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Enter Third Edition, exit the module. Wizards of the Coast releases a staggering number of products now, mostly stout hardbound books chock full of variant rules and player options. Monsters are now described in depth, often getting whole books that relay everything from hunting patterns and prayer rituals to favored locales and naming conventions. The pre-scripted adventure has been relegated to third-party publishers, for the most part, which may cause some to wonder why we need all these new books.
Sandstorm is a generic D&D supplement that focuses on life in the desert. Before I opened the cover, I was forced to wonder just how much nearly-useless information I would be perusing to find a single good idea. I was pleasantly surprised to find a great deal of material I could use to create desert adventures or even entire wasteland campaigns.
Chapter One: The Waste
The first chapter of Sandstorm deals primarily with the physical features of a wasteland area. It describes sand, heat, desolation, and natural hazards. There is, in fact, so much here that it is almost daunting – but that’s not criticism, that’s a point in the book’s favor. You can literally create any kind of desert you want, from the scrubby Mojave and the dune-swept Sahara to magical, extra-planar wastelands teeming with molten lava and geysers of flame.
Many of the hazards in a wasteland are obvious – sandstorms, heat, whirlwinds and flash floods. These are all covered in depth, but that is not enough. Sandstorm presents a myriad of magical dangers, including slipsand, flaywind, moondust and phantom cities. These varied hazards allow a DM to create a wasteland as hostile or benign as he wants.
In addition to outdoor hazards, this chapter discusses wasted dungeons. Magma walls, glass floors, and salt-encrusted doors can define a waste dungeon. Other features such as deadfalls of sand or hidden dust traps add to the DM’s options.
Chapter Two: Races, Classes, and Feats
Most D&D supplements spend an entire chapter on new races, another on classes, and yet another on feats and skills. It is refreshing to see this nearly redundant information condensed into one chapter, because it leaves room for more monsters and adventure ideas.
Two new races are presented in this chapter. The asherati are smooth-skinned humanoids capable of burrowing under the sand at high speeds, while the bhukas are relatively primitive goblinoids who have adapted to life in the blasted plains. Both are presented as potential player characters, complete with ability adjustments and favored classes.
The classes mentioned here are not prestige classes – those still get their own chapter. Instead, the options available here are meant to allow a player to make a character adapted to life in the wastes. Badlands dwarves, scablands half-orcs, and painted elves are all pretty much the same as the core books, but with subtle changes that allow for a more desert-born focus.
In addition to these variations on old standards, this chapter presents class options for asherati and bhuka PCs. These are helpful, because they help to define just exactly what these classes mean in drastically different societies.
There are several new feats in these pages, though not as many as some of the more verbose D&D books. Happily, these feats relate to life in the desert, with feats like heat endurance, sand camouflage and sandskimmer.
The second chapter closes with a discussion of touchstones, magical locations that can grant special abilities to those who can find them and then perform specific tasks. Some examples include defeating the djinni of the Sunken City of Pazar, channel energy into the healing waters of Abu-Ima, or casting the spell ‘flesh to salt’ on a living creature in the Salt Statuary. This is new and fun stuff, and the benefits could make adventurers beg their DMs for the opportunity to fight their way to a touchstone.
Chapter Three: Prestige Classes
Thirty pages are devoted to six prestige classes, causing me to be just a little disappointed. While none of these classes specifically require a particular race, only three are really meant to be used by races other than asherati or bhuka. Thirty pages to essentially describe three useful prestige classes seems to be a slight waste of space.
The Ashworm Dragoon, Sandshaper, and Scion of Tem-Et-Nu are all good choices for standard races born in the desert. Happily, their usefulness is not restricted to the desert, but they do make a lot more sense if your character has spent many years with sand in his underpants.
The Lord of Tides and the Scorpion Heritors are both more or less intended to be associated with bhukas. These prestige classes are very cool, but could be a little difficult to gain for a member of one of the standard races.
The Walker in the Waste is, pure and simple, a bad guy. While this class is not restricted to asherati, it does not make much sense for others. These villainous waste-walkers scour the deserts with undead in tow.
Chapter Four: Equipment
Sandstorm comes with a variety of equipment specifically geared toward surviving – or shortening the lifespan of others – in a waste. There are even a few items that are not particularly useful, but are neat and very specific to desert environs.
