White Sands

The volcanic activity in the Badlands region produces much volcanic ash. A small portion of this volcanic ash forms a substance known as “white sand.” White sand is a mixture of numerous catalytic compounds and corrosive substances.

Normally, this deadly mix is scattered so thinly that it has no significant effect upon the environment. Many native plants are able to break down its components into harmless by-products.

There are few plants in the deep desert of the Badlands, however, and it is here that white sand accumulates.

Desert winds often gather the volcanic ash into small dunes. In high concentrations, such as near these dunes, the ash is highly corrosive, making it very difficult to maintain any machinery. The slow corrosive effect upon skin and metal is commonly known as “sandrot.” Most of the native wildlife is immune to the effects of white sand at these concentrations.

The ash is truly deadly during the rare rainstorms that strike the desert at random. During these storms, the white sand becomes a corrosive acid bath which slowly seeps through the ground until it is absorbed and consumed by the Ross lichen layer below the sand. These acid pools can destroy metal and ceramics as easily as flesh, and more than a few Gears have vanished after getting caught in a sudden desert storm.

White sand is occasionally deposited in the savannah by violent sandstorms or tempests. These “whiteclouds” can ruin a farmer’s crop or injure his herd.