A Haunted House (3.5e Quest)
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Nearing a stage where it can be used with some extra work
A Hounted House[edit]
Intended for four level 8-10 adventurers.
Every city and an most villages should have a Haunted House! In this variant the players try to put a Paladin's remain to peaceful rest by completing the mission he failed.
- Prep Time ?
- Play Time ?
History[edit]
Hook[edit]
Although this patron obviously already had a few fillings, he insists on raising his tankard to this party of stout heroes (that's you!). Too surprised for a witty response you also take another swig of your drink when he starts to tell his story.
"You surely have seen Dringle's house if you came here from the market place. The one with windows and doors boarded up. It once belonged to Dringle the mage, who was quite a dubious person, but had some reputation as a capable wizard. If you had the guts to ask him, and the money to pay his price, you could get every magic item from him, you better believe this!"
"He earned a fortune from this business, but one day he suddenly didn't open the door anymore. Then strange howling and growling sounds could be heard from inside. People passing in the dusk swore that they saw dark things with glowing red eyes lurking behind the curtains of the windows."
"Jimmy Trusk went inside, to be the hero who cleaned up the mess. And probably to have a look at Dringle's money chests, which still must be in there. They found him the next morning, in the street below one of the upper windows. At least partly, since most of the left side of his body never made it there."
"Then there was this shiny guy passing through, what was his name? Letholdus I think. Or was it Lethalius? Whatever. He went in there, and indeed came out alive, though quite mauled, and his shiny armour splattered with gore all over. After consulting with our Father Sertan from the temple, he ventured in once more, never to be seen again!"
"Nevertheless things settled down a bit after that. It's still an eerie feeling passing the site, even though some lads found the courage to board up everything, to keep inside whatever is in there. If you're bold enough to go there after dark you still can hear moans and muffled screams from inside!"
"Now I bet this would be a challenge for such a glorious group like yours..."
Background[edit]
Most citizens in the vincinity can tell the same story, with varying details and elaborations. Probably everyone agrees that there is something very weird about the house, even those who suspect an independent cause of Jimmy Trusk's death, who was a known swaggerer and thug.
Dringle was studying the sinister arts of demon summoning. Though he was quite careful, in one night he was not careful enough. He had created a device which opens a gate to his basement laboratory from any other plane, in case he got stranded in another plane. Jannith, a Babau and one of the demons he summoned, stole that device, without Dringle noticing it. After being sent back to the Abyss, he decided to pay Dringle a little surprise visit by using the device.
After he took care of Dringle, Jannith set up his lair in the house. He was responsible for the initial strange effects, killed Jimmy Trusk, and may be responsible for a few other mysterious deaths in the vicinity. Every now and then another demon found his way through the gate and Jannith had to fight for his little lair.
Letholdus was sent to the area to investigate the topic, after rumours had spread to a bigger city nearby.
When Letholdus entered the house he was able to kill Jannith. He found Dringle's journal as well as the gate in the basement, and did guess correctly that the device is responsible for the gate. He met with Father Sertan to discuss the topic and Sertan agreed that, to close the gate, the device has to be brought back to the material plane or it has to be destroyed (or both). Sertan gave his (Orb_of_Demon_Blocking_(3.5e_Equipment)) to Letholdus as a backup, in case something went wrong.
Letholdus then placed the Orb and ventured through the gate into the Abyss to find the device. But while searching the cave in the Abyss for the device, he instead found a Magic Jar with another deamon imprisoned in it, and got posessed just as he destroyed the jar. Though he managed return to the house, he died there and became the ghost who is the cause of the current unrest.
Father Sertan is a cleric of Merikka and cares for a small temple. He is quite old and will not join in any adventures.
After Letholdus did not return, he asked Merikka for advice and got the order to wait patiently for the arrival of a group of Adventurers, which the deity will send. At least that was how he interpreted the omens.
For the DM[edit]
- Dringle indeed was a mid level wizard who did trade in magic items.
