The desert sands hide the remains of many an ancient empire, as well as the countless riches that made such past civilizations great. But before a party can seek out these lost treasures, its members must be prepared for the perils of the search. Sandstorm provides players with new options and rules for adventuring in deserts and arid wastelands. Below are ten reasons why Sandstorm is a great resource for players.

10. Weapons of Power: Nothing intimidates enemies quite like an oversized great falchion, or even its only slightly smaller cousin, the great scimitar. Exotic weapons such as these provide increased damage compared to their standard-size counterparts. And if it's a completely new weapon you want, try the collapsing crescent fan, which lets you have a weapon in hand when your opponents least expect it.

9. Touchstone Sites: A concept first introduced in Planar Handbook is the touchstone site -- a location from which a character with the requisite Touchstone feat can gain special magical abilities. In Sandstorm, your character can gain electricity resistance from the Blue Dragon's Graveyard or a daily allotment of temporary hit points from the Pyramid of Amun-Re.

8. Character Customization: The new feats presented in Sandstorm can help you customize your character for the desert life. Choose Blazing Berserker to make him immune to fire while he rages, or Pharaoh's Fist to stun opponents, or Sand Dancer to master the art of fighting in the desert.

7. Deities of the Desert: Sandstorm presents several new deities appropriate for a desert campaign, including several Egyptian and Babylonian gods. In addition, the new domains presented in the book give your divine spellcasters the power to manipulate heat, sand, and other aspects of the arid desert.

6. Desert Races: Sandstorm describes two all-new PC races, plus desert variants of the classic races. The lithe asheratis can swim through sand as easily as a fish through water, and the goblinoid bhuka are hardy beings well suited to the desert-wandering lifestyle. Badlands dwarves, painted elves, and scablands half-orcs round out the racial variety.

5. Survival Gear: Any PC planning an excursion into the desert -- be it a short adventure or an entire campaign -- needs the right equipment. Sandstorm provides the kind of gear your character needs to survive in a harsh, arid wasteland.

4. Magic at Your Command: Your spellcaster can choose from dozens of new spells based on heat and sand, as well as spells that mimic the abilities of the various desert denizens.

3. War Camels: A paladin operating in the desert can choose a war camel as her special mount, and Sandstorm also offers new options for animal companions and familiars.

2. Worm Riding and Other Endeavors: Sandstorm offers seven new prestige classes done in the new expanded prestige class format, which provides information about how each new class fits into the world, any organization that unites its members, and what a character who joins the class might expect. Your character could become a worm-riding ashworm dragoon, or one of the legendary desert spellcasters known as sand shapers, or even a stealthy, venom-using scorpion heritor.

1. The Desert Campaign: Entire campaigns can occur within the desert sands and in other wasteland environments. You can find all the information you need to introduce your character into such a campaign right here within the pages of Sandstorm.