The Haunting of Oxleaf Manor
Sometime last year, I ran a fantasy adaptation of The Haunting, the venerable Call of Cthulhu module available for free through Chaosium's web page. A couple folks have asked to see my prep materials for the adventure, but my prep tends to be quite light - a node diagram of the house's layout plus a couple stat blocks to riff off of. Here, I've punched up those notes into a public facing version with a couple tweaks from what I ran way back when. You might have to fill in some gaps.
What's Going On?
The body of Katarina Silverbeard is buried in the basement of Oxleaf Manor. After her death, her husband Corbitt turned to necromancy trying to revive her. It didn't work and now he's a banshee and she's a ghost. Only semi-aware of the present, Corbitt preys on those who enter the house, draining their lifeforce to fuel his undead existence. Katarina's ghost tries to scare people off before that can happen.
Katarina’s great grandson, Georgius Silverbeard wants to liquidate the manor in order to pay off the debts of his late father. He has hired the PCs to clear out the haunting, offering them 300 GC for completing the job plus first dibs on any valuables they discover within as long as the house remains intact (as any real noble will know, the true value is in the real estate).
Legwork
Trying to make an exhaustive list of sources would be futile - the players will always find someone to ask you hadn't thought of. I reject the original module's plan of running the player through a gauntlet of linear research locales. Instead, I suggest running it a la Strange Aeon's "The Hundred-Clue Rule." Everywhere the PCs look, they find some information, even if that information is just another place to do more research.
Here are some facts to work with:
Katarina
- Katarina Silverbeard was a knight and tournament contender of great renown. She was undefeated in the square.
- Her family wanted to disown her when she married Corbitt, a lowborn mage and former adventuring companion.
- Katarina fell ill and died of natural causes. Rumors swirled that Corbitt had poisoned her to inherit her estate.
- Katarina's burial site is unknown, but rumor has it she was interred with her magic longsword, Dauntless.
Corbitt
- Corbitt graduated with honors from a wizarding school, but was saddled with huge student loans. He spent his whole life adventuring to pay them off.
- Corbitt was rumored to be of fey descent, though no proof confirms this.
- When Katarina died he withdrew from society, secluding himself in Oxleaf Manor.
- Corbitt's specialized in charms and glamours, disdaining spells that did direct harm.
- Corbitt's burial site is also unknown.
Oxleaf Manor
- The manor sits in Oxleaf Square, formerly Oxblood Square - an open-air butcher market. The pavement is still lined with gutters for the run-off.
- The manor used to have an alley behind it with a basement entrance, but another building was wedged into the space.
- The house has been vacant in living memory. Before that it was leased to a merchant family who fled following protracted illness and a series of "violent accidents." (If the PCs inquire further, use some of the encounter notes from the room keys. Corbitt isn't above reusing a trick.)
- Locals think some weirdos must be squatting in there. Every once in a while, someone breaking glass or a sudden inhale.
The Manor
More a dilapidated townhouse than an estate, Oxleaf Manor is cold, rat-infested, and water damaged. Built on street corner, it only has windows on the second floor (be sure to highlight those to foreshadow someone getting launched from the guest room. A small garden separates it from the street, filled with empty planters and sharply pointed wrought iron fence.
I was finding the process of keying the manor in text tedious, so here is a reconstruction of my session notes, inked. Each room has furniture typical of that room; I've only noted highlights from my run of the module.
Notable Items
- Keys to the Manor - Provided by Georgius. They unlock any door on the first level, but keep track of who is carrying them. Corbitt can freely lock doors from anywhere in the house.
- Dauntless - An elegant longsword with curling, wreath-like guard. Loves a winner, but will throw itself from the hands of a loser. The first hit against you each fight is a miss; the sword parries it on its own.
- Corbitt's Spellbook - An illusionist's spellbook, straight out of the academy, but inked over with unsettling and macabre diagrams. Contains Raise Spirit, Death Mask, and Illusion.
The Ghosts
If the party visits by day, Katarina will try to scare them away to keep them from harm. If the party visits by night, Corbitt will try to lure them deeper into the house to maim them and gradually feed off of their life force. Neither tries to fight the party straight up unless cornered.
As the party, advances through the manor have the ghosts thump in adjacent rooms, appear out of the corner of their eye, lock doors behind the party, and generally do horrible Haunting of Hill House stuff.
In a fight, both spirits can freely possess any item inside the manor and move through walls and floors freely. Use this to strike from ambush before fleeing. Throw furniture, slam doors, push folks down stairs.
Both spirits are banshees, but don't refer to them as such:
HD 4 (HP 24), AC as leather Undead. Can only be harmed by magical attacks.
- Touch - (+2 to hit, 1d8, drains 1 STR)
- Wail - First round, Save or black out. Second round, Save or die.