To read a brief introduction to Rainbow City, start with the first post and neighborhood in this series, Skyfield.
On Spirit Parades
In Rainbow City, a spirit parade is not a scheduled festival but a sudden convergence, with many signs preceding a parade, some more easily read than others. When spirit fruit ripens on a Springday, the streets fill with shrines, costumes, offerings, and music as neighborhoods prepare for wild expression and parody of nature. When Krumpke, the Shattered Moon, is the last of the moons to rise on a Rainday, everyone knows that tomorrow’s Snowday will bring a procession in which the Bearded Goat, a frequent visitor, throws gifts from its flying cariole to the crowds below. And on Nightday, a parade may arrive without warning, like a somber funeral march, as impish and sinistrous spirits make themselves merry through others’ misfortune.
Spirits are not ghosts, nor are they gods, though their origin remains a mystery to the neighbors of Rainbow City. They appear in countless forms: animalistic, anthropomorphic, chremamorphic, or even cartoonish and two-dimensional. They express themselves through a multitude of mannerisms and sing-songy, synthetic sounds. A spirit that speaks the common tongue is rare, though most will find a way to communicate if they wish. Some uncommonly chatty visitors claim to ride the oscillating waves of strange cosmic currents, insisting Rainbow City is simply the shortest path between worlds. Others say they are scientists or magicians, masters of their own portals. A few seem bewildered by their arrival, uncertain how to leave, or even confused by the concept of a city. Many refuse explanation entirely, offering only a beep, a burble, or a swiftly vanishing tail.
Spirits are not confined to parade days, however. A neighbor might glimpse one at any time, yet during a parade, a great confluence flows through the city like a river. Some drift through like commuters at rush hour, barely noticing the celebration; others linger until dawn, eager to be seen and honored; a handful are irritable or volatile; a small few are malicious.
The parade is not merely a spectacle; it is also diplomacy and hospitality offered to interdimensional beings who may be passing through time itself.
Parade Canyon
Parade Canyon is a 6-hex neighborhood located in the center of the Northern Peninsula, above the Floodline.
A canyon runs through the middle of this neighborhood, dividing the northern 3 hexes from the southern 3 hexes, a split which you might expect would create two distinct neighborhoods, but something about this stretch of open air is special: historically, it is the most reliable place in Rainbow City to witness a spirit parade.
In Rainbow City, canyons form wherever the hausentowers spread apart, often to accommodate high-volume trolleyways or established parade routes. The neighbors of Parade Canyon have long resisted a canyon cluttered with telegraph wires and trolley lines, working diligently to keep it open for the spirits.
Transportation
The Spiral Line
Double-rail trolleys run in a spiral all along the canyon walls like a stretched-out slinky. The cars stay oriented through a system of gimbals and trunnions.
The Parade Line
Currently, only one trolley is permitted by neighbors to operate in the central area of the canyon, running the entire length of it.
According to a story from the Bridge & Tunnel Epoch, passed down through generations, a big pink worm spirit once wriggled through the neighborhood and destroyed every trolley line in the canyon save for one.
When a spirit parade draws near, neighbors decorate each car of the Parade Line and ride it down the canyon alongside the spirits. Seats during a parade are exclusive and reserved far in advance. You need to know someone to even join the waitlist.
Technically, the Parade Line begins farther north and extends south to Meowman World in the Southern Peninsula, meandering through other parade hot spots along the way. Those extensions came later, informal additions often referred to as the Petit Parade Line.
Parade Canyon Canal
At the very bottom of the canyon is a small, slightly winding canal. A rotating boat lift that resembles a Ferris wheel sticks out from between two hausentowers at the northeast end of the canal. It delivers boats into its gentle waters from the Slow Ochre Canal below. After traveling through the canyon, boats take the Baba Cake Tunnel to a nearby canal intersection. Small punting boats will ferry passengers up and down the canal. Boat traffic becomes nearly standstill during parades as the canal fills with makeshift rafts and floats.
Megalifts
In each of the six hexes, there is a megalift, a massive elevator platform that moves up and down the canyon’s many levels. They’re used for vehicles, commuters, shipping, construction, and more. They are a slow but steady and reliable form of transportation.
