Saltmarsh

The majority of the population, in keeping with Keoland generally, are mainly human. The inhabitants are relatively sober, hard working and amiable.

The residents of Saltmarsh are predominantly human. The largest non-human faction is a mining group of two hundred dwarves. Wood elves inhabit a small enclave, and halflings have various local settlements and can sometimes be seen in the town.

Other races are unfamiliar to the locals, and dragonborn and tieflings are particularly likely to frighten them.[9] The Faithful Quartermasters of Iuz are a group led by Captain Xendros (CE female tiefling priest). She is involved in making discreet private purchases and sales behind the scenes to the actual trade interests as well as plots to ruin and. It is specificlaly noted "no one inquires too closely" about the captain.

A chance is also noted of encountering ships crewed by friendly tieflings or dragonborn, or neutral dragonborn, which implies their presence somewhere else in the region, at least.

In 595 CY, around 80% of the town is human, with minorities of halfling, half-elf, gnome, elf, dwarf, and half-orc inhabitants, with a small number of other races.

In 576 CY the population was approximately 2,000.[1] By 591 CY it was estimated to have grown to 3,000,[8] and by 595 CY to 3,850.

Following the establishment of King Skotti's renovation plans for the town, the population is around 5,000. (Ghosts of Saltmarsh, p.11; date unspecified.)

Saltmarsh is governed by a town council of six elected members. The most senior member of the council holds the title of Lord Mayor, and is elected by the other five. He retains his position for life, and can only be removed by a unanimous vote of impeachment by the rest of the council. The other five members of the council are elected by popular vote of the citizens of Saltmarsh, and also hold their positions for life.

The council meets at the town hall at the start of each season. At these meetings, the council votes on new laws and other issues, and listens to citizens' grievances. The Lord Mayor's vote counts for two, and often needed to break ties. The Lord Mayor also has sole power to call emergency council sessions.

As of 595 CY, the Lord Mayor is Erolin Timerkitos, who has held the position for nearly thirty years. He is descended from Orrin Timerikos, one of the town's original founders, whose family have continuously held a position on the council since it began.

As of 595 CY, the other council members are Egan Lassiter, Hoskin Lashti, Lira Tolivar, Lyra Ivessa, and Toren Aerakin. Other members to hold the position at one time include Eda Oweland, Gellan Primewater, Eliander Fireborn, Manistrad Copperlocks, and Anders Solmor.

The local administration can deal with justice and law-enforcement, and debtors and bankrupts are dealt with particularly harshly.

Fishing is the main industry. There are some tiny farms in the neighboring countryside. There is a small weekly market attracting traders from Burle and Seaton.

High value imported goods such as silk and brandy attract a 25% excise duty in Saltmarsh.[13] This has the effect of creating an incentive for the smuggling of such goods.

Saltmarsh lacks the underground sewage system found in cities of Keoland. The streets are lined with open gutters leading to the Kingfisher River or the ocean, though they are not perfect. Locals also leave barrels of waste on street corners, where they are collected by laborers in the emplo of the town's dungsweepers' guild.

Establishment

During Keoland's Imperial period (c. 286 CY - 488 CY), the kingdom's expansion was characterized by conquest to the north which brought considerable wealth to the kingdom. Its southern coastal reaches, particularly those separated from the rest of Keoland by the Dreadwood, saw very little of this growth.[2] A disastrous attempt by King Tavish III to conquer lands to the south in 453 CY lead to his death, and his successor Tavish IV chose to withdraw his forces from the frontier territories.

It was in this region that Saltmarsh was established in 465 CY,[4][5] in the waning years of the Imperial era. A group of four adventurers, unsupported by the Keoish military, cleared the region of a brutal tribe of lizardfolk and used their personal wealth to establish the town of Saltmarsh, on what had been a sparsely populated site consisting of a handful of buildings.

Saltmarsh grew steadily, reaching a population of around 2,000, which remained steady for several years. Its proximity to the sea established it as a significant fishing town.

Recent history

Some years ago, with the Keoish south coast poorly defended by the crown, Saltmarsh was itself attacked by slavers of the Sea Princes, a coalition of pirate factions who control territories to the southwest bordering on the Hool Marshes.

Another victim of the slaver raids was the nearby regional capital of Seaton. The city was sacked, and nearly a thousand refugees fled to Saltmarsh. Around the same time, adventurers dealing with sahuagin in the Hool Marshes returned to Saltmarsh with a great deal of plundered wealth. The resulting increase in wealth and population began a period of rapid expansion for the town, and its proximity to the Dreadwood and Hool Marshes has made it a popular home for adventurers.

Recently, King Kimbertos Skotti has shifted his focus to protecting Keoland's southern border, resulting in an influx of wealth and political interference in Saltmarsh as the King enacts plans to develop the town as a major port. This has sparked controversy among the locals, with loyalist and traditionalist political factions attempt to support and oppose the King's plans, respectively.

As of the late 570s, four miles east of Saltmarsh, just inland of the old coast road and looking out to sea, stands a "Haunted House". The fields around it, though prime agricultural land, remain untended and rank with weeds. Up until the late 550s it was the residence of an aged alchemist magician of sinister reputation. The owner suddenly and without explanation disappeared, the house was abandoned, and by the late 570s was dilapidated. Locals who infrequently explored the house, due to rumors of a secret hoard of alchemical gold, returned with stories of a decayed house and monstrous perils.

In more recent years (in the late 570s) there have been reports of ghastly shrieks and eerie lights emanating from in the house.

Saltmarsh is situated in the Viscounty of Salinmoor, in southern Keoland. It is located on the coast of the Azure Sea, south of the Dreadwood. It lies nestled amongst three low hills where the Kingfisher River arrives at the sea. Within about 10 leagues (30 miles) away are woodlands; the Drowned Forest, the Silverstand, and the Dreadwood. To the west, just across the Kingfisher River are the Hool Marshes and the Dunwater River which feeds them. Two larger towns, Burle and Seaton, are each about twenty miles away (Burle inland to the northwest, Seaton along the coast to the east).

The abandoned Makaster House is located outside Saltmarsh, at the edge of a cliff. Local legend holds that it is haunted, a rumour spoken of several locales in this region.

The Azure Sea provides sufficient fish stocks to support the fishing industry. The town is also surrounded by some farmland although such is only exploited to a limited degree given only "tiny" farms are located nearby (in late 570s).