- PLANET SIZE: C (900 mile diameter)
- PLANET TYPE: Spherical Earth Body
- DAY LENGTH: 1 week
- YEAR LENGTH: 6 weeks (40 days)
- POPULATION ANALYSIS: 1000+ Mindflayers, 400+ Invaders, 2000 - 4000 slave laborers of various races
Unlike the other worlds of this system, Ious recieves plenty of light and heat - on the side facing the Sun, where the temperature can climb to well over 200~F. However, on the planets other side, the temperature plumets to well over -100~F over the course of Ious's long day. Only in the narrow, continually moving `Twilight Zone' are the temperatures bearable. In the days before the dimming of the Sun, conditions on Ious were even more extreme; with temperatures well in excess of 350~F during the day (but only -40~ or so during the night thanks to a thermal leveling effect that transferred heat to the `back' side of the planet).
Rain is almost unheard of on Ious; hence water is almost unknown on the surface, found only at the bottom of a few deep clefts, though there are substantial underground resivours. As a result, Ious is all but lifeless - only the hardiest of weeds, scrub and cacti can be found on the surface, and then only rarely. Animal life is mostly incidental and accidental, brought here by past spelljamming ships, and consists mostly of insects, mice, rats, dogs, and the like. There are no forests, oceans, or grasslands - just mile after mile of barren mountains and empty desert.
Ious is frequently `sprayed' with matter ejected from the sun during solar flares. Some of this material interacts with material in the planets crust, creating exotic crystaline substances. The most sought after of these substances are `sun crystals', which via extensive rituals, can be transformed into Ioun Stones. Throughout history, Ious has been dotted with mines bored in search of `sun crystals', usually worked by convicts or prisoners of war. Many of these mines were destroyed or abandoned during the Final War; some are still haunted by undead or protected by golems, conjured creatures, and powerfull spells.
