Freeport of Scuttle Cove — Campaign Sourcebook
23 chapters covering history, governance, districts, NPCs, encounters, adventure hooks, pirate character creation, and more. By Larry Hunkin.
~3,000
permanent residents
13
captains rule
6
unique zones
5
hidden powers
A Haven Forged in Defiance
Where the Esharan desert collapses into the sea, the coastline turns vicious — knife-reefs of jagged coral and basalt, black rock shelves polished smooth by centuries of salt wind, and tidal caverns that swallow ships whole. Most sailors mark these waters on their charts as a warning. But for those who know the secret tide-thread routes through the reef, this coast hides something valuable: Scuttle Cove.
From a distance the Cove looks like a wound in the shore — masts like splinters jutting from dark water, tar-black hulls packed shoulder to shoulder in the narrow harbor, and buildings stacked in crooked tiers up the cliff face like barnacles on a hull. But step onto the Main Planks and you enter a functioning city — chaotic, dangerous, and ruthlessly efficient.
The Cove is not a lawless place. That is the lie outsiders tell themselves. Scuttle Cove has laws — just not the kind that forgive. It is a city built on the principle that freedom is a weapon, and like all weapons, it cuts deepest when mishandled.
The Cove Code
‘Anarchy’ with teeth — five laws so hard they feel like gravity
1
No Blood on the Main Planks
The central docks are sacred commercial ground. Draw a weapon there and you die.
2
Contracts Bind, Even Here
A deal witnessed, stamped, or recorded in the Harbormaster's Ledger is enforced with brutal efficiency.
3
Neutral Ground Means Neutral
The council hall, treaty taverns, and shrines are inviolable. Violence there means death.
4
No Slaving Without a Flag
Slavers must fly identifying colors. Hidden flesh trade is punished as oath-breaking.
5
No Betrayal That Threatens the Port
Betray anyone you like — but don't bring existential threat to the Cove itself.
The Unspoken Law:
Don't make the Cove choose between you and the Cove. Because it will never choose you.
Districts of Scuttle Cove
Six distinct zones, each with its own character and dangers
The Main Planks
Harbor Spine
The central docks and commercial heart of Scuttle Cove. Every transaction, every cargo transfer, every negotiation that keeps the port functioning passes through them. Violence here is punished with immediate death.
The Shattermarket
Black Bazaar
A maze of stalls, tents, and semi-permanent structures where anything can be bought if you know who to ask. Stolen cargo, forbidden reagents, forged documents, and information all change hands in the organized chaos.
Gullhook Rise
Cliff-Tiers
The residential district carved into the cliff face itself. Connected by switchback stairs, rope bridges, and cargo lifts, where the common Scuttlers eat, sleep, and gossip about the captains who rule their lives.
Pitchwake Yards
Shipworks
The Cove's industrial heart — dry docks, timber yards, rope walks, and the secret workshops where Red Durgan Ashfall's alchemists produce compounds illegal in every legitimate port on the coast.
The Saltwarren
Old Caves & Hidden Docks
The original heart of the Cove — a network of sea caves and tidal tunnels riddling the cliffs below the waterline. Controlled by Old Murkwater, the ancient lizardfolk Tunnel King.
The Lantern Mile
Taverns & Treaty Houses
A winding stretch of taverns, gaming halls, and pleasure houses designated as neutral ground. Where deals are struck, truces are brokered, and everyone pretends to be friends.
The Council of Captains
Thirteen of the most powerful pirate guild leaders, fleetmasters, and criminal lords. They are not nobles — they are predators who discovered that cooperation is more profitable than constant warfare.
Council seats are not hereditary, not elected, and not permanent. A seat belongs to whoever commands sufficient resources to claim one.
1
Pirate King Grib Sharptooth
Goblin·The Gilt Fang·Governance & leverage
Chair & tiebreaker — rules by making the alternatives worse
2
Thalara "Mist-Veil" Corvel
Half-elf·The Pale Revenant·Intelligence & diplomacy
Black Fleet envoy — eyes and voice of Zhul-Mekar the shadow-lord
3
Varro Steelhand
Human·The Ironwake·Naval warfare
War Captain — loudest voice for military expansion
4
Syrella Windmark
Elf·The Cerulean Promise·Trade networks
The Merchant Wind — argues for legitimate free port
5
Morwen "Saltmother" Dray
Human·The Bounty Tide·Wreck salvage
Queen of Wrecks — owns everything the Knife-Reefs break
6
Kezzik the Branded
Hobgoblin·The Yoke of Thorns·Slave trade
The Chain Captain — most contested seat on the Council
7
Ossara Tidecaller
Sea elf·The Abyssal Choir·Deep-water routes
Voice of the Deep — undersea contacts and alien interests
8
"Red" Durgan Ashfall
Dwarf·The Cinder Keg·Alchemical munitions
The Powder King — controls the Cove's explosives trade
9
Yennefer "Penny" Crowe
Halfling·The Copperwind·Courier services
The Swiftest Sail — everyone's friend, no one's ally
10
Hargath Bonecleaver
Orc·The Worldbreaker·Raiding
Storm of the South — solves problems by hitting them
11
Silken Zareth
Tiefling·The Damask Rose·Luxury contraband
The Velvet Fence — trades in desire and forbidden beauty
12
Commodore Jaelith Stormvane
Human·The Defiance·Naval tactics
The Deserter Admiral — brought military doctrine to chaos
13
Old Murkwater
Lizardfolk·None·Tunnel networks
The Tunnel King — controls the Saltwarren itself
Seat 1 · The Pirate King
Grib Sharptooth
A cunning goblin with a smile like a broken bottle and eyes that miss nothing. Grib doesn't rule by command — he rules by making the alternatives worse. Every captain understands that removing him would create a power vacuum that would tear the Cove apart.
