Ghosts of Saltmarsh

(Nancy Kaufman) #1

  1. BARON'S SLEEPING QUARTERS



  • This room is tiled in a rich, deep green. The walls are
    frescoed with representations of marine plant life. A large
    seaweed bed fills the northwest corner. There is a spear
    propped against the wall in the southwest corner. In the
    center of the east wall hangs a mirror with a filigree metal
    frame. Below it is a large coffer. its lid dosed.


A character who makes a successful DC 14 Wisdom
(Perception) check notices the secret door in this room.
Baron's Coffer. The coffer has a keyhole meant to
trick would-be thieves. There is no lock behind the
keyhole the actual locking mechanism is a slot hidden
under the lid of the coffer. This slot cannot be opened
by using thieves' tools. A character who succeeds on a
DC 16 I ntell igence (Investigation) check notices the slot
and realizes that the coffer is trapped. The trap can be
disarmed by a character who makes a successful DC
16 Dexterity check using thieves' tools. A lso. slidi ng the
medallion found in area 46 into the slot disarms the trap
and opens the coffer.
Attempting to pick the keyhole or opening the chest
without disarming the trap triggers the trap. If the trap
is triggered, a large blade swings out, slicing anyone
within 5 feet of the coffer. Creatures caught in the
blade's path must make a successful DC^16 Dexterity
saving throw. taking^18 (4d8) slashing damage on a
failed save or half the damage on a successful one.
The coffer contains the following items:
A leather harness adorned with small rubies and plati-
num buckles (75 gp)
A canvas bag with 20 pp
An ornately carved stone box contafoing six portions
of rapture weed (see the sidebar)


  • A si lver frame (25 gp) holding a portrait of the baron-
    ess pai nted in oil
    A statuette of a shark made from gold (200 gp)


FORTRESS LEVEL 3
This level is submerged in cold (but not frigid) seawater.
The following locations are identified on map 6 .3.

48.BARRACKS
Unless the characters conceal their arrival. they are no-
ticed before they reach the foot of the stairs.

The stairs descend into a barracks. At the foot of the
stairs, an archway leads out of the area to your right. A
swaying mass of seaweed fills the eastern side of the
room. Many coffers are set against the north and west
walls, their lids closed.
A large group of sahuagin warriors gather near the cen·
ter of the chamber. A hunched sahuagin floats near the
bottom of the stairs, its dark green robes waving gently
in the water.





A sahuagin champion is preparing four sahuagio coral
smashers for patrol duty (see appendix C for both). A
sahuagin wave shaper watches the formation from
near the foot of the stairs, and two sahuagio deep div-
ers are nearby (see appendix C for both). The group at-
tacks the characters when they become aware of them.
De velopment. Once the sahuagin spot the party, the
wave shaper tries to flee up the stairs to find help. The
characters farthest into the room can prevent its escape
if the players state their intentions quickly enough. Exer-
cise care. for even ifthe two upper levels have been com-
pletely cleared of sahuagin, there are enough sahuagin
in various parts of this level to devastate the party.
If the wave shaper gets away. it returns to join the fight
along with a guard patrol (see "Patrols in the Lair'").
These forces arrive in this area 3d6 + 6 rounds after the
wave shaper makes its escape.
Treasure. There are thi rty-six coffers i n this room. A
long search of all the coffers turns up a total of^390 ep,
three dozen leather harnesses with simple copper buck-
les (J gp each), and an anemone stuck in a glass bottle.


  1. CHAMPIONS' ARMORY


Two stone racks run the length of this room, forming
aisles. The racks hold spears, tridents, and warhammers.

This armory contains the following equipment:
Six ornately carved spears
Six tridents. each with a pearl (10 gp) set into
the grip end
Eight warhammers with a shark motif carved
into the head
On the floor at the end of one of the racks is a small
metal cage divided into two chambers. One chamber
contains a gold-colored fighting-fish. In the second
chamber. a bright silver fighting-fish bobs leisurely. The
fish swim away if released.


  1. TORTURE CHAMBER AND DUNGEON
    The characters hear muted noise at the crossroads of
    areas 50 and 53. From the south come the sounds of
    spectators in the arena urging the combatants as they
    fight. From the north they hear an occasional scream
    from the locathah undergoing torture and the raucous
    noise of the torturers enjoying their pastime.


This long room has five doors spaced evenly along the
north wall, secured from this side with metal bars.
To your right, by the east wall, rests an untidy pile of
chains and manacles, leg irons, and bunches ofkeys.
To your left, you see several instruments of torture-a
wheel, a metal boot with catches and screws, a press,
and a rack. Three sahuagin with their backs to you attend
to their task, stretching a fish-like humanoid on the rack.
As you watch, a wheel is turned, the victim emits another
shriek, and the torturers hiss with pleasure.









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