TEXT: U1
  Dungeon Module U1
  PREMIERE ADVENTURE FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM
  by Dave J. Browne with Don Turnbull
  AN ADVENTURE FOR CHARACTER LEVELS 1-3
  The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh
  9076
  FOR ADVANCED
  D&D™ GAME
  Desolate and abandoned, the evil alchemist's mansion stands alone on the hill, looking out towards the sea. Mysterious lights and 
  ghostly hauntings have kept away the people of Saltmarsh, despite rumors of a fabulous forgotten treasure. What is it's sinister 
  secret?
  ©1981 TSR Hobbies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
  The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh is the first installment in a series of three modules designed and developed in the United Kingdom, 
  for beginning adventures with the AD&D™ rules. The adventure can be played by 5-10 characters of level 1-3. This module contains 
  large-scale maps, full background information and detailed encounter descriptions for the players and DM.
  Printed in U.S.A.
  9062
  TSR Hobbies, Inc.
  POB 756
  Lake Geneva,
  WI 53147
  TSR Hobbies (UK) Ltd.
  The Mill, Rathmore Road
  Cambridge CB1 4AD
  England
  © 1980 TSR Hobbies Inc.
  All Rights Reserved
  
  33
  
  1
  Dungeon Module U1
  The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh
  by Dave J. Browne with Don Turnbull
  AN ADVENTURE FOR CHARACTER LEVELS 1-3
  Desolate and abandoned, the evil alchemist’s mansion stands alone on the hill, looking out towards the sea. Mysterious lights and ghostly 
  hauntings have kept away the people of Saltmarsh, despite rumors of a fabulous forgotten treasure. What is it’s sinister secret?
  The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh is the first installment in a series of three modules designed and developed in the United Kingdom, for 
  beginning adventures with the AD&D™ rules. The adventure can be played by 5-10 characters of level 1-3. This module contains large-scale 
  maps, full background information and detailed encounter descriptions for the players and DM.
  ©1981 TSR hobbies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
  Distributed to the book trade in the United States by Random House, Inc., and in Canada by Random House of Canada, Ltd.
  © 1980 TSR Hobbies Inc.
  All Rights Reserved
  Distributed to the toy and hobby trade by regional distributors.
  Distributed in the United Kingdom solely by TSR Hobbies (UK) Ltd.
  ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is a registered trademark of TSR Hobbies, Inc.
  The designation “TM” is used to refer to other trademarks owned by TSR Hobbies, Inc.
  TSR Hobbies (UK) Ltd.
  The Mill, Rathmore Road
  Cambridge CB1 4AD
  England
  TSR Hobbies, Inc.
  POB 756
  Lake Geneva,
  WI 53147
  Printed in U.S.A.
  ISBN 0-935696-80-6
  9062
  
  2
  ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS®
  Dungeon Module U1
  THE SINISTER SECRET OF SALTMARSH
  PREFACE
  It is with a great deal of pride that I introduce this module, not 
  simply because it is partially my own work but also because it 
  is the first AD&D™ module to have been written in the United 
  Kingdom. In the Epilogue to the FIEND FOLIO™ Tome I said that 
  TSR Hobbies (UK) Limited had plans, and this module represents 
  the first fruit of those plans. We sincerely hope you like it and 
  the others which will follow.
  There is, I suppose inevitably, one drawback. Though at TSR-UK 
  we know how popular the AD&D™ game has become and have a 
  pretty good idea of how much more popular it will become in the 
  next year or so, the fact remains that the majority of readers of this 
  module, and ‘our’ others to follow, will not be UK citizens; most 
  will be Americans and there will be others who live elsewhere, 
  in non-English-speaking countries or otherwise. Which raises 
  the problem of varying usage of English language. It came 
  as something of a surprise to me to discover that the English 
  language - theoretically the same in both countries - enjoys far 
  wider deviations in usage than I had realised between the UK and 
  the USA. The differences are not solely products of differing slang 
  and jargon; there are much more subtle differences in emphasis, 
  in the recognition of what is ‘correct’ use of the language, in the 
  nuance of the meanings of certain words.
  Now this module is written in the English which I use and may 
  therefore appear slightly different in flavour from the language to 
  which the majority of its readers will be accustomed. In one sense 
  I make no apologies for this; it is an English module and it would 
  be less than representative if it did not carry something of that 
  atmosphere. In another sense, I am aware that some readers 
  might therefore find the reading slightly unfamiliar, and if this 
  in any way detracts from their enjoyment of the module, then 
  my apologies are due.
  So, American readers — if you find the text too flowery and florid 
  or too plain and stilted, the structure of the language slightly 
  unusual, the use of certain words apparently slightly off-beat, 
  these are the reasons. Perhaps you will take solace in knowing 
  that UK readers of all the other TSR™ modules have the same 
  reaction in reverse!
  I sincerely hope you enjoy it.
  Don Turnbull
  Managing Director, TSR Hobbies (UK) Limited
  INTRODUCTION
  THE SINISTER SECRET OF SALTMARSH is the first module in 
  a three-part series. It is itself divided into two separate adventures, 
  THE HAUNTED HOUSE and SEA GHOST, each of which is, in 
  likely playing time, relatively short.
  The series is primarily designed to be played as a series — 
  characters start with little or no experience and work successively 
  through the three parts, accumulating experience as they succeed 
  in each endeavour. By the time they embark on the adventure 
  in U2, DANGER AT DUNWATER, those characters who began 
  U1 as fledgling adventurers should have accumulated enough 
  experience points to advance to second level. Similarly, those 
  same characters should be well established at the second 
  experience level if they cope with U2 and pursue their adventures 
  to their logical conclusion in U3, THE FINAL ENEMY. Indeed, if 
  really good fortune smiles on them, they may leave Saltmarsh at 
  the start of U3 as third level characters.
  This module is designed for 5-10 characters of experience levels 
  1-3. Particularly if the series is to be played in its entirety, it will be 
  important for characters to gain higher experience levels before 
  they tackle the dangers of U3 (otherwise it will be too tough for 
  them!). The Dungeon Master should take careful note of the 
  section in the Dungeon Masters Guide (page 86) regarding 
  ‘Gaining Experience Levels,’ particularly the time to be spent in 
  training. The Dungeon Master should feel free to waive or modify 
  some of these training requirements to avoid unrealistically long 
  inter-adventure training periods.
  The series is therefore ideal for the experienced AD&D player 
  who wishes to develop a low-level character as well as for the 
  novice player who is experiencing AD&D adventure gaming 
  for the first time.
  It is perfectly feasible for this module, and indeed for only THE 
  HAUNTED HOUSE scenario, to be played as a single adventure. 
  Though progression to U2 and hence to U3 would be logical, it 
  is not vital — this adventure can satisfactorily finish at the end 
  of U1 (or even at the end of THE HAUNTED HOUSE if players 
  then prefer their characters to explore elsewhere). However, to 
  play SEA GHOST requires either previous experience in THE 
  HAUNTED HOUSE or an explanatory preface by the Dungeon 
  Master to acquaint players with necessary elements of what 
  they would have experienced. Similarly, U2 and U3 cannot 
  really be played satisfactorily without experience from or an 
  explanation of the earlier part(s) of the series. U2 and U3 include 
  a summary of previous ‘events’ to aid the Dungeon Master in 
  this respect.
  At this point those readers who wish to play in this adventure 
  should stop reading. The subsequent paragraphs are for the 
  information of the Dungeon Master ONLY!
  For the information of the Dungeon Master (only) a summary of 
  the plot of this module is given in the Appendix.
  
  3
  THE TOWN OF SALTMARSH
  The little town of Saltmarsh plays a pivotal role in all four 
  adventures — the two presented here and those presented in U2 
  and U3. The ‘secret’ of Saltmarsh derives from the nature of the 
  town and its surroundings. The Town Council of Saltmarsh will 
  encourage the party to undertake the various adventures (and, 
  to a limited extent, support it financially). It is to Saltmarsh that 
  the party will repair between adventures; it is within the town, and 
  with its people, that the characters will spend several weeks or 
  even months of their adventuring careers. Furthermore, there is 
  a web of intrigue in the town, woven long before the adventures 
  begin, which will only become apparent to the players as the 
  series develops. Indeed, if the players are particularly obtuse, 
  they may not be aware of this at all, until too late.….
  Therefore, if there is to be an adequate background to the series, 
  the DM is recommended to ‘prepare’ the town quite thoroughly, 
  using the guidelines presented in this module as the basis 
  for that preparation. The DM’s own style and preferences will 
  govern just how much preparation is done and in how much 
  detail, but it is suggested that attention be given to at least 
  some of the following:
  1. 
  The Town Council. Name the members; determine their 
  trades/occupations and something of their backgrounds; 
  decide how powerful and wealthy each member is, relative 
  to the local community.
  2. 
  Treat other prominent local citizens who are not members of 
  the Council in a way similar to Council members (in particular 
  the merchant-receiver whose part in the plot is explained in 
  the description of room 15).
  3. 
  Draw a map of the town, locating prominent buildings and the 
  places where Council members and other important people 
  carry on their business.
  4. 
  Decide where the characters could stay when resting in the 
  town between adventures (the best inn? the only inn?); draw 
  up a tariff (list of expenditures) for their accommodation 
  and food.
  5. 
  Decide where to locate the town’s place(s) of worship and 
  which deity is worshipped there.
  The AD&D hardback books, particularly the relevant sections 
  of the Dungeon Masters Guide, should prove helpful in these 
  tasks. Don’t skimp them, for in this series of modules the events 
  that take place between adventures are nearly as important as the 
  adventures themselves. Your players’ characters will spend a lot 
  of time in Saltmarsh, so do it—and them—justice!
  The Town is a small, respectable fishing town. The inhabitants are 
  relatively sober, hard working and amiable. There are adequate 
  facilities for justice and law-enforcement—debtors and bankrupts 
  are dealt with particularly harshly. Fishing is the main industry but 
  there are some tiny farms in the neighbouring countryside. The 
  town boasts a small weekly market to which traders are attracted 
  from two larger towns, Burle and Seaton, each some twenty 
  miles away (Burle inland to the northwest, Seaton along the 
  coast to the east). In general, be guided by any small south-coast 
  English fishing town of the 14th Century and with population 
  about 2,000. On the WORLD OF GREYHAWK™ map, Saltmarsh 
  is placed in the southernmost part of Keoland, at the western 
  edge of hex U4/123.
  THE LEGEND
  Four miles east of Saltmarsh, just inland of the old coast road and 
  looking out to sea, stands the Haunted House. Until twenty years 
  ago it had been the residence of an aged alchemist/magician of 
  sinister reputation, and even then had been shunned by reason 
  of its owner’s mysterious occupations. Now, two decades after 
  the sudden and unexplained disappearance of its occupant, 
  the house has acquired an even greater air of evil and mystery 
  with the passing years.
  Dilapidated and now long-abandoned, the house presents an 
  unwholesome appearance to the eye. Those hardy souls who 
  have on infrequent occasion sought entry to it (for rumours of 
  a secret hoard of alchemical gold have persisted since the old 
  man’s disappearance) have all returned with naught save grim 
  tales of decay presided over by monstrous perils. In more recent 
  years there have been reports of fearsome hauntings - ghastly 
  shrieks and eerie lights emanating from within the dismal place. 
  Now not even the bravest dare so much as to approach the 
  house, leave alone enter it. Indeed, such is the reputation of the 
  house that the fields around it, though prime agricultural land, 
  remain untended and rank with weeds.
  Should the adventurers, after learning about the house, seek 
  anyone in the town who has been in the place, they will initially 
  find no one. Persistent questioning of the town’s inhabitants will 
  tend to make them frightened and apprehensive, but will not yield 
  any concrete information. If the party pursue their questioning, 
  characters may (DM’s discretion) find an aged poacher who 
  will, after suitable inducement (money and/or ale), confess to 
  having wandered into the back door of the house a couple of 
  years before, hoping to ‘acquire’ some food. Diverted by the 
  prospect of free wine in the cellar, he started to descend the 
  stairs, heard ghastly shrieks and piercing wails — and ran, 
  frightened out of his wits.
  He knows where the back door is and will have noticed the well. 
  He will be able to describe, roughly, the kitchen and scullery and 
  the passage that leads to them from the back door, but he knows 
  nothing else of the layout of the place. Furthermore, his memory 
  of what frightened him has become elaborated over the years, so 
  he is as likely as not to tell the party of a horde of ghosts coming 
  up the stairs to the scullery or a vampire with many rats.
  He discovered soon after his escapade that the telling of his tale, 
  in lurid and exaggerated detail, was a simple means of obtaining 
  
  4
  free ale, plied upon him by eager listeners, but there have been 
  none recently who have asked him to tell and, once his tongue 
  is loosened, he will be eager to restore some lost prestige. Apart 
  from alerting adventurers to sinister and grave dangers (which 
  don’t in fact exist) and telling them a little about the layout of the 
  house, he will provide no useful information.
  GENERAL NOTES
  The secret of the Haunted House is that the house is not in fact 
  haunted but is the shore base for a band of smugglers whose 
  leader is an Illusionist of the fourth experience level. The eerie 
  lights seen at night by residents of Saltmarsh are the smugglers’ 
  signals to a ship out at sea. The unearthly shrieks and other 
  sounds are caused by magic mouth spells appropriately placed 
  within the building. This is why, in recent times, the House’s 
  reputation for evil has increased; the smugglers, in about three 
  years of successful operations, have by these means completely 
  frightened away all local investigation, official and unofficial. It is 
  paramount that the players are given no obvious clues that would 
  lead them to believe the house is not haunted; they must deduce 
  the truth for themselves or simply stumble upon it. They might 
  even wander around the house, finding a little treasure but never 
  discovering what actually takes place there.
  This module and the other two in the series are designed for 
  thinking players. Those who tackle the adventures imaginatively 
  and thoughtfully will not only obtain good rewards for their 
  characters but will derive the satisfaction of seeing the various 
  layers of the plot peel away as the real meaning of each clue is 
  discovered. On the other hand, those who regard the House as 
  nothing but monster-slaying territory will not only fail to unravel 
  the secrets but will find their adventure dull and unsatisfactory; 
  they may even lose their characters, for the smugglers, in the 
  hands of a competent DM, should be more than a match for an 
  unwary, careless party.
  The Dungeon Master should also be careful, for similar reasons. 
  If the adventures are prepared casually and laconically, the 
  party could easily become impatient or bored. The DM should 
  prepare the ground thoroughly and ‘supervise’ the play inventively, 
  sustaining some tension in the atmosphere without giving away 
  any secrets. In particular, the assassin (see part 1, room 15) 
  should be handled very carefully; premature discovery of his 
  real nature as a result of lack of caution on the DM’s part might 
  make the entire smuggling operation transparent to the party, 
  and hence vulnerable.
  It is recommended that the DM read both parts of the module 
  thoroughly before play starts, making notes in the margin and/or 
  the Dungeon Masters Adventure Log (available as a TSR 
  publication) where an aide memoir would be useful. Even if only 
  THE HAUNTED HOUSE is to be played immediately, read SEA 
  GHOST too, for this will give an important perspective.
  It will be noticed that encounter descriptions are divided into ‘boxed’ 
  and ‘open’ sections. The information in the ‘boxed’ sections should 
  be read to the players together with approximate dimensions of 
  the area (these can be given more accurately if the party is willing 
  to take time in measurement). Even if not specifically mentioned 
  in the ‘boxed’ text, describe other features of the area (steps, 
  pillars, etc.) that would be seen without difficulty. Initially the 
  party can act only on this information — hints are sometimes 
  provided in this text, and the DM should only provide vague 
  supporting information if requested. The remaining ‘open’ sections 
  and all the introductory paragraphs are for the DM alone and 
  should not be conveyed to the players until they discover the 
  facts for themselves.
  Where monsters are mentioned in the text, abbreviated statistics 
  are included for quick reference. For full details, consult the 
  Monster Manual or the Fiend Folio™ tome as appropriate.
  Don’t forget the house has the reputation of being haunted, and 
  the people of Saltmarsh have good reason for this belief. Until 
  the adventurers find the smugglers, try to make their experience 
  an eerie one, using the room descriptions as the bare bones on 
  which to work. Try to scare them! 
  In both adventures, there will be activity at the location of the 
  adventure when the party arrives. Neither the smugglers nor 
  the crew should simply be left at their original starting locations 
  until discovered by party members, unless of course the party is 
  fortunate enough to take unawares and in turn each small group 
  before significant activity has taken place. Even then it should 
  be remembered that the smugglers and crew are in ‘motion’; 
  for instance, surprising the group of smugglers in cavern area 
  27 will soon be common knowledge to the other smugglers as 
  they bring contraband up from the lower caves. The DM must 
  use imagination and discretion to have them react in a manner 
  fitting the prevailing circumstances and not regard them simply as 
  fixtures in their separate areas.
  The DM should also note that the smugglers are quite intelligent, 
  well organised and conversant with the House, caverns and 
  surroundings, except for secret area 24 of which they know 
  nothing. Consequently, if they should become aware of the party’s 
  intrusion they will react in a co-operative and efficient manner to 
  locate and destroy the intruders.
  In a similar vein, even after the adventurers have discovered the 
  smugglers, they should be given no clues other than those they 
  find for themselves, either about the nature of the seagoing side of 
  the smugglers’ organisation or about the weapon-running aspect 
  of the Sea Ghost’s operation.
  Thus, have the smugglers and crew go about their normal 
  business until such time as they realise their activities have been 
  discovered; then have them react in co-ordinated fashion to deal 
  with the menace and to preserve their illicit secret. Sanbalet, 
  the smuggler chief, is intelligent and shrewd enough to have 
  prepared an emergency plan in the event of discovery and to 
  train his men in carrying it out; the DM would be well advised 
  to follow his example.
  Should the party elect to leave the House before completing the 
  adventure and then seek to return at a later time, there are two 
  possibilities and it is for the DM to decide which should apply. 
  Obviously, the smugglers will realise fairly soon that there have 
  been intruders in the House. If they have no reason to suspect 
  their activities have been discovered, they will continue about 
  their business, perhaps posting extra guards for a short time. 
  Alternatively, if they have good reason to believe their activities 
  have been discovered, they will flee the locale, taking all their 
  contraband and possessions with them, so that on return the party 
  will find no trace of them.
  It is unlikely that the same will apply to the Sea Ghost. Once a party 
  has bearded the ship, it is almost inconceivable that they will leave 
  without discovering something. In this extremely unlikely event the 
  DM will have to decide how to deal with such an obviously dense, 
  unadventurous party of characters!
  