Hot Air Balloon Gondolas
Elaborate boats in the shape of winged spirits are attached to large sails that catch the hot air produced by a jet of flame, or many candles, or, in some cases, the wind from the bellows. They allow travelers to pass across the canyon, one of the few exceptions to the open-air policy of the canyon. They often bring up the rear during spirit parades.
Trash Trolleys
The garbage collectors of Rainbow City are needed most in parade-dense areas. They haul trash off to places where it will be reused, recycled, or incinerated. Some small amounts of trash do end up in landfills in the ruins of the city, but most become building materials. Streeturs are known for hitching a ride on the trash trolleys and coming away smelling awful.
Points of Interest
The Underbridge
At the top of the canyon, where the hausentowers start to close in again, and walkways and trolley lines begin to crisscross in the air, the longest bridge in the canyon, but nowhere near the longest bridge in the city, connects the two sides. In the middle and underside of that bridge is a streetur clubhouse. A neutral ground for all the crews to gather for spirit parades and watch from above, legs dangling over beams thousands of feet in the air. Even notorious trolleyball rivals like the Ribbon Cutters and the Shrububs will put away their slingshots and boomerangs and keep the peace for the sake of the party.
Spirit Parade Tracker HQ
The Spirit Parade Tracker Telegram Network is a group of people who read the signs of a spirit parade as early as a week beforehand, predict spirit routes through the study of historical examples, and track the parade’s progress through the city’s telegram network. They don’t always get it right, but they have a pretty good track record.
Located mid-canyon, the SPTTN HQ has front row seats to every parade that passes through. With its own wave antenna, members of the network give updates on spirit sightings and provide color commentary for KSPRT on the indigo wavelength.
Giftician’s
The one-stop shop for all of your spirit parade needs. What began as the joint enterprise between a toymaker and a spiritologist has become the preeminent place for parade wear, gear, and most importantly, offerings.
Parade goers present handmade crafts, sentimental trinkets, found objects, and other offerings during a spirit parade. A spirit’s preference for an offering, or what it will accept, is almost always uncertain. Over the years, offerings popularized by Giftician’s have included beaded necklaces and bracelets, mood rings, and paper cone cups with spirit prints, ideal for holding fresh-squeezed juice or iced desserts. However, the spirits often show no interest in these gifts, which then become toys for the neighborhood children. Consequently, the spirits rarely determine the popularity of these items.
Most people place their orders in advance by catalog. However, a tour of Giftician’s will bring you through the various labs of material scientists, spiritologists, and toymakers working hard to discover the next big thing, see the beading looms, the color-changing vats, and the printing press. The newest spirit offering being promoted by Giftician’s is sheets of scratch-n-sniff stickers, which means you can also visit the Room of Smells, where every smell imaginable is stored in a wall of drawers. As you exit the tour, every child is given one token for the Giftician’s vending machine, famous for delivering something unpredictable and unique every time. Because of the high demand for tours, Giftician’s holds a lottery every week.
Ongoing Construction
Construction is a common sight in Rainbow City. The work is never done. Especially in high-traffic areas where repairs are needed more often. Scaffolding, cranes, and people in hard hats are never far from view in the canyon.
The Treehouse Shrine
An enormous oak tree demands space at the bottom of a shaft of open air that extends to the Canopy. The shrine is built into its sprawling branches, which themselves are decorated with ceramic charms, dyed cloth tied in knots, and other offerings. The shrine is made up of many rooms, some connected by rope bridges. Each room holds a different purpose, but all of them are geared toward respecting and honoring the spirits as they transition through the city. One room holds floor pillows and candles, and makes a really nice hangout spot. Another room is filled with fine-tuned scientific instruments meant to ease a spirit’s passage, which create a tranquil, droning sound, like an ever-gonging gong. A third room has banquet tables covered in different jelly molds. Spirit rangers who live at the shrine are responsible for keeping the rooms clean, stocked with offerings, and ready for visitors, both spirit and human.
