Ghosts of Saltmarsh

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POLITICS AMONG THE LIZARDFOLK
Two political groups operate in the social structure of
the Jizardfolk lair. On the one hand are th e dominant
progressives led by the queen. Othokent. who is sup-
ported by a subchief named lhrtos, several officers, and
many warriors. Her progressive stance is inspired and
driven by wisdom of the aged lizardfolk minister. Sauriv.
Opposing that group (mostly covertly, for the rule of
the queen remains absolute) are the traditionalists, led
by the shamans. The shamans believe that allying and
intermingling with other races is contrary to the divine
will of their god. Semuanya, and that no good can come
of it. Consequently, the shamans hate and distrust the
minister, Sau riv, whom they consider to be the prime
instigator of these efforts that go against nature. They
dare not move openly against him, however, since he
enjoys the trust and favor of the queen.
If the lizard folk queen is killed in the course of this ad-
venture, she is succeeded by the subchief. If the subchief
is also killed, the succession goes co one of the warrior
officers. If all of these are slain. then succession falls to
the most senior surviving shaman. In this event, the sha-
man denounces the alliance. pulls the lizard folk out of
it, sacrifices the aged lizardfolk minister to the Lizardfolk
deity Semuanya, and leads the remai nder of the tribe
into the depths of the marsh beyond the reach of the sa-
huagin. If all the lizardfolk notables are slain. surviving
members of the tribe simply drift away into the marsh,
taking all their possessions with them. There will then
be no chance of an alliance against the sahuagin that
involves the lizard folk.

Rules of Engagement


Ideally, when the characters learn the truth about the
lizard folk and the sahuagin, they have done so before
causing irreparable harm Lo the occupants of the lair
and the lizardfolk's plans for the alliance against the
sahuagin. For their mission to have any chance of suc-
ceeding. the characters must eventually gain-or be
forcibly prodded into an audience with the queen. Even
i f her initial reaction is not a friendly one, the characters
might still have a chance of winning over the lizardfolk
and making them receptive (if the characters suggest as
much) to admitting Saltmarsh into the alliance.

ABOUT THE ORIGINAL

Handling the interaction between the two sides
against the backdrop of the first contact between the liz-
ardfolk and potentially friendly humans can be difficult.
Though it's always possible to let roleplaying take its
course, particularly if the characters refrain from com-
bat and make a good first impression, things might not
play out quite that simply. Here are some guidelines on
how to handle this aspect of the adventure.

PROCEDURE


The lizardfolk start out indifferent toward the characters
and, by extension, Saltmarsh. To track the attitude of the
lizardfolk, use points to r ecord the characters' progress
toward sealing an alliance. The characters begin the ad-
venture with^0 points. That score is adjusted every time
they interact with lizard folk, but the results only become
apparent when the characters meet the lizard folk queen.
They can then earn more points through diplomacy and
by improving the tribe"s strength and safety.
The alliance is sealed if the characters reach or ex-
ceed SO points, at which point the lizardfolk become
friendly to them. They are invited to see the queen a
second time, and during this session the groundwork for
Saltmarsh's inclusion in the alliance can be laid.
The lizard folk become irrevocably hostile if the char-
acters' total number of points drops to^0 or lower even
after the queen offers them chances at diplomacy and
ways to improve their standing. Tf this happens, after the
lizardfolk give them a second chance, the characters'
mission ends in failure.

MEETING THE QUEEN
The point system starts working when the adventure be-
gins, but its ramifications aren't apparent until the PCs
meet the queen for the first time. This most likely occurs
after they engage a group of lizard folk without fighting
them, whereupon they are put in custody and taken to
her. When this happens. determine the characters' cur-
r ent point total by using the Initial Attitude table. giving
them benefits and penalties according to what they have
done so far. The characters might have a negative score
at this point if they were hostile toward the lizard folk
prior to their audience.
Othokent is worldly for a lizardfolk. Tn her youth, she
spent several years exploring the nearby marshes. She

Dave J. Brown and Don Turnbull
continued the Saltmarsh series
in this classic. Doubling down on
TSR UK's penchant for exploration
and interaction in their work, this
scenario challenges the characters
to act as ambassadors to a colony
of lizardfolk.

While such roleplay-focused
adventures are the norm today. at
the time of its publication (in 1982)
this adventure was the first to make
interaction an absolute requirement
for success, rather than one option
among many.

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