Image by Christian Birkholz
The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh! - A 2 to 3 Session Adventure!
Strange tidings await at an alchemists abandoned now haunted house, north of Saltmarsh. Can you figure out what, or who, currently inhabits the manor?
$10.00
/ Session
Details
Weekly / Thursday - 2:00 AM UTC
Session Duration / 2–4 hours
Campaign Length / 2–4 Sessions
0 / 5 Seats Filled
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About the adventure
This campaign is targeted towards new players where we will run through The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh, the first module in Ghosts of Saltmarsh. This module is ideal for newer players, serving as an introduction to roleplay and combat through mystery-adventure and light horror. This "One-Shot" may be 2 to 3 sessions depending on the actions of the party, as the module is split into 2 distinct parts. We will have short, free session 0 prior to playing. The town of Saltmarsh is small fishing village in the Kingdom of Keoland whose coastal waters are plagued by pirates and new trade and mining expansions in town look to expand the once sleepy village into a larger port of commerce. This campaign will be using the 2014 Legacy rules!
Game style
Dungeon Crawl
Puzzle / Mystery Focused
Meet the Game Master
Less than a year on StartPlaying
About me
Hello I’m Hornet! I’m 29 years old and have been playing D&D since 2018 and GMing since 2019. I owe my introduction into D&D to Brian Murphy and NADDPod. I love how fun, wild, silly, serious, heart-wrenching, and emotional D&D and TTRPG’s can be. I started off GMing games for friends and mutuals. Now, I am excited to run one-shots and mini-campaigns for others. If you’re looking for a player-focused game with a balance of silliness and seriousness then I’m your guy! My games are LGBTQIA+ inclusive and expect respect for everyone no matter race, gender, religion, or creed. I also ask players to avoid the use of AI for their characters, including art. While not outright banned, I prefer no AI in my campaigns. I do not use AI in any part of my GM set-up or running my games. I am focusing on running games for newer players looking to get into D&D or trying it out for the first time. I run established Wizards of the Coast modules aimed at lower levels to help introduce players to the world as I was. My first campaign was Lost Mines of Phandelver and have fallen in love ever since! Profile Picture by misha.makowka
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
We will talk about character creation and party composition during session 0, but characters do not need to be complete until session 1! For character creation anything official from Wizards of the Coast is fair game. We will be starting at level 1 and players can use either Standard Array or Point Buy for ability stats, and can choose either starting equipment or starting gold, buying anything in the Players Handbook. Players should think about why they are in Saltmarsh. Are they passing through, visiting, or do they live nearby? There has been a job posting by the towns council to clear out the Haunted Manor, but no one has dared to venture inside in many years. We will be starting in a tavern, a classic D&D start!
What to expect
Preparing for the session
For this One-Shot we will use Discord and Roll20. Accounts will be needed for both, and both services are free. Links to join the Discord server will be sent before session 0 and link to the Roll20 campaign will be sent during session 0. Nothing else will be needed other than your creativity and engagement!
What Hornet-DM brings to the table
I provide a fun, whimsical, and relaxed GM style focused on the players engagement and freedom. While I expect no voices from the players other than those the players choose to provide, I enjoy doing voices, accents, and silly characters balanced by more serious descriptions and events. I aim to make all parts of play engaging and try to have combat be fluid and snappy, while not feeling too hectic or rushed. I like to allow room for the players to describe their actions and attacks befitting their character, expanding in my own verbiage to tie the scenes together.
Homebrew rules
My Homebrew rules are as follows: - Standing from prone, mounting/dismounting costs 15ft movement flat. - Drinking potion is Bonus Action, administering a potion to another player is Action. - Milestone Leveling (no need to track XP!) - Using 2014 Legacy Rules!
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Hornet-DM creates a safe table
We will have a free session 0 prior to playing to go over Lines and Veils and expectations for this one-shot. Session 0 will be brief, but as long as needed to go over any questions. The implementation of an "X card" will be used to stop triggering scenes, and can be either in text via discord (or private message) or spoken.
Content warnings
Safety tools used