Do spirits use the shrines the city builds for them? Sometimes. But not always when expected or in the ways they were meant to be used.
Toob Station #9
Pneumatic toobs were once the main way in which neighbors communicated with each other, whether they were on opposite peninsulas or just down the tower. Hundreds of stations popped up over the course of a cycle or two. But once the telegram was invented, the toobs went quiet, practically overnight. Why wait for a toob to get sorted at a number of stations, sometimes getting lost for days, when you could send a telegram near instantaneously into another person’s home. Much of the toob infrastructure became the telegraph wire networks.
One of the first built and last remaining toob offices in the city, Station #9 is now the headquarters for a group of spirit busters. Who ya gonna telegram when a spirit has taken up residence in your kitchen and is stacking all of your berry and cream sandwiches and tinned corndogs into the shape of a ziggurat? The spirit busters!
Fading ceramic tiles and clear plastic toobs line the walls, remnants from another epoch. Spirit vacuum backpacks and containment lanterns hang in cubbies, ready at a moment’s notice to be slung on by a spirit buster. A four-person quadracycle is covered in gadgets and lights and waits for the sirens to wail.
Notable People You Might Meet in Parade Canyon
Slim & Mitsy, Wave Personalities
Slim and Mitsy, famous broadcasters on KSPRT, have covered some of the biggest and most memorable spirit parades in recent cycles. Slim, who studied at the Institute for the Advancement of Spirit Understanding, is known for his extensive knowledge of past spirit parades and his iconic banana microphones. Mitsy is known for her colorful metaphors and wearing spirit offerings in her large, pink bouffant, attracting spirits to nest in her hair. They’ve recently been invited to take the next tour of Giftician’s, a special tour that will take guests into the secret lab of Gilson Platt.
Three, well, four people are in the running for the most popular person in Rainbow City, according to current standards and trends, but a winner has not yet been declared: Slim & Mitsy, they come as a pair; Nobby Hugdouble, a trolleyball player for the big leagues who is both handsome and talented; and tastemaker Rhonda Roundo, aka The Maestro, a wave personality who some would say has gone from star-maker to a star in her own right.
People often refer to “hangtime” as a measurement of how often a person has been on or been mentioned on the well-known wave stations. If we’re measuring popularity based solely on hangtime, look no further than Slim & Mitsy, whose combined hangtime exceeds calculation, or as the streeturs would say: they got smekin’ dozillion hangtime.
Madame La Brosse, Traveling Hairdresser
Madame La Brosse is a hairdresser to the stars, including those mentioned above, traveling all over the city with her scissors, comb, and other tools of the trade. She cannot stand to see an unruly hairdo, especially on children, and will chase down streeturs across great distances if she deems their hair in need of maintenance. She does keep a salon in Parade Canyon where she can restock the essentials, but it’s almost always being remodeled, renovated, or repainted. Her own hair is ever-changing; blinding bangs and a blunt bob one day, purple curls in blue bows the next.
Gilson Platt, Material Scientist & Smell Engineer
Dr. Platt, or Gil as he prefers to be called, is the eccentric Head of Creations at Giftician’s these days, a small-time celebrity in the neighborhood. His most recent splash in the world of spirit offerings is On-A-Whim Chewing Gum, with six different flavors and respective effects, achieved through the use of the pollen from that very special flower that only blooms in anticipation of a spirit parade. He’s already hard at work on his next innovation, an infinitely long noodle that dangerously relies on experimental spirit portal energy.
Dr. Gilson Platt’s Wondrous Creations
On-A-Whim Chewing Gum. Six sticks in a pack, each flavor produces a unique effect when chewed for as long as the flavor lasts:
Blue Raspberry: Progresses backwards through the flavors of a six-course meal, each course distinct from the last.
Red Delicious: Makes the chewer feel a random emotion; burst into tears, laughter, or rage.
Pink Lemonade: Momentarily outlines the chewer in a sparkling aura of rainbow dust.
Green Monster: Causes plants nearby to the chewer to grow and bloom.
Orange Dream: Bubbles can be blown up to 3ft in diameter and used to float slowly to the ground.
