Betrayal, Session 9

[idolpro]

Who: You lot
When: To be inserted into the timeline after completion
What: Betrayal at the House on the Game Tower

[ The game starts with you in elevators, the doors jammed shut. You can keep an eye on the city further and further below you, but there's no introduction to today's game.

It's just as well. Those of you who recognize it need no introduction to it. Those of you who don't couldn't be prepared by any host's opening spiel, anyway.

The elevator stops atop the central tower of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building and then lurches unpleasantly, wrenching itself out of where elevators ought to go. The sudden movement jolts you, and when the doors open you spill out into a room.

Hopefully, with not too much time missing. ]

Comments

Rules:

[idolpro]

IC INSTRUCTIONS:

[ Still have your minds? Try to hold onto those, as long as you can! As long as you're safe and sane, the goal is to explore as many rooms of the house as you can-- first come, first serve! Only the first person to explore a room gets the points for it.

If you lose your mind, you'll turn traitor to those around you, and you won't be able to help but try to do what the house wants you to do. With the house pushing upon you, both physical and mental distress are a danger to your sanity. Take care.

And take heart, too, even if you do turn traitor! It's another goal, and if you're doing badly at the other, this is a way to win! You haven't lost it all yet! Especially since the traitor goals are worth more points with the audience. ]

OOC Instructions:

Each team will have their traitor goal provided in a locked post of their starting room. Do not share your goal OOC, though do pay attention to other players' Do Not Wants when violence does occur.

Each room will be described with one paragraph of flavor text, which you can use to interact with each other but does not mechanically do anything or have dice rolls. Following the flavor text, the exits/entrances to the room will be listed, with one additional paragraph listing any other effects the room may have attached. Interacting with specific aspects listed after the entrances may give you stat bonuses, or stat detriments. Be aware of that! Flavor text from the first paragraph has no stat stuff attached.

Ping the runner the first time you enter a room, so we can get the description up for you.

The first time a room is entered, the first post will be descriptive. The second comment beneath that will be an event/item, unless the room does not have one attached, which would be noted in the first comment. Please wait for the second comment before responding to top-levels if you are the first person in a room.

If you are not the first person to go through a room, you can just comment beneath the top-level, there will not be another event/item for it.

Make rolls in the Discord roll channel as necessary. Rolls are made with 3 sided dice, minus the number of dice you're rolling, so zero is possible. Use the command .roll Xd3-X in the #dicebot channel on Discord, with X being the number of dice you're rolling.

If your character loses all of one stat, they lose the battle of the wills to the House. All their personal morals and concerns are overridden. If it helps, think of it as being possessed by a vengeful spirit. Those who have turned traitor do not get points for exploring rooms. The possessed do not need to reveal their status OOC to other players, as many Traitor goals need to be performed in certain areas-- it is up to player preference if you are going to overpower another PC and drag them there, or trick them to going somewhere with you. All traitor characters know the whole map. The insanity effect is temporary, and lasts only as long as the game does. Characters turn traitor on an individual basis; if a character hits a sanity break, it will not also impact their unitmates.

Stat sheet changes and traitor status both carry over into a new session. If your character ended a session with +2 might and -1 speed from their starting positions, they will start their next session with +2 might and -1 speed from their starting positions. If they turn traitor, they will remain a traitor until endgame.

Any team that completes a traitor goal is automatically a winner. If less than half the units complete their traitor goals, then the remaining winning units will be those who explored the most rooms.

Session 9 Links:

[idolpro]

How to play: Betrayal at the House on the Game Tower
Stat cards reference sheet
This session's stat card page - PLEASE DO THIS FIRST BEFORE YOU START PLAYING.
This session's map - to be updated as rooms are unlocked.

Room Links

[idolpro]

LiliS
sensitIV
pep!pep!
Taisho Roman Revolution
BAD END=DEAD END
future is now
WILD CITY
☆ZRAEL
Heart Soldier Senshi
AlcheME!
avante en garde
BARiTONES

Creaky Hallway

[idolpro]

[ You enter the Creaky Hallway. The door behind you squeaks so loud when you close it, and the floorboards protest beneath your weight. You would surely hear if someone were to approach you here.

The room is a cross-shaped intersection, doors in each of the cardinal directions.

