```metadata
title: 'ADVENTURE: A Touch of Black P3, The Haunting of House Trellu'
description: ''
tags: ''
systems:
- 5e
renderer: V3
theme: 5ePHB
```
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{{wide
# Condemned
### A Touch of Black: Chapter 2
The player’s employer finally gets the keys to her Aunt’s estate and she plans to visit it as quickly as possible. But those plans come to a grinding halt. Her Aunt was a hoarder, and the premises are packed tight with boxes full of who knows whats its. But that isn’t all. There is an angry spirit living here, one that has wicked plans and inclinations. Will the players fall prey to its maliciousness? Or will they stop the haunting once and for all. Either way, this is Deleran’s Crossing and there is always a dark bend to the story.
}}
{{toc,
- ## TABLE OF CONTENTS
- #### [{{ SETUP INFORMATION}}{{ 2}}](#p3)
- #### [{{ ACT 1: Unlocked}}{{ 5}}](#p6)
- #### [{{ ACT 2: Occupants}}{{ 7}}](#p8)
- #### [{{ ACT 3: Secrets}}{{ 9}}](#p10)
- #### [{{ ACT 4: Altar}}{{ 11}}](#p12)
- #### [{{ CLOSING}}{{ 12}}](#p13)
- #### [{{ OTHER CHAPTER LINKS}}{{ 14}}](#p15)
- #### [{{ THE APPENDECIES}}{{ 15}}](#p16)
- #### [{{ MAPS}}{{ 21}}](#p22)
}}
### ADVENTURE MECHANICS
- This Adventure is Part 3 of Many
- Target Party and Level: 4 level 2 players
- Expected Playtime: 3+ Hours
- Tone: Urban Adventure Horror
- Writing Style: Short Shot
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### STYLE "SHORT SHOT"
A Short Shot is designed to give the DM a solid concept of what is going on inside of the adventure not just ideas. The Story will be well flushed out, including both Area and NPC descriptions, but will be more conceptual regarding things like encounters, rewards, and hazards. The Short Shot gives everything most DMs require to lead a fantastic game.
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### PLAYING A.O.G. ADVENTURES
If you’ve never played an AOG adventure, I thought it wise to give you some notes on how I write them. Cuz I do some stuff non traditional like. I’ll put those notes down in the Appendices.
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### ABOUT HORROR GAMES
Running an effective Horror game can be a real trick and takes a different set of skills than the average DM employs from game to game. It is my favorite style of game to run, and has been for thirty years, so I have some suggestions for you. You can find those in the Appendices.
## What is The AOG?
It started 40ish years ago. I still remember the day my cousin brought out this thin blue book with a white sketched dragon on its cover and a pile of strange dice. He told eight year old me that we were going to play a game where I could be anything I wanted (as long as it was an elf, dwarf, human, or halfling). I immediately developed that love of bringing people along on journey after journey, and through all the moments and four decades of playing, the trip has never lost its wonder.
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Now, I think we are best described as a network of Table Top Role Playing Gamers (Mostly D&D). I had been sharing my work online for some time but decided in April 2021 to open a Patreon and Discord. Honestly, I knew I was behind the Patreon Train, but it made sense as a platform. I’m not interested in money, but I am interested in sharing with and helping others in the hobby. So I run the site 100% free of any paywalls. More like a Digital Magazine than a Patreon.
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Almost a year in and we’ve grown quite a bit. We host One Shots through the Discord. I do a lot of requests for our supporters and some commission work. I coach many of our subscribers regularly on DMing and fantasy cartography. My son helps write our “Year One” series which are adventures designed for entry level DMs and players, and we use our content to run an after school Jr High Group. We even support a podcast my youngest son and I lend our voices to. It has been a busy year.
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### Contact us
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[PATREON](https://www.patreon.com/amplusordogames) Amplus Ordo Games
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[DISCORD](https://discord.gg/GDp7a3CFtA) Join the Network
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[REDDIT](https://www.reddit.com/r/amplusordogames/) Our Sub in Reddit (Not super active)
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### ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- Wizards of the Coast and D&D for the amazing job they do providing RPG Content for us to use!
- Original Story Written by Amplus Ordo Games
- All Maps and Handouts were done by Amplus Ordo Games using Inkarnate
- PDF Formatting done using The Homebrewery
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## SETUP INFORMATION
### Town of Tragedies Guidebook
This adventure is part 3 of many to come, and will put your players on a collision course with a Elder Being. It is designed to be used in conjunction with the Town of Tragedies Guide, which can be found below. The Guide isn’t necessary, but I will reference it often.
[A TOWN OF TRAGEDIES GUIDE](https://www.patreon.com/posts/62746174)
### Story Flow
This adventure picks up the morning after Condemned. The Players, in the employ of Lady Persophone of House Trellu, are helping her restore her Aunt’s estate, as she is looking to stake a claim in the city. As she attempted to claim her new property, she found that the local political forces have already begun to move against her. Her Aunt’s home had been wrongfully condemned. This sent the players on quite the runaround in order to have the Condemnation lifted from the property.
This adventure opens with Lady Persephone, one again heading to the Trellu Estate here in Deleran’s Crossing. However, this time with keys in hand and permission to enter, she will not be deterred. But all is not well in the house. Apparently Aunt Zanetta was afflicted with some madness that compelled her to gather and hoard random goods that have no real value. Old notices, Meaningless letters, Pages from books, Blankets, Table Cloths, Old Shoes, Moth Worn dresses, Chicken Bones, Dirty Napkins, I’m sure you get the picture. The house has not been taken care of. The yard is overgrown and the exterior is showing its age. The interior has fared far worse. The entirety of the home looks as if it has been in an ongoing battle between the hundreds of storage crates and the decore. At this point the decore is losing.
But obviously there hasn’t been a fight between the storage and the furniture. There are however a pair of angry poltergeists carrying on a raging battle. The spirits have lived here for decades slowly growing in power and are what drove Aunt Zanetta mad. Although that was not completely intentional on their part. Now that she has passed they have become more agitated and have begun to destroy the house. The players will have to find a way to end the haunting or the property will become unclaimable. The entirety of this adventure will take place exploring the home and the terrible secret it holds.
### Game Opening and Hooks
- **Campaign:** Escort Lady Persephone to the estate, where it becomes obvious the house is haunted.
- **One Shot:** You are looking for a place to hold up after a crime. Taking refuge in an abandoned house you are soon confronted by the spirit.
- **One Shot Alternative:** A notice offerings a reward for ridding the a home of an angry spirit.
### Mood
Things hidden away. Moments covered in darkness. The unknowable. Secrets. Mysteries. Echoes of the past long thought forgotten. These are the bedrock of Deleran’s Crossing. Beyond every door. Behind the curtains. Under every stone. Locked in the backroom. Chained in the cellar. Politely veiled evils covered by swollen sad eyes and wryly smiling lips. There are few, if any, places in the city that have corners empty of shadow or closets sans skeletons. Now in most cases these private wickednesses remain buried but not forgotten. In most cases… Those that live here, know there are those rare and wretched moments where what was thought long lost has gently come rapping, so faintly it comes tapping, tapping at the chamber door. It shall be hidden nevermore.
### Madness, Sanity. and Trauma
This adventure and future adventures will deal with Madness and Insanity in the NPCs. For the PCs I am introducing an optional Madness and Sanity Mechanic to the campaign. Thusfar the players have been in uncomfortable situations and faced creepy things, but there is a vast difference between spiders and centipedes and murderous entities from beyond the grave and void. Coming face to face with inexplicable horror does things to the mind, and that should not be lost on your players.
