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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Gradine" data-source="post: 6910678" data-attributes="member: 57112">Iron DM 2016, Round 1, Match 4, Gradine Submission (The Torment of Thornhill Manor)The Torment of Thornhill ManorJumping BeetlesEchoing SoundsNightmare ClockFeat of WeaknessWild DogsPink SocksRosewickRosewick is a small village renowned for its floral gardens. At night, rose blights shamble out of the long-abandoned Thornhill Manor, on the edge of town, attacking and terrifying the villagers. They seek brave souls to investigate the Manor, and put an end to attacks.Thornhill ManorThe manor house looked as though it were once grand, but now stands dilapidated; weathered; overgrown by flowering vines. The kennels lay in the corner of the estate. Legends tell of a masquerade thrown by the manor’s arrogant new lord centuries ago; the next day the manor was abandoned; its guests and servants missing forever. The manor was declared cursed and avoided at all costs.Inside EstateAs soon as the PCs enter the estate, everything is instantly revitalized; and full of life. Servants rush past. Well-dressed lords and ladies in masks stroll past. None pay the PCs any mind. The PCs are now trapped in Lord Thornhill's dream.Thornhill is hosting a masquerade. On a successful difficult Perception check, a PC hears, on the faintest edge of hearing, the echoing sounds of a ticking clock. Every hour this distant clock chimes (no check needed), leading to nightmares (see below).At the party’s onset, several ladybugs leap onto Thornhill from a nearby rose bush onto him, causing him to panic, flail about, and attack the bush. All the partygoers laugh at this feeble display of weakness; all save one: a beautiful pale woman in a black dress and flowery mask, who gives a knowing smile.PersonasLord Thornhill - New master of manor. Skull mask. Arrogant. Terrified of insects. Spends most of the party telling tall tales of his feats. None believe him.Garrett - The kennelmaster. He is annoyed and distracted. He skulks off to kennels early.Damascena - Secretly a Night Hag, out to curse Thornhill. Spends the party seducing him.The ClockIn nearly every room of the house sits a large grandfather clock, which seems to be the source of the distant ticking and tolling. Time doesn’t seem to flow normally on it; at times it runs too slow, elsewise too fast. If a PC approaches the clock it disappears; as if it was never there to begin with. The PCs have nearly the full run of the house, save the master’s chambers, which are guarded and locked.NightmaresThe faint bells toll regularly. These trigger, briefly, a nightmarish version of the manor. The building warps, and vines choke the walls. The nightmares last only as long as the bells toll (2 seconds per toll), then vanish, as if they never happened. Marked* events only occur if the PCs are near the NPCs when the nightmare triggers.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Thornhill* vomits two swarms of ladybugs, which attack party</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Damascena* glares at the party</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Garrett appears hovering; shivering and barefoot, whispering "help"</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Rose blights attack party</li> </ul>KennelsDream: Garrett retires here. He'll tell the story of a dog attacking Lord Thornhill, and being ordered to put all the dogs down. Instead he released them into the village, hoping they’d be adopted. He takes off boots and socks to rub his feet. The socks are stained pink, which confuses him.Nightmare: Kennels remain in Nightmare until all PCs exit. They're flooded by 18 inches of pale pink water, filled with rose petals. Garrett's skeletal body hangs from a noose; shivering, complaining about being cold. His feet are underwater, perfectly preserved. Six blight hounds, large dogs corrupted by blight, attack the PCs.If Garrett’s body is given his socks (which dream Garrett does not part with willingly), it thanks the PCs and tells them the full story: Rosewick is haunted by the night hag Damascena, responsible for sowing the villagers’ nightmares. The loosed dogs tore out her prized rose bushes. Incensed, the hag cursed him, Lord Thornhill, and the entire manor.If asked about the grandfather clock, Garrett says the only clock in the manor is in the master’s chambers.ClimaxThe nightmare remains permanent, and multiple rose blights attack the PCs, The manor itself seems to intent on stopping them, the overgrown vines grasping at them. The master’s chamber door is still locked, but easily battered down. On the master’s bed is Damascena, in her true form, straddling the sleeping Lord Thornhill, pouring ladybugs into his mouth. The grandfather clock chimes, and Thornhill briefly stirs. Damascena protects herself, but flees if endangered. Thornhill momentarily awakens before rapidly aging, dying and wasting away. The nightmare fades, leaving only an ancient, weathered house.</blockquote>

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