Sharkey's Bar & Grill was a popular undersea restaurant in the depths of the Ravens Bluff Harbor in the 14th century DR. The name derived from a combination of a nickname held by its owner, Slaythis J'harja, and its unique underwater grill.[1]
Location[]
Sharkey's was located in the depths of the Ravens Bluff Harbor,[1] which was part of the Dragon Reach[3] and by extension the underwater realms of the Inner Sea known as Serôs.[4] It was not considered to be part of the city of Ravens Bluff proper.[2][5]
Structure[]
Sharkey's was carved into the base of a coral reef,[1] making the establishment largely made out of coral.[6] There were three circular entrances into the establishment's common room, each measuring 5 feet (1.5 meters) in diameter and situated 5 ft (1.5 m) off the harbor floor.[1] On the outside of the bar were a numbered of colored continual lights, placed at some point by a land-dwelling wizard that was passing by.[7] The light given off by these made Sharkey's quite noticeable within the depths of the water, though none of this light was visible from the surface.[8] Later on, some of these lights were arranged to spell out "Sharkey's".[9]
Interior[]
A look at the floor layout of Sharkey's.
Based on careful analysis of the original text, it would seem that "north" refers to the left side of the map and "south" to the right side.
The common room of Sharkey's spanned 45 feet (14 meters) wide, 20 feet (6.1 meters) deep, and 40 feet (12 meters) in height.[1] There were a total of eighteen tables scattered throughout this room. In place of the seating typical in surface establishments, patrons sat in nets hung between rods jutting from each of a table's corners,[7] described by some as being like a hammock.[10] Most of the tables were 3 ft (0.91 m) and suspended by a pole through their center that spanned the floor to the ceiling, with suspension heights ranging from 5 to 35 feet (1.5 to 11 meters). Tables that stood next to a wall were instead bolted to it and measured 4 ft (1.2 m).[7]
Four bars spanned the back wall of the common room. Each stood 5 ft (1.5 m) tall, with the counter at its top, and had rods jutting from their front to hold net-seats. Like the tables they were suspended above the floor at varying heights from floor-to-ceiling poles, in intervals of 5 ft (1.5 m). The tops of each bar were 5 ft (1.5 m), 15 ft (4.6 m), 25 ft (7.6 m), and 35 ft (11 m) off the ground respectively. The lowest of the bars had a break in their center, acting as an entrance to the kitchen.[7] Above the most central of bars hung the owner's personal trident.[11]
There were four private rooms off to the corners of the common room, two in the north and two in the south.[7] They were available upon request and for a small fee.[8] rooms were cubical in shape, each measuring 10 feet (3 meters). A single table sat in the center of each room, bearing only four net-sets. There were also five "drinking rooms", two each in the north and south and one in the east. Each of these rooms were spherical, measuring 15 feet (4.6 meters) in diameter. Tables were bolted on what could be considered each room's three "sides", but there were also tables 3 ft (0.91 m) and 12 ft (3.7 m) from the room's base, held in place by a floor-to-ceiling pole. Each of these had four-neat sets. The central pole ascended through a small hole, through which "drink nodules" were deposited (see "services" for more detail).[7]
The five drinking rooms were each reserved for and tailored to specific clientele. The lower-northern drinking room was reserved for aquatic elves and the rare surface elf visitor. The upper-northern room was reserved for aquatic dwarves, though the rare surface dwarf, gnome, and halfling visitor would be invited to use it so long as they behaved themselves. The eastern drinking room, which was entered through the upper half of the common room, was reserved for the aquatic races that rarely visited[7] or for special guests.[10] The lower-southern room was reserved for koalinths, merrows, and sahuagins. And the upper-northern room was primarily used by merfolk, though humans, hai nu, ningyo, nixies, and sirines were also allowed to use it.[7][note 3]
Staff Areas[]
As one entered the hall leading to the kitchen, they would find storage rooms to their immediate right and left that measured 10 ft (3 m). The one facing north held various food within barrels, casks, nets and sacks. The one facing south held cages of live aquatic creatures for later preparation into dishes. Inside the kitchen proper was a door to a utility closet on its northern wall. This closet was used to store backup nets, rags to clean sediment off of surfaces, large tools for repair work, and tridents for when the need arose.[7]
