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Dungeon Module U1
The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh
(1981)
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The Sinister of Secret of Saltmarsh by Dave J. Browne with Don Turnbull |
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Design: |
Dave J. Browne |
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Development: |
Don Turnbull |
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Editing and Production: |
Tom Kirby, Sally Meadows, Graeme Morris, Don Turnbull |
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Art: |
Jim Holloway, Dave de Leuw, Harry Quinn, Stephen D. Sullivan |
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Playtesting: |
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 |
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Cartography: |
Graeme Morris |
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Quite
possibly the best introductory adventure ever published, and certainly one of
the best exports from the UK
Realm Rating: 5/5
:
A
good short trip. A well-developed little town, seems a waste for such a small adventure.
Also, there were too many loose ends for my taste. I hope to see a follow-up
visit someday.
Heya!
I
forgot whether I e-mailed you about this or not... But I downloaded Saltmarsh a
while ago, and played it. I thought it was pretty neat, as it had some
adventure-game-like interaction. (This analogy came to mind because I've been
playing the first Gabriel Knight game.)
I
haven't seen the usual "congratulations, you have won!" message, but
I did get the congrats from the local noble after finishing off the bandits. Is
that normal, or did I miss something?
Is
there an advantage to allowing that Neutral Evil thief to joining you, besides
the added manpower? Is there a hidden disadvantage? Right after he joined, I
went back to the village, and of course he left the party.
There
is a house in the village which is locked. I'm assuming it was part of the
second part of the module, the part which you chose not to include? Not having
read the module, I don't know much about it, of course...
Okay,
I'm done now. Looking forward to hearing from you again!
(Editor's note: There is not the
typical "Congratulatory message" at the end of this design. Normally,
the game isn't over until the text says it's done, but this game is not really
finished yet; there's still U1b, U2 and U3 coming…)
With
a title like that, this would have to be a conversion of Jean Rabe module,
right? I mean, the name's one step ahead of Terrible Trouble at Tragidore...
Thankfully,
this is not the case. The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh, originally published as
U1 in the golden age of TSR - it was designed by Dave J. Browne with Don
Turnbull - is an excellent example of a low-level module, beautifully converted
to UA by Ray Dyer.
I
regret that I've never read or played the original module, but this conversion
was extremely enjoyable. The level of detail, both art and textual, in the
haunted house was exceptional - especially the empty shelves and desks.
The
module is not entirely without flaw - it seems a little short, and some plot
leads aren't followed up upon. However these are very, very minor flaws
compared to the enjoyment I derived from playing the module. I highly recommend
this to all FRUAites out there, and it is also a good introductory module for
new players.
I
give this module 9 out of 10.
Cheers,
Merric
As
it stands, I quite enjoyed "Saltmarsh." My characters all got up to
2nd or 3rd level by the end, thanks to the amount of loot we gathered
throughout the adventure (bolts of cloth, casks, magic books, etc.) We had a
tough time with the skeletons in the cellar and the smugglers and illusionist
down in the caves. All but two of my characters went down in each fight, but we
prevailed, and retreated back to town to rest up and heal. We also had some
tough times after plunging through rotten floors. But in the end, we prevailed.
This
was a VERY good low-level adventure. It was very balanced, with just enough
tough challenges to keep my party on their toes. I don't remember any bugs,
though I do seem to remember one somewhere in the house, where something didn't
seem to work quite right. Unfortunately, I can't remember where it was. It
wasn't a big bug, just seemed like the events didn't fire quite right. Sorry I
can't be more specific.
