Ghosts of Saltmarsh

(Nancy Kaufman) #1

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  1. SANBALET'S PRIVATE QUARTERS


Unlike the barracks, this small room holds comfortable
furnishings and appears to be well cared for.
A comfortable-looking bed in the northwest corner has
a wooden locker at its foot.
A small wooden table stands against the east wall, with
a padded leather chair beside it. On the table, a brass
three-branch candlestick with three burning candles pro-
vides the room with bright light. The candles, though not
fresh, are far from spent.
Under the table is a small wooden box and an unlit
bullseye lantern with a movable shutter over the lens.

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On a shelf above the table sit three books. In the
northeast corner is a closed wooden wardrobe.

Jf the characters have avoided alerti ng the smugglers to
their presence, Sanbalet (see appendix C) is in his quar-
ters. Otherwise, this room is vacant.
Sanbalet's books consists of the following volumes:
A volume of erotic poetry, fully illustrated
A naval almanac listing tide times for the area of coast
around Saltmarsh (a total of one hundred miles of
coastline is covered)
A treatise concerning the demigod luz and its minions
Inside the third book is a sheet of parchment featuring
a few simple words and phrases in the Common tongue
and their equivalents in Goblin. The words include
'"stop," "fight," "lift,"' "come,'" and so forth- key words
used by Sanbalet to instruct his hobgoblin mercenaries.
Bullseye Lantern. The lantern is used to signal the
Sea Ghost. Someone who makes a successful DC 10 In-
telligence (Investigation) check realizes that the lantern
is used only infrequently.
Treasure. The three books are worth JO gp each. A
fancy floor-length oilskin coat (5 gp) hangs in the ward-
robe. Its sleeves contain numerous pockets (empty), and
it is trimmed in iridescent green silk.
A character who makes a successful DC 12 Intelli-
gence (Investigation) check finds a hidden compartment
under the table that holds Sanbalet's spellbook. The
book contains all the spells Sanbalet has prepared.
The small wooden box holds twelve candles, flint and
steel, and a piece of parchment that details Sanbalet's
method of communicating with the ship. See ""The Sig-
naling System·· in the second part of this adventure for
more information.


  1. SKELETONS' ROOM
    The bar securing the door is easily lifted. The smugglers
    sealed this room after discovering the undead within.


Light spilling in from the large room behind you barely
shows that the chamber 1s only about twelve feet across
and the corners are filled with shadow. What little you
can see is dingy and dirty.

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Six old skel eto ns lurk in the shadows here. They rise
and attack as soon as the characters enter the room.
They have disadvantage on initiative checks owing to
the length of their dormancy. The skeletons are rein-
forced by compounds applied to their bones years ago.
The first time they take damage from a melee attack,
that damage is reduced by half. If the skeletons are vul-
nerable to that damage. they instead ignore that vulnera-
bility for this attack.
Development. If the characters spend more than a
few moments here, a faint blue light appears at the seam
of the secret door to area 24. The light gradually grows
brighter as the alchemist's remains reanimate after long
decades. At a time of your choosing, the alchemist (skel-
etal al chemist ; see appendix C) emerges through the
secret door to assist the skeletons.
When the alchemist enters the scene, r ead:

A hunched corpse wearing a pointed hat and dressed in a
robe embroidered with mystic symbols crosses through
the hidden door. Thin wisps of beard A oat from its bony
jaw. It raises a finger, tracing arcane symbols in the air.
In a hoarse voice, it speaks: "Secrets found and lost then
found again. Your paltry minds cannot fathom ... "

Treasure. The alchemist wears an empty bag of hold-
ing at the waist. One rib bone on each of the skeletons
is dipped in gold and is worth 5 gp. The alchemist also
carries a cursed luckstone (see appendix B).

5KELE T~L ALCHEMl~T

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