- 'TEMPORARY BARRACKS
l
North of the entrance, this vast cavern immediately
opens into an area bounded to the south by a ledge along
which plain pillars support the roof high above. Beyond
that ledge, the area becomes a natural sea cave. Thick
beds of seaweed grow along nearly every part of the
south wall. The walls and roof arch high above.
In the center of the worked area, a flight of steps leads
down to the south. Beyond, in the center of the cave's
south wall, a metal gate lies across a cave mouth.
Many bulging canvas sacks lie along the north wall.
An enormous force of sahuagin occupies this cavern.This area will eventually house the drill hall and assem-
bly area for the fortress. but at present sixty-eight sa-
huagi n are barracked here, awaiting the completion and
flooding of their accommodations on level 1.
The occupants include forty-five sahuagin. ten sa-
huagio coral sm ashers, seven sahuagin champions.
four sahuagin deep divers, and two sahuagin wave
shapers (see appendix C for all but the sahuagin). The
sahuagin in this area are socializing, performing drills,
or r esting in the seaweed beds. Six shell sharks (see
appendix C) also swim in the cavern, close to the roof
of the natural area to the south. Shoals of tiny silver fish
dart about here and there, obstructing vision in places.
Gate. The gate barring the cave mouth is an ex-
tra-large device,^20 feet wide by^20 feet high. Its mech-
anism is correspondingly larger than others elsewhere.
The bronze gate is normally closed (down). though it can
be raised and lowered by one of two chain and pulley
mechanisms. One is fastened to the wall on the inside
of the cavern, to the east of the cave mouth. The other
is outside the cavern, also to the east of the cave mouth.
Under normal circumstances, it takes 3 rounds to raise
or lower the gate, but an emergency device can drop the
gate in a split second with a muffled clang (not audible
on this level other than in areas^58 and 59).
The gate (AC^18 ,^100 hit points, damage threshold^14 )
can be forced open by a character who makes a success-
ful DC^20 Strength (Athletics) check.
Treasure. Each sahuagin has a leather pouch con-
taining^12 sp. Ten canvas sacks contain the personal
possessions of the champions: a total of^860 ep. twelve
uncut gems of various sorts (10 gp each). and a variety of
personal items with no monetary value.- OLD Gu A RD RooM
The passage opens into a small chamber. On the oppo·
site side, another passage leads out of the room.This room and the nearby passages have not been al-
tered by the sahuagin. They are roughly hewn from the
rock and display none of th e precision that characterizes
sahuagin construction.Conclusion
If the adventurers achieve their objectives and return
safely to Saltmarsh. they receive a hero's welcome. They
are granted Saltmarsh citizenship, and a house is set
aside for them to use, rent-free, whenever they wish.
If you want to continue the story, proceed with the
''The Assault." That information assumes that the char-
acters take on a role in the upcoming invasion of the
stronghold and provides guidance on how to play out
those events. If you and the group want to move on to
other challenges instead, a full-scale assault on the for-
tress takes place about fourteen days after they return to
Saltmarsh. The sahuagin are wiped out and their plans
destroyed, thus removing the threat to the town and the
races l iving in the area. The lizard folk return to their
home and, though the Saltmarsh militia suffers losses.
the area settles down to its former peaceful ways.T H E ASSAULT
Because of the characters' familiarity with the sahuagin
fortress and their obvious skill at staying alive, the Salt-
marsh council involves them in the their battle plans.THE PLAN
The allied forces have devised a simple but effective
plan. They begin with an attack by Saltmarsh's militia
against the entrance (area 1). Once the sahuagin commit
troops to the defense of th e gate, the aquatic factions of
the alliance will attack through th e entrances on level 3.
The humans will then keep the sahuagin busy on level
l while their allies sweep through the lower levels and
eventually crush the defenders in a pincer attack.
The Saltmarsh council explains that the characters'
role is to serve as a strike force, disrupting the sahuagin
defenses and slaying as many foes as possible before the
main force engages the enemy. A cunning party should
have the chance to take out numerous defenders, open
the gate in area 1. and slay sahuagin leaders. possibly
without ever raising an alert. It's a daunting task. but the
party has their allies' full confidence.RESOURCES
Before being ferried from to a landing point near the
sahuagin fortress. the Saltmarsh council provides the
characters with 1 potion of invisibility and 1 potion
of gaseous form for each party member. The council
makes it clear that these items are on loan to the party
and that they expect the return of any unused items.THE ATTACK
The allied forces are destined for victory, but th eir de·
gree of success is yet to be determined. Success in the
battle is determined by how many victory points the
characters accrue during their infiltration. Every time
the party defeats a foe or achieves a strategic goal, they
gain victory points. as detailed on the following table.
Keep a running total of how many victory points the
party earns during their incursion. If the group caused
particular damage to the sahuagin fortress on their first
visit, feel free to grant them a discret ionary 5 to^15 vic-
tory points based on the scope of the destruction.1 11 \PT t R h I II L f I'>: \I I NE \I' 1~7