Last Saturday, I hosted an online roleplaying adventure for my wife and two brothers. Naturally, it had a Halloween theme. Here are some of the high points.
Background
The setting was New York in 1877 and the characters were monster hunters. I borrowed the premise from the old RPG Chill.
As neophyte members of SAVE, the investigator Sheerluck Holmes, the explorer Fearing Pangborn, and Dr. Sleep (my wife's character) had to investigate several disappearances in and around the town of Kilmore. The disappearances seemed to center around Caede Manor, a house with a bloody past and a reputation for being haunted.
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| The Manor House |
The Adventure
Arriving in Kilmore, the investigators first visit the mayor, Emil Plumpf. His 12 year-old daughter is the latest to go missing. Plumpf informs them that his daughter was last seen heading to the manor at midnight accompanied by a tall, cloaked figure. There were also other disappearances, primarily from local farms. The mayor does assign a deputy, George, to assist them.
The investigators head to the manor. Once they pass through the gates to the property, the gates shut behind them, the sky grows dark, and they hear a howling. The front door is open, but they decide to circle around the house and enter through a back door.
Guests for Dinner
The first room they enter is the kitchen. A short, rotund man wielding bloody butcher knives beckons them to enter. When they do, they see a carved up human body.
Cue sanity check. The Doctor is momentarily struck motionless by the horror.
As they try to take in the grisly scene, the chef attacks. Poor George is wounded before the Doctor slices open the crazed chef's throat. Sheerluck is a tab miffed that they could not capture and interrogate their assailant. However, he fashions a stake from the leg of a chair.
Getting Medieval
They continue to investigate the house. In the drawing room, they find an extensive collection of medieval weapons, once owned by Hector Caede, the original resident of the manor. According to local legend, he acquired a longsword owned by Vlad Tepes. He then went crazy and slaughtered his family before escaping into the night. Fearing finds the fabled sword hanging over the mantlepiece.
As they examine the weapon, a suit of armor animates and attacks. Fearing uses the sword, but he begins to hear voices to kill the party. He drops the sword and pulls out his revolver.
Fearing passes his sanity check and can act as he pleases.
By this time, the Doctor has broken her scalpel and the haunted knight hacked off George's head. Fearing then unloads his ammo into the knight's face. Three 6s - Critical hit! The helmet flies off and the armor crashes to the ground.
In the aftermath, the investigators bind their wounds and arm themselves with some of the weapons in the room. Dr. Sleep chooses a spear, Fearing a dagger, and Sheerluck picks up Vlad's sword.
"Don't," warns Fearing. "I think it is cursed." Sheerluck hears voices that urge him to hold onto the sword. He listens to the voices instead of Fearing.
A Bad Night's Sleep
Next, they head to the second floor. They find some bedrooms with bloodstains. They come to the master bedroom and see a cloaked figure leaning over the bed. He turns, displayed two bloody fangs. They prepare to attack, but the figure turns into a mist and escapes out a window. They check the bed and find a farm girl lying on it. She is dead, drained of blood.
Suddenly a swarm of bats attacks the investigators. Fearing flees the room, but Sheerluck takes a moment to lop of the farm girl's head. He and the Doctor then exit as well, escaping from the swarm.
Attic Antics
They find a staircase to the attic. Hearing muffled sobs, they rush up to investigate. Entering a storeroom, they are suddenly attacked by a man with rotting skin. Fearing blasts its head off, but he feels a breeze as a blade passes close by his head. He turns to see Sheerluck preparing to attack him again.
Failed sanity check. I was actually going to give Sheerluck more time before he turned, but my brother decided to roleplay.
Fearing grapples the investigator and rips the sword from his hands.
Sheerluck is confused and mutters something about not knowing what he was doing.
Another sanity check. This time he passes.
As he tries to recover his wits, another undead creature grabs him from behind. Fearing attacks with his dagger, wounding the creature. The Doctor finishes it off with her spear.
A Date with Death
Searching the room, they find a secret panel. It leads into a small room with a coffin. Fearing opens the coffin. A clawed hand lashes out and grabs him by the throat.
A vampire rises from the coffin.
"Who dares disturb my rest?!" he challenges as he continues to squeeze Fearing's throat. Fearing slashes at him with his dagger. Sheerluck attacks with his stake while Dr. Sleep uses her spear. Both manage to inflict severe wounds. But the vampire continues to choke Fearing until he breathes his last. Then the vampire chucks the corpse to the floor and leaps at the remaining investigators. The Doctor impales it and then Sheerluck stabs it in the heart. The vampire dissolves into ashes.
Rescue
Searching some more, the remaining investigators find the mayor's daughter and return her home. The mysterious disappearances cease, and life in Kilmore returns to normal.
But there has been a cost.
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| RIP Fearing Pangborn |
(And don't forget George!)
Game Notes
I created the adventure myself, but I got some help. The picture and floor plan for the manor from This Old Haunted House, on Drivethrerpg.
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