Session 8 (191229)
When last we left our heroes they were exploring the haunted Fisk mansion at the behest of Kepri an old woman who was speaking to them through a magical amulet. After Abby was swarmed by rats and tossed down the stairs by a poltergeist the party was almost defeated fighting an animated rug and two sets of enchanted armor.
They found a secret room attached to the library and a note from Gustav Fisk to his wife Elizabeth describing an expedition in foreign lands and the artifacts he brought back, statues, works of art, a mummy, and a curious bronze statue of a crayfish with naked human limbs.
The haunted old house has grown more dangerous as they've climbed the floors but they still haven't found a way into the basement.
The fellowship of the wing is gravely injured after the last fight. The players will probably want a long rest.
- At some point they have to hear footsteps on the floor above or below.
- The doors have to bow outward or the handles should turn.
- An axe in the wall or ceiling should run with blood.
- Several of the taxadermied wolves return to life and stalk the players.
- During the night Tringa hears a voice whispering in her ear telling her to kill her friends, that they don't want her there, that they laugh at her when she isn't watching. The voice isn't compulsory - just annoying.
In the morning Abby is late to get up. When you investigate you find her face covered in sweat and her right foot has seemingly melted off at the calf. The fingers on her left hand are fused together.
A note for Abby:
Your character has been replaced by a doppelganger. You only have a vague idea of the party's backstory. You're interested in learning more about the fellowship of the wing and can ask them comically naive questions. If they discover the real Abby you will attack.
You find Abby immersed in some gloopy liquid in the bath if it hasn't already been explored. She is unconcious but unharmed and fully rested. She has no memory of that evening.
12. Master Suite
The double doors to this room have dusty panes of stained glass set into them. Designs in the glass resemble sparrows.
The dusty, cobweb-filled master bedroom (area 12A) has burgundy drapes covering the windows. Furnishings include a four-poster bed with embroidered curtains and tattered gossamer veils, a matching pair of empty wardrobes, a vanity with a wood-framed mirror and jewelry box (see “Treasure”), and a padded chair. A rotting tiger-skin rug lies on the floor in front of the fireplace, which has a dust-covered portrait of Gustav and Elisabeth Fisk hanging above it. A web-filled parlor in the southwest corner contains a table and two chairs. Resting on the dusty tablecloth is an empty porcelain bowl and a matching jug. A door facing the foot of the bed has a full-length mirror mounted on it. The door opens to reveal an empty, dust-choked closet (area 12B). A door in the parlor leads to an outside balcony (area 12C).
A dumbwaiter in the corner of the west wall has a button on the wall next to it. Pressing the button rings the tiny bell in area 4A.
Treasure The jewelry box on the vanity is made of silver with gold filigree (worth 75 gp). It contains two golden scarab beetles (worth 25 gp each) and a thin platinum necklace with a topaz pendant (worth 250 gp).
From the outside balcony they see Mulliver Jones and his gang of ghouls stalking through the walnut trees. Mulliver usually spends his time patrolling the area around the house but he may burst into the house if the GM thinks it's necessary.
13. Bathroom
This dark room contains a wooden tub with clawed feet, a small iron stove with a kettle resting atop it, and a barrel under a spigot in the east wall. A cistern on the roof used to collect rainwater, which was borne down a pipe to the spigot; however, the plumbing no longer works and the walls are rotten with mold.
14. Storage Room
Dusty shelves line the walls of this room. A few of the shelves have folded sheets, blankets, and old bars of soap on them.
A jar near the door is filled with maggots. Character rolls a constitution check to see if they're frightened enough to drop it splashing the insects over the feet of anyone nearby. Characters splashed in this way will be picking maggots out of their clothing for several hours afterwards.
15. Nursemaid’s Suite
Dust and cobwebs shroud an elegantly appointed bedroom (area 15A) and an adjoining nursery (area 15B). Double doors set with panes of stained glass pull open to reveal a balcony (area 15C) overlooking the front of the house.
The bedroom once belonged to the family’s nursemaid. The master of the house and the nursemaid had an affair, which led to the birth of a stillborn baby named Walter. The cult slew the nursemaid shortly thereafter. Unless the characters already defeated it in area 18, the nursemaid’s spirit haunts the bedroom as a specter (or ghost). The specter manifests and attacks when a character opens the door to the nursery. It resembles a terrified, skeletally thin young woman; it can’t speak or be reasoned with.
The bedroom contains a large bed, two end tables, and an empty wardrobe. Mounted on the wall next to the wardrobe is a full-length mirror with an ornate wooden frame carved to look like ivy and berries.