The kitchen had three long tables or counters for preparing food.[8] The one facing north was used for salads and the one facing south used for preparing meat dishes. The latter had a fan mechanism next to it, powered by a pedal set-up to the west of the fan's housing (a task reserved for busboys), that drew in any blood released during preparation of meat dishes and jettisoned it up a chimney to be released near the surface waters of the harbor.[7] This design would inevitably cause sharks to gather around the chimney's outlet.[5]
Four sets of shelves projected out along the kitchen's western wall. The shelves closest to the salad counter held extra glasses, while those closest to the meat counter held various kitchen utensils, primarily meat cleavers and other types of culinary knives. The northernmost shelf also held many thick, spicy sauces in fishskin bags that tapered to a small, stoppered nozzle. The central shelves held the various serving dishes.[7]
At the westernmost end of the kitchen was the namesake "Grill" of Sharkey's Bar & Grill, originally conceived of by the establishment's aquatic dwarf constructors.[7] This was a natural geo-thermal steam vent, which had a natural chimney overhead to allow air to vent and escape to the surface.[7][10] Long, insulated skewers and tongs were used to safely cook food within the steam.[7]
Atmosphere[]
At any given time there were between as few as 12 to as many as 240 patrons at Sharkey's Bar & Grill. In its early days it was frequented mainly by merfolk, who found the upstart business to be rather cavernous and quiet,[7] but over time a wide variety of aquatic races visited the establishment.[1][7] Though some aquatic races were rarer sights among the patrons, such as locathahs and tritons.[7] Even some of the more hostile of aquatic races were allowed into Sharkey's, including sahuagin, merrows,[1][7] koalinths,[7] and eventually kuo-toas[9] as the restaraunt was considered to be neutral ground.[12][13] Though the owner himself would express reluctance in its early days over having to let such usually hostile creatures into his establishment.[11]
Besides aquatic races, Sharkey's was occasionally visited by surface dwellers who found means to breath underwater,[7] such as the potions of water breathing produced by Ravens Bluff's Mages Guild.[14] At some point they began charging surface dwellers a small cover charge of 5 gp, ensuring that "low lives" stayed out.[11][note 4]
The patrons of Sharkey's were quite territorial over the three entrances to Sharkey's, with a custom having developed over time regarding who was allowed to pass through which entrance. Good aligned races, primarily aquatic elves, entered through the northern entrance. The more nefarious aquatic races were expected to use the southern entrance.[1][8][12][13][note 5] Regulars of both groups would usually sit by their respective door to insure that this custom was maintained,[1][15] with the latter more likely to start a fight over it,[15] though this custom was also maintained by bouncers stationed at each door.[8] The front central entrance was used by the more neutral races, such as merfolk,[1] and surface dwellers.[12][13][15][16] Refusal to use the proper door could lead to receiving jeers and insults throughout one's dining experience.[9]
Occasionally one could encounter the patrons of the bar playing games at their table,[9][6] such as underwater dice[6] or multi-tiered versions of chess.[9]
Reputation[]
The restaurant was considered by some to be a high class establishment.[14] Gradually it grew a reputation among people on the surface as a good place to eat,[12][14][16] even becoming a favored hangout among adventurers.[17] It was particularly well known among sailors, inhabitants of Ravens Bluff's Harbor District, and members of the city's Harbor Patrol.[13][18]
Services[]
Sharkey's was opened at all hours.[1] It served a wide variety of seafood, salads, soups, and drinks.[19][11] Food was served upon sea shells of various sizes or in small nets,[7] along with stone cutlery.[8] It was typically served raw, although patron could request for their food to be cooked[7][11] or sliced.[11] What the restaurant called "soup" consisted of semisolid masses of small creatures and was always served in very fine nets.[7][11] For a suitable fee, cooks could also be persuaded to prepare whatever live delicacy a patron brought with them.[11]
