Moon of the Month

Hey guys,

    Going to try and start up a new monthly article for SJ: a moon,
worldlet, asteroid, or like body that can be dropped anywhere in a game.  I
kinda enjoy writing these things up, they're totally edition free, and
people seem to enjoy them.  So this month, I present Mantry Isle, a small
tropical moon shaped like a gigantic manta ray and a pirate haven.  Enjoy!

P.S. Don't hold me any schedule; I'll try to post them once a month, but no
set time as to when :)


Adam



Mantry Isle

Planet Name: Mantry Isle, Mantry, the Manta Island

Planet Type: Earth

Planet Size: B

Escape Time: 1 turn

Satellites: None

Distance from Primary: *

Day Length: 26 hours

Year Length: 200 days

Population Analysis: Humanoids, tasoli, ixitxachitl



            The island of Mantry is a small moon orbiting some water giant.
It is named for its distinctive shape; that of an enormous manta ray.  The
island floats in a sea of water, about a quarter mile thick.  The whole
island is 75 miles long by 50 miles broad; the tail tapers into a series of
small islands trailing the main island.  The sea itself is 100 miles long by
75 miles wide.  It extends to the limits of the atmosphere of Mantry.

            The head is circular bay, about 3 miles in diameter, protected
by a pair of peninsulas jutting out into the water around the bay.  The land
rises quickly from that bay to a plateau, about 1000' above sea level, where
the "spine" would be.  The plateau gives way to a series of short, rugged
mountains at the base of the tail before dropping sharply into the sea.  The
wings are low and covered by thick forests and lined by sandy beaches.  The
beaches extend well over a mile into the sea and riddled with sandbars,
making landings along the wings difficult for all but ships with the
shallowest of hulls.

            The underside, or belly of the manta ray, juts out of the sea,
and is covered by thick, tangled jungles.  The land is relatively flat, but
solid ground is difficult to find under endless roots and ground brush.



Climate and Weather

            Mantry has a warm, tropical climate.  Weather is completely
predictable: an early morning rain, with clouds clearing by mid-morning.
The rest of the day is clear, warm, and extremely pleasant.



Appearance from Space

            Mantry Isle appears as a large island shaped like a manta ray
floating in a shallow sea.  The sea surrounding it is oval shaped, as is the
atmosphere.  The whole world appears as a great egg.



Continents

            None.  The island is not large enough to be considered a
continent.



Native Creatures

            Birds, small monkeys, and rodents are most common creatures that
make Mantry their home.  Top predators include baboons, sharks, and weasels.
The rain forests are thick with wildlife.

            Imported creatures include gulls, rats, and house cats.  Oddly,
most of these creatures have a difficult time adapting to Mantry's climate,
and at times die out.



Guide to Groundlings

            Mantry's natives are tasoli in the jungles and ixitxachitl in
the waters surrounding the island.  These creatures are shy about strangers
and will withdraw if sighted.  The tasoli inhabit caves along the rocky
backbone of the island and are quite primitive.  Weapons are clubs and
blowguns, with the occasional rusty sword stolen from the pirates (q.v.).
The ixitxachitl inhabit coral cities in the bay, but are rarely seen.  They
haunt the bay area and sometimes attack swimmers that get too close, but
leave ships unmolested.

            The civilized inhabitants of Mantry are pirates, who inhabit the
island's only city, Port Stingray.  The pirates are a rough-and-tumble lot
that prey on passing ships.  The pirates come from a variety of races, from
humans to orcs and half-ogres, dwarves to elves and halflings.  No race
particularly dominates, although the largest group is human (roughly 20% of
the population).  A fair number (about 25% of the population) are slaves or
indentured servants.

            The ixitxachitl are a unique variety found on Mantry.  They are
virtually indistinguishable from ixitxachitl except for one important
difference: they can shape-change into humanoid form.  The ixitxachitl have
infiltrated Port Stingray; in fact, they helped found the port to begin
with!  The creatures are having a grand time spreading evil and chaos
throughout wildspace through their pirate proxies.  The evil rays do not
directly rule the city, nor do they rule from the shadows.  They would
rather let the leaders be wholly evil individuals acting on their own
accord.  Many ixitxachitl are pirates themselves, taking a "hands on"
approach to their favorite activity, spreading evil.



Resources and Trade

            Although Mantry is fairly rich in timber, food, and fertile
soil, few of these resources are tapped by the inhabitants.  Instead, the
pirates prey on the spacelanes, stealing most of everything they need.  The
black market provides them with everything else they require.



Ports of Call

            The interior of the island is overgrown jungle, unsuitable for
habitation.  The only port is located at the far end of the bay, at the
manta's mouth, which is called Port Stingray.  The city is actually quite
large (about 4,000 inhabitants) and prosperous.  It has grown so large that
in fact it has a semblance of a government, a council of all captains that
make it their port-of-call.  Each captain gets one vote on the council;
powerful captains are skilled deal-makers.  Law is formal trial-by-combat,
with the victor acting as judge, jury, and executioner.  The city maintains
no army nor navy, but does have a city watch to keep fights from erupting
into riots.  Businesses include innumerable taverns, brothels, some shops
dealing in arms and spelljamming equipment, and a fisherman's market.  The
city has a total of 21 piers jutting into the bay, although many are in
ill-repair.



History

            Various attempts to colonize Mantry over the centuries have
largely failed.  At least five separate attempts have been made, but such
efforts are usually undone by another power, such as rampaging pirates,
neogi, and even monster hordes.  Pirates first came to Mantry to bury
treasure, and then to stay about a century ago.  Port Stingray began as a
watering post, growing quickly into a minor city.  The city has twice been
raided, once by the Elven Fleet, and once by the Company of the Chalice.
Both times, the pirates fled, leaving the city to be easily taken.  The
invaders found little of value, and departed.  The pirates returned and took
control once more.



Satellites

            None.