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[Roll for Shoes] Welcome to Mystery Mansion!
OminousLozenge
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Mystery Mansion
A Roll for Shoes story of a group of children exploring a huanted mansion one dark Halloween night.
A Roll for Shoes story of a group of children exploring a huanted mansion one dark Halloween night.
Background
Ipswitch, Massachusetts has its share of ghost stories. More than its share of legends about witchcraft and the occult, as well. Nowadays, that’s mostly tourist stuff and campfire tales to scare the little ones. Ah, but the little ones. Their minds are yet so fertile, their imaginations still unbounded by the banality of bosses and mortgages and the evening news. For them, Ipswitch is a town filled with wonder and terror in equal measure, for they embrace these ghost stories. In the mind of every little boy and little girl in Ipswitch, that creepy old cat lady in the neighborhood is secretly the last living true witch. Bumps in the night are ghosts or wayward spirits. Any vagrant could in fact be a demon come to offer you all the candy in the world for the low, low price of your eternal soul. These are just facts of life.
But let’s not concern ourselves with the entire city and its rich, storied history. On the suburban outskirts of Ipswitch, well off the path of the city’s ghost and witchcraft tours, there’s a pleasant little neighborhood of well-kept lawns, picket fences, soccer moms, and cook-outs. The sign at the front of the neighborhood tells you this is Sunny Valley, neverminding the fact that it is neither a valley, nor is it any more sunny than the rest of the town.
Drive through that little slice of Americana, and you’ll get to a long, twisty little one-lane road. Barely more than an upjumped cart path, really. Follow that twisty road, and it takes you to the absolute edge of Ipswitch proper and up Carwile Hill. The road has no stops, no no intersections. It just winds its way through a good stretch of nice, thick coniferous New England forest and ends at the gates of an old, spooky mansion situated on top of the hill. This mansion, identified by its National Register of Historic Places plaque as Carwile Manor, has been an object of obsession among the youth of Sunny Valley since the first family moved into that neighborhood. The adults know this mansion as the family estate of the now-defunct but once-influential Carwile clan, a structure that was at one time impressive, but which has fallen into disrepair with the passing of the last living Carwile some fifteen years ago.
The kids of Sunny Valley call it by a different name. More evocative, and in their minds, more accurate: Mystery Mansion! Countless battles have been fought in and around Sunny Valley, waged by valiant young knights astride their Huffy bicycles, against the communist incursions, tides of zombies, alien invasions, and rampaging hordes of orcs that pour out of Mystery Mansion every day of every summer. The Mansion obligingly belches forth the enemy du jour for the children to combat, filling their afternoons with adventure and wonderment. If you were lucky, you had some patch of woods or old house near your neighborhood to spruce up your lazy, sultry summer days.
But never, not once, not ever, do the children cross the border onto the grounds of Mystery Manor, helpfully marked out by a wrought-iron fence. Go right up to it, yes. Look through it, certainly. Touch it - well, perhaps for the fearless. But the grounds of Mystery Manor are forbidden. Everybody’s parents tells them so. The friendly police officers who do safety lessons and at the community center tell them so. The grown-ups won’t admit it, but the kids know the truth - even they’re afraid of the Mansion, because it’s haunted. Probably even the most haunted mansion in the whole country, if not the world! It’s not in the Guinness book or anything, but that’s mainly because some information is just too dangerous.
Did I say nobody ever sets foot on the grounds of Mystery Mansion? My apologies - I meant to say nobody ever had set foot on the grounds of Mystery Mansion. Until now. Until you and your friends, this very Halloween night...
The Rules
The rules of the game, including a link to the Roll for Shoes rules in their original form, can be found HERE.
Clarifications and Additional Information
Out of Character Statements
Clearly identify any out-of-character posts or portions-of-posts with "OOC:" and when possible, try to keep the OOC at the bottom of the post. I want to keep this phone-posting-friendly, so you don't need to spoiler or color code things. Lengthy OOC discussion should probably be spoilered for clearer delineation, but I leave it to your discretion.
Images
I will occasionally post visual aids to help convey a sense of what I'm describing, or a map of your exploits. The game doesn't rely on a grid, and there's no combat map, so it's purely for informative purposes. The map I've drawn up is more-or-less to scale.
