Tales from the Yawning Portal vs. Ghosts of Saltmarsh, Part TWO! Vote for your favorite adventures

[Todd Roybark]

LOL, Salt, this is akin to walking through a hospital with your eyes closed and exclaiming that there were no sick or injured people because you did not see any.

 

[GlassJaw]

Interesting that of the clear top 6 highest rated modules, only 1 is from Saltmarsh.

I like GoS as a whole but some of the Saltmarsh modules are either highly flawed or outright bad. I was disappointed that U2 and U3 were essentially reprinted as-is even though they are in serious need of an update. The rest are a mixed bag as well. Some interesting ideas but most need a lot of work.

That said, they did a great job on fleshing out Saltmarsh itself. It's an awesome "home base" for a campaign. Tons of flavor and plot hooks.

 

[Prakriti]

I like GoS as a whole but some of the Saltmarsh modules are either highly flawed or outright bad. I was disappointed that U2 and U3 were essentially reprinted as-is even though they are in serious need of an update. The rest are a mixed bag as well. Some interesting ideas but most need a lot of work.

That said, they did a great job on fleshing out Saltmarsh itself. It's an awesome "home base" for a campaign. Tons of flavor and plot hooks.

I'm in the opposite camp. I love the modules, but I hate the Saltmarsh write-up. I want a sleepy little fishing village, not an intrigue-laden mini-Waterdeep. Luckily, it's easy enough to ignore Chapter 1 and go with what feels right, since none of Chapter 1 is embedded in the modules themselves.

 

[Todd Roybark]

But Prak, it is always the sleepy little town that hides the scary bad...see Innsmouth, Steven King, the Texas Chainsaw massacre, Twin Peaks, and the village of Hommlet.

My players would probably put a village that wasn’t hiding something to the torch, for being too normal. A normal village in D&D is abnormal and must be a sign of the greatest corruption.

 

[Prakriti]

But Prak, it is always the sleepy little town that hides the scary bad...see Innsmouth, Steven King, the Texas Chainsaw massacre, Twin Peaks, and the village of Hommlet.

My players would probably put a village that wasn’t hiding something to the torch, for being too normal. A normal village in D&D is abnormal and must be a sign of the greatest corruption.

It's more that Saltmarsh-as-imagined-in-Ghosts is far too large and bustling for my tastes. The mining company, the military outpost, the barracks, the wealthy councilmen, the mansions, the competing factions, and the guildhall just don't fit my vision of a sleepy little fishing village.

As for dark underbellies, there will definitely be one of those in my version of Saltmarsh: a cult of Sekolah, some of whose members have been transformed into Sea Spawn.

 

[GlassJaw]

It can still be the sleepy little fishing village. I am absolutely going to give it an Innsmouth vibe. However, it's nice to have some options for fleshing out certain aspects if you see fit. The info on factions is great.

I actually like the idea of a sleepy little (creepy) fishing village that may be getting some attention from the mainland so to speak. Perhaps the cultists feel a need to hasten their plans because of the increased attention...

 

[Todd Roybark]

It's more that Saltmarsh-as-imagined-in-Ghosts is far too large and bustling for my tastes. The mining company, the military outpost, the barracks, the wealthy councilmen, the mansions, the competing factions, and the guildhall just don't fit my vision of a sleepy little fishing village.

As for dark underbellies, there will definitely be one of those in my version of Saltmarsh: a cult of Sekolah, some of whose members have been transformed into Sea Spawn.

I actually agree with you, 100% on that. I would ditch the 1st and go Sea Spawn as well.
I loved the modules from 1e, and I think they still hold up.

My opinion of the chapters in GoS is Chapters 1-7 are great.

I was not fond of The Styes when published in Dragon back in 3e, and Chapter 8 still doesn’t appeal to me, but I absolutely understand why others like it, and it is good for parts, at least, as good modules should be.

 

[Prakriti]

I actually agree with you, 100% on that. I would ditch the 1st and go Sea Spawn as well.
I loved the modules from 1e, and I think they still hold up.

My opinion of the chapters in GoS is Chapters 1-7 are great.

I was not fond of The Styes when published in Dragon back in 3e, and Chapter 8 still doesn’t appeal to me, but I absolutely understand why others like it, and it is good for parts, at least, as good modules should be.

There are things about The Styes that I don't like either, but in general it fits perfectly into what I have planned. The basic story arc of my Ghosts campaign is that the Sahuagin are trying to bring an Avatar of Sekolah into the world, and they have found themselves an unlikely ally: a Sekolah-worshipping aboleth.

The whole juvenile Kraken sub-plot sort of comes out of left-field, though, so I don't plan to include that in my campaign.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Wait a moment people, are you considering the cursed items in Hidden Shrine to not be magic items?

-Bracelet of Rock Magic—-Cast Flesh to Stone x3.... curse can petrify the wielder in particular circumstances.

Cursed. (and Flesh to Stone is a pretty useless spell in 5e anyway)

-Tloques’ Battleaxe: +2 berserker axe ( Olaf, Metal !) that has 12 charges that can be used to cast passwall, gust o’ wind, and burning hands

Cursed. And if players found it it means they have gone wrong and should be unlikely to make it out alive.

-Stone of Ill Luck.

Cursed, with no beneficial properties whatsoever.

how is 79.4% (roughly) of the magic items recommended for the 5-10th level tier

I think that guideline if for magic items that are actually beneficial.

 

[tombakerim]

I played D&D with Chuck Norris, Bob Ross, Walter “Heisenberg” White, Maynard J. Krebs, and many others. And no, my experience with D&D blogs has not led me to games with famous and often made-up people. Just at my tables, the players used these names, and often the characters for their characters. Sometimes the tone of the game is suitable for funny characters and everyone likes it. For example, I want to play a game where the whole party will be a reference to the Muppets. But other games include collaborative storytelling, including the creation of characters and their world. To appear on this with Bill S. Preston Esquire from the comedy of 1989 is simply a bad manners.