NPCs
Kreb Shenker
Owner of the Empty Net
(NE male human thug)
Description
A broad-shouldered man with a jagged scar on his check, calculating gaze. Kreb’s hides a short temper and a habit of solving problems with his fists or by tossing offenders over the railing. He dresses in sea-worn leathers and always smells faintly of salt and rum.
Role
Kreb runs the Empty Net, Saltmarsh’s roughest tavern and an unofficial hub for smuggling and black-market trade. He serves as a go-between for smugglers, fences, and pirates, making introductions, brokering deals, and ensuring everyone pays their dues. For the right price, he can arrange meetings with Sea Prince agents or “find” goods not available on the open market.
Background
A former dockside worker and smuggler, Kreb bought the Empty Net with coin earned running contraband for the Sea Princes. He turned the tavern into neutral ground for anyone with business too dirty for daylight. He has quietly built a fortune through kickbacks, secrets, and fear.
Personality
Cynical, sharp, and practical. Kreb values gold over loyalty but respects competence and nerve. He tolerates chaos so long as it earns him coin, but once trouble threatens his profits, he acts fast and decisively. Behind his friendly bartender charm lies a ruthless survivor who knows every secret whispered in Saltmarsh.
Faction
Allegiance: Traditionalist-aligned, loyal to profit above all.
Kreb deals freely with smugglers tied to the Sea Princes and keeps quiet arrangements with Councilor Gellan Primewater, fencing stolen goods under the guise of “imports.” The Loyalists suspect him of criminal dealings but lack proof.
Faction Role: Broker, fence, and informant. Kreb can connect the party to black market contacts, smuggling jobs, or Sea Prince agents—but every favor comes with a price.
Cyrus
Odd-job Man, Secret Assassin
(LE male human assassin)
Description
A thin, pale man with a habit of avoiding attention. Cyrus moves quietly through the Empty Net, sweeping floors and clearing tables and used to being ignored. His voice is low, his smile faint, and few can recall what he looks like a day later.
Role
To the tavern’s regulars, Cyrus is harmless, the quiet cleaner who works for coppers. In truth, he is an assassin of the Scarlet Brotherhood, sent to observe Saltmarsh’s factions and eliminate threats to their designs. He uses his position to overhear gossip, map loyalties, and report secrets through coded notes smuggled out by Kedge’s boats.
When orders come, Cyrus kills with precision and vanishes back into obscurity.
Background
Cyrus arrived in Saltmarsh years ago, a stranger who simply appeared and never left. The Brotherhood placed him here as a long-term observer, trusting his patience and subtlety. Over time, his quiet diligence earned Kreb’s trust and near invisibility to everyone else.
To most, he’s a fixture of the tavern, the man who’s always there, never speaking, never leaving early.
Personality
Quiet, precise, and unnervingly calm. Cyrus rarely speaks unless spoken to, and when he does, his tone is polite but empty. He views most people as tools, useful, expendable, or obstacles. Loyal to the Brotherhood, his personal code is efficiency and anonymity.
He never starts fights, but if cornered, he moves like a knife in the dark.
Faction
Allegiance: Scarlet Brotherhood (covert agent).
Cyrus is the Brotherhood’s hidden assassin in Saltmarsh. He monitors local politics and reports through Kedge’s smuggling routes, uses coded ledgers to transmit intelligence. Even Kreb Shenker remains unaware of his true allegiance.
Faction Role: Assassin, informant, and sleeper agent. Cyrus can be used as a silent observer, reluctant ally, or unseen enemy depending on the party’s ties to Saltmarsh’s factions.
Long John
Retired Pirate, Sea Prince Agent
(CN male human veteran)
Description
A old sailor with sun leather skin, a crooked grin, and a salt-stiff beard. Long John’s clothes are threadbare but once fine, a faded coat with tarnished brass buttons and an old tricorn hat he never removes indoors. His sea-weathered face and tired eyes make him look half-drunk or half-asleep, but there’s a sharp cunning beneath the slur.
Role
Long John is a retired boatswain of the Sea Princes who spends his nights at the same corner stool at the bar near the window, muttering to gulls and drinking Torvin Dark Rum. Most take him for a harmless drunk, but in truth, he’s the Sea Princes’ eyes and ears in Saltmarsh.