Please keep in mind that all people, in their real lives, have faced or are facing difficult things, many extreme. I for one am not prone to dancing around those issues. I think we are made stronger when we deal with them head on, and happen to think Role Playing can be a great setting to deal with such things. HOWEVER, this is what I prefer… not what everyone else prefers. There is absolutely no excuse or reason to be insensitive or flippant with another human being's emotional state and past trauma. I highly recommend talking about the possibility of sensitive issues before the game and having a way for players to signal the need for a course correction when something begins to cross boundaries.
#### The Mechanic I Use
I use a countdown mechanism. (See Appendices) Basically, every player starts with 100 Sanity Points, which work like HP. Certain events and sights will cause Sanity Damage. Conversely, specific kinds of treatment, rest, and downtime activity restore them, like healing does for HP. Once they lose certain amounts of points they cross Madness Thresholds and begin to suffer from different mental and emotional maladies. At first they aren’t all that bad. Picking up odd superstitions. Strange habits. A smidge of paranoia or a phobia. But the further they dive or the more often the dip into madness the greater the issues. Kleptomania. Real Paranoia. Hallucinations. Even violence against themselves or their friends.
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### Important Locations
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#### Balinovia and the City of Beurnoli
This is Persephone’s home, and worth mentioning as a backdrop to her life. Balinovia has an Italian feel to it, particularly when it comes to social and familial culture. Sadly, it is a land of extreme selfishness, most everyone there is looking out for themselves first and themselves second. And who could blame them? The nation is run by a former Pirate who wrangled the nobility under his thumb with the promises of riches or blood. They chose riches. It likely won’t last though. There are tens of thousands of Orcs from the Blood Axe Dominion building up on their northern borders. Balinovia has managed to keep them at bay thus far, but sooner or later the Orcs will break the lines and sweep through the land.
Buernoli is a good sized city of tens of thousands nestled on the north side of the Thundering River, and is a valuable industrial center, and produces much of the nations arms and armor. The surrounding area is hilly and rich with minerals, though most of the major mining operations are across the river in the mountains. It is covered with small farms producing grain and livestock.
#### The Barony and Deleran’s Crossing
Let us begin with the Nation itself. Once a thriving part of Cetnovia, The Barony was founded long ago after land and title for the Eastern forests of Cetnovia were granted to Deleran Callington as reward for stopping the Kren Empire from using the Throne of Bones to dominate Cetnovia. It was later split off from Cetnovia after some near cataclysmic disasters. Nestled in the rocky foothills and valleys of the Stolregard mountains, the barony is a land with deep old growth forests. It was once a shining jewel in the world but centuries of struggle have dimed its light. The Gray Wood is now filled with dark creatures and foreboding mystery.
The Capital City of Stolregard, Deleran’s Crossing is nestled deep in the foothills of the Stolregard Mountains and surrounded by dark and foreboding Gray Wood forest. Even in these late years and dark times it is still a sight to behold. The city is built upon a cliffed island surrounded by a series of ridges and dells cut out of the land by the Cold Rock River. The ruling seat, Castle Skystone, sits just above the higher points of the city on a plateau along the town’s northern edge. At first glance Deleran’s Crossing appears to be something out of a storybook, upon closer inspection it more closely resembles a Shakespearean tragedy. Being a resident here is difficult, and life is pretty dismal. Despair and hopelessness are as common in town as rats and roaches. Low level violence and petty crime are a daily occurrence. The people do what they have to do to survive both physically and emotionally.
There are also a fair amount of vineyards, though the land isn’t as well suited to growing grapes as the towns to the southwest. It would be extremely picturesque if it weren’t for the pollution. Buernoli itself is filthy, the streets are filled with trash from large amount of industry that dominates the town. The waste has tainted the river and forges have filled the sky with smoke. The wealthy live well outside the city in hillside villas where they can ignore the decay happening in town.
### NPCs
#### Lady Persephone of House Trellu of Balinovia
House Trellu is a powerful Noble family in the nation of Balinovia, the city of Beurnoli specifically. They, like most nobles, maintain their wealth by owning land and collecting rent. The recent passing of a cousin who held both land and title in Deleran’s Crossing has opened some interesting doors for them. Balinovia is at war with the Blood Axe Orcs to the North and their chances of keeping the Orcs at bay are not good. Barnabus Trellu, the current head of House Trellu has sent his eldest daughter Persephone to manage the properties and put them in an order worthy of House Trellu. Persephone is a remarkable woman in many ways. As an infant she contracted the Pox, a disease that ravaged her body leaving her blind, and confined to a wheelchair. She has never let her disabilities define her. Now in her mid twenties, she has a sharp mind and a remarkable insight. She has proven herself time and again in both social situations and business. She has a no nonsense personality, that some consider cold and calculating. She is a fine looking woman of natural beauty, but does not allow Marsilia, her handmaid, to apply makeup or do anything more than a simple braid with her hair. She wears a simple scarlet blindfold to cover her eyes, as their empty pale milky color often puts people off, and not in a way that benefits negotiations.
**Potential Dark Secret:** Persephone does not have many desires. She accepted her life as a child and does not often live with wishes or regrets. She does, however, have one. She wants children herself, but her physicians have informed her that such a thing is impossible. The Pox took that from her as well. Still, the heart wants what the heart wants. Shortly, before her Aunt’s death she received a letter from her. That letter hinted that someone in Deleran’s Crossing had the power to help her conceive a child, maybe even recover fully. Shortly afterward, another letter appeared. This one from an unknown sender. It claimed that they could indeed help Persephone, but blood would have to be spilled, beginning with her Aunt. If she was willing to earn her cure then she should put a black candle in the window and burn the letter at midnight.
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She hasn’t fooled herself into thinking this arrangement isn’t without danger. She knows the force behind it is likely a Fiend or a Hag. No matter, one week later a candle had been purchased, a letter burned, and Auntie Zanetta passed away unexpectedly. Persephone has come to do family business, and with any luck start one of her own.
**DM Notes:** Persephone is a main protagonist for the early adventures in A Town of Tragedy. There should be a certain amount of mystery surrounding her, enough to create suspicion but not so much that the players turn on her. I will be using her Dark Secret as the story builds, but intend for her to be more of a tragic figure as things develop.
#### Marsilia Baralini
When one uses the word Handmaiden it conjures pictures of young maidens in plain dresses attending much older women. In this case the picture is turned about. Marsilia has been many things to Persephone Trellu. Nursemaid, Nanny, Governess, and Handmaiden. She is a middle aged woman of proper bearing. She holds herself as a lady of class, although she has no claim to any titles herself. She has been a loyal servant to the Trellu family since she was a scullery maid in their kitchens as a child. She was married a long time ago, but the same Pox that took Persephone’s eyes and legs stole her husband and two children. She has always looked after Persephone as her own, and has never let that attachment show in an inappropriate way. She is also the young woman’s personal bodyguard, Handmaidens in Balinovia are not simply responsible for dresses and makeup. They are trained combatants responsible for protecting their charges with their very lives.
**Potential Dark Secret:** Marsilia was contacted by the Hag before Aunt Zanetta’s letter arrived. Zanetta had no intention of luring Persephone into a contract with a Hag, but the vile creature was made aware of the situation and decided to take advantage. Afterall, broken hearts are the most fertile grounds for empty promises. Marsilia was promised a second chance with her family. She has made that arrangement. Though the price for her family is steep and may be more than she can bear. Marsilia is to help the Hag lure Persephone into a soul forfeiting deal. Once done, Marsilia and her family will be restored and allowed to carry on with their lives in a demi-plane recreation of Beurnoli before the Pox came.
