A Ghost of a Chance
“The old manor, up on that hill, well, it's haunted. My grand-da, he used to tell me that behind them shuttered windows and that crumbling stone, well, the walls and floor are soaked in blood. He did say that the screams of the damned echo there. I'll tell you, I wouldn't go up, not even if you paid me a pretty penny” – an elderly villager.
A goblin, Crookdimple, has taken up residence in the crumbling edifice, Balwimple Manor, that lies up on the hill. This has stirred up the restless spirits that dwell there. As a fay being, Crookdimple is immune to the ghosts' Fright Attacks and finds their efforts to unseat her rather amusing.
The restless dead have become so desperate that some have begun to range beyond the manor walls, and frighten people on the road. This activity has led to the companions being asked to assist.
Crookdimple lurks in the attic, defending her meagre hoard scavenged from the house (45 florins' worth of jewellery and a Ring of Obedient Parts that she hasn't been able to get working).
She will plead for her life and only attack if the party tries to rob her. If Crookdimple is killed or evicted, the ghosts will settle again and not bother anyone outside the manor walls.
- Entrance – A reinforced oak door hangs open.
- Entry Foyer – Faded tapestries and dusty rugs.
- Dining Hall – Long oak table and benches. Dusty platters.
- Kitchen – Cold stove, cold hearth, empty drawers.
- Larder – Bottles of old wine, mouse-eaten foods…
- Bedroom – Mildewed beds and rotting clothes.
- Bedroom – As (6).
- Bedroom – As (6).
- Main Bedroom – Rotted bed and broken furniture.
- Nursery – Broken crib, mildewed clothes, and toys.
- Servants' Quarters – Collapsed cots and dust.
- Attic – A nest has been built here from old clothes and wicker-work.
Ghostly encounters in the manor. Roll d20 each time the characters enter a room:
- Ghost of Sir Reddick. Headless lumbering torso (d12 Fright Attack).
- Infant daughter. Toddles around the room laughing to herself (d10 Fright Attack).
- A patter of small footsteps… nothing more.
- A dark shadowy hound with fiery eyes. It growls and then vanishes.
- Bailick the Seneschal. Moans about the intruder in the attack (d8 Fright Attack).
- Lady Merisae. White dress, complains about the beast above (d6 Fright Attack).
- Blood runs down the walls.
- A snatch of music on the air.
- Whispering voices.
- The shadows move, deepen, then fade.
- Rats. Not ghosts, just rats.
- A dead pigeon… very dead.
- Felcraff, once the house sorcerer, but now an insane Wraith (Bestiary p87).
- Cackling laughter that fades quickly.
- Creaking timbers.
- Scuttling noise around the edge of the room.
- Sudden heavy thud.
- A loud scream.
- Small object flies across the room.
- Crookdimple, scuttling about the place. She shrieks when she sees the companions and flees to the attic.
This article first appeared in the Casket of Fays Issue 3.