The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh - Part One

Last night, we played the 3rd night of our new Wednesday night campaign. We're playing The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh using 3.5/Pathfinder rules, which none of the players have used before. Our DM, Jared, is doing a great job with it. He has a long campaign in mind that will weave together a number of entries taken from a list of the best 30 D&D adventures of all time. We'll post summaries of our adventures here on this blog as we go. Here is part 1:

The Shining Scorpion, an adventuring party made up of Ehlum, the suli summoner, Wilster, the elf magus, ZZZ, the drow rogue (yes, we have an elf and a drow in the same party and they don't try to kill each other... it's a long story) and new recruit Tribad, the vishkanya ninja, were passing through Saltmarsh as they searched the land for adventure. Ehlum, Wilster and Tribad find a local tavern, and find plenty of scurvy locals. The first that the run into is Koell Fenthran, an elven settler and the oldest person in town. He's a member of the town council. From him the group learned of the haunted house, owned by a sinister alchemist who disappeared 20 years earlier. The house still stands because the people of the town are too scared to go there. He tells the three adventurers about an old poacher who knows stories of the haunted house and might be able to help them.

Meanwhile, Zav Zod Zoz is on the outskirts of town burying the body of a man who apparently wronged him, an old poacher from Saltmarsh...

Anyway.

Next, the trio meet Jornn Shawn, an older human bard with a large scar on his throat, who is also a clerk on the town council. He says that the alchemist was shunned by the town for making poisons and selling them on the black market. There are rumors that his house is now infested with ghosts, vampires, and rats. However, there are also rumors that the place is full of alchemical gold! Jornn offers to take the group to meet the town council in the morning so that they can get permission to investigate the alchemist's house.

The party is joined by a few more adventurers that overheard their conversation with the locals. Ehlum, Wilster and Tribad meet Aichio, the tengu witch. They also meet Steelheals, the aasimar paladin, and her friend Craig, the fetchling ranger. They all show interest in joining Ehlum, Wilster, Tribad and ZZZ in the investigation of the haunted house. The Shining Scorpion happens to be recruiting at the moment, so it is agreed that they'll all work together.

Next time, The Shining Scorpion talks to the town council and checks out the haunted house...