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