The Saltmarsh Register - Vol 1.3

The Saltmarsh Register is the in-game newspaper I invented for the Ghosts of Saltmarsh game I run online every other Saturday. It is reprinted here to give others a taste of how that game has developed. WARNING, it may have spoilers for the Ghosts of Saltmarsh adventure, though I have deviated a bit from the published module.

The Saltmarsh Register

VOL 1.3 – Starday, 15th of Wealsun, 570 CY

Salinmoor’s Finest Catch of Tidbits and Tattle printed weekly each Starday, publisher Tyna Hilltopple 

PIRACY!

Rumors out of Seaton speak of nearly half-a-dozen ships lost to the Sea Princes! All loyal citizens of Keoland must continue to pay their full share of taxes to help build the Royal Navy to help deal with this great threat!

PIRATES GUILD?

The intrepid reporter of the Register has heard from Seaton that the Mariner’s Guild has been opposing efforts by the Crown to collect more taxes, saying it would be bad for the margins of their members, arguing that they are making private investments in infrastructure to improve trade, like repairing and constructing lighthouses. But! Perhaps they are instead in cahoots with the dastardly Sea Princes and rely on piracy and smuggling? This publication certainly cannot rule that out!

THE ANSWERING CALL?

The secretive adventurers have spoken with our intrepid reporter and declared their name to be the somewhat confusingly named “The Answering Call”. They say they work to reduce the evil plaguing Salinmoor and working for the council of Saltmarsh. They say they rescued a ship that had been beset by a kobold attack and an evil cleric who raised the dead as zombies. Then they debunked the haunted house east of Saltmarsh discovering a band of smugglers operating out of a sea cave there. They say they also fought an army of undead on Abbey Isle to clear out a sinister temple and gave the isle over to the clutches of the Mariner’s Guild. Lately they searched the Drowned Forest for lost clerics of St. Cuthbert and battled an evil cult in a ruined temple. Are these adventurers exaggerating their exploits or merely leaving many details out? This reporter cannot say, but “The Answering Call”, as they declare themselves to be, certainly seem to be more than they let on...

DAWN RAIDS!

The Answering Call assisted the militia of Saltmarsh on a raid of Little Orlane to root out a hidden cult that had taken up residence in a secret underground tomb below Crabber’s Cove. The cult apparently venerated an evil snake god and Wellgar Brinehand of the temple of Procan is hard at work attempting to break the brainwashing of the cult. It is unclear why the Answering Call was investigating the refugees, but they seem to have uncovered a secret danger.

PHANATON OR PINT-SIZED HADOZEE? EITHER WAY A TALE OF WOE

A strange creature, resembling a Hadozee but half the size and slightly less ape-like has arrived in Saltmarsh. Muz, as he calls himself, is a Phanaton and claims that he comes from the Isle of Xolec far across the Azure Sea. He tells a sad tale of his clan being attacked by savage pirates and forced to work for the pirates for the last three years. Muz was apparently being brought by the pirates to Monmurg when the ship he was on was shipwrecked in a storm and he made his way to Saltmarsh where he is seeking a ship to bring him home. He claims that his home isle has many strange creatures and lost treasures that might repay an adventurous crew.

WORD FROM THE DREADWOOD – THE BROKEN MAUL TRIUMPHANT!

Your devoted correspondent has receive a message from the Company of the Broken Maul, currently adventuring in Dreadwood. Their fearless leader, Vorka Cleaveshield writes, “We had a scare when Rurik Brazzik was knocked down by a troll, but he has bounced back and we have delved deep into the Dreadwood and slain a pack of Werewolves as well as a Green Dragon.” The Company of the Broken Maul enclosed a dragon scale with their missive, which the curious can see on display at the Saltmarsh headquarters of the Register. Vorka writes that the Company expects to return to Saltmarsh in time for Richfest when they will throw the town a party in celebration of their deeds.

FISHING TIDBITS

Ol’ Norbert claims to have seen a titanic octopus near the wreck of the Marshal, but his fellow fisherman say that his cataracts are getting worse.


Fishermen beware! Many swarms of quippers have been seen recently in the waters off Saltmarsh...