Need help with haunted house

[Gnome-Eater]

Hey everyone,

I'm new around these parts. I use to use the WoTC "What's a DM to do Boards?" But unfortunately, recently it's just not the same type of... uh... advice there. So here I am!

What's the problem? I run a dark and dirty campaign out of a home-brew metropolis island, loosely based in Forgotten Realms (same gods and land masses; think Freeport/Homebrew/Forgotten Realms). The group recently killed a prominent political figure, went underground in search his ally, were kidnapped by drow and will soon return to the surface to find themselves being hunted by the law. Since they are in a tight spot and in need of a "safe house" and a base for future operations, I want to offer them a deal from an NPC: "I know a place to hide you, but it might be dangerous..." After they clear the apartment of it's evil/demonic/undead residents, it's theirs.

So what's the issue? For some reason I'm just at a real lose for ideas for what is so wrong with the apartment building. My only requirements are that I want to throw something 1) new and 2) creepy at them. They have mostly encountered humaniods, undead, undead, undead, evil clerics and drow. Its a "mature game" so mature themes are welcome.

Thanks in advance!

[SmiloDan]

What level?

Maybe some pseudonaturals and aberrations and evil outsiders? There was an article on the WotC site a while back about those pre-Tanar'ri, Obsyliths (?), and one of the featured type was a kind of demon that possesses weapons. Maybe it's an old armory or blacksmith shop or alchemist lab?

[Digitalelf]

You might want to take a look at: Dungeon Crawl Classics #20 "Shadows in Freeport", levels 6-8 demon infested haunted manor...

The module has the PCs investigating the manor to find missing children, but who runs canned adventures right out of the book anyway right? ;-)

Here on Paizo

Only available here @ Paizo in PDF format...

Not exactly an "apartment building", but hey...

-That One Digitalelf Fellow-

[Gnome-Eater]

The group is level 3-4, but on the stronger side. Limited magic weapons, no arcane caster.

Apartment... house. It's all the same. :) Does the module suggested above have a pretty good story about why the house is infested? I guess that's what I'm looking for is a one off mystery the players will have to uncover to rid the house/apartment of evil, and make it out alive.

[aurdraco]

An LG mod, Iuz?-?? Mad House by Britt Frey featured an intelligent CN house that liked to mess with people. It only tried to kill occult slayers, as it was built by Zagyg. If you have a copy of that, you might mine it for ideas.

[Cainus]

Gnome-Eater wrote:

Hey everyone,

I'm new around these parts. I use to use the WoTC "What's a DM to do Boards?" But unfortunately, recently it's just not the same type of... uh... advice there. So here I am!

What's the problem? I run a dark and dirty campaign out of a home-brew metropolis island, loosely based in Forgotten Realms (same gods and land masses; think Freeport/Homebrew/Forgotten Realms). The group recently killed a prominent political figure, went underground in search his ally, were kidnapped by drow and will soon return to the surface to find themselves being hunted by the law. Since they are in a tight spot and in need of a "safe house" and a base for future operations, I want to offer them a deal from an NPC: "I know a place to hide you, but it might be dangerous..." After they clear the apartment of it's evil/demonic/undead residents, it's theirs.

So what's the issue? For some reason I'm just at a real lose for ideas for what is so wrong with the apartment building. My only requirements are that I want to throw something 1) new and 2) creepy at them. They have mostly encountered humaniods, undead, undead, undead, evil clerics and drow. Its a "mature game" so mature themes are welcome.

Thanks in advance!

Modify the house from Skinsaw Murders from the Rise of the Runelords adventure path. If you don't want to use the whole thing try the new haunt mechanics. You can tell a whole story room by room while the PC's are struggling to stay alive. And you're party will be wondering what the heck is happening.

Haunts basically work like traps. I'm at work and don't have the resources to go into detail but I'm sure someone out there can.

[Insert Neat Username Here]

Buy "The Skinsaw Murders" PDF or wait until it's reprinted. It's great.

EDIT: Ninja'd!

[Rezdave]

Gnome-Eater wrote:

I'm just at a real lose for ideas for what is so wrong with the apartment building. My only requirements are that I want to throw something 1) new and 2) creepy at them. They have mostly encountered humaniods, undead, undead, undead, evil clerics and drow. Its a "mature game" so mature themes are welcome.

If you're not adverse to Psionics you could probably dig up something that infests their dreams, gives them nightmares, makes them unable to get restful sleep and eventually leaves them unable to recover spells, recover hp, function without being fatigued or eventually exhausted, etc.

A nighthag or something else could fill a similar function w/o going the psionic route. Since their effectively trapped in the "safe house" until the heat is off they have to deal with the situation rather than running away.

Also, there's a brain eater in Sarfion's Collection Dungeon #80 or some similarly creepy beastie you could plop in. The map might work for your needs, too ... an old, small magical academy.

I made the mistake of running Escape from Meenlock Prison Dungeon #146 as the intro-adventure for my current campaign and it has warped my Players into paranoid, shell-shocked, PTSD-suffering neurotics ever since ... might be perfect for you.

