Hi all,

I previously posted some warts-and-all email summaries of the ‘Curse of Strahd’ campaign I ran in 2017-18, the ‘Tomb of Annihilation’ campaign I ran in 2018-19, the ‘Out of the Abyss’, a campaign I ran in 2020 and the ‘Phandelver’s Pact’ campaign I ran from 2020-2021. CoS was the first campaign I sent summaries to players by email after each game (I was a bit lazy prior to that), which is why I could use them for this column.

Here’s another campaign (some might say my last 5e campaign, if you don’t count all the playtest campaigns I ran and continue to run lol) that started out with a slightly skewed version of ‘Ghosts of Saltmarsh’, then merged with a doctored ‘Descent into Avernus’ and was prematurely cut short when WoTC stunned the community by deciding to be dicks (remember that?), prompting me to run Pathfinder 2e campaigns instead.

‘Shadows Over Saltmarsh’ was set in Greyhawk, my childhood campaign world (created by the eminent Mr. Gygax, himself). Each session was approximately 4-5 hours (sometimes more) long. Most of the summaries appear here as they first appeared. If you’re a D&D fan you may enjoy them. And maybe even if you aren’t.

Steve 🙂

 Session 2 – The House of Death

The next morning the PCs found a note from Ser Keristan, who had risen early to find some food and promised to meet up with everyone in Saltmarsh. The party made its way to Seaton, which was closer than Saltmarsh. While there, Reilynn applied at the Harbormaster for salvage rights to the ship that was wrecked. Felix lifted some coins along the way from several townspeople – enough to pay for lunch. The party had poor man’s stew at the The Barking Dog while Felix completed his mission by passing his bone scroll case to Ollie, the Dwarvish tavern owner. He was compensated for the job. 

The party was short on money, so they decided to walk the 15 miles to Saltmarsh. Late in the evening they arrived at the hill near the haunted house Felix had seen from the window of his carriage the night before. An old man, who lived in a hut by the road, explained that screams and weird lights had been heard and seen at the house, and that it was once frequented by an Alchemist. It was abandoned years ago.

The party decided to investigate the yard of the haunted house. Korth spotted the glint of something shiny at the bottom of the well by the light of his torch. Reilynn, being the only one with darkvision, tied off a rope and Fa’aoa lowered him down into the well. Near the bottom, a giant snake leapt up and bit Reilynn on the calf, pumping him full of poison. Felix knocked an arrow and fired downwards, but Reilynn’s body was spinning around and unfortunately Felix’s shot hit the Drow in the back – he passed out. As Fa’aoa pulled up the body, the snake bit Reilynn again, killing him. Korth and Felix dispatched the creature. The party grieved, carrying Reilynn’s dead body back to Saltmarsh.

On the edge of town they met two guards – Seamus, a young, upright constable, and Vegas, a scruffy, overweight fellow – and had to explain what happened. Seamus directed them to the cemetery, where the party encountered Krag, a half orc who was not only the town’s gravedigger but also organised and researched at the Eliander library. They left the body there, Felix paying the burial costs and returning to the Empty Net and Fa’aoa and Korth heading to the Sea Grove of Obad-Dai to camp for the night.

A young female Wood Elf cleric by the name of Alyona was just finishing a conversation with Ferrin Kastilar, the halfling druid responsible for the grove, when the two heroes arrived. Alyona was a chef on The Flying Pig, who was searching for an ancient ancestral cookbook. Everyone introduced themselves, and Ferrin invited them to share his campfire and rest there for the night, but Alyona decided to stay in town.

Alyona made her way into Saltmarsh, getting a room at the Snapping Line Inn and meeting the proprietor, Hanna Rist. After a hearty meal, Alyona settled into the common bedroom for the night to the sound of harsh snoring and the ubiquitous smell of raw fish.

Felix reported back to Kreb Shenkar, who thanked him for a job well done. Felix told Kreb about the undead attack, which was most unusual, and then made his way downstairs to sleep, his heart heavy with guilt over the day’s events.

