I ran this module a year and a half ago as a 3.0 conversion and it went peculiarly. The party found the haunted house - went thru it - found the caves, fought the smugglers, never realized that the contraband (silk and brandy) might be worth anything and left it all in the caves when they burned the house down... They didn't even attempt to locate the pirate ship. I didn't force things, so that drew the curtain on Saltmarsh, or Southwaite as I renamed it...
The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh - your experiences?
I fondly recall U1. This was my first time playing D&D, and it was my DM's first time DM'ing.
About three quarters through the module, he realized that he hadn't been having me roll to hit, just roll damage....SWEET!!!!!
I'll always remember this module fondly......
Never played the other two, but own the series in PDF form.....
James
About three quarters through the module, he realized that he hadn't been having me roll to hit, just roll damage....SWEET!!!!!
I'll always remember this module fondly......
Never played the other two, but own the series in PDF form.....
James
DarrenGMiller
First Post
The U series were some of the few adventures I ever played that I did not DM. I do not remember the outcome of the entire series and am not even sure if we finished it, but I do remember thinking it was great.
Recently, I ran this series, converted over to 3E and we had a great time with it. These adventures are VERY well written and play well. There are also lots of things hinted at that can become adventures in their own right. My players captured the pirate ship and renamed it after their recently deceased bard Andarel. There were some great moments in those adventures.
DM
Recently, I ran this series, converted over to 3E and we had a great time with it. These adventures are VERY well written and play well. There are also lots of things hinted at that can become adventures in their own right. My players captured the pirate ship and renamed it after their recently deceased bard Andarel. There were some great moments in those adventures.
DM
Merric, I really disagree w/ this assessment. It is a meat-grinder if the party plays it as a standard dungeon crawl. If they are clever, go heavy on the stealth, and find the deus-ex-machina treasure room, they can complete the objectives of this module w/o too much problem. If they treat it as a 'plod from room to room; kill the monster; take the treasure' or if the DM punishes creative thinking, then yes - they are basically doomed.MerricB said:
Paul
Grazzt
Demon Lord
Ive run and played through this module too many times to count anymore. I still use it to introduce new peeps to the game (when such a thing comes up). May even use it for my daughter (age 10) and some others when I throw Castles & Crusades at them.
As for the follow-ups, Ive used them (as DM), but not nearly as much or as often as this one.
As for the follow-ups, Ive used them (as DM), but not nearly as much or as often as this one.
Awesome. I did this a long time ago (15 years ago maybe???) as DM (let a player play Ned). Pretty close to the same thing. He pretended to aid them, but somehow "missed" a lot of important rolls. He did backstab and kill one person before they did away with him. 
Saltmarsh ROCKS!
I first played this series back in 84(?) and I remember it very fondly. I remember the fact that the two of us players (in order to make the module do-able) each played 2 characters that were brothers. And in order to 'win' the last module, two of the brothers stayed behind to occupy the sahuaguin while the other two went to get reinforcements. I then remember the next adventure we played was with the intent to recover enough treasure to ressurect the two dead party members. It is the ONLY 1e module series I have ever completed, and that is probably what makes it most fond.
I recently ran it as a DM, using the 3ed conversions here on ENWorld, for my wife and regular gaming group and it went VERY VERY well. The fact that the party consisted of 5 -6 characters, made the high kill factor of the 3rd module less likely. Added to that I really worked on the idea that the island had been sunk by the acts of the Sahauguin god, and the last big battle I kicked the shark up a couple of notches (via a group spell effort of the sahauguin priests) and it was essentially a (very low level) avatar of the god. The climatic battle ended with the dwarf paladin smitting the avatar with a critical. Once the avatar had been slain, the favour of the god was lost and the island rose to its original level, forcing the sahauguin to flee.
The party has made Saltmarsh their base of operations and have build up this great rapport with their 'fixer' The Magistrate. Actually several adventures later they are working their way back to Saltmarsh (at his bequest) as a prelude to the Vecna Lives module (bwahahaha!!!!).
And the new DMG 2 has a very large write up of Saltmarsh, which not only rocks but allows me to use some of the listed hooks for 'side quests' while I build up the whole Vecna thing and ensure that their levels are adequate enough. I'm actually trying my hand at a conversion of the Vecna Lives to 3.5, I'll let you know how it goes.
I first played this series back in 84(?) and I remember it very fondly. I remember the fact that the two of us players (in order to make the module do-able) each played 2 characters that were brothers. And in order to 'win' the last module, two of the brothers stayed behind to occupy the sahuaguin while the other two went to get reinforcements. I then remember the next adventure we played was with the intent to recover enough treasure to ressurect the two dead party members. It is the ONLY 1e module series I have ever completed, and that is probably what makes it most fond.
I recently ran it as a DM, using the 3ed conversions here on ENWorld, for my wife and regular gaming group and it went VERY VERY well. The fact that the party consisted of 5 -6 characters, made the high kill factor of the 3rd module less likely. Added to that I really worked on the idea that the island had been sunk by the acts of the Sahauguin god, and the last big battle I kicked the shark up a couple of notches (via a group spell effort of the sahauguin priests) and it was essentially a (very low level) avatar of the god. The climatic battle ended with the dwarf paladin smitting the avatar with a critical. Once the avatar had been slain, the favour of the god was lost and the island rose to its original level, forcing the sahauguin to flee.
The party has made Saltmarsh their base of operations and have build up this great rapport with their 'fixer' The Magistrate. Actually several adventures later they are working their way back to Saltmarsh (at his bequest) as a prelude to the Vecna Lives module (bwahahaha!!!!).
And the new DMG 2 has a very large write up of Saltmarsh, which not only rocks but allows me to use some of the listed hooks for 'side quests' while I build up the whole Vecna thing and ensure that their levels are adequate enough. I'm actually trying my hand at a conversion of the Vecna Lives to 3.5, I'll let you know how it goes.
tylerthehobo
Explorer
This mod's had quite a comeback, lately. The NWN adaptation about 2 years ago, the Goodman Games revamp of it (smuggler's caves or something) and the DMGII usage of the town of Saltmarsh. It's a classic. The sequels are less brainy as I recall, but they still made a classic arc that helped level characters for some of the great higher level Ad&d mods of the early 80s.
hu-frikking-zah Awesome stuff.
hu-frikking-zah Awesome stuff.
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