New Rules for the Dead Lands

Rot, Disease, and Infection
The Dead Lands are an area of death. The very air is so contaminated with vile impurities that infection and disease run rampant. These normally harmful viruses have mutated from the negativity of the area, becoming stronger than any toxins found in the Table Lands. The second the skin is broken on victim is the second the infestion sets in. There are many differerent kinds, each unique in it's own deadly way. Most common infections found in the Dead Lands operate in the same way. One round after any peircing or slashing attack, the victim (if not treated immediately) will begin losing hit points. The hit point loss happens once every hour,resulting in 24 points of damage after one full day of non treatment. Treatment includes purifying the wound with fire, healing it through magical means, treating it with herbs (not to be found in the Dead Lands), or just hacking the limb off. One temporary point of Strength, Constitution and Dexterity are lost every day, and then, if the wound is treated, return at the rate of two points per day. If at any point any score falls below "0", the victim is dead. More exotic and rare forms of infection have more terrible results. One such affliction causes the victim to tear off his or her own flesh. When all the flesh is gone, the person's skeleton come to "unlife" and attacks the nearest thing in sight.

Ash Clouds
The same accident that created the Dead Lands opened up gate to the Plane of Ash. This ash killed the flying creatures of the Dead Lands who were unaffected by the Obsidian Tide. The Ash clouds cover a good portion of the Dead Lands, and their position changes on a daily basis. There are some advantages and some disadvantages to having an Ash cloud above you: Ash keeps out the sun, which lowers the temperature 10° per hour the clouds are over an area. Unfortunately, the Ash clouds attract undead, and any failed roll rolled on a Random Encounter table should be rerolled once. The ash clouds also pose problems to the character's ability to breathe. If a rag is not held over the nose and mouth, the ash will quickly find it's way into these orifices, choking the character to death. The ash of the area is thick and usually grey, black, or white.

To see if ash is overhead the PC's at any certain time, roll 1d100. If the result is a "60" or less, the area has an ash cloud over it. If the result is "61-100", the area is clear.

Death in the Dead Lands
Let it be said that no death is final in the Dead Lands. Every being killed will rise again, sometimes mere seconds after death occurs. The negative energy of the Dead Lands forms a sort of "soul net", keeping all who die trapped there. After the likely event of character death, roll on the following table to determine when the body will rise again.

1d100
01-10 instantaneous
11-20 one round
21-30 two rounds
31-40 five rounds
41-50 one turn
51-60 two turns
61-70 five turns
71-80 two hours
81-90 five hours
91-92 ten hours
93-94 one day
95-96 two days
97-98 one week
99 one month
00 one year

Using the Obsidian for Magical or Psionic Items
The obsidian of the Dead Lands is among the purest and refined on all of Athas. It is ideal for making any magical or psionic item that requires obsidian. It is rumored that the Dark Lens was created by a process similar to what created all the obsidian of the Dead Lands. Thousands of years of eroding have created chunks of obsidian to form in all different kinds of shapes and sizes, it only takes a little searching to find exactly the kind of piece you are looking for.

Random Encounter Table for the Dead Lands
A random encounter table for the Dead Lands can be found in the Age of Heroes© rulebook.

Back to Rules Index

Heat in the Dead Lands, Using Magic in the Dead Lands, Psionics in the Dead Lands
Rot, Disease, and Infection, Ash Clouds, Death in the Dead Lands,
Using the Obsidian for Magical or Psionic Items, Random Encounter Table