The weapons in this chapter are all interesting. The atl-atl is a seldom seen weapon, and it is nice to see it make an appearance. The scorpion claws also make a very cool weapon. The armor is likewise interesting and applicable, as it is mostly intended to protect against heat, sand and dust, rather than being variations on ways to keep sharp points from vital organs.
The special substances and items are of particular note. The asherati sand sculpture is not at all impressive in a fight, but it could fetch a high price in a distant land as a fascinating oddity. Mounts like the ashworm and vehicles like the sand skiff are great ways to get around the desert.
Chapter Five: Magic
Chapter Five starts out with a discussion of drift magic, a sort of add-on for the desert mage that allows access to more powerful earth spells and special casting skills. After the short description of this new brand of magic, the chapter launches into a lengthy list of new spells for every spellcaster class, from druids and mages to rangers and paladins.
A few samples of these spells illustrate Sandstorm’s focus on wasted lands. Impede Sun’s Brilliance can keep a man from being blinded by the desert sun, while Flaywind Burst can strip the flesh from a target in a whirlwind of sand. Wall of Salt is pretty much what it sounds like, while Slipsand is a particularly nefarious way to immobilize nearly any foe.
The magic items section starts off with new abilities that can be granted to magical equipment, like desiccation resistance or duststorm. Many unique magical items are also included, such as the Bottle of Endless Sand and the Folding Sand Vessel. Personally, some of these are a little too bizarre for my tastes, but the Cape of the Wastes and the Replenishing Skin are excellent magical items for a desert game.
Chapter Six: Monsters
If you plan on running a desert campaign, Sandstorm’s 60 pages of monsters will come in very handy. There are desiccated undead, sandworms, frightening insects and several sentient races to meet in the waste. Desert devils, dire pumas and sand dragons all pose a serious threat to adventurers, and the dry lich, lava ooze and wasteland troll can all make a dungeon crawl a great deal more exciting.
Several normal animals are included to give the desert a more authentic fauna. Camels and jackals might be the most obvious, but horned lizards, serval cats and giant ant lions are also great additions to a desert bestiary.
Chapter Seven: Adventure Sites
I started off this review commenting on the lack of adventures being published by Wizards these days. Most D&D books from Wizards of the Coast contain tons of information to help you create an adventure, but few actually contain any ready-to-play scenarios. Happily for the time-challenged DM, there are three well-described adventure sites in this chapter that can fill that role.
The Basin of Deadly Dust details a ruined city filled with asherati who are slowly being killed by the dust of their mining expeditions. This dust is also driving them insane, which creates exciting hijinks for all.
Harrax: The Deadly Throne presents an entire lost city full of undead with a plausible backstory (for a fantasy game). Many important parts of the lost city are detailed here, from a few generic buildings to the king’s house. Adventurers could certainly face a challenge here.
Despite its rather obvious name, The Mummy’s Tomb is still a valid adventuring site. The mummy in this tomb had hoped to stay hidden beneath the desert sands for a few centuries, until a celestial event could make him a great deal more powerful. Unfortunately, a sandstorm exposed his front door, leading to the inevitable trespass of unwelcome guests.
A Little More
For most books, this is where I wrap up and tell you what I think. In the case of Sandstorm, however, Wizards has seen fit to give us just a little extra. Four map cards for the D&D miniatures game are stuck in the back of the book, showing several great skirmish sites. For those unfamiliar with that game, these little cards offer great options for decorating a battlefield and mixing up the terrain.
Impressions and Observations
I was initially unexcited by the premise behind Sandstorm. I was not particularly wooed by the theme of desert adventure, but Sandstorm surprised me. There is a serious wealth of information here, more than is found in most books of this type. By scaling back some of the areas most commonly associated with D&D supplements, Wizards was able to include much more useful information.
The design and art in Sandstorm is, as with nearly every other Wizards book, beautiful. Only a publishing powerhouse like Wizards of the Coast could afford to make a book that looks this good.
Overall, Sandstorm promises to provide a wealth of knowledge useful for desert game, and delivers nicely.
Style: 5 – I hate to keep saying this, because people are going to think I am a broken record, but Wizards makes a beautiful book.
Substance: 4 – With the exception of some relatively unimpressive prestige classes, this book is cover-to-cover useful. I would not start a desert campaign without Sandstorm.
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