Who Goes When
There's no initiative to track, and any possible opposition will just go when it makes sense. As long as everybody pretty much gets a turn before someone goes again, that's what really matters.
When to Roll
Your characters' advancement is tied directly to rolling dice, so feel free to add an appropriate die roll to your action where it makes sense. If it isn't necessary, I can ignore it. Odds are I'll try to incorporate the die roll if you include one with your narration; the corollary is that I trust you to use good judgment. It would probably be a good idea to roll any time you have a relevant question for me regarding something your character has, can do, or observes. "Did I bring a flashlight?" "Does it look like I can jump to the chandelier from here?" "I lick the hundred-year-old candy jar; what's it taste like?" In this game, my answer to questions like that should be to prompt you to roll and find out! Just bear in mind this means you could end up with a skill like "Psychometric Taste Buds" - of course, rolling with oddness like that is supposed to be part of the fun.
Feel free to use Geth to roll dice. Use a dice app on your phone. Use physical dice. I trust you guys. Just remember to post the individual die results as well as the sum, since things like how many of the dice are sixes plays a big roll in advancement. Handily, Geth does all this automatically. In case anyone is unfamiliar, the syntax is: "Geth roll 2d6 for Skill Name Here"
The Characters
@jdarksun as Mia Ashley Levy
"There's a scientific explanation for everything."
@premium as Davey “Juke” Williams
"I never turn down a dare!"
@Iron Weasel as Wendall "Wex" Cartright
"Ready for candy and adventure!"
@TheRoadVirus as Prince Ellingston Hallstings Dingingworth, III
"Jeeves said nothing of danger!"
Starting with Page 4, the characters' current details can generally be found in the first GM post of each page.
Sometimes I have ideas for things.
OminousLozenge on
+1
Posts
The Division, Warframe (XB1)
GT: Tanith 6227
To make your character, all I need is a name. RfS is about the character evolving organically as the game progresses, so you don't even need to figure out what your character's Halloween costume is just yet. I think this is literally the easiest character creation I've ever come across.
But don't worry about it tonight! Enjoy fatherhood tonight, guys.
The Division, Warframe (XB1)
GT: Tanith 6227
Chicago Megagame group
Watch me struggle to learn streaming! Point and laugh!
E: A literally massive number of Scooby-Doo jokes suggested themselves at first glance; that's an attempt at impulse-control, not a serious request. Have fun, guys.
3DS: 1289-8447-4695
Also, @Iron Weasel and TRV, feel free to come up with a byline or catchphrase if you want one for your character. Premium and jdark kind of did informally, and it's a neat idea.
Would "still believes in magic" be better?
The Division, Warframe (XB1)
GT: Tanith 6227
"Jeeves said nothing of danger!"
He's weird.
The Division, Warframe (XB1)
GT: Tanith 6227
The Division, Warframe (XB1)
GT: Tanith 6227
Wait until I've got control over the militia. Just you wait. Then you'll get to decide if it was worth not giving me three peanut doodles.
*Walks off mumbling to himself*
For the sake of clarity, clearly identify any out-of-character posts or portions-of-posts with "OOC:" and when possible, try to keep the OOC at the bottom of the post. I want to keep this phone-posting-friendly, so you don't need to spoiler or color code things. Lengthy OOC discussion should probably be spoilered for clearer delineation, but I leave it to your discretion.
I will occasionally post visual aids to help convey a sense of what I'm describing, or a map of your exploits. The game doesn't rely on a grid, and there's no combat map, so it's purely for informative purposes. The map I've drawn up is more-or-less to scale.
There's no initiative to track, and any possible opposition will just go when it makes sense. As long as everybody pretty much gets a turn before someone goes again, that's what really matters.
Your characters' advancement is tied directly to rolling dice, so feel free to add an appropriate die roll to your action, where it makes sense. If it isn't necessary, I can ignore it. Odds are I'll try to incorporate the die roll if you include one with your narration; the corollary is that I trust you to use good judgment. It would probably be a good idea to roll any time you have a relevant question for me regarding something your character has, can do, or observes. "Did I bring a flashlight?" "Does it look like I can jump to the chandelier from here?" "I lick the hundred-year-old candy jar; what's it taste like?" In this game, my answer to questions like that should be to prompt you to roll and find out! Just bear in mind this means you could end up with a skill like "Psychometric Taste Buds" - of course, rolling with oddness like that is supposed to be part of the fun.
