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- The Manor is a shining pleasure-palace, with high white walls, turreted towers and carefully landscaped ponds and gardens. Its placid tranquility and languid calm are restful, but the gardens are full of unnaturally vital blood-red roses, the ponds are bottomless and bitterly cold, and the high, ornate windows seem to glare menacingly when seen out of the corner of the eye.
- The Master is ancient and decrepit, having to be fed and cleaned by members of his staff and family. He wanders in and out of lucidity, raving about ancient battles, betrayals and intrigues. Anyone knowledgeable about local history will quickly realize that his rantings reveal secret details of many of the past century’s major events. In the odd times that he is coherent, he displays a razor-sharp wit and seeks to draw newcomers into convoluted plots.
- The Mistress is locked in a tower and rarely spoken of. Something seems to scrabble at the inside of the barred doors and windows, though, and faint shrieking and odd chanting can be heard echoing down in the night.
- The Staff are oddly servile humanoids from surrounding tribes. They obey the family without question, but occasional flashes of resentment are visible.
- The Heir(s) are an indistinct horde of grubby, wild and violent children. It’s impossible to distinguish ages or sexes under the grime, scabs and snot, but they seem to be everywhere within the keep, and see everything that happens.
- The Hunt is a huge pack of shaggy, feral dogs led by a shambling bear-like fellow with a rusty halberd.
- The Demesne are small villages built at the junctions of rivers and valleys, connected by rough trails.
- The Dungeons are beautifully carved and clearly much older than the manor. The flowing, fluted columns and ornate balconies appear to be elvish design, but the prevalent spider motifs make you wonder which elves, exactly?
- The Secret is that the area is infested with doppelgängers, although not everyone has been replaced yet.
- The Manor is a fortified manor house with a solid gate, paved courtyard and solidly-built hall. The courtyard is dominated by a stone statue of a seated man leaning on a great sword. Time has eroded away most of his features, but the carven eyes remain intact, and glare down fiercely at anyone entering the yard. The statue’s base is ringed by disturbing engravings in an unknown language.
- The Master is an enormous, shambling wreck of a man, clad in worn, stained clothing and with a massive, shaggy beard. He communicates mostly in grunts and scowls, seeming to stare at nothing and mutters to himself constantly. Occasionally, glimpses of his limbs and torso reveal horrible, barely-healed scars and oddly precise tattoos in what appear to be arcane designs.
- The Mistress is a terrified mistress who is desperately trying to maintain the attention and affection of the Master. She is young, beautiful and growing desperate enough to do something rash in order to escape the Manor.
- The Staff have bestial features, oddly enlarged teeth and smell of wet dog. They seem loyal, though, and travel about in groups whenever possible.
- The Heir(s) are twins, with identical appearance and clothing. They are rarely out of each other’s company and often speak in unison or finish each other’s sentences.
- The Hunt is a mixed pack of vicious mongrels, kept roughly in line by several surly, cursing huntsmen.
- The Demesne are a scattering of strongly-built farmsteads, all barred and defended night and day.
- The Dungeons are clearly dwarven stonework, carefully fitted and lovingly carved. All coated in a layer of dust and grime now, though, save the occasional prints of a pair of heavy boots going here and there.
- The Secret is that cannibalistic orgies are regularly held at the manor, and guests of honor are usually the main course.
- The Manor is a timber hunting lodge filled with stuffed, skinned and mounted trophies of animals and monsters, hanging alongside weapons, rusty traps and paintings of prized hounds and horses. Everywhere you go within the hall, dozens of glittering eyes seem to track you from the mounted heads that cover every wall. Occasionally, the faint sounds of a baying pack of hounds seem to echo through the rooms.
- The Master is a grim and powerful aging warrior with a black beard and fierce disposition. He is given to drinking binges of epic scale, followed by black rages, intense weeping and insane ranting. He is liable to attack anyone who interferes with him during these episodes, including family members.
- The Mistress is ancient but unnaturally spry, seemingly aware of everything that happens within the manor. Her hunched, black-clad form can be seen bustling around at all hours. In fact, she sometimes seems to be in several places at once.
