Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Finder’s Archives.
In this column, we take some of the lands from Magic: The Gathering and turn them into something you can use for your fantasy games.
The stats given in each entry assumes that you’re using Pathfinder or 5e for your games, but they can easily be converted over into any fantasy system. This time we head to the Cinder Barrens, where life comes and goes with the seasons.
Cinder Barrens
The Cinder Barrens was once one of the centers of civilization in the world, but due to changes in weather caused by a war between several powerful archwizards, that is no longer the case. Now, their empty monuments tower above a barren wasteland, all of them scorched and covered in ash due to the frequent flash fires.
Lay of the Land
The Cinder Barrens is a large area that was once fertile plains surrounding a life-giving river. This led to the rise of early civilization, one that worshipped those who could manipulate the forces of magic. As they increased in power, these wizards became more arrogant and less tolerant of each other, and when the Wizard Wars broke out, they unleashed all of the power that they, as Wizard-Kings, had at their disposal. This war reduced the lands to ash, and where there were once fertile fields, only corpse-choked plains remained. But the unleashing of so much magic tore apart the fabric of reality. And now, on the morning before the full moon, the entire area erupts in flame as a portal to the Elemental Plane of Fire breaks open and scorches the land.
What few living beings remain have either evolved (such as animals) or taken shelter in the ancient ruins hoping that the crumbling stone walls will keep them safe for another month.
Dangers
The Cinder Barrens is not a place that anyone sane would want to live, and as a result, very few do. Those that remain are crazed sorcerers and wizards who study the effects of the unstable magic unleashed here, or they are from another plane of existence, such as the Azer (PF2 / 5e) who consider the place a bit of a relaxing spot, due to their immunity to fire.
The old river that once overflowed with water is now a turgid stream of molten lava that flows through the land, depositing valuable metals along its banks. The Azer collect and sell these materials as do various other enterprising creatures, but it leaves them exposed to the greatest danger of the Cinder Barrens, Embertooth – a gigantic magma dragon (PF2 / 5e) that lays claim to these lands. Embertooth has been gathering the metals, and ambushing those trying to take it, but does not appear to be using it for the classic dragon hoard. Instead, it seems to deposit it in front of the largest remaining temple of the Wizard Kings. A sealed obsidian palace that has no doors, windows, or other openings. Whatever happens, the materials are gone the next day, and Embertooth seems to grow another foot in length.
And that concludes this week. And remember, only you can prevent forest fires.
Kim Frandsen
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- Finder’s Archive – Crypt of the Eternals - June 2, 2023
Love it. Might need to sneak this into Eska.
Added to the Blog Database.
https://jonbupp.wordpress.com/blog-database/for-dungeon-masters/chapter-5-adventure-environments/wilderness/desert/