The Drylands
The Drylands are the southern desert expanse of Deserter, a stretch of cracked earth, sand dunes, and deep crevasses where the Overgrowth has been unable to reach through the hellish terrain. Whatever prevents the creeping jungle from crossing into the Drylands also makes the region nearly uninhabitable for anything that needs water to survive. Sand storms shift the terrain and bury roads. Cinder undead thrive in the heat and open ground, drawn to any sign of movement across the flats.
White Sands sits deep within the desert, an outpost of survivalists who have given up on civilization and found something worth clinging to in the cracked earth. Bomb Bay lures travelers with its gem-like lake, killing them with toxic water and preserving their corpses as floating stones. The Great Divide splits the desert floor with a miles-long crack deep enough to exist in perpetual shadow, hiding both fresh water and raiders in its depths.
Past the Drylands edge lies Ugly Acres, a collection of old farmland untouched by the Overgrowth where an almost painfully innocent population lives in seclusion. Racing gangs tear across the sands, and fatalistic communities mark the rare points of civilization. The desert buries the dead faster than the Grave Mind can claim them, which may be the only mercy the Drylands have to offer.
White Sands sits deep within the desert, an outpost of survivalists who have given up on civilization and found something worth clinging to in the cracked earth. Bomb Bay lures travelers with its gem-like lake, killing them with toxic water and preserving their corpses as floating stones. The Great Divide splits the desert floor with a miles-long crack deep enough to exist in perpetual shadow, hiding both fresh water and raiders in its depths.
Past the Drylands edge lies Ugly Acres, a collection of old farmland untouched by the Overgrowth where an almost painfully innocent population lives in seclusion. Racing gangs tear across the sands, and fatalistic communities mark the rare points of civilization. The desert buries the dead faster than the Grave Mind can claim them, which may be the only mercy the Drylands have to offer.
Geography
The Drylands occupy the southern portion of the broader Deserter region, an expanse of cracked earth, sand dunes, deep crevasses, and exposed salt flats. The climate is extreme desert heat prone to sandstorms, with minimal water sources anywhere in the region. The Overgrowth has been unable to reach through the terrain, making the Drylands one of the few places in the wastes free of encroaching jungle. Notable features include the Great Divide, a miles-long crack in the earth with perpetual shadows and hidden resources; Bomb Bay, a toxic lake surrounded by calcified corpses; and White Sands, an isolated survivalist outpost deep in the sands. Past the desert edge lies Ugly Acres, a stretch of untouched farmland.
