Ghosts of Saltmarsh

(Nancy Kaufman) #1
SHERN: LOBSTER, TELEPATH, FRIEND
Until it escaped, Shern was used by the sahuagin in their
makeshift lobster fighting arenas. It managed to escape its
fate as a gladiato r, in part due to its strangely high level of
intelligence.
The lobster has limited telepathy, though it cannot ex-
plain how it came to have this ability. It can communicate
with any other living creature within 10 feet. The lobster
has named itself Shern, and it desperately wants to escape
the fortress.
If Shern becomes aware of the characters, it attempts
to communicate with one of them despite not being
able to convey language. It knows the following informa·
tion, which it communicates through feelings and pro-
jected images:


  • A terrible monster lives in the temple.

    • Two four-armed sahuagin rule this fortress.

    • The bulk of the sahuagin forces are on the fortress's
      lowest level.

    • If the party frees Shern by returning it to the ocean, it
      can lead the characters to a sunken treasure (of your de-
      sign) a few miles south of the fortress.
      Shern knows the layout of the two lowest levels of the
      fortress, including areas where large number of sahuagin
      ga ther. The lobster accompanies the characters i f i t senses
      they will help it escape. Shern hopes to hide in a backpack,
      a cloak pocket, o r a hood while the characters explore the
      rest of the fortress.




A see m ingly ordinary lobste r scuttles along t he floor.
This is S hern, a n unassuming b u t most remarkable lob-
ste r (see the "S hern: Lobste r. Te lepath, Fr iend'" s ide bar).
The lobster has no effe ctive attacks and is kille d auto·
matically by a ny attack.



  1. BANQUET HALL


The corridor leads to a great hall, its floor tiled in black,
the walls in coral pink, and t he ceiling in white. Black-
tiled pillars are regularly placed in a line slightly south of
the east-west axis. To the north of the pillars, long tables
have been placed end to end, with benches to either side.
At t he midpoint of the north wall, an archway opens onto
a passage. This ornate archway is decorated with elegant
black and gold designs evocative of waves and mon-
st rous sea creatures. j

This is the sahuagin banque t hall. S ince sahuagin pre fe r
to eat informally when individuals feel hunger, this hall
is used only for important functions, such as to celebrate
a great victory or entertain visiting nobles. The ceiling is
30 feet high.
The table s and ben ches can accommodate two hun-
dred sahuagin with space to spare , but at p resent the
area is empty.
The stone head in the s e m icircular nic he in the ce n -
ter of the south w a ll is not clearly vis ible to characters
standing unde r the western or eastern a rch. As soon a s
a character moves to a position from whic h they can be
observed, read t he following :

l A semicircular niche has been hollowed into the center
of the south wall. The floor of the niche sits seven feet
off the ground. On the shelf formed there stands a large
carved stone head, visibly battered and disfigured. The
features can still be recognized as those of a lizardfolk.
The head is about twice as large as life size.
i

When the lizard folk lived he re, one of their p roudest
possessions was a 10 -foot-hig h statue of Semuanya,
their d e ity. Whe n the sahuagin took over the fortress,
they destroyed the statue, breaking it into stone frag-
ments and leaving only the head, be fore the baron
interven ed. Ins tead of allowing the m to destroy the
head, the baron decided to keep it a s a memento of h is
triumph-not only over the lizardfolk, but over their very
way of life. He had his warriors r e move it to the banque t
hall and place it so that it faced him as he sat on his
throne. It is an object of scorn and d erision among the
sahuagin-rarely doe s a sahuagin pass it without mak-
ing a malic ious, usually obsce ne, gesture.
Development. From this room, the characters can
hear fragments of the discussion taking place in the
throne roo m (area 42). Conversely, the baron and those
with him in area 42 can hear any noisy activity in the
banque t hall.


  1. THRONE ROOM


l


At the end of a short stretch of corridor, another archway
opens into a larger area. Here, the floor is tiled indigo
and the walls dark blue. On the north side, a massive,
ornately carved throne rises from a pale blue dais.
Pale blue marble pillars stand to the east and west. The
dais is of the same pale blue marble, while the throne is
black coral. The ceiling is t iled in pale blue.

Assuming the occupants have no t le ft. read:

j On the throne sits an oversized sahuagin. This creature


has four arms. In his right upper hand, he holds a large
trident. His two lower hands grip the arms of his throne.
Floating next to the throne, on the creature's right-
hand side, is an adult female sahuagin holding a long
staff tipped with a jumble of shark jaws and teeth.
In front of the throne and at the foot of the dais , three
adult sahuagin float with their backs to you. Two float
with bodies held rigid, while the third pleads before

1 the throne.






The sahuagin speaking to the baron is complaining
about offensive r em arks made by anothe r sahuagin. The
sahuagin wants tb e baron to punis h the offender. The
ba ron is growing impatient with the pettiness and is
cl ose to feeding all involve d partie s to the Maw of Seko-
lah in are a 37.

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