Mellow Yellow: Changes the chewer’s voice into someone else’s.
Moon Lamp. A glass enclosure holds a miniature recreation of Krumpke, the Shattered Moon, one of the three celestial bodies that traverse the night above Rainbow City. There are many myths meant to explain why Krumpke is spread across the sky like silver crumbs on a black velvet tablecloth, but this lamp does not aim to answer that question. When you turn on the lamp, a silvery orb slowly breaks apart into a million glittering pieces.
Seed Bike. Scatter seeds and fertilizer anywhere you roll. Seed combo packets can be found at Giftician’s.
Pirate Punch. A miniature cauldron of smoking, glowing purple drink. It does nothing but look cool.
Cocoon of a Mustache Moth. Inside an acorn capsule is the cocoon of a mustache moth, which will hatch once removed. Mustache moths resemble different types of mustaches when they settle on something and will easily sit on your upper lip, staying as long as you feed them sugar every once in a while.
Fool’s Noodle. Lonely Noodle is a classic Rainbow City snack, consisting of a single, extremely long noodle coiled expertly into a handheld canister with a pull tab. Kids bet on whether they can slurp it all in a single go. Gil’s newest prototype replicates the look of a Lonely Noodle, but inside is an impossibly long noodle, perhaps even an infinitely long noodle, thanks to dangerously experimental spirit portal energy. Prank your friends!
Stellan, New Construction Painter
An apprentice to their father, Stellan knows most of the hausentowers in Parade Canyon like the back of their hand. Stellan is a junior member of the Painter’s Guild, an organization that trains and supports the people who paint hausentowers, as well as other various trades involved in large construction projects. Having been raised within the Guild and eligible in a few cycles to take the test to become a full-fledged member, Stellan doesn’t have many friends their own age.
The Painter’s Guild is at odds with the Plasterer’s Guild, another construction-oriented organization, as they often clash over who should be doing which job, and more importantly, which tools are right for the job, e.g., pans and knives vs hawks and trowels. And don’t even get Stellan started on the Carpenter’s Guild.
Stellan has been dreaming of a tour of Giftician’s since he was old enough to care about such things. Every Sunday morning, he stops by the storefront and picks up a ticket, and every Nightday he sits by the wavebox and listens for his number to be called. It hasn’t happened yet, but that hasn’t stopped him from getting his hopes up each week.
Jzar, Spirit Ranger
Jzar wears a large, quilted bell skirt painted with the image of a red horse emerging from the jungle with a clear blue sky above. Her head is wrapped in a deep green tignon, and gold hoop earrings dangle on her shoulders. Her outfit is inspired by an encounter she had with the Clearwater Mare when she was younger, still hoping to see it again.
Jzar studied at IASU with Slim. It’s also where she met Morse Pinkman and they started dating. But once Jzar became a spirit ranger, they began to clash over their ideologies concerning spirits.
Recently, Jzar has been looking into an increase in the appearance of lost and confused spirits in the area and her investigation has led her to become suspicious of Gilson Platt and the other scientists at Giftician’s.
Morse Pinkman, Spirit Buster
Morse is a licensed spirit buster with a vacuum rig and containment lanterns. Often seen wheeling and dealing. “Sure, I’ll get that slug spirit out of the Skyfield Hotel, but I’d like to book the VIP suite for the next big game. Slime clean up? How about a meet and greet with the players?”
Some people consider spirit busters to be unnecessarily hostile toward spirits, but the busters believe that people need protection from certain spirits, and they’re not always wrong. Morse is charming and quick with a joke to ease the tension.
Morse studied at IASU with Slim and Jzar. After they left the Institute, however, he had a terrifying experience with The Loud Teeth, a murderous spirit that drove him to join the spirit busters. Jzar hasn’t spoken with him since. When their professional lives cross paths, she gives him the cold shoulder.
Recently, Morse and the other busters have been dealing with more angry spirits than normal. Of course, for Morse, it’s just another day’s work and another opportunity to score some cred or earn some favors.
