Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Set sail for the stormy coast of Saltmarsh - where sinister pirates, sea monsters, haunted shores, and intrigue await just beyond the crashing waves!
$15.00
/ Session
Details
Weekly / Friday - 2:00 AM UTC
Session Duration / 3–4 hours
1 / 5 Seats Filled
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Meet your party members
1/5
About the adventure
Avast ye swabs! Dare ye brave the dangers that await only the boldest of scallywags? Treasure and reknown await ye... and the Sea will claim all whom she deems unworthy... A classic adventure brought to 5e... in the World of Greyhawk where it originally began! "It's a pirate's life for YE" ... savvy? What do you do with a bunch of low-level characters to ensure maximum possible hijinks? Why... give them a ship and let them weigh the ol' anchor all on their own! This will be a 5e D&D game (leaning into running it in the 2024e, as I have all the digital books for character creation) run with Discord or Zoom as a chat, as well as Roll20 for map immersion. D&D Beyond is encouraged for character creation (and tracking) but is not necessary. Setting: The World of Greyhawk, potentially ocean setting, but potential significant modification based on player choices. Ghosts of Saltmarsh is only the beginning adventure... players/the party are welcome to alter their adventure direction as they see fit. System: 5e D&D with minor House Rules, modified version of module with potential significant modification based on player choices. Sources: PHB/Xanathar’s Races & Classes. Other official sources on case-by-case basis, based on background and fit to setting. No UA. Inspiration: Pirates of the Carribean, Willow, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, PG-13 in general with occasional R for horror elements. Campaign-Style: Moderate-Heavy RP, Moderate Lore, Heavy Action/Adventure, Moderate combat focus. Heavy focus on player choices & consequences. Funny at times but not exceptionally goofy. Running Styles and Conventions: - Fast turns in combat - Know your spells/abilities, announce DCs. - Consider rolling to hit and damage at the same time; determine if hit, then announce damage. - PvP - STRONGLY discouraged, Roleplay it - if you have a beef, work it out - The goal is to have fun through adventure and overcoming obstacles. More about story, less about winning. - Dark moments may be introduced for the hero to shine. - Frequent callbacks to the relationships you establish. - Killing someone over a disagreement is not common in the world. "Murder-hobo" characters will not be a good fit. - Active feedback to incorporate what you like more. - Strive for rules and narrative consistency. - Encourage use of character downtime and RP elements. - Actively welcome roleplay goals, sub-plots, etc. - Sessions weekly, general schedule set to 3 hours of playtime per session with potential bleed-over if combat takes up time. Homebrew Elements: - Wizards can scribe and prepare cantrips as 1st level spells. - Barbarian’s Intimidating Presence is STR or CHA based. - Help Action available out of encounters; relevant proficiency required. - All Hit Dice after 1st level are rolled, minimum of "average" on the dice Feats: Observant, Bountiful Luck, & Lucky not used. Sentinel +1 size cap for movement change. 5e core races/subclasses can be brought into 2024e.
Game style
Dungeon Crawl
Roleplay Heavy
Combat Heavy
Rule of Cool (RoC)
Rules as Written (RaW)
Theater of the Mind
Meet the Game Master
4.9
(7)
3 years on StartPlaying
Highly rated for: Inclusive, Creativity, Storytelling
About me
They say to be a true "Master" at a craft, one must have more than ten thousand hours of practice. With me, what you see is exactly what you are getting: a smart-assed, irreverent (cheeky) cosplay nerd with a love for all things Dungeons and Dragons that has fuelled my thirty-five-plus years in this hobby! ... a veritable MASTER Dungeon Master! I am experienced both in playing and running many different systems - from Palladium (TMNT) to Marvel (FASERIP) Superheroes to decades of experience captaining the flagship of the TTRPG industry: Dungeons & Dragons (all editions). At my table: I work with each of my players to create vibrant backgrounds that allow them to be awed and surprised - and to surprise the other players with - twists, turns, plots, macguffins and red herrings! I strive to work with my players individually and collectively to mesh their characters into the greater backdrop of the campaign world, and to weave enchanting and exciting tales of adventure and danger that will keep them - and any viewers - on the edges of their seats! I am openly friendly to BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and neurodivergent players and creators and feel that **everyone** deserves a chance for their voice to be heard - for their tale to be told... and I do my level-best to help them achieve that.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
I hope to make this a campaign-length adventure Characters will start at 1st level and hopefully progress to level 20 with a significant "world-saving" series of BBEG encounters. Characters can be created beforehand (but will be checked for balance) Point buy for attributes. Attribute starting bonuses as per Tasha's Guide (+2/+1 to any attribute, etc).
First session will be a meet and greet and "Session Zero" to outline what to expect, roll/create characters and develop backstory reasons for the characters to be in the region. Characters will start at level 1 with Milestone level advancement. Any character classes perceived to be "missing" from the players' party makeup can be NPC hired. The first sessions will be the intro adventure "Sinister Secret at Saltmarsh" to get everyone used to the game and DM/player styles. Once the game is ready, I will send messages to the player with the Zoom chat call details.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
Join the Discord Avrae bot available. Zoom or Discord for audio Video strongly preferred. D&D Beyond for character tracking is preferred but not absolutely necessary Source book content sharing is encouraged Virtual Tabletop: Roll20
What Mike the DM brings to the table
Players can roll dice virtually (D&D Beyond, Roll20, other websites) or physically. Maps will be digital and the Roll20 game will be shared among all active players. Players will be encouraged to create character representations on HeroForge (or similar website) and a player token will be created for the player's use on the adventure maps. Illustrations of key (non-essential) elements may be provided if requested.
Equipment needed to play
Computer
Headphones
Internet
Microphone
Webcam
Platforms used
Safety
How Mike the DM creates a safe table
Horror, Mental/Physical Health - Describe as needed, part of module, not gratuitous or dwelled upon. Violence in combat is part of the game, the degree of description will depend upon table consensus agreement. Harm to children - Not an element, implied or indirect. Mind Control - Not in RP, encounter based (i.e. Confusion, Dominate, Command spells). Sexual Content - if it occurs, it will be implied, part of background, fade to black. NOT part of the game: Homophobia, Abuse, Racism, Real-world religion, Sexism, gratuitous cruelty, etc. Local cultural conflicts or prejudices may exist. Racial essentialism is not a part of play, comes down to local culture as appropriate for fantasy/high fantasy Tolkien-esque World of Greyhawk... no massively overt racism, but some stereotypes exist (ie: dwarves and mining, elves and forests) Some themes used around drinking and poverty. "Rough sea-side sailor" stereotypes. Anyone can call for pause, rewind or skip ahead on uncomfortable material. Players will have a consent list they can fill out in session 0. Please bring up any topics the table might benefit from being aware of. X, N, O can be held up on screen, messaged or digital in chat.
Content warnings
Safety tools used