The room itself offers no particular dangers or advantages. ]

Re: Creaky Hallway

[rollplayinghouse]

[She heads east!]

Kitchen

[idolpro]

[ You enter the Kitchen. It gleams, modern, chrome, and threatening. A kitchen needs no haunted house to twist to be threatening— a rack of knives tall as a child is set into a long countertop, pots and pans hang from above. There's stoves with gas and flame, a wood-fired oven and a modern one, a walk in freezer with a very prominent pad-locked— currently left open, but that could change. Inside the freezer, there is nothing but meat. Inside the refrigerator, cake. On the counter, a meat slicer guillotine and jars and jars of pickled ingredients-- hopefully ingredients.

There is one entrance, to the West. ]

Event: Funeral

[idolpro]

You see an open coffin. You're inside it.

You must attempt a Sanity roll:
4+: You blink, and it's gone. Gain 1 Sanity.
2-3: The vision disturbs you. Lose 1 Sanity.
0-1: You're really in that coffin. Lose 1 Sanity and 1 Might as you dig yourself out. If the Graveyard or the Crypt has been found, the character is moved to one (player choice).

Foyer

[idolpro]

[ You enter the Foyer. An extension of the entrance hall, the center of the hall is taken up by a fountain, water slopping over the sides through a grate in the floor as in waves as if displaced by some tumultuous battle. The statues in the fountain are engaged in a still-frame war, gladiatorial armies holding spears aloft with wounds that leak water to the fountain below. Watching over all this is a prominently placed painting of man. Beneath it is a plaque, no name or artist but instead are the words, "Do Unto Others."

The room itself offers no particular dangers or advantages.

There are exits in all four cardinal directions. ]

Re: Foyer

[rollplayinghouse]

[After giving the painting a cold look, Maki heads north.]

Storeroom

[idolpro]

[ You enter the Storeroom - although for a storeroom, it's surprisingly barren. Inside are three tall metal shelves in a row, some rolled-up rugs shoved up against one wall, an extra champagne cube with one ottoman missing, and really not much else. It might have been emptied out for the latest party, or else maybe the people in this house just left all their shit strewn around whatever room it happened to end up in and barely used this place because of it.

There are exits to the north and south. ]

Item: Smelling Salts

[idolpro]

Whew, that's a lungful.

If you or another character's Knowledge is below its starting value, and you're in the same room, you can raise that trait to its starting value by using the Smelling Salts. Discard this after you use it.

Bedroom

[idolpro]

[ You enter the Bedroom. The decor reeks of sleaze— black floors polished to a mirror shine reflect you from below, the walls leather panelled, set with studs and mounted with sturdy rings. Leather straps and braided cord hangs from the coat hanger, and the bed is rumpled, unmade. An ornate side-table is topped off with expensive bottles of booze, more half-emptied than full. A dresser drawer is open, everything inside looking to be made entirely of black lace.

There are exits to the north, east, and south. ]

Event: Phone Call

[idolpro]

A phone rings in the room. You feel compelled to answer it.

Roll 2 dice. A sweet little granny voice says:
4: "Tea and cakes! Tea and Cakes! You were always my favorite!" Gain 1 Sanity.
3: "I'm always here for you, Pattycakes. Watching..." Gain 1 knowledge.
1-2: "I'm here, Sweetums! Give us a kiss!" Take 1 die of mental damage.
0: "Bad little children must be punished." Take 2 dice of physical damage."

Grand Staircase

[idolpro]

[ You enter the Grand Staircase. An opulent staircase, it curves an elegant line to the upper landing, out of sight above. The dark mahogany of the flooring almost hides the rust blotches and trail, where it looks like something bloody was dragged unwilling up them, leaving desperate scratches in the wood. The landing below has a dark splotch where the blood starts at the bottom, where an altercation must have started in full-view of the front hall.

There is one entrance to the south, and one that leads to the second floor landing above.

The room itself offers no particular dangers or advantages. ]

Re: Grand Staircase

[rollplayinghouse]

[She doesn't give the blood more than a moment's look before she heads up the stairs.]

Underground Lake

[idolpro]

[ You enter the Underground Lake. Aren't you supposed to be in the Game Tower? What on earth is this lake doing here!? It looks like a slice of the ocean, trapped and with a deep pulling tide. You could be irresponsible and take a swim, and check where the current would drag you out to but that's certainly not the wise thing to do. There's a shovel nearby.

