Ghosts of Saltmarsh

PLACING THE ADVENTURE

The town of Saltmarsh is a small, respectable fishing town

located in the Greyhawk campaign setting, in the south-

ernmost part of Keoland. It is situated some twenty miles

from two larger towns: Burle, to the northwest, and Sea-

ton, along the coast to the east.

Here are suggestions for where you can place this ad-

venture in other campaign settings.

Eberron. Even to the pioneering folk of Q'barra, Salt-

marsh is a frontier town. The lean-tos and shanties sprawl

in the steaming eastern deltas of the Basura Swamp, and

their inhabitants do their best to keep out of the affairs of

the lizardfolk in the interior. An elf illusionist bearing the

Mark of House Phiarlan leads the smugglers and seems

bent on stirring up trouble.

Forgotten Realms. Midway between Waterdeep and

Neverwinter, the town of Saltmarsh and its hardy inhab-

itants endure both winter storms and the Mere of Dead

Men to the south. Because of the politics churning in

Thorn hold on the far side of the marsh, help is often slow

to come, and so the townsfolk have become quite self-reli-

ant. The smugglers could be from Luskan, and their selling

weapons to lizardfolk could be connected to deeper goals

than simply lining their pockets.

Mystara. Saltmarsh stands on the border between the

Grand Duchy of Karameikos and the Five Shires, just in-

side the edge of the Blight Marsh. The smugglers who use

the haunted house as their base might be hin pirates, or at

the very least count some halflings among the crew, keen

to avoid the authorities at Rollstone Keep up the coast.

IT MUST BE CLEANSED

It cannot stand! An unholy place so close to civilization.
These accounts of wailing and flashing lights disturb
the mind and heart. Let any abandoned edifice rot in
obscurity so long as the dead leave it alone. But how
can one let stand a harbor for evil? The house must be
cleansed of its otherworldly occupants.

The Haunted House

After gleaning what Mfacts" they can from the townsfolk

and equipping themselves at the local shops, the charac-

ters set out to explore the fabled haunted house.

T RAVELING TO THE HOUSE

The road to the house winds through the rocky coastal

terrain, often offering a view of the sea below. low clouds

press upon you; occasional patches of sunlight appear

out over the water. A stiff wind blows in off the waves,

carrying the briny stink of churning salt water.

The house is located four miles up the coast from Salt-

marsh and is accessible by an old road. Curious towns-

folk might follow the party for part of their journey.

These escorts engage the characters in conversation,

ask about their intentions, and repeat the same rumors

and stories heard in town. As soon as the house comes

into view, the townsfolk grow grim-faced and retreat to-

ward Saltmarsh.

HOUSE EXTERIOR

The decrepit house sits on the highest ground in the

area. Around it, a stone wall has crumbled in many

places, exposing the interior grounds. An ornate metal

gate lies open al the end of the road, swaying slightly in

the wind. Wild flora grows throughout the inner yard, but

all the years cannot hide the evidence of a well-tended

garden that once sat here. Near the house, the rotted

wooden roof of a water well rises out of the tall grass.

The house is 35 feet tall from ground level to roof peak;

the roof is gabled and has several holes where the slate

shingles are missing.

THE WALL

The stone wall is 6 feet tall and more or less encloses

the garden. It has partially collapsed in several places,

so access to any part of the garden is simple even if

characters decide not to enter through the main gate.

THE GARDEN

T

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The alchemist kept a vegetable garden around the

house, which was used as a retreat from the stress of

work and as a supply of fresh food. Now, a few broken

gardening tools and a tangle of weeds are all that re-

main. A single rosebush near the gate has overgrown

the wall and choked out most of the other plants. A char-

acter who succeeds on a DC^10 Intelligence (Investiga-

tion) or Wisdom (Survival) check discovers that some-

thing large has made a burrow under the rosebush.

A family of four giant weasel s resides in the thorny

mass. having dug out a home under the wall. The wea-

sels are highly aggressive and try to ambush the char-

acters as they investigate the garden. Given the oppor-

tunity, they·ll try to grapple the smallest character and

drag them toward their den.

THE WELL

A character who makes a successful DC^12 Wisdom

(Perception) check while viewing the well from a dis-

tance notices a cluster of small mammal remains in the

tall grass around the well (primarily mice, squirrels. and

the like).

The well shaft. which descends 20 feet. still contains

clean water. Fed by an aquifer; the well offers no access

to the house nor the caverns below it. If the characters

illuminate the shaft while looking down. they see the

glint of coins through the shallow water at the bottom.

A Medium or smaller creature can climb down the well,

using the rocky walls as natural handholds.

Two giant poisonous snakes make their homes in

the crumbled and crevice-ridden walls of the well shaft.

They emerge and strike at anything that descends into

the well. They also emerge if the characters linger near

the well while investigating it.

Treasure. There are^14 sp to be had at the bottom

of the well.

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