DDO Server Transfers 2025: "ghost worlds" are available until October 1, 2027. See Ghost worlds for more details.
Looking for which server your guild leader and guild transferred to? Check out our "Where did my guild go!?" page.


Thank you to everyone who participated in the DDO Wiki 20th Anniversary Giveaway! If you've won a prize, head to the linked page to find out how to claim it.

Newbie guideIn developmentDDO Store (Coupons)Social media
ClassesCraftingEnhancementsEpic DestiniesFavorFeatsItems
MapsMonstersPlacesQuestsRacesReincarnationSkillsSpells
Please create an account or log in to get the most updated information (this is up to 7 hours old), remove ads, access dark mode or the mobile friendly Timeless skin, and build a reputation to unlock more editing privileges.
Please visit DDO wiki's Discord chat server if you need any help!

The Haunting of Saltmarsh

From DDO wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
The Haunting of Saltmarsh is the 1st quest in the Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh story arcStory arcs are chains of quests that make up a story line.
Completing everything in a story arc often yields a nice reward.
.
These quests can be completed in any order.
The Haunting of Saltmarsh • Under the Cover of Darkness • Danger at Dunwater • Swim at Your Own Risk • The Final Enemy


Townspeople have reported that strange lights and terrifying sounds come from this abandoned house at night.

Requires access to adventure pack: Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh
The Haunting of Saltmarsh
Heroic level: 3
Epic level: 32
(considered Legendary)
Duration: Medium
Heroic XP:  ♣645Solo/Casual ♦1,164Normal ♥1,252Hard ♠1,341Elite
Epic XP:  ♣6,235Solo/Casual ♦10,645Normal ♥10,898Hard ♠11,151Elite
Takes place in: The Haunted House
Bestowed by: Krag
NPC contact: Krag
Quest acquired in: The Snapping Line Inn
Patron: The Gatekeepers
Base favor: 3
Purchase: Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh
Extreme Challenge: No
Upper Floor
Basement
Ground Floor Puzzle North
Ground Floor Puzzle South
Loading screen

Overview

It seems like strange noises are coming from a house up on the hill. Locals say there could be a treasure in there, why not look for shinies?


Spoiler Warning: Spoiler material below this point!


Objectives

  • Search for the rumored treasure
  • Find the iron key
  • Unlock the door in the kitchen
  • Search the wine cellar
  • Kill Ned Snakeshaft
  • Explore the Caverns
  • Defeat Sanbalet
  • (Optional) Complete the password (2 parts) — Bonus (20%): Heroic( ♣129 ♦233 ♥250 ♠268 ) Legendary( ♣1,247 ♦2,129 ♥2,180 ♠2,230 )
  • (Optional) Find the silver key — no XP
  • (Optional) Kill the Wight — Bonus (30%): Heroic( ♣194 ♦349 ♥376 ♠402 ) Legendary( ♣1,871 ♦3,194 ♥3,269 ♠3,345 )
  • (Optional) Unlock the trunk — Bonus (20%): Heroic( ♣129 ♦233 ♥250 ♠268 ) Legendary( ♣1,247 ♦2,129 ♥2,180 ♠2,230 )
  • (Optional) Talk to the Prisoner — Bonus (20%): Heroic( ♣129 ♦233 ♥250 ♠268 ) Legendary( ♣1,247 ♦2,129 ♥2,180 ♠2,230 )
  • (Optional) Defeat the ancient alchemist — Bonus (20%): Heroic( ♣129 ♦233 ♥250 ♠268 ) Legendary( ♣1,247 ♦2,129 ♥2,180 ♠2,230 )
  • (Optional) Kill the Wheep — Bonus (30%): Heroic( ♣194 ♦349 ♥376 ♠402 ) Legendary( ♣1,871 ♦3,194 ♥3,269 ♠3,345 )
  • (Optional) Kill the Slime — Bonus (30%): Heroic( ♣194 ♦349 ♥376 ♠402 ) Legendary( ♣1,871 ♦3,194 ♥3,269 ♠3,345 )