Of the things served at Sharkey's the most noteworthy was its selection of drinks,[7] as it was typically impossible to drink liquids within a fluid medium and the concept of imbibing fluids was largely foreign to Serôsians.[20] Drinks at the restaurant took one of two forms. Those served at the bars were syrups kept in waterskins and served in covered glasses[7] or mugs,[21] with the option of capped reed straws. The consistency and taste of these syrups could be considered odd by the palates of surface dwellers, but no less palatable. Those served in the drinking rooms were "drink nodules", a semisolid substance of the owner's invention. These would dissolve in a room's water over the course of six hours, filling it with a rather visible intoxicant that could be imbibed. Different drink nodules were served in each room, tailored to the aquatic races that each room was reserved for, and trying to imbibe one that wasn't tailored to their race could leave someone nauseated. Entrance into these rooms cost a single gold piece or its Serôsian equivalent (see "Prices" below).[7]
Besides food and drink, Sharkey's Bar & Grill had a souvenir shop that sold a variety of trinkets. These included ships in a bottle, maps to sunken ships, mugs with slogans on them, pieces of drift wood with carvings of animals, differently sized and priced pieces of polished coral, and coral necklaces.[6][note 6]
Prices[]
The people of Serôs generally bartered for goods and the closest thing they had to a standardized system of currency were pearls.[22] Following that philosophy, Sharkey's Bar & Grill preferred for patrons to pay in shells or gems, though they also had approximate prices for surface world coinage for those occasional visitors from land.[19] Its prices were considered reasonable, roughly comparable to that of inns on the surface.[21] These approximate coinage prices are used below:[19][note 7]
- Drink Syrups
- Ale, bitter for 1 cp
- Ale, light for 1 cp
- Blackmantle's Best[9]
- Brandy, candy for 2 sp
- Brandy, sharp for 2 sp
- Liquor, stiff for 5 sp
- Liquor, sweetened for 5 sp
- Mage Blood (a red wine imported from Thay) for 5 gp[11]
- Wine, blowfish for 10 gp per glass.[13] Additionally, due to its potential to be poisonous one had to sign a waiver and would receive a stern lecture not to share the drink with anyone else.[6]
- Wine, sour for 1 sp
- Wine, sweet for 1 sp
- Food, Crustacea
- A dozen live jumbo shrimp for 2 gp
- A giant crab leg for 1 gp
- A whole giant crab or giant lobster for 5 gp
- A whole live crab or lobster for 3 sp
- Food, Exotica
- Beef steak for 5 gp
- Brine shrimp soup for 5 sp
- Half chicken for 1 gp
- Plankton soup for 3 sp
- Food, Fish
- A whole fish, served live, for 3 sp
- Fish fillet for 1 sp
- Sashimi for 1 sp
- Sharkey's Special Shark Steak for 1 gp
- Food, Mollusks
- Food, Salads
- Chef's salad (a mixture of the other salads) for 1 gp
- Kelp salad for 1 cp
- Seaweed salad for 1 cp
- Worm and grub salad for 5 sp
History[]
The origins of Sharkey went back to Slaythis J'harja's adventuring days, where he met a number of surface dwellers who spoke of such things as restaurants and taverns. Inspired to create such an establishment for the people of the Dragon Reach, he approached the Dwarfbilt Construction Company in Ravens Bluff. Its dwarven workers were fascinated by the prospect of building an underwater restaurant and contributed much to its plans, with discussions bringing up a number of engineering and technical issues, but ultimately the company was unwilling to do work in or on the water no matter how much Sharkey offered them. As they parted ways one of the employees took Slaythis and told him in hushed whispers of a fabled offshoot of his race, aquatic dwarves, but warned that they might be unwilling to work with him.[1]
Unperturbed, Sharkey pursued contact with the fabled aquatic dwarves. With the help of a group of friendly tritons familiar with them, he was able to find their underwater cities deep in the Inner Sea. After cautiously offering chests full of precious gems to the cautious dwarves and assisting them in battle against a sahuagin ambush, some of them were willing to assist him in constructing Sharkey's Bar & Grill. They discussed several construction options, until finally settling on carving it into the base of a reef in the harbor.[1] Materials were sourced from scavenging various shipwrecks or purchased with treasure taken from shipwrecks.[7]
Sometime after Sharkey's began taking off a group of sahuagin were demanding that they be allowed to visit the establishment like other races. Eventually they were allowed in with some reluctance, but segregated to their own entrance and room. When koalinths and sea ogres later began showing up to the restaurant, they would be directed to the areas that were previously relegated to the sahaugin.[7]
