Ghosts of Saltmarsh

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POLITICS AMONG THE LIZARDFOLK

Two political groups operate in the social structure of

the Jizardfolk lair. On the one hand are th e dominant

progressives led by the queen. Othokent. who is sup-

ported by a subchief named lhrtos, several officers, and

many warriors. Her progressive stance is inspired and

driven by wisdom of the aged lizardfolk minister. Sauriv.

Opposing that group (mostly covertly, for the rule of

the queen remains absolute) are the traditionalists, led

by the shamans. The shamans believe that allying and

intermingling with other races is contrary to the divine

will of their god. Semuanya, and that no good can come

of it. Consequently, the shamans hate and distrust the

minister, Sau riv, whom they consider to be the prime

instigator of these efforts that go against nature. They

dare not move openly against him, however, since he

enjoys the trust and favor of the queen.

If the lizard folk queen is killed in the course of this ad-

venture, she is succeeded by the subchief. If the subchief

is also killed, the succession goes co one of the warrior

officers. If all of these are slain. then succession falls to

the most senior surviving shaman. In this event, the sha-

man denounces the alliance. pulls the lizard folk out of

it, sacrifices the aged lizardfolk minister to the Lizardfolk

deity Semuanya, and leads the remai nder of the tribe

into the depths of the marsh beyond the reach of the sa-

huagin. If all the lizardfolk notables are slain. surviving

members of the tribe simply drift away into the marsh,

taking all their possessions with them. There will then

be no chance of an alliance against the sahuagin that

involves the lizard folk.

Rules of Engagement

Ideally, when the characters learn the truth about the

lizard folk and the sahuagin, they have done so before

causing irreparable harm Lo the occupants of the lair

and the lizardfolk's plans for the alliance against the

sahuagin. For their mission to have any chance of suc-

ceeding. the characters must eventually gain-or be

forcibly prodded into an audience with the queen. Even

i f her initial reaction is not a friendly one, the characters

might still have a chance of winning over the lizardfolk

and making them receptive (if the characters suggest as

much) to admitting Saltmarsh into the alliance.

ABOUT THE ORIGINAL

Handling the interaction between the two sides

against the backdrop of the first contact between the liz-

ardfolk and potentially friendly humans can be difficult.

Though it's always possible to let roleplaying take its

course, particularly if the characters refrain from com-

bat and make a good first impression, things might not

play out quite that simply. Here are some guidelines on

how to handle this aspect of the adventure.

PROCEDURE

The lizardfolk start out indifferent toward the characters

and, by extension, Saltmarsh. To track the attitude of the

lizardfolk, use points to r ecord the characters' progress

toward sealing an alliance. The characters begin the ad-

venture with^0 points. That score is adjusted every time

they interact with lizard folk, but the results only become

apparent when the characters meet the lizard folk queen.

They can then earn more points through diplomacy and

by improving the tribe"s strength and safety.

The alliance is sealed if the characters reach or ex-

ceed SO points, at which point the lizardfolk become

friendly to them. They are invited to see the queen a

second time, and during this session the groundwork for

Saltmarsh's inclusion in the alliance can be laid.

The lizard folk become irrevocably hostile if the char-

acters' total number of points drops to^0 or lower even

after the queen offers them chances at diplomacy and

ways to improve their standing. Tf this happens, after the

lizardfolk give them a second chance, the characters'

mission ends in failure.

MEETING THE QUEEN

The point system starts working when the adventure be-

gins, but its ramifications aren't apparent until the PCs

meet the queen for the first time. This most likely occurs

after they engage a group of lizard folk without fighting

them, whereupon they are put in custody and taken to

her. When this happens. determine the characters' cur-

r ent point total by using the Initial Attitude table. giving

them benefits and penalties according to what they have

done so far. The characters might have a negative score

at this point if they were hostile toward the lizard folk

prior to their audience.

Othokent is worldly for a lizardfolk. Tn her youth, she

spent several years exploring the nearby marshes. She

Dave J. Brown and Don Turnbull

continued the Saltmarsh series

in this classic. Doubling down on

TSR UK's penchant for exploration

and interaction in their work, this

scenario challenges the characters

to act as ambassadors to a colony

of lizardfolk.

While such roleplay-focused

adventures are the norm today. at

the time of its publication (in 1982)

this adventure was the first to make

interaction an absolute requirement

for success, rather than one option

among many.

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