Sandshapers

Sandshapers

Children of stone and storm, shaped by survival in the poisoned wastes

When the Cataclysm shattered the world and turned vast regions into magical wastelands, some communities fled to the relative safety of cities or underground strongholds. Others adapted where they stood, allowing the desert’s harsh magic to change them rather than destroy them. The Sandshapers emerged from this brutal transformation - humans whose bloodlines learned to harmonize with earth magic, developing abilities that let them survive where others would die.

Three centuries later, they remain the desert’s children, equally at home in the shifting dunes and the contaminated crystal gardens that bloom in areas of intense remnant energy. Their knowledge of wasteland survival makes them invaluable guides, but their willingness to live in places that would kill others creates both respect and unease among settled peoples.

Racial Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Age. Sandshapers mature at around 15 years and can live up to 150 years, though the harsh conditions of wasteland life often shorten this natural lifespan.

Alignment. Sandshapers tend toward neutral alignments, valuing adaptation and balance over rigid moral codes. Survival in the wastes requires pragmatic flexibility.

Size. Sandshapers are generally the same size as humans. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Sand Camouflage. You have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to hide in sandy, rocky, or desert environments.

Sandshaping. You know the mold earth cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the earth tremor spell once with this trait, and you regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Constitution is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Desert Resilience. You have resistance to fire damage and advantage on Constitution saving throws against extreme heat. Additionally, you require only half the normal amount of water to avoid dehydration.

Shifting Skin. As an action, you can change the color and texture of your skin to match your surroundings, gaining advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks for 1 hour. Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one additional language of your choice (often Terran, Draconic, or a regional trade language).

Survival Story

When the magical empires fell and their weapons scarred the earth with persistent contamination, the ancestors of the Sandshapers faced an impossible choice: abandon their ancestral lands or learn to survive in a world poisoned by remnant magic. They chose survival through adaptation.

Over generations, exposure to crystalline growths and earth-based magical radiation changed their bloodlines. Their skin learned to shift and change like the desert sands, their bodies grew resistant to the heat that radiates from contaminated crystal formations, and their souls developed an intuitive connection to the earth’s wounded but enduring power.

The transformation was not without cost. Early generations suffered high mortality rates, genetic instability, and social isolation from other survivors who feared their growing strangeness. But those who persevered gained abilities that let them thrive in places where others could only die slowly.

Current Status

Social Position: Valued for their expertise but often kept at arm’s length due to their association with contaminated regions. Most communities welcome Sandshaper guides and traders while remaining somewhat uncomfortable with their abilities and origins.

Economic Roles:

  • Wasteland Guides: Essential for any expedition into contaminated desert regions
  • Salvage Specialists: Can safely access dangerous ruins that would kill others
  • Crystal Harvesters: Gather valuable but hazardous materials from remnant-touched areas
  • Survival Instructors: Teach wasteland survival techniques to other communities

Political Challenges: Their mobility and independence from settled civilization makes them valuable allies but unreliable subjects. Imperial authorities struggle to control nomadic Sandshaper tribes, while merchant cities depend on their services.

Internal Conflicts: Many Sandshapers struggle with their relationship to contamination - they can survive it, but it still slowly poisons them. Younger generations sometimes reject the wasteland lifestyle, seeking integration into settled society, while elders worry about losing their cultural identity and unique survival knowledge.

Physical Characteristics

Sandshapers bear the visible marks of their adaptation to magical contamination and harsh desert environments. Their skin can shift in color and texture, ranging from deep earth tones to the crystalline shimmer of remnant-touched sand. Small crystalline formations may grow naturally along their joints or hairline - not dangerous like full remnant corruption, but a sign of their bloodline’s magical adaptation.

Their eyes often reflect the colors of desert minerals - amber, turquoise, garnet, or the shifting prismatic gleam of spectral whisp energy. Hair tends to have a granular texture and may change color with the seasons or their emotional state, flowing from sandy blonde to rich earth brown to the deep red of desert iron.

Many Sandshapers bear ritual scarification that helps them channel their earth magic, with patterns that echo the flow of sand dunes or the geometric precision of crystal formations. These markings serve both magical and cultural purposes, identifying tribal affiliations and personal achievements.

Society and Culture

Settlement Patterns

Nomadic Tribes: Many Sandshapers live in small, mobile communities that follow seasonal patterns through The Whispering Wastes, moving between oases and safe zones while avoiding the most dangerous concentrations of remnant energy.

Hidden Settlements: Some communities establish permanent bases in places where natural formations provide protection from magical storms - caves, canyon systems, or areas where ancient ruins create stable magical environments.

Urban Integration: Increasing numbers of Sandshapers live in settled communities, particularly in Port Zephyr and other trade cities where their expertise commands respect and payment.

