Ghosts of Saltmarsh

(Nancy Kaufman) #1
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

n m e to hi! the beoch.

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LH\l'TlRS lS!EOt !'HEAIHI!)

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