**DM Notes:** Marsilia is in way over her head, but so far is holding the course. There should be minimal hinting at her Dark Secret until the actual reveal. She is truly torn by this decision, and will still fight desperately to keep Persephone safe. She still thinks of her as a daughter, but she still wants her family back. So the loyalty is one part needing Persephone alive and one part actually caring. Either way Marsilia is not slotted for a happy ending.
## PRE-GAME
A few items of note before the game starts!
### Level 2
This is a level 2 adventure. If they have not leveled please do so. These adventure are designed using Milestone Experience. So if you are counting numbers then thye are likely not there yet. If you are unfamiliar with that concept, it is basically rewarding them equally for achieving certain goals in the three pillars of D&D Adventures - Exploration, Social Interaction, and Combat. I find it give the DM a lot more wiggle room when it comes to Adventure Design and encounter planing. Buy you play how you want!
Either way our Party has gotten a little momentum behind them, and the challenges they face can be a touch more elaborate. They are still new and squishy so care cannot be shelved in the way that a DM can with a higher level party. Once the threat has been identified they may want to take a moment and try and buy some items that will help them against an actual spirit.
### Prior to Act 1
The party should have already completed Chapters One and Two, unless you are using this as a one shot. Otherwise this is a jump right in.
### OPENING CUT-SCENE
{{monster,frame
##### The coffin tumbles off of the cart as the trailer’s axel snaps. Gasps of horror escape from those gathered nearby. Thankfully the lid has been nailed down tightly. The pallbearers hurry forward and lift the casket from the mud. The rain patters off the lid and washes down the hats of the mourners. The mud slides off the sides in clumps, spattering to the ground. The men carry the coffin to the recently dug grave. An auburn haired and bearded man stands some distance away under a large Gray Oak watching. The mourners gather around the grave as the deceased is lowered into the ground. Prayers are said. Tears are shed. Clumps of runny earth are tossed down into the hole in a final remembrance. As they disperse the Auburn haired man comes forward and begins the task of filling the grave in. He hears scrapping coming from the inside of the coffin. After a moment there is a pounding on the lid and a begging voice calling to be let out. Ol’ Blackspade knows better. “That which has died don’t always stay dead, so when fillin a hole, best not to stop shoveling.”
}}
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## ACT 01: Unlocked
In this act the players will simply escort Lady Persophone to her Aunt’s Estate (Again).
### EVENT: Open Doors
##### DESCRIPTION: Crossing the Town
{{monster,frame
##### The previous days rain has left the city slick and heavy with moisture. There is no cleanliness to the after effects of the storm however. In most places a solid day’s rain washes away the grimy buildup of city life, here it is almost as if the grime falls from the sky and bubbles up from the ground. The sun struggles to break through the clinging clouds creating a gloomy damp haze in the air. Puddles with oily reflections cover most of the stones and you can almost watch the mold spread under the eaves of the building. You can certainly smell it. The only relief of the morning is that the dampness has kept the masses at home.
}}
{{monster,frame
##### You make your way to the Estate. The building, constructed in the typical style, is three stories with an attic space, but its conformity is not comforting, instead you have an ominous feel. The entry porch is a yawning mouth and the windows saddened eyes heavy with tears. The entire structure seems to sag under the weight of the world and the sorrow of life. The house is dark, and its presence is unwelcoming, most of the shutters are closed though a few are either missing or hanging crookedly open. As you approach you think you spot a lit candle in the attic window. As you do Persephone gasps ever so slightly. You glance her way to check on her, she shakes her head and waves you on, as you turn back there is no candle.
}}
##### PLAYER CHOICES: Questions
Persephone will redirect them back on task.
{{monster,frame
##### “Trick of the morning light. Let us get inside” Marsilia nods and begins to pull Persephone’s chair up onto the porch. As she does raven launches itself from the rafters of the covered entryway cawing loudly in protest of your presence. A large nest sits in the corner. The raven flutters wildly, screeching in protest, obviously protecting its home.
}}
### EVENT: The Raven
The Raven is a mild skill encounter. It is easily solved if they just want to straight up murder the bird. A little more care can be given to redirect or avoid the bird. There are other entrances to the house. Whatever they do. I highly recommend revisiting how they treated the Raven in adventures afterward. If they were cruel. Have other Ravens watching the players. Calling out at them while they’re sneaking. Things of that nature… If they are kind to the raven, do the opposite. Warn them of danger, bring them gifts… Ravens (In Real Life) are very intelligent, and actually hold grudges against those who harm them, and make friends with those who are kind to them. This event also sort of determines which entrance they use.
##### DESCRIPTION: Persephone and the Key
{{monster,frame
##### Persephone puts the key in the lock, her hand shakes a little. She takes a deep breath and turns the key. The lock is resistant. She turns the key harder but it actually pops out of the lock clattering to the ground. Marsilia picks it up. “My lady, allow me. This is an emotional moment. You good Aunt passed here alone and unattended. None of us question your resolve. In fact, who among us would not struggle here.” The Lady nods. Marsilia places the key in the lock. And with an abrasive click the tumblers turn. She takes the handle and swings the door open. It groans in protest, and rusted hinges, grind against one another.
}}
##### DESCRIPTION: The First Room
{{monster,frame
##### Your senses are immediately accosted by the acrid smell of stale decay and pervasive mildew. It is all at once sour and sweet and it turns your stomach. Beyond the doorway you see piles and piles of crates and boxes surrounded by discarded trash.
(Now, use this pattern to describe the room they have entered and any them move into after that.)
}}
:
##### PLAYER CHOICES:
Probably time to head inside. This begins the exploration of the house and ACT 2. Be prepared for them to take a little diversion here, they may want to go get supplies. They may also attempt to send Persephone away. She will at this time refuse such nonsense. She already knew her Aunt suffered from a mental illness. She is not surprised at the state of the house.
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## HOUSE LOCATIONS
Here are the locations of House Trellu. Most of them I will not bother to explain much. Instead let the entry room description serve as a general feel for the state of the rooms and then build on that as you follow suit. I will note anything important to, or supportive of, the story about each location however. I did not number the maps either. The locations should be very easy to figure out. As they navigate these rooms they will face "Haunting Events" there is a list for these furthe down.
### OUTSIDE
**1) Front Porch**
The Raven lives here
**2) Side Porch**
They’ll have to crawl over thorn covered fences to get to this door.
**3) Rear Patio**
Has two entrances the double doors into the Parlor and the single to the kitchen
The well is a well… they will go down it 95% of the time
### FIRST FLOOR
**1) Entryway**
The Chandelier should crash down as they near the room
**2) Study**
Broken and discarded books and boxes of papers in here. They could maybe find a note or two about people’s secrets in town. You could use the Dark Secrets in the Guide here to do some other side quests.
**3) Dining Room**
The table area should be covered with uneaten meals and rotting food
**4) Parlor Room**
Looks like the carpet caught fire here. Probably came close to burning the house down
**5) Kitchen**
Someone smashed all the disease against the wall
### SECOND FLOOR
**1) Children’s Wing**
This wing was dedicated to the living area for the children
**2) Bedroom 1**
An older Child’s room, probably about 10
**3) Bedroom 2**
A younger child’s room, probably about 6
Good spot for creepy children’s laughter
**4) Sitting Room**
A small common area
**5) Master Chambers**
A private chamber for the Master of the house. The time capsule with the Marriage Certificate is hidden in the fireplace here.
