Is The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh a well-designed adventure module?

[Pants]

Playing through this module was one of my first D&D experiences ever back in the heyday of 2e. I haven't read it as a DM, but I sure did have fun. I don't think that I could properly answer this though.

 

[Mark Hope]

In my case, it's because he's a cliched trap that nobody ever fell for.

It was original back in 1984... sort of... Both groups I DMed this for fell for it. Oh well.

It's like the early Shadowrun modules where the players would despondently say "Now, here's where the Mr. Johnson screws us over.' while the DM looks nervous because he was just about to begin that part of the story and thought it would be a surprise.

[aside]We were so conditioned for this kind of thing that we tried to attack the House Cannith patron in Shadows of the Last War simply for offering us the mission. Twice. I felt quite sorry for the DM. Well, until he TPKed us later, that is...[/aside]

 

[Raven Crowking]

It is true that, if you ever want to actually use the "Turncoat NPC" to effect, you have to allow most NPCs to be regular people....or even (gasp!) helpful.

RC

 

[el-remmen]

In my case, it's because he's a cliched trap that nobody ever fell for. It's like the early Shadowrun modules where the players would despondently say "Now, here's where the Mr. Johnson screws us over.' while the DM looks nervous because he was just about to begin that part of the story and thought it would be a surprise.

I don't know - whether the PCs are cynical paranoid veterans of the adventuring world or niave green-horn would-be heroes eager to save the captive - it seems like a great opportunity for a role-playing encounter that can go any number of ways.

 

[Mycanid]

I agree el-Remmen and the others. I thought it was SUPERB material for rp'ing. And the playing out of it all (at least in my few experiences with it) seemed to justify the suspicion.

Ah well.

 

[painandgreed]

Also, keep in mind I'm not complaining. My original complaint was due to misremembering the module, and I retract that due to my bad. The encounter does stand out though, and for the sake of advice for current module design, it is a good topic to be brought up.

 

[Mycanid]

No worries pain

I am not heatedly arguing and boiling over with personal offense taken or what not, nor did I get the impression that the others were either.

 

[Storm Raven]

It is true that, if you ever want to actually use the "Turncoat NPC" to effect, you have to allow most NPCs to be regular people....or even (gasp!) helpful.

Which, as described, most of the people the characters will have met in and around Saltmarsh prior to meeting Ned should have been. Really, there is no reason why the PCs should be suspicious of Ned off the bat - his story is simple enough to be believable at first blush. Only metagaming leads to the immediate conclusion that Ned is a plant.

 

[Mycanid]

To be a "devil's advocate" though, most people I played with did not develop the town of Saltmarsh as they should have sufficiently. Perhaps this contributes to some people's probs with Ned? To be sure I did not develop Saltmarsh as I should have either. Perhaps another reference point for npc interaction is indeed the key, eh? Hmm....

 

[Joshua Randall]

I thoroughly enjoyed Against the Cult.

This quote exemplifies a worrisome trend in this thread -- it's turning into "what did you like/dislike about XXX" instead of "is XXX a well-designed adventure". An adventure can be enjoyable or not enjoyable for you(r group) in particular, but this does not say anything about how well designed it is.

Let's stick to a discussion of adventure design, shall we?

(Note, I am only quoting Raven Crowking because his quote was the most concise and illustrative of my point -- not to pick on him.)