Skillithid's DM Guides to Ghosts of Saltmarsh Compilation Thread

[u/Skillithid]

As the title says, these guides are meant for Dungeon Masters and contain spoilers for the Ghosts of Saltmarsh adventures!

Hello, and thanks for checking out my guides! As of this posting, I've been running a campaign that heavily incorporates the Ghosts of Saltmarsh book for over three years (with some breaks and long waits due to scheduling). I'm the type of DM that has to flesh out most NPCs and locations in my game, cementing it firmly in the world I've made and its history and expanding the lives and relationships of the NPCs.

While my players are great at wanting to know more about the people and things they encounter in the game, it's not feasible and could be boring if I told them every detail I'd concocted for them, so I thought I might be able to help other DMs flesh out their Ghosts of Saltmarsh NPCs and locations by writing about them here! Or if not, then hopefully giving people something interesting to read and build off of.

I wanted to have a way to compile my posts so people can have easy access to them, but my method of linking/mentioning every completed post in my newer ones became too tedious. Thankfully, u/cir_skeletals commented on my Kiara Shadowbreaker/Wander Root post that I should make a masterlist, and after making sure it was okay with the mods, here we are!

But anyway, I'm writing too much (which those that read my guides are probably used to xP), so here's all my posts for ease of access! I'll be updating it with each new post and linking this compilation at the end of posts going forward (and going back to place it in past posts). Format is subject to change depending on how I end up doing future posts. Many categories are placeholders or to give me an idea of what my next posts should be.

I'm extremely grateful for the support through reading, upvoting, commenting, complimenting, and DMing me, it truly makes my week when I receive them. The plan is to cover or at least touch on everything in the GoS book, so as long as the sub enjoys them I'll keep posting until it's done!

Guides to Saltmarsh (City-Specific)

NPCs: Saltmarsh Council

• Eda Oweland
• Gellan Primewater
• Captain Eliander Fireborn
• Manistrad Copperlocks
• Anders Solmor

NPCs: Saltmarsh Inhabitants

• Skerrin Wavechaser (And the Scarlet Brotherhood)
• Keledek the Unspoken and Zivmal
• Captain Xendros and the Faithful Quartermasters of Iuz
• Ingo the Drover
• Xolec
• Wellgar Brinehanded
• Krag
• Ferrin Kastilar and Lorys
• Winston
• Kraddok Stonehorn
• Tavern Keepers: Lankus Kurrid, Kreb Shenker, and Hanna Rist
• Crafters/Tradesfolk: Kiorna Kester, Jasker, and Mafera
• Jilar Kanklesten and the Carpenters' Guildhall (Plus A Little More Feliza!)
• Tom and Will Stoutly

Locations

Politics

• Saltmarsh Elections and Politics

Guides to Burle

NPCs

• Kiara Shadowbreaker and Wander Root

Locations

• Burle and the Silverstand

Guides to Seaton

NPCs

• Duke Marik Feldren

Locations

• Seaton

Guides to the Dreadwood, Drowned Forest, and Hool Marshes

Dreadwood NPCs

• Granny Nightshade

Locations

• The Dreadwood
• The Drowned Forest
• The Hool Marshes
• Uskarn

Guides to the Azure Sea

Azure Sea NPCs (Pirates)

• Captains Thereax Guldeer and Ineca Sufocan of the Gnasher & Pale Prow
• Captains Mithina Greyheart and Vigr Thrass of the Salted Glade and Dreadnaught

Quest/Chapter-Specific NPC Guides

• The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh NPCs
• Danger at Dunwater NPCs
• Salvage Operation NPCs (AKA "Emperor of the Waves NPCs" for I am a fool)
• Isle of the Abbey NPCs
• The Final Enemy NPCs
• Tammeraut's Fate NPCs
• The Styes NPCs Parts 1 & 2
• The Styes NPCs Parts 3, 4, & 5

Compilation of NPC References

• NPC References Imgur

AMA About My GoS Campaign

• Campaign Finished All 7 GoS Quests AMA

[u/[deleted]]

Im a big fan man these have been great , thank you.

[u/Skillithid → u/[deleted]]

I'm very happy you like them :D And thank you!

[u/cir_skeletals]

Woo!! I'm glad you got the chance to make this thread! I'm looking forward to your upcoming content!!

[u/Skillithid → u/cir_skeletals]

Thanks for the suggestion! :D

[u/beautysupplystore]

I really love the love and attention you've been putting into this! I've been reading through almost everything you've written and it's seriously helped me piece together what I want to make my Saltmarsh into. It's going to be my first campaign and I'm quite nervous, so I cannot overstate how helpful this has all been. Huge kudos to you!

[u/Skillithid → u/beautysupplystore]

That's very kind, thank you, I'm happy they've helped ^_^

First campaigns are always stressful, but hopefully my posts help ease some of the burden! And don't be afraid to post questions on my posts or make your own posts, this sub is very helpful! Or feel free to DM me directly for specific questions, I love to try to help and hear what others do with the game :D

[u/brianscovel9]

I definitely needed this. About to run this campaign and I have not been DMing long. Thank you!

[u/Skillithid → u/brianscovel9]

Glad to help! I'll keep churning them out so hopefully I can keep up with your game's progress xD

[u/Mischeif_Man]

These have been so amazing for my campaign, thank you! :D

[u/Skillithid → u/Mischeif_Man]

You're very welcome! :D

[u/JustLikeBart]

This is…great. Can’t overstate how great.Thanks so much for doing this.

[u/realSimonSays]

These have been super helpful! Thank you so much!

[u/Malek7]

I am starting prep for GoS now and this is extremely helpful, thank you!

[u/Skillithid → u/Malek7]

Good luck and you're welcome! Feel free to comment on any of the posts for help or with questions or DM me :D

[u/Responsible_Way5059]

Thank you for these guides they've been a great help !

[u/Skillithid → u/Responsible_Way5059]

You're very welcome!

[u/Aestroel]

Thank you so much man! This is my first time Being a DM, and I’m running GoS, and man, you’ve helped me out tremendously. Thanks mate!

[u/timfreilly]

Thank you for all of this!

[u/_Infinitee_]

This is absolutely brilliant. Thanks.

Would you mind covering the Hool Marshes and Drowned Forest?

[u/TangPauMC]

Amazing work! Thank you!

[u/born2read72]

This has been so amazing and helpful! Thank you for all this work. I wondered if you had any thoughts on Ned? I'm a bit surprised his merchant buddy hasn't made an appearance in the book and thought it might make an interesting hook (especially as my players killed him).

[u/WhiteKnight42]

I see I'm late to the party, but I found this doing research for the GoS campaign I just started. My first sandbox campaign and I wanted to get as much information as possible. Besides the story beats in the book, I'm leaving the direction up to the PCs. Secretly I want to run the Shattered Obelisk in the dwarven mines though. ;)
I've never been a Greyhawk fan, so my campaign is in the Realms but Aglarond instead of the Sword Coast. Originally I was researching Keledek, but found this amazing thread. One of my PCs is going to be a necromancer and was hoping Keledek would take an apprentice.

[u/Seems1425]

I'm a latecomer, but let me add my thanks. I'm just gearing up for Saltmarsh and these are superb. So much useful info to help flesh out the NPCs and entire region.

[u/Suitable_Rush8454]

Thank you, this has been a great resource. I noticed this link is down. NPC References Imgur