The Caatinga, a One Page Dungeon

This is a one-page setting/adventure I wrote up for Brendan's Halloween contest. It's based on Backlands, the contemporary account of a bloody revolt in the Brazilian badlands at the close of the 19th century.

I wanted to capture the book's (fundamentally racist, of course) Lamarckian sense of moral & evolution, with the evils of the environment considered to directly cause the evils of the backlander revolutionaries. I also wanted to capture the Caatinga region's incredible ecological adaptations, since it's characterized by quite dramatic seasonal variations. The environment consistently defeated the Brazilian army, and here it's intended to do the same to the hapless adventuring party.

Finally, I've found it interesting that a lot of research into the motivations & risk factors for people joining weird cults has actually found that, ironically, more intelligent people are likelier to fall prey to some weird fringe society. So, the Caatinga reflects that.

Click the picture download it. Have fun!