The Haunting of Rasp Manor

by CrossOut

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The Haunting of Rasp Manor
Immerse yourself in a haunted mystery
with this adventure for the world's greatest roleplaying game


As you arrive...

Rasp's Manor rolls over the crest of the undulating road – a welcome sight for weary travelers who are towards the end of a day's travels across the moor and have finally reached civilized lands. The sleepy farming village of Averum lies an hours trek further past the manor. That distance would be of no concern were you not weary from your day's hike and can see a terrible storm rolling into your position.

The storm is brings with it a thick, dense black fog that howls and whirls about. Upon approaching the manor, you can hardly see more than 100 feet around you as the storm consumes the sun from the sky and you hastily seek a reprieve from the encroaching storm. To your luck, there are lights on in Rasp's manor house and as you approach you can see, in the dim light of the garden torches, the door to the manor open invitingly.

Running the Adventure

This adventure is intended for a group of four characters at 5th level. This adventure can be played as part of an ongoing campaign or as a standalone adventure. This adventure should take 2 sessions of 3 to 4 hours in length. If you are running longer sessions, you may finish this adventure in a single session, otherwise you should expect this to last at least 2 sessions depending on how thoroughly your party engages with the adventure and how much they wish to roleplay with the elements present.

Plot Hooks

  Survival. A dense storm circles all about as the party approach the manor. This should appear threatening and, as a brazen party may discover, very dangerous. The party should feel intensely pressured to enter the manor as their only means of escape from the storm.

Rest. The party is weary and while they may not be immediately willing to long rest, the prospect of spending a night in a welcoming manor away from a storm should not be overlooked.

Curiosity. Some parties may simply be interested in investigating the manor as a place of peculiarity or perhaps simply after some loot.

Layout

This module details the various rooms of Rasp Manor which can be explored in any order and at any time. A group shouldn't feel compelled to explore than manor in any particular order and should wander through its rooms as they see fit. Players are intended to progress through the manor, collecting bits of information as they go from room to room and uncovering the mystery behind the manor in a frightening environment. Important general features are discussed prior to detailing the rooms, afterwards and in the appendices.

When a group enters the manor, the mood should feel creepy and frightening but not outright violent. Allow the tension to slowly build as the group explore the manor and they experience its haunted nature. After a player touches, casts a spell into or moves over the ritual circle in the ritual chamber (Room 19), the manor becomes Animated. After the manor has been animated, ornamentals and pieces of furniture in several rooms of the house will also begin to animate and they will attack members of the group when they enter the area. These will be detailed in the sections for each relevant room which are not considered active until after the entire manor is Animated. Until then, the later assailants are simply pieces of furniture as they appear.

When the manor becomes Animated, the following general features activate:

  • The Ethereal Plane slips closer to the Material Plane within the manor and its surrounding gardens. Members of the family may see and hear the players' characters clearly, although only those characters who have touched the amulet of darkness (see Item Appendix) or touched the ritual circle in Room 19 will be able to hear the family. Only those who are actively touching the amulet can see and physically interact with the family.
  • Every suit of armor in the house will begin to rattle. If a character spends more than 1 minute in any room with a suit of armor, it will animate into a suit of animated armor and attack whoever is in the room.
  • Each room with a fireplace or an oven becomes filled with black smoke. The smoke replicates the effects of the stinking cloud spell. The smoke can be stopped from being created if a creature disrupts the fireplace or oven (by throwing water onto it for example) and the smoke can be cleared after 10 minutes after opening a window or instantly with a strong wind.

Haunting

While within Rasp's Manor, characters may find themselves subject to the hauntings of the house by rolling on the Haunting Table (page 11). The rules for how and when to use that table are detailed later.

The table features several generally frightening occurrences. I would recommend making sure that all the possibilities of the table are results your players would be comfortable experiencing (even if their characters would not be). To make the game more immersive, I would recommend asking each of your players for their character's biggest fear and replacing some of the options in the Haunting Table something each character would find especially frightening.

