Discrepancy in Saltmarsh

[Twigwit]

I noticed some oddities in one of the Saltmarsh adventures and I was wondering if there was something I overlooked to explain them away. Spoilers for Ghosts of Saltmarsh ahead.

In “the Styes” several monsters are described and pictured very differently than their official 5e counterparts. The Aboleth, Kraken and Skum all look like their 3rd edition versions. For the aboleth this isn’t such a big deal, it’s a single picture, but for the other two it seems a bit more concerning. The Styes as an adventure is clearly a big homage to Shadow over Innsmouth, and the Skum are clearly intended as an analogue to the Deep Ones, and the Kraken is picked since the 3e version is very cephalopodic and thus appropriate for the lovecraftian tone. The Saltmarsh version uses these old versions specifically, with the webbed tracks of Skum and the squid like visage of the Kraken being clues for the investigation, but there’s no mention of how to reconcile these two versions. And I understand this is highly pedantic and you can just refluff anything, but I’d still be miffed if there was no real explanation for the discrepancy in this glorified adventure update that I paid money for.

[Unoriginal]

I noticed some oddities in one of the Saltmarsh adventures and I was wondering if there was something I overlooked to explain them away. Spoilers for Ghosts of Saltmarsh ahead.

In “the Styes” several monsters are described and pictured very differently than their official 5e counterparts. The Aboleth, Kraken and Skum all look like their 3rd edition versions. For the aboleth this isn’t such a big deal, it’s a single picture, but for the other two it seems a bit more concerning. The Styes as an adventure is clearly a big homage to Shadow over Innsmouth, and the Skum are clearly intended as an analogue to the Deep Ones, and the Kraken is picked since the 3e version is very cephalopodic and thus appropriate for the lovecraftian tone. The Saltmarsh version uses these old versions specifically, with the webbed tracks of Skum and the squid like visage of the Kraken being clues for the investigation, but there’s no mention of how to reconcile these two versions. And I understand this is highly pedantic and you can just refluff anything, but I’d still be miffed if there was no real explanation for the discrepancy in this glorified adventure update that I paid money for.

I'm not aware of the Skum having 5e art previously.

As for the Kraken:

1) Krakens are god-created, there is nothing indicating they must have an homogeneous appearance

2) This particular Kraken was twisted by other entities

3) It'd have been nice if they had made new art, but eh, it's not a tragedy either.

[LordEntrails]

It's a homage. And why does every aboleth or skum or even orc have to look the same? Just because a creature is pictured one way in a 5E source doesn't mean it can't have 100 variants out there as well.

Variety is the spice of fantasy.

[Anderlith]

Do you similarly find such issues with things like goblins getting a huge redesign as well? Just let it be

[Twigwit]

Do you similarly find such issues with things like goblins getting a huge redesign as well? Just let it be

No, I don’t. I’m more amazed at the laziness to not adjust even textual mentions of the monsters to better fit their new incarnation. It’s like if an adventure with 2e pre-Dak’kon Githzerai was remade and sold with the Githzerai still acting like they were then, instead of how they’re described in the MM or Tome of Foes. Don’t we deserve better than mindless copying and pasting?

[Imbalance]

No, I don’t. I’m more amazed at the laziness to not adjust even textual mentions of the monsters to better fit their new incarnation. It’s like if an adventure with 2e pre-Dak’kon Githzerai was remade and sold with the Githzerai still acting like they were then, instead of how they’re described in the MM or Tome of Foes. Don’t we deserve better than mindless copying and pasting?

Consider it less about laziness and more about frugality. They already own those cool art assets, it's a throwback, so rather than pay for new art they picked something with a touch of nostalgia. Variety is cool.

But if you need something more lore-friendly, consider that even naturalists sometimes mix up details and descriptions in the real world, and even though two may sketch the same specimen their drawings may look very different. Species vary, groups sometimes develop distinct characteristics, mutations occur, and all are described by the lucky curious or the traumatized survivor in their own words based on interpretation of what they think they observed. Nobody is posting selfies they took with a live kraken.

[Klaus Teufel]

Maybe they think the older versions fit Greyhawk better?

[Yora]

I've heard about Tales from the Yawning Portal that they only converted adventures to 5th Edition stats without really revising them much. Probably did the same here.

[Beleriphon]

I've heard about Tales from the Yawning Portal that they only converted adventures to 5th Edition stats without really revising them much. Probably did the same here.

To a degree, there is new content in each one to fill it out. For example the ultimate adventure has a final battle rather than being handled "off screen" by the NPC garrison as in the original.

[JackPhoenix]

You may notice Juvenile Kraken from the same book has an illustration, and looks differently from MM kraken. There's also no "official 5e counterpart" to Skum, the creature originates from GoS. And the description in its monster entry is vague enough to be compatible with the adventure itself, despite the (very cool, IMO) image. The image lacks trident which is listed in the stat block.

Same with MM kraken: it's entry doesn't describe how it looks like, beyond mentioning tentacles.

[Twigwit]

Idk, maybe it bothers me more because I have the Roll20 version of Saltmarsh. Paid for the damn thing but have to manually replace all that art.

[Unoriginal]

Idk, maybe it bothers me more because I have the Roll20 version of Saltmarsh. Paid for the damn thing but have to manually replace all that art.

You mean one picture of Kraken?

[Twigwit]

You mean one picture of Kraken?

I mean the tokens mostly. They're all already placed in the proper places with stats tied to them, but if I want adventure faithful art I have to manually change all of them. Hunting down and replacing all the minion monsters manually is a chore.

[Envyus]

Why. The Kraken can easily look the way it does, because it's a juvenile. Aboleths likely have a variety of appearances. For the Skum just describe them as being like their current version instead.

And why do you need to replace any of the pictures.

[Unoriginal]

I still haven't understood what's the issue with the Skum?

[JackPhoenix]

I still haven't understood what's the issue with the Skum?

The "issue" is that there's an illustration of characters fighting Skum in "the Styes" chapter, which looks like the picture at the bottom of the image:
https://www.belloflostsouls.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/saltmarsh-dm-screen-back-2.jpg

while the illustration of Skum from the bestiary appendix looks like this:
https://media-waterdeep.cursecdn.com/avatars/thumbnails/5912/479/1000/1000/636918877666194101.png

The description says Skum "they barely resemble their past forms, their skin turning slimy and translucent while their limbs warp to resemble those of deep-sea oddities.", which could mean just about anything.

[Anublet90]

I think they said each Kraken is unique in this video, though.


https://youtu.be/O3J0YGzaOrQ

[Willie the Duck]

But the real question is: do the bugbears have pumpkin heads?