Page 40 - ghosts-of-saltmarsh

PLACING THE ADVENTURE H OUSE EXTERIOR
The town of Saltmarsh is a small, respectable fishing town
located in the Greyhawk campaign setting, in the south- T
ernmost part of Keoland. It is situated some twenty miles The decrepit house sits on the highest ground in the
from two larger towns: Burle, to the northwest, and Sea- area. Around it, a stone wall has crumbled in many I
ton, along the coast to the east.
Here are suggestions for where you can place this ad- places, exposing the interior grounds. An ornate metal
venture in other campaign settings. gate lies open al the end of the road, swaying slightly in
Eberron. Even to the pioneering folk of Q'barra, Salt- the wind. Wild flora grows throughout the inner yard, but
marsh is a frontier town. The lean-tos and shanties sprawl
in the steaming eastern deltas of the Basura Swamp, and all the years cannot hide the evidence of a well-tended
their inhabitants do their best to keep out of the affairs of garden that once sat here. Near the house, the rotted
the lizardfolk in the interior. An elf illusionist bearing the wooden roof of a water well rises out of the tall grass. l
Mark of House Phiarlan leads the smugglers and seems
bent on stirring up trouble.
Forgotten Realms. Midway between Waterdeep and The house is 35 feet tall from ground level to roof peak;
Neverwinter, the town of Saltmarsh and its hardy inhab- the roof is gabled and has several holes where the slate
itants endure both winter storms and the Mere of Dead shingles are missing.
Men to the south. Because of the politics churning in
Thorn hold on the far side of the marsh, help is often slow THE WALL
to come, and so the townsfolk have become quite self-reli- The stone wall is 6 feet tall and more or less encloses
ant. The smugglers could be from Luskan, and their selling
weapons to lizardfolk could be connected to deeper goals the garden. It has partially collapsed in several places,
than simply lining their pockets. so access to any part of the garden is simple even if
Mystara. Saltmarsh stands on the border between the characters decide not to enter through the main gate.
Grand Duchy of Karameikos and the Five Shires, just in-
side the edge of the Blight Marsh. The smugglers who use THE GARDEN
the haunted house as their base might be hin pirates, or at The alchemist kept a vegetable garden around the
the very least count some halflings among the crew, keen house, which was used as a retreat from the stress of
to avoid the authorities at Rollstone Keep up the coast. work and as a supply of fresh food. Now, a few broken
gardening tools and a tangle of weeds are all that re-
IT MUST BE CLEANSED main. A single rosebush near the gate has overgrown
the wall and choked out most of the other plants. A char-
It cannot stand! An unholy place so close to civilization. acter who succeeds on a DC 10 Intelligence (Investiga-
These accounts of wailing and flashing lights disturb tion) or Wisdom (Survival) check discovers that some-
the mind and heart. Let any abandoned edifice rot in thing large has made a burrow under the rosebush.
obscurity so long as the dead leave it alone. But how A family of four giant weasels resides in the thorny
can one let stand a harbor for evil? The house must be mass. having dug out a home under the wall. The wea-
cleansed of its otherworldly occupants. sels are highly aggressive and try to ambush the char-
acters as they investigate the garden. Given the oppor-
THE H AUNTED HOUSE tunity, they·ll try to grapple the smallest character and
After gleaning what Mfacts" they can from the townsfolk drag them toward their den.
and equipping themselves at the local shops, the charac- THE WELL
ters set out to explore the fabled haunted house.
A character who makes a successful DC 12 Wisdom
T RAVELING TO THE HOUSE (Perception) check while viewing the well from a dis-
tance notices a cluster of small mammal remains in the
tall grass around the well (primarily mice, squirrels. and
the like).
The road to the house winds through the rocky coastal The well shaft. which descends 20 feet. still contains
terrain, often offering a view of the sea below. low clouds clean water. Fed by an aquifer; the well offers no access
press upon you; occasional patches of sunlight appear to the house nor the caverns below it. If the characters
out over the water. A stiff wind blows in off the waves, illuminate the shaft while looking down. they see the
carrying the briny stink of churning salt water. glint of coins through the shallow water at the bottom.
A Medium or smaller creature can climb down the well,
using the rocky walls as natural handholds.
The house is located four miles up the coast from Salt- Two giant poisonous snakes make their homes in
marsh and is accessible by an old road. Curious towns- the crumbled and crevice-ridden walls of the well shaft.
folk might follow the party for part of their journey. They emerge and strike at anything that descends into
These escorts engage the characters in conversation, the well. They also emerge if the characters linger near
ask about their intentions, and repeat the same rumors the well while investigating it.
and stories heard in town. As soon as the house comes Treasure. There are 14 sp to be had at the bottom
into view, the townsfolk grow grim-faced and retreat to- of the well.
ward Saltmarsh.

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