For example, one of my players made a character who was claustrophobic so when a particular option on the Haunting Table was rolled their character experienced walls closing in tightly around them. They were not able to see beyond these walls even though they were not physically present and when they stretched out their hand, they felt they were in a tight box. This effect lasted for 10 minutes.

The Ethereal Plane

The Ethereal Plane is a distorted, ghostly realm where time is not always as it seems. The ghostly family within the manor may seem to be living out various parts of their day all at once as the group see them having dinner in the dining room and then rush upstairs to find pages of a book turning as though someone had been sat reading for hours.

The manor is a point where the Ethereal Plane bleeds over into the Material Plane which explains the occasional interactions where the ghostly family will make noises and interact physically with their house but the group are not able to properly see or interact normally with them. A character who enters the Ethereal Plane here will see the family and may be able to speak to them normally.

After the house animates, the planes bleed into each other further and it is far easier for magic and objects to cross from one to the other.

The Storm

The blackened storm that descends upon the party resembles a cloud of ash that quickly surrounds the manor. The storm fills the area surrounding the manor and covers the village for a few miles in any direction.

Any creature exposed to the storm that isn't a construct or an undead must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw at the end of each of its turns or take 3d6 necrotic damage and suffer 1 level of exhaustion. A creature that dies in the storm rises as a skeleton or zombie (DM's choice)
1 minute later.

Story Overview

Cornelius Rasp was once a masterful wizard who traveled the lands seeking adventure before he met his wife, Agrippina, a devastating swordswoman. They adventured together for a time before eventually settling down near the village of Averum where they bought a small manor with the money they found while adventuring. This was a peaceful place to raise their two children, Lucius and Petronia, where Cornelius could tend to his gardening and Agrippina to her horses.

Cornelius provided care for the villagers. He would provide medicinal herbs to those who required it and magical assistance where he could. The villagers had told him of their waning harvests and Cornelius began work on a solution. He had in mind a powerful ritual that would alter the weather in the valley to become more favorable to the harvest for the next few months. Now while this was something Cornelius had not exactly performed before, he was a well-trained and powerful wizard and planned the ritual carefully and accounted for all the problems he could think of.

A couple weeks prior to completing the ritual, Cornelius received a package from his brother, Avanticus. Inside was a marvelous amulet with a central gem with all the colors light would allow flowing within that Avanticus purportedly gave to Cornelius since he believed it complimented the myriad colors of Cornelius' flowered garden. In truth, Cornelius had told Avanticus about his plans for the weather ritual and Avanticus, who was secretly a far darker and conniving individual than Cornelius knew, had offered him this amulet to disrupt that.

One night, when Petronia and Lucius were asleep, Cornelius began the ritual to bring good weather for the village. It began as intended and seemed to be proceeding successfully but when the final stroke of magic was laid out, the amulet, which Cornelius wore which he believed a pleasant gift from his brother, darkened. Its horrific nature manifested and infected the ritual with necromantic purpose. What would have been a peaceful ritual of bountiful rainfall conjured a blackened storm overhead as tendrils of thick smoke writhed from the ritual chamber before bursting, releasing a wave of necromantic energy that immediately annihilated the inhabitants of Rasp's Manor and the nearby village.

When the party arrive at this manor, it will seem at first abandoned before quickly realizing that it is still inhabited by ghosts as cutlery moves in the dining room and the sounds of the family talking indistinctly emanate from locations in certain rooms. The party must discover what has occurred within this manor by investigating the rooms and must find some way to resolve the tragedy that has occurred here, so they are not trapped within the manor's haunted walls forever.

Exploring Rasp Manor

The following details all rooms, except minor passageways, that lie within and around Rasp Manor. Use the map on the next page, lovingly created by /u/Zalitz87 using Forgotten Adventures, for reference as to their locations. Every room in the house has at least one window (not shown on map).

