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Grimy seaside · Medium · Medium

The Brine-Choked Sluice

Salt crusts the eyes of the living and the lungs of the dead.
Rooms
7
Foes
13, CR 1/8 to 5
Traps
5
Treasure
2,455 gp
1234567Entrance
Select a room on the plan to open it.

The party is in

1. The Drowning Gate

Seen

Something wanders by

At a glance

The threat

Tidecaller Vrekk and his Barnacle-Crusted Marrow-Eaters.

Wandering monsters (1d2)

  1. 1

    1d6× Salt-Encrusted ZombieCR 1/4

    When: A party member lingers in a flooded area for more than 10 minutes.The reanimated remains of guild workers, their skin replaced by thick crusts of salt.
  2. 2

    Giant OctopusCR 1

    When: A character falls into one of the intake vats or the central pool in Room 7.A massive cephalopod that has wandered in from the ocean through the intake pipes.

Rooms

7
1

The Drowning Gate

2 foes1 trapsecret

What they see

Read aloud

A massive iron portcullis blocks the sea-cave entrance, with waves crashing against its rusted bars. Barnacles cover every surface, and the floor is a treacherous slurry of sand and salt.

Features

  • Rusted iron portcullis
  • Slippery stone stairs
  • High-tide markings on the walls

What the GM knows

Monsters

2× Giant CrabCR 1/8

Enormous crustaceans with shells reinforced by bits of scavenged iron.Tactics. The crabs hide underwater near the gate and lunge at legs to drag victims into the surf.

Traps

Rising SurgeDC 12 bludgeoning

Every rounds, a massive wave crashes through the gate, knocking creatures prone.Disarm. Securing the gate with heavy chains or finding the lever in to close the external sea-baffle.
Room secrets · GM only

Notes

Rising water level makes this room difficult terrain after the first surge.

4 doors: N (normal), S (archway), W (locked), E (normal)

The place

What it is

A derelict industrial facility half-swallowed by the crashing surf.

Atmosphere

The air is heavy with the smell of rotting kelp and sharp, stinging salt.

The threat

Tidecaller Vrekk and his Barnacle-Crusted Marrow-Eaters.

History

Originally built by the Salt-Trade Guild to refine minerals using alchemical catalysts, the sluice was abandoned when rising tides made operations too dangerous.

Rumors

1d3
Roll a rumor

  1. 1The Screaming Sluice is actually haunted by the ghosts of the workers who were locked inside during a great storm.
  2. 2Tidecaller Vrekk has found a way to turn the salt into a drug that makes people loyal only to him.
  3. 3A legendary sunken ship's hold is actually connected to the bottom of the Grinding Vats.

Plot hooks

2
RecoveryThe Guildmaster's HeirA wealthy merchant wants his grandfather's signet ring recovered from the abandoned sluice.From: Lord HallowellReward: 500 gp and a favor from the guild.
EnvironmentalThe Poisoned TideLocal fishermen report the fish are coming up mutated and salty-black. They want the source of the pollution stopped.From: Fisherman JoryReward: A weathered treasure map leading to a nearby cove.

Corridors

2

  • Connecting and

    Rusty pipes leaking high-pressure steam that deal fire damage to those who touch them.

  • Connecting and

    A flight of stairs completely covered in slick, green algae requiring a Acrobatics check.

Media

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