Ghosts of Saltmarsh

(Nancy Kaufman) #1
SHIP DISPOSITION

d10 Disposition
l Diseased
2 Emergency
3 Help with purpose
4 Mutiny
s Trading
6-10 No special disposition

DISEASED

Roll percentile dice. The result reveals the percentage of
the ship"s crew and passengers infected with a disease
of your choice from "'Sample Diseases" in chapter 8,
"Running the Game," of the Dungeon Master's Guide.
This ship approaches the characters, begging for or de-
manding help with the infection.
Ghost ships can't be diseased; if you get this result for
a ghost ship, ignore it and roll again.


EMERGENCY
A ship experiencing an emergency is suffering some
sort of crisis. The crew and passengers beg or demand
the characters' help in getting out of the situation.
Choose or roll for an emergency on the Ship Emergency
table to determine the vessel's crisis.


SHIP EMERGENCY
d4
l
2

3

4

Emergency
The ship's crew is lost.
The ship is damaged and can't be steered as it
drifts with the current.
The ship is stuck on a sandbar.
The ship is sinking.

HELP WITH Pu RPO SE
Ship crews looking for help with their purpose ap-
proach the characters asking for direct aid in a task.
For instance, mercenaries ask for help mapping an
unexplored area while a cargo ship's crew asks the char-
acters to serve as guards. Most crews offer compensa-
tion in return for the characters' services, though some
might threaten or beg for charity to get help.

MUTINY
The crew of ships ready to mutiny are unhappy with
the leadership of their officers and plan to overthrow
them. The officers approach the characters. asking for
or demanding help quelling the uprising, or the crew ap-
proaches, requesting aid with their uprising or attempt-
ing to trick the characters into killing the officers.

TRADING
Ship crews and passengers looking to trade offer their
cargo or services lo th e characters in exchange for
deeds. items. or coin. Use the ship's purpose to guide
what they have to trade. For instance, commercial
fishermen might offer a crate of valuable crabs in ex-
change for the head of a shark that keeps consuming

their catches, while pirates might offer stolen potions in
exchange for gems or gold. Most of the people offering
trades are willing to haggle. If the characters refuse to
trade. evil-aligned crews and passengers might attack to
get what they want.

MYSTERIOUS ISLANDS


Small islands dot most oceans, distant or unexplored
locales that might host all manner of adventures. The
following rules can be used to generate any islands the
characters might encounter.

ISLAND SIZE
These rules are used to generate islands with areas
roughly ld6 miles long and ld6 miles wide. Most is-
lands aren't perfect rectangles, and most coastlines
aren't perfectly straight, so feel free to make areas of the
island shorter, longer, thinner. or wider as you see fit.

ISLAND HABITAT
An island can have any habitat that seems appropriate
for the clime it occupies. For example, islands of floating
ice are found in arctic seas, while islands with jungle
habitats are found in tropical waters. Not all islands are
created by nature, though. A powerful spellcaster or di-
vine being could conjure an island made of crystal. iron,
or any material you choose.

ISLAND THEME
Each island encountered has a theme chosen or rolled
on the Island Theme table. This theme defines the is-
land's story in one broad stroke. Once you have a theme,
consult its section after the table to determine r elated
details and story hooks.

ISLAND THEME
d6 Theme
Alien
2 Cursed
3 Hostile
4 Sanctum
s Welcoming
6 Wild

ALIEN
Alien islands are inhabited by isolated creatures with
ways of life beyond most beings' comprehensions. Ev-
erything about the cu I tu re of the island, from architec-
ture to food, is unfamiliar and unsettling to outsiders.
At your discretion the inhabitants of the island might
speak. read. and write a language all their own.

ALIEN ISLAND LEADER
d4 Leader
Aboleth
2 Beholder
3 Death slaad
4 Kraken

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