1. Garden

As you approach the manor, you see a small rusted placard laid into the 5 foot wall surrounding the garden which reads "Rasp Manor". Before you lies a garden of mulch and weeds. The stems of beautiful flowers faintly rise to attention amongst their fallen brethren as they too are slowly consumed into the mulch. The padded dirt traces a path across the garden which ends where you hear the creaking of an inviting door open and light spills out from the atrium of the manor but with no one there to welcome you.

The expansive garden is composed primarily of dead plants which sit in flowerbeds and hedgerows that clearly were once cared for but have fallen into disrepair. A padded dirt pathway through the garden connects the stables to the east, the manor to the south and an outdoor meeting room to the west. To the northwest stand two large stone statues with the appearance of armored knights and in the centre appears to be a well within which sits stagnant water. The garden is dimly lit throughout by the various lanterns which flicker and wane in the howling wind.

The storm which followed the party abruptly stops at the garden wall. The party can still feel and hear the howling wind within the garden but the thick black fog does not penetrate past the garden wall or into the manor.

Animated. When the manor is animated, the mulch in the garden will come to life spawning an undead shambling mound in the bushes immediately southeast of the well. If you feel the party is not sufficiently threatened, you can add an additional undead shambling mound in another set of bushes within the garden. The mounds will attack any who come near them but will not progress up the steps into the house, into the well or into any of the structures in the garden. If there is no one for them to pursue, they will simply hide amidst the shrubs.

The two statues in the northwest of the garden will also animate as stone knights. They will attack any creature that is on or above the dirt pathways in the garden and any creature which is attacking it that is not entirely within the mansion. A smart player may spot this and attempt to make them fight the shambling mounds or simply hide within the bushes where they know there are not mounds.

2. Stables

The stables appear dilapidated with rotten wood and hay and manure that is beginning to turn into a sticky bog. Of the six horse boxes, only the fourth one from the north contains anything of note. Lying, close to death within this box, is a revenant mare with 19 hit points remaining. Its breathing is horse and it barely registers anything as it approaches but will respond faintly to creatures which can speak with animals. If the party can speak to it and are willing to offer it sustenance, it can be persuaded to assist the party but will not enter the manor past the atrium or pass through the storm.

To the south of the horse boxes, there is a small social room for the stable hands. The room contains a half-rotten wooden table with five small stools around it and a keg containing beer in the corner with a tap. Upon the table are a pack of cards loosely stacked into a deck, some unwashed steins and loose change amounting to 2 SP and 6 CP.

3. Meeting Room

The small building in the southwest corner of the garden looks far more professional that a shed. The exterior is badly worn and is beginning to succumb to the rot infesting the garden yet the interior is relatively intact save for a layer of dust. The room houses an ornamental dark wood desk upon which lie a quill next to an inkwell and a notebook. If characters investigate the desk, they will find scraps of notes with contents similar to the notebook along with letter openers and further writing supplies. In the room are three black chairs positioned for a person to sit writing behind the desk and for two to sit opposite, making their requests.

Inside the notebook is a series of scattered notes which can be identified as a list of requests for different medicines, some herbal and some magical, with names of various villagers inside. The names or specific content of the writings are not of crucial importance but feel free to make up names and writings if you so wish. For example, a passage may read: "Ms Belamor asks for her month's supply of cough syrup. Put in a request for honey and grind the drowseroot I grew last spring." The notebook also details the villagers' requests for better weather and when rainfall would best benefit their crops.

4. Well

In the centre of the garden, there appears to be a dry stone well with dying moss winding through the cracks. The water inside looks stagnant and unappealing. The well is somewhat illusory. The southern quarter of the well is not actually there and can be walked through. If a character were to touch the water in the well, they would find that their hands simply pass straight through.

