White Sands
Deep within the Drylands, where the desert has baked everything to dust and silence, a collection of yellowish-white rooftops marks the location of White Sands. The homes are built deep into the sands, their sunken construction protecting against sandstorms and the heat-loving Cinder undead that prowl the surface. From a distance, the roofs look like bleached bones poking from the earth. Up close, they shelter a community of people who have given up on everything except staying alive.
The residents of White Sands are perpetual outsiders who want nothing to do with civilization. They are individuals who have lost homes and families to the wastes and arrived here believing all effort is useless, that the best anyone can hope for is to be left alone long enough to die on their own terms. Newcomers must build their own shelter and farm their own food and water to prove they can survive. Failure earns nothing but contempt, because the people of White Sands have no patience for weakness they have already survived past.
The community sustains itself by trading rare herbs that grow only in the cracked desert earth, plants used for specialized drug production. Occasional Diesel Jocks venture out to make collection runs, providing the settlement's only regular contact with the outside world. Radical self-reliance and fatalism define every interaction. White Sands does not welcome visitors, does not offer help, and does not pretend to care. It simply endures, and it expects anyone within its borders to do the same.
The residents of White Sands are perpetual outsiders who want nothing to do with civilization. They are individuals who have lost homes and families to the wastes and arrived here believing all effort is useless, that the best anyone can hope for is to be left alone long enough to die on their own terms. Newcomers must build their own shelter and farm their own food and water to prove they can survive. Failure earns nothing but contempt, because the people of White Sands have no patience for weakness they have already survived past.
The community sustains itself by trading rare herbs that grow only in the cracked desert earth, plants used for specialized drug production. Occasional Diesel Jocks venture out to make collection runs, providing the settlement's only regular contact with the outside world. Radical self-reliance and fatalism define every interaction. White Sands does not welcome visitors, does not offer help, and does not pretend to care. It simply endures, and it expects anyone within its borders to do the same.
Geography
White Sands sits deep within the Drylands of Deserter. Homes are built deep into the sands with yellowish, nearly white roofs visible from a distance. The sunken construction protects against sandstorms and heat-loving Cinder undead. The Great Divide, a miles-long crack in the desert floor, serves as a hidden food and water source for the outpost. The surrounding terrain is cracked desert earth where rare herbs grow in the fissures.
