Masters of supply and demand smugglers carry anything their customers want (and will pay for), regardless of the law. More cunning than most, smugglers protect their holdings with threats, misdirection and traps.

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Outside the Lair

Shutters and boarded doors front this ramshackle building. The building is seemingly devoid of life, but careful observation reveals a faint worn path leading around the back.
Brush and empty crates piled high along the walls of an old building are rigged to collapse on intruders.
A sturdy iron grate bars the way ahead. (Careful observation notices it rests on well-oiled hinges).
Careful observers spot a path leading through the front of a decrepit building towards dark, back rooms.

What’s Going On?

The crew forms a chain and passes crates to each other. The smugglers sing a quiet song to relieve the drudgery of this hard, physical work.
The smugglers stack nets and ropes vital for their deception over the cargo they have just loaded.
Guards hide behind tapestries waiting for intruders.
The smugglers wait nervously for their contact.

Major Lair Features

Discarded nets, crates and barrels form a rough barricade across the room.
A thick and dirty rug hides a trapdoor and a hidden chamber filled with contraband.
Empty barrels conceal a crawl space in the wall. Such spaces riddle the den and allow the smugglers to move about unseen if custom officials should find their lair.
Barrels are suspended high overhead in a cargo net. (ready to be dropped on intruders).

Minor Lair Features

A precariously heaped pile of broken crates and barrels fills one corner.
A tapestry split down the middle acts as a makeshift door. It keeps out the breeze and muffles sound, but is not a serious barrier.
Hooks and broken blades are embedded in a doorframe to make passing through it dangerous.
Imitation pottery and artworks lie discarded on the floor.

Smugglers’ Appearance

The smuggler wears out-of-fashion finery, complete with gaudy jewellery and a wig.
Wearing a hooded black cloak and a wide-brimmed hat the smuggler blends into the shadows.
Despite their shoddy clothing, the smuggler wears a gang symbol openly.
The smuggler carries a lethal-looking, yet plain, club.

Treasure

This ornate golden hook is designed to replace a hand. (Hidden screws drill painfully into the wearer’s arm bone when the hook is first fitted).
This thick leather coat has dozens of small hidden pockets; some may contain coins, vials and other portable treasures.
A tiny pirate captain sails this ship in a bottle; the bottle is rumoured to trap the souls of its owner’s enemies.
This embellished skull glows sickly green in darkness. (The skull could be an ex-smuggler’s, which inflicts a curse on its bearer).

Trinkets & Trash

Cheap imitation goods cover part of the floor and whole shelves; although the goods look valuable, they are worthless rubbish sold to rubes and idiots.
A tattered cloak and leather hat hang from a sagging wall hook.
Stacked crates and boxes contain only a single bottle of vinegary wine.
This hook hand prosthetic has a broken hook, making it useless until repaired.

Credit

This is a short system-neutral extract from Monstrous Lair #28: Smugglers’ Hidden Den by Steve Hood.

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Smugglers' Lair