Beneath the illusion, are a set of stone stairs descending below the garden ringed by a stone wall with a entrance to the south. If characters descend the stairs, they will find themselves entering the crypt.

Do not begrudge players from seeing the crypt before they can actually make use of it. Reward their investigation and the knowledge of the crypt's existence may aid them with determining how to resolve the situation in the manor.

5. Crypt

Beneath the manor's garden lies the family crypt. The crypt is dark, damp and cold with a silence only punctuated by the occasional scuttling of insects. It houses several tombs, most of them sealed and belonging to the previous inhabitants of the manor. There are at least four tombs which are clearly left opened and uninhabited with a large slab of stone beside each.

Were the party to attempt to put the Rasp family to rest, they should place the bodies each in an open tomb and seal the tomb with a slab of stone. The tomb should have at least four open tombs but a DM should feel free to have more if they so wish. A DM is also free to name the previous owners of the manor and have their family buried deeper in the crypt to add points of interest specific to your group or setting. None of the creatures which inhabit the manor and attack the party when animated will venture into the crypt.

6. Atrium

As you walk through the heavy wooden doors of the manor, you find yourself in a dark atrium. The cold stone at your feet is coated in a layer of dust and sentinels of uncleaned armor stand vigilant in the corners of the room. The atrium is filled with a chilling silence punctuated by the distant crackling of embers deeper within the house.

Animated. When the manor is animated, the 4 suits of armor in the corners of this room will become 4 suits of animated armor. They will attack once the majority of the group that has entered the manor is in the centre of the atrium. Unlike other suits of armor in the manor, these suits will attack immediately as soon as they have some of the group surrounded.

7. Adjoining Passageways

Both passageways that lead from the southern doors of the atrium into the rest of the manor display a large, well decorated carpet. The carpet, like the rest of the house, is covered in dust but its ornate design is clear despite this.

While in the southwestern adjoining passageway, characters may hear the sound of cutlery scraping plates in Room 8 if they have not entered Room 8 before.

Animated. Each passageway houses a rug of smothering which will attack as soon as it senses a living creature enter its room. The carpet will not leave the room it is in so if characters simply want to slip past it, they may be able to fairly easily.

8. Dining Room

You hear the gentle scraping of cutlery against crocery from the doorway of this room. Upon entering, you witness knives and forks moving of their own accord as though four figures were eating from the plates set out on the table. You watch this display for a brief moment before the cutlery abruptly crashes to the ground, lifeless once more.

Living creatures upon entering this room will find Rasp's family having dinner at the table, albeit in the Ethereal Plane. Due to how closely connected the Ethereal is with the Material Plane in this house, objects which the family may have frequently used can be physically interacted with across the planes for brief moments. The slightest disturbance however, will sever the link.

The dining room bears within a long table with room to seat up to ten with emerald chairs and a tablecloth strewn with motifs of elegant flowers. A fireplace quietly stirs at the western wall of this room - firewood quietly crackling. Plates and cutlery are set out for four diners but there is no visible food anywhere in the room.

9. Kitchen

The kitchen modestly displays a gas powered stove, currently switched on when the group arrive but nothing appears to be cooking, along with a small table for preparing food and two barrels of alcohol. The food set atop the table is badly rotten and utterly inedible.

10. Armory

The small armory in Rasp Manor contains some of the items which Cornelius and Agrippina used throughout their adventures. The room contains several racks against the north wall with the sharp weapons fastened out of the reach of any human children or of a similar size. Elegant armor and weapons with flowery designs etched across them adorn this room with small wooden sparring swords lower down to the floor.

Characters standing outside this room can hear the sound of wood gently hitting wood and children playfully giggling. Upon entering, they will see two wooden swords floating about 2 feet from the floor pointed towards each other and swinging loosely in each others direction. The sound of children's laughter can be clearly heard from near the two swords as though invisible children were holding the swords. After a living creature speaks or makes any noise, the children will scream excitedly and their footsteps can be heard moving towards the eastern door before disappearing.

