Vampire castle set pieces

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I am thinking of running a Halloween Shadowdark game mostly relying on wandering monster tables as the player characters stumble around a vampire's castle they've taken refuge in to avoid the obligatory thunderstorm and flash floods.

But it can't entirely work off of random generation. There are classic vampire story and Gothic story set pieces that have a set physical location. There needs to be one or more rooms full of coffins. There's a big pipe organ somewhere. There are almost certainly beautiful vampiric brides in their nightgowns next to windows with blowing diaphanous curtains.

What bits feel essential to you for a Gothic vampire adventure?

 

[JohnF]

I'm also already thinking about either a hard-leaning-into-the-clichés haunted house or a gothic Count's castle with Shadowdark for this upcoming Halloween.

The players are loving the torch timers and random encounter rolls right now in our tropical treasure hunt in the jungles of the Flanaess. So, I wouldn't want to lose that later by going too Gothic - especially the treasure part. But I will definitely be seeding stories about Kelsey's Lord Hedron Antioch the explorer, here, moving his lore from Tal-Yool to Hepmonaland.

With either haunted house or vampire's castle, I will definitely have a wine cellar and some amount of catacombs for crawling.

Probably need a dusty library of some sort, too. Maybe a séance? Those are fun.

But for full-on gothic vampire, what's essential: a grand dining table scene, mysterious "brides", strange dreams (if they ever get a chance to sleep), a moonlit moment outside when nature is behaving badly (wolves, bats, horses in the carriage house, whatever), a moonlit moment inside when architecture is behaving badly, and something terrible involving a four-poster bed.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Your mention of the torches made me think that candelabras full of candles that mysteriously only burn for one hour exactly seem like a good thing to sprinkle around the castle.

A dusty library is also a great call.

If you haven't seen it, The Monster Overhaul OSR bestiary has a great four-page spread on vampires with lots of random generators.

 

[Reynard]

A torture chamber, perhaps? Or a laboratory if your vampire is a also a bit of a Frankenstein.

I would be inclined to include a very angry, very dangerous werewolf in a cage that the PCs can risk releasing to "help" even though it is as likely to eat them.

 

[JohnF]

A torture chamber, perhaps?

Yes! And definitely not far from the wine cellar.

Your mention of the torches made me think that candelabras full of candles that mysteriously only burn for one hour exactly seem like a good thing to sprinkle around the castle.

Swap out torches with candelabras! Perfect!

If you haven't seen it, The Monster Overhaul OSR bestiary has a great four-page spread on vampires with lots of random generators.

I think I need that. Been eyeing that book all summer...

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

Maybe these are more haunted house tropes than Vampire but:

A swinging bookcase where someone goes through and now they're separated from the group.

A graveyard in the back with a creepy tool shed (with a secret tunnel that leads to the house)

An old Grandfather Clock that doesn't work with a secret passage behind it that opens when you put in the correct time.

Wolves on the outskirts of the castle.

A babbling brook with a covered bridge some ways away that that the vampire can't cross.

 

[MGibster]

But it can't entirely work off of random generation. There are classic vampire story and Gothic story set pieces that have a set physical location. There needs to be one or more rooms full of coffins. There's a big pipe organ somewhere. There are almost certainly beautiful vampiric brides in their nightgowns next to windows with blowing diaphanous curtains.

What bits feel essential to you for a Gothic vampire adventure?

You're describing Castle Ravenloft! Seriously, if you don't have it already, download the original I-6 module and steal from it with ruthless abandon. And maybe watch some Hammer Horror vampire movies. But here are some things to add.

1. A nice family crypt somewhere on the grounds or below the castle.
2. An innocent village girl with an impressive décolletage.
3. Creepy castle servants of ambiguous moral stature.
4. You mentioned the organ, but make sure you have a song to play. Toccata and Fuge in D Minor is cliché, but it's perfect.
5. Encounters with victims of the dastardly vampire, unwilling thralls, or those deliberately in cahoots.
6. Ingrid Pitt.
   

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I ran I6 a bunch of times back in the day. Looking to do something in this space that's not Castle Ravenloft, which is often too jokey for my tastes.