Great Plains

The entirety of the plains is covered in a unique grass that stands tall and proud. Among this grass, three prominent things make their home: Dinosaurs of various shapes and sizes, the Human Empire which has persevered for thousands of years, and Castle Nightbreeze, an ancient castle that marks the first civilization founded by humanity as a race.   Only places where towns, farmland or ranches exist are able to consistently drive down the high grass that is native only to the Great Plains. Without a height exceeding six feet, you won't be able to gain a view over the sea of grass regardless of winter or summer months because of how hardy the plant is. Towns and castles rise up like small islands in a vast sea of green or during the cold months, brown. Roads snake through this vast grassland like string scattered across a map and must be installed with a special mixture of gravel to ensure that the grass does not overtake them. Regardless of if the grass is poisoned, burnt or cut it will always grow back to its former height within two weeks which ensures that the land has a timeless look when viewed from a great height. There are two main areas that you will encounter in the Great Plains: the Flatlands and the Depths.   Prehistoric wildlife is considered mundane and trivial in the Great Plains, scholars have yet to find a reason why this place seems to support wildlife that no other place in the world can. While you would expect dinosaurs to be present in any hot environment that just isn't the case. Dinosaurs not only thrive in this environment, but they are highly territorial, pushing other animals out of their area as they seek to recreate a habitat long extinct from the rest of the world. Even dinosaurs that are used as mounts and pack animals will only leave the Great Plains when they are made to by a rider, as soon as they are left to their own devices, they will try to return home. The edge of the grasslands seems to make an invisible barrier that even carnivores will not willingly cross, all prehistoric creatures seem to acknowledge it as a boundary.  

Flatlands

  This area makes up the vast majority of the plains and is home to a diverse group of prehistoric life and most of the towns that you will encounter. On this terrain there are small rolling hills but no great or sudden changes in elevation unless you are near a river in which case the tall grass will suddenly end at the water's edge. Weather is predictable in this area, usually being dry and warm during most months. During the winter there will be light snow and some ice, but the grass will continue to grow without regard which makes it easy to support the eating habits of herbivores in the area.  

Depths

  This area makes up less than 35% of the Great Plains and is indiscernible from the Flatlands at a distance. Only when the grass has been cut back or by walking directly up onto it will you see the ground giving way to a steep decline in elevation. These areas can go as far down as 200 feet and can span dozens of miles while the grass will still reach up high to hide the entire depression from view. In these areas you will never see snow collect and it serves as the living space for much larger varieties of dinosaur to include the Tyrannosaurus Rex and others that cannot easily conceal themselves on the Flatlands. Due to the grass reaching up so high in these areas the sunlight is often filtered green and the light seldom grows beyond a twilight during the majority of the day. Grass in this area often falls together and appears to bundle itself and take on the form of large tree trunks in areas where the larger dinosaurs have pushed through to make paths.

The primary plant that lives out on the Great Plains is called Traveler's Grass. It is characterized by being relatively plain grass that appears to grow just above six feet in height before stopping but it grows so thick that it completely blocks vision past ten feet. This grass grows year-round, even during freezing or drought conditions it remains strong and flexible, suggesting that it needs little in the way of water. The other unique property that it possesses is the stubborn habit to grow to the same height as any Traveler's Grass that it resides next to. Meaning that if you dug up full grown Traveler's Grass and put it in a bucket that elevated it a foot in height, the surrounding grass would slowly grow to that same height. The limitation of this trait is unknown because this is the trait that allows this grass to hide the Depths and make it appear to have the same elevation as the Flatlands when viewed from a distance.   The dinosaurs that live in the Great Plains are many and the ecology is such that the grass supplies nearly all dietary needs for the herbivore population which in turn supplies the carnivore population with food through abundant numbers.

Dinosaurs are the greatest natural resource of the Great Plains because of how they can serve as mounts and pack animals. In addition, they have valuable hides that can be made into light armor while teeth and bones are useful in weapon making and as components for various potions. Dinosaurs are often raised as a commodity from hatchlings though only a few species breed well in captivity which requires that strict laws about harvesting eggs and hatchlings be enforced so that the population stays stable.   Traveler's Grass is a hardy plant that can be easily turned into ropes or bound and twisted to be turned into long burning torches. This grass has few uses aside from being food for dinosaurs of the herbivore variety and a few select animals that can graze on them to promote the establishment of ranches.   There are a few metals that can be extracted through the use of pit mines in this area like iron, silver and gold in limited quantities for instance, but the area is almost completely devoid of precious gems. The valuable metals that can be found in this area with an innate magical quality include: Flare Steel (very abundant), Zing Steel (moderately abundant) and Hush Steel if the mine extends deep enough (rare).   While high fences are not enough to keep predators away humans still are able to make relatively successful ranches to raise domestic animals that are not dinosaurs to include cattle, sheep, goats and other livestock but horses are not raised in this area because they are of little use. Ranches are difficult to maintain on the outskirts of the empire because of predators and pillaging goblins so you will often see ranches and farmland closer to the center of the empire or near large settlements where adventurers or townspeople can be hired for protection against predatory dinosaurs.