He passes coded messages through messages tied to the gulls or through the words hidden in his sea shanties (songs and stories). When contraband or valuable loot surfaces, he arranges the rendezvous between smugglers, Kedge’s boats, and Sea Prince ships anchored off Abbey Island.
Background
Once a boatswain aboard The Fury’s Wake, Long John sailed under the Sea Princes. He decided to settle in Saltmarsh, preferring the company of rum to the hangman’s noose. Though he claims to be retired, he still maintains quiet communication with Monmurg captains, sending word when Saltmarsh has goods worth taking or men worth recruiting. Few remember him as anything more than a joke, and that suits him fine.
Personality
Clever, sardonic, and full of salt. Long John hides his intelligence behind drunken rambling and half-sung sea tales. Beneath the act, he’s observant, pragmatic, and fiercely loyal to the freedom of the sea. He trusts few, but respects courage, cunning, and a good bluff.
He plays the fool, but when his eyes sharpen, the act drops and the old pirate resurfaces.
Faction
Allegiance: Sea Princes (informant and recruiter).
Long John serves as a liaison between the Sea Princes and Saltmarsh smugglers, often coordinating with Kreb Shenker and Kedge. He occasionally brokers small deals for profit, but larger hauls particularly from the dwarven mine or Abbey Island he reserves for his old masters.
Faction Role: Spy, recruiter, and quest hook. Long John can introduce the party to the Sea Princes’ smuggling network, offer illicit jobs, or draw them into the tangled politics between pirates, nobles, and the crown.
Kedge
Clever Smuggler and Boatman
(NE male human bandit)
Description
A weather-beaten man with rough skin and a scruffy beard. Kedge dresses in patched wool and oilcloth, always smelling faintly of tar and river mud. His eyes dart constantly, measuring every word and movement around him. When he speaks, it’s in short and succinct, often to himself or to his battered small rowboat, Old Faithful, which he treats like a companion.
At night, the glow of his lantern can be seen drifting beneath Sharkfin Bridge, where he lives.
Role
Kedge is the courier and smuggler who keeps Saltmarsh’s underworld moving. He ferries stolen goods between the Empty Net, Sharkfin Bridge, and Sea Prince ships anchored off the coast. He’s fast, discreet, and knows every current, sandbar, and guard rotation along the harbor.
His shanty beneath Sharkfin Bridge doubles as a stash point and safehouse for contraband. Many deals arranged by Kreb Shenker or Long John rely on Kedge’s boatwork to reach their destination.
Background
Once a fisherman, Kedge turned to smuggling when the sea grew lean and taxes rose. Years of dodging patrols made him cautious and cunning. The Sea Princes trust his reliability, and Kreb tolerates him because his work keeps coin flowing quietly through Saltmarsh.
Kedge lives alone beneath Sharkfin bridge in a shack cobbled together from driftwood, sails, and stolen planks. Inside, clever compartments hide maps, coin, bottles of rare rum, and crates marked with other merchants’ brands. He’s no killer, but he’ll fight if cornered and knows how to disappear into the fog when things go bad.
Personality
Cagey, pragmatic, and superstitious. Kedge is loyal to his work, not his clients. He doesn’t ask questions, and he expects the same courtesy in return. He talks more to his skiff than to people, muttering about “the tide knowing secrets.” Despite his solitary nature, he keeps quiet tabs on Cyrus and Kreb, knowing both are more dangerous than they appear.
He respects the sea and hates the law, but he’ll deal with anyone who pays and keeps quiet.
Faction
Allegiance: Sea Princes (smuggler and courier), with ties to the Empty Net.
Kedge’s smuggling runs connect the Sea Princes, Kreb Shenker’s operation, and Cyrus’s Brotherhood network, although he is not aware of the Brotherhood, he thinks they are just some smugglers or traders. He moves coded messages, stolen goods, and the occasional fugitive between factions without loyalty to any.
Faction Role: Smuggler, messenger, and bridge contact. Kedge can serve as:
A contact or guide for illicit travel along the coast.
A quest hook for contraband runs or lost cargo recoveries.
A narrative link between the Empty Net and Sharkfin Bridge locations.
A careful search of his shanty reveals hidden compartments stuffed with stolen trade goods, maps, and Sea Prince insignia evidence that could expose the entire Saltmarsh smuggling network.