As word of the restaurant grew among surface dwellers, the Mages Guild began producing a large number of potions of water breathing for 400 gold pieces a bottle and offered a 5 gp deposit for returning the bottles. Around that same time three human brothers by the names of Mike Clancy, Tom Clancy, and Wayne Clancy decided to put aside their jobs as fishermen and start offering trips out to the center of the harbor with their skiff at a cost of 5 silver pieces.[14] Much later another trio of brothers named Bill, Pete, and Todd would strike upon the same idea. They would charge a higher fee of 5 gp, but also offered weak potions of water breathing for 50 gp.[13]
Over time the owner was taken with grander ambitions, imagining Sharkey's as the first step to a future undersea city of trade and various races. Though in order to achieve this dream, Sharkey believed he first needed to open relations with the surface city of Ravens Bluff.[2] Around 1431 TS (1361 DR), the city finally approached Sharkey about opening diplomatic ties, warranting a celebration in the restaurant.[5][note 2]
One day, sometime after the Three Women War, someone ran through the streets of Ravens Bluff shouting that a local mage had destroyed Sharkey's Bar & Grill and that the underwater races had arrived in the Harbor to take their revenge. This turned out to be merely one of many wild rumors circulating around the city in response to a group of tritons in the pier seeking the aid of adventurers.[23]
In the Year of the Unstrung Harp, 1371 DR, Sharkey's Bar & Gril was known for serving Seaweed Ale, a mildly alcoholic drink to "die for."[24]
Inhabitants[]
Being a popular establishment that was open at all hours,[1][8] Sharkey's had a large staff that operated in three shifts. During each shift there would be active only one manager, three bouncers, four busboys, three waiters and three waitresses, three bartenders, and three cooks.[8] All bouncers were armed with a trident,[2][10] a heavy crossbow,[2] and a gold-colored helmet.[10] The rest of staff kept a dagger on their person for self defense.[2]
Merfolk made up the bulk of Sharkey's staff, including all nine of its large bouncers, its twelve young busboys, its nine waiters, nine of its fifteen bartenders, five of its nine waitresses, and four of its nine cooks. Aquatic elves were the second most prominent staffers, making up five of its bartenders, five of its waitresses, and four of its cooks. Beyond these two aquatic races, there was one triton bartender and one aquatic dwarf cook by the name of Lothan.[2]
Other known staff included the mermaid waitress Shelly,[13][25] the merman bartender Jedahi,[6] and the mermen waiters Hugo and Victor. The latter two were widely known by regulars and other employees for getting into unscripted fights, giving Sharkey's its closest thing to a floor show.[26]
The restaraunt had three managers in total consisting of Sharkey, its merman founder, along with his brother Klaijah J'harha and their cousin Treffle Hoosh. Being a jovial sort, whenever he was on his shift Sharkey would roam around the common room, chatting up various patrons. He took particular interest in surface dwellers and those who came from or had visited faraway lands,[2][note 1] though he disliked the tendency among some land dwellers to throw their garbage into the harbor waters, such as the bottles from used up potions of water breathing. Sharkey was also rather protective of his female employees, not tolerating any harassment of them.[14]
Appendix[]
Notes[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 In the module Cravings, Treffle Hoosh is misidentified as being the headwaiter at Sharkey's. And the later module A Night at Sharkey's Bar and Grill misidentifies Sharkey as being a bartender.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Port of Ravens Bluff (pp. 42, 45) states that Charles O'Kane became Mayor 20 years ago, which would set it in 1361 DR. But seeing as this is a location in Serôs, we have taken the liberty to also provide the equivalent date in the Timesong calendar.
- ↑ Though it is not addressed later on when they make an appearance in modules, kuo-toa would most likely be relegated to the same drinking room used by the other evil aligned aquatic races.
- ↑ This "cover charge" is only ever mentioned in the module Protective Custody, making it possible that this business move was short lived and only popped up when Sharkey's was initially taking off in popularity among surface folk.
- ↑ In the original text of Port of Ravens Bluff, it was stated that the north door was "used primarily by aquatic elves". But some Living City modules interpreted this as meaning the door was exclusive to them. Instances in which this came up included ...And the Body Dies (p.4), Cravings (p.9), and The Stroke of Midnight (p.4).
- ↑ Where exactly the "Souvenir Shop" introduced in the module Cravings is located in the building in relation to everything else is unknown.