  5
  PART ONE — THE HAUNTED HOUSE
  …wherein the party discovers the first part of THE SINISTER 
  SECRET OF SALTMARSH...
  PREAMBLE
  It is suggested that the Dungeon Master should introduce the 
  players to the adventure in the following way:
  A. Have the party meet at Saltmarsh as a result of vague 
  rumours that there is worthy work for adventurers in the 
  neighborhood.
  B. Describe the town — provide the players with maps and 
  other information you have prepared, such as they could 
  reasonably be expected to observe for themselves on 
  arriving.
  C. Have them lodge at an inn, but do not let them hear of the 
  Haunted House yet.
  D. Let them stay in town, vainly pursuing information and 
  spending their money (according to the list of expenses you 
  have prepared) for a day or two before you arrange for them 
  to hear of the legend of the House — perhaps in casual 
  conversation with the landlord of the inn, with whom they 
  should by then have struck up an affable relationship.
  E. Tell them the Legend and perhaps let the poacher talk to 
  them if you feel this to be appropriate.
  F. 
  Once they have decided to visit the House, have the inn 
  keeper introduce them to a prominent member of the Town 
  Council so that this august body will be aware of the imminent 
  attempt to stamp out the local menace. The Council will not in 
  any way sponsor the quest at this stage, though there will be 
  hints of rewards if the party accomplishes the task
   
   Note: at this time one of the leading personalities of Saltmarsh 
  (who is secretly a ‘receiver’ for the smugglers) will learn of 
  the party’s intent from a casual remark in conversation with 
  a Council member and the assassin will be hurriedly planted 
  (see particularly the notes to part 1, room 15).
  G. Have the party equip themselves by dealing with local 
  traders, then let them set out along the old coast road. For 
  part of the way they will be accompanied by encouraging 
  and admiring townsfolk and hero-worshipping children, 
  though the followers will retire to the town as the house 
  looms in view……..
  THE HOUSE
  The Haunted House stands on the cliff top 70 feet above sea 
  level and about 80 feet from the cliff edge. The 6’ high stone wall 
  surrounding the garden has partially collapsed in a number of 
  places, so access to any part of the garden is simple even if the 
  main gate on the cliff road is ignored. This gate, of a heavy and 
  ornate metal construction, is still functional and stands open. 
  The garden itself is overgrown and shows no sign of any care 
  for years. However, any part of the garden and the main earth 
  driveway can be easily traversed.
  The well to the east of the rear of the House is 5’ in diameter 
  and 15’ deep with 3’ of water at the bottom and a rocky floor. 
  A poisonous snake (AC 7; HD 2; hp 12; #AT 1; D 1-3 plus mild 
  poison) lives in a hole in the well side about 2’ above the floor and 
  will attack anyone who reaches the water level. Characters bitten 
  must save vs. Poison, adding a +3 bonus to the saving throw, or 
  be infected with a mild disease from the poison, causing the victim 
  to feel progressively more drowsy and after 2-8 turns fall into a 
  deep sleep for 4-16 turns. A victim, once asleep, cannot be awoken 
  by normal means (though remedies such as cure disease will be 
  effective); however, no ill effects are felt and the victim will be quite 
  normal when the period of sleep has ended.
  
  6
  The house is 35’ high from ground level to roof ridge; the roof 
  is peak-pointed and gabled, with several holes from missing 
  slates. The interior is very dilapidated, damp and with patches 
  of harmless mould everywhere. Cobwebs festoon the place; 
  the woodwork is generally rotten, while dust and dirt are thick 
  and rubbish is scattered about in profusion. Plaster, fallen from 
  ceilings and walls, lies on the floor in several places; many 
  floorboards are loose and some are missing entirely, while 
  there is liberal evidence of rodent and insect infestation. Many 
  rooms have fireplaces and chimneys which show no signs 
  of recent use. The chimneys are too narrow and twisting for 
  anyone to climb.
  All house corridors are 5’ wide and 10’ high; all rooms are 10’ 
  high except for the attic level where, because of the sloping 
  roof, the height ranges from 1’ at the sides to 15’ in the centre. 
  All doors are 5’ wide and 7’ high, of normal wood construction; 
  all are closed but unlocked (exception — see room 15) and 
  easy to open. Most of the windows have panes broken and all 
  are easy to open.
  The passages in the cavern complex are generally about 7-8’ wide 
  and 8’ high and have a marked, but not precipitous, downward 
  incline. All caverns are roughly 12’ high. All walls, ceilings and 
  floors in the caverns and their connecting passages are slimy, 
  wet and discoloured.
  Light is excellent on the ground and first floors of the House. In 
  the attic, due to sundry holes in the roof, the illumination is dim 
  but adequate though leaving plenty of dark shadows in corners. 
  In areas 20, 23, 24, 25 and 26 there is no light at all. In areas 21, 
  22, 27, 28 and 29 the light is good since there are torches set in 
  crude brackets on the walls.
  WANDERING MONSTERS
  No wandering monsters will be encountered in the garden though 
  there will be numerous small and harmless animals —mice, voles, 
  rabbits and the like. Nor are there any wandering monsters in the 
  cellar, caverns and passages below the House.
  In the House proper an encounter takes place 1 chance in 12, 
  checking each turn. For each encounter roll d4 and use the 
  listing below:
   Die
   Roll 
  Encounter
   1. 
  4 Goblins (AC 6; HD 1-1; hp 4; #AT 1; D by weapon 
  type) .
   2. 
  2 giant rats (AC 7; HD 
  ; hp 4; #AT 1; D 1-3 plus 5% 
  chance per wound of disease, save vs. Poison) with 3 
  young (AC 7; HD 
  ; hp 2; #AT 1; D as adults).
   3. 
  1 giant weasel (AC 6; HD 3+3; hp 20; #AT 1; D 2-12 
  plus blood drain).
   4. 
  6 giant ants (workers — AC 3; HD 2; hp 5; #AT 1; D 1-6).
  goblins: a small independent group passing through the locality 
  who have decided to break their journey for a brief treasure 
  hunt; they know nothing about the smugglers. They will be 
  encountered in the house, if at all, but not in the basement area. 
  They are armed with short swords and slings but attack at -1 in 
  bright light. Each has 1-8 sp in a pouch and one of them has a 
  25 gp ruby in a secret compartment in his sword hilt.
  giant rats: these creatures will surprise 4 chances in 6. They are 
  disease carriers: any character bitten by a giant rat has a 5% 
  chance of being infected by disease. If an infected character 
  then fails a saving throw vs. Poison and does not receive a 
  cure disease spell by the third turn after being bitten, the 
  wound will swell and fill with pus; the character will lapse into 
  delirium and will need constant attention by another member 
  of the party. After 1-4 days the character will die if cure disease 
  has still not been given.
  giant weasel: a vicious creature which will attack in all circumstances. 
  On the melee round after it successfully bites a victim it does 
  not release its jaws but instead sucks blood at the rate of 
  2-12 hit points of damage each round. The creature’s pelt 
  is worth 2,000 gp.
  giant ants: these are worker ants foraging for food.
   KEY TO THE GROUND FLOOR
  OF THE HOUSE
  1. ENTRANCE HALL
  The front door opens onto a musty, dirty entrance hall. To your 
  left a corridor leads into the west wing of the house. On either 
  side of the corridor opening the walls are bare but some pieces 
  of wood in the corner near the window indicate that a small 
  wooden table or chair once stood there. Ahead of you, another 
  corridor leads towards the rear of the house.
  To your right a staircase climbs to the next storey, reaching it 
  at a balcony which overlooks the hall along its north and west 
  sides; the stairs appear safe to climb though the balcony rail 
  is broken in several places. Under the stairs at the rear of 
  the hall a third corridor leads east.
  So long as it is done before the party move into the hall proper, a 
  careful examination of the floor by a ranger (10% chance of success 
  per experience level) or a member of another character class (5% 
  chance of success irrespective of level) will reveal two ‘paths’ along 
  which there has been occasional and recent human movement — 
  one from the foot of the stairs to the corridor towards the kitchen, the 
  other from the foot of the stairs to the western corridor. These have 
  been made by the smugglers when moving between the cellar and 
  their signalling point in room 14.
  Should the tracks be discovered here and followed in any of the 
  three directions (upstairs to room 14 or to the cellar via either route), 
  a ranger will have a 50% chance per turn of losing the track, while 
  members of other character classes who were fortunate enough to 
  find an initial track in the hall will be unable to follow it more than a few 
  yards. Should the party, now or later, ascend the stairs....
  The stairs creak ominously as you ascend but they are safe 
  enough. At the top you reach the gallery which is on the 
  north and west walls of the hall. To east and west the corridor 
  appears to stretch the full width of the house, doors leading 
  off it to the south. Opposite the western portion of the gallery 
  is another corridor leading north.
  The stairs will not collapse under the party’s weight but at a point on 
  the gallery 10’ to the west of the head of the stairs the floorboards are 
  so rotten that they will collapse if any party member steps on them 
  (the fall causing 1-6 hit points of damage) leaving a gap stretching 
  from the wall clear to the gallery edge and 7’ across.
  
  7
  2. LIBRARY
  You can tell that this room was once a library, with bookshelves 
  around the walls. Most of the bookshelves are broken now 
  and in many places have come away from the wall altogether. 
  Those few shelves still intact are empty but there is a pile of 
  books in the southwest corner.
  There are 14 books in the pile untidily thrown into the corner 
  and now covered with cobwebs, vermin droppings and harmless 
  mould. All have been partially spoiled by damp, mould and mice 
  but are still legible. Only three are of any interest, the other eleven 
  being of a routine nature (histories, collections of romantic poems 
  and so forth). These three are clearly titled on the spine:
  The Magical Properties of Gemstones by Mage Tenser
  The Magical Properties of Herbs and Flowers by Mage Tenser
  The Metaphysics of Mathematics by Mage Nystul
  These three books can be sold for 150 gp each (though not in 
  Saltmarsh — the vendor will have to seek a larger community if 
  a purchaser is to be found).
  If the players want their characters to read the books and demand 
  to know something of their contents, the Dungeon Master’s 
  imagination may be stretched! Sections of the Dungeon Masters 
  Guide will be helpful (e.g. page 126). However reading the books 
  will convey no special advantage to the characters and most of 
  their contents will be too obscure for comprehension.
  Inside the third volume can be found a sheet of parchment 
  obviously torn from a larger sheet, on which are a few lines of 
  handwritten text in the common tongue. It has been spoiled by 
  damp so that only two words are still legible:
  “......beyond skeletons.....”
  3.STUDY
  This room was once a writing room or study. Against the 
  wall under the windows is a large wooden writing desk 
  partially broken and riddled with damp rot. There are three 
  drawers in each pedestal and a large central drawer; the 
  latter is closed but the others are all open — two obviously 
  broken open forcibly.
  The central drawer (which is locked — the key has been lost for 
  years) contains nothing but valueless documents, all written in 
  the common tongue — receipts for payments on the purchase 
  of various chemicals and laboratory equipment. A careful search 
  of the cavity in which the central drawer fits will reveal a small 
  secret compartment. Inside, wrapped in cloth, is a glass phial 
  containing a watery, rose-coloured liquid with a spicy aroma 
  (potion of neutralise poison, two doses).
  The other drawers are all empty.
  4. LIVING AREA I
  A door in the north wall leads onto a small paved patio, 
  the paving now cracked and over-run with weeds. There 
  is a pile of refuse in the south east corner. Otherwise, the 
  room is bare.
  The secret trap-door in the floor at S (detect as secret door) 
  leads via a staircase down into cellar area 21. A magic mouth 
  spell is placed so as to be triggered by anyone coming within 
  5’ of the trapdoor; a voice, coming from the ceiling above, will 
  say “Welcome, fools — welcome to your deaths!” followed by a 
  prolonged burst of insane and fiendish laughter. (DM’s option: 
  have each party member save vs. Spell, failure affecting them 
  as would a fear spell. Subsequently each character failing 
  the original save has a 40% chance of being too frightened to 
  re-enter the room.)
  The pile of refuse contains nothing of value except a single large 
  gold ear-ring, value 20 gp.
  Should the party manage to follow the tracks from the entrance 
  hall, they will lead to the trap-door.
  5. LIVING AREA II
  The only thing of any note in the room is a clump of tiny red 
  mush rooms apparently g rowing out of the floor all around 
  the fireplace in a roughly semicircular formation. Otherwise 
  the room is bare.
  The mushrooms are perfectly harmless though their presence 
  may cause any adventurer wishing to step into the fireplace to do 
  so carefully to avoid touching them.
  Up the chimney, about 3’ above the top of the fireplace, is a loose 
  stone concealing a small cavity. Inside the cavity is a small leather 
  pouch containing an amethyst, value 120 gp.
  6. LIVING AREA III
  This room is empty. The only matter of interest is that the 
  quantity of fallen plaster on the floor is significantly greater 
  than elsewhere.
  The floors in the two rooms above (see rooms 14 and 15) are 
  considerably weaker than elsewhere. There is nothing else of 
  interest and nothing of value here.
  7. DINING ROOM
  At one time a long table stood in the centre of this room; 
  now it lies broken — though still recognisable — on the 
  floor. A broken chair stands against the wall between the 
  windows and there is a heap of broken china in the northwest 
  corner.
  There is nothing of interest or value here.
  8. WITHDRAWING ROOM
  Two stuffed armchairs stand near the fireplace of this room. 
  The covers of both have been torn or cut and the stuffing 
  has been pulled out; however, the wooden frames are still 
  intact. The pieces of a broken table lie on the floor near 
  the north wall.
  In the chimney, about 3’ above the top of the fireplace, is a loose 
  stone, easily discernable. The cavity behind the stone contains a 
  small metal box; this is locked but the key is nowhere to be found. 
  The box contains a ring (ring of protection +1).
  
  8
  A large spider (AC 8; HD 1+1; hp 6; #AT 1; D 1 hit point 
  plus poison) lives inside the chimney and will attack anyone 
  investigating the loose stone. A character who is bitten must 
  save vs. Poison, adding a bonus of +2 to the saving throw, or 
  suffer enfeeblement (as the spell, 25%) for 1-4 days, the effect 
  beginning 1-6 turns after the bite.
  9. KITCHEN
  This was obviously the kitchen. It is dirty and damp, with 
  patches of grey mould and a few cobwebs on the floor, walls 
  and ceiling. In the corner to your left is some iron cooking 
  equipment with a chimney above. Next to it, under the 
  window, is a cracked and discoloured stone sink.
  To the right of the sink a small, closed wooden cupboard is 
  fixed to the wall about 5’ above floor level.
  Against the far wall a flight of wooden stairs leads upwards 
  from left to right; even from the door it is obvious that the 
  woodwork is decayed and a few of the treads are missing.
  A family of 5 giant centipedes (AC 9; HD 
  , hp 1; #AT 1 D 0 plus 
  poison) lives in a nest under the floor below the sink, with access 
  to the room via a hole at floor level. They will attack any character 
  coming close to the sink or investigating the cupboard. Anyone 
  bitten by a centipede must save vs. Poison, adding a bonus of 
  +4 to the saving throw, or suffer enfeeblement (as the spell, 
  25%) for 1-4 days, the effects beginning 1-6 turns after the bite. 
  The mould is harmless.
  The stairs are passable — see the notes relating to area 18. 
  The cupboard is empty.
  10. SCULLERY
  This room has suffered the effects of damp and decay more 
  than most in the house. Mould grows in patches on the 
  floor, walls and ceiling; there are many cobwebs, though 
  even these appear to be decaying. A large copper boiler, 
  dented, split, discoloured and empty, stands under the 
  window; a small heap of crockery shards is on the floor 
  beside it. Stairs lead down into the darkness of what is 
  presumably a cellar.
  A magic mouth spell has been cast on the stairs and will be 
  triggered when anyone treads on the top step. If the spell is set 
  off, hideous screams — as if of a soul in torment — will rise from 
  the cellar area below. (DM’s option: treat as a fear spell as in 
  Living Area I, room 4).
  KEY TO THE UPPER PART OF THE HOUSE
  When and if the characters climb the main stairs, refer to the 
  second part of the description of the Entrance Hall, ground 
  floor, room 1.
  11. BEDROOM
  What was once a fine master bed room now stands dirty and 
  decayed. Some of the floorboards are missing and there is 
  rubbish scattered around. A tall wooden cupboard stands 
  against the wall opposite the fireplace, its door closed.
  The cupboard contains two items: a pair of old, cracked leather 
  boots with no value or special properties, and a dirty, ragged, 
  stained cloak hanging on a peg. The cloak appears harmless 
  but the inner folds are covered with yellow mould (AC 9; HD 
  nil; hp nil; #AT 1; D 1-8 plus poison spores) which examination 
  of the cloak will disturb.
  There is nothing of value in the room.
  12. BEDROOM
  Once perhaps a fine guest bedroom, this is now decayed 
  like the rest of the house. Rubbish is scattered around; 
  there is some evidence of rodent infestation and some webs 
  hang torpid in the corners. A four-poster bed, once a grand 
  piece of furniture, is against the wall opposite the fireplace. 
  Its woodwork is worm-ridden and the curtains which once 
  screened the bed are torn and stained. There is no bed linen, 
  but the carcase of the bed is relatively intact.
  There is nothing of interest or value here.
  13. BEDROOM
  This bedroom is dirty and decayed; the floorboards appear 
  intact but rubbish is scattered everywhere and webs are 
  profuse on the walls and ceiling. From the doorway, you 
  can see a glint of light in the fireplace from what appears 
  to be a small, highly reflective object. There is no furniture 
  in here.
  The object in the fireplace is simply a fist-sized chunk of crystal. It 
  has no value though it is superficially attractive.
  In the webs live two large spiders (AC 8; HD 1+1; hp 7 each; #AT 
  1; D 1 hit point plus poison) which are 90% likely to attack (check 
  each round anyone is in the room).
  The spiders’ poison is relatively weak — saving throws against poison 
  are at a bonus of +2 and the effects of a bite are less severe than 
  most. Thus the poisonous bite will not kill the victim though he/she will 
  be incapacitated and completely helpless for 1-6 hours.
  