- He accidentially opened a gate to the abbyss in the basement of his house and met his fate by the claws and teeth of some demons seizing the opportunity.
- Letholdus, a paladin, managed to confine the demons to the basement (Orb of Demon Blocking), but while trying to close the portal he got posessed by a deamon.
- He made it back to the upper level, but as he realized that he was loosing the battle against the demon in his mind he chose to kill himself, just to return as a ghost.
- The demon was placed in a permanent Magic Jar as punishment. It was taking over Letholdus' body just the same moment when the paladin destroyed the demon's jar. This leaves both souls trapped in the body, fighting for control over it.
- Normally both souls would be "killed" if the host's body dies, but a cruel quirk of fate turned Letholdus and the demon into a posessed ghost instead.
- In his ghost form, sometimes he can control himself, when he tries to give hints to the party. At other times he is incoherent and confused, while most of the time the demon controls him. The demon in turn is desperately wild and will attack anyone viciously.
- Letholdus' soul can be put to rest by closing the portal, in which case the demon's life force will be destroyed.
Key to the House[edit]
1: Wizard Shop[edit]
Dringle earned his living by selling magic items and spell components. This room was where he did receive potential customers.
There are several displays which show some fake magic items (carved sticks with Nystrul's Magic Aura cast on them) and flasks of cheap potions. In the many drawers of the counter most low-cost spell components can be found. Obviously everything which needs to be fresh has spoiled in the meantime.
2: Kitchen and Servant's Room[edit]
This was the realm of Belinda, Dringle's cook and housemaid. A cupboard beside the outer door still contains her personal belongings, the dress she was wearing during the day before Jannith's arrival still hangs from a coathanger on the wall. Her leather pouch containing two keys (one for the kitchen and one for the store's doors) is lying on the cupboard.
Belinda was sleeping on the bench. The rest of the room contains the same things as most other kitchens do: an hearth, cooking utensils, some food and other ingredients, most of which have spoiled in the meantime.
3: Living Room[edit]
4: Library and Bodyguard's Room[edit]
In better days this room was used by Dringle as his "presentable" library. The books and tomes on the shelves, though valuable and partially magical, were of the sort which would not compromise Dringle as a meddler in Demon's affairs. Important visitors were invited here if Dringle wanted to show off.
This room was also the residence of his bodyguard Gosdan.
On his way to Dringle, Jannith swiftly killed Gosdan before taking care of Dringle himself. Afterwards, when making himself at home in the house, he nailed Gosdan's corpse to the wall beside the door to Dringle's room and destroyed most of the books. At the time the characters enter here, the corpse is reduced to a skeleton, still nailed to the wall.
Jimmy Trusk was ejected from the house through the western window, his skelettonized left arm and leg are still lying in the southwestern corner of the room. Jannith opened the windows before disposing the corpse, so the glass is still intact.
Letholdus also has found his resting place here, his mummified remain leaning at one of the shelves, still wearing his Breastplate+2 Invulnerability (DR 5/magic). Letholdus' Ghost is linked to the Breastplate. So, while a player can take and use the Brestplate, if Letholdus' soul is not put to rest, the Ghost will reappear every 2d4 days (or more often at your discretion) and attack the new owner of the Breastplate.
Letholdus' weapons, a Longsword+1 Demon Bane and a masterwork Shortsword+1, are also lying here. They are not affected by the Ghost and can be taken away, though this will always provoke the Ghost to attack.
Searching through the remains of the books will produce some usable remains, a scroll with Scorching Ray and another one with Rainbow Pattern.
5: Private Room[edit]
This has become the final resting place of Dringle, whose remains are still lying on the large bed, with the extremities tied to the bedposts. Blood splattered at the walls and sheets drenched by bodily fluids suggest that Jannith took some time to teach the wretched wizard the risks and downsides of meddling with the dark arts.
Letholdus has placed Dringle's diary back on the table before he ventured into the gate. If the players read it they can conclude the following information from it:
- Dringle made numerous experiments to summon and gate in demons and devils. Several times he escaped death by a hairbreadth, but he has also managed to force some of them to carry out minor tasks.
