Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sejs" data-source="post: 1605395" data-attributes="member: 4910">Personally, I would imagine the demon would try to keep the home looking as normal as possible, as to throw off potential prey.  Spiders being trap-and-ambush predators, after all, demonic or not.  The manor should serve to lull victims into complacancy by making them think nothing is wrong.One thing I would definitly do, however - no servants.  No family.  Frankly, noone should live in the house except the guard captain.  If the PCs look, they'll notice that while things arn't falling into disrepair (as the demon is cautious to maintain the appearance of normalilty) big sections of the house don't seem like they've seen any use in a -long- time.  Things like dust in unused rooms because the demon doesn't tidy that way - he'll fix a broken doorknob, or a cracked tile, or a leaky tap, but he wouldn't dust, or beat out the rugs.  Water basins in the privvy long since run dry.  Beds looking like they've never been slept in.  Chamber pots showing no signs of use.  All the dishes, pots and cookware clean and put away where it should be.  The food stored would probably be fresh - when it starts to go, the demon throws it out and buys new food... which sits there in storage until it starts to go, and gets replaced again.  That and buying food and hauling away garbage would all add to the illusion of normalcy.Unlike many other parts of the house, the basement/cellar should look like it sees regular traffic.  It's still as intact as anywhere else, but there's regular traffic down here.  And regular cleaning.  While dust on the lintel doesn't concern the demon, bloodstains on the flagstones require attention.  Maybe store the bones and the like in one of those big wine casks; if anyone asks just say it's empty - I mean nothing comes out of the tap after all *grin*Other things I would do - I would have the guard captain have had a family at one point.  Namely before his possession.  They were the first to go.  The demon will have some story about how his wife got very sick and died... there was just nothing any of the healers or priests could do to save her.  The children didn't last much longer than their mother once the sickness took them as well.  The house would have signs of other people once living there - dressers and closets of women's clothing.  A children's bedroom, and play room.  His wife's dressing table, with her jewelry, combs and such still on it.  Some canny sense motive work may reveal that the captain's voice doesn't betray nearly any emotion when he talks about his dead family, because the demon is bluffing.  It doesn't feel any remorse or loss, so he's got to fake it.  If pressed on the matter he can just play it off saying that he doesn't like to talk about it.Things like that.  The appearance of harmlessness.  That house is a web.Hope this can be of some use.^_^</blockquote>

Verification