuck in the sand four hours out 07 • Ship detained for 1d6 weeks.
from port. • All cargo seized.
If a crew flees, officials place a bounty on • Crew jailed for 1d6 days.
the ship and crew equal to the result of • Captain jailed for 1d6 months.
the Punishment roll × Infamy × 100ẞ. For 08 • Ship detained for 1d6 weeks.
example, a result of 4 on an Infamy 2 crew • All cargo seized.
(pg75) results in an 800ẞ bounty. • Crew jailed for 1d6 weeks.
• Captain jailed for 1d6 years.
Bounties are cumulative. Many pirate
lords pride themselves on the size of their 09 • Ship seized.
bounties accrued over the years. • Contraband torched, legal
cargo seized.
• Crew jailed for 1d6 months.
• Captain scheduled for
execution in 1d6 weeks.
10 • Ship seized.
• All cargo torched.
• Crew jailed for 1d6 years.
• Captain scheduled for
execution in 1d6 days.
11 • Ship seized.
• All cargo torched.
• Crew scheduled for execution
in 1d6 days.
• Captain scheduled for
execution in 1d6 hours.
12+ • Ship scuttled.
• All cargo torched.
• Captain & crew scheduled for
execution in 1 hour.

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TIME IN PORT
Crews need a little rest between journeys. Likewise, selling goods, making repairs, and
preparing for the next journey takes at least a few days.

PAYMENT
Crews expect payment when they dock.
• Crew on wages expect payment the same day they arrive in port. Make sure
players account for crew wages when they arrive.
• Crew on shares expect payment after the deal is done. They understand selling
goods takes time, but after the goods have been sold, they want their share of skins.
Crews make an immediate Morale roll every day they aren’t paid (pg70).

CREW SHENANIGANS
For every day the crew spends in port unsupervised, roll once on the Crew Shenanigans
table. After rolling, randomly determine which NPC crewmate was involved.
If the crew are pirates, roll with disadvantage. Rowdy crew, pirates.

d20 The crewmate...

01 …gets killed in a mugging-gone-wrong.
02 …murders a port official!
03 …accidentally implicates the PCs in smuggling. Officials hold the ship for 1d6 days
and search it thoroughly.
04 …starts an epic bar fight. Officials jail 1d6+1 crewmembers, setting a 1d6×10ẞ bail
for each.
05 …gets mangled in a fight.
06 …gets a better offer. They demand a raise if they’re going to stay.
07 …is still in a brothel when the ship sets sail.
08 …returns to the ship high as a kite. 2-in-6 chance they sustain injury every
encounter for the next day.
09 …gets married out of the blue, and wants to bring their new spouse aboard.
10 …brings back a parcel of a local illegal good.
11 …has a divine experience and won’t stop exulting. They roll once on the
Revelations table (pg228).
12 …falls for an obvious scheme, spending all their skins. They beg for an advance.
13 …“learns” an instrument. Plays it non-stop aboard the ship.
14 …loses all of their savings gambling.
15 …sports an absurd tattoo. Roll on the least-appropriate Tattoos table (pg220).
16 …wins 2d10ẞ gambling.
17 …stumbles across a treasure map.
18 …sings the PCs praises! Gain +1 to recruiting rolls until you depart.
19 …receives a prescient vision. PCs may re-roll encounters for 1d4 days.
20 …meets a desperate merchant. PCs gain +/- 1 on the next Merchant Roll in this
port (pg76).

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