His power rests on three pillars: coin (he underwrites ship repairs, funds harbor defenses, and maintains a war chest large enough to destabilize any rival), intelligence (he knows every secret worth knowing), and indispensability (the port cannot function without the systems he built).
GovernanceIntelligenceLeverageCoin
Shadow Guilds
The hidden powers operating beneath the Council's authority
The Tide Runners
Smugglers' ring controlling the hidden channels and secret caches throughout the reef system.
The Paper House
Fixers' guild dealing in forged documents, false identities, and bureaucratic manipulation.
The Salt Covenant
Assassins who only kill on contract, bound by rituals older than the Cove itself.
The Deep Archive
Lore-brokers who buy, sell, and hoard secrets — from tide-thread charts to blackmail material.
The Ink Vipers
Tattooist guild and encoded information network. Every tattoo carries hidden meaning.
Shops & Taverns of Note
Where pirates drink, deal, and die — the notable establishments of the Cove
The Black Flask
Tavern · Lantern Mile
The Cove's most dangerous watering hole. Fights are common, the ale is terrible, and the information is priceless.
The Gilded Barnacle
Tavern · Lantern Mile
Where captains and merchants negotiate over wine that costs more than a sailor's yearly wage.
The Drowned Hymn
Tavern · Lantern Mile
A candlelit establishment favored by navigators and seers — the only tavern where silence is enforced.
Nails & Nettles
Apothecary · Shattermarket
Poisons, antidotes, and things that are both. The proprietor knows what you need before you do.
Ironspine Arsenal
Weaponsmith · Shattermarket
Cutlasses, boarding axes, and firearms. Custom work available for those who can afford it.
The Drift
Salvage Emporium · Shattermarket
Morwen Dray's storefront for wreck salvage. Treasure from a hundred broken ships.
The Wax Seal
Paper House · Shattermarket
Forged documents, false identities, letters of marque. If it needs a seal, they can fake it.
Salt & Char
Kitchen · Gullhook Rise
The best food in the Cove. The cliff kitchen where everyone eats — from swabs to captains.
Black Market Economy
Scuttle Cove operates on three currencies: Sails (copper-alloy coins minted locally), Anchors (silver trade pieces), and Crowns (gold coins from legitimate mints, accepted at fluctuating rates).
Stolen cargo & fence operations
Slave trade (flagged)
Intelligence & secrets brokerage
Alchemical arms manufacturing
Smuggling & contraband routes
Salvage from the Knife-Reefs
Thunder & Iron
The Cove is one of the only places in the Sundered Realm where firearms are manufactured and sold openly. Red Durgan Ashfall's workshops produce flintlock pistols, muskets, and ship-mounted cannons.
Adventure Hooks
Drop-in ready scenarios for your Scuttle Cove campaign
Hook 1
The Missing Tide-Thread
A critical navigation chart has vanished from the Harbormaster's vault. Without it, ships can't navigate the Knife-Reefs safely. Someone is trying to blind the Cove.
Hook 2
A Contract in Black Letters
A sealed contract from the Paper House offers a fortune for a job with no details — just a meeting place and a time. The catch: the contract is written in blood.
Hook 3
Council Trouble
Two Council members are headed for open conflict. The Pirate King needs a neutral party to defuse the situation before it becomes a shooting war in the harbor.
Hook 4
The Shipwright's Strike
The workers in Pitchwake Yards have laid down their tools, and no one will say why. Without repairs, the fleet is grounded.
Hook 5
The Desert Ghost Caravan
A caravan arrived through the desert with cargo that nobody ordered and merchants that nobody recognizes. They're paying double the going rate for everything — and asking strange questions.
Campaign Arcs
Slow-burn storylines for extended Scuttle Cove campaigns
The Council Splinters
A deepening rift between expansion-minded war captains and the Pirate King's cautious governance threatens to split the Council. Players must choose sides — or play them against each other.
A Navy on the Horizon
Port Aureveil is assembling a fleet to destroy Scuttle Cove once and for all. The Cove must prepare defenses, form unlikely alliances, or find a way to break the fleet before it sails.
The Sea Remembers
Something ancient is stirring in the deep water beneath the Cove. The sea caves of the Saltwarren have begun to flood at impossible tides, and the sounds from below have changed.
Rebellion from Within
The dock workers, the common Scuttlers, the people who keep the port functioning — they're organizing. Someone is arming them. And they want a seat at the table.
Pirate Characters
Create characters shaped by the Cove — ten archetypes and crew roles
The Swashbuckler
The Buccaneer Brute
The Sea Witch
The Gunslinger
The Navigator
The Privateer
The Surgeon
The Shanty Singer
The Mutineer
The Ghost
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