Northern Desert of Ro

Classic Era (added 1999-2000)

The Northern Desert of Ro is a highly trafficked and popular area that marks the southern edge of the human city of Freeport as well as the northern edge of the vast Desert of Ro. It also represents a major waypoint for the dark races that pass from Neriak to the swamps to the south, and many of their kind can be found here.

Level of Monsters: 5-30+ Types of Monsters: Decaying Skeletons, Fire Beetles, Spiderlings, Jackals, Pumas, Desert Tarantulas, Dune Tarantulas, Sand Scarabs, Asps, Rattlesnakes, Giant Rattlesnakes, Madmen, Desert Madmen, Orc Raiders, Orc Warriors, Dervish Cutthroats, Dervish Thugs, Ghouls, Lesser Mummies, Shriveled Mummies, Crypt Mummies, Sand Giants Notable NPCs: Dorn B`Dynn, Dunedigger, Rahotep, Widow Mite Unique Items: Cutthroat Insignia Ring Cutthroat Insignia Ring QUEST ITEM Slot: FINGER AC: 1 DEX: +2 WT: 0.1 Size: TINY Class: ALL Race: ALL , Scarab Ring Scarab Ring MAGIC ITEM Slot: FINGER AC: 2 SV FIRE: +2 SV DISEASE: +2 SV COLD: +2 SV MAGIC: +2 SV POISON: +2 WT: 0.1 Size: TINY Class: ALL Race: ALL , Scepter of Rahotep Scepter of Rahotep MAGIC ITEM Slot: PRIMARY SECONDARY Skill: 1H Blunt Atk Delay: 38 DMG: 9 WT: 4.5 Size: MEDIUM Class: ALL except NEC WIZ MAG ENC Race: ALL , Scute Shield Scute Shield MAGIC ITEM Slot: SECONDARY AC: 15 STA: +9 WT: 8.0 Size: MEDIUM Class: WAR CLR PAL RNG SHD DRU BRD ROG SHM Race: ALL Related Quests: The Broodling Adjacent Zones: East Freeport, East Commonlands, Iceclad Ocean, Oasis of Marr Name in /who: nro Zone Spawn Timer: 6:40 Succor/Evacuate: 3537, 299 (Zone line to East Freeport) ZEM Value: 75 100 (133%)

Map

1. Inn with Thimble and Needle Molds, Large Sewing Kit, Food and Alcohol 2. Empty Huts 3. Fishing Village selling Alchemy Supplies 4. Buried Pyramid (the "platform"; is a wizard spire) 5. Dervish Camp with Dorn B`Dynn - "Derv Camp One" 6. Haunted Ruins 7. Dervish Camp - "Derv Camp Two" 8. Ruins 9. Temple 10. Dervish Camp - "Derv Camp Three" 11. Pillar 12. Pillar 13. Ruins 14. Dock - Raft to Velious zones to Iceclad Ocean

Dangers

This zone generally provides some good, safe hunting, mostly in the northern part of the desert, where adventurers can find non-hostile creatures that don't group together to battle. The dangerous part of this zone comes about because there are several types of higher-level roaming single creatures that are very aggressive and dangerous. The most common are the madmen, who are extremely aggressive but also easily distracted and slow runners. The rarer ones are the various mummies, who are also slow but can cause disease with their attacks. And, of course, there are the most dangerous creatures, the sand giants, who generally stay to the southern edge of the zone but travel about half way up in their walking.

Of the dangers that are more predictable, though, the most dangerous is the Dervish camps. These are generally camped out by adventurers hunting for good experience and Dervish rings to sell elsewhere. Although the Dervishes generally spawn at a regular rate, sometimes several of them spawn at once and can be of quite varying levels, and can occasionally include a Thug, which are very powerful in melee combat.

Also of note is Dorn B'Dynn. This is a truly evil Dark Elf that spawns in the northernmost Dervish camp and is the bane of all the travellers of this desert. The problem is that he is much more powerful than he appears, which leads many adventurers to attempt to take him out, only to fail miserably and have to run to the zone. Once out, Dorn can't be stopped, as guards won't attack him (they're apparently not as stupid as they look) and he runs around until someone kills him. Just for reference, my druid (who, of note, has been able to solo even rare NPC spellcasters on several occasions) has serious trouble soloing Dorn when he is so green that he doesn't even give experience any more.