  9
  14. BEDROOM
  Another dirty, decaying bedroom without furniture. From the 
  doorway the floor in here does not look particularly safe; 
  some floorboards are missing while others appear to have 
  suffered partial collapse.
  The ‘safe area’ is a 3-5’ wide strip from the door down the west 
  wall and across to the window. Adventurers may stand in this 
  area without danger but anyone moving into another part of 
  the room may (60% base chance for a light character, increase 
  incrementally to 100% chance for a very heavy character) 
  precipitate a collapse of the floor, the character falling into 
  room 6 below and taking normal falling damage (1-6 hit points). 
  Refer to Dungeon Masters Guide p. 102 for determination of 
  character weight.
  If the party has been able to follow the tracks leading upstairs 
  from the entrance hall (room 1) they will be found to lead into this 
  room, around the safe area and to the window. A combination of 
  the position of the house and the topography of the cliff results 
  in this room providing the best view of the sea from any part 
  of the house, and it is from here that the smugglers signal to 
  their colleagues out at sea. Careful examination of the window 
  area will give small clues to this fact — fresh scratches on the 
  sill where the lantern has been placed, scuffing of the floor dust 
  immediately by the window and so forth. However, these signs 
  cannot be seen from the door; they require close observation 
  for discovery.
  15. BEDROOM
  The door to this room appears to be locked or held by 
  some means.
  The lock is a normal one and the key can be found quite easily 
  on the sill of the window at the eastern end of the corridor. The 
  key turns very smoothly and an alert party may deduce that the 
  lock has been oiled recently.
  This is a dirty, decayed bedroom and the floor looks rather 
  unsafe.
  The ‘safe area’ i n here is a 4’ strip from the door to the east wall 
  and along that wall to the front of the house.
  In the far corner lies a man; he is obviously alive, though 
  bound and gagged. He is clad only in undergarments and 
  appears to have no weapons or equipment.
  The ‘prisoner’ is called Ned Shakeshaft and he is a 3rd level 
  assassin, though he will announce himself as a 2nd level 
  thief if questioned. (See the Appendix for a full listing of his 
  characteristics).
  Ned has been ‘planted’ here, at short notice, by a prominent 
  merchant in Saltmarsh who is secretly a receiver of the smugglers’ 
  contraband (see PREAMBLE note F). Ned’s task is simply to do 
  his utmost to prevent the party from learning about the smuggling 
  operation and generally so to weaken the party — by promoting 
  dissent, causing ‘accidents’ while not appearing to do so, and 
  so forth — as to lead them to abandon their mission. However, 
  his fear for h is own skin is such that he will not attempt an 
  assassination except in the last resort and in circumstances 
  which give him an excellent chance of escaping and/or avoiding 
  detection. Unfortunately for the merchant, he does not know 
  how to contact the smugglers at short notice — Sanbalet (the 
  smugglers’ leader) always initiates their infrequent meetings 
  and never arranges for them to take place in the House. Thus 
  the merchant knows the smugglers’ base is somewhere in the 
  House but has never been able to find it. Planting the assassin 
  in one of the upstairs rooms was the best plan he could conceive 
  at short notice.
  Ned’s ‘story’ is simply that he is a thief from Seaton who entered 
  the House under cover of darkness the previous night to find a 
  place to sleep during his journey to Saltmarsh where, he had 
  heard, there was possible work for adventurers. He entered 
  through the back door and had only reached the kitchen when he 
  was attacked from behind, overcome and knocked unconscious. 
  He awoke some hours ago — bound, gagged and stripped of 
  his possessions — in this room. He did not see his attackers 
  nor, until the party came along, had he heard any sounds in 
  the House. Now he would like to be released and to join the 
  party in their adventure.
  Neither Ned nor his merchant-mentor are fools and they will 
  have given some rapid thought to preparing this story — it will 
  not be possible for the party to unmask Ned simply. Indeed, 
  to add verisimilitude to the story, Ned will have a lump on the 
  back of his head, inflicted (with some sadistic delight) by the 
  merchant.
  An alert party may, however, realise fairly soon that Ned is 
  not what he appears to be. For one thing, he cannot speak 
  Thieves’ Cant (he will have to say that the blow on his head has 
  temporarily destroyed his memory of the language). Again, his 
  hasty preparations have led the merchant to overlook the fact that 
  Ned’s ‘imprisonment’ will actually draw the party’s attention to the 
  probable presence of other people in the house, whereas they 
  might otherwise have found no clue to the smugglers at all.
  The DM must play Ned carefully. Obvious attempts to sow discord 
  or to lead the party into unnecessary danger will ‘give the game 
  away’ quickly. On the other hand, Ned’s instructions are clear, 
  and the more the party make deductions about the presence of 
  the smugglers, the greater will be Ned’s efforts to prevent them. 
  If in the final analysis discovery of the smugglers is inevitable, 
  have Ned attempt to assassinate a party member and make 
  good his escape.
  
  10
  Before leaving the room Ned will ask for the loan of clothing 
  and a dagger from the party. As soon as he has the dagger 
  he will exchange it for an envenomed dagger he has hidden 
  in the fireplace. If he cannot borrow a dagger, he will retrieve 
  the envenomed blade in any case and do his best to conceal 
  it about his person.
  16. BEDROOM
  A large bedroom, now decaying and dirty. Damp mould 
  covers portions of the walls and ceiling and rubbish is strewn 
  liberally round the floor. In the centre is a single mattress 
  which has been badly torn and from which the stuffing 
  protrudes. Under the window is a large wooden chest, the 
  timbers split, its lid closed.
  The mattress contains nothing but stuffing.
  The chest is not locked and will open easily. Inside is a pile of 
  mouldy ragged clothing — nothing of value — and a bundle of 
  documents, mostly mouldy and stained.
  Most of these documents are old letters which appear to relate 
  to the original purchase of the house; details are unclear, though 
  their general tenor can be deduced. One sheet, towards the 
  bottom of the bundle, is a clerical scroll of hold person. Under 
  the chest is a loose floorboard which conceals a small cavity in 
  the floor. Within the cavity is a small leather bag containing 4 
  small diamonds, value 25 gp each.
  17. BOX ROOM
  This room appears to have been used for storage. A large oak 
  chest stands under the window, its lid closed. Elsewhere in 
  the room are three wooden chairs, all broken, two splintered 
  wooden buckets and a mildewed sack. Just inside the door 
  is a bundle of what looks like clothing; this bundle carries no 
  dust and appears to have been put here recently.
  The chest is empty, while the sack contains old, rotted clothing.
  The bundle of clothes (which also contains some non-incriminating 
  personal effects, including 11 gp) is the property of the assassin 
  Ned Shakeshaft, supposedly imprisoned in room 15.
  18. LANDING
  Along the north wall of this area a staircase descends to 
  ground floor of the rear of the house. The treads appear 
  to be insecure.
  Another staircase along the east wall climbs to the upper 
  level. This has mostly collapsed — only the lowest six steps 
  are still intact and there is no easy access to the hole in the 
  ceiling to where the staircase used to lead. A heap of rotten 
  timber lies in the northeast corner
  Closer examination of the staircase down to the kitchen reveals 
  that a few of the treads are missing. These stairs are, however, 
  passable with difficulty, whereas the party will have to find other 
  ways of ascending to the attic if they wish to do so.
  19. ATTIC
  The attic is not shown in the house plan on the inside of the 
  module folder. It occupies the entire area under the roof of the 
  House and is thus a large, T-shaped area.
  As the party enters from area 18....
  A gaping hole in the floor shows where the top of the staircase 
  used to lead before its collapse. There are grimy cobwebs 
  on the walls and ceiling and the floor is liberally strewn 
  with dust and rubbish.
  Several holes in the roof allow dim light to enter this large, 
  dirty room which appears to extend from the back to the front 
  of the House. There are pieces of broken furniture here and 
  there, and rubbish is heaped about the floor. There are two 
  large sacks in the northwest corner. Otherwise there appears 
  to be nothing of interest here.
  The sacks contain old clothing and rags. There is nothing of 
  interest or value in this area.
  The entry of the party into the attic will alert the stirges in the 
  southern area, but they will not attack in the northern section; 
  instead they will wait for potential victims to reach the southern 
  area, where they will have more freedom for attack.
  As you approach the southern part of the attic you can see 
  that it appears to extend over the whole of the front portion 
  of the house. It is a storage room where the bric-a-brac of 
  many years has been left. There are more broken pieces of 
  furniture, a few sacks and piles of old clothes, but in general 
  the room appears to contain nothing of interest.
  In the southeast corner, up in the rafters, is a nest of 4 stirges (AC 
  8; HD 1+1; hp 5; #AT 1; D 1-3 plus blood drain). Note that each 
  Stirge attacks as if it had 4 HD rather than 1+1. The creatures 
  will wait until their victims reach the open area before attacking, 
  though their need for blood is such that they will pursue fleeing 
  victims into the northern area if necessary later.
  In the stirges’ nest can be found an old, cracked leather purse 
  containing a ring (ring of protection +1).
  KEY TO THE CELLAR AND CAVERN AREAS
  Note the lighting in these areas — see THE HOUSE.
  20. WINECELLAR
  This was obviously a wine cellar. Wooden bottle racks — 
  mostly broken — line the north and west walls to a height 
  of 6’. There appear to be no intact bottles left in the racks 
  though there are several with broken necks. Broken bottles 
  cover the floor beneath and near the racks.
  Against the east wall, at the foot of the stairs, are two large 
  metal storage bins which appear to be empty.
  In the centre of the room lies a human corpse clad in plate 
  mail; a long sword lies by the corpse’s right hand and a large 
  shield lies across the legs.
  The wine and contents of the storage bins have long since 
  been appropriated by the smugglers. One of the bins now 
  contains some refuse which will prove to be foul-smelling if 
  disturbed. In this refuse lives a colony of 18 rot grubs (see 
  below for statistics).
  The corpse is that of a fighting man, dead about 3 weeks. His 
  sword and shield are non-magical but his armour is plate mail +1. 
  His belt pouch has been cut open and is empty, but there is an 
  emerald worth 250 gp in the hollow heel of his right boot. His body 
  also carries other normal, non-magical items such as a dagger, a 
  backpack containing provisions and so forth.
  The corpse is infested with rot grubs (AC 9; HD 1 hit point; #AT 
  nil; special attack and damage). There are 7 of them and they 
  
  11
  will be activated by any search of the body and associated 
  items. Rot grubs attack by burrowing into living flesh. The victim 
  must apply flame to the wound immediately (1-6 hit points of 
  damage per application) or have a cure disease spell cast on 
  him. Otherwise the rot grubs will burrow to the heart and kill 
  their host in 1-3 turns.
  Obviously the smugglers have found this body — witness the cut 
  purse. Equally obviously they have decided not to move it but 
  to leave it here in the hope that its presence will deter further 
  exploration by any inquisitive visitor.
  Should the party have been successful in following the tracks 
  from the entrance hall, they will lead to the secret door on 
  the south wall.
  21. CELLAR
  If the party penetrates to this area it will be of crucial importance 
  for the DM to determine whether the smuggler in this room (no. 
  1 on the roster) is aware of the intrusion. Since his position (see 
  below) is such that he is partially turned away both from the 
  stairs to room 4 and from the secret door to room 20, and since a 
  long period of easy crime has made him careless, the smuggler 
  will not notice a quiet, cautious intrusion from either quarter. He 
  cannot, however, fail to notice a noisy entrance and indeed is 
  certain to hear noisy activity either in the lounge or in the wine 
  cellar (including burning away rot grubs, if they attack).
  Between these extremes, the DM should make a rational 
  judgement.
  If the smuggler is alerted, and if he has time to do so, he will 
  immediately go through the secret door to the cavern area to 
  warn his colleagues. This means that adventurers entering this 
  room might find it empty — whatever Sanbalet’s plans to deal with 
  intruders, they will take a little time to initiate.
  It is at this stage that Ned will, in desparation, attempt an 
  assassination in the conviction that the smugglers are about 
  to be discovered.
  You have entered a room which is so unlike anything else 
  you have seen in the House that for a moment you pause, 
  somewhat taken aback. The illumination here is good since 
  several lighted torches are held in shoulder-high brackets 
  around the walls. This was obviously a cellar, but equally 
  obviously it is now used for an entirely different purpose; 
  your first impression is that it is the living quarters for about 
  ten people.
  If the smuggler is present, indicate his presence and position 
  (seated at the north side of the central table, engaged in carving 
  a model boat from a hunk of wood) to the party, together with any 
  immediate actions he takes. If the smuggler is absent, or after he 
  has been dealt with, read the full description of this area.
  Ten single beds (crude affairs — little more than thin 
  mattresses on boards) stand with heads to the south wall, 
  each with a small wooden locker at its foot. In the centre 
  of the flagged floor is a long wooden trestle table on which 
  there is a variety of cheap metal cutlery and earthenware 
  crockery together with a large jug about half full of a light 
  brown liquid. There are a dozen wooden stools round the 
  table. Against the north wall are two casks, one larger than 
  the other and both broached. The larger one is nearly full 
  of a clear liquid, the smaller one about half full of a light 
  brown liquid. A metal dipper hangs on the outside of the 
  rim of the larger cask.
  Next to the casks is a large wooden bin. Above it, hanging on 
  hooks on the wall, are a large ham, a long string of sausages 
  and a small side of meat. Next to the bin is what appears to 
  be a crude, metal wood-fired stove standing in a fireplace. 
  Above the stove, on a shelf, are some iron and earthenware 
  cooking utensils, while next to it is a small pile of logs.
  Near the foot of the stairs are two small, unbroached casks; 
  next to them is a bolt of cloth.
  The contents of the room are mostly innocuous. The jug and 
  small broached cask contain cheap ale, the large cask water. 
  The side of meat is salted mutton. The unbroached casks both 
  contain brandy (value 50 gp each) and the bolt is of fine silk 
  (value 100 gp). The lockers, all unlocked, contain only clothing 
  and small personal effects of no value, beyond indicating that 
  all the residents of this room are male and probably human. The 
  stove is cool and unlit. The wooden bin contains a considerable 
  food supply — black bread, dried beans, flour, dried fruit, animal 
  fats, salt and a small amount of honey.
  See the Appendix for details of the smuggler guard (no. 1 on 
  the roster).
  If and when the party looks towards the door to room 23, read 
  the following:
  The door to your left appears normal but the one ahead of 
  you has a strong wooden bar across it, carried in brackets on 
  the frame and the door itself. On the door has been written 
  the single word ‘DANGER’ in the common tongue; this has 
  been inscribed in large letters using chalk.
  22. SANBALET’S PRIVATE QUARTERS
  This small room is clearly the quarters of a person senior 
  to those who live in the ‘barracks’ main room, since the 
  furnishing is less crude and the place is clean and tidy, as if 
  cared for by a servant. There is a comfortable-looking bed 
  in the northwest corner with a wooden locker at its foot. 
  A small wooden table stands against the east wall, and 
  beside it is a padded leather chair. On the table is a brass 
  9-branch candlestick and in it burn 3 candles, giving the 
  room good illumination. The candles, though not fresh, 
  are far from spent.
  Under the table is a small wooden box and a bullseye lantern 
  with a moveable shutter over the lens; the lantern is unlit.
  On a shelf above the table are stacked three books.
  In the northeast corner is a wooden cupboard with the 
  door closed.
  
