Page 221 - ghosts-of-saltmarsh

Treasure. A character who succeeds on a DC 13 Wis- of their time in the cave. They can't stand the painful
dom (Perception) check while searching the room finds memories that come from looking at their old ship.
a set of gilded navigator's tools (100 gp) amid a great The ghosts are devout followers of St. Cuthbert, and
deal of ruined paper and deteriorated clothing. they attack any creature they see committing an illegal
or evil act (such as if ihe characters are carrying items
M6. PASSENGER QUARTERS they stole from the ship's occupants).
The furniture in the passenger quarters is in pieces that If the characters have committed no such acts. the
litter the ground. ghosts ask the characters to recover their remains as
Crab of Cuthbert. The day before the Marshal sank. well as the bones of their friends in the harpy nest (area
Clergol of the Viola. a bard and a follower of St. Cuth- M 1) and the brig (area M8) and give them a proper
bert, cast the awaken spell on a crab he named Barnacle burial. If the characters perform this task. the ghosts
Bess. Bess has the statistics of a giant crab, with the give them permission to take treasure from the Marshal.
following changes: after which they share their knowledge of the ship's
original purpose and then fade into the afterlife.
• She is lawful neutral.
• Her Intelligence score is lO (+O). and she can speak
and understand Common. WRECK ADVENTURES
You can create your own stories for adventuring at this
Bess hides beneath the broken pieces of furniture.
site or use the information in the Marshal Wreck En-
She is timid and knows very little about the ship's
counters table to create an adventure. You can roll ran-
history, though Clergol did teach her the tenets of St.
Cuthbert and how to sing a few of the god's hymns. If domly or choose an encounter appropriate for the aver-
age level of the characters. Each encounter is described
the characters find Bess, she tries to flee unless one of
in detail after the table.
them wears a symbol of St. Cuthbert. in which case she
follows that character around singing and obeys orders
MARSHAL WRECK ENCOUNTERS
given to her by that character.
d4 Encounter Level
M7. MISSIONARY CARGO Vecna's Twist 5th
The door to this area is locked. A character can pick 2 Merrow Mayhem 7th
the lock with a successful DC 15 Dexterity check using Golem Diver 11th
thieves' tools. A character can break the door open with 3
4 Dragon Turtle Bandit 15th
a successful DC 12 Strength check.
This cabin contains fifteen watertight crates of various
sizes, which hold hundreds of copies of St. Cuthbert and VECNA'S TWIST
Common Sense, a short book used to explain the tenets The town guard of Saltmarsh recently broke up a secret
of the deity's faith to nonbelievers. cult of Vecna, an enemy of St. Cuthbert. jander Caudron
(NE male human cult fanatic) was the leader of the cult.
M8. BRIG During interrogation.jander revealed that the cult hon-
The brig·s door is made of rusted iron. Inside is a broken ored Vecna by using a cursed ceremonial dagger to twist
chamber pot and four skeletons wearing torn and rotted the souls of St. Cuthbert's faithful killed on the Marshal
priest robes and manacles with broken, rusty chains. into warriors of the Maimed God meant to assault Salt-
Skeletons. The skeletons are the remains of the marsh. The dagger is hidden somewhere in the wreck.
missionaries that overcame the allure of the harpies' Saltmarsh Story Hook. Eliander Fi reborn asks the
song and tried lo convince the others to put the Marshal characters lo investigate the matter, offering 300 gp if
back on course. Their pleas failed, and these mission- they neutralize the threat and recover the dagger.
aries were imprisoned in the brig, where they ulti- Cursed Dagger. The cursed dagger. decorated with
mately drowned. the hand and eye symbol ofVecna, is hidden beneath the
Symbol of St. Cuthbert's Knowledge. One of the skel- statue of St. Cuthbert in area M3. A character can spot
etons is that of Uzol Telmock, a high priest of St. Cuth- it with a successfu I DC 17 Wisdom (Perception) check.
bert. It still carries the symbol of St. Cuthbert's magic A detect magic spell or similar effect reveals an aura of
inside its robes. A detect magic spell or similar effect necromancy magic radiating from the dagger.
reveals an aura of divination magic emanating from chis Whenever an undead creature is destroyed within 500
jade symbol of St. Cuthbert. The symbol can activate the feet of the dagger. the creature's essence is trapped in
altar in area M4. the blade, and Id I 0 days later the creature re-forms with
all its hit points in a space within 10 feet of the dagger.
M9. CAVE OF LOST SOULS When a creature that is not undead and does not wor-
This sea cave has the following features: ship Vecna touches the dagger. that creature must suc-
Al gae. The sea cave is covered in phosphorescent algae. ceed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or become
which fills the cave with dim green light. paralyzed for I hour. If the creature is still touching the
Ceiling. The ceiling is 10 feet high. dagger when the condition ends. that creature must
repeat the saving throw. becoming subject to the effect
Ghosts. Calimara and Alina are the ghosts of mis- again on a fai lure.
sionaries that died in the brig (area M8) along with the A character who examines the dagger and succeeds
high priest when the ship sank. The ghosts spend most on a DC 15 Intelligence (Arcana) check discerns that

\l'l'f NlllX A I 01 Sllll'~ A"'I> 1 Ill ''I A
2~}0