SaltMarsh
"And yet we stand"
History
Saltmarsh was once a small but influential human city, known for its congregation of powerful clerics and mystics. Legend holds that a former king, ambitious and fearless, attempted a massive ritual to elevate himself and his court to an immortal, godlike status. But this act of hubris drew the wrath of Ythara, Goddess of the Cycle, who, aided by Malakar, God of Death, saw the ritual as a direct affront to life’s natural order. Together, they intervened, unleashing a curse upon Saltmarsh that dragged the city into mud and decay. Overrun by twisting vines, choking fungi, and thorny underbrush, the once-thriving city was consumed, becoming a dark testament to the folly of mortals.
The goddess, in a final act of condemnation, transformed the king’s court into the first Kenku, marking them as craven souls forever fixated on greed and ambition. Many others among Saltmarsh’s inhabitants were cursed with strange afflictions, some developing beastly traits that linger even in their descendants. Several Leshy also live within the deep marsh, and protect the old ruins from any trespassers.
Despite the tragedy, much of Saltmarsh’s common folk remained, stubbornly adapting to their transformed home. The horrid events at Saltmarsh are said by some to have been the final insult that spurred the new gods to challenge and eventually dethrone the influence of the old gods across the continent.
Now
Today, life in Saltmarsh is grueling, with the Sundering further deepening the marshlands, which now teem with unnatural dangers. Yet, the ruins of the old city offer a siren’s call to adventurers, mercenaries, and treasure hunters. Those brave enough to delve into the swamp’s depths can find lost wealth or even powerful artifacts, whose magic was somehow unnafected by the Sundering. All sorts of guilds now govern Saltmarsh’s ramshackle stilted structures, and barter and smooth words serve as the city’s currency. An unspoken code governs these murky waters: only the shrewd and brave thrive, while others are left to the marsh. Saltmarsh has become a hub of rogues and renegades—a place where the desperate, the ambitious, and the bold have only the swamp and their wits to rely on.
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