The Desert Walker's Guide To Anauroch

Into The Sword

The sun beats down upon the arid, sandy wasteland before you as your camel silently trudges its way over the next dune. How long has it been since the last oasis? Two days? Three? Since your waterskin ran dry, time seems to have lost meaning. With a raspy, tired voice, you mutter to yourself with your dry, parched mouth. "Why didn't I just hire a guide..."

In this volume, you will find everything you need to make Faerûn's largest desert come to life! Discover the lost history of Anauroch, dating back to the ancient magical empire of Netheril, and of the evil, monstrous phaerimm who cast a veil of decay over what was once fertile countryside. Study the sandy desert that is the Sword, the windswept rocky badlands known as the Plain of Standing Stones, and the vast glacial waste called the High Ice. Learn about the cultures who still make their homes here: the nomadic Bedine, the mercantile D'tarig, the reptilian asabi, and the scheming Zhentarim who hope to claim the desert for their own. 20+ new monster and NPC stat blocks, playable races and character backgrounds, lore, maps, ready-to-use locations, optional rules, and DM tools await you in this comprehensive volume for the world's most popular roleplaying game.

It's Dangerous To Go Alone...

Only a fool sets out into the wilderness without a map! Produced as an accompaniment to this product, The Desert Walker's Guide To Anauroch - Map Pack contains color and greyscale maps for use in Anaurian adventures. Priced as Pay What You Want, this product is the perfect companion for any DM or player adventuring in Faerûn's largest desert.

Acknowledgment: Some of the works which served as source material in writing this book, including the original Anauroch for AD&D second edition, hail from an era of D&D publications which have recently, and rightly, drawn heavy criticism from the RPG community for its insensitivity towards cultural issues. The author has done his best to distill the prior works down to the aspects which added value to the Forgotten Realms setting and to alter or omit aspects that are contrary to inclusivity and cultural awareness. This work was his earnest aspiration to revitalize Anauroch for fifth edition, to capture the important essences of the older works while staying mindful of modern sensibilities.