- He obviously feared to be stranded on one of the outer planes.
- He has never tested the device himself, but it should enable him to return safely.
- The device can easily be carried in one hand.
- The device has a trigger which opens the gate back to the laboratory if it is on any of the outer planes.
- The device seems to be pretty.
6: Mundane Storage[edit]
Here, Jannith planned to ambush Letholdus, but the Paladin managed to survive and kill the Babau, whose corpse remains here.
The room was the storage for everything mundane: foodstuff which is mostly spoiled now, a barrel containing quite decent wine, a small cask of good brandy, which may be sold for 100 GP, bed sheets and table cloths, extra chairs and pillows and so on. Many things have been spoiled or broken by Jannith.
The door to room 7 is broken in the middle, each of the parts still hanging on one hinge.
7: Magic Storage[edit]
This was the room where the more valuable magical merchandise was stored. Lots of broken wands and smashed vials can be identified. A search of the room reveals one Immovable Rod, which still seems to be intact, when passing a DC 15 check.
Besides the magical items, this room also contains Dringle's treasure chests, standing against the southern wall, still intact though quite a bit scratched. One of them (the left one) contains 2.000 copper coins and 5.000 silver coins. The right one contains 500 platinum coins and 2.500 gold coins, as well as a small bag with 50 gemstones worth 50 coins each (bloodstone, onyx, zircon). Both chests are locked by a mundane DC 25 lock and an Arcane Lock. In addition to that, the more valuable right chest is trapped by Explosive Runes inscribed on a piece of paper covering the coins.
The door to the laboratory is shattered, the Orb of Demon Blocking is placed in the middle of the passage.
8: Laboratory[edit]
The portal to the Abyss is placed near the northern wall, it connects to Jannith's lair in the Abyss. Through the portal a comfortably furnished cave can be seen.
Jannith's Abyssal Lair[edit]
This is Jannith's original lair in the Abyss. The portal at the eastern wall connects to Dringle's laboratory.
Though it looks like a natural cave there is some furniture. A carpet, a round table, a padded armchair and a sofa can be seen through the portal. The combination looks a bit random, but not uncomfortable.
In the western part of the cave the floor is strewn with several skeletons, the remains of other demons who tried to drive Jannith out of his lair. If examined, it is obvious that the creatures were roughly humanoid, but with claws, horns and wings. A passed DC 20 check on Knowledge (The planes) identifies the bones as remains of a Dretch, a Babau and a Succubus.
The cupboard at the southern wall hides an alcove in the wall. If it is removed, a DC 18 Search check reveals that the bricks of the wall behind it are loose and can be removed to allow access to the secret compartment behind it. Beside some gruesome mementos of the late demon, Dringle's device is hidden here. A Detect Magic effect shows the aura of the device even through the wall and cupboard.
The creepy organ standing against the northern wall shows a weak magical aura of Conjuration (Creation) to a Detect Magic effect. This results from the magical bellows which allows the instrument to be played. Beside the quite loud music there's no special effect if a character tries to play the instrument. At your discretion, the sound may attract some nearby resident of the Abyss.
To the west there is a short tunnel which exits to a dusty, dirty gray landscape of plains with occasional cragged mountains, under a sky dominated by a huge dark red sun. The tunnel is only about 5 feet wide, which makes is difficult for large creatures to enter the cave and excludes bigger ones.
