Barren Wastes

It is an odd sight, to see such a barren, hot desert baking under the sun right alongside snow topped peaks, but this is the scene that greets travellers to the Barren Wastes.
The rain storms of the east do not pass over the tall peaks of the Balnoque Spine, which hold the clouds captive. Consequently little rain reaches this part of the world, which is dry, dusty and brown.
In the eastern region of the desert, which covers some 22,500 square miles, huge dunes of sand rear up below the Spine, offering at least some shade during certain times of the day. As the ground slopes down to the west if becomes hard and barren, with huge rifts and chasms opening up as though scarred by the claws of some titanic beast. Many of these rifts belch smoke and fire into the air.
There is at least one red dragon living somewhere in the Wastes, possibly more. Sightings are rare, but it is said that the inhabitants of the city of Scald pay homage to a triumvirate of red wyrms.
Scald is the only large settlement in the Wastes, and is protected from the worst of the desert heat due to it being built inside a huge chasm close to the shoreline of The Great Deep. It is a place removed from most of civilisation by desert and ocean, and has developed its own strange customs and communities.
Thirst and starvation are the main hazards in the desert, as little grows from the bare rock, and there are no obvious sources of water. Sandstorms are rare, but devastating, and there are few places to hide when one does arise. There is little soil, and the small volume that there is, is of poor quality and unable to support much plant life.

Looking across the Barren Wastes towards the Balnoque Spine by R. McGimsey

Alternative Name(s)

The Plain of Fire

Type

Desert

Location under

The Known World

Included Locations

• Scald