Ghosts of Saltmarsh

PLACING THE ADVENTURE

Abbey Isle offers a perfect adventure site to place just off-

shore from a coastal location or a short voyage away from

seaside locales. Here are some suggestions for placing it

in a few classic D&D settings.

Eberron. On Khorvaire the isle is located on the north

coast of Karrnath. The local mariners are keen to have a

bastion against Lhazaar pirates, but the gold they offer

comes, indirectly and deniably, from the coffers of King

Kaius. The king is keen to rid his land of the influence

of the Blood of Vol. Destruction of the cult on the island

certainly draws the attention of the Crimson Covenant and

perhaps even Erandis d'Vol herself. Entanglement with the

Order of the Emerald Claw will surely follow.

Forgotten Realms. Abbey Isle lies off the west coast of

the Dragon Reach, and a mariners' guild from the Daie-

i ands would like to control the island to help them defend

against raiders from Pirate Isle in the Sea of Fallen Stars. A

cult devoted to Shar, an isolated remnant of the Netherese

occupation, has lived on the island for some time. If the

cult is routed from the island, the characters might gain

unwanted attention from what remains of Netheril.

Mystara. The Minrothad Guilds are always interested in

consolidating their power on the sea and would be glad to

wrest control of the island away from the cult that holds it.

Due to interference from the Thieves' Guild, the scholars

of North Isle have had little luck convincing the guilds to

help. As a result, they have hired mercenaries to remove

the threat on the Abbey Isle, located between North Isle

and Fire Island. The cult could be followers of Alphaks,

inspiring Thyatian privateers to set out from Terentias and

brave Minrothad territory to wipe out the renegade cult.

The characters explore the island, dealing with horri-

fying undead, surviving clergy, brutal mercenaries, and

living constructs in trapped tunnels. Once they have

cleared the isle, they can return to the mariners' guild

headquarters and collect the reward from Guildmas-

ter Tabeth.

TRAVELING TO THE ISLE

The actual jumping-off point for the mission is an is-

land located up the coast. Getting there in the rowboat

takes about six hours. This island has a lighthouse that

the cha.acters can use as a safe place when they want

to rest. reequip, or regroup. Abbey Isle is another two

hours beyond the lighthouse.

ABOUT THE ORIGINAL

THE LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER

The lighthouse where the characters begin the adven-

ture is manned by a retired officer named Major Ursa.

The major (LG male human veteran) is a huge, bar-

rel-chested man with a bright red beard and a circlet of

thin red-gray hair on his balding head. His usual garb

is a gaudy red and yellow kilt with his warbammer and

dagger hanging from a broad leather belt.

The major now lives, and enjoys, the solitary life of

a lighthouse keeper. He is a respected member of the

mariners' guild. If the major is attacked by the party,

the local citizenry rallies to his defense. The mariners'

guild quickly places a bounty on the party, and the ad-

venturers become bunted criminals. The major does

not have the guild's reward money or anything of value

(other than food, drink, and nautical equipment) at the

lighthouse.

ROLEPLAYING MAJOR URSA

Major Ursa is not a mercenary and will not sponta-

neously join the party. He accompanies the characters

only if they have made at least one attempt to land on the

island. He remains on their boat. refusing to take part in

combat but willing to observe and offer advice.

WHAT HE KNOWS

Major Ursa. as a member of the mariners' guild, is in-

vested in the party's success. He offers the following

information freely:

"The only safe place to get ashore on the reef-ringed,

rocky little is land is a large sandy beach known as the

Skull Dunes. The dunes are full of undead, because

the clerics of the abbey created an army of skeletons

to guard the beach. The skeletons lie under the sand

and attack anyone who comes near."

• "The pirates got ashore somehow. There's probably a
  path through the undead. but finding it's the problem.
  We didn't catch up with the pirates till after they'd left
  the island. They'd taken as good as they gave. They
  were a miserable, sorry lot when we attacked and
  routed what was left of them. One shipload escaped,
  but we sank the others. The sea and the sharks got
  the s urvivors, so we never got a firsthand account of
  what happened on the island or of how the pirates got
  through the dunes."

"Isle of the Abbey" was designer

Randy Maxwell's contribution to

l 992's Dungeon 34.

In designing this adventure, Max-

well reached back to his early days

as a Dungeon Master, restricting

himself to using only monsters

found in the rulebook he started

with. The result is a scenario

that shows how restraints breed

creativity. ISLE OF THE

ABBEY

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