The Tradition of the Leap

When a resident of Saltmarsh is lost at sea, one or more loved ones traditionally climb to the Leap at sunset. There, the mourner lights a candle within one of the Vigil Stones, speaks the name of the dead, and rings the old bell to wake their spirit from the deep.

The mourner then leaps from the cliff into the water below.

Friends and relatives wait on the beach with blankets, lanterns, and strong drink. Most leaps are made during calm seas and a rising tide, while experienced sailors discreetly watch from below. Everyone maintains the fiction that the mourner faces the sea alone.

The ritual is considered safe, but not without danger. Over the years, some mourners have been injured, and on rare occasions a leap has ended in another drowning.

The Vigil Candle

After the leap, the candle is left burning through the night.

If it remains lit until dawn, the dead are believed to have found safe passage beyond the sea. If the flame goes out, or if the mourner is injured or killed during the leap, tradition holds that the spirit remains trapped upon the water until it can be released.

For this reason, families often keep watch until morning, sheltering the flame from wind and rain while telling stories of the one they lost.

The Bell of the Deep

Before making the leap, the mourner rings the old bell and calls out the name of their loved one.

According to local belief, the bell awakens the spirit from the deep and guides it toward the light of the Vigil Stone. Some claim the bell can be heard far beneath the waves, even by those who drowned many miles from Saltmarsh.

An Older Tradition

The Vigil Stones stood upon the cliffs long before the founding of Saltmarsh.

Their true origins are largely forgotten, but they were once sacred to the druids of Tideholm. The druids used the stones to offer tribute to the sea, honor those claimed by its waters, and guide wandering spirits toward rest.

Few people in Saltmarsh know this history. Ferrin Kastilar, keeper of the Sea Grove of Obad-Hai, recognizes the stones’ carvings and can tell the characters more about their druidic origins—and perhaps what the ritual once truly meant.

A mourner may leap for an ally, friend, companion, family member, or another person lost at sea with whom they shared a close bond.

In calm weather, a deliberate jump from the proper ledge requires no check. The mourner plunges deep into the water and must swim roughly 100 feet to reach the beach.

A check is required only when conditions make the leap uncertain.

On a failed check, the mourner may lose equipment, suffer exhaustion, be swept away, or require rescue. Failure should create danger rather than cause immediate death, though the sea may still claim the reckless or unfortunate.

Blessing of the Leap

A mourner who completes the Leap in honor of someone lost at sea gains one automatic success on a roll of their choice.

This blessing must be used before the next full moon. Once used, it is lost.

The Vigil Flame

If the candle remains lit until dawn, the spirit is believed to have found safe passage beyond the sea.

Before departing, the spirit may answer three questions, as though affected by speak with dead. Once the third answer is given, the flame goes out and the spirit passes beyond mortal reach.