Adventure Hooks
Parade Day. You saw the signs ahead of time and made your way to Parade Canyon to watch the parade from one of the hottest spots in the city. You’ll need to prepare some spirit offerings, get your costumes in order, and make friends with the neighbors to ensure you get a good spot to watch from. Don’t forget snacks!
Streetur Cred. You’ve either been dared by a rival crew or asked for help from a friendly crew to carry out the following prank: Steal a bottle or two of bad smells from Giftician’s and mix it into Madame La Brosse’s spray bottle.
Call To Adventure. A parade route threatens an old-growth rooftop garden. The spirit rangers request help rerouting the oblivious hippo-like spirits. They’ve discovered that waving the color blue at them is catching their attention and causing them to veer away from the forest. They’re asking for anyone in the neighborhood to gather up their bluest things and climb a tree to wave them off, at your own risk, of course.
A Golden Ticket. Slim and Misty, at the invitation of Gilson Platt, host a contest for a private tour of the secret rooms of Giftician’s, where actual spirit research is being done.
Trash Chase. Something precious has been thrown away by accident, and now you have to chase down the trash trolley before it gets lost, stolen, recycled, or incinerated.
Passing Through. After the spirit parade is over, the tired masses head home, and the crowd makes it almost impossible to traverse this neighborhood. You might end up pushed onto a trolley heading in the wrong direction or forced into a location you weren’t intending to visit. Watch out for crimers picking pockets!
Notable Spirits You Might Encounter in Parade Canyon
The Revelers
These hippomorphic spirits appear to be sitting in a pool of starlight, their lower halves disappearing into white light. The floating tub carries them through the open air between hausentowers, crashing into balconies and trolleys along the way, seemingly unharmed, laughing and carousing, holding strange drinks in their webbed and hooved hands. They are oblivious to any attempt to stop them or communicate with them unless the color blue is present, in which case they steer their vessel away and apologize profusely to any blue thing they accidentally hit.
The Honkshoe
The Honkshoe is a fairly common spirit; it looks like a goose on a rabbit with fuzzy sneakers for hind feet. It honks loudly in its sleep but leaps and flies quickly away if threatened. The Honkshoe steals small items and hides them in its nest. As the Honkshoe sleeps on the items, they turn to gold. The Honkshoe is natural prey for the gryphon vultures, who are obsessed with gold.
The Color Thief
The Color Thief’s true form is unknown since it masquerades as a human while in Rainbow City. Once The Color Thief has fixated on an object, it watches it from afar, coveting it, until its desire for the thing drains it of its pigment, leaving the item an ashen grey. While it has been known to steal the color from living things, The Color Thief is mostly a menace to painters and artists. You can recognize The Color Thief by its intense stare and out-of-place accoutrements: an umbrella on a Snowday, snowshoes on Toohotday, glasses without lenses, a lampshade for a hat, bread loaves for shoes, a shirt for pants, a belt scarf, or a watch around a collared shirt instead of a tie.
Dustback
Dustback, a name given by neighbors, resembles a sand cyclone. Some have claimed they’ve seen a small furry creature in the midst of the whipping winds and dust, but that’s unsubstantiated. Dustback speeds over surfaces and rips through fragile environments, leaving a gritty mess in its wake. It’s drawn to arguments and rivalries, growing larger the more heated the interaction becomes. It seems to fuel the escalation at the same as it feeds on it.
Clearwater Mare
Clearwater Mare, named for its first reported location alongside the Clearwater Canal, is a fleeting red equine spirit that only appears when offerings are vulnerable and honest. Its presence elicits a euphoric feeling in those who witness it. Many who have seen it have reported extraordinarily good luck for the following days.
Clang & Fang, aka The Loud Teeth
Clang is invisible, but it can be heard from blocks away, sounding like metal falling down stairs, explosions, or a cacophonous symphony. It’s harmless, but no one knows that. Instead, it is blamed by neighbors for the behavior of Fang, a spirit that follows closely behind Clang, taking advantage of the noise and disorientation it causes. Fang, which looks like a set of floating shark teeth, bites its victims while they’re bewildered and has even killed before. Clang is drawn to musicians and waveboxes, wanting to find a place for its unique voice. Fang just likes the way it feels to sink its teeth into soft flesh. Neighbors have reported hearing a crash in their kitchen, only to find the steak in their fridge has bite marks in it. They call it The Loud Teeth, unaware of the spirits’ true nature.
