Crabber's Cove

Broken stone walls rise from the sand, warn by a century of wind and waves. The ruins stretch along the rough coastline. A narrow set of weathered stone steps climbs the cliffside, disappearing toward a lone shanty above.

Small sand crabs skitter across the beach, darting into cracks and shadows. A few drag dead fish and strands of seaweed across the tide line, vanishing among the rubble as the surf crashes behind them.

The place feels abandoned… but not entirely still.

Crab Swarm at Dusk

As dusk falls, the beach becomes alive with movement, thousands of sand crabs swarm inland toward the ruins. They appear fleeing from the sea, as though something deep beneath the waves has disturbed them.

Night Encounters

After sunset, 1d4 giant crabs linger in the shallows of the breakwater, waiting to feed.

• Any character on the beach at night risks an encounter with 1d4 giant crabs.

• Tracks and drag marks in the sand hint at previous attacks.

Crabber Encounter (Dusk Only, 50% Chance)

A lone crabber may be found collecting crabs in a bucket.
He warns the party:

• “Best clear out before dark—this place turns dangerous fast.”

• If asked about the cliff shanty:

  • “No one goes up there. Folks say it’s haunted by the families who died when the storm took this place. Best leave the dead alone.”

He knows nothing about the Scarlet Brotherhood or the cellar.

Grey, weathered boards make up the walls, their gaps leaking thin slivers of light. Cobwebs cling to the rafters, sagging like old nets.

A crumbling stone fireplace looms on the far wall. Broken furniture lies scattered in piles, as if the room collapsed in on itself over time. In the center, a rough wooden table stands amid the debris, surrounded by crates as makeshift chairs.

Everything smells of damp wood and abandonment.

Yet despite the decay, the space feels… watched, its stillness heavier than an empty room should be.

Door & Windows

• Front Door: The door is stuck from age and warping, but can be forced open with a bit of effort.

• Windows: All windows are boarded up. The boards can be pried loose with tools (crowbar, pry bar, etc.).

Signs of Recent Use

Though the shanty appears abandoned at first glance, a closer look tells another story:

• The central table and crates used as chairs show no dust, unlike the rest of the room.

• The floor around the table is slightly disturbed.

• Insight or Investigation (DC 12–13):

  • Reveals that the room was used recently, within the last few days or weeks.

  • Whoever met here took deliberate care not to disturb anything else, keeping the shanty convincingly abandoned.

This is the first subtle clue that the shanty has a secret purpose.

Scarlet Brotherhood Activity

The Scarlet Brotherhood secretly uses the shanty for clandestine meetings.

• Meeting Frequency: Once a month, only on moonless nights, at the dead hour (1 a.m.).

• Primary Attendees:

  • Skerrin Wavechaser, the Brotherhood’s hidden handler in Saltmarsh.

  • Cyrus, the assassin who works quietly at the Empty Net.

• Additional Members: Occasionally, other Brotherhood agents attend depending on ongoing operations in town.

The Brotherhood never suspects the cellar below; they believe the building to be mundane, abandoned, and spiritually “avoided” by local superstition.

A thorough search of the shanty (DC 15 Investigation) reveals a trapdoor cleverly concealed beneath warped floorboards and debris.

• It is extremely old, swollen with moisture, and stuck fast.

• Opening it requires effort; prying tools, leverage, or repeated attempts.

• Inform players that the trapdoor’s condition makes it clear it has not been opened in decades, possibly a century.

Secret History.
No one in Saltmarsh, not even the Scarlet Brotherhood, knows the cellar’s true purpose or what lies within. The Brotherhood believes the shanty is merely a remote and forgotten meeting site.