Chapter 5: TRAVERSING THE WASTELANDS Common Caravan Statistics Thakal Train Vehicles & Pack Animals: 8-24 thakal-drawn carts; Personnel: merchant, 4-12 guards, 4-12 teamsters, 0-20 followers; Common Cargo: grain, water, coal, stones, or bricks Small Caravan Vehicles & Pack Animals: 3-5 trisaur-drawn mahuuth wagons, 10-15 thakal-drawn carts, 0-3 howdahbearing elephants, 0-1 howdah-bearing colossadants, 40-90 burden-carrying slaves; Personnel: 4-8 merchants, 20-30 guards, 10-20 teamsters, 50-100 followers; Common Cargo: grain, water, coal, wood, wine and mead, pottery, slaves Modest Caravan Vehicles & Pack Animals: 6-12 trisaur-drawn mahuuth wagons, 20-40 thakal-drawn carts, 2-8 howdahbearing elephants, 0-4 howdah-bearing colossadants, 80-160 burden-carrying slaves; Personnel: 8-14 merchants, 40-70 guards, 30-50 teamsters, 90-180 followers; Common Cargo: grain, water, coal, wood, wine, mead, pottery, raw chitin, slaves, exotic vegetables, dried & salted meats, hides, leather, textiles, and clothing Vast Caravan Vehicles & Pack Animals: 12-36 trisaur-drawn mahuuth wagons, 40-120 thakal-drawn carts, 6-24 howdah-bearing elephants, 1-12 howdah-bearing colossadants, 160-320 burden-carrying slaves; Personnel: 12-24 merchants, 80-200 guards, 50-90 teamsters, 180-360 followers; Common Cargo: grain, water, coal, wood, wine and mead, pottery, slaves, raw chitin, exotic vegetables, dried & salted meats, hides, leather, textiles, clothing, metal, gemstones & jewels, weapons, armor, documents, and magical scrolls In addition to human followers, the rich leavings behind a caravan make them the new “rivers of life,” especially in the most desolate regions Offal, dung, and carrion attract scavengers, squawking birds, sand worms, and all the filth and disease that go along with them Shambling, desperate refugees live along these caravan routes as well, foraging among the scraps cast off along the roadside, then preying upon each other when those meager resources are picked clean Bandits, in turn, prey upon the refugees in a perpetual circle of anguish Travel’s Enemies Caravans must guard against a broad variety of enemies, some monstrous, some human, some indefinable, but all dangerous to either personnel or profits Bandits: Bandits are a constant threat, and posting guards upon and among the wagons protects against their ever-present encroachment They come from a variety of backgrounds—failed military units or deserters, refugees with enough weapons to be a threat, or even guards trying to reclaim things stolen from their benefactors Most bandits are human, but they sometimes attract krikis or pachyaur allies Bandits commonly attack at dawn or at dusk, when vulnerable caravans shift between encampment and mobility Caravan scouts hold dangerous jobs, as bandits visit vengeance on those they capture and often use them as warnings, leaving their remains where their employers can find them the next morning Some outside sources subsidize bandit gangs to harm specific caravans or targets: rival caravans or merchants, dying cities hoping to stave off their own destruction, or even Bev al-Khim who have no compunction buying goods from thieves Monsters: Monstrous threats always stalk the countryside While less organized and more often desperate, half-staved beasts can smell a caravan from a long way off and wait slavering for an opportunity to pounce upon someone or something straying from the pack A wagon train’s animals are particularly vulnerable, so they must be protected; the loss of even one thakal or trisaur could mean leaving behind a fortune in valuable cargo Progress & Speed Caravan trains move slowly across the wastelands Fully laden wagons move no more quickly than a walking man, and delays are common: wheels break, beasts complain and rebel, and slaves need discipline Wind builds heavy dunes across the roads Heat exhausts the animals It is no wonder that caravan masters regularly promise clients to make 20 miles per day but often accomplish barely half of that Nocturnal creatures make travel by night far too dangerous, even in the deadly heat of summer To guard against night attacks, careful caravans circle wagons tightly and erect hasty defenses every night Watchful eyes scan past the edge of torchlight and raise the alarm against monsters or bandits who approach too closely from the darkness Woe to the caravan master 113