Characters who search the wall for secret doors or otherwise inspect the mirror can, with a successful DC 12 Wisdom (Perception) check, notice eyeballs among the berries. The wall behind the mirror has a secret door in it (see “Secret Door” below).
The nursery contains a crib covered with a hanging black shroud. When characters part the shroud, they see a tightly wrapped, baby-sized bundle lying in the crib. Characters who unwrap the blanket find nothing inside it.
A secret door behind the mirror can be found with a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check. It pushes open easily to reveal a cobweb-filled wooden staircase leading up to the attic.
16. Attic Hall
This bare hall is choked with dust and cobwebs. The door to area 20 is held shut with a padlock. Its key is kept in the library (area 8), but the lock can also be picked with thieves’ tools and a successful DC 15 Dexterity check.
17. Spare Bedroom
This dust-choked room contains a slender bed, a nightstand, a small iron stove, a writing desk with a stool, an empty wardrobe, and a rocking chair. A smiling doll in a lacy yellow dress sits in the northern window box, cobwebs draping it like a wedding veil.
18. Storage Room
This dusty chamber is packed with old furniture (chairs, coat racks, standing mirrors, dress mannequins, and the like), all draped in dusty white sheets. Near an iron stove, underneath one of the sheets, is an unlocked wooden trunk containing the skeletal remains of the family’s nursemaid, wrapped in a tattered bedsheet stained with dry blood. A character inspecting the remains and succeeding on a DC 14 Wisdom (Medicine) check can verify that the woman was stabbed to death by multiple knife wounds. If the characters disturb the remains, the nursemaid’s specter appears and attacks unless it was previously defeated in area 15.
19. Spare Bedroom
This web-filled room contains a slender bed, a night- stand, a rocking chair, an empty wardrobe, and a small iron stove.
20. Childrens Room
The door to this room is locked from the outside (see area 16 for details). This room contains a bricked-up window flanked by two dusty, wood-framed beds sized for children. Closer to the door is a toy chest with a tiger painted on its sides and a dollhouse that’s a perfect replica of the house in which you stand.
Lying in the middle of the floor are two small skeletons wearing tattered but familiar clothing. The smaller of the two cradles a stuffed doll that you also recognize.
The Fisk children were locked in this room until they starved to death. Their small skeletons lie in the middle of the floor, plain as day, wearing tattered clothing that the characters recognize as belonging to the children. Billy’s skeleton cradles the boy’s stuffed doll. The toy chest contains an assortment of stuffed animals and toys.
Characters who search the dollhouse and succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check find all of the house’s secret doors, including one in the attic that leads to a spiral staircase (a miniature replica of area 21).
The crypts
From the moment they arrive in the dungeon, the characters can hear an eerie, incessant chant echoing throughout. It’s impossible to gauge where the sound is coming from until the characters reach area 26 or 29. They can’t discern its words until they reach area 35.
23. Family Crypts
Several crypts have been hewn from the earth. Each crypt is sealed with a stone slab which requires a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check to remove.
23A. Empty Crypt The blank stone slab meant to seal this crypt leans against a nearby wall. The crypt is empty.
23B. George’s Crypt is sealed. Etched into the wall is the name George Fisk. The crypt contains a stone bier with a coffin containing George's remains. He's wearing a gold ring with two walnuts set into the face (25gp)
23C. Gustav’s Crypt The stone slab is etched with the name Gustav Fisk. The chamber beyond contains an empty coffin atop a stone bier.
23D. Elisabeth’s Crypt The stone slab is etched with the name Elisabeth Fisk. The crypt contains a stone bier with an empty coffin atop it. A swarm of insects (centipedes) boils out of the back wall and attacks if the coffin is disturbed.
23E. Ren’s Crypt The stone slab is etched with the name Renny Fisk. The chamber beyond contains an empty coffin on a stone bier.
If Ren’s skeletal remains (see area 20) are placed in the coffin, the child’s ghost finds peace and disappears forever. A character possessed by Ren’s ghost when this occurs is no longer possessed (see also the “Development” section in area 20).
23F. Billy’s Crypt The stone slab is etched with the name Bill Fisk. The chamber beyond contains an empty coffin on a stone bier. If Billy’s skeletal remains (see area 20) are placed in the coffin, the child’s ghost finds peace and disappears forever. A character possessed by Thorn’s ghost when this occurs is no longer possessed (see also the “Devel- opment” section in area 20).
- doppelganger 400xp
- 2 specters 700xp
- ghost 1100xp
- grick 450xp
every character gets 883xp