Saltmarsh
Saltmarsh is a nondescript fishing village tucked away on the south-eastern coast of the Stahlic Empire in the Principality of Keoland ruled by House Skotti.
History
Despite the wealth brought in from military campaigns to other areas of the principality, the southern coastal regions of Keoland suffered and remained a backwater. House Skotti’s benign neglect allowed piracy and banditry to flourish. Saltmarsh and similar towns kept to fishing, content to maintain a low profile and avoid governmental entanglements. A generation ago, the pirates who prowled the waters off Saltmarsh grew strong enough to create their own realm, a loose confederacy known as the Hold of the Sea Princes. With the rise of that nation came increased raids on Saltmarsh and its neighbors. The Sea Princes’ raiding ships pillaged the coast for more slaves to support their growing realm, and Saltmarsh suffered heavily. The memories of those times loom heavily over the area, and the locals’ hatred of the Sea Princes runs deep.Recent Events
With the world closing in, Elector Prince Kimbertos Skotti looked to the south and saw unchecked banditry and a rising pirate nation. The prince raised a navy, and dealt a sharp check to the ambitions of the Sea Princes — but the conflict is by no means over. Now decades later, the tides carry new whispers of an ambitious Pirate King uniting the Sea Princes once again. Prince Skotti has decreed that the pirates must be put down, the sea lanes secured, and trade cultivated. If Keoland cannot prosper as a military force, it must grow mightier as a center of trade. Saltmarsh, remote though it might be from the center of power in Keoland, is entering a new phase of its life as it reacts to the prince’s plans. His agents want to expand the village’s port and make it a prime location for trade with the world beyond. In another recent development, a band of dwarves — bearing a decree from the prince himself — have arrived and begun to excavate the hills and seaside cliffs near town, in search of brimstone. If their work bears fruit as expected, the mine stands to become a major factor in the village’s — and, indeed, the entire region’s — prosperity. Naturally, not all of Saltmarsh’s residents feel the same way about the recent developments in and around their community, which is the key issue that affects their lives and livelihood. Although the recent changes stand to bring new prosperity to the area, many locals don’t want to see their home changed.
Type
Village
Location under
Included Locations
Owner/Ruler
Related Reports (Primary)
Related Plots