The Rust Oasis of the Salt Flats
Where Water Is Blood and Scrap Is Sovereign
In the blinding, sun-scorched expanse of the Great Salt Flats sits Iron-Well, a fortified trading post built around a ancient geothermal water purifier. Surrounded by thousands of miles of dead salt desert, Iron-Well is the only source of drinkable water for five hundred miles. Survival requires balancing water rations, defending the solar stills from marauder war-bands, and scavenging ancient pre-collapse technology buried beneath the salt crust.
“One liter of purified water buys a day of life, a handful of machine bolts, or ten minutes inside the shade-domes. Don’t waste a drop.”
- Boss Vane, Iron-Well Overseer
—
1. Setting Overview and Tone
The Great Salt Flats were once a thriving inland sea, now dried into a blinding, white desert under a merciless sun. Iron-Well was constructed out of rusted shipping containers, scavenged tanker trucks, and solar stills anchored to a central geothermal deep-well pump.
Tone: Gritty, brutal survival, mad-max wasteland aesthetic. High tension around resource scarcity, harsh environmental hazards, and desperate moral choices.
Sensory Pillars:
- Sight: Blinding white salt reflecting harsh sunlight. Rusted iron towers against a cloudless cyan sky. Dust-rig vehicles with spiked tires.
- Sound: The rhythmic, groaning thump of the geothermal water pump. The howling desert wind whipping salt dust against metal plating. The crackle of desert radios.
- Touch and Smell: Salt-caked skin. The burning heat of exposed metal. The sweet, metallic taste of purified well water.
—
2. The Wasteland Landmarks
The Wellhead: The central geothermal pump room, guarded 24/7 by heavy turrets.
The Scrap Bazaar: A chaotic market under stretched canvas sails where scavengers trade pre-collapse tech for water chits.
The Salt Wastes: Miles of cracked white crust hiding sinkholes, unexploded warheads, and marauder ambush posts.
—
3. Factions
The Wellkeepers: The ruling junta of Iron-Well who control the water supply and enforce strict rationing laws.
The Sun-Warriors: A violent warlord faction driving motorized scrap rigs, seeking to seize the well for themselves.
The Dune Crawlers: Nomadic scavengers who harvest pre-collapse ruins buried deep in the salt crust.
—
4. Unique Mechanic: Hydration Depletion
Track Hydration Depletion from 0 to 6.
Depletion Triggers:
- Travel through Salt Wastes without shade: +1 Depletion per hour
- Intense combat or physical exertion in heat: +1 Depletion
- Consuming a ration of purified water: -2 Depletion
Depletion Levels:
- 0-1: Fully hydrated. Optimal physical condition.
- 2-3: Mild thirst. Chapped lips, slight fatigue.
- 4-5: Severe dehydration. Disadvantage on physical Force and Finesse checks.
- 6: Heatstroke collapse. Incapacitated until rehydrated.
—
5. Character Archetypes
The Rig Driver
You pilot a heavily armored scrap vehicle equipped with harpoons and reinforced bumpers.
- Drive: “Keep the rig running and convoy routes open.”
- Approach Distribution: Force 2 | Finesse 2 | Mind 1 | Presence 2
The Salt Scavenger
You know how to read the salt crust, avoid sinkholes, and unearth pre-collapse technology.
- Drive: “Find the motherlode pre-war tech cache buried beneath the salt.”
- Approach Distribution: Force 1 | Finesse 3 | Mind 2 | Presence 1
The Well Technician
You maintain the ancient geothermal pumps and water purification filters.
- Drive: “Keep the water flowing and prevent pump filter contamination.”
- Approach Distribution: Force 1 | Finesse 2 | Mind 3 | Presence 1
—
6. Starter Scenario: The Filter Contamination
The main purification filter at Iron-Well begins failing, tainting the water supply with sulfur and toxic minerals. The only replacement filter unit is located inside a submerged pre-collapse research bunker fifteen miles into Sun-Warrior territory.
The players must outfit a scrap rig, navigate the treacherous Salt Wastes, breach the bunker, and return with the replacement filter before Iron-Well’s stored water runs out in forty-eight hours.