Amarune's Almanac: Deserts of the Realms

Vorpal Dice Press

To most ‘everyday folk’ of the Realms, deserts are places to stay well away from. Dangerous, uncomfortable even when you make only brief, timid forays in from the verges, and offering little good reason to go there. And beings who do dwell in a desert are hardened to survive there, and usually don’t appreciate intruding competitors—and treat them accordingly.

• Ed Greenwood (excerpt from Foreword)

The eighht in a multipart series exploring the eight biomes of Dungeons & Dragons within the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.

Deserts of the Realms explores the vast wastelands of Toril. In our travels, we’ve found new and old flora, fauna, and history to bring to you about the sand oceans of the Realms. Deserts of the Realms does this through both narrative prose, written from the perspective of Amarune Whitewave (the great, great granddaughter of Elminster Aumar), and through occasional notes from her husband, editor, and traveling companion Arclath Delcastle.

Contained with this 59-page tome, you’ll get:

Subclasses

• the Circle of the Sands druid which seeks to expand on the land (desert) druid.
• and the Tomb Raider, a conclave of Rangers who delve into the swallowed secrets of the sands.

Variant rules

Expansions to the Druid and Ranger classes to allow them more access to the new spells contained within this book!

Spells!

10 brand new spells: each using a new spellcasting component, Environment, as they each rely on the boons of the world around them.

+1 bonus spell, druidic practice, which is the Druid version of the ceremony spell for Clerics.

Items!

10 magic items: forged in stone and tempered under the weight of the world.

Creatures!

16 monsters: new creatures for Wild Shaping, mounts, and companions!

Flora!

20 flora: the hearty and resilient plants of the deserts. Roots, tubers, and stubborn plants that you can collect and use to create all manner of items, as well as improve some spells.

Downtime Activities!

A gathering expedition specifically designed to find and collect the flora described in this book.

Location Stories

Straight from the journal of Amarune Whitewave herself, stories of their expeditions into five notable Faerûn deserts:

• Anauroch
• Calim Desert
• Elfharrow
• Plains of Purple Dust
• Quoya Desert

Cartography!

A map of Faerûn: Updated for 5th Edition, this book contains a two-page map of Faerûn covering the Sword Coast all the way to the Plains of Purple Dust

Also included is a separate high-resolution PDF of the map in both colored and Printer Friendly, available to print on 8.5”x11” or 11”x17”

Art!

Journal-style sketch art by Shiah “Cinder” Irgangladen and Nathanaël Roux and several other full color pieces throughout the book, combined with a field-journal document style, complete with spilled ink

… Last but not Least!

Content and a foreword written by the creator of Forgotten Realms, Ed Greenwood, himself.

Date Published: December 22, 2020

Last Modified: December 22, 2020

Authors: Steve Fidler, Ashley May, BornToDoStuff, Bryan Holmes, Ed Greenwood, Israel Moreira, Sean vas Terra, and Trevor Armstrong

Artists: Shiah "Cinder" Irgangladen, Nathanaël Roux, Dusty Haynes, Dante Ezio Cifaldi, Евгения Гребнева, Storn Cook, Felipe Gaona, Bob Greyvenstein, Azzedine Rouichi, Matteo Di Iorio, Keith Hardy, Bruno Balixa, and grandfailure

Editor: Ryan Langr

Graphic Design: Nathanaël Roux