[RPG]: The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh, reviewed by Lev Lafayette (4/4)

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/12/12776.phtml

Lev Lafayette's Summary:

An excellent module for low-level adventurers and new players with thinking challenges and perceived dangers and an effective storyline. Fairly good organisation of text, and average-good artwork.

Go to the full review for more information.

[Dan Davenport]

Lev, I really appreciate these retro-reviews. They either give me new perspectives on old favorites or fill me in on products I always wondered about but never owned.

One thing I recall about this module is that, like many D&D products of the time, it mixes imagery from wildly different eras with reckless abandon. The house certainly doesn't seem to be a product of the Middle or Dark Ages as one might reasonably expect, and the smugglers, IIRC, seem like transplanted 17th century pirates without the gunpowder.

[pspahn]

Originally Posted by Dan Davenport

The house certainly doesn't seem to be a product of the Middle or Dark Ages as one might reasonably expect, and the smugglers, IIRC, seem like transplanted 17th century pirates without the gunpowder.

Yes, but who ever stopped to think about that stuff back then? This was a great module. Just wanted to note that it also included the deck plans for a small sailing ship that came in very handy back in the days before the WWW. I used it to run several pirate campaigns since it required a very small crew.

Great review overall!

Pete

[Pierce Inverarity]

Lev, spot on. Thanks for reminding me of my favorite TSR module series.

[unodiablo]

Another good review. I must have run the first two modules from this series four or five times. I have very fond memories of a fighter with 18/90-something strength rolling barrels down the stairs at ascending pirates and lizardmen. Along with Against the Cult of the Reptile God, definitely in my top five.

Question: Was the 'U' series published first, or the 'UK' series, for modules authored in Great Britian? I thought UK1 was before the Saltmarsh series.

[Lev Lafayette]

The module explicitly suggests that Saltmarsh is modelled on a fishing village of the fourteenth century, which makes "The Sea Ghost" look a little advanced, but not terribly so (visually it looks rather like a late 15th century caravel). It is certainly passable as a type of cog which had been around since the 10th century and were particularly used for Baltic and Frisian trade.

The 'U' series stood for "Underwater", not that there's too much time spent in such locale. The "UK" were a different series altogether (which I'll review sometime in the far future), however the U series was published first (U1 1981, UK1 1983)

I also should say that as much as I'm enjoying reviewing these they're not retro in playtesting. Most of my reviews are based on material that I've used quite recently.

[ob1knorrb]

I think Saltmarsh gets an update for D&D3.5 in DMG2 doesn't it? I think it describes the town and gives a map and descriptions of the people set a few years after the events in the Saltmarsh module.

[adaen]

Originally Posted by ob1knorrb

I think Saltmarsh gets an update for D&D3.5 in DMG2 doesn't it? I think it describes the town and gives a map and descriptions of the people set a few years after the events in the Saltmarsh module.

Excellent news! Especially since the DMG2 is on my short "to acquire" list.

Lev, another really well done review on an older product that still has some game in it.