Page 80 - ghosts-of-saltmarsh

Treasure. One chest holds the following items: a Sauriv has the statistics of a lizardfolk noble. with
set of leather straps and belts with silver buckles and these changes:
adorned with coral (10 gp). a Oask of perfumed oil (5 gp),
• Sau riv is lawful neutral.
a silk scarf (3 gp). and a purse containing 50 ep.
• His Armor Class is 13 (natural armor).
The second chest holds the following items: a silver
• He has a swimming speed of 30 feet, and he can hold
mirror (10 gp), a flask of perfumed oil (5 gp), a bolt of
his breath for 15 minutes.
velvet cloth (20 gp), and a purse containing 50 ep.
He has a Wisdom score of l 8 (+4).
The bowl. the decanter, and the two goblets are made
His skills are Deception +7, lnsight +6, Persuasion +7.
of silver and are worth 10 gp, 5 gp, and 3 gp each, re-
His passive Perception score is 14, and he has disad-
spectively.
vantage on all Wisdom (Perception) checks.
He speaks Draconic and Common.
36. ROYAL BATH
Sauriv is extremely wise. and it is due to his inspira-
tion that the strategy of forging an alliance against the
This bare, stone-flagged room features a twenty-foot· sahuagin was devised. He arranged for the purchase of
square pool of clear water at its center. The floor of the the weapons the Sea Ghost has been transporting (as
pool is stepped to provide easy access. related in The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh).
His appearance betrays his age. His teeth and claws
are stained and blunted, his eyesight is fading, and his
The steps into the pool are between 2 and 6 inches high. senses of hearing and smell have lost their acuity. He
Clear, warm water fills the pool, though it is not possi- wears a large gold chain (200 gp) around his neck.
ble for the characters to see to the bottom at the center. Development. Before any conversation about the
where the water is 15 feet deep. The lizardfolk common- alliance or the sahuagin can occur, the minister must
ers, if they Aed from area 35, are hiding in that location. be satisfied that the characters are not allied with the
sahuagin. As long as the characters haven't been unnec·
37. ROYAL HATCHERY
essarily brutal in their treatment of other lizardfolk. he
• reaches this conclusion if any character makes a suc-
cessful DC 10 Charisma (Persuasion) check. But if they
It is noticeably warmer in this area. The walls and ceiling
have slain any lizard folk, the DC of this check increases
of the room are unremarkable, and the floor is cov·
by 2 for each victim.
ered in mud.
On a successful check, the minister is satisfied that
the characters are not in league with the sahuagin, and
gives them information about the planned attack on the
The warm mud on the floor is 6 inches deep. Buried in
sahuagin lair. Further, he offers to arrange an immedi-
the mud are twelve lizardfolk eggs (not visible above
ate meeting between the characters and the queen. with
the surface). These are the queen's eggs, which are very
the purpose of bringing humans into the alliance.
valuable to her. Unlike with the eggs in the hatchery
On a failed check. or if the characters are noncom-
(area 25), the characters might succeed if they attempt
mitcal about their relationship with sahuagin {or if they
to use these eggs as bargaining tools.
pretend they are friendly with them), the minister makes
38. MINISTER'S QUARTERS no mention of the alliance or the impending assault.
Instead, he excuses himself and goes to area 40 to warn
the queen of the presence of intruders. Guards return to
This is a small, comfortable room. In the center is a cir· area 38 to accompany the characters to the drill hall.
cular wooden table on which lies a closed book. To one In this event, if the characters do not cooperate and
resist attempts to take them into custody, their mission
side of the table, an aged lizard folk occupies a crudely
ends in failure. The queen immediately orders her fol-
upholstered armchair. To the other side, a plain wooden
lowers to hunt down and kill or capture the party- the
chair sits empty. In the northwest corner, a brass tripod
chance of encountering a patrol in the corridors of the
supports a brass bowl filled with hot coals. The room is lair increases from 1 in 12 every 10 minutes (see ·'Pa-
warm and smoky. trols in the Lair"') to 1 in 2 every 5 minutes.
Reading Materials. The scroll the old lizard folk min-
ister peruses is written in Common and was sent by the
Seated in the armchair. reading a papyrus scroll. is the
local locathah chief to the lizard folk queen. 1t identifies
queen's leading advisor and by far the most intelligent
the J ocathah currently present in the lair as the chief's
lizardfolk in the lair: the aged minister, Sauriv. The
ambassadors and authorizes them to act on his behalf in
minister does not fight, even in self-defense, and can be
all matters pertaining to the alliance. 1t has no specifics
slain without undue effort. His first reaction to intrud-
regarding tbe nature of the alliance or those against
ers, assuming he is not immediately attacked, will be
whom the alliance is directed: the word ·'sahuagin" is
one of mild surprise, asking them who they are. where
never used.
they come from, who sent them. and so forth. He knows
The book on the table. Power Politics by Abel Mackie.
they are not ambassadors. for he has made no arrange-
is written in Common. It discusses the trickier and
ments with humans. Nevertheless. he is amiable and
more devious side of political life. It can be sold for 5 gp.
willing to talk.
I' II A 1'1 ER J U \ N <.(:;I< AT D l ... \\ \ 1F R