Treasure. The armory contains the following non-magical items displayed on racks about 6 feet above the floor: a greatsword, a longsword, 2 shortswords, a shield, a light crossbow, 2 daggers and a set of splint armor. There is also an shirt of elven chain with bright flower patterns strewn across it.

11. Hosting Lounge

The downstairs lounge, sometimes used for hosting guests, holds a grand fireplace on the eastern wall flanked by two suits of armor. There is a central table surrounded by comfortable sofas and chairs. The stitching of the furniture is worn and frayed under the dust.

Upon entering the room the group will notice the crackling of the fireplace along with indistinct murmuring emanating from the sofas and chairs as the family talk amongst themselves in the Ethereal Plane. Any character on the Material Plane has no hope of making out what the family is saying but the tone sounds quietly jovial. While the group is in this room, if anyone makes a significant disturbance such as shouting or moving an object in the room, the murmuring will abruptly stop and the group will hear the voice of a middle aged man emanating from the sofa ask concerned, "who's there?" This voice is immediately followed by the sound of footsteps towards one of the doors to this room where the door opens or closes by itself. The footsteps do not continue past this room but after this point, consider closing or opening doors throughout the house as the DM sees fit.

12. Reading Room

The reading room, situated on the second floor, is laid out in a similar fashion to the hosting lounge with a more modest fireplace flanked by two suits of armor. Four chairs form a semi-circle around the fireplace which gently crackles. Characters who stay in this room will hear the turning of a book's pages from the north most chair every minute or so. Cornelius sits in that chair from time to time to quietly read books as he is warmed by the fireplace.

13. Performance Room

The focal point of this room is a piano by the south wall with a small chair for playing it on and four more chairs set against the north wall for viewers to watch a performance.

As a character enters this room, they will hear the voice of a young girl say "mommy, play for me", prior to witnessing the keys of the piano methodically depress and a melody emerges, followed by the sound of a woman's voice singing a children's song.

If the party investigate the piano, they will notice a folded up note on the top which reads: "Please take Petronia into Lucius’ room for tonight. The ritual may take a while and I don’t want to keep her awake."

A DM should feel free to choose a particular children's song of their choice or simply say that the sound of a beautiful lullaby fills the room. When I ran this adventure I used the following song and after its completion, those who were in the room heard the voice of a young boy say, "I count 4 monkeys. They’re real Petronia, I’m telling you." This was an intentional nod to the fact that the children were aware that the group were in the manor, often more so than the parents.

Kookaburra sits on the old gum tree,
Merry merry king of the bush is he.
Laugh, Kookaburra, laugh,
Kookaburra, Gay your life must be!

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree
Eating all the gumdrops he can see
Stop, Kookaburra, Stop,
Kookaburra, Leave some there for me.

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree,
Counting all the monkeys he can see
Stop, Kookaburra, Stop,
Kookaburra, That's no monkey, that's me.

I would encourage any DM running this adventure to be as creative as you would enjoy when the group enter this room.

14. Cornelius' Study

This small study is where Cornelius makes preparations for most of his magical work. The room hosts a large wooden desk with a comfortable velvet chair behind it. Upon the desk is a notebook along with a small cushioned box which looked like it once contained jewelry of some kind. A white rug, whose comfortability has long been stamped out, lies between the desk and a chest of drawers containing various magical components and further scattered magical notations.

The notebook that sits upon the desk broadly contains more detailed notes on the villagers' wishes for the coming harvest. The notes detail a ritual which Cornelius was planning, one which would use powerful waves of transmutative magic to bring suitable weather for the village for several months. Characters who are proficient in Arcana will struggle to find errors in the magical ritual's planning - to the best of anyone's knowledge this was ambitious but Cornelius seems to have been well prepared. Cornelius has noted that the ritual is very delicate and that smudging the ritual circle even a little would be enough to disrupt it.