You can go West or North. ]

Event: groundskeeper

[idolpro]

You turn to see a man in groundskeeper clothing. He raises his shovel and charges. Inches from your face, he disappears, leaving muddy footprints, and nothing more.

You must attempt a knowledge roll. (A character in the gardens rolls 2 fewer dice on this roll)
4+ You find something in the mud. Draw an item card.
0-3: The groundskeeper reappears and strikes you in the face with the shovel. GM rolls a Might 4 attack for the Groundskeeper. You defend against this attack by rolling dice equal to your might.

Drawing Room

[idolpro]

[ You enter the drawing room. Withdrawn far into the house, it doesn't seem like many guests could have ever been entertained here. Nonetheless, it's ready for the occasion. Most any occasion, actually. A large dining table, with a black mirrored surface stands at the center of the room, surrounded by tufted couches in black fabric with an oil-slick sheen. A roll-top desk stands by a bookshelf stands by a display case stands by an easel stands by a coat-rack. But that said, the room is occupied by strange silhouettes-- not the shadows of the damned, animate and three-dimensional. These have been painted onto various pieces of furniture, people that aren't reclining atop couches, sitting for their supper, as if to keep company someone locked away deprived of it.

There is an exit to the north, and to the east.

There is also, upon searching, a dumb-waiter in this room. ]

Item: Chalk

[idolpro]

A simple drawing stick made of ground bone and wax.

You may roll Knowledge instead of Might on defense rolls.

Bathroom

[idolpro]

[ You enter the bathroom. All the mirrors and windows are fogged up, a bath full of warm water and bubbles already drawn. The room smells heady, like warm wine that's been spiced— and, if the bubbles clear, it seems that… might be what's in the tub. It's dark red, sloshing lightly like something's moving beneath the surface, before more foam wells up to cover what's been cleared away.

There are exits to the north, west, and to the east. ]

Event: Secret Stairs

[idolpro]

A horrible creaking sound echoes around you. You've discovered a secret stairwell.

The Secret Stairs connect the room discovered to the nearest room on the map on another floor. If the character decides to follow the stairs, they receive another event card in the new connecting room.

Servant's Quarters

[idolpro]

[ You enter the Servant's Quarters. Beds are crammed in close together, stacked in two-tall bunks set into cabinets-- capsule hotel-like. The spaces between rows are narrow and hard to navigate, labyrinthine with corners that are designed so you can't see who's coming around the next hall. It affords privacy, at those cost of peace of mind-- you can hear footsteps but now know how close they are, you know surely there must be an exit close but be unable to find it easily through the maze.

You may go North, East, South, or West. ]

Event: Smoke

[idolpro]

Smoke billows around you. You cough, wiping away tears.

The Smoke in this room blocks line of sight from adjacent rooms. A character rolls 2 fewer dice (minimum 1 die) on all trait rolls in this room.

Upper Landing

[idolpro]

[ You enter the Upper Landing. An opulent staircase from the lower level curves an elegant line to the landing, to down below. The dark mahogany of the flooring almost hides the rust blotches and trail, where it looks like something bloody was dragged unwilling up them, leaving desperate scratches in the wood.

There is an entrance in all four cardinal directions: the north, east, south, and west, as well as the option to take the stairs down a floor or up a floor.

The room itself offers no particular dangers or advantages. ]

Re: Upper Landing

[rollplayinghouse]

[She glances at the up stairs, but ultimately heads west.]

Larder

[idolpro]

[ You enter the Larder. A great plume of white bursts into your face as you open the door-- a sack of flour lands with a heavy thud. It's only that. It's landed heavy by the door, surrounded by many more sacks of flour, sugar. Crates of dried goods line shelves, alongside tins and spices. Something moves in the sack.

You may go West or East.

The tins don't look tampered with. You could risk eating something here to keep your strength up, you're probably not going to find much better in this mansion. (Oncer per round, if you eat the rations, gain 1 might.) ]

Item: candle

[idolpro]

It makes the shadows move- at least, you hope that's because of the Candle.

If you draw an event card, roll 1 addtional die (max 8) for that event's trait rolls.
If you have the Bell, Book, and Candle, gain 2 in each trait. The first time you lose one of the 3 items after collecting the full set, lose 2 from each trait.

