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| Image by David Mark, downloaded from Pixabay |
And by the same logic I don't need a reason to roll a random selection of mansion rooms from the list provided at this post on the Unlawful games blog and think up a trap, monster or quirky feature to go inside it. I just can.
A room for polishing the ludicrous amount of silverware a stately home needs to keep it running. Cutlery, tea sets, serving ware, carving knives, picture frames, knick-knacks by the score.
There may be something about the polish, because the cleaned silverware in this room is unusually lively. A clucking teapot is chasing the squeaking pieces of a cruet set around the floor. A dissatisfied cameo frame is looking for something, anything, to fill its centre. Forks are flinging themselves with careless abandon. Stats as Rat swarm.
Each round the characters spend in this room they can grab items worth 3d10 SP. They also roll on the hazard table:
1 - 3: nothing. Stash that loot safely away. It goes dormant when removed from the room.
4: Save vs Paralysis or trip on a tea tray and go prone, dropping everything you picked up this round.
5: Save vs Devices or get bludgeoned by a flying sugar bowl for 1d4 HP. Drop this round's loot.
6: Save vs Breath or be blasted by hot water from a leaping kettle. Take 1d6 HP burn damage or drop all of your scalding hot loot.
2. Courtyard
An enclosed outdoor area with gravel paths, low hedges and a set of white-painted wrought iron furniture for taking tea on fine afternoons.
There's also a suicide tree intent on collecting more suicides. It manifests nooses and helpfully drapes them around the neck of anyone unwary who walks the path below its branches, then yanks upwards.
Stats as Treant. Cannot animate other trees. Automatically surprises. First character successfully attacked must save vs Paralysis to get free, 1d4 HP choking damage on each failure.
3. Crypt
The family mausoleum, where earlier generations have been interred one by one as their members succumbed to age, illness, quarrels or bad oysters.
Here you'll find ancient undead being lectured by even more ancient undead about their manners, music, laziness and lack of respect for their elders. The ancient undead react with the kind of embarrassment teenagers would display when being scolded like children in front of strangers. No-one's interested in eating, cursing or draining the vitality from the characters. The ancient undead would like them to go away before they die a second time of humiliation, the more ancient undead want them to agree that children are selfish and stupid and exist only to break their mother's heart.
Don't be fooled though, they'll attack en masse if the characters threaten any of them. Stats as Zombie.
4. Tack room
Storage for saddles, bridles, stirrups and other implements for operating a horse.
These saddles have been cooped up too long. They want to be thrown over something and taken for a ride. The characters will do nicely. If they fail to fight off the riding equipment's grapple attack, they'll be saddled, tied up with bridles and forced to gallop about on all fours until it's had enough fun and who knows how long that will take.
Stats as Giant centipede (no poison). Characters are automatically saddled on a hit. Save vs Device to get free.
5. Porch
There's a swing seat creaking gently in the wind. It looks so comfortable... so inviting. If anyone sits, the seat launches them towards the treeline.
Anyone who hears it creaking must save vs Magic or be charmed into sitting. The first character to sit gets launched and takes 2d6 fall damage.
6. Guest house
A self-contained smaller house, for guests. Smaller guests. They're all halflings. They may not have been halflings before they slept here.
Anyone who sleeps in this building becomes a halfling while asleep. No save. Each day following they get a save vs Magic and on success transform back again during their next period of sleep.
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