Rainbow

Climate and Weather

The weather here is hot and humid all year. It averages 100 degrees Fahrenheit during the day in summer (80 degrees at night) along the equator, but drops to 60 degrees (40 degrees at night) at the poles. During the winter, the temperature is about five degrees lower. Rainfall is common, though it is rarely heavy. On a summer day, there is a 1 in 4 chance of rain, but chances drop to 1 in 6 during the winter. Hurricanes occur several times a season, but they tend to break up along continent's mountains and eastern islands before affecting the mainland. The chance of a hurricane occurring near land during any given month is 1 in 4 during the summer, and 1 in 6 during the winter.

Since Paradise is a satellite, the seasons are determined by the planet's orbit around the sun, not its own about the planet. As such, each "season" lasts almost four and a half years; Rainbow makes only one quarter of its journey around the sun in that time.

Continents

The majority of Paradise's dry land forms a single continent in the northern hemisphere, stretching from the temperate zone all the way down to the equator. A long chain of islands extends to the southeast all the way into the tropics. The landmass—along with the island archipelago—is also named Paradise.

Paradise is covered by thick jungles and forests along its entire length. A volcanic mountain range separates a small section of swampy land in the eastern third of the continent. Rain is very frequent in this swamp (50% chance every day). The islands tend to have the same terrain as the mainland.

The moon experiences very strong tidal forces from the massive planet it orbits. The tides cause the ocean level to fluctuate by more than 200 feet in some places; docking a ship on a beach is impossible under these conditions. Water landings must be made at the numerous lakes found all along the continent and islands. The lakes are rarely more than a mile or two across and tens of feet deep.

Lifeforms

Dinosaurs from the late Jurassic period (large herbivore sauropods, early birds, carnivorous theropods) populate this land, along with many varieties of mammals (bears, large cats, chattur). Large bugs and crustaceans are also quite common (giant spiders, ankhegs, dragonflies). The vegetation includes many types of trees and flowering plants. Though Paradise doesn't have a spring season in the typical sense, this time of year does see the highest number of new blooms.

The water also contains a diverse ecosystem. It ranges from tiny plankton, the base of the food chain, all the way up to omnivorous, manta ray-like creatures almost 1000 feet across. (There are only a few dozen of these giants, and they dwell at the very bottom of the moon's ocean.) In between these extremes is all manner of underwater life: marine dinosaurs, sharks, giant squid and so on.

One of Paradise's stranger inhabitants is the scattered packs of groundling neogi. Most live in the eastern swamplands, but there's enough wandering the jungles to cause trouble for the moon's other inhabitants. The lack of umber hulks on Paradise leaves them to turn to local animals for their slaves. It's not uncommon to see a neogi being carried by a bear or riding on the back of a dinosaur. The neogi are unaware of how they came to Paradise—having completely forgotten their wildspace roots, though it is obvious they are not a native race. They have no knowledge of the deathspider hulk orbiting the moon, and would not know what to do with it even if they did. Their constant infighting and odd reproductive methods keep the neogi numbers fairly low.

The most numerous intelligent species on Paradise is the Kree'uli. They live in the jungles and rain forests west of the mountain range, and inhabit some of the larger islands in the southeast. These kree'ulis live high up in the trees on simple wooden platforms, much like their Mystaran cousins. They have a dislike of spider-kin—though they find some varieties quite tasty. They have close ties to the land, and help maintain Paradise's ecosystem. They're also an adventurous and curious race, so the future may see more of them traveling across the universe as crew on the ships of other races.

The Smiling Spider

In orbit around Paradise is a neogi deathspider hulk which has been salvaged and converted into a ship repair dock. The deathspider—named "The Smiling Spider"; and painted a bright, lime green with a yellow smile on its "face"—is not mobile. It has had several expansions added as living quarters for the crew; which is mostly human, with a few elves and members of other races.