Operating Lab

[idolpro]

[ You enter the Operating Laboratory. An operating room table reclines in the middle of it, the outline of a body visible underneath the sheet. An array of satellite lights spotlight the chair like a stage, and monitors all around it are ceaselessly reporting no activity. And on the walls— photographs. Of an arm, a pair of pretty eyes in someone's face, a slim pair of legs, dexterous pianist fingers, and more parts upon parts upon parts. Three guesses where they went, and the first two don't count.

There is an entrance to the North, East, and to the South. ]

Event: Creepy Crawlies

[idolpro]

A thousand bugs spill out on your skin, under your clohtes, and in your hair.

You must attempt a sanity roll:
5+: You blink and they're gone. Gain 1 sanity.
1-4: Lose 1 sanity
0: Lose 2 sanity.

Gardens

[idolpro]

[ You enter the Gardens. Wrought-iron gates divide it from the edge of the skyscraper, imposing points silhouetted against the dark sky, lit from beneath by motion activated lights in the soil that glow as you walk past them— announcing your presence to everyone out here. An apple tree dominates the center of the garden, roots buckling the paths and littering its fruit— all perfect, unblemished where it has fallen, all throughout the garden. Small sprouts spike from the ground, pale and strangled imitations of the central tree, none of them thriving.

There are three entrances: one to the north, one to the east and one to the west. ]

Event: A Moment of Hope

[idolpro]

Something feels strangely right about this room. Something is resisting the evil of the house and its owner.

This place is #Blessed.
Each character rolls 1 additional die (max 8) on all trait rolls in this room.

Wine Cellar

[idolpro]

[ You enter the Wine Cellar. Barrels and barrels of alcohol fill the room - beyond what the eye can see, because it seems there's a sort of mortar setup going on to prevent you from going too far into the wine cellar. For the love of God, let us see the wine! Oh well - you probably shouldn't drink it, like, even if this is the one time you can get some without spending points, it's probably better to avoid the drink, right? Avoid spirits. . . .

You may go upstairs, or you may go East. ]

Item: Dark Dice

[idolpro]

Are you feeling lucky?

Once per turn, you can roll 3 dice:
6: Move to the location of any character you choose.
5: Move one other character in the same room to an adjacent room.
4: Gain 1 physical trait.
3: Immediately move into an adjacent room.
2: Gain 1 in a mental Trait.
1: Draw an event card.
0: Reduce all your traits to the lowest value above the skull symbol. Discard the Dark Dice.

Research Laboratory

[idolpro]

[ You enter the Research Laboratory. The rest of the place is party, party, party but the laboratory is stark white: business. It almost glows off through sheer force of cleanliness alone, never mind the dim lighting. The only color comes from dye stains on sample slides and petri-dishes, little medical caps in orange prescription bottles. The labels are. . . not helpful. "Toxoplasma abomination bullshit", "Belhor's, do not return under any circumstances", "massive sleep dep in a bottle", and "ingest if feeling lucky". Probably don't take any.

The exits to this room are to the south and to the west. ]

Event: Hanged Men

[idolpro]

A breeze chills the room. Before you three men hang from grayed ropes. They stare at you with cold, dead eyes. The trio swing silently, then fade into dust that falls to the ground. You start to choke.

You must attempt a roll for each trait:
2+: That Trait is unaffected.
0-1: Lose 1 from that trait.
If you roll a 2+ on all 4 rolls, gain 1 additional point in a trait of your choice.

Roof Landing

[idolpro]

[ You arrive on the top floor landing. There are exits to the north, west, and south. There is also a staircase heading down, dusty and disused-- it looks like people rarely traverse these steps, going so far up into this (literal) hell house.

Some of the wallpaper on the wall to the east looks slightly loose, indicating a door hidden behind it.

The room itself offers no particular dangers or advantages. ]

Re: Roof Landing

[worldlyafflictions]

[Pushing through the east wall's hidden door.]

Organ Room

[idolpro]

[ You enter the Organ Room. The eponymous pipe organ unfurls against two walls, a grand parabola of pipes and excess. It squats just short of scraping the ceiling, golden devils adorning the alcoves of the thing, standing proudly atop pipes with spears held aloft and scaling the sides with spears held in their teeth. A mural of defeated angels adorns the floor, with there being little choice but to trod on their defeated number to cross the room, so numerous are their painted numbers.