  12
  The wooden locker contains clothing and personal effects—nothing 
  of value or of particular interest.
  The wooden box under the table contains 3 flasks of oil, a 
  tinderbox with flint and steel, 8 new candles and a piece of 
  parchment; this has some curious marks on it which represent the 
  code used by the smugglers to signal to their colleagues out at 
  sea. (For a facsimile and an explanation see the Appendix).
  The books are
  1. 
  a volume of erotic poetry, fully illustrated;
  2. 
  a naval almanac listing tide times for the area of coast 
  containing Saltmarsh (a total of 100 miles of coastline is 
  covered); and
  3. 
  a learned volume concerning mesmerism and its effects. 
  Inside this book is a sheet of parchment carrying some 
  simple words and phrases in the common tongue and their 
  equivalents in the gnoll language. Note that unless one of 
  the characters speaks Gnoll it will not be identified as such, 
  but will be “some foreign language.”
  The first two items can be sold locally for 10 gp each. The third 
  item is more specialised; it will sell for up to 20 gp but customers 
  are most unlikely to be found in Saltmarsh or any other small 
  town. The sheet of parchment has no monetary value, though it 
  is a curiosity. Examples of the words it carries ‘in translation’ are 
  “Stop!,” “Fight,” “Lift” and so forth — clearly key words used by 
  Sanbalet in instructing his gnoll slaves.
  The cupboard contains only an oilskin coat hanging on a hook.
  There is a secret cavity in the underside of the table-top in which 
  is hidden Sanbalet’s spell book. This contains the following 
  illusionist spells:
  First level: colour spray, hypnotism, detect illusion, wall 
  of fog
  Second level: invisibility, magic mouth
  Under the bed there is a loose flagstone (detect as concealed 
  portal) above a small cavity. In the cavity there is a small 
  iron box, locked and needle-trapped (the key is in Sanbalet’s 
  beltpouch). In the box are five glass phials bedded in wood 
  shavings and a small leather purse containing 11 pp. The phials 
  each contain one draught of a potion: — three potions of healing 
  (pale yellow), a potion of delusion (light blue) and a potion of 
  speed (deep green).
  The needle of the trap is discoloured, having been tipped with a 
  blue dye. It is not poisonous and has no other harmful effects, 
  but the dye will spread under the skin, forming an obvious blue 
  patch (Sanbalet does not entirely trust his henchmen where such 
  valuables are concerned).
  23. SKELETONS’ ROOM
  The door to this room is barred (see the last paragraph of the 
  description of room 21). If players ask about the barring, tell them 
  the wooden bar appears to have been in place a long time. The 
  smugglers explored here when they first took over the house 
  as a base, but were frightened by the skeletons and have not 
  ventured to release the bar since.
  This room is dark. Light from the large room behind you 
  spills faintly to show that the room is only about 12’ across, 
  but to your left there is only darkness. What little you can 
  see is dingy and dirty.
  Six skeletons (AC 7; HD 1; hp 4; #AT 1; D 1-6) occupy this room, 
  placed here by the alchemist to guard his private laboratory. 
  It is some time since they were aroused so they will be a little 
  sluggish to make their initial reaction to intrusion, but they will 
  attack after a short pause.
  24. LABORATORY
  Assuming some illumination is provided by the party when they 
  open the secret door:
  The secret door opens towards you to reveal, piled on the 
  floor of this room, a clutter of old and broken glass and 
  earthenware. There are three small copper pots amidst the 
  debris and these appear to be intact.
  There is nothing of value in this debris piled by the north wall 
  of the laboratory. As the party gets a view of the rest of the 
  room....
  A bench runs down the west wall of what was obviously a 
  laboratory. On the bench are various jars of powders and 
  liquids and several pieces of chemical apparatus, some 
  stained in different colours as the liquids they contained 
  dried up long ago.
  There is a table against the south wall, forming an L-shape 
  with the bench. In the chair before the table sits a human 
  figure with its back to you, apparently studying a book which 
  is open on the table. The figure wears a robe, embroidered 
  with a variety of mystic symbols, and a pointed hat. On the 
  table is a candlestick, a tiny stump of unlit candle remaining 
  in it, and a variety of other items which, even in the dim light, 
  shine with the warmth of pure gold. One of these objects 
  looks like a human skull.
  The figure is the skeleton of the alchemist and original owner of 
  the House struck dead during his work by a heart attack. Before 
  the alchemist died he was reading the book which lies open 
  on the table. Its title is Ye Secret of Ye Philosopher’s Stone, 
  no author acknowledged. The book is very valuable and any 
  alchemist will gladly pay 500 gp for it (though the party will 
  have to travel to a larger centre of population than Saltmarsh 
  to find a customer). In the main, the book is too profound and 
  
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  recondite a work to be understood by anyone other than the 
  appropriate specialist (and even that specialist would have to be 
  very learned), but the party will be able to deduce the general 
  subject matter. Broadly, the book instructs on the making of a 
  ‘Philosopher’s Stone’, then describes how that stone can be 
  used to convert base metal into gold. Words like ‘stone,’ ’gold,’ 
  ‘transmuting’ and so forth will be recognisable and will recur 
  frequently — the DM must decide how quickly and how accurately 
  the party can deduce the tenor of the book’s contents.
  The golden objects are in fact of pure gold. So far as the party 
  is aware, these objects are the results of several successful 
  experiments. They are
  1. 
  a human skull, value 750 gp
  2. 
  an apple, value 150 gp
  3. 
  a rose, value 150 gp
  4. 
  a set of five small discs (actually balance weights),value 
  50 gp in total.
  A secret drawer in the table contains the alchemist’s spell book 
  (he was a genuine magic-user), but the book has been badly 
  damaged at some time and the only spells still legible are
  First level: affect normal fires, find familiar, message
  Second level: fools gold
  Fifth level: animate dead
  The skeleton wears a leather belt pouch in which there are 
  47 gp.
  In the clenched left fist of the skeleton can be found a smooth, 
  ovoid pebble about 4 ounces in weight and having a lustrous 
  pale gold colour. It emits a faint glow (as well as dweomer) if 
  detect magic is cast on it. Though the party might assume it is 
  the Philosopher’s Stone, it is in fact a cursed luckstone which 
  will elect as its ‘owner’ the first character to handle it. It cannot 
  be thrown or given away as it will always, within the hour, return 
  magically to the owner without his or her knowledge, turning up 
  in a pocket, belt pouch or whatever. No type of physical blow 
  will harm it; nor will cold, heat, electricity or acid. The owner 
  will suffer a penalty of -1 from all ‘to hit’ rolls, damage rolls 
  and saving throws while the stone is possessed (even if it is 
  temporarily absent).
  A remove curse spell on the stone will cause it to vanish 
  absolutely and forever. An alchemist will recognise that this is not 
  the Philosopher’s Stone but will know nothing else of it, nor will the 
  luckless owner be able to persuade anyone to buy it.
  The chemical apparatus and materials on the bench are of no 
  particular interest or value.
  THE PASSAGES AND CAVERNS
  The passages and caverns beyond the secret door in the south 
  wall of room 21 all decline perceptibly towards the sea. The main 
  passage plus areas 27, 28 and 29 are all well lit by torches set 
  into crude brackets on the walls. Areas 25 and 26 are dark. Area 
  30 is open to daylight (when working there at night, the smugglers 
  take care to conceal their lights). The passage and cavern walls 
  are wet and slimy and the floors are moist, though the smugglers 
  have laid coarse matting in various places along the main passage 
  to the sea in an effort to make it more easily passable.
  All these passages and caverns are natural, though there are signs 
  of human working here and there — the stairs immediately by the 
  secret door, for instance, and in places where an inconveniently 
  narrow passage has been widened.
  The DM should remember that Sanbalet is acutely conscious 
  of the need to keep the secret door in the south wall of area 21 
  secret. The smugglers therefore take great care to clean up all 
  tracks inside the room. However, when the party reaches the 
  foot of the stairs it will be obvious that the passages to areas 25 
  and 26 are not much used.
  Note that if smugglers are unaware of intrusion, they will be found 
  in the approximate positions stated in the text which follows. 
  However if they have been alerted, their positions will change as 
  they execute Sanbalet’s orders.
  25. NATURAL CAVERN
  Your lights show a natural cavern, roughly circular and 
  about 20-25’ in diameter. There appears to be nothing of 
  interest here.
  At a point on the ceiling roughly halfway between the two passage 
  mouths is a large green slime (AC 9; HD 2; hp 11; special attack 
  only) which will almost certainly (95% chance) drop on the party 
  if they pass below. Green slime attaches itself to living flesh 
  and in 1-4 melee rounds turns the victim into green slime (no 
  resurrection possible). It can be scraped off quickly, excised, 
  frozen or burned. A cure disease spell kills green slime. Other 
  spells and physical attacks do it no harm.
  26. NATURAL CAVERN
  Your lights show a natural cavern, roughly circular and 25-30’ 
  in diameter. There appears to be nothing of interest here.
  The appearance is accurate — there is nothing of interest in 
  the cavern.
  27. NATURAL CAVERN
  This cavern, like the passage leading to it, is well lit by 
  torches held in brackets round the walls. Stacked against 
  the wall to your left, as you enter, you can see five small 
  bolts of cloth, while to your right are eight small casks in 
  a neat row.
  Unless they have previously been alerted, there will be two 
  humans and two gnolls in this cavern.
  The first human is Sanbalet, the smuggler chief and a 4th level 
  Illusionist. He carries three daggers and wears a belt pouch 
  containing 7 gp, 5 sp, 3 ep, the key to the chest under his bed, a 
  set of ‘loaded’ gaming dice and three gems worth 250 gp each. 
  Assisted by the other smuggler, he is checking a manifest of 
  contraband received the previous night as it is carried up from 
  the sea by his assistants.
  His memorised spells are
  First level: colour spray, hypnotism, wall of fog
  Second level: invisibility
  A human smuggler (no. 2 on the roster) is assisting his chief in 
  checking inventory. For full characteristics of Sanbalet and the 
  smuggler see the Appendix.
  Gnolls: AC 5; HD 2; hp 12; #AT 1 ; D 2-8 or by weapon type. Both 
  are armed with battle axes. These creatures are under 
  Sanbalet’s hypnotic influence; they will unquestioningly 
  obey him as their master, and they cannot be coerced or 
  charmed into betraying him. (Note that the hypnotism is 
  not the result of the spell of the same name. Sanbalet has 
  some mastery of non-magical mesmerism as a result of 
  reading his book (in room 22.)
  
  14
  
  15
  If the smugglers, alerted to the party’s intrusion earlier, stage 
  an attack, the gnolls will be at the front. One gnoll has a gold 
  bracelet on its arm (value 75 gp).
  Each bolt is of silk and valued at 100 gp. Each cask contains 
  brandy and is valued at 50 gp.
  28. SLOPING PASSAGE
  The incline of the passage is perceptibly greater in this and 
  coarse matting has been laid in various places on the floor. 
  The passage narrows to 5-6’ in places.
  If the smugglers are unaware of the party’s intrusion, three of 
  them will be found in this area, each carrying contraband up 
  the slope to area 27.
  The first (no. 3 on the roster) just north of the right-angle bend, 
  carries a small cask of brandy (value 50 gp).
  The third (no. 5 on the roster) is some 20’ behind the second and 
  carries a small cask of brandy (value 50 gp).
  See the Appendix for details of the smugglers.
  29. NATURAL CAVERN
  The passage widens to the south at this point to form a 
  small cavern. There are three bolts of cloth and five small 
  casks in the middle of the floor, resting on a piece of coarse 
  matting
  The bolts and casks are, as before, worth 100 gp and 50 gp each 
  respectively. The other three human smugglers are here taking 
  a rest before continuing the transportation of the contraband. 
  One (no. 6 on the roster) is about to lift one of the bolts of silk. 
  The others (nos. 7 and 8 on the roster) are obviously reluctant 
  to continue their work for a few moments and are squatting with 
  their backs to the east wall.
  30. SEA CAVE
  The passage leads into a cave which opens directly to the 
  sea. The tide is out at present and there is little water in the 
  cave, but there is an obvious high water mark which in places 
  is 3’ above the floor. Pulled up onto the sloping cave floor 
  is a small boat — perhaps large enough for eight men — 
  with oars, a step-down mast and a neatly furled sail. A rope 
  tied to the bow has been weighed down by a large boulder 
  which serves as an anchor.
  There is nothing of value here apart from the jolly boat which 
  might fetch as much as 90 gp in Saltmarsh. The boat has two hull 
  points (see the Dungeon Masters Guide, p. 54). There is nothing 
  aboard apart from the normal tackle. Since bolts of silk and casks 
  of brandy are cumbersome as well as heavy, the party may well 
  use this boat to transport the contraband to Saltmarsh.
  CONCLUDING NOTES
  Should the party succeed in wiping out the smuggling ring, a 
  grateful Saltmarsh Town Council will vote them a reward of 500 
  gp per surviving party member. Should they also succeed in 
  killing or capturing Sanbalet, the reward will be doubled. They 
  will be allowed to keep any treasure they find but will not get 
  full value for silk and brandy in Saltmarsh — they will be asked, 
  politely but firmly, to pay 25% excise duty on the value of any 
  contraband, thus retaining only 75% for themselves. (The DM 
  should note behaviour of the characters at this point — lawful 
  characters should pay without hesitation!)
  The party will need to rest and recuperate for a while before they 
  can pursue the second part of this module. Again, ensure they 
  pay for their food, accommodation and other living expenses 
  before they are invited by the Town Council to the meeting which 
  starts the next adventure.
  THIS CONCLUDES THE FIRST PART OF THE SINISTER 
  SECRET OF SALTMARSH.
  PART TWO — THE SEA GHOST
  wherein the plot is unravelled...and thickens.
  PREAMBLE
  A few days after their triumphant return from the destruction of 
  the smugglers’ ring at the Haunted House, the party is hastily 
  summoned to an emergency meeting of the Saltmarsh Town 
  Council. Here it is explained to them that, though the land-based 
  operation of the smuggling ring has been quashed, there must 
  be a seagoing vessel by which the contraband was originally 
  conveyed and this is still at large. The City Fathers, fearful that 
  any surviving smugglers may seek to re-establish their operation 
  from some other base, wish to apprehend this vessel and so 
  put an end, once and for all, to the smuggling. (If, for whatever 
  reason, the party actually failed to return from the Haunted House, 
  this second adventure is suitable for a medium-sized party (5-10 
  characters) of 1-3 experience levels each.
  The party is asked to undertake this task and, as an inducement, 
  a reward of 500 gp is offered to each member of the party for the 
  successful conclusion of the mission (they may of course keep 
  whatever other loot they find).
  It is reasoned by the Council that the surviving smugglers on 
  the vessel will, as yet, be unaware of the capture and/or death 
  of their land based colleagues, and a return visit by them with 
  a further cargo of contraband may well be expected. As the last 
  consignment was off-loaded only a short while ago, the next is 
  not reasonably to be expected for some time, probably during 
  the next ‘dark of the moon’ which begins in about two weeks 
  time. The Council will arrange for two local men from a part-time 
  corps of ‘excise officers’ to patrol the potential rendezvous points 
  each night for the next two weeks in case the smugglers return 
  earlier than expected. However, their resources are slight and 
  the Council is unwilling to risk the lives of volunteers by ordering 
  them to take the ship and its crew by force — they anticipate the 
  smugglers would put up a fight to protect themselves and their 
  cargo, and could easily overpower a couple of local men.
  The proposal is therefore that the excise men will undertake a 
  patrol each night but that as soon as an approaching vessel is 
  spotted, the party should perform the actual task of boarding, the 
  excise men going with them for added support.
  Note: if you wish to play in this adventure, read no further! 
  What follows is for the eyes of the Dungeon Master only!
  For the information of the Dungeon Master (only) a summary of 
  the plot of this module is given in the Appendix.
  PREPARATIONS
  The Dungeon Master should allow intelligent participation by party 
  members in the Council meeting and reward it appropriately. For 
  example, if they have deduced or inferred that there is normally 
  a signalling arrangement between the two groups of smugglers, 
  they may wish to arrange for a prompt response from the House 
  to any light signal from the ship; if so, experience points should 
  