**6) Master Bedroom**
Here they can find some of Aunt Zattana’s ramblings. It is mostly nonsense, but she will hint at the spirits in the house, and how their activity has recently increased. She will also hint at a deep and growing fear of leaving the house. She thinks someone on the outside is trying to kill her. Thing is… someone was… but who?
entry room
**7) Master Bath**
I think piles and pile of hair in this room should be very creepy
**8) Storage**
Random linens and such used for the bedding and other household needs
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### THIRD FLOOR
**1) Guest’s Parlor**
This was once a fine sitting area for entertaining guests staying at the house.
**2) Guest Chamber**
A common but separate sitting are for the guests themselves
**3) Guest Sitting Room**
Private sitting area
**4) Guest Bed Chamber**
The wedding ring is hidden here behind a floor pannel
**5) Guest Bath**
The tub were full of rancid water and dead rats. When they enter it shatters and flows away
**6) Servant’s Common Room**
The servants used to take their meals and spend time with other servants here.
**7) Servant’s Quarters**
A resignation can be found here from Zattana’s last servant. She worked here four years ago. She will state that she is resigning due to Zattana’s growing insanity. She will cite the severe uptick of the hoarding and Zattana’s wandering around the house talking to no one and screaming in the night. They may want to go looking for this woman, Eloise Jourmar, but she died last year of a heart attack.
**8) Attic Stairs**
A little busted up. Good opportunity to drop them through the floor to the stairs below.
### FOURTH FLOOR
**1) Sewing Area**
A large sewing machine can be found here. Along with some cloth. It is strangely intact.
**2) Storage, North**
Boxes
**3) The Black Candle**
This has been left here specifically to torment Persephone. It does not purposefully interact with this chapter of the story. They may visit it and ask questions. This is where they found her Aunt murdered.
**4) Children’s “Secret” Hideaway**
A Macabre dance of toys and puppets play out the fight and deaths of Giania and Brenton
**5) Storage South**
Boxes
**6) The White Dress**
As they get here the dress should flutter on its own a little bit.
### THE CELLAR
**1) Sitting Room**
A lower Area sitting room where the family would keep cool in the war summer
**2) Lower Bath**
This is where the rats will flee to
**3) Furnace Room**
There is an old furnace that was once used to heat water and warm the whole house in the winter
**4) Storage Room**
Boxes
**5) Keg Room**
Kegs of beer and barrels of cheaper wine were stored here
**6) Wine Vault**
Expensive bottles of wine were kept in this room. They have all been smashed
**7) Lower Storage Hall**
Boxes
**8) Hidden Skeleton**
Brenton’s body can be found here once the rats have been dealt with
**9) Sewer Drains**
The drains can be unclogged to get the water out of the basement
**10) Black Altar**
The Final confrontation with Giania will happen here
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## ACT 02: Occupants
This Act PIng-Pongs between Haunting Events and the Rat Event. The Hauntings are random-ish, and should be used to increase the tension in the house. They’re not necessarily a firm part of the story , but are necessary to it. The Rat Event is designed to move the players into ACT 3, and therefore is necessary to the story. How long it takes for these events to complete themselves is really up to you. Once they enter the house they will begin to experience mild paranormal activity. Use the list of events I provided or create your own. Just remember these should start out small and grow as they explore the house. You are looking to create a growing atmosphere of hostility. They may want to head to the attic and check out that candle. Subtly slow that progress if you can. Players often bite at any distraction along the way. If they don’t, then escalate the start of the Rat Events to get them back downstairs. If they don’t take the bait that’s ok. Just keep working the story. They’ll do things backwards but that’s fine.
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#### DM NOTE: Leaving the house and rests
It is very likely that once real danger starts they will want to get Persephone out of there. If they forget about her Marisilia will demand the Lady return to the inn while the PCs deal with the problems. There is also a solid chance they’ll want to go back at some point themselves and take a rest. If they try to rest in the house they will be unable to, the ghosts will keep them from doing so. Away from the house they can get one rest in. After that they will have nightmares of the house that keep them from sleeping.
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#### DM NOTE: Hoarding and Sanity
As has been hinted at, Aunt Zattana was driven mad by the spirits in the house. More accurately, the entity entangled with the spirits. I’ll get more into that later and in adventures to come, but for now, suffice to say it’s a bit of a trash monster. The players will be confronted with the need to make Easy to Medium Sanity saving throws while in the house. These are typically Wisdom and Intellect Saves, your choice, I vary between them. Failure will cause them to start to become interested in Hoarding style behaviors. They will begin to see value in the trash. If this gets extreme enough they’ll be driven to protect the garbage, and try to haul a lot of it around with them. This may cause them to become encumbered, not just by weight but by the difficulty of managing what they’re attempting to hold on to.
### EVENT: Aunt Zattana
Now that they’ve gotten a glimpse inside. Persephone will take a moment and divulge a little information about her Aunt. She will be distraught but keep it together.
{{monster,frame
##### “I feel the need to explain some things to you. It is already quite obvious that my Aunt had some stability issues. I had never noticed her “excentricities” on her visits when I was a child. She was simply my father’s fun sister who played with me and told me stories about fairies and far off places beyond the Astral Sea. As I grew, it became clear that these stories weren’t simply children’s tales, but things she believed. We all know the Fey are real and can be troublesome, but there was never any evidence of the Fey. She was simply a strange old woman who believed in magical little things. Her visits became less frequent and her oddities more extreme. Then the visits stopped. Father went to see her once. His report was dismal. She wouldn’t bathe. She kept trash in her rooms. He’d find her standing outside on her porch at night staring off into the distance. He hird servants to care for her but when that became too much he had her committed to treatment. She was released and never forgave him. They did not speak again. I had prepared myself for her state to be in disarray… but this…” She shakes her head and her normally stoic demeanor cracks a little. “Let us go inside. Steel your constitution. I do not believe this will be in any way pleasant.”
}}
### EVENTS: Rats & Hauntings
Once inside, they’ll to spot some rats, unsurprising given the state of the home. The rats serve a story purpose. We will weave them in and out of their search of the house and the haunting events in order to help build tension. First we will meet them, then murder them, then panic them, then get attacked by them. The Descriptions need to be read in conjunction with the room they enter. At some point it will become clear that the house is dangerous. When that happens, if she hasn’t already, Persephone will return to the Inn and ask the players to report back when the house is safe.
##### DESCRIPTION: P1, Rats Don’t Care
{{monster,frame
##### You enter the house. Your feet stick to the floor. The odor does not subside. Two plump rats perch up and look at you with mostly animalistic uninterest. They do however trundle down off the crates and scurry out of the room. While not fleeing you, they obviously have no interest in a conflict.
}}
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### SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Here is a fairly dirrect schedule of events for the house. This isn't a room by room type thing. These events need to feel organic to feel right.
- Rats 1: Rat’s Don’t Care
- Haunting: Minor
- Haunting: Minor
- Rats 2: Dead Rats
- Haunting: Minor
- Haunting: Major
- Rats 3: Fleeing Rats
- Haunting: Major
- Rats 4: Rats in the Cellar
- Haunting: Extreme
- Rats 5: Rodent Swarms
### HELP: What is in the House?
They will certainly want to look into some of the containers. There will be little of significant value in here. Still, I like rewarding my players good rolls. So if they go looking and roll well, give them something appropriate. Things from the list that aren’t trash? Or maybe something really odd for a side quest later?