Cultural Values

Adaptive Wisdom: “Like the desert, survive through change, not resistance.” Sandshapers value flexibility, resourcefulness, and the ability to find opportunity in harsh circumstances.

Impermanent Beauty: Their art forms emphasize temporary creation - sand sculptures that last until the next wind, crystal arrangements that capture light for a single sunset, or storytelling traditions that change with each telling.

Collective Survival: Life in the wastes requires cooperation. Sandshaper communities share resources, knowledge, and risk, viewing individual success as meaningless without group survival.

Respectful Exploitation: They take what they need from the desert but never more than it can provide. Wasteland resources are precious and finite.

Cultural Tensions: Younger Sandshapers who grew up in cities sometimes clash with traditional elders who view settled life as soft and dangerous. Conversely, traditionalists who’ve lived their entire lives in the wastes may struggle to adapt to urban social dynamics.

Spiritual Beliefs

Most Sandshapers practice a form of earth-based spirituality that views the desert as a living entity wounded but not destroyed by the Cataclysm. They believe their role is to help the land heal while learning from its strength and endurance.

The Great Patience: The desert teaches that all things change given enough time - empires fall, mountains wear away, but the earth endures. This philosophy helps Sandshapers cope with loss and hardship.

Crystal Memories: Many believe that the crystalline formations in the wastes store memories and knowledge from before the Cataclysm, making them sacred sites to be protected rather than simply harvested.

Relationships with Other Peoples

In Port Zephyr

Respected as essential guides for trade expeditions into the interior, but often relegated to the Harbor District where their association with contamination fits the area’s dangerous reputation. Wealthy merchants employ them while maintaining social distance.

With The Amunrai Imperium

Imperial authorities view nomadic Sandshapers as difficult to control and potentially subversive, but their knowledge of wasteland navigation makes them valuable military assets. Some Sandshaper communities have accepted imperial protection in exchange for service obligations.

Among Other Desert Peoples

Generally welcomed as fellow survivors who understand the harsh realities of post-Cataclysm life. Sandshaper guides often serve as neutral intermediaries between competing tribal groups.

With Settled Communities

Rural communities often hire Sandshaper specialists to deal with contamination problems or guide salvage expeditions, but social integration remains limited due to fear and cultural differences.

Names and Language

Sandshaper naming traditions reflect their connection to earth, change, and survival. Most have multiple names used in different contexts:

True Names (for family and close community):

  • Crystalline: Amethyst-Heart, Quartz-Song, Garnet-Dream
  • Geological: Mesa-Walker, Canyon-Wind, Oasis-Born
  • Temporal: Dawn-Shifter, Twilight-Sand, Storm-Patience

Travel Names (for interactions with outsiders):

  • Often simpler versions of their true names or descriptive terms
  • Examples: Crystal, Mesa, Dawn, Patience, Sandweave

Achievement Names (earned through significant accomplishments):

  • Waste-Crosser, Ruin-Finder, Crystal-Singer, Guide-of-the-Lost

Many Sandshapers speak multiple languages out of necessity - Common for trade, regional tribal languages for diplomacy, and often Terran or Draconic for magical purposes.

Character Creation Ideas

Backgrounds

  • Hermit: Lived alone in contaminated areas, studying the effects of remnant magic
  • Folk Hero: Guided desperate refugees to safety through dangerous wasteland
  • Outlander: Traditional nomadic life following seasonal migration patterns
  • Guild Artisan: Specialist in working with crystalline materials and earth magic
  • Archaeologist: Explorer of pre-Cataclysm ruins buried in the shifting sands

Playing a Sandshaper

Mechanical Considerations

  • Constitution-based magic reflects deep physical connection to earth energy rather than scholarly study
  • Desert abilities make you invaluable in hot, arid environments but less useful in other terrains
  • Stealth abilities encourage creative positioning and environmental awareness
  • Fire resistance helps in combat and environmental hazards

Roleplay Opportunities

  • Cultural bridge between settled and nomadic peoples
  • Environmental expert who can read signs others miss
  • Philosophical perspective on change, loss, and adaptation
  • Survival instructor teaching others to navigate dangerous environments

Social Dynamics

  • Respected expertise in wasteland survival and navigation
  • Mild suspicion due to association with contaminated areas
  • Economic value as guides and specialists
  • Cultural outsider status in settled communities

DM Integration Notes

  • Environmental storytelling: Sandshapers can read the landscape’s history through their earth connection
  • Contamination mechanics: They’re more resistant to remnant energy but not immune - useful for exposure scenes
  • Cultural conflicts: Tension between traditional ways and adaptation to settled life
  • Quest hooks: Tribal obligations, sacred site protection, family connections, contamination emergencies