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  be awarded to the player making the suggestion, and the reward 
  should be proportionately greater if correct deductions are 
  made about the code on the parchment in Sanbalet’s room. 
  The Dungeon Master must exercise considerable discretion in 
  this. Too small a reward, or none at all, could inhibit creative 
  thinking by the party, while overgenerous rewards quickly become 
  self-defeating.
  Once the party accepts the undertaking, the Council will put a 
  small fishing boat at their disposal and provide them with any 
  reasonable amount of non-magical equipment that they feel 
  they may require. The boat is large enough to accommodate 
  the entire party plus the two local volunteers. The Council will 
  also provide the services of two of their excise men, a corporal 
  and a private, to accompany the party and sail the boat for 
  them. The characteristics of these men and of the cutter are fully 
  detailed in the Appendix.
  The local men will fight hard and courageously and, though they 
  will not undertake actions of a suicidal nature at the behest of party 
  members, they will carry out their nightly patrols efficiently and 
  regularly and will advise members of the party of the approach 
  of the ship. Presumably the party members will make prior 
  arrangements for a suitable course of action at this time - how the 
  men are to signal the ship’s arrival, where they are to pick up the 
  party in the boat and so forth; if they fail to make such advance 
  plans, the corporal will (respectfully) suggest they do so!
  Again, the party may determine the general area within which the 
  nightly patrols are to be carried out, but if not the corporal will offer 
  his opinion on the matter (which will be correct) - that the general 
  area to be patrolled should be about half a mile or so out to sea 
  and in line of sight of the old Haunted House.
  Clever party members will seek beforehand to see plans and 
  designs of typical sea-going vessels of this time and place in 
  order to obtain some prior understanding of the type of ‘dungeon’ 
  they will be entering. Though the Dungeon Master must never 
  volunteer this information a rough description should be provided 
  at the party’s request. However, the DM should include a number 
  of differences from the Sea Ghost’s actual layout — different 
  cabin arrangements, variations in dimensions, doors and hatches 
  in different places etc. After all, ships of this kind are not made to 
  a rigidly prescribed design! On no account should the presence of 
  the secret doors/cabins be revealed or even hinted at.
  SPECIAL NOTES ABOUT RUNNING THIS ADVENTURE
  Much of what has already been said in relation to the first part of 
  this module should apply equally to the adventure aboard the Sea 
  Ghost. In particular, remember that the crew on the ship - with 
  the exception of those who are on deck signalling and watching 
  for the return signal — do not have fixed posts but are mobile, 
  going about their routine preparations for off-loading cargo. If the 
  party’s presence aboard the vessel goes undetected by those 
  below-decks, the adventurers should find it quite a simple task 
  to take the smugglers unaware, either singly or in small groups 
  as they go about their business. On the other hand, if the alarm 
  is raised don’t forget that the smugglers know the ship’s layout 
  intimately and will be able to organise a swift and perhaps 
  unexpected reprisal.
  During the time spent on patrol the weather will be fine and clear 
  although when there is no moon, light will be poor and normal 
  vision obscured beyond twenty feet. The ship will arrive, as 
  predicted, during the dark moon period. The party is to receive the 
  benefit of favourable winds, tides and currents as the objective is 
  to get them aboard the smugglers’ ship and not involve them in 
  a complicated exercise involving the finer points of seamanship 
  and navigation. Besides, the local men are in fact a fisherman 
  and his brother (both experienced sailors) and quite capable of 
  dealing with these matters expeditiously.
  On no account is the Dungeon Master to inform the players that 
  the smugglers are running arms to the lizard men (see THE PLOT 
  in the Appendix) as well as dealing in contraband. They must 
  discover this for themselves as they play through the module, by 
  the presence of the lizard men aboard the ship, by finding the 
  Aquatic Elf prisoner and learning what he knows, by deciphering 
  the special chart and letter in the captain’s cabin, by finding the 
  secret cache of weapons and by putting all these clues together 
  to come up with the correct conclusions.
  Additionally, captured smugglers can be bribed or threatened for 
  information (watch alignment behaviour if coercion is suggested 
  or actually used!). Should all this fail to trigger the correct 
  conclusions then the Dungeon Master may, at the end of the 
  adventure, be forced to ‘give away’ the arms-running information, 
  if only to ensure that the party is tempted to continue adventuring 
  in modules U2 and U3. The method of revealing this information 
  must be left at the discretion of the DM who is luckless enough to 
  be dealing with an obtuse bunch of players!
  THE SIGNALLING SYSTEM
  The signalling system is simple but effective (see Appendix for 
  the signals). The arrangement is for someone aboard the ship to 
  flash the first signal (which takes about four seconds) up to three 
  times within a period of one minute. The shore party would reply 
  with the second signal and would flash this twice, whereupon the 
  third signal would be flashed once only from the ship, and the 
  unloading operation would begin. A pair of smugglers would row 
  the jolly boat out from shore to the ship at the same time as a 
  ship’s boat is dropped, and these two vessels would alternate 
  in carrying the contraband ashore, one of them remaining in the 
  shore cave at the end of the operation.
  It has been arranged (though this does not appear on the 
  parchment) that the first signal should be repeated at intervals of 
  10 minutes (three times in each case) for an hour. If there is no 
  response from the shore, it will be assumed that there is some 
  problem ashore and the Sea Ghost will sail away, returning the 
  next night to repeat the procedure. If the response from the 
  shore is not the agreed one, the first signal will be repeated after 
  
  17
  the requisite 10 minutes, and if the response is again incorrect 
  the Sea Ghost will depart, again returning the next night to 
  repeat the procedure.
  The local men in the fishing boat will each have an automatic 20% 
  chance per signal burst to see the first signal; party members, 
  whether in the house, on the cliff or in the cave, must first indicate 
  to the Dungeon Master, by their words and/or behaviour, that they 
  are indeed actively looking for the vessel. If any players are being 
  inattentive during play, then these players’ characters will have no 
  chance at all to see the signal light; others will have a 15% chance 
  each per signal burst of making a sighting.
  BOARDING THE SEA GHOST
  How long it takes the party to reach the ship depends on what 
  arrangements they have made beforehand with the excise men. 
  If, for example, it is arranged that the excise men, once they 
  have seen the ship, will row ashore and pick the party up (say in 
  the cave below the Haunted House), that will take about 15-20 
  minutes. The party would then board the fishing boat that would 
  be rowed out towards the ship. The journey direct to the ship 
  would take about 30-40 minutes (20-30 minutes with more than 
  two rowing), but if the boat is to approach the Sea Ghost from the 
  seaward side another five minutes should be added. The ship 
  will be lying broadside to the coastline, the starboard side facing 
  landwards and if the characters approach her from this side they 
  will automatically be seen when within 20’, even if they approach 
  silently and without light.
  If the party approaches darkly and silently from the port side they 
  will be totally unobserved - the smugglers on deck are watching 
  the coast from the starboard side, and will not see or hear intruders 
  unless there is a light in the boat or noise from it.
  Thus, whether the alarm is raised or not will depend on a number 
  of factors: from which direction the boat approaches the ship, 
  whether the watchers on the ship are alerted to possible danger 
  (an incorrect response to the signal or no response at all) and 
  whether the party has taken precautions to conceal its approach 
  (no lights, muffled rowlocks, a silence spell, etc.). Between 
  the extremes outlined above (automatic detection of a direct 
  approach, no detection of a silent and dark approach from the 
  seaward side) the DM must judge the circumstances, decide on 
  the probability of detection and determine the outcome by rolling 
  dice against that probability.
  If the party makes a direct approach, they may try to bluff their 
  way aboard once they have been detected. For instance, they 
  may say they are a party from the Haunted House base, that 
  the lamp has been accidentally smashed, that a new recruit 
  to the gang, unused to the codes, has made a mistake with 
  the signalling, or something of a similar nature. If the story is 
  reasonably convincing, allow them a 65% or greater chance of 
  being believed up to the point when the first three members of 
  the party actually get aboard via a rope ladder which will be 
  lowered for them. Once these three are aboard, the deception 
  will automatically be discovered — the smugglers will take 
  alarm and will attempt to repel the boarders while at the same 
  time getting their vessel under way. A detected approach will 
  mean that the entire crew will attempt to repel boarders with 
  the utmost vigour.
  Even if the party’s approach is not detected, they must still 
  get aboard. The most obvious method is to climb the anchor 
  chain that will be easy for relatively unencumbered characters 
  (no chance of slipping and falling) while for characters with 
  heavy gear there will be a 10%-25% chance (depending on the 
  encumbrance) of slipping and falling into the sea (in which case 
  the character must be pulled to safety within one melee round or 
  sink and drown in four rounds). The noise of a character falling 
  into the sea will be heard by the watchers on deck unless it is 
  covered by (for instance) a silence spell.
  Other means of boarding may be attempted. The DM must 
  determine the outcome according to the circumstances. 
  Characters may, if they so elect, try to climb onto any of the three 
  deck areas, through either or both of the open portholes in the 
  stern, or even onto the bowsprit, but note that anyone climbing up 
  the rigging will probably (70% chance) be noticed (and fired on!) 
  by the smuggler in the crow’s nest (see below).
  Of course, if the party gains undetected access to the ship and 
  the requisite signalling period passes, then the anchor will be 
  raised and the Sea Ghost will sail away. The fishing boat is not 
  as fast as the Sea Ghost so attempts to pursue by anyone left 
  in the boat will be fruitless.
  FEATURES OF THE SMUGGLERS’ SHIP
  The name of the vessel, ‘Sea Ghost’, is painted on both sides 
  of the prow. She has a length of nearly 90’, a beam of 26’, a 
  draught of 8’ and stands 9’ above the waterline to the top of her 
  main deck rails and 17’ above the waterline to the top of both 
  her forecastle and poop rails.
  All doors are 6’ high, 4’ wide and of stout wood construction; 
  all are normally shut but none are locked and all can be readily 
  opened without die rolling. All secret doors may be detected 
  in the same way as normal secret doors. All portholes are 2’ 
  square and have no glass, being simply square openings cut 
  into the ship’s timbers which can be closed and fastened from 
  the inside by hinged and bolted wooden hatches; all are closed 
  and bolted except for the two in the ship’s stern which give 
  onto areas 8 and 9.
  Crawling through the stern portholes can be managed by all 
  creatures of sizes S and M, but only gnomes and halflings may 
  do so freely; all other races must rid themselves of their shields 
  and extraneous gear and contrive to either push or pull these 
  items ahead or after them.
  The stairways leading down from area 1 to areas 12 and 13 are 
  separated from each other by a stout wood partition and take 
  the form of wood-enclosed companionways so that they are 
  completely sealed off from areas 8 and 9, while the stairway from 
  area 1 to area 10 is likewise enclosed in wood partitions and 
  sealed off from area 6. All enclosed areas have a height of 8’ 
  except for the bilge (area 16) that is 4’ high. The cargo hold hatch 
  in area 1 is closed but not fastened. The bilge hatch in area 11 
  is closed and bolted from the hold side only. Above decks (when 
  the party arrives) the light is poor and normal vision is obscured 
  to within a 20’ range; below decks there is no light at all except 
  for area 11 where a single lit lantern, hanging from the centre 
  ceiling, provides normal illumination. Smugglers moving around 
  below decks will carry a lantern each. 
  
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  The Sea Ghost is mainly of wood construction so that fire is 
  always something of a hazard. She could, with some difficulty, 
  be set ablaze and burnt down to the waterline. However, it is 
  not to be imagined that the vessel will burn readily for her hull, 
  rigging, spars and sails are all in varying degrees of dampness. 
  Deliberate attempts to set her ablaze may only be undertaken 
  while aboard her. This will involve the use of at least two flasks 
  of oil to two cubic feet of dry combustible materials such as 
  sacking, cloth, wool or wood kindling and still has only a 60% 
  chance of successfully creating a blaze. Additional flasks of oil 
  and combustibles will increase the chances by 10% for each 
  extra flask of oil plus a further cubic foot of combustibles. Brandy-
  soaked silk bolts make excellent combustibles and do not require 
  the addition of oil to ignite.
  It will take a full turn before the fire takes hold, during which 
  period it may be extinguished with a 15% chance for every person 
  helping in the attempt. On the second turn after ignition the 
  chance of successfully extinguishing the fire goes down to 10% 
  per person involved; on the third turn the fire will be out of 
  control and will burn the ship down to the waterline in a further 
  turn. In the event of successful extinguishment the Dungeon 
  Master has discretion to decide the extent of damage to the 
  ship, cargo and, possibly, other treasures, and reduce their 
  values accordingly.
  Spells of third level and above which involve the creation of fire 
  have a 25% chance per use of creating a blaze; the chances of 
  extinguishing it remain the same as those for a normal fire.
  Fire spells below third level will not create a fire hazard to the 
  ship, nor will attempts with normal fire if undertaken by characters 
  not aboard her. Throwing torches and lanterns onto the ship from 
  the fishing boat will serve no useful purpose and will certainly 
  alert the smugglers.
  Attempts to hole the ship and so sink her will require the use of 
  axes and/or similar implements applied with force and vigour. The 
  time necessary to complete this undertaking will be four rounds 
  and the noise will be sufficient to alert the smugglers. Two of 
  them will be sent to investigate and will raise the alarm at the end 
  of the second melee round; the rest of the crew will then rapidly 
  converge to that area and attack any intruders there by the end 
  of the fourth melee round.
  Successful sinking or firing of the ship will, of course, mean the 
  total loss of any valuables aboard her at the time, including the 
  value of the vessel herself.
  The fishermen and smugglers, but not the lizard men or the 
  magic-user Punketah, can climb the rigging and move along the 
  spars and yards with complete success and mobility; all others 
  must roll dice for their success each melee and their movement 
  rate is reduced by 25%. Those with ‘climb walls’ ability must roll 
  their percentage score or less to succeed, lizard men must roll 
  90% or less on percentile dice to succeed and others must roll 
  their Dexterity or less on 3d6 to succeed. Party members who 
  have seamanship as a secondary skill will not be required to roll 
  for success when aloft and they and those characters having 
  ‘climb walls’ ability will move at their normal rate. Failure means 
  a fall with a 50% chance of going either into the sea (those 
  wearing armour or otherwise encumbered sink within one melee 
  round and drown in four) or onto the deck (roll 1d6 for damage 
  per 10’ fallen).
  Fighting, when aloft, will be as normal for all excise men, lizard 
  men, smugglers and party members with ‘climb walls’ ability 
  and/or seamanship skills. Others, including the magic-user 
  Punketah, will have -2 on their ‘to hit’ die rolls and their armour 
  class will deteriorate by one factor, though not beyond AC 10. All 
  missile attacks aloft will, due to the poor light, be at a basic 
  -1 ‘to hit’ for characters with normal vision (-2 if the character 
  lacks ‘climb walls’ ability or seamanship skills). It will not be 
  possible for any character to employ both shield and weapon 
  (or any two-handed weapon) at the same time while aloft; nor 
  will it be possible to cast spells other than those with a verbal 
  component only.
  Note the presence of the crow’s nest (area 17) and its occupant. 
  The main rigging is shown in the rigging diagram.
  SURRENDER BY THE SMUGGLERS
  If and when the ship’s Captain, the Mate, the Bosun and the 
  magic-user are all dead or have fled, and if the party then 
  outnumbers the surviving crewmen and lizard men combined, 
  then the human smugglers will offer to surrender the ship to the 
  party. They will seek the most advantageous terms they can get, 
  but their minimum requirements will be their lives and liberty 
  and the ship’s jolly boat in which to flee. If the party refuses 
  these minimum conditions then the smugglers will offer to 
  trade information in exchange for treasure. Again, they will 
  seek the most advantageous terms they can obtain and their 
  minimum requirements, in this case, will be 100 gp to disclose 
  the whereabouts of the secret cache of weapons and the fact 
  they were to deliver these arms to the lizard men. They do not 
  know the exact location of the rendezvous point for their arms 
  running, only that it is about ten miles or so along the coast and 
  west of the Haunted House, near the mouth of a small river. For 
  a further minimum amount of 50 gp they will reveal the presence 
  of the Aquatic Elf prisoner in area 14.
  If the party refuses to meet any of these minimum demands, the 
  smugglers will refuse the related information. They know nothing 
  of importance other than stated above.
  The smugglers’ leaders and the lizard men will not surrender or 
  sell information; they will either fight to the death or, if things are 
  going very badly for them, seek to escape either in the jolly boat 
  or by diving overboard and swimming to the shore (shedding 
  armour and equipment as necessary).
  RANDOM ENCOUNTERS ABOARD THE SEA GHOST
  There will be no random encounters other than aboard the ship. 
  No sea monsters, etc., will plague the excise officers on patrol or 
  the party on its way to the boarding attempt.
  The Dungeon Master must keep in mind that the smugglers are a 
  successful band of organised and intelligent criminals, and their 
  
  19
  behaviour must reflect this at all times. Once they become aware 
  of the presence of intruders aboard their ship, they will react 
  in an aggressive, efficient and organised manner to seek out 
  and subdue or slay the intruders. They will not be content to 
  simply remain in their respective starting areas, but will rouse 
  their comrades, band together and actively seek out party 
  members. In this event the Random Encounters table should 
  no longer be used.
  Random encounters aboard the ship will be with persons and 
  /or creatures also based in specific encounter areas. Thus if 
  a smuggler is killed or captured as a ‘wanderer’ he will not be 
  found in his normal encounter area, nor may he occur again 
  as a ‘random encounter’. Conversely if a smuggler is killed or 
  captured in his encounter area he cannot later be involved in 
  a random encounter.
  Because of the small size and restricted nature of the ship, there 
  is one chance in eight each turn of a random encounter. If a 
  random encounter is indicated, roll d6 and check the following 
  table to show who has been encountered.
   Die
  Roll 
  Encounter 
  Normal area
   1-2 
  Mate, Smuggler 1 
  both in area 1
   3-4 
  Bosun, Smuggler 2, Smuggler 3 all in area 11
   5-6 
  Magic-User, lizard man 2 
  area 3, area 7
  See the Appendix for complete details of these characters 
  and creatures.
  If an encounter rolled at random makes obvious nonsense in the 
  prevailing circumstances ignore it and treat it as no encounter. 
  If, for instance, the DM has judged that the party has managed 
  to board the forecastle (area 2) without being detected, then a 
  random encounter is indicated with the mate and smuggler on the 
  main deck, who are still in fact looking landward to await a signal, 
  then ignore it and treat it as ‘no encounter.’
  KEY TO THE SEA GHOST
  1. MAIN DECK
  Though the light is not good, you can see that this is the 
  ship’s main deck. In the centre, forward of the mast, is a jolly 
  boat apparently lashed to the deck with ropes.
  Aft of the mast is a raised area — perhaps something lying 
  on the deck or a hatchway to the below-decks area. In the 
  corners formed by the forward upper deck and the port 
  rail, and by the aft upper deck and the starboard rail there 
  appear to be smallish objects lying on the deck. Aft of the 
  area provisionally identified as a hatchway you can see a 
  diagonal line going upwards — presumably a rope ladder 
  to a crow’s nest above.
  Leaning against the rail, about midway along this deck, are 
  two human figures. They appear to be staring towards the 
  coast. Between them and at deck level is what appears to be 
  perhaps a roll of cloth, canvas or rope.
  To fore and aft, below the upper decks, are vague outlines 
  of doors. You can also see ladders which lead to the upper 
  decks, the aft one on the port side, the forward one on 
  the starboard.
  The raised area to stern of the mast is indeed the hatch which 
  leads to the hold (area 11) below. The smallish objects on the 
  deck are 25’ lengths of rope, neatly coiled. The object between 
  the two men is a rope ladder, 25’ long, at present neatly coiled 
  but ready to be thrown over the side.
  The two men (who, unless they are aware of the party’s intrusion, 
  will be looking towards the House, waiting for a signal) are the 
  ship’s Mate ‘Bloody’ Bjorn and smuggler no. 1 (see the Appendix 
  for full details of these two men). See also the note below the 
  description of area 3.
  