The cushioned box which is set upon the desk contains a small note which reads the following:

Brother,

I hope this gift finds you well. I found this amulet on my travels and believed it fitting for you with its bright colors. I hope you wear it and enjoy it.

Avanticus Rasp

The chest of drawers contains, after sifting through the magical paraphernalia for a moment, a detailed plan of the house. Characters who look at this closely will notice that the well in the garden is not present on the map, instead there is a set of stairs descending below surrounded by a stone wall on three sides.

This room is intended to provide hints for a discerning party to figure out, or lay the groundworks for figuring out, what has gone on in the house. If your players struggle to figure out the importance of the hints within this room, especially after visiting Room 19, consider asking for Intelligence checks and giving your players pointers based on what you believe may have occurred to their characters.

15. Family Lounge

This small lounge boasts a cozy, comfortable environment with a sofa and chair pushed closely towards a softened rug that is within reach of the warm glow of a marble fireplace.

Animated. Once the house has been animated, Cornelius and Agrippina can be heard speaking to each other within the room. Cornelius mutters about there being some intruders inside the house but is unaware who or where they are. Those who have touched the amulet of darkness or the ritual circle in Room 19 will be able to hear Cornelius, with only those currently touching the amulet able to see and interact with him. Cornelius may be incensed to violence or cowed into accepting his failings in accordance with his character here. If he fights, use the Ghost of Cornelius Rasp statblock. How this may be resolved is discussed in the section "Escaping the Manor" and in Cornelius' entry in the Character Appendix.

16. Lucius' Bedroom

On the door entering this bedroom from Room 15, there is a piece of parchment which reads "Lucius' Room" in large, childish handwriting. The parchment bears depictions of colorful flowers and gardening trowels. The room beyond situated a double bed with a barely used chamber pot set beside it. All over the room and in the chest of drawers are clear displays of Lucius' interests in gardening and flowers, from the colour of the room, to the books on gardening in the drawers, it is clear what Lucius' main interest was.

However, the most striking discovery in this room is in the bed lie the bodies of a girl and a boy, resting peacefully. Their skin however appears gaunt and lifeless. The bedsheets are tossed about a little, presumably from them being unused to sharing a bed.

This is the room in which Lucius and Petronia lost their lives as Cornelius' ritual went horribly wrong and they are yet to be put to rest.

17. Petronia's Bedroom

On the door to this room is a piece of parchment which reads "Petronia's Room" in jagged, childish handwriting. The parchment bears depictions of horses, the rolling hills of the countryside and swords. The interior of the room hosts a double bed, along with bedside tables and a chest of drawers all neatly made up. The room is littered about with toy soldiers and horses and wooden swords.

18. Upstairs Landing

This passageway connects various rooms throughout the house. It contains little save for a window to the north overlooking the garden and a suit of armor (which follow the normal rules for animating armor on page 2 once animated).

19. Ritual Chamber

As you step into this chamber, you feel a sense of dread hit the pit of your stomach as you observe the scene. A large circle of magical runes, all twisting, glowing faintly black with necromantic power almost beckons to be approached. Sat in a blackened chair in the center of this circle is a skeleton in wizardly robes with an amulet hanging around its neck and a dark tome open nearby. An amulet with a black gemstone inlaid - a pit of pure darkness. The room features scraps of cloth and parchment all curled over into snarling skulls.

This room is the site of the ritual Cornelius Rasp tried to create to give the village of Averum a pleasant harvest. Instead, the amulet which his brother gave him transformed this ritual into one of intense necromantic power, causing the deaths of his family, the entire village and a terrible storm to envelop the land.

