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- The Manor is a square, multi-floored brick house with a central courtyard accessible by 4 arched entrances, one in each wall. Walkways lined by arched windows face the interior courtyard on all floors. At the courtyard’s center is a deep well with a rusted iron cover and a stout, new padlock. When the wind blows through the house (as it often does) the courtyard’s arches seem to howl with unearthly voices, and doors fly open and slam closed unpredictably.
- The Master is grey and colorless, gaunt and grim. His emotionless glare and leaden features are unpleasant, but he welcomes everyone and asks probing questions about the parties’ experiences. He seems highly knowledgeable in certain esoteric areas, although his habit of standing atop the keep and staring, unmoving, into the distance for many hours at a time is somewhat off-putting.
- 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 uniform in appearance, dress and features, moving about their duties with silent, mechanical precision.
- 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 hyaena-like, humped and cackling pack with a hunched and hooded keeper.
- The Demesne are a scattering of strongly-built farmsteads, all barred and defended night and day.
- The Dungeons are an extensive and crumbling series of basements and storage rooms which attach into a set of much older, deeper tunnels. Those oddly-proportioned tunnels seemingly were not built for human traffic.
- The Secret is that the area is infested with doppelgängers, although not everyone has been replaced yet.
- 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 enormous and toad-like, croaking commands and running the staff ragged. She clearly runs the manor, and anyone who interferes with her suffers debilitating stomach ailments shortly afterwards. Her control of the kitchens is particularly suspect, as are the many “exotic” ingredients found in the pantries and stores.
- 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) is hidden and not discussed, but whispered rumors are that the infant has been hidden since birth and is somehow terribly unnatural.
- The Hunt is a huge pack of shaggy, feral dogs led by a shambling bear-like fellow with a rusty halberd.
- The Demesne are mostly savage wilderness – all the inhabitants cluster around the manor itself in a sprawling slum.
- 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 the tunnels under the Manor are the center of a demon-worshipping cult that sacrifices humans.
- The Manor is a tall, moated round-house set next to a deep swamp. The keep’s interior is a deep shaft with a circular stair that goes all the way to the roof. It’s infested with frogs, toad, newt and other, less pleasant things. At night, the strange lights in the swamp are mirrored in the black water at the base of the central shaft, and the odd piping of the swamp inhabitants almost seems to form chittering voices.
- 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 enormous and toad-like, croaking commands and running the staff ragged. She clearly runs the manor, and anyone who interferes with her suffers debilitating stomach ailments shortly afterwards. Her control of the kitchens is particularly suspect, as are the many “exotic” ingredients found in the pantries and stores.
- The Staff are barely visible, performing their duties as quickly and quietly as possible, then vanishing into other parts of the house, visibly terrified.
- The Heir(s) are several adult men and women, who come and go often and constantly plot against each other and their parents.
- The Hunt is a mixed pack of vicious mongrels, kept roughly in line by several surly, cursing huntsmen.
- The Demesne are towers built on hills, manned and alert at all times.
- 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 manor is the old lair of a necromancer and a warren of the undead.
- 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 enormous and toad-like, croaking commands and running the staff ragged. She clearly runs the manor, and anyone who interferes with her suffers debilitating stomach ailments shortly afterwards. Her control of the kitchens is particularly suspect, as are the many “exotic” ingredients found in the pantries and stores.
- 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 is a wolf-pack that seems to form instantly from the surrounding woods when the Master rides out to hunt.
- The Demesne are mostly savage wilderness – all the inhabitants cluster around the manor itself in a sprawling slum.
- 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 tall manor on a point overlooking an isolated cove. Built of the local white chalk, it has patios and stairwells that extend down the cliffs below it. Seen from the day, it is an attractive structure, but moonlight bleaches the white walls to the color of unburied bone, and causes the building to shine with unnatural brightness. The cove below constantly washes up old bones and the corpses of the drowned.
- 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 enormous and toad-like, croaking commands and running the staff ragged. She clearly runs the manor, and anyone who interferes with her suffers debilitating stomach ailments shortly afterwards. Her control of the kitchens is particularly suspect, as are the many “exotic” ingredients found in the pantries and stores.
- The Staff are barely visible, performing their duties as quickly and quietly as possible, then vanishing into other parts of the house, visibly terrified.
- The Heir(s) are many bastards that make up much of the staff. They seem resentful of their position as servants. Their resemblance to the master and mistress is obvious, though never mentioned.
- 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 semi-permanent herding camps, linked by animal trails and log roads.
- The Dungeons are built around a single shaft with a circular stairwell that drops straight into the earth. The occasional archway leads to a network of old mining tunnels and drifts, scattered with ancient, rusted equipment.
- The Secret is that the tunnels under the Manor are the center of a demon-worshipping cult that sacrifices humans.