Blacktangle Deep is a legacy left over from the ancient orc hordes that rampaged across wildspace before the Unhuman Wars. The wastelands of this once prosperous moon serve as a cautionary tale of what destruction the orcs were truly capable of. Some elves use the term "blacktangled" to describe any world destroyed by orc ravishes.
Blacktangles is a flat moon 250 miles square and 5 miles thick. The atmosphere is 10 miles deep. It completes one rotation every 30 hours. Because the moon is flat, there is no dawn or dusk; the sun rises and sets very suddenly. Due to the atmosphere, sunlight is very weak, and does not affect the vision of light-hating creatures such as orcs (drow and like creatures of the deep darkness are still affected).
The whole moon is one great jungle. Both sides of the square are covered by thick, entangled jungles. The land is quite rugged, with low mountains and deep ravines. In many cases these were orc strip mines, where great quantities of earth were torn up in search of every nugget of gold or scrap of iron. Others hide ancient cities, buried by centuries of jungle growth.
Blacktangles is a tropical moon with high humidity. Rain is an hourly occurrence, drenching everything in sudden downpours. There are no seasons; it is always hot, wet, and oppressive on Blacktangles.
Blacktangles is a deep green square that slowly flips through space. Streaks of dark rain clouds make the moon even appear even darker. The elven port Point Graves can easily been seen from orbit, as it is the only patch of clear land.
Blacktangles is a moon without continents. Great rivers cut through jungles but go nowhere, instead doubling back upon themselves in a great loop. At some points these rivers run upstream, defying gravity.
It is unknown what creatures lived on Blacktangles before the Coming of Orcs (see History below). What survives on Blacktangles today was likely introduced by the orcs. The dominant predators on this moon include mortbats, worgs, displacer beasts, cave bears, ankhegs, carrion crawlers, monstrous slimes, and some monstrous fungi.
The jungles are made of massive trees, fast-growing vines, and many carnivorous plants. Some plants are quite alien-looking, with purple leaves or have unusual shapes.
The jungles are home to two surviving intelligent species: orcs and goblins. Both have degraded to cannibalistic savages, feasting on each other when easier prey is unavailable. They shun the ruins of their formerly great cities, which have been lost to the jungle. Instead they inhabit mud hut villages. They have retained some skills of masonry, and surround their villages with brick walls. Indeed, the villages resemble small castles. The rains and humidity force the orcs to constantly repair their buildings; otherwise they too would be claimed by the jungles.
Orcs of Blacktangles have a deep mauve skin color and wear nothing but loincloths. Their weapons are stone knives and stone spears, and they carry wooden shields; any metal has long ago corroded or was lost. Leaders sometimes have better equipment, such as metal armor and weapons, usually magical (the magic protecting these devices from corrosion). Orcs attack in ragged formations, a remembrance of the legions they once formed. Their tactics are often haphazard and sometimes comical. Despite this, they are still very strong and dangerous.
Goblins are savage headhunters that favor the use of poison over brute strength. They are always naked, having abandoned all forms of clothing. Their preferred weapon is the blowgun, which they use to fire poisonous darts. If confronted, they simply flee. They would rather strike through ambushes and let the poison of their darts fell their prey, and then move in for an easy kill. Goblins have a wide variety of poisons at their disposal.
The elves run a small outpost at the edge of Blacktangles called Point Graves. They rarely travel into the jungles; instead, they sell food, water, and other services to adventurers looking to brave the jungles in search of forgotten loot.
There is almost no trade on Blacktangles. What takes place of that is a thriving business of adventurers setting off into the jungles to loot the ruins. Although the orcs long ago stripped the moon of its most valuable treasures, there is still gold, magic, and gemstones lost in the jungle ruins, as the orcs could not take it all. There are undoubtedly dozens of cities still lost in the jungles, and it will be a long time before treasure-seekers will exhaust these ruins. Of course, for every gold trinket taken from these ruins, just as many adventurers have perished under orc spears, deadly traps, or the jaws of a hungry monster.
There is only one port left on Blacktangles, the elven-run Point Graves. This town of about 300 was originally established by the Elven Fleet to be their base in a campaign against the orcs. This campaign was largely a failure and the army left out of frustration. An influx of adventurers seeking to explore the ruins of Blacktangles convinced the elves to keep the town open, both to claim part of any treasure recovered and to keep an eye on adventurers to make sure they do not despoil too many tombs.
Point Graves sits at the center of a 5-mile wide clearing. Surrounding this clearing is a curtain wall of dense trees, specially grown by the elves to provide them a living wall that is impervious to attacks; it is too dense to be hacked through with the primitive weapons of the orcs and goblins, and the constant rainfall makes it too wet to burn. A single, heavily guarded gate allows passage through this wall.
Between the wall and the town are crops, groves, and pastures. The citizens are all well-fed, with plenty of food to sell to off-worlders. In addition, the Fleet has a claim of 10% of whatever is taken from the jungles, plus first rights to buy anything magical. Of course the elves cannot prevent smuggling, but many adventurers would rather have a safe harbor to run to if things get too rough in the jungles.
About one thousand years ago, Blacktangles was then known as the Duchy of Arunti, and was inhabited by a mix of humans, elves, and halflings. It was a relatively peaceful moon then, stopover for ivory and silk merchants. The land was ruled by petty barons and a duke, cousin of a far-off king.
Then the orcs came. Raiders and pirates at first, the orcs pilfered Arunti 's trade ships and drove away trade. Without trade, the duchy was greatly weakened, such that the orcs openly challenged the humans. Eventually, the orcs overwhelmed the few human defenders, throwing everyone in chains. The forests were stripped bare, the land strip-mined of its wealth. Everything of value that could be taken from Arunti was stripped by greedy orcish warlords to fuel the coming war against the elves.
The orcs grew in numbers very quickly, and within a few generations, their numbers were such that Arunti's overburdened fields could no longer support the population. A great famine befell the moon; the orcs devoured any surviving slaves they had, and soon turned on each other. Those orcs that could fled, leaving their fellows to starve to death. Shortly before the Unhuman Wars, the orc civilization crumbled under its own destructive habits. Jungles quickly took over, burying everything under a dark green carpet. When the Elven Fleet arrived to free Arunti, they found nothing but jungles, savages, and countless bones.
None.
