- Name: Jardan
- Type: Spherical "Plant" body
- Size: E (6k miles diameter)
- Escape time: 40 minutes
- Satellites: None
- Day length: 12 hours
- Year length: 261 days
- Population analysis: Predominantly humanoid
The surface of Jardan as seen from space is a deep green carpet of plant life. Not a single square meter of open ground exists on Jardan. Jardan's solid ground consists 90% of loose, dark black earth. Stone and metals are more rare here than a day without Solinus. The planet itself spins on its axis swiftly, once every 12 hours providing more than ample light and warmth for the forests. Jardan's atmosphere is hot and humid with average temperatures ranges from 25 to 45 degrees Celsius and humidity from 75% to 90%.
The thick carpet of treetops serves as a semi-solid surface upon which the majority of Jardan's kingdoms and city states rest. Life and civilization is in no way limited to the surface however. Vast kingdoms sprawl out in the darkness beneath the great bows. Society on the surface is generally dominated by a number of Elven sub races, all manner of Fay creature, and a large society of free roaming Dryadic creatures who call themselves the Dryanok. Beneath the boughs dominance is less prevalent, though the most prolific races are the Myconids and the Vegepygmies.
Ports of call
Jardan has a great number of lesser ports ranging from type D to C. Windfall and Storm crest, two mixed city-states of Elven and Fay cultures are considered type B ports. Each city has a number of dry docks, storage facilities and establishments which cater exclusively to spelljamming ships and their crews. Both cities charge a dock tax of 1 copper per ships ton per week. Any cargo unloaded or sold in the city is subject to an import tax equal to 5% of the total value of the cargo or items sold. Smugglers or tax evaders can expect to have their entire cargo and even their ships confiscated, a punishment which keeps this line of business to a minimum.
Jardan's only type A port is the Commonwealth Military Nautical base of the Unified Elven Nations. The port is unfortunately off limits to private persons and ships and serves the needs of the UEN's united military forces. Though Jardan has few ships capable of spelljamming they do possess a large number of gravwood ships used to patrol the planets atmosphere which are powered by a combination of sails and "Wind ghosts". Wind ghosts are usually summoned and bound air elementals forced to serve as ship propulsion. Gravwood ships are fairly common on the surface and besides their lack of spelljamming capability they follow the same rules as spelljamming ships. A single Wind ghost engine produces enough propulsion to move 10 tons of ship at a speed of 1. Multiple engines are required to propel larger ships or increase speed in the same way Manasails do. Wind ghost engines are not used in space for the fact that even a single engine would cause hurricane like winds in the air sphere of a ship in space and more than one could literally tear the ship apart.
Almost all who enter Jardan's atmosphere encounter a UEN patrol before they can reach the planets surface. The UEN has reserved the right to search those ships they deem suspect and destroy the ships of those who refuse such a search. Some may reason that the UEN only governs a small portion of the planets surface and not the planet itself, but such arguments are either ignored or met with a hefty "slander fine".
Resources/Trade
The native residents of Jardan have learned to use the wide assortment of wood types available for all their needs. Akadia trades heavily on this planet for such materials as Ironwood, Darkwood and Gravwood. In return they provide Jardan with stone, metals and other rarities. Recently the folk of Malstrom have begun to move into the Akadian trade markets on Jardan, which has caused some friction between the two worlds.