- New and Old Clothes and Accessories
- Old Makeup and Worthless Fashion Baubles
- Old Books, Scrolls, and Ledgers
- Piles of Parchment Most With Strange Writing
- Public Notices Taken Off Local Boards
- Bizzare Arts and Crafts, Some Disturbing
- Broken Antiques and Worthless Collectibles
- Old Furniture, Blankets, Mattresses
- Animal and Insects Nests
- Trash and Human Waste
- Worthless Containers of All Sorts
- Uneaten and Rotten Food
- Old Vials of Liquid. Medicine? Poison? Potions?
### HELP: State of the House?
The house is in awful shape inside. The exterior looked bad but not unsalvageable, but inside… It really was worthy of being condemned. Here are a few things typically wrong with a Hoarder’s House.
- Structural Problems: Cracking Beams, Crumbling Stonework, Broken Stairs, Rotten Walls & Floors... Basically anything in the houseis likely in bad shape.
- Molds and Mildew, some of them possibly dangerous.
- Dead Animals are often found, sometimes larger ones like dogs and cats
- Major Problems with the Fixtures - Plumbing and Heating in this case.
- Powerful Odors that completely permeate areas. Again possibly dangerous.
:::
### HELP: Haunting Events
I have divided the Haunting Events into three categories. Minor, Major, and Extreme. They are a little fluid and you can move them around making them more or less extreme if you wish. These are just general categories designed to give you ideas.
**MINOR HAUNTING EVENTS**
- The House Creaks Unexpectedly.
- A Door Nearby Opens/Closes
- Breeze Blows Lightly
- Something Falls Off A Shelf
- Shadows Move Unexpectedly
- Temperature Change
**MAJOR HAUNTING EVENTS**
- Footsteps Nearby
- Door Slams
- Whispering Voices
- Spot Something In Your Peripheral
- Furniture Rearranging When Not Present
- Overwhelming Fear
- Writing appeaing on the dust or on walls
**EXTREME HAUNTING EVENTS**
- Clearly Moving/Floating Object
- Blood Leaking From Object
- Thrown/Breaking Objects
- Apparition Of A Spirit
- Very Brief Possession
- Cries for Help
- Demands to Leave
### EVENT: Rats
As mentioned before, this event is designed to be scattered between Hauntings. Refer to the Schedule.
##### DESCRIPTION: P2, Dead Rats
{{monster,frame
##### Entering into this next room you immediately spot two rats. They are laying just past the entrance on their backs, legs up, tails out. They are dead. Freshly dead by the look of it. Blood leaks out of their mouths and eyes. Looking closer, it seems as if their necks have been broken…
}}
##### DESCRIPTION: Fleeing Rats
{{monster,frame
##### You begin to hear scratching sounds coming from all around you. Moments later rats begin to crawl out of cracks and crevases in the walls and floors. They run from boxes and crates. Even someone completely unfamiliar with animals can recognize their screeching as fear. They race across the floor toward the front of the house.
}}
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##### PLAYER CHOICES: Follow the rats
Following the rats will lead to the stair and eventually the cellar. The players may already be in the cellar, if so you'll have to tinker with the next Description. If they do not follow the rats... well... improvise. Basically they'll have to explore the house until they get to the bathroom in the cellar. Which is fine, not quite as dramatic, but fine. You can try and use some Haunting Events to steer them down there.
{{monster,frame
##### DESCRIPTION: Rats in the Cellar
##### The Cellar is flooded several inches deep. The water rank and stagnant. Debris and an oily slime cover the top like a skin. The rats do not care, they continue to flood down the stairs splashing through the filth, swimming into what looks to have been a bathing room. They head for a large hole in the south wall, scrambling over one another, squealing and squeaking hysterically. The wall begins to bulge, the mortar and brick unable to contain the amount of creatures behind it. Then as suddenly as the rats madness began… it stops. They can still be heard scratching and softly squeaking behind the wall, but the sense of panic and fear has subsided. For them. The temperature in the room drops significantly. You can actually see your breath. The hair on your neck stands on end. Whatever was chasing the rats has turned its attention toward you.
}}
##### DM NOTE: Extreme Haunting
Feel free to choose what ever Haunting best fits the narrative. I would highly reccomend adding Moving Objects here. Having objects in the area begin to erratically move around, some of them violently, will certainly set a tone for what is about to happen. An Easy Dexterity Saving Throw should be made to avoid being hit by anything small flying through the air. Minimal Damage should be applied to anyone struck.
##### DESCRIPTION: Rodent Swarm
{{monster,frame
##### You near the wall and the temperature drops further. It feels like a deep winter morning here. Suddenly the wall bursts outwardly and the screaming of rodents hits a frightening fever pitch. They begin swarming over you, their sharp needle-like teeth tearing into your clothing seeking any flesh that may be hidden behind. There is a madness in their eyes and their hair stands on edge...
}}
:
{{monster,frame
##### ...You don’t have time to closely look, but in a secret pocket beyond is a long dead skeleton chained to the wall. As the rats leap off the old bones and crawl out of the eye sockets and mouth the head tips your way. As the rats splash into the water, drops land on the skull cause it to look as if it was crying.
}}
##### ENCOUNTER: Rat Swarms
The Players will be attacked by rat swarms here. Swarms are terrifying if played properly. DOn’t treat them like a big monster that simply gets smaller as they lose HP. They crawl onto players. Under their clothes, into their armor. They bite at their ears and eyes. Attempt to crawl into their mouths. A player attacked by a swarm is covered by the swarm.
## ACT 03: Secrets
It is unlikely they have figured it out yet but there are two spirits haunting this house. After the fight that will begin to make itself known. There are two “ghosts” haunting the manor. Giania the ghost that will appear here and her husband Brenton, who is the Spirit that is attempting to stop her. Giania is the villain of the story but will play the victim. Brenton, however, is the more upset and disturbed of the two. He died trying to stop Giania from sacrificing herself to an entity known as Aberrant Black, an Elder Child (Or Dream Spawn) of an Elder Being. Brenton’s Spirit will go on the offensive once the players commit to helping Giania.
##### DESCRIPTION: The Skeleton
{{monster,frame
##### The water is choked with the blood and fur of hundreds of dead rats. The few remaining creatures have fled into the walls or back up the stairs. You turn your attention to the skeleton in the newly revealed space. The room is small, really only large enough for a person or two to stand in. The skeleton is chained low to the floor, most of it submerged. The clambering of the rats have disjointed most of the bones, but the head still rests on the ribcage just above the waterline. The skeleton has a light frame and long blond hair, most of which has fallen out into the water but some still clings to the skull in thin patches.
}}
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##### PLAYER CHOICES: Examine the Scene
They will likely want to cautiously examine the skeleton here. Almost certainly they will assume it is a woman, it is actually Brenton’s body, placed here by the Order of the Gray Griffon to seal the doorway to Aberrant Black’s sanctuary. If they detect magic here they will see the outline of the Gray Griffon’s seal on the wall. They would recognize this from the letter in Chapter 1. If this is a one shot then it is a warding seal. Once they have examined the corpse move to the Giania Event.
##### PROBABLE CHECK: Medicine
- Easy - Cut marks on the chest and arm bones, killed by a blade
- Medium - Body has been here a long time. Decades? Maybe more.
- Very Hard - The cut marks on his chest are in a pattern. This was likely a ritualistic murder. Toss in a solid religious or arcane roll and you can tell them that they are Eldritch in nature.
- Almost Impossible - The individual is the body of a man, not a woman. Really only a trained Doctor would have any chance at this… but there is always a chance.