  20
  2. FORECASTLE
  The deck area is dominated by a massive shape in the 
  centre which you can identify as the ship’s capstan. From 
  it, the anchor chain runs down the chain vent to port of 
  the prow.
  Standing just to starboard of the prow and leaning against 
  the bowsprit is a human figure. He appears to be scanning 
  to starboard.
  The man in view is smuggler no. 4 (see the Appendix for full 
  details). Depending on the exact position of the observer it may 
  be possible to discern details of area 1 (q.v.). See also the note 
  below the description of area 3. Note that the capstan arms can be 
  removed and might be used as clubs. They have been left in the 
  capstan by express orders of the Captain who wants to be able to 
  make a quick get-away if this should prove necessary.
  3. POOP DECK
  The tiller is the most obvious feature of this area, rising from 
  the deck about 6’ from the stern and having a horizontal arm 
  some 6’ long. Against this arm, on the starboard side and 
  apparently looking coastwards, leans a human figure.
  Leaning on the starboard rail and looking towards the coast 
  are three human figures. The one nearest the stern seems 
  to be holding something in his hand at shoulder level; 
  occasionally he seems to adjust it in some way.
  The man leaning against the tiller bar is smuggler no. 6. The 
  others, from fore to aft, are the magic-user Punketah, the ship’s 
  captain Sigurd ‘Snake Eyes’ and smuggler no. 5. The latter 
  holds a bullseye lantern which has a signalling shutter over its 
  lens; from time to time he moves the shutter as he gives the 
  prearranged signal.
  NOTE: if the agreed period of signalling is over by the time an 
  invading party observes areas 1, 2 or 3, the positions of the 
  smugglers will have changed. The captain (having given orders to 
  set sail) and the magic-user will have returned to their respective 
  cabins, while the mate will be organising smugglers nos. 1, 4, 5 
  and 6 in their tasks preparatory to sailing. Smugglers 2, 3 and 
  7, with the bosun, will be on their way to the main deck from 
  area 11 via area 10. In extreme circumstances the party may 
  not arrive and be in a position to observe until the ship is on 
  the point of getting under way, in which case all the smugglers 
  plus the mate and bosun will be on deck and going about their 
  various tasks.
  4. GALLEY STORES
  From iron hooks set into the ceiling hang three long strings of 
  sausages, a large ham and a hunk of meat. Against the hull 
  are three sacks. Set against the bulkhead beside the door 
  are a cask and a ceramic jar. Against the other bulkhead 
  are set a large and a small cask and another ceramic jar. 
  There is an opening in the latter bulkhead about 3’ square 
  and with its lower edge about 3’ above the deck. There 
  seems to be nothing of value here and the area is apparently 
  unoccupied.
  The meat is salt beef, the sacks contain dried beans, the casks 
  contain flour, salt and ale respectively. The jars contain honey 
  and olive oil respectively.
  5. SHIPS STORES
  Two coiled lengths of rope and three rolls of sailcloth lie on 
  the deck alongside a large box. A large wooden cask stands 
  next to six lengths of wood planking. Set into a wooden 
  rack, fastened to the bulkhead by the door are two metal-
  headed hammers, two wooden mallets, two saws and an 
  adze. There is an opening, about 3’ square and with its 
  lower edge about 3’ above the deck, in the other bulkhead. 
  There seems to be nothing of value here and the area is 
  apparently unoccupied.
  Each rope is 100’ long. The box contains copper nails and the 
  cask is three quarters full of hard, dry tar.
  6. SHIP’S GALLEY
  You have obviously entered the galley.
  There is a crude metal stove (unlit) against the hull beneath 
  the porthole. It has an adjustable metal chimney which can 
  be placed through the porthole when this is opened. Beside 
  the stove is an open metal bin containing sticks of wood 
  kindling, and beside this is a large wood table, bolted firmly 
  to the deck with a thick top criss-crossed with score marks. 
  The table has a large drawer.
  Hanging from hooks set into the hull above the table are two 
  iron frying pans, two saucepans and a skillet. Set against the 
  bulkhead opposite is a large cask which seems to be full of a 
  clear liquid. Beside this stands a wooden cupboard. Against 
  the bulkhead beside the forward door is a wooden upright 
  chair, while hanging from the centre of the deck above is 
  an unlit, hooded lantern.
  Again there is nothing of significant value and the area is 
  unoccupied. The drawer, which is unlocked, holds an assortment 
  of butcher’s knives, saws and choppers. The cask contains water 
  while the cupboard contains a miscellany of tin mugs, small and 
  large tin plates, wooden platters and a metal dipper.
  
  21
  7. LIZARD MEN’S QUARTERS
  There is a distinct odour about this room which reminds 
  you of a marsh or swamp — not fetid, not oppressive, but 
  certainly noticeable. /In the centre of the area is a wood 
  table, bolted to the deck. On the table is a silver jug half full 
  of a red liquid; with it are three pewter mugs. Round the table 
  are set three wooden, upright chairs while an unlit, hooded 
  lantern hangs from the deck above.
  In the gloom you can see that there are three hammocks 
  —one at each end of the cabin (slung between the bulkhead 
  and one of the ship’s ribs), the third across the corner of the 
  cabin from next to the aft door to the central bulkhead. Each 
  hammock appears to be ‘occupied’.
  A small chest or box of some sort is lying under the most 
  forward hammock. There appear to be weapons under each 
  of the hammocks.
  The silver jug on the table contains wine and is worth 100 gp but 
  the pewter mugs are of no value.
  A lizard man is asleep in each hammock (AC 5; HD 2+1; hp 12; 
  #AT 3 or 1; DM 1-2/1-2/1-8 or by weapon type; see the Appendix 
  for full statistics). If there has been little or no noise on the main 
  deck and adjacent rooms, and if the party enters quietly, the 
  lizard men will not be aroused (but the pseudo-dragon will alert 
  one of them — see below).
  Under the hammocks are arms and armour:
  Large shield and broadsword — under hammock by aft door 
  (lizard man no. 2)
  Three javelins — under hammock in corner (lizard man no. 3)
  Large shield and broadsword — under forward hammock (lizard 
  man no. 1)
  There is also a chest — wooden with iron bands — under the 
  third hammock. The chest is locked and the lock is trapped with a 
  poisoned needle (type A insinuative poison). The chest contains 
  1,000 ep (this is the second part-payment for the consignment 
  of weapons, to be handed over on completion of delivery). The 
  key to the chest is fastened to the inside of the shield under 
  the same hammock.
  Lying in a small, special nest in the corner behind the chest 
  is a pseudo-dragon (AC 2; HD 2; hp 13; #AT 2; DM 1-3 and 
  poison sting). This is the companion and pet of lizard man no. 1. 
  Because of the chameleon-like powers of this creature, it is 80% 
  undetectable to characters unable to see invisible objects (though 
  it can see invisible objects and persons itself).
  Due to the presence of this little creature, it will be impossible for anyone 
  to enter this area unnoticed, and as long as its companion lizard man is 
  alive it will fight to defend him and his treasure from all his enemies. Once 
  the lizard man is dead the pseudo-dragon will only fight if attacked first 
  and only for as long as an attack is sustained on it.
  Note that the pseudo-dragon will normally fight independently 
  — it will not be in contact with its lizard man companion and will 
  therefore not confer its magic resistance on him.
  Once lizard man no. 1 is dead, there is a basic 50% chance 
  that the pseudo-dragon will select one human/humanoid party 
  member as its new companion. This member must be one who 
  has not actually attacked lizard man no. 1 or the pseudo-dragon 
  itself, and the little creature’s order of preference from among the 
  party members will be (1) a druid (2) a ranger (3) any character 
  of neutral good alignment (4) any character having neutral in 
  his alignment but not evil (5) any magic-user having good in 
  his alignment.
  Where there is a parity among party members as regards the 
  listed preferences, then these will be cumulative in effect. For 
  example, the pseudo-dragon will give preference to a neutral 
  good magic-user over a neutral good cleric. Where two or more 
  party members have equally valid claims to preference then the 
  Dungeon Master must decide the issue. There will only be one 
  chance for the entire party and not one for each eligible party 
  member. Should there be no eligible party member present, or 
  should the percentage die roll be a failure, then the pseudo-dragon 
  will seek to escape by flying away at the earliest opportunity.
  If the charisma score of the individual concerned is 15 or above 
  it enhances the basic 50% chance by a further 5% for each point 
  of charisma over 14. Non-player characters are not eligible for 
  selection by the pseudo-dragon.
  Note: the DM may query how long it takes the pseudo-dragon to 
  awaken and alert its lizard man companion, assuming the latter 
  is not alerted by the party’s entry. It will communicate the warning 
  rapidly — in one segment — and the warning will appear as a 
  dream to the lizard man. However, it will take him the rest of that 
  round to waken and become aware of the actuality. At the end of 
  one round he will be fully awake and alert (though not, of course, 
  carrying his sword and shield).
  Note on Melee: this room has dimensions of 10’ x 10’ and 
  contains three lizard men, three hammocks, a chest, a table and 
  chairs. It will also, in the event of melee, contain some party 
  members. Melee with weapons longer than 3’ will normally be 
  impossible and the DM should enforce this strictly. If a character 
  insists on using a weapon which would, in the circumstances, be 
  virtually impossible to wield properly, penalise that character’s 
  ‘to hit’ roll severely. The lizard men will not even attempt to 
  use their javelins, broadswords or shields, instead relying on 
  teeth and claws.
  
  22
  8. PUNKETAH’S QUARTERS
  This seems to be one of the ‘master’ cabins. The furnishings 
  and fittings are of good quality and the place is clean 
  and tidy.
  A single bunk, made-up with bed linen, has its head against 
  the bulkhead running along the centre-line of the ship next 
  to what appears to be a wooden partition squaring off the 
  corner near the main deck.
  In the centre of the room is a polished wood table, apparently 
  bolted to the deck. On the table is a silver bowl containing an 
  assortment of fruit, a silver carafe half full of a light red liquid 
  and a silver goblet. Against the table are set two upright, 
  wooden chairs and a padded, leather chair.
  On the deck under the porthole in the stern is a wooden, 
  brass bound chest. Beside it is a pair of highly-polished 
  black leather boots.
  From the centre of the deck above, over the table, hangs 
  a hooded lantern (unlit).
  The cabin appears to be unoccupied.
  This cabin is the private cabin of Punketah, the magic user 
  (see Appendix).
  The values of the ‘obvious’ items are:
  Silver bowl 
  - 
  150 gp
  Silver carafe 
  - 
  150 gp
  Silver goblet 
  - 
  100 gp
  The carafe contains a pleasant wine, very mild in its effects. 
  On a peg behind the door hangs a robe, maroon in colour but 
  of no particular value.
  The chest is locked and trapped (poison gas cloud — save vs. 
  Poison or sleep for 1-6 hours). It contains various items of clothing, 
  none of any value, and a leather purse holding 50 gp.
  In a secret compartment in the lid of the chest (detect as secret 
  door) is Punketah’s spell book, contents:
  First level: read magic, magic missile, sleep, mending, 
  spider climb
  Second level: web
  On the last page of the book there is written, in the common 
  tongue, the word ‘ABRACAPHAGIC’ which is the command word 
  for his wand of magic detection. With the spell book there is also 
  a hollow metal tube, sealed with a cap at one end,which contains 
  a magic-user’s scroll of gust of wind.
  The left boot has a hollow swivel heel inside which is the key to 
  the chest. Using the key to open the chest will set off the trap 
  unless the latter is detected and disarmed.
  In normal circumstances Punketah will not be in his cabin, but 
  if events are such that the DM decides he has returned from 
  the poop deck, he will be sitting at the table, apparently deep in 
  thought (probably considering research of new spells). Note the 
  secret door connecting this cabin to the captain’s.
  9. CAPTAIN’S CABIN
  This seems to be one of the ‘master’ cabins. The furnishing 
  and fittings are of good quality and the place is clean, though 
  somewhat untidy.
  A single bunk, made-up with bed linen, has its head against 
  the bulkhead running along the centre-line of the ship next 
  to what appears to be a wooden partition squaring off the 
  corner near the main deck.
  A writing desk is set against the hull below the stern porthole; 
  it has a drawer on each side and three trays on the top. 
  Also on the desk top, just in front of the trays, there is an 
  inkpot, two quill pens, a small knife and a pewter, pepper-
  pot-like container. Against the desk is set a wooden, upright 
  chair, while beside the desk is set a wooden, brass bound 
  chest.
  Against the hull, on the starboard side, is a padded leather 
  couch. In front of it a bearskin rug lies on the deck while 
  beneath the couch can be seen a fairly large metal box. 
  An unlit hooded lantern hangs from the centre of the deck 
  above.
  The cabin appears to be unoccupied.
  Of the trays on the desk top next to the pepper-pot container 
  (which is nearly full of fine sand), one is empty, another pertains 
  bills and receipts for various items of marine supply. The last 
  contains several letters of a personal and alarmingly intimate 
  nature from three different ladies in three different ports 
  (each of whom is under the common misapprehension that 
  she is Mrs. Sigurd ‘Snake Eyes’) and a curious, semi-literate 
  document requesting a further supply of ironware “as per previous 
  consignments and at the agreed terms.” The signature here 
  is in the form of a pictoglyph and shows a lizard with forked 
  tongue extended.
  
  23
  The last item is of course a request from the lizard men for further 
  weapons to be supplied. The DM must exercise caution here in 
  not making the document too explicit — the lizard men would 
  not want the document to fall into the wrong hands and will have 
  concealed as much of the real meaning of the request as possible 
  consistent with making the request clear to the Captain. Use 
  words like ‘goods’ — on no account ‘weapons’.
  The two desk drawers are locked and the key for them is in 
  Sigurd’s belt pouch. The first drawer contains four small, crystal 
  phials containing potions, two of healing, one of cure disease 
  and one of neutralise poison. These are labelled in the common 
  tongue. The drawer also contains four dirty glass tumblers, a 
  half empty bottle of brandy and the key that unlocks the chains 
  holding the Aquatic Elf prisoner (see room 14).
  The second drawer contains a number of charts of various sea 
  and coastal localities, all obviously prepared by professional 
  cartographers, but behind these there is a last and crudely drawn 
  chart (see the Appendix).
  This chart indicates that the rendezvous point with the lizard men 
  is at a small promontory beside a river in the tidal marshes, 10 
  miles south-south-west of the town of Saltmarsh.
  The bearskin rug covers the hatch in the floor which provides 
  access to area 13.
  A grey cloak (no special properties) hangs on a peg on the back 
  of the door. The wooden chest beside the desk is unlocked and 
  untrapped. It contains items of clothing including a well-worn but 
  comfortable pair of carpet slippers.
  The iron box under the couch is trapped — scything blade for 
  1-6 hit points of damage. The key is in Sigurd’s belt pouch, but 
  opening the box with the key will set off the trap unless the latter is 
  detected and disarmed. The box contains 1,000 ep —the first half 
  of the payment from the lizard men for the weapons.
  Note the possibilities afforded by the secret door to cabin 8.
  10. CREW’S QUARTERS
  Various unpleasant odours of human occupation compete 
  for recognition here, stale perspiration emerging as (just) 
  dominant. This is obviously the crew’s quarters and appears 
  to fill the entire forward part of this deck.
  There is a companion-way staircase leading upwards from a 
  point about 6’ from the bulkhead. Near it, more to starboard, 
  is a door.
  Around the perimeter of the cabin, slung between hooks on 
  the bulkhead and on supporting poles, are eight hammocks. 
  To judge from the slack way in which they hang, the 
  hammocks appear to be unoccupied at present. Beneath 
  each hammock is a brass-bound wooden sea chest — 
  most are closed but two have open lids, and appear to 
  contain clothes.
  In the centre of the cabin is a long plain wooden table with 
  a bench along each of its long sides. These items appear to 
  be bolted to the deck. The table is stained and dirty and has 
  an untidy pile of dirty tin plates and cups roughly stacked in 
  a large tin bucket below it. Over the table, hanging from the 
  deck above, is an unlit hooded lantern.
  Against the starboard side, adjoining the porthole, is an area 
  which appears to have been closed off by cheap, dirty cloth 
  hangings extending from ceiling to floor.
  The cabin appears to be unoccupied at present. It is smelly, 
  dirty and untidy and most unpleasant to be in.
  There is nothing of value and little of interest here. The curtained 
  area contains two large tin buckets standing side by side on the 
  floor. Both are empty but they are stained and dirty and emit 
  a foul smell. Perhaps this section should be given no further 
  explanation....
  The sea chests all contain clothes and other personal effects. The 
  garments are all stained, grubby and in poor condition. Of minor 
  interest among the remaining items to be found are the following 
  (the chests are not numbered in any particular order):
  In chest 1 — a pack of well-used, greasy playing cards 
  examination will reveal two identical aces of 
  spades).
  In chest 5 — two sets of dice, one set being ‘loaded.
  In chest 7 — a book of addresses and names of ladies in various 
  parts of the local area; a number of these have 
  brief comments by them concerning the ‘merits’ of 
  the ladies in question.
  11. CARGO HOLD
  There is some source of light in here which shows that this is 
  a cargo hold. Through the centre runs a section of the main 
  mast; beside it, narrow wooden stairs lead up to the hatch 
  above. Against the aft bulkhead are stacked bolts of cloth, 
  lashed by ropes to brackets bolted to the deck so they are 
  secure. On each side there are stacked a large number of 
  small casks, again secured by ropes to the deck. In places the 
  walking-space between stacks of merchandise is restricted, 
  but the place is obviously well organised.
  The light source is a lantern hanging from the deck above just 
  forward of the main mast.
  The bolts are of silk; there are 90 of them, each 3’ long by 1’ 
  diameter and each worth 100 gp. The casks are each 1’ 6” high 
  by 1 ‘ diameter; there are 304 casks in total, of which 81 contain 
  brandy, 219 fine wine, three scented soaps and one salt. These 
  casks are worth 50 gp, 10 gp, 75 gp and 15 gp each respectively. 
  All this contraband is securely stowed.
  (Note that, though the total value of the contraband is 15,480 
  gp, a 25% excise duty will be levied on this merchandise by 
  the people of Saltmarsh, making the haul worth 11,610 gp to 
  the party.)
  The map of the hold shows barrel shapes which are intended to 
  illustrate the area of deck taken up by these casks. They do not 
  represent the actual sizes of the casks.
  