Treasure. Hanging around the skeleton's neck sat in the blackened chair is the amulet of darkness. A spellbook with doodles of flowers on the cover which have now visibly wilted lays beside the chair in the center of the ritual circle. Most of its pages have crumbled to dust but some remain, featuring the following spells:

1st level: detect magic, protection from evil and good, sleep
2nd level: darkness, gentle repose, warding wind

    Animated. The house becomes animated when a creature enters or touches the ritual circle in this room or if they cast a spell or attack with a weapon at anything or any point within the circle. When the house becomes animated, the skeleton wizard which is sat in the black chair in the center of the circle will awaken and attack any living creatures in the room. At the same time, the skeleton fighter in Room 20 will also awaken and move into Room 19 to attack any living creatures there, unless there are more in Room 20.

20. Cornelius and Agrippina's Bedroom

This room contains a large double bed with black covers. A carpet lies on the floor at the foot of the bed whose artistic design shines through even the dust and decay. The books and clothes in the cabinet are neatly arranged. A chamber pot sits beside the bed, its contents having grown stale.

Half out of the bed is the skeleton of a powerful woman who presumably perished just as they were leaving their bed. This skeleton will awaken and rush into Room 19 if the house is animated as described in that section.

Treasure. The skeleton fighter wields a greatsword of nature which a character may take after they defeat the skeleton fighter or sooner if they manage to access Room 20 without animating the manor.

Escaping the Manor

When the manor becomes animated, the characters may hear the clanking of armor about the house and become scared and try to escape. Allow them to attempt to do so but make it clear after a short while that this is nigh impossible by brute force.

After the house has been animated and the characters are not in combat, the children Lucius and Petronia may try to speak to them and guide the group. They will only be able to communicate the characters who have touched the ritual circle or the amulet of darkness. The children are aware that they are dead and, unlike their parents, are willing to accept this. They do not know precise magical details of the ritual but will be able to provide hints and give pointers to where the party may be able to discover the clues they need. Broadly, a DM should use these children to guide a group who feel they do not fully understand where to go to figure out the mystery of the manor. If you feel these children need to know more about the mystery to guide the group, make them know more.

The following things need to happen before the haunting of Rasp manor is concluded:

  • Cornelius' soul is put to rest. This can either be by killing his ghost or by carrying his body and his family's bodies to the family crypt. When Cornelius' soul is put to rest, the amulet of darkness will crumble into ash.
  • The ritual circle in Room 19 is disrupted.

Disrupting the ritual circle is a simple task as the chalk used to make it can be easily smudged. Cornelius on the other hand will be more difficult.

When the house is animated, after a short while he will appear in Room 15. He will be able to communicate with the group although they will not be able to see him or interact with him unless they are holding the amulet. Use the character appendix entry on Cornelius Rasp to guide you through roleplaying this encounter.

Cornelius will resist the group as he believes they are intruders into his home and is in denial at the possibility that he is dead. He will initially deny this as he cannot bear the thought that his misstep caused the death of his family and an entire village. He will be verbally aggressive but will not come to violence quickly unless provoked. The group must either kill the Ghost of Cornelius Rasp or convince him to allow them to put him and his family's bodies to rest in the crypt.

Appendices

The following section details items which are necessary for a DM to run this adventure that sit outside of the general advice given at the start or the locations within the house. There will be guides on the histories and personalities of the various characters that appear in this story as well as lists of the magic items, creature statblocks and the Haunting Table.

Character Appendix

Following is an outline of the characters present in this adventure. Use this appendix for aid in roleplaying these characters and in learning their backstories.

Cornelius Rasp

Cornelius was, as far as anyone could tell, an erudite and thorough magical practitioner. He adventured for many years with his later to be wife, Agrippina, and a band of other friends. After settling down and living in the manor near the village of Averum he cared primarily about being a good father to his children and a good husband to his wife. He would provide care to the village in any way his magic or gardens could and carefully researched magical recipes and rituals to solve various problems for the villagers. He was a cautious man who cared deeply and easily trusted others.