### EVENT: Giania
Giania will make contact with the players here and attempt to sway them to her cause. Now they may or may not go for her story. She is the more convincing ghost in the house, but you never know. Either way whatever they decide here will make an enemy of the other ghost.
##### DESCRIPTION: Giania’s Spirit
{{monster,frame
##### The bones are old, that much is clear. There is no flesh left on them and they are deeply discolored. Unfortunately the flooding makes an actual target date of “how long” nearly impossible. You get a better sense of times ravages from the rust build up on the shackles than you do on the body. As you look the skeleton the air becomes warmer and smells of a young woman’s perfume. The eyes slowly light up. A whisper comes from behind you. “Has someone finally come so that I may rest with my beloved?” Forming near the stairs is the ghostly figure of a woman in fine clothes. Her face is hard to make out. One moment she is lovely, and the next tortured and twisted by the ravages of undeath. She floats there as unmenacingly as possible and projects a presence of hope. “Please. Do not leave me trapped here.”
}}
:
##### PLAYER CHOICES: Giania and Brenton
#### Talk to Giania
They’re likely going to want to know more. She will happily lie to them. Any insights against her will face Very Hard DCs (At the easiest) I would also say disadvantage, but doing that will cause the players to become suspicious. Here is an outline of her story… a genuine mix of truth and lies.
- She was forced into an arranged marriage to her husband Brenton. (True)
- He was not of lover of women, but men. Even still, as a duty to their families, they had two children (True)
- He was a cruel and abusive man, to both her and the children. (False, Brenton was kind and nurturing)
- His abuse and neglect caused the death of the children. (False, they died in the Plague of Worms, but she does blame him for the children's death)
- In her sorrow she found a lover. She intended to leave Brenton for him. (True-ish, she became attached to the Host of Aberrant Black, one Jormis Beludonet. Once she found out Jormis’ secret she fully embraced the Elder Child)
- Brenton, afraid of the scandal, attempted to stop her. (True-ish, at the time he suspected she was being led away by a wicked man)
- Brenton ultimately killed her and blamed her lover. (True… when the truth of her relationship came out Brenton and Giania fought. She intended to “wed” the entity, he killed her to prevent it)
- He then killed himself out of shame. (False, Brenton turned to some local monster hunters, The Order of the Gray Griffon, for years they attempted to stop Aberrant Black, eventually they sealed it away beneath this manor. Brenton Sacrificed himself to keep the seal strong enough to contain the creature.)
She will send them to find three things and bring them back here. Her new wedding dress, her new wedding ring, and her original marriage certificate. The dress is in the attic. The ring is in a secret panel along the east wall of the third floor guest bedroom, and the certificate is in a time capsule in the hearth of the master suite’s fireplace. Once they have all three things bring them back here and burn the certificate to re-summon her and begin breaking the binding curse upon her.
#### Fight Her
We all know that this is a possibility. A more unlikely one, since even murder hobos find it hard not to clear up a mystery, but they may attack her thinking that destroying her will end the problem. If they do, she qualifies as a poltergeist, but cannot be killed conventionally, she may be defeated but will reform in short order. If they do this, jump down to Encounter: Weaker Poltergiest, for a rundown of how this should play out. Afterward, Brenton will manifest and attempt to plead his case for their help. If they attack him… well repeat that encounter.
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##### ENCOUNTER: Weaker Poltergeist
Halve the HP of the Poltergeist for this encounter. But don’t let the phrase “weaker” fool you. A poltergeist at their level is no slouch. They have resistance to non magical attacks and most damage types. They are invisible, which grants them advantage on attacks and disadvantage on attacks against them. They can also pick up and throw players or large objects. The players could very quickly find themselves in a nasty situation. Particularly if they find themselves on an upper floor where they could get tossed out a window. This is a taste for the PCs so they have a sense of what to expect later. There is a good chance that after dealing with a spookie they’re going to go looking for gear that will help them deal with a spookie.
#### “Talk” to Brenton
Brenton is far less chatty than Giania, and also qualifies as a poltergeist. He has a more menacing presence, but will attempt to avoid fighting the PCs if they fought Giania. Typically a one word and pointing kind of ghost, he will attempt to lead them to the desired items if they side with him. Giania at that point will attempt to stop them. He will fight with them as they explore the house in this outcome.
### EVENT: The Needs of a Bride
The probability that they side with Giania is high, but essentially the next part plays out the same either way. They’ll have to go explore the house and look for the objects described to them. They shouldn’t have much of an issue finding where they are, but whichever ghost is mad at them is going to be trying to stop them. They should experience several Extreme Haunting events, including objects being hurled at them. Don’t overdo this too much as they’re going to need some HP for the coming conflict. Have the Poltergeist manifest at least once more and try to stop them as well. Repeat the Weak Poltergeist Encounter above.
## ACT 04: Altar
Once they have gathered the objects they will have to head back to the cellar and begin burning the Marriage Certificate. The two Poltergeists will manifest and begin fighting violently. Objects will again begin flying around as the did in the Telekinetic Attack Event. It will be up to you to set a proper tone here.
- If they have sided with Giania then it should carry the feel of freeing someone from a curse, eventhough that is the opposite of what they are unknowingly doing. Well I suppose they are freeing something...
- If they sided with Brenton it should have an extreme exceorcisim feel. Giania is going to let all hell loose to keep them from stopping her "wedding"
:::
##### DESCRIPTION: Return to the Cellar
{{monster,frame
##### You head back into the cellar. There is a tension in the air. An almost tastable mix of anger and excitement. As you step away from the stair a chair comes flying in your direction. Smashing against the wall. The house groans in protest and dust showers down from between boards. Blood begins dripping from the walls, and you can hear screams in the distance. The spirit, it seems, will not be going quietly.
}}
##### SKILL CHALLENGE: Burn the Certificate
It is unlikely they will change course here. But they might. Subtly ask them what they want to do. The opposing Poltergeist will attempt to use the nasty water of the Cellar to put any fires they have out so they will have to get creative here. Once they succeed their guide will tell them to lay the dress and the ring on the bones.
##### DESCRIPTION: Breach of Contract
{{monster,frame
##### The document lights and begins to burn. You place the objects as instructed. Then, from all around you, there is a mournful wailing sound. It is quickly replaced by laughter. The bricks in front of you pulse with a purplish blue light and seem to melt like chocolate in the sunlight. They quickly peel out of their place and disappear into a vortex of magical energy. As the vortex fades both the ring and the dress rise up and fly through the opening left behind. “Come!” A deep and unfamiliar voice calls out to you. “Come and see the old covenant has been broken. Come and witness something new. Come and give yourself to us!”
}}
##### DM NOTE: What Next
Depending on who they sided with this moment plays out a little differently. If they sided with Brenton he will begin fading away, but desperately urge them to rush forward and destroy Giania. She can now be defeated once and for all. If they sided with Giania he will manifest and scream the word “Betrayed” and then fade away. Either way this is the end for Brenton’s ghost. Unless, you’re party is really busted up. You could have him help them in the final fight and then fade. Its a bit more heroic and therefore I don’t like it in this kind of story, but I also don’t like killing my players. At least not often. What ever is happening here they will have to head into that portal toward the Aberrant Altar.
