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  1. Locations

Great Ivory Plain

Salt Flats
Athas

Ancient dwarven sagas tell of the heroes Jo'orsh and Sa'ram traveling past the Great Lake of Salt in the region of what is today the Great Ivory Plain. While the claim may seem preposterous, the complete absence of ancient structures across the empty plain may lend some credence to the story.

The Great Ivory Plain is an enormous salt flat, one of the largest terrain features in the Tyr region. Extending from the dwarven village of North Ledopolus in the south to the Blackspine Mountains in the north, the Plain extends some 110 miles in its longest axis. At its narrowest point (from the foothills of the Mekillot Mountains to the edge of the silt estuaries near the ruined city of Bodach) it is a mere five miles across. Travelers who have never seen the Plain may find its sheer size hard to imagine. It is said that the Dragon's Bowl could be placed inside the southern lobe of the Plain without touching its edge at any point. A journey from North Ledopolus to Nibenay (which runs the length of the Plain) is the same distance as a trip from Nibenay to Raam, Urik to Raam, or from Tyr to the oasis of Grak's Pool. The region is characterized by the single unbroken plain of salt, sand, and silt which gives the area its name. Approaching the Plain, travelers first notice the blinding distant glare of the sun reflecting off the salt flat. They will then notice a sudden depletion in the scrub. Ahead, the dirt gives way to a featureless white plain virtually devoid of plant life. Nowhere in the Tyr region is there a stretch of land as lifeless and harsh as the Great Ivory Plain.

Most of the Plain is a hard crust of sand and silt with just enough salt to prevent virtually anything from growing. It is difficult to dig through this crust, but occasionally tenacious dwarves have managed to drill a deep well, only to find the water brackish and undrinkable. No oasis offers water to the thirsty traveler in the Great Ivory Plain and no date grove offers food. It is said that the glare from the salt flats will blind a traveler in a matter of hours, and that those who die here do not decay, but instead shrivel and mummify, perfectly preserved by the salt. The region is not totally featureless, however. Ridges and strangely shaped rock formations dot the landscape. Some of these take the rough form of huge figures, and the nomads of the Plain believe it to be an ancient race of giants magically transformed into salt and stone. In the deepest portion of the Plain, these formations are huge, sometimes extending 40 feet into the air and 30 to 50 feet on a side. Some contend that these are the buildings of this ancient kingdom, transformed to stone along with the people. There are also occasional stony regions where rocks extend up through the sand crust, exposed to the constant wind of the Plain. These outcroppings often mark water sources and can also provide safe havens for travelers, offering both safety from the salt zombies and shade from the merciless sun. They are not common, however, and more than one traveler across the plain has had to spend a day exposed. The Great Ivory Plain is among the most inhospitable areas of the Tyr region. There is almost no rainfall. and what little falls rapidly seeps through the ground or evaporates. 

Flora and Fauna

As might well be understood, this barren landscape supports little life. The Great Ivory Plain is virtually devoid of plant life, although few in cacti struggle to survive, clinging to stony outcroppings out of reach of the moisture-leaching salt. Insects of all sizes (from tiny sand mites to giant ants, hornets, and huge scorpions) can be found in the Plain; many of these burrow deep under the salt to find moisture or range out into the more fertile regions. The cilops, the bizarre hunter insect that is often used by templars to track fugitives, is native to the Great Ivory Plain. Lizards (including id fiends and basilisks) also survive here, dining on the giant insects or on the small snakes found in the rocks. Earth drakes can occasionally be mistaken for rock outcroppings in this area. These patient creatures may wait many days for a meal, and they are a particular danger to travelers who use the rocks as safe havens during the day. 

Almost no warm-blooded creatures can be found in the central portions of the Plain. There is not enough life to support such creatures, as they must feed too frequently to survive in this barren land. At the edges, however, one can find the occasional b'rohg or erdland herd. Most of these creatures do not survive in the Great Ivory Plain for long, and they either return to more fertile climes or die in the heat of midday. Another hazard of travel on the salt flats are the flying predators. Such wide and clear lines of sight usually afford travelers a chance to evade many earth bound carnivores. Flying creatures who make their homes well beyond the borders of the salt flats can spot a group of travelers from miles away and descend for the kill. The salt flats offer few places to hide. Wyverns, giant wasps, and even cloud rays will fly out across the Great Ivory Plain in search of prey. Groups traveling near the inland silt basins around Bodach should also keep an eye out for razorwings. They present a problem indeed. Truly, the most fearsome creatures on the Great Ivory Plain are the megapedes. These 150-foot-long creatures often burrow through the ground, only surfacing to feed on unwary travelers. When close to the surface, a megapede's path can be detected by the splintering and cracking of the salt cover.

Oftentimes one will approach a victim out in the open and begin its attack by unleashing its powerful psionic abilities. In the face of this beast's fierce claws and poisonous bite, most merchant caravans will abandon their cargo and return for the salvage later, if they survive. One last class of creature that wanders the Ivory Plain deserves special mention. The Ivory Plain is home to unintelligent undead – skeletons, zombies, animated animal skeletons, monster skeletons, and zombies created from b'rohg and even giants. These creatures wander the Plain, attacking any living creature. Some believe that these creatures wandered here from the ruins of Bodach, while the nomads believe that those who die of thirst in the Great Ivory Plain return as zombies, adding to the undead population of the region. Zombies in the Great Ivory Plain survive much longer than those in other parts of Athas. Their flesh mummifies rather than rotting, extending their useful life but making it very difficult to tell how old these particular zombies really are.

