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Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Nestled on the coast of the Azure Sea is Saltmarsh, a sleepy fishing village that sits on the precipice of destruction. Smugglers guide their ships to hidden coves, willing to slit the throat of anyone fool enough to cross their path. Cruel sahuagin gather beneath the waves, plotting to sweep away coastal cities. Drowned sailors stir to unnatural life, animated by dark magic and sent forth in search of revenge. The cult of a forbidden god extends its reach outward from a decaying port, hungry for fresh victims and willing recruits. While Saltmarsh slumbers, the evils that seek to plunder it grow stronger. Heroes must arise to keep the sea lanes safe for all.
This supplement introduces the port town of Saltmarsh, the perfect starting point for a nautical campaign. Seven sea-based adventures, including the classic The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh and its sequels, take characters from 1st to 12 level. Also inside are rules and DM advice for ships and sea travel, as well as deck plans for various vessels. An appendix provides rules for the new and classic monsters in the adventures.
Hoist your sails, pull up anchor, and set a course for adventure!
This supplement introduces the port town of Saltmarsh, the perfect starting point for a nautical campaign. Seven sea-based adventures, including the classic The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh and its sequels, take characters from 1st to 12 level. Also inside are rules and DM advice for ships and sea travel, as well as deck plans for various vessels. An appendix provides rules for the new and classic monsters in the adventures.
Hoist your sails, pull up anchor, and set a course for adventure!
- GenresDungeons and Dragons
258 pages, Hardcover
Published May 1, 2019
2 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
Mike Mearls
91 books60 followersMike Mearls is the dark hope of chaotic evil: young, handsome, well endowed in abilities and aptitudes, thoroughly wicked, depraved, and capricious. Whomever harms Mearls had better not brag of it in the presence of one who will inform the Demoness Lolth! Has been sent into this area to rebuild a force of men and humanoid fighters to gather loot and restore the Temple of Elemental Evil to its former glory. Of course, Mearls is but one of many so charged, but he is looked upon with special favor and expectation. He and his minions have been careful to raid far from this area, never nearer than three or four leagues, traveling on foot or being carried in wagons of the traders from Hommlet. None of the victims are ever left alive to tell the tale, and mysterious disappearances are all that can be remarked upon, for no trace of men, mounts, goods, wagons, or draft animals is ever found.
Evil to the core, Mearls is cunning, and if the situation appears in doubt, he will use bribery and honeyed words to sway the balance in his favor. He is not at all adverse to gaining new recruits of any sort, and will gladly accept adventurers into the ranks, but he will test and try them continually. Those who arouse suspicion will be quietly murdered in their sleep; those with too much promise will be likewise dealt with, for Mearls wants no potential usurpers or threats to his domination.
(Major points to anyone who gets the above reference)
When not cribbing the bios of well known AD&D 1st edition villains, I'm a game developer at Wizards of the Coast. I work on the Dungeons & Dragons paper and pencil RPG and the Dungeons & Dragons miniatures game.
Evil to the core, Mearls is cunning, and if the situation appears in doubt, he will use bribery and honeyed words to sway the balance in his favor. He is not at all adverse to gaining new recruits of any sort, and will gladly accept adventurers into the ranks, but he will test and try them continually. Those who arouse suspicion will be quietly murdered in their sleep; those with too much promise will be likewise dealt with, for Mearls wants no potential usurpers or threats to his domination.
(Major points to anyone who gets the above reference)
When not cribbing the bios of well known AD&D 1st edition villains, I'm a game developer at Wizards of the Coast. I work on the Dungeons & Dragons paper and pencil RPG and the Dungeons & Dragons miniatures game.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 12, 2022
A fun campaign, I ran it for like 2 years with a group of players. The roster of players changed several times and we lost several characters to lots of different interesting deaths…Lol. My personal favorite was the Bard that got ripped to shreds and eaten by ghouls in the bottom of a ship in one of the adventures!
They even met and rescued a famous archmage Drawmij out in the seas.
I’ve always been very pro-Greyhawk and this fits my esthetic very much.
Lots of good memories were made running this campaign.
As a critique I’d say that it’s put together like a real clusterf**k, so look around on the internet for adventures that supplement this book. You’ll find some good ones on DMsGuild, like furthering the arc for Captain Sigurd.
There are also several canonical adventures in the pages of old Dungeon Magazine for 3rd edition which I used as well.
Also, since 5e gives out dick for treasure and magic items I used some of the stuff from actual 1st edition D&D since the first few adventures in this campaign are redone from 1e.
Like I said, it’s not put together very well and doesn’t flow right. It takes some work and may be better suited in the hands of a more experienced DM.
Oh yah, almost forgot… an absolutely invaluable resource for me was the DMG II from 3rd edition! It’s a must have if you want to flesh out Saltmarsh in better detail. Let’s be honest, they give you very little to go off of for Saltmarsh in this, it’s more like a tiny fishing village, and it’s pretty weak. The DMG II had so much more to go off of and little plot links to follow to expand the adventures.
They even met and rescued a famous archmage Drawmij out in the seas.
I’ve always been very pro-Greyhawk and this fits my esthetic very much.
Lots of good memories were made running this campaign.
As a critique I’d say that it’s put together like a real clusterf**k, so look around on the internet for adventures that supplement this book. You’ll find some good ones on DMsGuild, like furthering the arc for Captain Sigurd.
There are also several canonical adventures in the pages of old Dungeon Magazine for 3rd edition which I used as well.
Also, since 5e gives out dick for treasure and magic items I used some of the stuff from actual 1st edition D&D since the first few adventures in this campaign are redone from 1e.
Like I said, it’s not put together very well and doesn’t flow right. It takes some work and may be better suited in the hands of a more experienced DM.
Oh yah, almost forgot… an absolutely invaluable resource for me was the DMG II from 3rd edition! It’s a must have if you want to flesh out Saltmarsh in better detail. Let’s be honest, they give you very little to go off of for Saltmarsh in this, it’s more like a tiny fishing village, and it’s pretty weak. The DMG II had so much more to go off of and little plot links to follow to expand the adventures.
Displaying 1 of 1 review