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##### DESCRIPTION: The Aberrant Altar
{{monster,frame
##### You head into the room. Surprisingly there is light. But illumination in this place brings you no comfort. There is a large central covered in strange markings on three sides there are braziers made of bone, each burning with an unnatural purplish fire. Up near the ceiling along the walls, which are also covered in disturbing runes and symbols, are multiple stone carved statues of fiending looking figures. There is a soft and disturbing buzzing sound in the air. It reminds you of cicadas in the summer, and the tones of clerics chanting in temples. It also causes your mind to wander, bringing you visions of pure darkness and stars with no light. On the far side of the room is an altar so strange that you’re mind has trouble comprehending and registering its actual form. It bends and moves unnaturally, almost as if it were made not of stone, but pulsing flesh. Hovering directly in front of the altar is Giania’s Wedding dress. You hear her voice from around you. “You will not keep me from my love!” - roll initiative.
}}
##### ENCOUNTER: Aberrant Bride
Giania now is a fully powered Poltergeist. She has one legendary resistance and can use the dress to perform two legendary actions each round. At the end of a player’s turn she can choke someone with the dress (Restraining Grapple) or use the ring as a projectile weapon, doing 1d4 damage on a hit. She has a lair action similar to the Telekenitic Events earlier. Objects fly around hitting those who fail easy Dex Saves. Damage taken by players from that action flow through the Altar and heal her. This amount should vary depending on how damaged your party is coming into the fight. The Altar can be damaged (AC 10 HP 20) and if destroyed deals half of Giania’s current HP in damage to her. If they move to attack the Altar, a Medium Wisdom Saving Throw must be made or the aberrant nature of it causes them to forget that it is there. They can still spend their turn attacking Giania. This is their first real “boss” fight and it should feel that way.
## CLOSING
##### DESCRIPTION: After the Battle
{{monster,frame
##### A quiet peace settles over the cellar. The dress and the ring drop out of the air into the water covered floor. A fresh breeze blows through the basement...
}}
{{monster,frame
##### ...It doesn’t completely drive away the rank odor, but it does remind you that there are fair places still in the world. Your breathing quiets down a little as the battle adrenaline runs its course. Your knees shake as your racing heart slows, and your mind begins to put together the events that just transpired. Looking around the Altar, the vile statues, and the strange markings on the walls are gone. You’re thankful, but unnerved. How can solid objects and clear writing simply disappear. You look closer… there… on the pillar opposite of the altar, something is written. It looks as if a child took handfuls of black ichor and smeared a message on the wall. It is crude, but easy enough to read. You’re not quite sure what to make of it. Two words. “Aberrant Black”.
}}
##### PLAYER CHOICES: Mission Accomplished
They will likely search the area for clues. They can easily find the message, the dress, and the ring. Otherwise this part of the cellar is empty. Afterward they are most likely to return to Persephone and Marisilia. But may take it upon themselves to go research Aberrant Black. If they ask around at all they’ll get answers similar to a Boogeyman story. Except this is one that the locals believe. Asking about it will make people extremely nervous and some may actually flee their presence. Once they do go back and talk to the Lady, they will be rewarded for undertaking such a difficult task. She will be concerned about whatever Aberrant Black is, but that will be tomorrow’s problem. For today they just need to enjoy a real victory and a long rest.
### Possible Rewards
This fight was a big deal and they should be rewarded.
- Giania's Projectile Ring (Attunement), using a Bonus Action the wearer of this ring can make a Wis Based ranged attack doing 1d4+1 magical bludgeoning damage on a successful hit.
- The Beautiful Dress can be sold for a good amount. It is mildly Magical, it has a permanent form of prestidigitation on it to keep it clean and mended.
- Random Trinkets from the house if they need more
- Lady Persephone will pay them out a sizable bonus, something that the DM feels appropriate. She did not expect such resistance and will compensate them accordingly. She will also pay for any supplies they purchased to succeed here.
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### EVENT: Tea?
They are about to get a visit from a local Noble Woman… this is no ordinary Noble. Madam Beatrix Guivere, is the head of a Family of Monster Hunters known as the Gray Griffins. She is here as a direct result of what happened yesterday. Although there is no way she will be revealing that. Madam Guivere is one of the most powerful NPCs in Deleran’s Crossing and is simply here to gather information.
##### DESCRIPTION: A Wealthy Visitor
{{monster,frame
##### The next morning you escort Lady Persephone back to the house. Not a cloud covers the sky today and the sun shines warmly down on you. The outside of the estate feels cleaner, although the weeds and vines still cover the yard, crawling their way up the worn old home. But there is a flower growing near the walkway that wasn’t there before. A single white Gaillardia. Persephone wheels over and moves to pluck it. She hesitates. “I’ll not take this one. May it be a sign of good fortune and blessings to come.” She is helped inside the home and you begin the long process of sorting her Aunt’s “things.”
}}
{{monster,frame
##### About noon there is a rapping at the door. Marisilia answers it. Standing on the porch is an ancient but strong and proud looking woman. There is a servant standing a few paces behind her. He keeps his head down and avoids eye contact. She is dressed in a black overcoat with an elegant white and gray dress underneath. She has an umbrella tucked under her arm, and a single White Gaillardia in her gloved hand. “Good day to you Lady Trellu. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Madam Beatrix Guivere. I’ve come for tea, and I’ll not take no for an answer. Jaxon” She doesn’t even look at her servant. “Aid Lady Trellu’s servants with whatever it is they’re doing, and try to be helpful.” And with that Madam Beatrix Guivere enters the home.
}}
::
## The End
:
#### The Story Will Continue in "Black Taxes"
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## THANKS FOR PLAYING
I do want to take one last moment to sincerely thank you for playing an AOG Adventure. It means a lot to me as a creator. If you enjoyed it please leave me some comments on wherever you found this adventure. You can support more content like this by subscribing to our Patreon. [AMPLUS ORDO GAMES](https://www.patreon.com/amplusordogames)
::
### DELERAN'S CROSSING ADVENTURES
:
##### [A Town of Tragedy Campaign Guide](https://www.patreon.com/posts/supplement-town-62746174)
:
#### [Warehouse of Woe](https://www.patreon.com/posts/63188187)
:
#### [Condemned](https://www.patreon.com/posts/64929203)
:
#### The Haunting of House Trellu
}}
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# THE APPENDICES
## Notes, Lore, Stories, Handouts, Maps, & Statblocks
:
D&D is a complicated dance of information and imagination. I've often found a lot of trouble seeing someone else's vision in what they have written. Having put out dozens of adventures now, we at the AOG have figured out that what we see isn't always what you see. And while that is absolutely wonderful when it spawns creativity... it is absolutely tragic when it breeds confusion.
You probably won't find sections like these in our "Year One" or "Quick Shot" Adventures, as those are designed to flow without a lot of extra information. But when it comes to our Bigger Releases we'll typically include quite a bit of extra information to bring some clarity to our thinking, to further expand on our vision, and hopefully add fuel to your own.
Some of the things below probably won't change from module to module. Things like the House Rules and How I structure the AOG's Adventures. Other parts like Maps and Statblocks will change every Adventure.
I think that's about all you need to know about this section.
And as always Thank You for playing with us!
}}
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## STORIES
### Aberrant Dealings: Page 1, Share This Post Game with your Players
The Dwarf scrambled down the sewer lines. Blood still dripping from his knife. They were coming. He knew they were coming. He could feel it. He had been sloppy. He had been careless. But she was right there. Right there in front of him. She had seen him. Seen his eyes. Seen him. They couldn’t know. They don’t have the right to know. Only He knows that he should know.