The next morning the party awoke and traveled to the cemetery for Reilynn’s funeral. Alyona had her money pouch stolen, but the slight figure who took it was so stealthy and quick that she wasn’t aware it was missing until she reached the intersection where she met Fa’aoa and Korth. At that point, Felix arrived, Alyona’s money pouch safely hidden away on his person. After a round of introductions, they headed up to the cemetery, where Reilynn’s burial and last rites were conducted by Alyona. Korth shed a tear at the terrible loss of resources – burying food in the ground? Unheard of!

Alyona reported the loss of her money pouch to Seamus and Vegas, who explained they were unlikely to find it. Felix stayed surreptitiously out of the way, but Vegas, a regular patron at the Empty Net, eyed him somewhat suspiciously…  

Next Week: Return to the House on the Hill…

Session 3 – Community Services

The party made their way down to the Council Hall, where they found a community notice board. Three job notices had been posted:

• “Bounty for Josiah Welch – This notorious Human Highwayman must be brought to justice. Welch has been operating on the roads into Saltmarsh. Last seen in the swamps north of town. 50 GP – dead or alive, preferably alive. See Kraddock Stonehorn at the Barracks/Jail.”
• “Zombie heads – Zombies have been causing havoc on the east roads. Wagons and carriages have gone missing after the attacks.1 GP reward for every zombie head handed in to Eliander Fireborn at the Council Hall.”
• “Haunted House – Council wants adventurers to investigate the Haunted House east of town. Strange sounds and lights have concerned many locals. 100 GP reward to anyone brave enough to enter and clear out the ghosts or whatever is causing the mischief. (Note: Council will consider gifting the place to whomever successfully clears it, depending on other work they may undertake for the council in the future.)”

Everyone agreed they were better suited to hitting things and chose the Josiah Welch bounty. They headed out of town into the Saltmarsh, travelling for several hours through the rain until Korth discovered some tracks leading down a muddy path deep into the swamp. The tall reeds surrounding the party made visibility difficult. Felix discovered a small piece of camouflaged cloth hanging from a tree, providing a clue as to which path to take. He climbed a large mangrove tree and spotted an upended boat not far away, which the party investigated. Fa’aoa smashed the boat open with his maul and a swarm of poisonous snakes erupted from the hole. Alyona successfully tossed some of them into the marsh and the party moved on.

Deeper in the swamp and constantly surrounded by tall reeds, a quarrel from nowhere hit Fa’aoa in the arm. The party found a number of camouflaged bandits and the fight was on. The bandit’s lair was a muddy mound of a hill, and after killing some of the bandits outside and entering, the party faced off against Josiah Welch and his lieutenant, who managed to knock both Felix and Fa’aoa unconscious. Finally, Korth tore out Welch’s neck with his bare teeth.

Korth claimed his kills, Alyona used spells to wake up her compatriots and the party searched for treasure on the bodies. Felix surreptitiously sneaked some coins into Alyona’s belt pouch that he had stolen earlier. He was noticed by both Korth and Fa’aoa, but both stayed quiet as Felix innocently presented the bag to Alyona, claiming he had found it on one of the bandits. Alyona was very perceptive, however, noticing the bag was spotless amongst the battered and bloodied bodies, but thanked him for “cleaning it” for her.

The party rested for a short while, then searched Josiah’s cave where they found a small, wooden chest. Felix checked it for traps and opened the lock, but had missed the poison needle, which sprung out and hit him in the face. After a short but painful period, he recovered from the poison. The party found a sack inside the chest with 2 Potions of Healing and a silver ring (which Alyona later worked out was a Ring of Jumping). Fa’aoa unsuccessfully searched the chest for a false bottom, and Felix noticed it was covering a hole. Inside was a simple leather backpack, which was unfortunately rigged with a small phosphorous charge that almost killed the already suffering Felix. The backpack contained gold coins and an amusingly engraved razor.

Resting for the night, the part took shifts to stand watch. Korth was forced to eat away from everyone, who objected to him feasting on human remains in their presence. The next day, the bandits’ weapons and armor were piled into the chest and carried back out of the marsh.

Reaching the road, the party heard groaning sounds, and several zombies emerged from the reeds around them…

Next Week: Claiming the cash and buying and selling at the market …

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