CHAPTER 3: DANGER AT DUNWATER
HE DISCOVERY THAT A COLONY OF LIZARDFOLK
lies near the small fishing town of Saltmarsh
and is purchasing weaponry considered
sophisticated by lizard folk standards has
alarmed the Saltmarsh Town Council.
Greatly troubled and filled with apprehension.
the councillors call an emergency meeting.
This adventure is designed for a group of four to six
3rd-level characters.Background
The characters are not required to have finished The
Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh before playing Danger at
Dunwater. If they arrive in Saltmarsh after the events of
the prior adventure, they learn the following information
from the townsfolk:- A smuggling ring operating out of an abandoned
house has been disbanded. - The smugglers were slain or jailed.
The smugglers were supplying weapons to a tribe
of lizardfolk that have established a colony near
Saltmarsh.
When the councillors discover that a seasoned group
of adventurers has arrived in town, they send a message
to the characters inviting them to a meeting. The council
hopes to hire them to investigate the lizardfolk lair and
learn why the creatures are arming themselves. The
council's main priority in the context of this adventure is
to keep the town safe from a possible lizardfolk attack.
Judging from a crude map found aboard the smug-
glers' vessel and from information provided by the
sea elf Oceanus, it seems likely that the lizardfolk are
preparing for war. The council members hope that the
townspeople are not the intended target, but they greatly
fear th_is possibility.
ADVENTURERS NEEDED
The s ite of the lizardfolk colony has been tentatively
identified as a coastal promontory adjacent to a small
river, the Dunwater, some ten miles southwest of Salt-
marsh. The council considers it essential that a scouting
party be sent to reconnoiter the area and ascertain the
strength and size of this colony, as well as the intentions
of the lizard folk. The characters (whether or not they
are veterans of the previous adventure) are approached
to undertake this mission.
The leader of the council impresses upon the charac-
ters that they are not required to act with hostile intent-
in fact, quite the opposite. Their assignment is one of in-
formation gathering, with the additional hope that they
can return with knowledge of what the lizardfolk are up
to. A reward of 700 gp is offered for the successful com-
pletion of the mission.THE TRUE THREAT
The people of Saltmarsh, and of course the characters,
are unaware of the true situation as the adventure gets
under way. The lizardfolk are not preparing for war
against Saltmarsh, but against a much more sinister
presence: the sahuagin.
Just over a year ago, a colony of lizard folk were driven
from their home by an invasion of sahuagin. Forced to
find a temporary home, they restored an old lizard folk
stronghold that had been abandoned for decades.
Determined to recapture their home, the lizardfolk
have been busily purchasing arms and negotiating an al-
liance with other nearby aquatic races. The lizardfolk's
main purpose is to form an army to expel the sahuagin
from the area. In so doing, they hope to discourage the
sahuagin from ever again intruding on the region.
The lizardfolk have not approached Saltmarsh with an
offer to join the alliance because Othokent, their queen,
considers humans and other land-dwelling races as of
little use in a battle to be fought largely underwater.
Ambassadors from the koalinth. the locathah, and
the merfolk are present in the Iizardfolk lair. The sea
elves were not invited to join the alliance because of
long-standing disputes between them and the koalinth-
even in the face of the sahuagin threat. no cooperation is
possible between chese two peoples. The Iizardfolk, con-
cluding that the koalinth are the stronger tribe, invited
them to participate rather than the elves.
Members of these four races have come together.
overlooking their previous rivalries and differences, to
negotiate an agreement of cooperation. But even as the
lizardfolk strive to hold their alliance together in the
face of a common foe, the bonds are beginning to fray.
How the characters perform their mission, and what
sort of relationship they establish with the Iizardfolk on
behalf of Saltmarsh, will determine if the coalition has
any chance of success.FRIEND FROM THE DEEP
If the characters freed Oceanus from his cell aboard the
Sea Ghost in The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh, the elf offers
to join them in their expedition to the lizardfolk lair. His
skills in combat and knowledge of the seas and the dark
things that dwell there might prove invaluable to the party.
He recognizes and Identifies the sahuagin remains in the
lair. He takes an equal share of both treasure and experi·
ence points.
Alternatively, Oceanus might have allied with the town
council previously and offers to join the characters as they
embark for the lizardfolk lair.
What He Wonts. Oceanus wants to discover the truth
behind the lizardfolk's purchase of smuggled weapons and
armor. Like the town council, he initially sees the lizardfolk
as a potential threat.