Sunken Shoals is a loose affiliation of small towns, fishing villages, pirate camps, and associated small settlements. The landscape changes with every major storm, islands rising and disappearing beneath the waves. A few isolated settlements far inland are relatively sheltered and long-standing, but more because they are rebuilt every few years than because they are sturdy or safe.
Land routes are unlikely to lead to any settlements; most are only reachable by ship.
Whaling, fishing, piracy, and trade are the businesses of the land. Farming is mostly impossible, but the land is rich in wild plants that can be collected in season. (Also rich in highly dangerous plant-creatures and fanged beasts.) Due to the impossibility of permanent settlement, only light crafts are practiced, anything that requires a stationary workshop must be traded for.
Elf and halfling architecture are most represented, due to their ease of rebuilding and ability to withstand storms. Stone and brick buildings are near-nonexistent.