Tips and Misc

  • Quick overview to complete the quest:
  1. Find the Iron Key (see details on the Find the iron key optional)
  2. Once you've done this, head down into the wine cellar and pull a lever hidden between two barrels (north-east corner of the room). This opens the way to fighting Ned Snakeshaft, before confronting some smugglers and end boss Sanbalet.
  • A note in the east wing, on the first floor, reading "look behind you" may spawn The Housekeeper.
  • A lever in the wine cellar opens the door with the blue crystal.
  • A lever (book) in a bookshelf in the basement opens the door leading to the Skeletal Alchemist.
  • Optionals:
    • Complete the password
      • The password is found in two parts, each part in a Weathered Tome found throughout the house.
      • The first Weathered Tome is in the library (main floor west wing), which can be accessed by either by pulling a book on the bookshelf in the adjoining conservatory, or picking the lock on the library door.
        • A code of some sort is scrawled across this page. You can only make out the first three numbers: 2 1 5
      • The second Weathered Tome is on the bed in the guest bedroom (upstairs west wing). Awakened Flame may spawn when the tome is read.
        • A code of some sort is scrawled across this page. You can only make out the last two numbers: 7 3
    • Unlock the trunk
      • The trunk is in the master bedroom (upstairs west wing). Here you may find Weeping Spirit and the Iron Key.
      • The code is 21573, which can be found by completing the Complete the password optional.
    • Talk to the Prisoner
      • The "prisoner" is Ned Snakeshaft, who may appear twice throughout the quest, depending on the choices made.
      • To get the Talk to the prisoner optional, go up the main staircase in the entranceway and follow the balcony railing around to the left until you find a glowing lantern set on the floor beside some crates. Search around the lantern and you should find the Gold Key. This key will unlock the bedroom at the far end of the upstairs east wing, where you can find and free Ned. You can bring him with you, in which case he will betray and attack you at the spot at which his fight would normally happen – but if you attack him here, he will still reappear in his normal location later.
    • Find the silver key
      • The Silver Key is in one of the crates in the locked storage room in the upstairs north wing. You can either pick the lock, or go to the trophy room below in the main floor north wing and interact with the stuffed Owlbear Head on the wall. After pulling the lever in the Owlbear Head an opening will appear in the ceiling and you can climb up through the opening into the storage room.
      • The Silver Key opens the silver-padlocked door to the Music Room. This door is in a corner of the storage room the key is found in (not the door to the Music Room from the hallway). Here you may find Mangled Horror and the Iron Key.
    • Find the iron key
      • The Iron Key can be in one of three locations, each corresponding to a rare optional that spawns at the key location – you can only complete the objective by picking up the key and defeating the fight that spawns in that room. You can get only one of the three rare optionals, depending on which location has the key:
        • Kill the wheep
          • Weeping Spirit will appear if the Iron Key is in the Locked Trunk, in the master bedroom (upstairs west wing). The trunk is opened by completing the Unlock the trunk optional. Although you can pick up the key, you still must kill the Weeping Spirit to complete the objective
        • Kill the slime
          • Festering Sludge will spawn if the Iron Key is in the spider's lair, in the bedroom in the upstairs east wing.
          • The bedroom door is locked by a red crystal. To unlock, you need to enter the next bedroom over in the upstairs east wing, and drop through the rotted floor down into a room that contains two tile puzzles.
          • Flip the lever in the fireplace, then solve the two tile puzzles, to unlock the red crystal door. Return upstairs and enter the spider's lair bedroom.
          • If the Iron Key is here, it will be in the fireplace (you need to search near the fireplace to find it). When you pick up the key, Festering Sludge will spawn. Try to avoid splitting the ooze, as doing so causes the door to stick, leaving you trapped in the room. DDO Forums ARCHIVE ME!
          • If you do split the ooze, you can escape with Dimension Door or /stuck. However, make sure to kill all monsters in the room before escaping. If you don't, the objective will not complete and you'll be locked out of the room permanently, necessitating a reset.
        • Kill the wight
          • Mangled Horror will spawn if the Iron Key is in the music room (upstairs north wing).
          • To get in the room you may either pick the lock or complete the Find the silver key optional.
  • Ghosts
    • Ghosts (or ghostly happenings) appear at various stages of the quest. They are just part of the story line and have no functional purpose.
    • when you climb the stairs in the main entranceway, a voice is heard:
      • As you ascend the stairs, you hear an angry voice. "WHO IS IN MY HOUSE?" it howls. "GET OUT!"
    • as you approach the conservatory (main floor west wing), the doors mysteriously close
    • as you approach the kitchen (main floor north wing), the doors mysteriously open
    • 1 ghost appears on the bed in guest bedroom (upstairs west wing)
    • 1 ghost appears superimposed over the hanging skeleton in the master bedroom (upstairs west wing)
      • If the Iron Key is in the master bedroom, then after taking the key a storyline animation plays where this ghost morphs into the Weeping Spirit.
    • 6 ghosts appear seated around the table in the dining room (main floor north wing)