It had been months since Malnik Hardhelm had taken a real meal and it showed. He was gaunt, obviously malnourished. His fingers little more than cracking calloused covered bones. His cheeks pointed and sharp. His tattered filthy clothes hung loose, flapping against impossibly thin arms and legs. His beard was unkept and stringy and his eyes sunken back into his skull. He had been living off bits of waste and the occasional rat. It wasn’t much, but he didn’t need much. He had him. He continued fleeing down the tunnels. Diving into the thick water and pulling himself through a submerged pipe into a cistern beyond.
Less than a year ago Malnik was working as a day laborer in Deleran’s Crossing. He was a skilled worker and brought his Dwarven Pride to each and every task. He was usually the first chosen for work each and every morning, and typically was tasked with the best jobs. Every coin he could spare was given to a landlord and the pile had grown large enough to rent a room and move himself off of the Beggar’s Highway. It had been a rough journey, but the road ahead promised to put him back where he belonged. Back in the Bronze Hall. Malnik had recently been exiled from the Hall. Bad business decisions put him into debt. Further decisions kept him there. When his debtors realized he couldn’t pay back what he owed his goods were confiscated, and he was ejected from the Hall until he paid back what he owed. He owed a lot…
His new apartment was in the Downs, but he needed to keep his costs down so he could save. The Downs are barely a place fit for vermin let alone people. His floor had holes. His walls had holes. His ceiling had holes. But his windows were boarded up. The entire structure felt unstable, and surely was. In fact, just last week one of the other shanty houses nearby collapsed killing two children who were living in the substructure. Still, it was better than living on the Highway. He had been attacked three times by other homeless folk in the two months he lived there. He happily traded up to rats and holes over desperate daggers in the night.
He was awakened one evening as he slept on his mat. Someone was in his apartment. He lay still for a moment pretending to still sleep. If he were to fight an intruder then he didn’t want to risk a knife fight while still half asleep. Slowly he reached under his pillow. His fingers wrapping around the hilt of his shiv. Whoever this was in his room, they were about to feel the pain of a rusty wedge of metal up in the innards. He leapt from his mat throwing his blanket into the center of the room, wielding his knife back and forth looking for someone, anyone, to stab. Dwarves see just fine in the darkness. His eyes scanned his single chamber apartment. The room appeared empty, but Malnik knew it wasn’t. He could feel something lurking nearby.
“Come out! Enough trickery! I know yer here!” He called.
“Shhhhhhh… you’ll wake the neighbors.” Came a voice, almost singing the sounds and words. A slippery tone. An unsettling melody.
“Who are you? Show yourself!”
“Not yet. We’re not friends, but we could be. I’m looking for a partner.”
“Look elsewhere! I’ll have none of this wicked business.”
“Tisk tisk… you had plenty of my kind of business when you caused the accident in the mill to hurt your competition for day jobs. Shame that killed the gnome. I’m sure you only meant to maim her. Truly it was better that way, she only would have starved slowly once she wasn’t able to work… like her children are now.”
“Liar. What do you know about it!?”
“I know plenty, and she knows more.” A shadow slowly slid up onto the wall. Darkness so thick it couldn’t be seen through. It outlined some workers moving logs, one of them a gnome. Then suddenly one of the logs toppled over and landed square on the gnome. Most of the shadow pantomime faded, but from where that log came… Malnik’s silhouette was cast on the wall, but no light was behind him to create such an image. The Dwarf turned quickly looking for what ever was casting the shadow, but there in the corner stood a rotting corpse, Hiolisia, the Gnome he had killed. She raised a broken hand, a single finger pointing at Malnik, her twisted body cracking in response to the muscles attempting to move her frame. “She know what you did. It would be a shame if someone took this corpse to a Cleric and had them speak to the spirit. She saw you right before the log came down. She knows. But I can help.”
“It’s not true! An Accident…” Malnik mumbled as the terror washed over him. He accidentally killed her. He intentionally dropped that log. He’d be executed if anyone found out. But someone already has. Someone powerful. He had no choice. “What do you want me to do? I’ll do anything, I swear.”
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### Aberrant Dealings: Page 2
“That’s more like it. I need you for one year. You swear to serve me for that time?” Malnik swallowed hard and nodded.
“Swear.”
“I swear. One year.”
Malnik burst up from the water in the cistern. Climbing onto the ledge he didn’t even bother to wipe the filth from his eyes. He heard his Master’s voice calling him forward. He could lose the bounty hunters ahead. There was light coming up the tunnel behind, he could see it through the grate he swam under. He pressed himself against the wall melding into the shadows. Slowly and carefully he crept, a cockroach behind the counter. Maybe they would move on assuming he ran further down the tunnel.
But they didn’t… the blond Paladin in the group drew to a halt at the very spot Malnik had dove into the water. She was connected to the Divine and the Divine was guiding her. The Wizards, a human girl, pretty, the kind his master would want to stab, and the fire genasi that looked more like a barbarian than a spellcaster, complained about having to go into the sewage. The Old Man and the Tortle dove right in. The others shrugged and followed behind. Malnik was cornered. There were pipes far above, but it would take him time to climb up there. He would be spotted and vulnerable. He would have to fight. He was out numbered but he served a powerful master. He could win.
The squad of young ladies and the old man blasted open the grate blocking the entrance to the cistern. The paladin pointed across the room. Almost exactly where Malnik was. That wasn’t going to do. Time to act. He was here, and He was here.
“We’ve been told to bring you in dead or alive Malnik. We’d prefer alive.” Called out the paladin.
“Well, would we? Really?” Snarked the Human Wizard.
Malnik concentrated on a point dead center in the group of adventurers. Black tentacles erupted from the water and the light was stolen from the area. Think inky darkness seeming sloshed up out of the sewage obscuring the entire entrance. Shouting and yelps of pain erupted from the darkness as the tentacles lashed at his foes. They all attempted to race out of the coold lightless void but his spell held them fast. Even still, they launched their own magics near him, fire erupted along the wall to his left scorching him. Druidicly summoned vines burst from water grasping wildly at anything in the area. Magical Missiles of pure Weave energy raced toward him impacting with painful accuracy. Malnik began the climb toward the pipes above. He was stopped. He was taking over.
“Shhhhhhh… you’ll be OK. Surrender to them. Touch the Tortle. She is interested. She desires me. They’ll take you back to the Asylum, but you’ll be free of me.” Malnik shook his head. He didn’t want to return to the Well Stone. He knew they would lock him in the dungeon and throw away the key. Almost a dozen butchered young women demanded it.
“No Master! Do not leave me now! Please.”
“Very well. I will let them slay you instead!”
“NO!!!!” Screamed Malnik. As he lost complete control of himself and raced toward the old man, but his enemy was fast, a monk well trained, with decades of skill. A few strikes later and Malnik Hardhelm lay floating face down in the water, blood and black ichor leaking out from his wounds.
Kia the Tortle Druid sloshed forward toward the body. She had been fascinated by the Dwarf’s story since they picked up the bounty a week ago. Some time ago Malnik Hardhelm manifested what the doctors at Well Stone Sanitarium said was a dual personality. Under the drive of this new consciousness Malnik had murdered three women. He was caught, deemed insane, and sent to the Sanitarium. But once there he murdered an orderly and escaped. While free he terrorized the town under his new identity. The team was hired to track him down and return him to the Well Stone, dead or alive. Malnik Hardhelm was now dead.
But the Eldritch Monstrosity that had destroyed Malnik’s life had found a new host. And while she had a greater will than the Dwarf did, she was willing. The ichor disappeared from the corpse and began the process of bonding itself to its new host. In time there would be no Kia… only the Elder Child known as Aberrant Black.
}}