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

[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.

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.

And so -- almost -- the world comes to an end. We agree.

 

[Raven Crowking]

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

Joshua,

I've never known you to pick on people.

In terms of adventure design, I rather liked Against the Cult, and I enjoyed it because I liked it and my players liked it. It does rely rather heavily on the "Turncoat NPC" syndrome, but, as mentioned earlier, if that is representative of the adventure rather than the campaign (i.e., the greater context in which the adventure takes place) this should cause no problems.

I am not sure that I agree that how enjoyable or not enjoyable for you(r group) in particular an adventure is does not say anything about how well designed it is. What exactly qualifies "well designed" in this context?

RC

 

[Joshua Randall]

What exactly qualifies "well designed" in this context?

I think that is what we are here to discuss.

I posit that any adventure that achieves certain basic principles of good design will automatically be enjoyable to most people. (Exactly what those basic principles of good design are has yet to be fully determined.)

 

[Storm Raven]

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....

As written in the module, Saltmarsh is fairly undeveloped, but even in the limited stage of development found in the printed version, the PCs should have interacted with a couple of NPCs - the town council, a barkeep or two (to pick up information), the "old guy with information who will trade it for a drink" and so on. They will have curious townsfolk walk with them at least part way to the house, and so on.

Plus, Ned serves as a long term set up for the counterpoint plotline in U2 of apparent enemies (the lizardmen) that turn out to be allies.

 

[Qualidar]

I thought it was great: one of the few old modules that lived up to the nostalgia hype. I just ran it for my Freeport group last year, and a good time was had by all...except for Ned. He's on the wrong end of the quote in my sig.

~Qualidar~

 

[Qualidar]

As to the specifics of why it's good: The evolution beyond hack & slash to a level of intrigue: setting up the fact that there is something more than is readily apparent (Ned, Haunting, etc.). Also, I appreciated the setting of the ship in the second half: It's an interesting locale, which really steps beyond most of what I remember from the old modules.

~Qualidar~

 

[el-remmen]

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?

Okay, I think U1 is well-designed because:

1) It provides the backdrop of a town without overly detailing it - allowing the DM to easy place it in any seaside area in their setting.

2) As an adventure for for low level characters it has various layers to be peeled away and discover (investigate haunted house, explore smuggler tunnels beneath, plan the assault on the ship)

3) Includes NPCs like Ned and the villians which allow for good role-playing scenes if the DM/players are so inclined, again without bombarding us with too much convoluted backstory to work into the setting or deconstruct for the players. Also includes NPCs like Oceanus and the Lizardmen to be dealt with either as people save, people to get aid from, or to face as foes.

4) The climax (the attack on the ship) is not only a cool scene for a low level fight - but as I hinted at above - by having a point 2/3s of the way thru where things flip from the PCs going into an area (the house and the caves) kind of unaware of what they are really getting int into - to an opportunity to be clever and make a plan

5) Includes a bunch of hooks for further adventures - which can be U2 & U3 - or can be something the DM brews up based on the skeleton presented (which is great for beginning DMs as well - who want to try their hands at such thing).

 

[el-remmen]

Jeez, I post to the issue at hand and the thread just dies. . .

Thanks a lot, Joshua!

 

[Raven Crowking]

Well, I thought your post did a heck of a job of summing up the strengths of the module. Kudos!

RC

 

[the Jester]

I also think U1 is well-designed. A real variety of encounter types, designed to appeal to various player styles, sets it above many of the early modules. Also, the module is full of surprises and unexpected twists.

Well-designed and fun. I wonder how well they correlate for me?