The Drowned Rat
The Tavern
The Drowned Rat is built into the listing hull of the Sovereign's Pride, a warship that ran aground during a storm forty years ago and was never salvaged. The locals built a tavern into its lower decks, using the ship's ribbed ceiling as exposed beams. At high tide, water seeps through the floorboards.
Read-aloud text:
The Drowned Rat doesn't have a door so much as a gap in the hull wide enough to squeeze through. Inside, the air is thick with pipe smoke and the smell of cheap ale. The bar is a ship's cargo hatch laid across two barrels. A dozen patrons nurse drinks in the amber gloom, their faces lit by whale-oil lamps that give everything the color of old brass. The bartender — a massive half-orc with an anchor tattoo on her neck — watches you enter with the expression of someone who's already decided you're trouble.
Key Features
- •The Bar: Run by Nessa Ironjaw (half-orc, neutral). She knows everyone's business but sells information only to regulars.
- •The Back Room: A private area behind a curtain of fishing nets. Maren's crew uses it for meetings.
- •The Bilge Hatch: A hidden trapdoor behind the bar leads to the tunnels connecting to the sea caves. Nessa knows about it but won't reveal it unless persuaded or threatened (DC 16 Persuasion or DC 14 Intimidation).
Social Encounter: Working the Room
The tavern's patrons include:
- •Three off-duty smugglers (Maren's crew) playing dice in the corner. They're nervous and drinking too fast.
- •An old fisherman named Horace who mumbles about "the singing" he hears at night from beneath the docks.
- •A young woman in Harbor Watch uniform drinking alone — this is Lieutenant Sera Dorn, who suspects her former commander Maren has gone rogue but can't prove it.
Approaching the Smugglers
DC 14 Charisma (Deception) to pose as potential recruits, or DC 16 Charisma (Persuasion) to get them talking honestly.
Success: They reveal that Maren's been "different" lately. She spends hours alone in the caves, comes back with wet hair and wild eyes, talking about "the gift beneath the water." They're scared but the pay is too good to leave.
Approaching Lieutenant Dorn
Sera is suspicious of strangers but eager for allies. She'll share what she knows if the party proves they're investigating Maren:
- •Maren resigned from the Harbor Watch six months ago
- •She took four officers with her
- •Sera found Maren's old logbook with coordinates to something in the sea caves
- •She provides a rough map of the cave entrance (advantage on navigation in Chapter 4)
Confrontation: The Back Room
Eventually, the party needs to access the back room or the bilge hatch. This can happen through:
- •Sneaking in (DC 15 Dexterity/Stealth group check)
- •Convincing Nessa to let them through
- •A fight breaks out when the smugglers realize who the party is
Combat: Tavern Brawl
If combat starts, use these stat blocks:
- •3 Smugglers (use Thug stat block, CR 1/2)
- •Nessa Ironjaw stays neutral unless attacked — she'll break up the fight after 3 rounds by slamming a belaying pin on the bar and yelling "Take it outside or I'll feed you to the tide!"
Terrain: The tavern is cramped. The tilted floor makes movement difficult — treat the entire tavern as difficult terrain. Barrels, tables, and the listing walls provide half cover.
Victory Condition: Defeating or interrogating the smugglers reveals the cave entrance location: a sea arch on the north face of the Underdocks, accessible only by rowboat at low tide.
Treasure
- •Lieutenant Dorn's rough map (advantage on navigation checks in Chapter 4)
- •A waterproof pouch on one smuggler containing 15 gp and a sending stone (one of a pair — the other is with Maren)
- •Maren's old Harbor Watch badge, which one smuggler carries as a good-luck charm
Transition to Chapter 4
The party now knows the location of the sea caves and has enough information to plan their approach. They can:
- •Go by boat at low tide through the sea arch (2 hours until the next low tide)
- •Go through the bilge tunnels beneath the Drowned Rat (immediate, but narrower and darker)
- •Request Harbor Watch backup from Lieutenant Dorn (she can muster 4 guards, arriving 1 hour after the party enters)