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On the Steps to Durst Mansion, Barovian suburbs, night...
On the Steps to Durst Mansion, Barovian suburbs, night...
The streets give way via a winding road to a small hill, atop which looms a stately, but dark and gloomy, manor.
The Inquisitor Sarusandra leads Hank, Sheila, and Bobby up worn steps, damp with moss and shadow.
SHEILA
SHEILA
Does this seem like a bad horror movie to anyone else?
A sudden sniffle and child's cry startles everyone-- an eerie weeping cutting through the silence.
BOBBY
BOBBY
Yeesh. Now it sure does!
CREEPY LITTLE GIRL
(coming into view from around a dried-up fountain in the yard)
CREEPY LITTLE GIRL
(coming into view from around a dried-up fountain in the yard)
Don't go into our house!
CREEPY LITTLE BOY
(coming into view from the other side of the fountain)
CREEPY LITTLE BOY
(coming into view from the other side of the fountain)
There's a monster in our house.
HANK
HANK
A monster! What do you mean?
CREEPY LITTLE GIRL
(sniffling)
CREEPY LITTLE GIRL
(sniffling)
Mom and Dad told us to play outside. But when we went out, we heard screams inside, and terrible howls coming from the basement.
SHEILA
SHEILA
I don't hear anything. And your mom and dad are still in there? How long have you been outside?
CREEPY LITTLE GIRL
(starting to cry a little)
CREEPY LITTLE GIRL
(starting to cry a little)
I-- I'm not sure. A long time.
SARUSANDRA
SARUSANDRA
Are your parents Gustav and Elisabeth Durst?
CREEPY LITTLE GIRL
(sniffs, nodding)
CREEPY LITTLE GIRL
(sniffs, nodding)
Uh-huh.
SARUSANDRA
(as if she already knows the answers)
SARUSANDRA
(as if she already knows the answers)
Hmm. I see. And are there *other people* in the house, too?
CREEPY LITTLE GIRL
(starting to break down)
CREEPY LITTLE GIRL
(starting to break down)
I think so? *sob*
A bunch of grown-ups *sob*
they had robes *sob, sob* but . . .
The Creepy Little Boy joins in sobbing, and the two children cling to one another.
BOBBY
(moving to comfort the two)
BOBBY
(moving to comfort the two)
Okay, okay. Don't worry. We're here to see what's up. We'll find your parents and if there's a monster, I'll bash its head in! It's kinda like my whole thing.
GM says:
GM says:
Make a PERSUASION roll, with a boon because you're about the same age.
Bobby's PERSUASION (5), rolls a ⬙(20, 17) = Nope!
The two Creepy Little Kids stop and gaze at Bobby, then immediately burst out into even greater sobs.
HANK
(sighs)
HANK
(sighs)
What Bobby *means* is, we're heroes. We've fought monsters before and we would be happy to get you home safe to your parents.
SARUSANDRA
SARUSANDRA
(scoffs, quietly)
Hank's PERSUASION (10), rolls a ⬙(3) = Yep!
CREEPY LITTLE BOY
(wiping his face)
CREEPY LITTLE BOY
(wiping his face)
We-- we want to go home. Please, won't you make it safe?"
SHEILA
SHEILA
What a strange--
(shaking her head, turning to Hank but approaching the children)
We can't just leave them out here by themselves. If something's happening in that house, maybe we can get them to some shelter, or a neighbor's?
SARUSANDRA
SARUSANDRA
What?! Don't waste our time. There's something happening in that house. A beast? Perhaps. A gathering of cultists? Most certainly.
SHEILA
(bending low, her arms around the children)
SHEILA
(bending low, her arms around the children)
And abandon children? No way.
SARUSANDRA
(softening in the face of Sheila's kind stubborness)
SARUSANDRA
(softening in the face of Sheila's kind stubborness)
Indeed! Very well, but I dare not wait. Find the closest friendly neighbor you can. I will go on ahead, and infiltrate from the rear. We can explore the house separately.
SHEILA
(straightening, keeping the children in hand)
SHEILA
(straightening, keeping the children in hand)
That's what I thought.
(to the children)
I'm Sheila. What's your names?
ROSE
(sniffs)
ROSE
(sniffs)
R-- Rose.
SHEILA
(walking away from Sarusandra back down the street)
SHEILA
(walking away from Sarusandra back down the street)
Rose! What a pretty name! And yours?
THORN
(sniffs)
THORN
(sniffs)
Thorn.
SHEILA
SHEILA
Oh!~~kay.
Sarusandra watches the heroes escort the children back down the steps.
SARUSANDRA
(to herself)
SARUSANDRA
(to herself)
Hmm. Perhaps they are champions after all.
(with a flourish, she turns and dashes toward the rear of the house)
Transition to...
Transition to...
The Portico, the Durst Mansion, not long after...
The Portico, the Durst Mansion, not long after...
Lightning flashes to signal the passage of time-- The Death House exists in a perpetual night. Rain begins to fall on the three heroes, scampering up the steps to reach the iron gates and the mansion's portico. Hanging oil lamps sway slightly from the celling, flickering and flanking an oaken double door.
**THUNDER!**
BOBBY
(taking off his helmet and shaking water from his hair)
BOBBY
(taking off his helmet and shaking water from his hair)
Great. Now I got wet boots. I hate wet boots.
HANK
(pressing his ear to the entrance doors)
HANK
(pressing his ear to the entrance doors)
I don't hear anything.
(trying the door)
It's unlocked.
SHEILA
SHEILA
Be careful, Hank.
Carefully and quietly, Hank pushes the door open.
SHEILA
SHEILA
Wait. Give me a boost.
(points to the ceiling)
Hank knocks his fingers, and easily props Sheild upward. She carefully unhooks a chain holding a lantern, and carries it with her back to the floor. She nods.
Hank nods in return. Knocking his bow, he forms an string and arrow of light, and he leads them all inside...
After which the doors shut on their own, and the iron gate closes upon the portico.
A thick mist rises around the house, making it a newly-formed island in an instant sea of fog.
And thunder rolls.
to be continued in 7.4 Main Hall . . .
GM FOOTNOTES:
What a weird section of the book. I think I might be missing something. I guess it's atmosphereic, but the characters essentially meet TWO NPCs in a row that serve as nothing but exposition. Why not just have Sarusandra [sic] OR the two kids, not both? For that matter, as is written in the book, why have Sarusandra ask for help and then immediately suggest splitting up? I can see she's somehow in encounters later, so either she should be an NPC with the party or not-- very strange set-up for a game. At least with these particular characters, it flowed well with the dialouge. Still, I was hoping to keep Sarusandra around, as I don't mind having an NPC to lend Help actions/act as cannon fodder/help with script dialogue.
I wish I did read ahead a bit. This would have been a good place to separate Diana from the group, instead of how I did it last chapter. Then I could have kept Sarusandra more easily
There's no way that abandoned-kids-turned-heroes are going to refuse to help abandoned kids!
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