Feel free to use Geth to roll dice. Use a dice app on your phone. Use physical dice. I trust you guys. Just remember to post the individual die results as well as the sum, since things like how many of the dice are sixes plays a big roll in advancement. Handily, Geth does all this automatically. In case anyone is unfamiliar, the syntax is: "Geth roll 2d6 for Skill Name Here"
Does anybody have any questions?
Geth, roll 1d6 for taunt Wex
Result: your butt is a .... er.... face
Our Story Begins...
The moon shines big and bright and full when the four of you bring your bikes to a stop just outside the gates of Carwile Manor. The plaque from the National Register of Historic Places is bolted to the right of the gate, a reassuring bit of mundanity contrasting with the gloom that overhangs this property. The big, rusty chain holding the gate closed is still there, immovable and eternal. That ornate wrought-iron gate is very easy to climb, though. Some of you have probably done it before, possibly even climbed all the way to the top on a dare. A tall cast-iron fence marks the border of the Manor and serves as a convenient hitching post for your bikes.
Everything is just as you remember it from your last trek out here. Through the bars you see the lawn, overgrown from decades of neglect. The drive is buckled and cracked by the ravages of time, but it still carves a rough path through the tall grass and up to the mansion at the top of the hill. Standing sentinel on either side of that path, however, is a row of bare and skeletal-looking poplars. Stacks of autumn leaves, gathered in high drifts, punctuate the wild lawn like tiny islands in a sea of weeds and vines. Up near the estate, a fountain rises protectively in front of the main entrance. A bit further downhill and to the right of the fountain, a decrepit and off-kilter gazebo looms toward you like a crouching predator.
A chill New England wind kicks up from seemingly nowhere, bringing ominous clouds with it. Any minute now, they’ll start to obscure the moon's silvery light. It's now or never - time to begin your epic Halloween adventure!
3DS: 1289-8447-4695
Well, maybe not Edwin.
Anyway, Mia was probably just jealous - wasn't she an only child? How lame that must be.
Wex brushed some dirt from the hem of his robe, and tilted his pointy hat to a rakeish angle. He was no crybaby.
He was a Wizard.
Gripping the gate, Wex looked over at his friends."Last one over is a smelly butt!" Hopefully the head start would be enough to beat Davey.
Geth, roll 1d6 for clamber over the gate.
The Division, Warframe (XB1)
GT: Tanith 6227
Geth, roll 1d6 for mega punch
The Division, Warframe (XB1)
GT: Tanith 6227
"No way I'm going to be a smelly butt!"
Geth roll 1d6 for not being a smelly butt
3DS: 1289-8447-4695
Minion, roll 1d6 for The Roguish Type
Geth roll 1d6 for Does Davey make it up?
Geth roll 1d6 for Is the gate punch-resistant?
Geth roll 1d6 for Are rusty locks easier or harder to pick?
Only to tumble to the ground in a heap when Elly slams his fist into the gate, causing the whole thing to rattle noisily.
Alas for the boys, a cooler and cleverer head prevails. With a screeeeeech and a clang, Mia pops the lock, and the chain falls. The gate swings open with a single squeak, just wide enough to admit our intrepid explorers. The yard awaits...
OOC:
Wex, Davey, and Elly each gain 1 XP because failure is educational. Mia gains the satisfaction of outsmarting the boys.
OOC: And, really, is anything better than outsmarting the boys?
"Excellent..."
OOC: use xp to get "Power Armor Power Punches" if that's a thing I can do
3DS: 1289-8447-4695
OOC: Since skills need to start broad, you can have Power Armor, and any time you can tie your action to the armor, you get to roll 2d6. You can use future skill purchases to further describe the armor (Punching Servos, Exoskeletal Strength, Radar, Damage-resistant Alloy, etc.), which will allow you to roll a higher pool of dice when doing something related to that specific feature.