Here's a list of Dungeon adventures that might serve you well, or at least provide inspiration. I have included them for the ideas, disregarding the suggested levels.

Spoiler:

All are in the form:

Issue - Title - advised total party levels - Description

031 – Bane of the Shadowborn – 37 - Trapped in Shadowborn Manor, uncover the clues to release the trapped spirit of Lady Shadowborn while surviving attacks from the malevolent spirit which currently controls the domain.
035 – Ghost of Mistmoor, The – 18 - A young viscount must recover treasure from an abandoned “haunted” mansion. The “haunting” is a pair of recently arrived rogues (CG) who are treasure hunting. However, they have awakened the real ghosts, three sisters and the evil priest who brought about the death of the Mistmoor’s so many years ago.
043 – Jacob's Well – 03 - A storm has you stuck in the remote, fortified trading post of Jacob’s Well. But something is trapped with you, and it’s hunting. A medieval “Alien”.
044 – Hand of Al-Djamal, The – 50 - An exhibit of Ylari artifacts on display in Glantri is closed due to the deaths of two guards at the museum. Is there a curse on the treasure? A Ylari madman shouted warnings even up to the point of his blooding death after losing his hand for trying to “liberate” the treasures of his homeland.
047 – Assassin Within, The – 20 - An assassin is stalking the household of Hakim ibn Rashad, Professor of Natural Philosophy. Protect the professor and his family while uncovering the mystery of who would want him killed.
047 – When the Light Goes Out – 01 - Something has gone wrong in the lighthouse. The Keeper is unable to fulfill his duties, and now people say it is haunted.
050 – Vaka's Curse, The – 14 - The Vaka is a ship with a curse. Its passengers suffer nightmares and sickness, and on occasion even death plagues its voyages.
054 – Eyes of the Iceborn – 4 to 10 - The local “Icehouse” is haunted by some unknown fiend. Put an end to the menace.
054 – Unhallowed Ground – 12 - Monks at the once famous Monastery of Montelegro are turning up dead, victims of gruesome killings. Some whisper that it is revenge from beyond the grave.
058 – Menacing Malady, The – 12 - The well-regarded Crescent Street Hospital and Herbalist has been overrun by “plant-men” who have killed the patients and some of the staff, and frightened away the rest. Find the cause of the “infestation” and put an end to it.
062 – Blood on the Plow – N/A - An elderly farmwife is forced to try and harvest the crops alone after freak accidents injured her husband and killed their hired hand. Help bring in the crops so the couple can survive, and perhaps learn that bad luck is not the cause of their troubles.
063 – Invisible Stalker – 6 - Help a woman being stalked by an invisible thief she believes is a ghost.
065 – Beast Within, The – 10 - Aid a hermit-priest who has been infected with lycanthropy by a werewolf.
071 – Dreadful Vestiges – 30 - Journey to the haunted Holk House, a monastery half submerged in the swamp, and rescue a missing priest who went to explore it.
072 – No Stone Unturned – 20 - Investigation the sudden appearance of zombies on city streets. A blackmailed undertaker, and underground excavation by zombie miners, a tribe of frightened mongrelmen terrorized by a family of trolls, and agents of an evil society questing for magic all figure in to a plot with interesting twists.
076 – Fruit of the Vine – 12 - A friendly merchant begins acting strangely (even “possessed”) after purchasing a house belonging to a thief who disappeared. Investigate the cause while helping a fellow adventurer find the companions she claims the merchant kidnapped.
080 – Sarfion’s Collection – 32 - A “Society of Mages” hides a secret gate to a dark realm, and the headmaster offers the brains of out-of-town members to his extra-planar guests.
083 – Deep Freeze – 8 - In deep winter, local traders are lost on a journey to an asylum in the mountains. Follow their trail as it leads to mysteries at the asylum, strange monsters and an ancient city of a lost civilization buried in the ice.
087 – Cradle of Madness, The – 24 - A merchant’s daughter has been kidnapped by a dark cult ... or so her father believes. Rescue the girl and learn the secret of the coming Dark Emissary of the god of Madness.
115 – Passage into Darkness - Door and Gates – N/A - 10 Doors and Portals
116 – Abandoned Buildings – N/A - 100 abandoned buildings and/or contents
122 – Fiendish Footprints – 24 - A cursed amulet tied to a cult of Orcus transforms owners into vampires. Penetrate a ruined necromancer’s tower and find the “fiendish foot” without succumbing to its curse.
127 – Glimmerpane – N/A - Glimmerpane is an “infiltration” mirror of opposition, creating loyal duplicates.
132 – Caverns of the Ooze Lord – 32 - A cult of Juiblex the Slime Lord has arisen in a thorpe and begun transforming the residents into slime-people.
134 – And Madness Followed – 36 - A famed bard’s mind has been twisted by research into the Far Realm. Her newest play is in fact a ritual that will open a gate to the alien dimension and summon through the Lovecraftian “King in Yellow” by sacrificing her audience. Track her previous failures to maintain the gate from a small village to a town to a city, slaying the villagers she has transformed into Cthulhu monstrosities and prevent her from creating a permanent gate.
137 – Siege of the Spider Eaters – 04 - A pirate village has been assaulted by monstrous spiders and half of the population are missing. However the assault is merely a response to the unprovoked attack of the spiders’ lair and the missing villagers are disguised aranea returning to help defend their ancestral lair. Journey to the spider lair and choose sides.
146 – Escape from Meenlock Prison – 4 - A visit to a winery chateau turned contract-prison turns from a simple prisoner release to a nightmare. Meenlocks have breached the cell block and begun transforming prisoners and guardds alike, while escapees have gained control and masquerade as the warden and staff until they can ambush visiting wine merchants and make off with their cash. Unless the party sees through the con mens’ ruse, they will find themselves trapped in the cell block as well.