  24
  Unless the alarm has been raised on deck, there will be four 
  smugglers in the hold when the party arrives (See the Appendix 
  for full statistics). Leaning on the stack of casks immediately 
  to port of the main mast, clutching some documents, is the 
  ship’s Bosun —’Foul’ Frithoff. Near him, aft of the main mast and 
  talking raucously to each other about their female ‘conquests’ are 
  smugglers nos. 2 and 3. Just inside the forward door, apparently 
  counting the casks on the starboard side, is smuggler no. 7.
  Note what has been said in the section FEATURES OF THE 
  SMUGGLERS’ SHIP about the combustibility of some of the 
  contraband. The party must be careful in this area if naked flames 
  are employed for any reason.
  Note also that the party will probably see the hatch covering 
  the access to the bilge. forward of the mast; a plain wooden 
  hatch cover.
  12. BOSUN’S CABIN
  This cabin appears to fill half the stern section of this deck, 
  with one bulkhead running along the centre line of the 
  ship. Along this bulkhead, leading upwards and forward, 
  is an enclosed companion way. At its foot, a door in the 
  central bulkhead seems to lead to the other half of the 
  stern section.
  In the centre of the cabin there is a plain wood table on which 
  stands a pewter flagon and a pewter mug. Beside the table 
  is a wooden chair and over the table, hanging from the deck 
  above, is an unlit hooded lantern. Also hanging from the deck 
  above, at the aft end of the cabin, is a large cage in which 
  there is a parrot, apparently asleep. Next to the porthole 
  hangs a hammock, apparently unoccupied. Beneath it is a 
  brass-bound, wooden sea chest.
  The cabin appears to be unoccupied (except for the parrot).
  The sea chest is neither locked nor trapped. It contains only some 
  garments — grubby and of no value. Concealed by the garments 
  is a locked (but not trapped) iron box which contains 200 sp, a 
  spear, a dagger and a crossbow (the Aquatic Elf’s weapons — 
  see Appendix). The crossbow is damaged beyond repair. The 
  key is in the bosun’s belt pouch.
  The flagon is almost full of rough cider — a strong brew which is 
  classified as a strong intoxicant.
  When anyone enters the cabin, the parrot will immediately wake, 
  squawk, say “Pieces of Eight — Pieces of Eight”, squawk again 
  and then go back to sleep. Its cries will in no way alert or alarm 
  the smugglers — they are accustomed to it and most regard 
  it as a nuisance.
  Note the secret door to area 14. It is possible that the prisoner 
  in that area (see below) will hear the party in the Bosun’s cabin. 
  Whether he shouts to try to attract their attention in these 
  circumstances depends a great deal on what he hears, and the 
  DM must judge according to the circumstances. As guidelines, 
  amongst the things he might overhear which would encourage 
  him to shout are:
  - generally, matters which are consistent with his Neutral 
  Good alignment;
  - an Elven voice;
  - the Elven tongue;
  - a clear indication that the party is anxious to put a stop to 
  the smuggler’s activities;
  while some of the things which would discourage him are:
  - generally, anything contrary to the basic precepts of his 
  Neutral Good alignment;
  - anything apparently hostile to the Elven race or to non-
  humans in general;
  - talk of murder or other violent brutality;
  - anything apparently hostile to aquatic creatures.
  However, it should be noted that the prisoner speaks and 
  understands the elvish tongue only.
  13. MATE’S CABIN
  This cabin appears to occupy half the stern section of this 
  deck, with one bulkhead running along the centre line of the 
  ship. Along this bulkhead, leading upwards in the direction 
  of the bow, is an enclosed companion way. At its foot a 
  door in the central bulkhead seems to lead to the other 
  part of the stern section. On a peg on this door hangs a 
  dark blue cloak.
  A single bunk, the bed-linen heaped in an untidy pile, is 
  set against the hull under the porthole. At its foot is a brass-
  bound wooden sea chest, its lid closed. Under the bunk is 
  a brass box, also closed.
  In the centre of the cabin is a plain wooden table apparently 
  bolted to the deck. On it are two books, one open and 
  propped up against the other. Beside the table is a wooden 
  chair. Hanging from the centre of the deck above, over the 
  table, is an unlit, hooded lantern.
  Just aft of the hook which carries the lantern is an obvious 
  hatch, 3’ square.
  The cabin appears to be unoccupied.
  The sea chest is neither locked nor trapped and contains some 
  garments and a pair of boots — mostly quite old but reasonably 
  clean.
  The brass box under the bed is locked but not trapped. The key is 
  in the Mate’s belt pouch. The box contains 500 sp.
  The books on the table are:
  - Principles of Navigation by Da Korma (open) and
  - Legal Distinctions in Letters of Marque by Tazaar 
  (closed).
  Each book can be sold for 10 gp in any port or fishing town/village 
  — it will be simple to find a purchaser in Saltmarsh.
  The cloak has no special properties and no significant value.
  14. SECRET PRISON CELL
  A small, dark, oppressively cramped area only 4’ wide at the 
  most, squeezed in between the ship’s stern and the adjacent 
  cabin, this appears to be used as a cell, for there is a slim, 
  human-like figure cowering in the far corner. The prisoner 
  appears to be chained to the hull.
  The figure is that of an Aquatic Elf who is chained to the hull; the 
  key to unlock his chains is the one in the Captain’s writing desk 
  drawer. If the characters demonstrate friendship and release 
  him, this Elf will have an interesting story to relate and will, 
  furthermore, assist the party to the best of his ability in their 
  undertaking.
  However, he speaks and understands only the elvish tongue, 
  and the following must be kept from the party unless/until 
  communication is possible.
  His name is Oceanus and he is a member of the tribe of Manaan 
  who inhabit the coastal waters about 15 miles southwest of 
  Saltmarsh. He is a 3rd/3rd level fighter/thief and his abilities are S 
  17; 1 11; W 10; D 18; C 13; Ch 12; hp 22. He was stripped of his 
  weapons and armour when imprisoned, but though bruised and 
  hungry, he has suffered no great injury and his spirit is undaunted 
  
  25
  (see the Appendix for further details).
  His tribe has noted, from a distance, the periodic arrival of the Sea 
  Ghost at night at a supposedly deserted, coastal area. Suspicious 
  of this mysterious behaviour, the tribal chief detailed Oceanus to 
  follow the ship back to her port of origin and to discover what he 
  could of these strange proceedings. This Oceanus did, and at the 
  vessel’s home port witnessed the purchase and stowing aboard 
  of a large amount of weaponry.
  The same night, Oceanus slipped aboard the ship to investigate 
  things further, but he was no sooner on deck than he was 
  surprised and stunned, to awaken some time later chained to 
  this very spot.
  He is uncertain as to how long he has been a prisoner or what his 
  ultimate fate would have been, but if asked he will surmise about 
  48 hours for the former and unpleasant for the latter. He has 
  no knowledge of the lizard men aboard (he has not seen them) 
  nor does he or any member of his tribe know of the colony of 
  lizard men for whom the arms are intended, as this colony is 
  a new one only recently reoccupied and the lizard men there 
  have taken pains to ensure that their presence is unnoticed by 
  any of the local inhabitants.
  During his imprisonment he has been brought rather unpleasant 
  food three times and a cup of brackish, stale water about six 
  times. On each occasion the bearer has been a large bully of 
  a person with a hook instead of a left hand (the Bosun, though 
  Oceanus does not know this) accompanied by another member 
  of the ship’s crew (actually smuggler no. 7) who has done nothing 
  but hover uncertainly in the background. These visitations apart, 
  he has been left to his own devices.
  If invited to do so, he will join the party with enthusiasm and will 
  stay with them throughout their remaining adventures, only then 
  — and reluctantly — leaving them to return home, for he has 
  been fired with the spirit of adventure.
  Indeed he will, if requested to do so, remain with the party for the 
  adventures in modules U2 and U3, in which circumstances the DM 
  should ask one of the players to ‘run’ Oceanus for the rest of the 
  adventure(s). At all times he will be as co-operative and as helpful 
  as possible, playing a full role in the party’s undertakings (he will, 
  of course, expect a normal proportion of treasure).
  15. THE SECRET CACHE
  This cramped area, only 4’ wide at the widest, is sandwiched 
  between the adjacent cabin and the ship’s stern. It contains 
  a number of large, irregularly shaped bundles, wrapped in 
  oilskins and bound with light rope. These are piled apparently 
  at random on the deck, as though thrown in casually from 
  the door.
  This is the place in which the weapons are housed during their 
  journey to the customers (the lizard men). There are eight
  bundles here at the moment:
  1 
  - 
  contains five morning stars
  2 
  - 
  contains five broad swords
  3 
  - 
  contains five small shields
  4 
  - 
  contains 10 javelins
  5 
  - 
  contains 10 javelins
  6 
  - 
  contains five broad swords
  7 
  - 
  contains five morning stars
  8 
  - 
  contains four small shields and a large shield; 
  this latter is emblazoned on the front with 
  the design of a lizard, with forked tongue 
  extended.
  There is no identification of any sort on any of the bundles, nor is 
  there anything else in this area.
  
  26
  16. THE BILGE
  From the hatchway you can see a little in the gloom below. 
  The area seems to stretch the full width of the ship and, 
  for all you can see, the full length, for no bulkheads are in 
  view. What must be the bottom of the ship is covered with 
  a thick layer of wet sand (presumably the ballast) on top of 
  which is an inch or so of greenish, greasy water. A scuttling 
  noise towards the stern indicates there is some life here 
  — perhaps living off the garbage thrown in occasionally 
  by lazy crew, for there are heaps of garbage near the 
  area immediately below the hatch, which have formed 
  small ‘islands’ in the ‘sea,’ a particularly large one having 
  formed at the base of the main mast. As you move your light 
  source back and forward, you catch a yellowish reflection 
  some 15’ forward and to port of your position, in one of 
  the garbage piles.
  A number of rats eke out a precarious existence here, but they 
  are of the normal variety and harmless.
  The yellowish glint comes from two gold pieces partially embedded 
  in a garbage ‘island’. However, this particular islet also contains six 
  rot grubs (AC 9; HD 1 hit point; #AT 0; DM Special Attack: burrow 
  into flesh) which will attack any character incautious enough 
  to rummage through the garbage. Simply picking out the two 
  exposed coins will not render the character vulnerable.
  Note that there is only 2’ headroom in the bilge.
  There is nothing else of interest or value in this area.
  17. CROW’S NEST
  This is not shown on the main plans, but is — predictably enough 
  — high up the mast, 40’ above the main deck. Access to it is 
  achieved by the rope ladder whose foot is by the hatch on the 
  main deck. It is an all-wood open platform, 10’ square with wooden 
  ‘walls’ 3’ high and having a 2’ square hatch which lets onto the 
  rope ladder which in turn descends to the main deck.
  The single occupant of this dangerous area at the start of the 
  adventure (when the ‘invading party’ first approaches the ship) 
  is smuggler no. 8. He, like his colleagues on the deck below, 
  is looking towards the Haunted House and awaiting a signal. 
  There is no chance that he will detect the party’s approach to, 
  or boarding of the ship if his colleagues below fail to do so —his 
  gaze is fixed at a higher level. If those on the deck below detect 
  the party’s intrusion, his attention will be attracted (even if his 
  colleagues forget to alert him) and he will descend with all speed 
  to the deck to assist his mates. Otherwise he will be oblivious 
  to the party’s intrusion unless and until someone climbs the 
  rope ladder or the rigging towards his position; he will always 
  detect such an approach when the climber is 11’-16’ below him, 
  and will investigate — attacking if circumstances demand it 
  with his shortbow.
  Attacks made from outside the crow’s nest on characters inside it 
  are made at -3 ‘to hit’ in addition to any other penalties that may 
  also be in effect. This reflects the defensive bonus the 3’ high 
  walls of the crow’s nest impart to any occupants.
  TREASURE FROM THE SEA GHOST
  Note what has been said in the DM’s descriptive section relating 
  to area 11 about the value of the contraband and how much 
  the party can expect to realise for it. With that exception, all 
  treasure may be collected in full by the party members — the 
  Saltmarsh authorities will gladly give the reward in addition. 
  The prize money value of the Sea Ghost herself (assuming 
  she is not damaged) is 5,000 gp. There will be no excise duty 
  levied on this amount.
  The two fishermen (should they survive) should be given equal 
  shares of all treasure collected, the calculation for them being the 
  same as for any other member of the party (they cannot make 
  any claim for magical items of any kind, however). Should one 
  be slain in the course of the adventure, his surviving colleague 
  will claim the deceased man’s share on behalf of the bereaved 
  dependents, and it may be a test of alignment within the party 
  as to whether this claim is allowed. If both are killed, it will be for 
  the party (failing them, the Town Council) to make the claim on 
  behalf of both sets of dependents; the Council members will fight 
  (orally only, of course) for this and again this could prove a test 
  of the alignment of party members.
  
