Using This Book 5 Background
Ghosts of Saltmarsh features seven tales of adventure
t hat take place upon the waves, on brine-battered
shores, and in the sea's deadliest depths. Each of these
adventures comes from across the tides of D&D history,
ret urning to test heroes grown used to the predictable
th reats a nd reliable footing of d ry land.
Along wit h each adventure appear notes for setting
the advent ure in the Saltmarsh region or adapting it to a
variety of D&D settings. Use t hat information to place it
in your campaign or on the shores of your choice.
These adventu res make perfect side quests for
ongoing campaigns. If you run published D&D cam-
paigns, like Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, the higher-level
adventures presented here are a n ideal way to extend
the campaign.
The advent ures in Ghosts of Saltmarsh a lso perfectly
complement t hose in Tales from the Yawning Porta/-
which collects another seven famous (albeit land locked)
adventures. By picking and choosing your favori te e n-
tires in each compilation, you'll be on your way to creat-
ing a customized campaign all your own.
RUNNING THE ADVENTURES
To run each of t hese adventures, you need the fifth
edition Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide,
a nd Monster Manual. Before you sit down with your
players, read the text of the adventure and familiarize
yourself with the maps as well, perhaps making notes
about complex a reas or places w here the cha racters
a re certa in to go, so you're well prepared before the ac-
tion starts.
Text that appears in a box like this is meant to be read
a lo ud or para p hrased for the players when their charac·
te rs first a rrive at a location or unde r a specific circum·
stance, as d escribed in the text.
The Monster Manual contains stat blocks for most
of t he monsters and N PCs found in this book. When
a creature's name appears in bold type, that's a visual
c ue pointing you to its stat block in appendix C or in the
Monster Manual. If a stat block appears in appendix C of
this book, t he text tells you so.
Spells and nonmagical equip·
ment mentioned in the book
are described in the Player's
Handbook. Magic items are
described in the Dungeon
Master's Guide, unless the
adventu re's text directs you
to an item's description in
appendix B.
CREDITS FROM THE ORIGINALS
As every Dungeon Master knows, considerable work
goes into t he creation of a DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ad-
venture. Presented below are the credits from the clas-
s ic adventures that inspired the updated tales found in
th is book. For more on each adventure's origin a nd its
place in D&D history, see the "About the Original" sec-
tion featured near the begining of each adventure.
The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh (1981)
Design: Dave J. Browne
Development: Don Turnbull
Editing and Production: Tom Kirby, Sally Meadows, Graeme Morris,
Don Turnbull
Art: Jim Holloway, Dave de Leuw. Harry Quinn, Stephen D. Sullivan
Playtesting: Jim Bambra, Michael W. Brunton, Chris Hall, Bill
Howard, Steve Mote, Allen Ovens, Martin Pickering, Chris Rick,
Dave Tant, Patrick Thompson, Don Turnbull, Mark Valentine, Pat
Whitehead
Cartography: Graeme Morris
Danger at Dunwater (1982)
Design: Dave J. Browne
Development: Don Turnbull
Editing and Production: Penny Bogg, Tom Kirby, Carole Morris.
Graeme Morris, Don Turnbull
Art: Dave de Leuw, Jim Holloway, Harry Quinn, Tim Truman
Playtesting: Jackie Apps, Steve Buckalow, Mike Ferguson, Bill
Francis, Andrew Geer, Bill Jones, Tom Kirby, Martin Pickering,
Matt Quartermain, Tony Ross, Phil Spivey, Dave Tant, Nick
Thornley, Simon Thornley, Jim Ward, Guy Williamson
Cartography: Graeme Morris
Salvage Operation (2005)
Design: Mike Mearls
Editing and Production: Sean Glenn, James Jacobs, Erik Mona,
Sarah Robinson, Mike Schley, Jeremy Walker
Artwork: Attila Adorjany
Cartography: Kyle Hunter
Isle of the Abbey (1992)
Design: Randy Maxwell
Editing and Production: Wolfgang H Baur, Dale A. Donovan, Roger
E. Moore, Larry W. Smith, Barbara G. Young
Artwork: Peter Clarke
Cartography: Diesel
The Final Enemy (1983)
Story: Dave J. Browne
Development: Don Turnbull
Editing and Production: Paul Cockburn, Tom Kirby, Graeme Morris,
Don Turnbull
Cover Art: Dave de Leuw
Cartography: Graeme Morris, Philip Kaye
Playtesting: Bill Black, Bob Collman, Thomas Haas, Bill Howard,
Allan Owens, Dawn Poole, Gina Poole, Chris Rick, Dave Tant,
Mark Valentine
Tammeraut's Fate (2004)
Design: Greg A. Vaughn
Editing and Production: Sean Glenn, James Jacobs, Erik Mona
Artwork: Peter Bergting
Cartography: Rob Lazzaretti
The Styes (2005)
Design: Richard Pe tt
Editing and Production: Sean Glenn, James Jacobs. Erik Mona,
Sarah Robinson, Mike Schley, Jeremy Walker
Artwork: Joachim Barrum
Cartography: Jason Engle
INTRODUCTION
