Requesting Death House help - SPOILERS AHEAD - DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE NOT DMING

Here's another question I'm having trouble with: The story says the children starved to death "after their parents locked them in the attic and forgot about them". I just got finished putting my two little boys to bed, and lets be honest - there is not possible way on earth you "forget" about your kids. Especially by the time they are 10 and 7 years old like Rose and Thorn - by then, as parents, you will have noticed that you have two other little people living in your house. And heck, even if you did manage to forget you'd locked them in the attic, their bedroom is immediately over the parent's bedroom - and hungry kids = very noisy kids. You're going to notice when they start hollering and stomping on the floor and banging on the door after a day of not eating.

So what gives? The story hook doesn't make any sense at all. As I'm prepping the encounter with the children's ghosts for next game, I'm really having trouble wrapping my head around that. And considering all of the other guys in my group have kids as well, I know it's simply not going to fly.

Anyone else have thoughts on this? How do you explain the kids being forgotten about and left to starve? I'm considering changing the backstory to better explain - maybe the father locked them there the day Strahd showed up, "stay here and don't make a noise, you'll embarress the family" - and then since Strahd kills all the cultists, the kids are subsequently trapped and die. Something like that maybe.

Its possible the Parents were Ghasts early on. Perhaps the conversion to Undeath in the Ghast transformation (and we are never entirely sure how much Ghouls/Ghasts remember of their previous life) means that yeah The Dursts DID forget their children were locked up. We also never find out how the Parents became Ghasts.

You certainly raise a good topic, but Im inclined to believe my theory that as Ghasts they forgot most of their previous life.

Rils said:

I just got finished putting my two little boys to bed, and lets be honest - there is not possible way on earth you "forget" about your kids. … Anyone else have thoughts on this?

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Well, hopefully you're not also running a cult of a false god or trying to get on the good side of a despotic vampire lord. It's hard work.

I have a theory that Elizabeth sacrificed Gustav after she found out about the Child belonging to the Nursemaid. Maybe he mortally wounded her also and thats how they both became Ghasts.

Rils said:

Here's another question I'm having trouble with: The story says the children starved to death "after their parents locked them in the attic and forgot about them". I just got finished putting my two little boys to bed, and lets be honest - there is not possible way on earth you "forget" about your kids.

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I didn't read that as "forget," as in, "Oh, no, I forgot to get milk at the grocery store," forget, but more of a "All right, that's done with, now let's forget all about them and get on with our hedonistic, sadistic lives as we slowly descend further into madness and depravity."

It was deliberate, as the fact that the children's windows are bricked up further implies.

Rils said:

Anyone else have thoughts on this? How do you explain the kids being forgotten about and left to starve? I'm considering changing the backstory to better explain - maybe the father locked them there the day Strahd showed up, "stay here and don't make a noise, you'll embarress the family" - and then since Strahd kills all the cultists, the kids are subsequently trapped and die. Something like that maybe.

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It's clear that the PARENTS didn't forget about the kids. However, from the childrens' perspective, of course they forgot about them. Why else wouldn't they have come back for them. It's really, simply a matter of perspective. In this case, from a child's point of view.

Rils said:

Here's another question I'm having trouble with: The story says the children starved to death "after their parents locked them in the attic and forgot about them". I just got finished putting my two little boys to bed, and lets be honest - there is not possible way on earth you "forget" about your kids.

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Clearly, you've never had the feeling that your kids are holding you back from accomplishing what you 'should' be doing. That's a good thing, but it makes it difficult for you to get into the mindset of a group of murderous cultists.

--
Pauper

THats the reason Ill never have kids. THey would get in the way of becoming a servitor to a dark power

Tyranthraxus said:

THats the reason Ill never have kids. THey would get in the way of becoming a servitor to a dark power

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True. Altho I seem to recall a documentary on how being a servitor to dark powers can allow you to claim a kid of your own, so there's still hope if you want both. Look it up on IMDB, I think the title had something to do with Rosemary or something...

Yes, it seems the story is indicating the parents *deliberately* forgot about the children. Hence the bricked up windows and horrorrrrrrrrr.