- ↑ Because Sharkey's is in the depths of the Dragon Reach, part of the underwater realms of Serôs, it stands to reason that Serôsian currency would be accepted. On page 55 of Sea of Fallen Stars and page 91 of 3rd edition's Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting it is stated that pearls, which are a form of gem, were used as common coin among many of the Serôsian races with their value determined primarily based on their color. The Serôsian and surface values for pearls are given here as a reference point to consider when looking at Sharkey's menu:
- white pearl, or "seyar": 1 cp undersea and 2 sp ashore;
- yellow pearl, or "hayar": 1 sp undersea and 2 gp ashore;
- green pearl, or "tayar": 1 gp undersea and 20 gp on land;
- blue pearl, or "nuyar": 5 gp undersea and 100 gp on land;
Appearances[]
Organized Play & Licensed Adventures
Dawn's Early Light • Bursting Your Bubble • Red Dawn • The Dark Maiden's Price • Lord of the Grapes • Family Matters
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 Phillip A. Dyer, et al. (August 1991). Port of Ravens Bluff. Edited by Jean Rabe, Skip Williams, David Wise. (TSR, Inc.), p. 57. ISBN 1-56076-120-2.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Phillip A. Dyer, et al. (August 1991). Port of Ravens Bluff. Edited by Jean Rabe, Skip Williams, David Wise. (TSR, Inc.), p. 60. ISBN 1-56076-120-2.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood (October 1998). The City of Ravens Bluff. Edited by John D. Rateliff. (TSR, Inc.), p. 2. ISBN 0-7869-1195-6.
- ↑ Steven E. Schend (1999). Sea of Fallen Stars. (TSR, Inc), pp. 10, 71, 77. ISBN 0-7869-1393-2.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Phillip A. Dyer, et al. (August 1991). Port of Ravens Bluff. Edited by Jean Rabe, Skip Williams, David Wise. (TSR, Inc.), p. 61. ISBN 1-56076-120-2.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Steven C. Sampson (January 1999). Cravings. Living City (RPGA), p. 10.
- ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 7.11 7.12 7.13 7.14 7.15 7.16 7.17 7.18 7.19 7.20 7.21 7.22 7.23 7.24 7.25 7.26 7.27 Phillip A. Dyer, et al. (August 1991). Port of Ravens Bluff. Edited by Jean Rabe, Skip Williams, David Wise. (TSR, Inc.), p. 58. ISBN 1-56076-120-2.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 Robert Wiese (September 1995). ...And the Body Dies. Living City (RPGA), p. 6.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 Tom Nolan (May 2001). A Night at Sharkey's Bar and Grill. Living City (RPGA), p. 7.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 John Harnes (April 13, 1996). Protective Custody. Living City (RPGA), p. 5.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 11.7 11.8 John Harnes (April 13, 1996). Protective Custody. Living City (RPGA), p. 6.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Brian Burr (February 1996). The Stroke of Midnight. Living City (RPGA), p. 4.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 Steven C. Sampson (January 1999). Cravings. Living City (RPGA), p. 9.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 John Harnes (April 13, 1996). Protective Custody. Living City (RPGA), p. 4.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 John Harnes (April 13, 1996). Protective Custody. Living City (RPGA), p. 5.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Template:Cite organized play/LC/Waterfalls
- ↑ Erich Schmidt & George Fulda (November 1999). Stone and Steel. Living City (RPGA), p. 2.
- ↑ Steven C. Sampson (January 1999). Cravings. Living City (RPGA), p. 17.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Phillip A. Dyer, et al. (August 1991). Port of Ravens Bluff. Edited by Jean Rabe, Skip Williams, David Wise. (TSR, Inc.), pp. 58, 60. ISBN 1-56076-120-2.
- ↑ Steven E. Schend (1999). Sea of Fallen Stars. (TSR, Inc), p. 174. ISBN 0-7869-1393-2.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Robert Wiese (September 1995). ...And the Body Dies. Living City (RPGA), p. 7.
- ↑ Steven E. Schend (1999). Sea of Fallen Stars. (TSR, Inc), pp. 54–55. ISBN 0-7869-1393-2.
- ↑ Sean Flaherty (June 1997). Bursting Your Bubble. Living City (RPGA), p. 4.
- ↑ Daniel S. Donnelly (December 1999). Lord of the Grapes. Living City (RPGA), pp. 18–19.
- ↑ John Harnes (April 13, 1996). Protective Custody. Living City (RPGA), p. 7.
- ↑ John Harnes (April 13, 1996). Protective Custody. Living City (RPGA), p. 10.