Ghosts of Saltmarsh

(Nancy Kaufman) #1

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LOOK OUT ABOVE
Chief among the creatures drawn to the scent of death
on the island is a monstrous perytoo (see appendix C)
known as Rasp. This creature has long hunted across
the region, searching for fishing boats or passenger
ships to attack. The locals watch for and fear Rasp, and
they know that it has several lairs along the coast. None
who have tried to hunt the creature have returned.
The peryton makes frequent passes over the island
nowadays. hoping to spot survivors of the recent attack
that it can devour. If the characters arrive by day. Rasp
welcomes them with its claws and beak. It is smart
enough to not fight to the death, though, and it leaves the
island to return to one of its mainland lairs if reduced to
half its hit points or fewer.
If Rasp reduces a character to 0 hit points. it attempts
to pick the character up and fly back to its newly claimed
lair in area 24.
Rasp's recent predations have prompted other crea-
tures on the island to stay out of sight. The native fauna
do not wander freely, nor do the remaining residents.

TRAVELING TO FIREWATCH ISLAND
A small keelboat makes the three-mile journey south
from Uskarn to Firewatch Island at first light each day,
delivering supplies and bringing passengers back and
forth from the hermitage. A one-way trip costs 5 sp. The
ferry is mastered by Ulder Raserhill (LN male half-ore
commoner), a short-tempered individual who begrudges

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his fate as a backwater sa ilor. If the characters request
him to wait for them (or if he thinks the characters are
rich), he asks for an extra payment of as much as 50 gp.
To give the characters a way to explore on their own or
to leave the island independently. the Uskarn council ar-
ranges for their use of a large rowboat, which Underhill
tows to the island when he transports his passengers.
I f the characters have their own ship it's easy for them
to reach Firewacch Island. Keep in mind that having ac-
cess to their own ship makes escaping the island easy.
but if the characters flee, then they might have no way of
tracking the undead back to the Pit of Hatred.
Characters who make their own way to the island
can start the adventure by landing at any point along
its shore. If they use the ferry, Raserhill puts in only at
the pier near the hermitage on the north shore of the is-
land. I l e drops off his passengers and the rowboat, then
promptly heads back to the mainland.

END OFTuEjOURNEY
ln good weather, the journey to Firewatch Island takes
an hour. As the characters approach, they can hear the
faint sound of a large bell being rung, seemingly coming
from the island. But the sound fades quickly and is not
heard again. (One of the survivors at the hermitage rang
the bell when he saw the characters' vessel approach-
ing, but he was waylaid thereafter; see area 24 for more
information.)
When the characters come within sight of the is-
land. read:

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