rythm_rampage
First Post
Hi,
I'm about to run a short series of horror episodes losely tied together soon. All characters have some interest in paranormal activity and one of them is a paranormal investigator. There will be a Rave party close to Gotha, a university city located in the center of germany. From an unknown source our investigator will be paid to investigate a haunted house which as luck has it is located in the same area the rave will be. The PCs are all friends and have some kind of connection to the university so they will be doing all this stuff (partying + investigating) together.
The house is a writer's mansion and through investigation they can find out that there was an unsolved case of murder/theft/whatever in which two women (author's wife, unknown person) and he himself (?) died. The house is haunted by his wife (Doomhag from Menace Manual) and she contacts random investigators to solve the unsolved case. In the house she contacts the PCs through a witchcode (the group has a linguist, so decrypting it will be no problem) and tries to help them solve the case (actually this is a DM device if my players get stuck). From the outside the house looks just old and worn down but once entered by the right persons it is in the state it was when the murder happened. There is a strong smell of perfume in the air and two empty wine glasses on a small table in front of the TV. When the PCs enter the house they will be met by a woman in their mid 30s (the wive) who tells them to "follow me, he's in the wintergarden". (There will be a dedicated hero with the maniac template waiting for them later, who reflects the murdering husband) She will lead them to the kitchen and in a momnets thought she just vanishes. Has she really been there ?
The PCs will hear random footsteps upstairs and maybe shouting once in a while, these are all connected to the evening's happenings. When they investigate the house they will find the study, kitchen, bathroom, fitnessroom, living room, wintergarden, bedroom, fitnessroom and partyroom empty but in a stat that you can tell that somebody has been there recently.
There are several clues in the house on what happened, I will throw them in randomly if the need arises together with some other events.
What really happened: The writer had, of course, a girlfriend, though he was married. One evening she was over at his house and they spend a "nice evening" if you know what I'm talking about.
The wive came home early and caught them. A hefty argument concluded and eventually they started fighting. The writer (Andreas Braun by the way) killed his wive with a nasty garden tool and when his girl wanted to call the police he decided to kill her, too. The wive haunted the house since the day the case was closed and tried to get private investigators into the house (none of them ever came back). If they solve the case the curse is broken, because the only thing the witch wants is somebody to know (and maybe tell) the truth.
What I'm still thinking about is wether the husband is still alive (maybe he lied to the police) and if so, what impact does it have on the game ? Since I want to run mystery/horror I don't want to include much of policework but focus on situations/locations.
Do you think I should let the writer live and if so, should the PCs have to imprison him, make him say the truth ?
I'm sure I forgot tons of important details but feel free to ask if something is unclear.
I'm about to run a short series of horror episodes losely tied together soon. All characters have some interest in paranormal activity and one of them is a paranormal investigator. There will be a Rave party close to Gotha, a university city located in the center of germany. From an unknown source our investigator will be paid to investigate a haunted house which as luck has it is located in the same area the rave will be. The PCs are all friends and have some kind of connection to the university so they will be doing all this stuff (partying + investigating) together.
The house is a writer's mansion and through investigation they can find out that there was an unsolved case of murder/theft/whatever in which two women (author's wife, unknown person) and he himself (?) died. The house is haunted by his wife (Doomhag from Menace Manual) and she contacts random investigators to solve the unsolved case. In the house she contacts the PCs through a witchcode (the group has a linguist, so decrypting it will be no problem) and tries to help them solve the case (actually this is a DM device if my players get stuck). From the outside the house looks just old and worn down but once entered by the right persons it is in the state it was when the murder happened. There is a strong smell of perfume in the air and two empty wine glasses on a small table in front of the TV. When the PCs enter the house they will be met by a woman in their mid 30s (the wive) who tells them to "follow me, he's in the wintergarden". (There will be a dedicated hero with the maniac template waiting for them later, who reflects the murdering husband) She will lead them to the kitchen and in a momnets thought she just vanishes. Has she really been there ?
The PCs will hear random footsteps upstairs and maybe shouting once in a while, these are all connected to the evening's happenings. When they investigate the house they will find the study, kitchen, bathroom, fitnessroom, living room, wintergarden, bedroom, fitnessroom and partyroom empty but in a stat that you can tell that somebody has been there recently.
There are several clues in the house on what happened, I will throw them in randomly if the need arises together with some other events.
What really happened: The writer had, of course, a girlfriend, though he was married. One evening she was over at his house and they spend a "nice evening" if you know what I'm talking about.

What I'm still thinking about is wether the husband is still alive (maybe he lied to the police) and if so, what impact does it have on the game ? Since I want to run mystery/horror I don't want to include much of policework but focus on situations/locations.
Do you think I should let the writer live and if so, should the PCs have to imprison him, make him say the truth ?
I'm sure I forgot tons of important details but feel free to ask if something is unclear.