Bonus XP

  • Aggression bonus: 34 or more monsters killed +10% Bonus.( ♣65 ♦116 ♥125 ♠134 )
  • Mischief bonus: 35 or more breakables smashed +8% Bonus.( ♣52 ♦93 ♥100 ♠107 )
  • Vandal bonus: 45 or more breakables smashed +10% Bonus.( ♣65 ♦116 ♥125 ♠134 )
  • Ransack bonus: 56 or more breakables smashed +15% Bonus.( ♣97 ♦175 ♥188 ♠201 )

Loot

  • Chests: 3–5
    • 1 in basement behind fireplace (west wall) in barracks room
      • Accessed via a hidden lever (search DC  ♦43-44Epic Normal ♥63Epic Hard ♠72Epic Elite) in a pot plant, in the west room of the main (quest entrance) floor. This is directly above the chest.
    • 1 in a room (main floor east wing), after defeating The Housekeeper
    • 1 in guest bedroom (upstairs west wing), after defeating Awakened Flame
    • 1 in the secret room in the basement, after defeating the Skeletal Alchemist
    • 1 end chest after defeating Sanbalet
  • Collectables: 9
    • Fungus — in the conservatory (main floor west wing)Crypt MothHairy Trumpet MushroomShimmering Spore PodSweet WhitecapDeadly FeverblanchPale Creeper
    • Bookshelf — in the library (main floor west wing)Adventuring OratorioArchaic LogbookAncient TextPage Torn from a Research NotebookKhyber Prayer PamphletTome: Prophecies of Khyber
    • Fungus — in the fireplace of the living room (main floor east wing), this is the room with the tile puzzlesCrypt MothHairy Trumpet MushroomShimmering Spore PodSweet WhitecapDeadly FeverblanchPale Creeper
    • Adventurer's Pack — in the room south of the kitchenAmber VialVial of Pure WaterVial of ContagionString of Prayer BeadsSmall Wooden IdolIcon of KhyberPage Torn from a Research NotebookKhyber Prayer PamphletTome: Prophecies of KhyberSweet WhitecapDeadly FeverblanchPale CreeperOrnate CharmShimmering Spore PodAdventuring OratorioToken of the SpiderVial of Dragon's Blood InkHairy Trumpet MushroomArchaic LogbookPouch of Bone FragmentsCrypt MothAncient TextFlint KnifeBrass Censer
    • Adventurer's Pack — in the fireplace of the infested bedroom (upstairs east wing), requires unlocking the red crystalAmber VialVial of Pure WaterVial of ContagionString of Prayer BeadsSmall Wooden IdolIcon of KhyberPage Torn from a Research NotebookKhyber Prayer PamphletTome: Prophecies of KhyberSweet WhitecapDeadly FeverblanchPale CreeperOrnate CharmShimmering Spore PodAdventuring OratorioToken of the SpiderVial of Dragon's Blood InkHairy Trumpet MushroomArchaic LogbookPouch of Bone FragmentsCrypt MothAncient TextFlint KnifeBrass Censer
    • Adventurer's Pack — in the wine cellar (downstairs from kitchen)Amber VialVial of Pure WaterVial of ContagionString of Prayer BeadsSmall Wooden IdolIcon of KhyberPage Torn from a Research NotebookKhyber Prayer PamphletTome: Prophecies of KhyberSweet WhitecapDeadly FeverblanchPale CreeperOrnate CharmShimmering Spore PodAdventuring OratorioToken of the SpiderVial of Dragon's Blood InkHairy Trumpet MushroomArchaic LogbookPouch of Bone FragmentsCrypt MothAncient TextFlint KnifeBrass Censer
    • Bookshelf — in downstairs storage room (south-east of wine cellar)Adventuring OratorioArchaic LogbookAncient TextPage Torn from a Research NotebookKhyber Prayer PamphletTome: Prophecies of Khyber
    • Alchemy Table — in the secret room with the Skeletal AlchemistBrass CenserPouch of Bone FragmentsVial of Dragon's Blood InkAmber VialVial of Pure WaterVial of Contagion
    • Adventurer's Pack — on the scaffolding in the cavernsAmber VialVial of Pure WaterVial of ContagionString of Prayer BeadsSmall Wooden IdolIcon of KhyberPage Torn from a Research NotebookKhyber Prayer PamphletTome: Prophecies of KhyberSweet WhitecapDeadly FeverblanchPale CreeperOrnate CharmShimmering Spore PodAdventuring OratorioToken of the SpiderVial of Dragon's Blood InkHairy Trumpet MushroomArchaic LogbookPouch of Bone FragmentsCrypt MothAncient TextFlint KnifeBrass Censer

