Background
Supported by thick wooden stilts driven deep into the harbor mud, the Empty Net is the roughest, loudest, and most dangerous tavern in Saltmarsh. The air reeks of salt, spilled ale, and seaweed smoke. Inside, dim lanterns sway from rusted hooks, and the warped floorboards creak beneath the weight of smugglers, sailors, and dockside thugs who drink and brawl beneath the low rafters.
History
A century ago, during the Azure Tide, the west bank of the Kingfisher River served as a humble boat-repair yard. As the war dragged on, it quietly became a smuggling den, trading in secret with the Sea Princes under cover of night.
When the war ended and Saltmarsh was incorporated into the Kingdom of Keoland, the west bank fell just beyond the town’s official boundary and, more importantly, outside the reach of the Town Council’s taxes. Around the same time, the Green Market opened across the river, and many traders hoping to dodge the new stall levies moved their dealings westward.
The old docks were soon overrun with thugs, sailors, smugglers, and discontented fishermen, men who preferred their business unregistered and their coin untaxed. From that chaos, the Empty Net was born.
The West Bank
The west bank of Saltmarsh remains a legal gray zone.
It lies outside the council’s taxing authority, so no tariffs or town levies are collected here.
However, it still falls under the ultimate jurisdiction of Keoland’s crown, meaning the garrison stationed in Saltmarsh can act here, though rarely does, unless directly ordered.
This uneasy balance has allowed both the Green Market and the Empty Net to thrive just beyond the council’s grasp. Officially, the crown’s law applies. In practice, the garrison only intervenes when someone dies or when politics demands a show of force.
Modern Era
In recent decades, the Empty Net has become a stronghold for smugglers and Sea Prince sympathizers, a refuge for those who resent Keoland’s oversight. The Loyalists avoid the place entirely, and the guards only step foot inside when summoned. As long as the chaos stays within its walls, the crown’s men look the other way.
Still, the Empty Net is more than a den of drunks. It is the beating heart of Saltmarsh’s underworld a gathering place for pirates, fences, and informants who thrive in the murky space between law and loyalty. Deals are whispered over rum, fortunes are gambled on dice, and secrets are traded as easily as gold.
Adventure Hooks
The Heist Job
Quest Type: Heist / Infiltration
Reward: Equal share of the stolen treasure or future favor with the Smugglers and Gellan Primewater
Word spreads that Kreb and Long John are looking for discreet specialists.
The job: infiltrate the vault of the Dwarven Mining Company and steal whatever they can: silver, gold, or raw gems.
The smugglers will provide detailed plans, including patrol schedules, trap placements, and even a hidden route through an old well shaft that leads directly beneath the vault. The offer starts at a 50/50 split, but the party can negotiate.
The job is funded by Gellan Primewater, though his name never appears in writing. If discovered, he’ll deny everything and the adventurers will be hunted by both dwarves and the garrison.
Smuggling & Fencing
Smuggling along the coast has grown increasingly bold in recent months. The discovery of the dwarven mine near Saltmarsh has drawn the attention of thieves, opportunists, and worse. Shipments of ore, silver, and uncut gems have begun “disappearing” between the mines and the Saltmarsh docks. A single rare gemstone or gold bar fetches staggering prices across the sea in the black markets of Port Torvin, the infamous den of corruption known as the Styes.
Kreb Shenker quietly operates as a fence for stolen goods, moving small but valuable contraband through the tavern’s backroom deals. Few realize he does so on behalf of Gellan Primewater, who uses Kreb to launder and move illicit cargo while maintaining his veneer of respectability on the Town Council.
On moonless nights, the tavern grows unusually calm. Small skiffs glide silently from the Empty Net, laden with stolen goods. They row north along the coast to the sea caves beneath the Ruined Tower of Zenopus, where smugglers secretly load the cargo onto waiting pirate longboats. These vessels then slip out under the cliffs and rendezvous with Sea Prince ships anchored off Abbey Island. From there, the treasure vanishes across the sea, bound for the black docks of Port Torvin.
Rumors at the Empty Net
Rumor Table
d12 | About | Rumor |
|---|---|---|
1 | Abbey Island – “The Pirate’s Payback” | “They say the Sea Princes torched that abbey after the clerics cheated them. The priests thought their skeleton guards would keep ’em safe—hah! Pirates cut through the bones and burned the place to the ground. Word is, there's treasure buried under the ash.” |
2 | Ruined Tower of Zenopus – “Goblins in the Caves” | “A pair o’ crabbers swore they saw torchlight movin’ near the old Zenopus ruin. Goblins, they say—creepin’ out at night through the sea caves. Others whisper there’s far worse things lurkin’ deeper under that cursed tower.” |
3 | Bale Keep – “The Soldiers Who Never Returned” | “Bale Keep still stands along the coast, black as pitch. You can see it from the sea, but no one dares land there. No garrison’s held it since Azure’s Tide, near a hundred years ago. A band of smugglers tried to use it once—none ever made it back to their ship.” |
4 | Raven Rocks – “The Wreck of the Marshall” | “The Marshall, a missionary ship of St. Cuthbert’s faithful, went down off Raven Rocks. Some say her hull’s still there, creakin’ in the depths, guarded by somethin’ foul that don’t take kindly to divers.” |
5 | Angler Island – “The Deep Nets” | “You want real fishin’? Go south o’ Angler Island. The water’s black and deep and full o’ beasts that bite clean through steel hooks. Best sea fishin’ you’ll ever find—if you don’t end up the catch.” |
6 | Crab Key – “Justice of the Sea Princes” | “Crab Key off the Eel Coast’s where the Sea Princes drop their traitors. Giant crabs big as wagons roam the sands, and the eels in those shallows can strip a man to bone before he screams.” |
7 | Port Torvin (The Styes) – “City of Shadows” | “Port Torvin used to be the jewel of the Azure Sea—silks, spices, all the sins coin could buy. After Azure’s Tide, the place rotted from the inside. Now it’s cutthroats, smugglers, and worse. They call it the Styes, and that name fits.” |
8 | Black Drain – “The River That Eats Boats” | “Heard another ship was lost to the Black Drain—headed up the Javan, never seen again. No boat’s ever come out the other side. Smart captains hug the west bank and pray.” |
9 | Keoland Navy – “Tyrant Islands” | “Sailor from Seaton sayin’ the Keoland navy’s been sighted off the Tyrants, runnin’ sea drills. They haven’t been that far south since the Battle of Jetsam Island that ended the war. Looks like trouble’s brewin’ again.” |
10 | Westkeep – “Drums on the River” | “A crew out of Newick on a riverboat swears Westkeep’s on high alert. Sounds like war’s on the horizon—maybe the crown’s lookin’ south again.” |
11 | Dwarven Gold – “The Lost Caravan” | “Overheard some miners say the crown sent a caravan o’ gold from the dwarven mine—enough to forge six new warships. Never reached the Keep. Vanished leaving out of Nine Oaks. Folks say the Hool Marsh took it… or somethin’ in it did.” |
12 | The Sea Princes – “Old Powers Rising” | “They say the Princes are stirrin’ again—new captains, new flags, and new gold changin’ hands in the Styes. Some folk say they’re rebuildin’ the fleet. Others say they never lost it.” |