Cloud Chime, or River Dragon, or Staircase, or…
This giant koi fish, the size of a hausentower, floats incorporeally through the city, passing through neighborhoods, ignoring much of its surroundings. Its form is gossamer thin and shimmering colors. For some, in their homes as it passes through, they will experience a sudden shift in the color of the light and wavering air like a heat mirage. But for those who get a good perspective, perhaps from the canopy or a canyon, they will see this colossal fish swimming through the city as if it were just another sea. When it speaks, which is rare, it gives out esoteric warnings or mundane and practical advice in a deep, gravelly voice. When asked its name, it asks to be called something different each time, as if it sees itself much differently than it appears to neighbors.
Breakers & Builders
Pebbly, knee-high critters that carry tools and wear hard hats. Some of them tear down and take things apart, leaving piles of rubble in their wake. Others follow behind, rebuilding what’s been broken, but in a slightly different form, sometimes less useful than before. A fire escape might become a spiral staircase, a water main a fountain, or a bridge a swinging pendulum. Their tiny tools, pickaxes, hammers, and more, often left behind, are as hard as diamonds but dissolve instantly in water.
Nic-Nac-Norm
What first appears to be a mundane object springs to life when interacted with, sprouting arms, legs, and beady little eyes accompanied by popping noises. Once revealed, the spirit will not leave you alone until you make a wish, one that often has unintended consequences. Nic-Nac-Norm rarely alters the fundamental laws of reality, instead preferring ironic coincidence and accidental mishaps. Many people avoid touching household objects during a spirit parade, especially if they don’t remember seeing them around before.
Cobbler’s Goblins
Two poulaine-style shoes, the size of people, appear to walk in tandem, as if worn by an invisible giant. But inside the shoes are dozens of goblin-like creatures the color of red clay. They peek through where the shoe is worn and threadbare. From above, they can be seen climbing over each other, scuffling, laughing, and snarling.
A Parade of Thoughts
When it comes to spirit parades, I’m drawing heavily on my experiences with New Orleans’ Mardi Gras. It’s a unique celebration, at times indulgent and wasteful, but also a flash of joy and hope in the otherwise darkest part of the year. Creating your own costumes and throws (trinkets and crafts handed out by paraders to attendees) is a local tradition with many niches and subcultures. Traveling around the city during Mardi Gras season (which lasts a month or two) becomes its own adventure, with traffic and parade routes to avoid. On the flip side, the magic of walking through your neighborhood as an unexpected parade rounds the corner, a brass band blaring, people dressed like insects, monsters, or papier-mâché nonsense makes it all worth it.
Months have gone by since my last Rainbow City post, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been writing behind the scenes. A lot of the work I’ve been doing for Rainbow City has gone into the playtest campaign I’ve been running.
I’ve run this setting using Fate in the past. And now I’ve tried a hack of Cloud Empress and a hack of Basic Roleplaying. I’m using Odd-like inventory and OSR hexcrawl procedures, but I miss the narrative dice resolution that Fate provided. Rainbow City is a pulpy, fantastic place, and the player characters should be flawed but heroic.
I’ve been playing Genesys recently and really enjoying the resolution mechanic. I know the proprietary dice get some flak from folks, but I like them. So I’m thinking about running Rainbow City with Genesys next.
In the end, I want to present this setting as system-agnostic, along with a handful of procedures that are specific to the trappings of the setting. I think you can run it with any system you’re comfortable with. An OSR/NSR system made the characters feel a lot less pulpy, more like real kids in a world much bigger than them. But I think Rainbow City is flexible enough to accommodate those kinds of changes.
With four neighborhoods posted (Skyfield, Kunstkaten, Villepreux, and this one), I’m wondering: How would you run Rainbow City? What changes would you make? What questions would you still have about the setting? What procedures would you want guidance on?
More info about the City ‘26 project can be found here.