NPC end rewards

Randomly generated loot, ML correlates with effective quest level.

Named Chest Drop

Last Edited Item Type Enhancements ML Bind Quests
Amethyst Loupe
(edit)
Goggles
  • Blindness ImmunityBlindness Immunity: Grants its wearer immunity to blindness effects.
  • Search +6Search +6: Passive: +6 Competence bonus to the Search skill.
  • Spot +6Spot +6: Passive: +6 Competence bonus to the Spot skill.
  • Blue Augment SlotThis augment slot can be used to equip this item with the following types of augment:
    • Blue Augments: Standard augments provide bonuses to defensive stats, healing amplifications and Tactics DCs.
  • Saltmarsh ExplorerSaltmarsh Explorer: 5 Pieces Equipped:
    +5 Artifact bonus to PRR and MRR
    +1 Artifact bonus to all ability scores
3 Bound to Account on Acquire The Haunting of Saltmarsh, end chest
Smuggler's Cap
(edit)
Helm 3 Bound to Account on Acquire The Haunting of Saltmarsh, end chest
Smuggler's Gear
(edit)
Light Armor 3 Bound to Account on Acquire The Haunting of Saltmarsh, end chest
Duelist's Epee
(edit)
Rapier 3 Bound to Account on Acquire The Haunting of Saltmarsh, end chest
Legendary Amethyst Loupe
(edit)
Goggles 30 Bound to Account on Acquire The Haunting of Saltmarsh, end chest, or Legendary version of Epic Amethyst Loupe
Legendary Smuggler's Cap
(edit)
Helmet 30 Bound to Account on Acquire The Haunting of Saltmarsh, end chest, or Legendary version of Epic Smuggler's Cap
Legendary Smuggler's Gear
(edit)
Light Armor 30 Bound to Account on Acquire The Haunting of Saltmarsh, end chest, or Legendary version of Epic Smuggler's Gear
Legendary Duelist's Epee
(edit)
Rapier 30 Bound to Account on Acquire The Haunting of Saltmarsh, end chest, or Legendary version of Epic Duelist's Epee