  27
  CONCLUSION
  That completes the description of the SEA GHOST adventure. If 
  the party has successfully completed its mission, the seagoing side 
  of the smuggling operation will have been rendered inoperative, 
  and in addition the party will have gained some or all of the 
  following information:
  a) 
  in addition to smuggling contraband of the more 
  conventional sort, the smugglers are running weapons to 
  a colony of lizard men, for reasons which are at present 
  obscure;
  b) 
  the location of the lizard men’s colony; and
  c) 
  the fact that this weapon smuggling appears to have been 
  going on for some months.
  If they have enough information, the party should be able 
  to deduce that the lizard men are planning either an attack 
  on Saltmarsh (the only human habitation within miles of the 
  lizard men’s lair) or on some other place, location at present 
  unknown.
  The possibility, at least, of the former should provoke the party 
  into warning the Saltmarsh Council (if they do not, the excise 
  men will certainly do so if they are still alive) and this should 
  lead directly to the adventure described in module U2, DANGER 
  AT DUNWATER.
  If the party fails to gain enough information, or makes the wrong 
  deductions (or no deductions at all) then the DM must decide 
  whether the party should be coaxed towards the U2 adventure. If 
  not, then adventuring in the Saltmarsh area would appear to be 
  at an end! If the DM wishes to coax the party towards module 
  U2 and further adventuring, this must be done craftily without 
  ‘giving the game away’ too much, for a party with too much 
  information will probably have an unsatisfactory adventure. 
  Rather, the DM must slyly bend the conversation this way and 
  that amongst the players until at least a vestige of the right train 
  of thought appears.
  Remember that U1 is a ‘thinking players module’ — neither the 
  smugglers in the Haunted House nor their colleagues aboard 
  the Sea Ghost should present a serious challenge to a well 
  organised, intelligent party, though deductions of the truth (or 
  at least as much of it as is exposed here) from the scraps of 
  evidence will pose a greater challenge, as will the formulation 
  of the correct policy to pursue for the next stage of this series 
  of adventures.
  APPENDIX
  THE PLOT (precis for the Dungeon Master)
  A gang of smugglers are running contraband (brandy, silk and 
  such) on the ship Sea Ghost to a sleepy coastal area from where 
  it can be distributed to a wider market. They have chosen an 
  old house, locally reputed to be haunted, on the cliff near the 
  small fishing town of Saltmarsh as their landing-point for they can 
  obtain easy and secret access to the cellars without attracting 
  local attention via a sea cave. To further cover their activities, 
  they have taken steps to encourage the sinister reputation of the 
  house and the leader of the shore-based part of the gang, being 
  an illusionist, has used his spell powers to make the house a 
  frightening place to visit, so the locals shun it completely. One 
  of the ‘receivers’ of the contraband is a prominent merchant 
  in Saltmarsh.
  The smugglers are, additionally, running arms to a colony of lizard 
  men for reasons which are explained in module U2, DANGER AT 
  DUNWATER. The frequent visits of the ship have gone unnoticed 
  by the people of Saltmarsh but they have aroused the curiosity 
  of a tribe of Aquatic Elves nearby and a member of the tribe has 
  been sent to investigate.
  Though they are too frightened to do anything themselves about 
  the Haunted House, the people of Saltmarsh would be very 
  grateful if its menace were removed!
  DESCRIPTIONS OF HUMANS AND MONSTERS
  THE HAUNTED HOUSE — Roster of Smugglers
  SANBALET — the smugglers’ leader, a Master Trickster (4th 
  level illusionist). S 9; 1 15; W 10; D 16; C 10; Ch 14. hp 11; 
  AC 8 including dexterity bonus. Armed with a normal dagger 
  and carries two other daggers on his person. Alignment CE. 
  Memorised spells:
  First level: colour spray, hypnotism, wall of fog
  Second level: invisibility
  (He has previously employed his magic mouth spell to reinforce 
  one of the ‘traps’ in the house.)
  Sanbalet wears an old, faded robe and soft shoes. An old leather 
  belt round his waist carries two daggers (the one he normally 
  uses is in a sheath strapped to his left forearm, concealed by the 
  sleeve of his robe) and a belt pouch containing 7 gp, 5 sp, 3 ep, 
  the key to his chest, a set of ‘loaded’ dice and three gems each 
  worth 250 gp. A second, smaller, belt pouch contains the material 
  components for his memorised spells.
  HUMAN SMUGGLERS — there are eight human smugglers, all 
  1 st level fighters with 8 hp each. Each wears leather armour 
  (AC 8 - no dexterity bonus) and is armed with broadsword and 
  dagger. All are of CN alignment.
  Each smuggler carries a small amount of personal wealth about 
  his person:
  No. 1: large gold ear-ring in right ear-lobe (15 gp); belt pouch 
  containing 3 gp, 13 sp, 7 cp and a gem worth 200 gp.
  No. 2: gold chain with ‘lucky charm’ round neck (60 gp); large gold 
  ear-ring in right ear-lobe (15 gp); belt pouch containing 
  23 sp.
  No. 3: pair of large gold ear-rings (50 gp the pair); belt pouch 
  containing 15 sp.
  No. 4: gold ring on finger (75 gp); belt pouch containing 6 sp.
  No. 5: Gold bracelet (75 gp) on right forearm; belt pouch 
  containing 3 gp.
  No. 6: Large gold ear-ring (25 gp) in right ear-lobe; belt pouch 
  containing 9 sp.
  No. 7: ’Lucky charm’ on chain round neck (60 gp); belt pouch 
  containing 2 sp.
  No. 8: ’Lucky charm’ on chain round neck (60 gp); no other 
  treasure.
  TWO GNOLLS — see key to area 30.
  
  28
  The Assassin
  NED SHAKESHAFT — supposedly imprisoned in area 15, he 
  is a Waghalter (3rd level assassin) pretending to be a 2nd 
  level thief.
  S 12; 1 11; W 10; D 14; C 15; Ch 12. hp 15 (including constitution 
  bonus); AC 10. Alignment NE
  No weapons (but see key to area 15).
  Sanbalet’s Parchment and the Signalling System
  Interpretation:
  - = long flash (1-2 seconds)
  x = short flash (1/4 second approx)
  - x x x (line 1)— initial signal from ship to shore, this means 
  roughly “We are here with another load — is it safe?”; it is flashed 
  three times per hour (see SEA GHOST — SPECIAL NOTES 
  ABOUT RUNNING THIS ADVENTURE).
  x - x - (line 2) — reply from shore to ship, meaning “Everything 
  safe”. To be flashed twice.
  - - - (line 3) — confirmatory signal from ship meaning “We are 
  beginning the unloading — come out to the ship”.
  SEA GHOST — Excise Men and fishing boat
  Corporal — Will Stoutly — 2nd level fighter. S 17; 1 10: W 9; 
  D 15; C 12; Ch 9; hp 16. Alignment NG. Wears chain mall with 
  a small helmet, no shield, effective armour class 4; armed with 
  broadsword and dagger.
  Private — Tom Stoutly — 1 st level fighter. S 17; 1 9; W 8; D 
  17; C 11; Ch 9; hp 8. Alignment NG. Wears leather armour with 
  small helmet, no shield, effective armour class 5; armed with 
  broadsword, dagger and light crossbow with eight bolts.
  The fishing boat is a small craft but still large enough to transport 
  the entire party with both the fishermen. It has four sets of oars 
  and a single, step-down mast; the oars and rowlocks are muffled 
  with sacking and the sai I is of a dark coloured material. There are 
  on board several lengths of rope (about 25’ long) with a grappling 
  hook, also muffled with sacking, at one end of each.
  The boat has three hull points.
  SEA GHOST — Officers, Smugglers and ‘Companions’
  CAPTAIN — Sigurd ‘Snake Eyes’ is a Swashbuckler (5th level 
  fighter). S 17; 1 11; W 10; D 15; C 15; Ch 7; hp 41. Wears chain 
  mail and small helmet (no shield) for effective AC 4. Alignment NE. 
  Armed with long sword +1 (non-aligned) and normal dagger. He 
  wears a gold ring set with small gems (50 gp). Belt pouch contains 
  5 gp, 3 sp, 2 cp, a gem worth 100 gp and two keys (one for his 
  desk drawers, the other for his iron treasure chest).
  MATE — ‘Bloody’ Bjorn is a Swordsman (3rd level fighter). S 17; 
  1 10; W 11; D 15; C 15; Ch 8; hp 21 including constitution bonus. 
  Wears chain mail and small helmet (no shield) for effective AC 
  4. Alignment NE. Armed with broadsword +1 (non-aligned) and 
  normal dagger. He wears a gold finger ring (15 gp); belt pouch 
  contains 5 sp, 7 cp and the key to his brass treasure chest.
  BOSUN — ‘Foul’ Frithoff is a Swordsman (3rd level fighter). S 
  17; 1 8; W 10; D 15; C 13; Ch 7; hp 19. Wears chain mail and 
  small helmet (no shield) for effective AC 4. Alignment NE. Armed 
  with normal broadsword and dagger. His left hand is missing and 
  has been replaced with an iron hook; he can attack with this hook 
  (1-3 damage) at the same time as attacking with a weapon in his 
  right hand, though the hook attack is at -2 to hit. He wears a gold 
  ear-ring in his left ear-lobe (10 gp); his belt pouch contains 3 gp, 5 
  sp, 7 cp and the key to his small iron treasure chest.
  HUMAN SMUGGLERS — there are eight human smugglers, all 
  1st level fighters with 8 hit points each. Each wears leather armour 
  (AC 8 — no dexterity bonus) and is armed with short sword and 
  dagger. In addition, smuggler no. 4 (on the forecastle) carries a 
  light crossbow and eight bolts. Smuggler no. 8 has a shortbow 
  and eight arrows. All are of CN alignment.
  Each smuggler carries a small amount of personal wealth about 
  his person:
  No. 1: gold arm-band round left fore-arm (20 gp); belt pouch 
  containing 3 sp, 7 cp.
  No. 2: gold chain with ‘lucky charm’ round neck (10 gp); belt 
  pouch containing 1 gp, 7 sp.
  No. 3: gold finger-ring (5 gp); belt pouch contains 9 sp.
  No. 4: gold chain with ‘lucky charm’ round neck (10 gp); belt 
  pouch containing 50 gp gem.
  No. 5: gold ear-ring in right ear-lobe (5 gp); belt pouch containing 
  11sp.
  No. 6: gold arm-band round left fore-arm (20 gp); belt pouch 
  containing 11sp.
  No. 7: belt pouch containing 4 gp, 8 sp.
  No. 8: gold finger-ring with small gems (75 gp); no belt pouch.
  MAGIC-USER — Punketah is a Conjurer (3rd level Magic User). S 
  8; 1 17; W 9; D 18; C 11; Ch 9; hp 8. Wears a cloak and a magical 
  ring of protection +1 for effective AC 5. Alignment NE. He is 
  armed with four darts and carries a wand of magic detection 
  (37 charges); the command word (which he has memorised) is 
  written in the back of his spell book — see the key to area 8. 
  His memorised spells are:
  First level: magic missile, sleep
  Second level: web
  His belt pouch contains 2 gp, 5 sp and two gems (200 gp and 75 
  gp) plus the material components for his memorised spells.
  LIZARD MEN — there are three lizard men with identical characteristics: 
  AC 5 (4 with shield); HD 2+1; hp 12; #AT 3 or 1; DM 1-2/1-2/1-8 or by 
  weapon type. Lizard man no. 2 does not have a shield, but the other 
  two have shields under their hammocks. They will only use their shields 
  and weapons if meleeing outside their own quarters (area 7). When 
  fighting in area 7 they will rely on their teeth and claws.
  
  29
  Lizard man no. 1 (sleeping in the hammock furthest from the 
  main deck) is obviously the leader of this group. He wears 
  a silver collar around his neck, value 5 gp; on it is a crudely 
  engraved emblem of a lizard with forked tongue extended (cf. 
  the pictoglyph on the document in the captain’s cabin and the 
  large shield in area 15).
  PSEUDO-DRAGON — this creature, normally to be found in 
  area 7, has the statistics noted in the key to that area. However, 
  the DM should note the special abilities of this creature (consult 
  the Monster Manual), particularly the effects of its ‘special 
  relationship’ on its companions in terms of communication and 
  magic resistance.
  AQUATIC ELF — Oceanus, a 3rd/3rd level fighter/thief, is 
  imprisoned in area 14. S 17; 1 11; W 10; D 18; C 13; Ch 12; hp 
  22. Alignment CG. He has been stripped of all equipment but 
  is proficient with spear, dagger and heavy crossbow (the latter 
  item is a special one designed by his tribe for underwater use; 
  in the context of the adventure series he will only be able to 
  use spear and dagger). Note that he speaks and understands 
  only Elvish.
  CREDITS
  Design: Dave J. Browne
  Development: Don Turnbull
  Editing and Production: Tom Kirby, Sally Meadows, Graeme 
  Morris, Don Turnbull
  Art: Jim Holloway, Dave de Leuw, Harry Quinn, Stephen D. 
  Sullivan
  Play Testing: Jim Bambra, Michael W. Brunton, Chris Hall, Bill 
  Howard, Steve Mote, Allan Ovens, Martin Pickering, Chris 
  Rick, Dave Tant, Patrick Thompson, Don Turnbull, Mark 
  Valentine, Pat Whitehead
  Cartography: Graeme Morris
  CHARACTER ROSTER
  The tables on this page list 20 characters and suggested magic items for those characters. Players may use these characters rather than create 
  their own, or they may be used by the DM as NPCs to round out the party. Players should be permitted to outfit their characters as usual, and 
  choose their own alignment. All listed characters are 1st level. All listed armour classes are without shields.
  Characters
   
   Name 
  Race Sex 
  Class 
  hp 
  AC 
  S 
  I 
  W 
  D 
  C 
  Ch
   1. Elaine 
  H 
  F 
  F 
  6 
  3 
  16 
  11 
  12 
  15 
  14 
  10
   2. Geolin 
  D 
  F 
  F 
  6 
  4 
  16 
  10 
  8 
  11 
  15 
  9
   3. Megaron the Bold 
  H 
  M 
  F 
  8 
  2 
  16 
  9 
  12 
  15 
  14 
  13
   4. Leif Sternson 
  H 
  M 
  F 
  7 
  2 
  17 
  8 
  7 
  16 
  13 
  8
   5. Tenbar 
  D 
  M 
  F 
  9 
  3 
  17 
  11 
  12 
  12 
  18 
  10
   6. Griff 
  H 
  M 
  P 
  7 
  4 
  17 
  9 
  13 
  10 
  12 
  17
   7. Arborius 
  H 
  M 
  R 
  10 
  5 
  15 
  13 
  14 
  13 
  14 
  10
   8. Kellin 
  E 
  M 
  F/Mu 
  5 
  2 
  13 
  15 
  8 
  16 
  12 
  15
   9. Elmorth 
  E 
  F 
  Mu 
  3 
  10 
  9 
  15 
  12 
  12 
  15 
  14
   10. Hilgaarde 
  H 
  F 
  Mu 
  3 
  10 
  9 
  17 
  15 
  11 
  14 
  12
   11. Mylor 
  H 
  M 
  Mu 
  3 
  10 
  9 
  16 
  10 
  12 
  11 
  15
   12. Astenon 
  H 
  M 
  I 
  4 
  7 
  13 
  15 
  8 
  17 
  9 
  7
   13. Caine the Despised 
  E 
  M 
  C/MU 
  4 
  6 
  17 
  10 
  15 
  14 
  14 
  7
   14. Gerald the Seeker 
  H 
  M 
  C 
  5 
  5 
  12 
  13 
  17 
  11 
  10 
  15
   15. Lida the Holy 
  H 
  F 
  C 
  6 
  5 
  8 
  10 
  18 
  13 
  15 
  9
   16. Nestor 
  H 
  M 
  C 
  5 
  5 
  15 
  11 
  17 
  9 
  13 
  13
   17. Caledon 
  H 
  M 
  D 
  5 
  8 
  11 
  10 
  16 
  12 
  13 
  15
   18. Radric 
  D 
  M 
  F/T 
  5 
  5 
  13 
  9 
  8 
  17 
  15 
  10
   19. Theodore Dobbins 
   
  M 
  T 
  4 
  5 
  8 
  14 
  7 
  18 
  10 
  15
   20. Grummash 
  O 
  M 
  T 
  6 
  7 
  15 
  13 
  10 
  14 
  17 
  8
  Magic Items
   
  1. 
  potion of extra healing 
  11. 
  scroll with magic missile
   
  2. 
  hand axe +1 
  12. 
  wand of enemy detection, 2d6 + 5 charges
   
  3. 
  spear +1 
  13. 
  scroll with slow poison
   
  4. 
  broadsword +1 
  14. 
  potion of fire resistance
   
  5. 
  footman’s pick +1 
  15. 
  no magic items
   
  6. 
  broadsword +1 
  16. 
  mace +1
   
  7. 
  10 arrows +1 
  17. 
  potion of invulnerability
   
  8. 
  Elfin chainmail, scroll with knock 
  18. 
  no magic items
   
  9. 
  scroll with read magic, unseen servant 
  19. 
  ring of feather falling
   
  10. 
  scroll with dancing lights, shield 
  20. 
  leather armor +1
  
  30
  
  31
  
  32
  
  36
  
  35
  
  34
  
  This product is only one of the many popular playing aids for the ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® Fantasy Adventure 
  Game produced by TSR, Inc.  Other playing aids currently available for the AD&D™ game system include:
  Players Handbook (everything the AD&D player needs to know)
  Dungeon Masters Guide (the essential reference work for DMs)
  Monster Manual (over 350 monsters, with full explanations and many illustrations)
  DEITIES & DEMIGODS™ Cyclopedia (over a dozen pantheons given in AD&D terms to aid the DM in expanding a campaign)
  FIEND FOLIO™ Tome of Creatures (a collection of new and fearsome monsters, by British contributors and artists)
  AD&D Dungeon Master Screen (combat tables, saving throws, psionics and many other valuable reference tables for DMs)
  AD&D Dungeon Masters Adventure Log (contains many tables not on the DM Screen, as well as illustrations of armor and weapons 
  and pages on which to record all information needed about parties of adventures)
  AD&D Player Character Record Sheets
  AD&D Non-Player Character Record Sheets
  AD&D Permanent Character Folder and Adventure Record Sheets
  Rogues Gallery (hundreds of pre-rolled characters, usable as player characters or NPCs)
  THE WORLD OF GREYHAWK™ Fantasy World Setting (two full-color continental maps, with complete descriptions of history, 
  geography and legends. Approved for use with the AD&™ game system)
  Other releases of additional items relating to the AD&D game system are planned for the future. TSR, Inc., publishes a complete 
  line of games, playing aids and gaming accessories available from better hobby, game and department stores nationwide.
  Dungeon Module A1 (Slave Pits of the Undercity)
  Dungeon Module A2 (Secret of the Slavers Stockade)
  Dungeon Module A3 (Assault on the Aerie of the Slave Lords)
  Dungeon Module A4 (In the Dungeons of the Slave Lords)
  Dungeon Module C1 (Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan)
  Dungeon Module C2 (Ghost Tower of Inverness)
  Dungeon Module D1-2 (Descent into the Depths of the Earth)
  Dungeon Module D3 (Vault of the Drow)
  Dungeon Module G1-2-3 (Against the Giants)
  Dungeon Module I1 (Dwellers of the Forbidden City)
  Dungeon Module L1 (The Secret of Bone Hill)
  Dungeon Module Q1 (Queen of the Demonweb Pits)
  Dungeon Module S1 (Tomb of Horrors)
  Dungeon Module S2 (White Plume Mountain)
  Dungeon Module S3 (Expedition to the Barrier Peaks)
  Dungeon Module S4 (The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth)
  ISBN 0-935696-80-6
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/AD&D 1e-2e, D&D, OD&D (TSR)/AD&D, D&D, OD&D Adventures & Settings/U1 Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh (1e).pdf