November 27th, 2022

Travel

The Great Ivory Plain is not a very hospitable region in which to travel. The heat of the sun is reflected off of the white salt, making this one of the hottest zones in the Tyr region. Moreover, the salt leeches moisture out of everything in the area, so travelers must consume more water than usual. This unbearable heat makes traveling at night the preferred mode of travel within the region. As with other terrain, however, traveling at night requires that some form of shelter be adopted during the day. Rock outcroppings are the best shelter, as they both protect the character from the sun and raise him above the level of the biting, dying sand. Tents, particularly those with full floors, may also be used, but they are avoided by the nomads, who believe that the rhythmic sounds of driving a tent spike attracts predators. On the other hand, travel across the Great Ivory Plain is swift. The salt can generally support any type of transportation, from foot to mekillot wagon. Moreover, the plains are so smooth that there is little need to detour around terrain features, nor to slow progress for hills and slopes. A human can travel 24 miles in a night while a mekillot wagon can achieve 3 miles per day. Another advantage to traveling across the Great Ivory Plain is the wide open space. It is highly unlikely that any travelers will be surprised by marauding predators during the day. Except for the distorting shimmer of the heat in the air, there is virtually nothing to block the limits of vision.

The most common mode of travel is kank, as the hardy beasts can survive for a few days without food or water, and at the speed they are able to achieve on the salt flats, that is usually enough to make the journey. Inix require too much forage to make any but the shortest trips across the Plain. Mekillot are slow enough and stubborn enough that they expose travelers to too much danger in crossing the plain. Some caravans drive mekillot wagons across the plain, but these are generally shorter journeys. One route for mekillot wagons runs east from Nibenay to Fort Inix; this exposes the mekillots to only one day's travel across the plain, but brings caravans dangerously close to the gith horde of the Blackspine Mountains.

Perhaps the most unusual form of vehicle in the Great Ivory Plain is the dwarven wind wagon, a small wagon with large wheels and a tarpaulin attached to a vertical spar, to act as a sail. These bizarre vehicles use the power of the wind to move them across the broad flat plain, requiring neither mekillot nor inix. They move most swiftly with the wind, but are able to travel in almost any direction (save directly into the wind) by skillful manipulation of the wagon's sail. Given the normal wind speed in the Great Ivory Plain, a wind wagon with a tail wind can travel as fast as a man can run. Moreover, the wind wagon can run night and day without stopping, although the driver must rest. These vehicles are not popular, as they leave the traveler to the mercy of the wind; one or two calm days and the wind wagon may well run out of food and water. Nevertheless, a few hardy explorers use them regularly to shorten journeys across the Plain and to move certain cargo too swiftly to be caught by desert raiders. See the wind wagon driving proficiency below for more information. Getting water in the Great Ivory Plain is virtually impossible. There are no open bodies of water within the Plain, and any surface groundwater is brackish and undrinkable, but pockets of drinkable water can be found on rock outcroppings. Nomads carry long hollow poles which they use to drive through the salt cake into the water below; the water is then drawn up (as through a straw) and drunk. Locating such a water pocket requires a successful survival (salt flats) proficiency check and a roll of 5 or less on percentile dice. Food is less difficult to find if you can hunt, although few of the creatures which inhabit the Great Ivory Plain are edible. A lone traveler may be able to make a meal of cacti and snake, but these meager resources are unable to support a group of any size. Travelers in the Great Ivory Plain are advised to bring an adequate food supply; kank honey is recommended, as it provides not only food but water as well. One hazard that can interfere with travel in the Great Ivory Plain is the salt storms which blast across the barren ground. These storms carry particles of salt encrusted sand that burn the skin. 

 

November 27th, 2022

Inhabitants

The Great Ivory Plain is among the least populated portions of the Tyr region, much less the Ivory Triangle. Few beings are hardy enough or foolish enough to try to survive here for more than a few days. Escaped slaves who flee into this barren wasteland either die, are recaptured, or (if they are lucky) make their way to one of the slave tribes which wander the lands on the far side of the Plain. Nevertheless, there are some more or less permanent residents of the region. Certain nomadic raiding tribes have bases deep within the Great Ivory Plain, supported by kank hives maintained in the stony barrens of the Mekillot Mountains. These tribes use the Great Ivory Plain's impassibility as a cover for their activities, trusting the isolation of the region to protect them from reprisals by merchant houses and templars.

There are also intelligent creatures found in the Great Ivory Plain who are not a regular part of Athasian society. Packs of thri-kreen range across the salt flats in search of prey. Solitary t'chowb can occasionally be encountered. These brutal little creatures often retreat here after having successfully drained the intelligence of their victims. Travelers may also occasionally also run into a solitary tohr-kreen. These thoughtful mantis nobles can be found ranging far into the uninhabited recesses of the wastelands. While somewhat reserved, these powerful but gentle creatures seem to have an insatiable thirst for knowledge. 

November 27th, 2022