HTH,

Rez

[Dualwolf]

Just how big is the apartment? My idea of an apartment is just maybe about 6 rooms or so? If its considerably larger maybe you could have a mid level illusionist using it as a secret lab and making it appear haunted by use of invisibility and illusion spells?

Blood could start pouring from the walls only to dissapear shortly afterwards (silent image),lights under doorways (Dancing lights (evocation class!!), noises (ghost sound!) can be heard in empty rooms.
If the characters linger too long then they could start meeting with accidents as doors mysteriously lock themselves when a heavilly smoking fire (choking damage but not to severe to destroy the room?) suddenly begins for no apparent reason. Even level 5 spells Dream and Nightmare could help with sleeples nights.

Maybe the "bloody wall" is where a secret door is to the lab (so they have a clue as to where to find the illusionists den).
This way it can be 1) new and 2)creepy but also have no undead so be a nice change in pace.
Who knows? If he's not evil but just wanting privacy then maybe when they DO find the illusionist he begs them to keep quiet about the lab and in return he will only "haunt" strangers, allowing the group to rest there in peace. (Maybe even becoming a new ally or adventure hook??)

EDIT :
Ensure the illusionist has silent spell metafeat for this or the rod of metamagic (silent)lol!!!

Further Edit:
The fact that they have no arcane casters will help prevent it being spoilt with spellcraft checks heheh

[Hunterofthedusk]

A vampire's lair, perhaps? My DM did something similar to that, where we wandered into a vampire's mansion in the middle of a forest and he decided to use us for his own entertainment. Puzzles and traps galore, along with a sense of creepyness that stayed even for a little while after we got out of there. Of course, we didn't have a cleric with the sun domain at that time, like we did the next time we encountered a vampire...

If they can either work out a deal with the vampire, such as doing his hunting for him, bringing him offerings of blood, or so on, he will allow them to stay, if they ever get into a position to negotiate (which is usually unlikely; If anything, the vampire will make the proposition after they pass all of his "tests"), or if they can kill him it's obviously going to be their new house. Basically, renting or buying in a very loose sense.

[Molech]

Welcome to the Boards!

I big Second for "The Skinsaw Murders" by Richard Pett.

But whatever you do, use Haunts, a new thing that Pett came up with in that adventure. They work exactly like traps except they can't be "found" via any class ability. When a PC walks in a certain area or touches a certain item the "Haunt" is triggered and manifests its effect. Like traps they have CRs and also like traps some will "auto reset" and some are "one time only" effects.

Of course, because they're such a brilliant idea, everyone has been including them recently. Several adventures since "The Skinsaw Murders" have featured them including the spectacular Nic Logue Gamemastery adventure, "Hangman's Noose" which may even suit your purposes better than Skinsaw.

If you wanna go old school dust off the old "Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh" -- just make it actually haunted instead of a pirates' smuggling base.

More old school, Dungeon 26 has a neat-o little adventure where a PC inherits an old mansion from a deceased relative; I think it's called "Inheritance."

Oh, and if you just so happen to have Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk -- the best adventure in the 3E era -- there's a skippy little side quest where the PCs are allowed to buy an empty house at a really cheap discount -- it's mildly haunted but after they take care of the problem it's theirs. It's not much, maybe one page of description but it's exactly what you're describing. And you need to have a copy of EtRG anyway. No excuses on this one.

Lots of other fine choices have made too, including "Meenlock Prison"; let us know what you do.

-W. E. Ray

[Insert Neat Username Here]

Molech wrote:

Of course, because they're such a brilliant idea, everyone has been including them recently. Several adventures since "The Skinsaw Murders" have featured them including the spectacular Nic Logue Gamemastery adventure, "Hangman's Noose" which may even suit your purposes better than Skinsaw.

I don't think it'll be very useful in this context. It's made for level one, doesn't work as written if the characters already know each other, and has to take place in a courthouse unless you want to modify it a lot. Foxglove Manor from Skinsaw Murders can pretty much be dropped into any campaign if you change the hooks.

[Molech]

Okay.

[Molech]

I'd still use it -- just for the layout of the building and as ideas for haunts. You can get rid of all the NPCs and the whole story line. but the layout is good for a homebase and there are some really cool haunts.