Tell me what you want done, and I will try it, if I have to walk from here to the East of East and fight the wild Were-worms in the Last Desert.
”
–Bilbo Baggins, An Unexpected Party, The Hobbit
The Last Desert is a desert biome situated in the Far East of Rhûn at the northern base of the Mountains of the Wind just above the Harhûdor sub-continent. It differs from other desert biomes in that dirt is frequently found here amongst the sand dunes. Sparse vegetation and short grasses are also occasionally found here. Cacti, however, are rare.
Upon venturing into the perilous Last Desert the player earns the achievement"Eastern Sands".
Steppe - Even more barren than the standard variant.
Structures[]
No structures -- even not a single stone ruin -- generate in the Last Desert, as none live or have lived here.
Mobs[]
No factions are present in this biome, and therefore no NPCs are to be found here. However, under the shade of night, hostile scorpions emerge. In the future, the Last Desert may become home to the legendary Were-worms.
Desert Scorpion - Hostile to the player, these loathsome desert creatures prowl the sands of the Last Desert by night. They are poisonous, so one should stay on their guard at night.
Camel - Nomadic desert animals, bactrian camels can often be seen wandering the Last Desert. These creatures also act as capable and enduring mounts, and can be tamed and saddled.
Mining[]
Mining and ore occurrence in this biome is standard. However, a layer of sandstone rock is to be found below the desert's sands and topsoil.
Vegetation[]
Vegetation is sparse in this arid landscape, though cacti, short grasses and dead plant-life can be seen throughout. Dead trees scatter the landscape.
Trivia[]
The Last Desert was referenced only briefly by Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit (see this article's featured quotation), and was most likely an invention of Halfling folklore.
The 'Last Desert' was originally intended to be synonymous with the Gobi Desert of Northwestern China, with Were-worms being envisioned as either the serpentine 'dragons' of Chinese tradition or the legendary Mongolian Death worms long held to inhabit the Gobi Desert.