There is an entrance to the south, to the north, and to the west. ]

Event: Disquieting Sounds

[idolpro]

A baby's cry, lost and abandoned. A scream. The crack of breaking glass. Then silence.

Roll 6 dice. If you roll equal to or more than the number of traitor characters in this session, you gain 1 sanity. If not, take 1 die of mental damage.

Junk Room

[idolpro]

[ You enter the Junk Room. It's difficult to wedge the door open to enter, so much are the multitudes of junk that have been heaped here. Among other things, suits ruined with cigarette burns, books with red wine staining and fusing the pages, half a motorcycle, and a pawn shop's worth of wrist-watches all in need of repair litter the floor. There's a stack of mirrors against the wall, so you can see how ridiculous you look as you pick your way through the mess, too. It's a trial and a half to wade through this room, and opening any of the doors promises to be equally arduous.

There are four entrances, one in each cardinal direction: to the north, east, south, and west.

To pull open a door you'll need to make a Might roll of 3+. If you fail, you'll lose one speed from tripping and hurting your ankle while yanking it open, but you'll still get out. ]

Event: Mist From the Walls

[idolpro]

Mists pour out from the walls. There are faces in the mist, human and. . . inhuman.

Each character in the basement must attempt a sanity roll:
4+: The faces are tricks of light and shadow. All is well.
1-3: Take 1 die of mental damage (and 1 additional die of damage if in the Underground Lake, the Crypt, or the Vault)
0: Take 1 die of mental damage (and 2 additional dice of damage if in the Underground Lake, the Crypt, or the Vault)

Panic Room

[idolpro]

[ You enter the panic room after working to pop open the seam in the wallpaper in the stairway landing and pulling up the heavy metal shutter door. The door slams down behind you as you enter.

It's surprisingly richly-appointed, for a room that one would hope never to use, with a dark leather sofa and dark wood cabinets for provisions and basic essentials. It'd make a comfortable place to hide—if the walls weren't painted in a perfect, deep imitation of blood red.

There's a dumbwaiter here shut behind a heavy metal door that slams down when not held open—the only other entrance or exit, if only you could cram yourself in there.

Dumb-waiter aside, there is only one exit, to the west.

When you exit, you may attempt a speed roll of 3+. If you succeed, you may move to any room with a dumbwaiter. ]

Event: What the...?

[idolpro]

As you look back the way you came, you see. . . nothing. Just empty fog and mist where a room used to be.

The room moves to somewhere else on the same floor, shifted so it attaches to only one room on one side. The previous area it was located is now an empty hallway.

Stairs From the Basement

[idolpro]

[ You enter the Stairs from the Basement. They are, fortunately, neither narrow or steep. They wind a spiral deeper into the earth— you know yourself to the be at the top of the game tower, but it's hard to keep that in mind, so oppressive is the air down here.

You can exit to the east on the ground floor, or continue down to the room directly below.

The room itself offers no particular dangers or advantages. ]

Re: Stairs From the Basement

[dragonheartedgirl]

This is...

[Different. But she's not complaining.

East I guess? Map is showing it's. West to Foyer. but??? wherever there is a room that is not basement. that's where we will go. ]

The Menagerie

[idolpro]

[ You enter the menagerie. Though it is a large room, it is not a large menagerie. There are few beasts within. A powerful black lion, a species that… by all accounts should be mythical (though maybe hell is not the place to quibble about that) lounges in the center of the room. There are no cage bars to hold it back, apparently given full run of the place. Rocky outcrops of stone throughout the room, a few brush species of plants in containers, and twinkling lights set into the ceiling above. You are lucky, and the lion is sleeping soundly, undisturbed by your noise as birds trill songs and cover the sound of your footsteps about the room.

There is an exit to the east.

After the first time you enter the room, you feel more confident for having been in proximity to such a mighty beast without waking it-- gain a physical trait in either strength or speed ]

Event: something slimy

[idolpro]

What's that around your ankle? A bug? A tentacle? A dead hand clawing?

You must attempt a speed roll:
4+ You break free. Gain 1 speed.
1-3: Lose 1 might.
0: Lose 1 might and 1 speed.