[BHH] The Exploration!

[DMDarcs]

Zoe Ingstrom likes to play in her room with her dolls. Each doll has its own name, family, history, pets, and everything else a doll needs to be happy. Zoe helps her dolls play out little dramas, mostly happy ones, but sometimes the dolls get mad at each other and hit. Not that Daddies would ever hit Mommies. That doesn't happen. Leastways, you're not supposed to talk about it when it does. So, Zoe plays with her dolls.

Flash if Zoe's cousin, but she doesn't know him real well. Zoe's mom goes to Madame Zostra for tarot card readings. Zoe likes playing with her dolls under the table there. Zoe's family sometimes goes camping with Brandon's family. But Zoe doesn't like it, so she mostly stays in the tend and plays with her dolls. Zoe's greatest fear is of the boogeyman... whoever he is.

Heather Granville has always been perfect - perfectly petite, perfectly blonde, perfectly polite. Perfect, perfect, perfect. If even the teeniest, tiniest thing in her life isn't perfect, it gives Heather a headache. Sometimes her headaches get so bad it feels like something is trying to dig its way out of her skull. But even that doesn't wipe the perfect smile off of her face.

Heather knows Flash and Professor Longfellow from school. Heather's greatest fear is that she isn't actually perfect after all.

Madame Zostra, or "Belladina" (as her mother named her), has been a tarot and tea leaf reader since college. She started out working part-time sitting in the window of an occult bookstore, but now she has her own home astrology business. Although Madame Zostra reads cards for a living, she won't ever read her own cards. She is terrified that she'll see her own death in the cards, something she can't bear to think about.

Flash is her nephew, and she never fails to buy him birthday and Christmas gifts. Zoe's mother comes to Madame Zostra for tarot readings. Madame Zostra is terrified of death... particularly her own.

"Flash" isn't the most original name ever for someone as fast as Darrin Williams. But he likes it. It's comfortable and it fits him, just like his favorite pair of track shoes. Darrin lives to run and runs to live. When he's not running, Darrin feels like there's something coming for him... something Not Good. Even when he runs, the wind sometimes whispers in his ears, and he swears he can hear the Not Good Thing coming up from behind him - fast. No wonder he's the start of the track team.

He's known Madame Zostra for his entire life. After all, he's her nephew. Zoe's his little cousin, but he's only met her a couple of times. Darrin's greatest fear is that he's going to be caught by the Not Good Things (whatever it is).

Professor Josiah Longfellow is very proud of his aristocratic roots. His family used to have money... at least until his father lost it all on gambling and alcohol. The Professor still lives with his aging mother in the rundown Victorian that used to be the finest house in town. His father disappeared one day. Ran out. His mother has a rather large life insurance policy, but of course, he doesn't want to collect on it any time soon, no matter how nice the money would be.

Professor Longfellow knows Flash from the university. Brandon is his paperboy. The Professor's greatest fear is that he will lose everything he has, proving to everyone that he's no better than his deadbeat father.

Brandon Jaspers loves computers and camping. He takes his new laptop with him wherever he goes. That way he can program AND camp at the same time. Cool. Brandon's never liked playing with regular toys, action figures, or that kind of thing. In fact, he hates puppets. He had a clown puppet when he was little, and some mornings when he woke up, he'd find it had moved closer to him. Once it even had a kitchen knife in its hand. Brandon's pretty sure his big brother, Chris, was messing with him. But he still hates puppets.

Brandon sometimes sees Zoe's family when they go camping. Zoe usually hides in the tent with her dolls, though. Yuck. Brandon delivers the newspapers to Professor Longfellow (in his big old freaky house). Brandon's greatest fear is of puppets, particularly clown puppets.

[DMDarcs]

Zoe starts this game.

Zoe Ingstrom (Tahlvin)
Speed -- X 4 4 4 (4) 5 6 8 8
Might -- X 2 2 3 (3) 4 4 6 7
Sanity -- X 3 4 (5) 5 6 6 7 8
Knowledge -- X 1 2 (3) 4 4 5 5 5
Current Location: Entrance Hall

[Tahlvin]

Zoe will discover the room to the south of the entrance hall.

Edit: This is my first time playing the game, so I will be learning as I go. Not sure if the traditional way to do this is to just lay out the move, or provide some flavor text as we go.

“Clutching her American Girl doll closely to her chest, Zoe turns and wanders naïvely towards the south door in the entrance hall. Reaching an innocent hand upward, she turns the knob and pushes the door open.”