Benefits

The Northern Desert of Ro is a very popular area for a number of reasons. First of all, it is very much like a marketplace for higher level characters, as many of the higher level characters in the Freeport area hunt somewhere in the Desert of Ro and travel back and forth to Freeport through this zone. If you are looking for an item or items, this is a good place to start, as many merchants come here to sell their wares, or know of someone else who does. The other bonus to this area is that there is a great deal of good hunting here. Yes, there are a lot of people camping out the major sites where monsters appear (the Dervish camps, the undead sites), but there is still a good deal of hunting for groups levels 4-10 and solo levels 7-15.

Traveling To and From

The Northern Desert of Ro can be reached from the south by a vast border with the Oasis of Marr. There is no narrow pass to go through, just walk over the dunes.

The northern edge of the desert has a wide border with East Freeport and the newbie area there. Also, on the northwestern corner, tucked away behind the large stone spire, lies the infamous "Tunnel" to the East Commonlands. The route is long, but generally safe and is heavily traveled as people who would rather bypass Freeport altogether travel through here.

What's in this zone?

34 NPCs that spawn in Northern Desert of Ro:

Name	Level	Class	Race	Coordinates	HP
a crypt mummy	13 - 15	Warrior	Zombie	Various	299-380
a decaying skeleton	1 Except in SF level 7-10	Warrior	''Undead''	Various	~20
a Dervish Cutthroat	11-13	Various	Various	(1040, 970)	299
a desert tarantula	7	Warrior	Giant Spider	?	119
a dune tarantula	13	Warrior	Giant Spider	See Discussion	299
a fire beetle	2	Warrior	Beetle	Various	24 - 40
a madman	8-10	Wizard	Human Beggar	(-1371, 1212)	144
a parched zombie	6 ~ 10	''Need Info''	Zombie	Need Info	???
a puma	5 - 10	Warrior	Puma	Various	75
a sand giant	33-37	Warrior	Giant/Cyclops	Various	2980, 3308, 3652
a sand scarab	9-11	Warrior	Beetle	Various	231
a shriveled mummy	10	Warrior	Zombie	(-987, 1070)	200
a coyote	1	Warrior	Wolf	Various	| HP_regen =
a ghoul	13-17	Warrior	Ghoul	Various	336
a jackal	3-4	Warrior	Wolf	Various	39
a rattlesnake	3-7	Warrior	Giant Snake	(-683, 1053)	75
a skeleton	4 - 18	Warrior	Undead	Various	75
an armadillo	2	Warrior	Armadillo	(2750, 644)	32
an orc raider	5	Warrior	Orc	(-413, -397)	75
Dorn B`Dynn	14-16	Warrior	Dark Elf	(1311, -391)	336
Dunedigger	~14	Warrior	Armadillo	-1440, 940	555
Frankel the Pirate	30	Rogue	Gnome	(792, -855)	1200
Guard Brendyl	40	Warrior	Freeport Guards	(2885, 304)	~3500
Guard Fintran	40	Warrior	Freeport Guards	(3458, 464)	~3500
Guard Stoutman	40	Warrior	Freeport Guards	(3381, 459)	~3500
Innkeep Tozie	45	Shopkeeper	Qeynos Citizen	(3466, 489)	2475
Innkeep Valon	30	Shopkeeper	Qeynos Citizen	(3415, 503)	1200
Juni Sandfisher	45	Shopkeeper	Barbarian	(2185, -754)	2475
Murissa Sandwhisper	45	Shopkeeper	Human	(3391.89, -85.88)	4433
orc centurion	3-10	Warrior	Orc	Various	200
Puntar Sandfisher	6	Warrior	Barbarian	(2158, -865)	130
Rahotep	16	Warrior	Zombie	''-125,370''	416
Spoolie Gee	45	Shopkeeper	Qeynos Citizen	(3371, 488)	2475
Tira Sandfisher	45	Shopkeeper	Barbarian	(2294, -790)	2475