Quick facts
Type: Coastal city · Also called: Salt Lake City · Known for: Tourism, beaches, the Saline Splendor Festival · Controlled by: Velvet Truffle Company, through puppet mayor Cedric Lightharbor (as of C2 Session 83)
The Saline Coast is a tourist city built on reinforced docks over the water. It is where Campaign 2 began, where The FAM came together, and the city they kept coming back to until the Velvet Truffle Company took it over.
Overview
The whole city sits on large, sturdy docks attached to the coastline. Canals run underneath, so small boats can pass below the streets, and wooden walkways link the different sections above. The air smells of salt water, street food and fresh seafood from the market stalls.
Farmland surrounds the city, and the poorer residents live out there in modest homes, working the fields or commuting in. A small dock in the heart of the city, run by a dock master, handles local boats. Larger ships, including all import, export and fishing vessels, must dock at the Outer Wharf a few hundred feet offshore. Wide beaches stretch out on either side of the city.
The economy runs on tourism, and the biggest event of the year is the month-long Saline Splendor Festival.
Notable places
- Mercenary’s Rest: Bran’s inn for adventurers and the party’s home base.
- Rusty Anchor: a shady bar near the edge of the docks, with a hidden way down to the Saline Coast Sewers.
- Salt Spun Manor: the mayor’s residence.
- Beachside Books: a bookstore and café that served as a hideout.
- Mariner’s Armory: Garrick’s weapons and armor shop, where Mavis worked the counter.
- Potion Haven: run by the alchemist Violetta until the VTC seized it.
- Arcane Emporium: a shop of scrolls, wands and magical trinkets.
- The Cackler Barrel: a restaurant near the Mercenary’s Rest, with a picture on the wall of a small figure with spiky black hair and a monkey tail.
- The morgue, with a crypt below it, where Victor Blackwood works.
- The Grand Guard House, the town hall, and the city prison.
- Sweet Crust Bakery, haunted by a cursed recipe book in Session 6.
- Pink Salt Pavilion, where Escher met Silk.
- The Outer Wharf, where the VTC kept an interrogation room and a hangar.
- Splendor Festival Square, where the VTC later built gallows.
Other shops and inns from city lore: the Salty Mermaid Inn, the Drunken Gull, the Sandy Anchor, the Seabreeze Lodge, Seaside Sundries, the Adventurer’s Guildhall, Sturdy Supplies, Beastmaster’s Bazaar, Mystic Relics, the Silver Quill, Brawler’s Den, Burrow & Bundle (a shop for halflings), Coral Curiosities, Sunshine Sweets, and Shells and Spells. Around town are the Saline Boardwalk, Salt Lake Marina, Oceanview Park, the Aquatic Adventure Park and the open-air Sunset Theater. The owners and staff are listed on Saline Coast People.
The local newspaper is the Coast Chronicle.
Government
When the campaign began, Eliza Windrider was mayor and Cedric Lightharbor, the former mayor, was campaigning against her. Captain Eric Stormshield led the city guard, Orin Coppercoin was city treasurer, and Tobias Bigsby sat on the city council.
History
The festival conspiracy (Sessions 1–29)
The party arrived for the Saline Splendor Festival. Kip was shaken down at the gate by fake toll collectors, and on the first day three drugged wolves escaped from the festival zoo. Chasing the missing zookeeper Felix pulled the party into a conspiracy: the murder of journalist Isabella Thorne, an apparent assassination attempt on Lightharbor using Wilbur’s smoke bomb, and the slow poisoning of Mayor Windrider by Orin Coppercoin and Lyla Brightspark.
The party broke Tobias Bigsby out of prison, smuggled the mayor out of Salt Spun Manor, fled the city as fugitives, and came back with the healer Sylas Riverstride. In the sewers, The Whisper told them that Tobias Blackwood was behind it all. Wilbur printed 500 flyers signed “The Fellowship Against the Machine,” and at the festival’s closing ceremonies Windrider pardoned the party, ordered the conspirators arrested, withdrew from the race and called a special election (Session 27).
The election and the takeover (Sessions 44–62)
When the party returned in Session 44, Puss Wayne was running for mayor against Nelda’s father, Thalorian Valedriss, whom he called a VTC puppet. By Session 57 Catman was trailing in the polls, and the party helped his campaign. The next night Thalorian and the VTC archmage Lazra Vant died in a fight at the Valedriss estate.
The party left for North City. In Session 62 they read that the VTC had seized control of the city’s government and arrested Puss Wayne for Thalorian’s murder. The official reason given was that the city had failed to hold an election on two election dates in a row, and the VTC framed its control as a temporary operation to stabilize the city. Cedric Lightharbor serves as its puppet mayor.
The gallows (Sessions 81–83)
The VTC built gallows in Splendor Festival Square to hang Catman. It was a trap: the prisoner was Khalor the Dreamreaper in disguise. The party rescued the real Catman and killed the executioner Daask Bruiser, but Khalor flew off with Arghen. VTC forces then surrounded the Mercenary’s Rest, and Bran’s Old Adventuring Party fought them off so the FAM could escape.
Appears in
Session 1 through Session 30, Session 44–Session 48, Session 56–Session 58, Session 62, Session 66, Session 71, Session 80–Session 83