[DMDarcs]

Zoe discovers the Ballroom.



JONAH'S TURN

Two boy are playing with a wooden top. "Would you like a turn, Jonah?" one asks.

"No," says Jonah. "I want all the turns." Jonah takes the top and hits the other boy in the face. The boy falls. Jonah keeps hitting him as they fade from view.

Zoe takes 1 point of mental damage (your choice of Sanity or Knowledge).

Heather (Stan) is up!

[Tahlvin]

[Stan]

Heather sees the girl with the doll veering off and just knows that's not how it's done. Upstairs is where all the good stuff would be. And straight is better than turning ever which way

Straight ahead. Up the stairs. Last point of movement to go through the door that straight ahead at the landing. She goes into the new room, hoping for treasures.

[DMDarcs]

Heather discovers the Nursery.



If you end your turn in the Nursery, gain 1 Sanity if it's below its starting value. Lose 1 Sanity if it's above its starting value

KEY

You've been wondering how to open all the locks in the house. The question is, why did they get locked in the first place?

Add 4 dice to trait rolls to open or take something from a card or room, such as the Locked Room, Safe, or Vault.

You may pass through the Locked Room without removing a Lock. At the start of each turn, you may choose to Lock an unlocked door in the Locked Room if you are next to that door.

The Omen count is at 1. No haunt is triggered.

Madame Zostra (Eliahad) is up!

[Eliahad]

I roll my eyes at the younger folk, and take a step north into...well...the unknown.

[DMDarcs]

Madame Zostra discovers the Arsenal.



When you draw an item card in this room, draw 2 cards and choose 1 to keep. Discard the other.

The room has a dumbwaiter. You can spend 2 movement points in this room to move to the Upper Landing or the Basement Landing.

ITEM: CHOICE
Choose 1 of these to keep:

ARMOR
It's just prop armor from a Renaissance fair, but it's still metal.

Any time you take physical damage, take 1 less point of damage.

This item can't be stolen.

OR MYSTIC COIN
Heads or tails?

Once during your turn, you can roll 1d3-1 to flip the coin.

2 - It's heads. Gain 1 point in a physical trait.

1 - It's tails. Gain 1 point in a mental trait.

0 - It landed on its edge! Lose 1 point in a mental trait and 1 point in a physical trait.

[Eliahad]

I choose the armor! Can't be too careful in these haunted mansions. Something might fall on me!

[DMDarcs]

Flash is up!

[Mike]

Flash knows that all the good stuff is up in the attic. Moving all the way to the roof landing and then east.

[DMDarcs]

Flash discovers the Library.



Once per game, if you end your turn here, gain 1 Knowledge.

THE WALLS HAVE EYES

A series of fade portraits hang on the wall. Their eyes seem to follow you. Is it just a painter's trick? No, the silent, dead faces are trying to tell you something.

You find yourself in the Arsenal. You can choose one of the two following items to take:

BOTTLE
An opaque vial containing a black liquid.

Once during your turn after the haunt is revealed, you can roll 3d3-3 and drink from the bottle.
6 - Choose a room and put your Explorer there.
5 - Gain 2 Might and 2 Speed.
4 - Gain 2 Knowledge and 2 Sanity.
3 - Gain 1 Knowledge and lose 1 Might.
2 - Lose 2 Knowledge and 2 Sanity.
1 - Lose 2 Might and 2 Speed.
0 - Lose 2 from each trait.

Discard this item after you use it.

OR SNAKE OIL
The worn label has vague promises of renewed vigor. It doesn't smell poisonous.

Discard this item to choose an explorer in your room (including yourself) and raise one of his or her physical traits and/or one of his or her mental traits to their starting values.

[Mike]

Bottle!

[DMDarcs]

Longfellow is up!

[FlameBlade]

Longfellow creaks into the house, thinking "While I love paranormal activities, I am getting too old for this." With this in mind, he turns towards nearest empty room just off the grand entry doors. All he is hoping is to find any evidence of anything that would make a bestseller book, and no longer tettering on destitution due to his ailing mother.


(I think turn right from the doors, but maps aren't working for me at the moment.)

[DMDarcs]

(I don't understand why the map isn't working for you....I've got them in an open album. Options are:

North into Arsenal, east into new room.
South into Ballroom, then west, east, or South into new room.
West into Foyer, then north or south into new room.)

[FlameBlade]

East into new room.

[DMDarcs]

[FlameBlade]

Arsenal then east into the new room. Ugh, completely blind here, despite trying to refresh.