If you want to add some effects for an infernal mood you may roll on this table every 5 rounds:
| d% Roll | Effect |
|---|---|
| 01-20 | No effect |
| 21-40 | An earthquake, followed by the sounds of a stone landslide from the outside. If you want to keep the party inside, this is a great way to close off the tunnel. |
| 41-60 | An earthquake which pushes up one of the other mountains outside (just in case anyone watches) |
| 61-80 | A dust storm emerges outside and blows wisps of dust through the cave entry |
| 81-90 | An acid rainstorm emerges, every unprotected creature outside takes 1d4 acid damage per round |
| 91-99 | Blood rain starts to fall outside. This is in fact some kind of blood, anyone tasting or drinking it must pass a DC 15 fortitude save or suffer 1d4 points of primary and secondary ability damage (your choice, CON and STR seeming the most plausible, but this is chaos!) |
| 00 | A passing demon (your choice) is attracted and checks out the cave |
Items[edit]
Orb of Demon Blocking[edit]
The Orb of Demon Blocking was used by Letholdus to block the passage leading into Dringle's laboratory in the basement. In addition to the protective magic which Dringle cast on the walls of the laboratory it was, at least up to now, enough to confine all visiting tanar'ris to the laboratory.
If you like such games, a demon in the laboratory may try to trick characters into removing the orb so it would be able to escape and wreak havoc on the village. After killing the party, of course.
Dringle's device[edit]
This is the key to ending the quest. If it is brought back to Dringle's laboratory (or any other place on the prime material plane), the portal will close. If it is broken anywhere else, the portal will also close.
If you want to be nice to characters staying behind, or if you want to give a chasing demon a last chance to reach the fleeing party, the portal can flicker for 1d4 rounds before closing ultimately.
I like to imagine the device as a porcelaine Pietà figure of maybe 20 cm height, with the trigger button set into the pedestal. Of course you're free to think of anything else. :-)
The trigger button opens the portal back to Dringle's laboratory, unless the portal is already open. If the portal is closed by bringing the device back to the prime material plane, it can be activated again after being brought to another plane. This is an extremely valuable feature for any person involved in planar travel, such a person will pay 20.000 to 40.000 GP for the device.
Ending the Quest[edit]
The quest will be fulfilled if the portal is closed. One way is to return the device back to the prime material plane, for example through the portal. If the device is destroyed in the Abyss, the portal is also closed and Letholdus is released, though the party may be stranded in the Abyss.
NPCs[edit]
Letholdus, the ghost[edit]
See the page for Letholdus
Father Sertan[edit]
Father Sertan is about 60 years old and a cleric of Merikka. He did a bit of adventuring and military duty in his youth but has long retired. He's now caring for a small temple and the spiritual welfare of the townsfolk. He received the Orb long ago from an party of Adventurers as payment for healing services. Untill he met Letholdus and gave it to him, he had never seen any use for it.
Sertan has reached level 6, has the Craft Wand feat and has occasionally sold a wand to Dringle to finance the temple, though he already suspected Dringle to be of dubious morals. He has created Letholdus' wand of Detect Magic and is willing to assist the party if they make it plausible that they want to close the portal. In fact the latter is quite easy, since Sertan sees the party as Merikka's chosen, fulfilling his prophecy, once they show any interest in the house.
Father Sertan will cast spells or create wands for the party at cost price, but will not enter the house himself. He has no specific knowledge about demons or the outer plane, beyond anything common among clerics.
If the party describes the ghost and/or the corpse in area 4, or if they show one of the weapons or the armour to him, he will identify that it seems to be the Paladin. From what he knows about ghosts, he will guess that it will be put to rest only after Letholdus' quest to close the portal is fulfilled.
Belinda[edit]
Belinda was Dringle's cook and housemaid.
When Jannith entered the house she was sleeping in the kitchen. In fact, the demon passed her, sleeping in her berth, but decided to spare her for later fun, and avoid to alert his primary target.
She woke from Dringle's screams as Jannith started to take care of him, and fled to the street with nothing more than her nightgown, scared senseless. She will steadfastly refuse to enter the house again, though her personal belongings are still in the kitchen. She then was employed as a handmaiden by one of the farmers in the vincinity.
Most citizen knows her part of the story and can point the party to her new residence. Belinda knows no details of the background story, specifically she knows nothing about Dringle's darker ambitions. But she can provide the layout of ground and upper floor of the house, and the fact that she was strictly forbidden to enter the Magic Storage in the basement. She assumes that this was only because of the valuable, and potentially dangerous magic items stored there. So she knows nothing about the Laboratory.
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