Ghosts of Saltmarsh

(Nancy Kaufman) #1
The eel has the statistics of a giant constrictor snake,
with the following changes:
The eel can breathe only underwater, its walking
speed is 0 feet, and its swimming speed is 40 feet.


  • It has a +4 bonus to Dexterity (Stealth) checks.
    It doesn·t have the Constrict action option.


C7. COVE GORGE
This gorge goes down to a depth of 1,500 feet. Ogrorlo
went here to be alone when it was tired of being wor-
shiped. A chuul. an ancient guardian and servant of
Ogrorlo, still inhabits the bottom of the gorge. It attacks
any creature that isn't an aboleth or merfolk that ap-
proaches within 60 feet of the gorge's bottom.
Treasure. The bottom of the gorge holds a stone chest
carved with the image of a clam that contains a hundred
tiny white pearls (10 gp each), five large pink pearls (100
gp each), and a single black pearl (500 gp).

COVE REEF ADVENTUR ES
You can create your own stories for adventuring at this
site or use the information in the Cove Reef Encounters
table to create an adventure. You can roll randomly or
choose an encounter appropriate for the average level
of the characters. Each encounter is described in detail
after the table.

COVE REEF ENCOUNTERS
d4 Encounter
1 Tentacle Trap
2 Worshipers of Koolooshidoop
3 Coven of Wet Rot
4 Elkahraal

TENTACLE TRAP

Level
3rd
5th
7th
9th

Two female merfolk named Talnad and Valas were
kicked out of their tribe for stealing. Together with their
pet giant octopus Allero. the merfolk plan to set a trap in
the cove to attract adventurers and steal from them.
Saltmarsh S tory Hook. To help draw the characters
to the cove, Talnad and Valas unearth merfolk bones
from the mass grave (area C6), which causes the re-
mains to Roat to the surface. Fishers working in the cove
find the bones and refuse to continue fishing in these
waters. Eda Oweland offers the characters a special
favor (see "Special Favors" in chapter 7 of the Dungeon
Masters Guide) to discover the source of the problem
and end it.
Clever Ruse. Talnad and Valas stay near the top of the
gorge (area C7), looking for creatures that have equip-
ment they can steal. Allero, a gi ant octopus, hides in the
darkness of the gorge at a depth of 1,000 feet.
Talnad and Valas have the statistics of scouts. with
the following changes:


Their alignment is chaotic evil.


  • They have a walking speed of 10 feet, a swimming
    speed of 40 feet. and can breathe air and water.
    They don't carry longbows.


\I' I' I· 'I ll I \ \ I < H s ll 1 P~ J\ N IJ I 1 11 SI \

When the merfolk spy the char acters, Talnad begs
them for help, saying she dropped her seashell necklace
in the gorge. The mcrfolk don't have a light source to
search the bottom of the gorge and hope the characters
can help. A character who makes a successful Wisdom
(Insight) check contested by Talnad's Charisma (Decep-
tion) check discerns that she isn't telling the whole truth.
If the characters follow the merfolk into the gorge.
Talnad and Valas lead the group to Allero and then
attack. If the characters refuse to help, the merfolk
whistle for Allero and attack when the octopus arrives.
I f this battle goes poorly for the merfolk, they dive to the
bottom of the gorge toward the chuul, hoping the charac-
ters follow.
A character who captures one or both of the merfolk
and makes a successful DC 12 Charisma (lntimidation)
check convinces the merfolk to reveal the truth about
the floating bones. Otherwise the merfolk deny knowing
anything about the bones.
Disturbed Gra ve. If a character examines the merfolk
mass grave, a successful DC 12 Intelligence (I nvestiga-
tion) or Wisdom (Survival) chec k reveals marks in the
mud on the ground- some of the bones were recently
dug up by webbed humanoid hands.

WORSHIP ERS OF KOOLOOSHIDOOP
The middle of the gorge (area C7) is connected to a lake
in the Underdark by way of a tunnel. Fuuna, a female
kuo-toa monitor. and her retinue used the tunnel to
reach the su rface after she ordered the group to find
new gods to add to their pantheon. After the kuo-toa
found the stone clam in the reef (area C3), they named
it Koolooshidoop and believed it to be a god. Before re-
turning to the Underdark with the clam, Fuuna feels she
must make a sacrifice to Koolooshidoop to avoid anger-
ing the clam.
Saltmarsh S tory Hook. The crew of jolly Good, a
Solmor fishing boat, went for a swim in the cove, and six
of the sailors never returned. Anders Solmor offers the
characters 200 gp to find out what happened to the six
human sailors.
Confronting the Kuo-toa. During the day, th e kuo-toa
m onitor Fuuna, two k uo-t oa whi ps, and eight kuo-toa
rest in the gorge at a depth of 1 ,000 feet. At night they
form a circle around Koolooshidoop and pray. If the kuo-
toa spot the characters, they attack, believing the char-
acters to be a worthy sacrifice to their new deity. The
kuo-toa aim to capture the characters and sacrifice them
when the clam is glowing.
Corpses in th e Reef. A char acter who searches
the reef (area C3) and makes a successful DC 12 In-
telligence (Investigation) check finds a shallow grave
beneath the reef that holds the remains of six sailors
from jolly Good. The sailors were obviously killed by
the weapons of the kuo-toa (part of the sacrifice to Koo-
looshidoop).

COVEN OF WET ROT
The Wet Rot Coven is a group of three sea hags named
Driftwood Moist rot. Rotten Blubbersore, and Auntie
Canker. The group wants to depose Granny Nightshade
(see "The Dreadwood"). The coven used w work for
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