Scary House Plot Idea (spoiler for my group, don't read)

[rythm_rampage]

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.

 

[buzz]

I would spend less time plotting out scenes that you seem to be certain will happen (the players will do this, will hear that, etc.) and instead come up with a basic situation and give the PCs a really good reason to be invovled. Also, why make getting into the adventure dependent on skill checks, e.g., the "witchcode" you "know" the PCs will be able to decipher? And what does the rave have to do with any of this? Just get them involved from the start as part of the advneture set-up. Don't waste time having the players figure out what the adventure is. TELL THEM.

How about, instead, you have the PCs all attend a rave or party that just happens to be held at the house (or whatever kind of building) where the doomhag lives? The doomhag then starts picking off partygoers one by one, as well as makes sure no one can leave. The goal of the PCs is then to figure out what's going on, avoid getting killed, figure out what the doomhag wants and/or how to destroy her. Straight-up Buffy type stuff.

You can come up with a backstory for the doomhag, and come up with a "plot" that will happen only if the PCs do nothing. Turn your players loose on this situation and see what happens. If you have them create characters that have relationships to the backstory/doomhag, as well as relationships to each other, it'll be even better.

 

[rythm_rampage]

You think I'm relying on what will happen ? Then you got me wrong.
I sent the PCs to the house with one of them having the task to investigate paranormal activity. Ok, I have a background story about what happened and who was invovled. When entering the house the witch will through magical means seal it so they can't leave and they have to figure out what's going on. Depending on their actions I toss in hints (witchcode, visions and the like). Sure they can try and kill the witch, the curse will be broken then but it depends on them. They could as well just die in there and vanish forever.

And I'm not going to have a skillcheck decide if they get into the adventure. They get the task from the Hag itself and it's up to them if they do any investigation before they do the quest.

I want to keep this adventure as it is, I just want to know if you think I should let it be over when they leave the house alive ?

 

[buzz]

I sent the PCs to the house with one of them having the task to investigate paranormal activity.

Okay. Why are the rest of them going? Are they investigators as well?

Ok, I have a background story about what happened and who was invovled. When entering the house the witch will through magical means seal it so they can't leave and they have to figure out what's going on. Depending on their actions I toss in hints (witchcode, visions and the like). Sure they can try and kill the witch, the curse will be broken then but it depends on them. They could as well just die in there and vanish forever.

OKay. If the players do nothing, what will happen?

And I'm not going to have a skillcheck decide if they get into the adventure. They get the task from the Hag itself and it's up to them if they do any investigation before they do the quest.

There's a quest? What is it?

I want to keep this adventure as it is, I just want to know if you think I should let it be over when they leave the house alive ?

What do you think will be more fun? Assuming they get out alive, what's left for them to do?

 

[rythm_rampage]

The rest of the group joins in because they are all interested in paranormal activity. We will create characters on Thursday and I asked for a background that makes the characters friends. We are not running a campaign here so we don't need a very detailed background.

If the players do nothing there will be ghostly appearences that replay scenes from the evening. The woman that welcomes them for example is the wive. If they don't find the clues these appearences will become stronger, later including the husband, who walks around the house and tries to stab the characters. If they kill the husband though the curse is not broken, because he is just a manifestation that returns after being killed.

The quest is to survive the house and to find out what happened. The investiagtion I was talking about was not inside the house but before they enter it.

Well that's why I ask, what do you think ? Right now I think it would be more fun to have them be able to arrest the husband.

 

[rythm_rampage]

Ok I continued designing the background.
Here's what I did: I wrote a letter from a person who is interested in buying the haunted house. I will hand out the letter to the investigator in the group. Forget that thing about the witch getting investigators to solve the unsolved case.
The PCs are free in the way they handle the situation. They can try to find the hints I placed or try and kill the witch or maybe come up with a different solution I'm not aware of right now.
I try to keep everything as open as possible and rely on player input. If they're stuck the things I noted above will happen.

I hope everything works out nicely. You know I noticed lately that there are some major flaws in my DMing style and I try to fix them. One of my biggest problems is railroading and to complex situations.

 

[buzz]

Here's what I did: I wrote a letter from a person who is interested in buying the haunted house. I will hand out the letter to the investigator in the group. Forget that thing about the witch getting investigators to solve the unsolved case.

What does this letter accomplish?

What if one of the PCs was the person interested in buying the house? For whatever reason, they really want the house, but are weirded out by strange happenings. They then get their paranormal investigator pal to come with them to check the place out... and the investiagtor may already have had his eye on the place due to suspicious activity in the surrounding area, and now has a great excuse to get inside. Maybe then they find someone (another PC) who was related to the dead wife or mistress that is investigating the house themselves, being unsatified with the job the police did (if there was an investigation), or just plain trying to find their lost relative.

That's about four PCs with a dedicated interest in the mystery: the couple who want to buy the house (maybe for some secret reason; maybe they're really cultists or something), the investigator who's looking for a big case (maybe to establish his rep), and the bereaved relative who needs answers.

 

[rythm_rampage]

That's a great idea ! One of our Players wanted to be a half-assed superstar with a lot of money. Since the house is welldesigned and not expensive he could be the one who wants to buy the house.
The girl without ID could be a lost friend of two of the PCs and the investigator, well no explaination needed.

I'll write that down and check on my players at character creation

The letter was a quest hook for the investigator and his friends.