Based on The Haunting of Saltmarsh loot ( t • e • h )

This quest may also drop the following named augments:

     
Item Type Enchantments ML Bind Location
Sapphire of Good Luck +1 (named) Blue augments 4 Bound to Account on Acquire

Sapphire of Good Luck +3 Blue augments 28 Bound to Account on Acquire

Monsters

Name ( picture ) CR Type Race
Awakened Flame( view
 • edit )
 ♦4Normal ♥6Hard ♠9Elite ♦34Epic Normal ♥38Epic Hard ♠43Epic Elite Elemental Fire Elemental
Festering Sludge( view
 • edit )
 ♦5Normal ♥7Hard ♠10Elite ♦35Epic Normal ♥39Epic Hard ♠44Epic Elite Ooze Ochre Jelly
Gluttonous Rust Monster( view
 • edit )
 ♦3Normal ♥5Hard ♠8Elite ♦32Epic Normal ♥36Epic Hard ♠40Epic Elite Aberration Rust Monster
Haunted Mage( view
 • edit )
 ♦3Normal ♥5Hard ♠8Elite ♦32Epic Normal ♥36Epic Hard ♠40Epic Elite Undead Skeleton
Haunted Protector( view
 • edit )
 ♦3Normal ♥5Hard ♠8Elite ♦32Epic Normal ♥36Epic Hard ♠40Epic Elite Undead Skeleton
Mangled Horror( view
 • edit )
 ♦5Normal ♥7Hard ♠10Elite ♦35Epic Normal ♥39Epic Hard ♠44Epic Elite Undead Wight
Ned Snakeshaft( view
 • edit )
 ♦5Normal ♥7Hard ♠10Elite ♦35Epic Normal ♥39Epic Hard ♠44Epic Elite Humanoid Human
Ochre Jelly( view
 • edit )
 ♦5Normal ♥5Hard ♠5Elite ♦10Epic Normal ♥10Epic Hard ♠10Epic Elite Ooze Ochre Jelly
Saltmarsh Rat( view
 • edit )
 ♦3Normal ♥5Hard ♠8Elite ♦32Epic Normal ♥36Epic Hard ♠40Epic Elite Animal Rat
Saltmarsh Skeleton Archer( view
 • edit )
 ♦3Normal ♥5Hard ♠8Elite ♦32Epic Normal ♥36Epic Hard ♠40Epic Elite Undead Skeleton
Saltmarsh Skeleton( view
 • edit )
 ♦3Normal ♥5Hard ♠8Elite ♦32Epic Normal ♥36Epic Hard ♠40Epic Elite Undead Skeleton
Saltmarsh Spider( view
 • edit )
 ♦3Normal ♥5Hard ♠8Elite ♦32Epic Normal ♥36Epic Hard ♠40Epic Elite Vermin Spider
Sanbalet( view
 • edit )
 ♦5Normal ♥7Hard ♠10Elite ♦35Epic Normal ♥39Epic Hard ♠44Epic Elite Humanoid Human
Skeletal Alchemist( view
 • edit )
 ♦5Normal ♥7Hard ♠10Elite ♦35Epic Normal ♥39Epic Hard ♠44Epic Elite Undead Skeleton
Smuggler Deck Hand( view
 • edit )
 ♦3Normal ♥5Hard ♠8Elite ♦32Epic Normal ♥36Epic Hard ♠40Epic Elite Humanoid Human
Smuggler Lookout( view
 • edit )
 ♦3Normal ♥5Hard ♠8Elite ♦32Epic Normal ♥36Epic Hard ♠40Epic Elite Humanoid Human
The Housekeeper( view
 • edit )
 ♦4Normal ♥6Hard ♠9Elite ♦34Epic Normal ♥38Epic Hard ♠43Epic Elite Undead Skeleton
Weeping Spirit( view
 • edit )
 ♦5Normal ♥7Hard ♠10Elite ♦35Epic Normal ♥39Epic Hard ♠44Epic Elite Undead Wheep