Production Values Ghosts of Saltmarsh (hereafter referred to as GoS) runs to 256 pages, which is the typical length of a Fifth Edition product by Wizards of the Coast.It has a recommended retail price of $49.95 in the US, and £38.99 in the UK. Comment Report abuse. Looking for a place to stay they stumbled upon The Wicker Goat observing a small fracas outside as a scruffy man was forcefully ejected, as two stern looking figures warned him from stealing customers away from under their nose. 30 September, 2014, Terms Drowned sailors stir to unnatural life, animated by dark magic and sent forth in search of revenge. They cannot, however, just be run consecutively, because the levels don’t work out that way. Entitled Ghosts of Saltmarsh, players and DM's can expect to receive the supplement in May of this year.Taking players on an adventure from levels 1-12, the port town of Saltmarsh will be the base location players find themselves in. The Styes – An adventure for 11th-level characters, The Styes primarily consists of straightforward investigation punctuated by a handful of high-stakes encounters. Saltmarsh and the Siren Coast region are predominantly human. Heroes must arise to keep the waves safe! Although it’s the sort of think we’ve generally come to expect in modern times, the Saltmarsh trilogy was distinctive at the time in assembling adventures with thematic presentation and something of a story, instead of an independent location for the party to search and loot. We here at Meeple Mountain have been playing through Ghosts of Saltmarsh, the latest adventure module collection for Dungeons & Dragons. Instead, the GM needs to make sure to read in the Saltmarsh town section about how to tweak the adventures to tie back into those elements. The cult of a forbidden god extends its reach outward from a decaying port, hungry for fresh victims and willing recruits. Inside you will find interviews, features, and comics that cover all things D&D. This could easily leave a situation where the primary political effect of the characters is to discover the bad guy faction, alert the good guy council member, and then generally be heroes. 5.0 out of 5 stars Yo ho ho & a bottle of rum! That part is fairly straightforward to run, but only once it’s read very, very closely, because it isn’t entirely clear what is where (and a glaring typo doesn’t help). Now the hard part, my players love the politics of Saltmarsh and the mystery of what is really going on. With that said, they probably work best being run relatively close in time to each other, as the plots directly flow. This is tough for the GM, because it’s going to be difficult for the GM and the players to realize when it’s time for the players to bug out. Other common races – those found in the Player’s Handbook – are also present and established, but in smaller numbers. We gave our first impressions of Ghosts of Saltmarsh when it was released and now we’ve returned to give you an update on how the playthrough has gone so far. The seven adventures updated for Ghosts of Saltmarsh include the original Saltmarsh trilogy and four adventures pulled from the pages of Dungeon magazine. 19 August, 2014, Release Date: This article is one of a series of articles covering the hardback D&D adventure book, Ghosts of Saltmarsh.You can read all of these articles here: ), and there are some individual rooms that are flagged as probably being lethal. For questions about "Ghosts of Saltmarsh" (2019), the D&D 5e collection of adventures published by Wizards of the Coast. It’s a follow up to the path breaking format of Tales of the Yawning Portal (YotYP) released 2 years … And players going into Ghosts of Saltmarsh are definitely going to need to become familiar with the rules for underwater combat and movement. Running Ghosts of Saltmarsh Chapter 5, Isle of the Abbey. Although, to spice things up, this time it’s zombie pirates. Verified Purchase. The appendix of Ghosts of Saltmarsh features a few nifty magical items suited to the setting, a collection of new foes your adventurers will face throughout the campaigns, and, most impressively, a large section on ships and the sea. Ghosts of Saltmarsh isn’t just TFTYP 2, however. In the case of Ghosts of Saltmarsh, that theme is the sea. Again, there will be little challenge until combat with the aboleth itself, which has full use of its lair actions. For example, a Galley (max crew 80) may take 3 actions--2 if at 40 crew or less, 1 if at 20 crew or less, and 0 if depleted to 3 crewmen or less. Before the final battle, the characters are sent in to the sahuagin fortress (which is now mostly underwater) to scout enemy numbers and locations. 1) Players brand new to table top roleplaying! Explore the waves above and the fathoms below in these watery adventures for the world’s greatest roleplaying game. Salvage Operation (4th level) – The party recovers … Entertainer: Bards and other performers are always in demand in a town like Saltmarsh. These locations aren’t tied to any particular adventure, but instead spend a bit over four pages each presenting a map, location basics, and then possible adventure hooks. The Curse of the Mad Alchemist - Ghosts of Saltmarsh, Chapter 2 The door opened to a small room containing the remains of an old copper still as well as a set of stone stairs leading down. There are even half-human/half-fish types around. While Saltmarsh slumbers, the evils that seek to plunder it grow stronger. “The Saltmarsh series consistently ranks as one of the most popular classic D&D adventures,” said Mike Mearls, franchise