- The Staff have bestial features, oddly enlarged teeth and smell of wet dog. They seem loyal, though, and travel about in groups whenever possible.
- The Heir(s) are an indistinct horde of grubby, wild and violent children. It’s impossible to distinguish ages or sexes under the grime, scabs and snot, but they seem to be everywhere within the keep, and see everything that happens.
- The Hunt are a pale and silent pack of long-haired hounds with several slender, silver-clad attendants.
- The Demesne are fenland villages with stilted huts, where the inhabitants move on flat-bottomed boats over deep mires and marshes.
- The Dungeons are dug into the raw earth and are full of twisted roots, hanging vines, moss and mold. The plants often seem to be the only thing keeping the tunnels from collapsing, and in some areas, they haven’t even managed that.
- The Secret is that guests are sometimes snatched for magical experimentation.
- The Manor is an old trading stockade that has been converted into a makeshift manor. The log palisade is rotting, and weeds grow around the neglected stables and storage sheds. Half-feral dogs wander about and the surrounding forest presses ominously close. The place smells of mildew, dogshit and fear – all door are barred and lights doused as soon as night falls.
- The Master is a reckless dandy who loves fine food, beautiful women, wine and music. He is attended by bards, courtiers and obvious mistresses, living life in a swirling, debauched party. For all that, he is lean with solid muscle and obvious dueling scars, and the finely-crafted weapons he displays all about have marks of hard use. Each day he spends several hours on weapon drills, his movements unnaturally swift and precise.
- The Mistress is attractive, with raven-black hair and full red lips, but her horrendous temper makes her beauty perilous. She’s given to psychotic rages, and nobody is safe from her when her anger is triggered. Too bad the Master of the house dotes on her every whim …
- The Staff are regimented and tightly trained – all bear weapons and appear to belong to an elite military unit, but perform domestic chores and labour about the manor.
- The Heir(s) is a single daughter who is dour and severe, with an intense stare that seems to cast a chill on its target. The smallest lapse in decorum or etiquette seems to invoke her silent ire.
- The Hunt is a huge pack of shaggy, feral dogs led by a shambling bear-like fellow with a rusty halberd.
- The Demesne are towers built on hills, manned and alert at all times.
- The Dungeons are a dank series of half-flooded galleries, dripping oubliettes and muddy sewers. The place is infested with snakes and toads of unwholesome size, along with other, even less pleasant lurkers.
- The Secret is that the manor is the old lair of a necromancer and a warren of the undead.
- The Manor is a timber hunting lodge filled with stuffed, skinned and mounted trophies of animals and monsters, hanging alongside weapons, rusty traps and paintings of prized hounds and horses. Everywhere you go within the hall, dozens of glittering eyes seem to track you from the mounted heads that cover every wall. Occasionally, the faint sounds of a baying pack of hounds seem to echo through the rooms.
- The Master is a reckless dandy who loves fine food, beautiful women, wine and music. He is attended by bards, courtiers and obvious mistresses, living life in a swirling, debauched party. For all that, he is lean with solid muscle and obvious dueling scars, and the finely-crafted weapons he displays all about have marks of hard use. Each day he spends several hours on weapon drills, his movements unnaturally swift and precise.
- The Mistress is pampered and demanding, but oddly skilled at getting what she wants. Something about her just seems to encourage compliance; perhaps it’s the odd sibilance in her voice, or the sinuous sway of her walk.
- The Staff are oddly uniform in appearance, dress and features, moving about their duties with silent, mechanical precision.
- The Heir(s) are twins, with identical appearance and clothing. They are rarely out of each other’s company and often speak in unison or finish each other’s sentences.
- The Hunt is a wolf-pack that seems to form instantly from the surrounding woods when the Master rides out to hunt.
- The Demesne are rough rock houses built among the ruins of older, larger cities.
- The Dungeons are dug into the raw earth and are full of twisted roots, hanging vines, moss and mold. The plants often seem to be the only thing keeping the tunnels from collapsing, and in some areas, they haven’t even managed that.
- The Secret is that cannibalistic orgies are regularly held at the manor, and guests of honor are usually the main course.