A vast area of complete aridity, the Great Desert was created where Jak'ra touched down on Orth shortly after its creation. His immense power scorched the ground to sand, and nothing will ever grow there. Some myths suggest that he landed in the area now known as The Glassed Lands, accounting for its strong background magical energies. Almost everything in the desert is sand or rock. Do not go there unless you enjoy being eaten by Harpies or giant scorpions, beaten to death by Greenskins or Gnolls, crushed by an absent-minded Tarkus, or dying of thirst and starvation.
Along the desert's edge stand repeated attempts by civilisation to overcome the natural world. Most end like Tavró and are quickly swallowed by the sands.
The area features heavily in the campaign A Gathering Storm, with Stubborn Rock serving as the location of the story's climax.
West of the central sands lies an anomalous old forest surrounding the Circle of Blackstone.