creative director of D&D. Now that all of those prying players have safely clicked away to greener pastures, here are some more detailed thoughts on the adventures, and how they might be strung together. Promotional consideration was provided in the form of a review copy. The two Waterdavian defense ships were sunk and many villagers and guards died. The original trilogy (The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh, Danger at Dunwater, and The Final Enemy) was published by TSR UK from 1981-83 (designed and developed by Dave J. Browne and Don Turnbull). Saltmarsh is a town of around 5000, mostly human, with a few elves, halflings and dwarves. As noted above, the adventures in Ghosts of Saltmarsh can be, but don’t need to be strung together. Ghosts of Saltmarsh includes details on the port town of Saltmarsh, with new adventure hooks for each chapter. I like that the concluding battle has a nice point-scoring system, so it’s easy to know exactly how much the party accomplished and how much it mattered to the assault. This includes ship layouts, crew actions, weaponry, movement, and upgrades. These residents, alas, suffered a similar fate to those on the Isle of the Abbey – most of them are already dead at the hands of pirates. Release Date: Subscribe to get the free product of the week! Saltmarsh takes players on a ride through seven adventures, supposedly tuned to run up through level 12. Finding adventure is easy in Ghosts of Saltmarsh. To be clear, it isn’t a bad book. For reasons not particularly pertinent, the characters need to board a derelict ship, make their way down to the cargo hold to grab the Quest Item and trigger a monster attack, then make their way back up to the main deck and off the ship before it sinks or the elder octopus gets them. In addition to the adventures, players will find new background and some variations on existing backgrounds to fit them in with the town of Saltmarsh (or any other random coastal town). 09 December, 2014, Release Date: They didn't really haveActions apart from "move and shoot every round." The three locations are a reef, a shipwreck, and an underwater ruin, so there’s a nice spread of options. This one, however, is occupied by the good guys. The players said they had fun and that they felt challenged by the extra hobgoblin. One of my players is a Lizardfolk which took a bit of on-the-spot dodging when they decided to capture and interrogate one of the Lizardfolk on the ship instead of killing them all. The way down is pretty standard fare, just with the ‘dungeon’ being the inside of a ship. Topping off this exploration is a final confrontation (which was not included in the original adventure; that just ended with the characters getting out of the base). There’s a very Lovecraftian vibe here, as the threat is an aboleth who has converted to worshipping a mad deity, controls an evil cult from behind the scenes, and is infusing a sea monster with evil power. The Saltmarsh trilogy works best as a trilogy, but the other adventures can be plug-and-played at appropriate levels. And players going into Ghosts of Saltmarsh are definitely going to need to become familiar with the rules for underwater combat and movement. I get that fighting aboleths requires a certain power level, but to me part of the Lovecraftian mood is characters who are first learning of the crazy world out there and have a relatively limited ability to do anything about it. Both Salvage Operation and Isle of the Abbey can be done alone as well, although Salvage Operation is more on the nose if you’re aiming for a sea-themed adventure (Isle of the Abbey is set on an island that was previously attacked by pirates, but the challenges faced by the players aren’t really sea-related). How to be a Great GM Presents Ghosts of Saltmarsh – Call of the Kraken. In addition to the adventures, players will find new background and some variations on existing backgrounds to fit them in with the town of Saltmarsh (or any other random coastal town). I must now have been the only one to appreciate Tales from the Yawning Portal, because the next Dungeons & Dragons release, Ghosts of Saltmarsh (available May 21, 2019) takes a similar approach. Among the passengers and cargo on the ship are some lizardfolk and weapons, which leads to the next adventure. The authors of Wizards of the Coast (WotC) have just released (May 21 2019) a 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) ‘mid-season’ hard cover adventure compendium called Ghosts of Saltmarsh (GoSM). Helpful. Ultimately, I’d suggest running the first five as a campaign, and I think I personally would mostly stick with a minimalist approach to incorporating the town politics, but then weave those politics into something more substantive to fill the one-level gap between Isle of the Abbey and The Final Enemy – get the town unified before the big confrontation (or maybe I would get lazy and just go look for a pre-made 6th-level adventure elsewhere). But eventually the characters will discover the remaining inhabitants in hiding, and realize that the zombie horde will be back that night. The book adapts a number of AD&D 1e modules, including the "U"-series and some other nautical adventures from Dungeon magazine. Movement (Yes, Moving is now an Action for ships), and each discret… Produced by Beadle & Grimm's, their Sinister Silver Edition is filled with all the elements a Dungeon Master needs to create an amazing experience for their players adventuring through Ghosts of Saltmarsh. 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