After the ritual was formed whose magic now consumes Rasp Manor, Cornelius registered at some level that something had gone horribly wrong. However, the thought that he had been the cause of such death to both his family and the inhabitants of the village broke him. Quickly, he decided that this life in the border ethereal was normal and that he and his family would go on living in the house they always were in.

Cornelius Rasp is drowning in a deep sea of denial and reluctance to face the fact that he, without ever meaning to, caused the deaths of his family. Convincing him that these peculiar disturbances in his house are real living people and not simply a nuisance for him to eradicate will take significant convincing and, perhaps, the testimonies from his children who have accepted their fate among the deceased. He will anger if these people currently in his house do not leave but, with enough convincing, will allow himself and his family to be places to rest.

Agrippina Rasp

Agrippina was a steadfast and powerful woman. One who would be the first to brazenly rush into danger and the last to stay, to make sure that none were left behind. She honed terrifying skills at fighting and protecting those around her that some would even say she could fight a dozen men in her sleep.

Settling down into family life calmed her and she began taking a careful watch over her children. Slowly guiding them through their adolescence and protecting them as best as she can.

She feels somewhat complicit in the destruction wrought by Cornelius' ritual and, while not as deep in denial as he is, aids him in constructing their undead farce of family life.

Lucius and Petronia Rasp

The two children of the Rasp family take after their parents love of gardening and horses respectively. They were playful children with a happy childhood, with parents who cherished them. In personality, they broadly take after their parents with Lucius reminiscent of Cornelius, and Petronia of Agrippina.

After the ritual, it was a while until Lucius and Petronia were fully aware of what had happened. They went along with their parents desire to pretend like life was normal until they slowly begin to realize things seemed off. They could not always feel things the way they once did. They never grew hungry or slept and their parents never went near their bedroom and forbade the children to go anywhere near either. Lucius and Petronia do not know the exact magic that has been cast by Cornelius but know that they are not as alive as they once were. They will attempt to assist any living people who enter the manor to put their family to rest, should they aid and listen to the children.

Avanticus Rasp

Avanticus Rasp is the brother of Cornelius Rasp. A person with access to dark devices and a willingness to corrupt and destroy his brother. However, little more is known about Avanticus.

If you are looking to play this adventure as part of a campaign, Avanticus may pose an exciting villain to develop. After discovering the events of this manor, a party will likely feel a deep hatred of this person who caused such a terrible tragedy. Feel free to use this to continue a story of discovery and vengeance against Avanticus in your own campaigns.

Item Appendix

Following is a list of magic items unique to this adventure. The other items present in this adventure can be found in the Dungeon Master's Guide or the Player's Handbook.

Amulet of Darkness

Wondrous item, very rare

This blackened amulet seethes with necromantic power and is awash with shadow. Its power to infect magic seems largely spent but retains certain other powers.

One creature touching the amulet can interact with and see the Ethereal Plane so long as they are in a location where the Ethereal Plane and the Material Plane are unnaturally close.

When the soul which this amulet has been bound to is put to rest, this amulet crumbles to ash.

Greatsword of Nature

Weapon (greatsword), rare

This mighty greatsword has vines tightly curled around the handle with colorful flowers etched across the edge of the blade.

You gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon. In addition, you can cast the druidcraft spell at will while holding this weapon. You can also cast the speak with animals and speak with plant spells each once while holding this weapon. Once you cast either spell, you can't cast it again with this weapon until the next dawn.

Haunting Table

The following table outlines various frightening or ominous effects which may occur while a group is investigating Rasp Manor. I would suggest rolling on this table no more than once per room, unless characters are spending a particularly long time in a room, and not while the characters are in initiative.

To use the Haunting Table, the DM rolls a d100 and consults the corresponding effect in the table. Alternatively, a DM may choose an effect from the table. Consider rolling on the Haunting Table when the following events occur:



  • A character enters a room with activity originating from the Ethereal Plane (eg. the dining room or the armory).
  • A creature gains the frightened or blinded condition.
  • The group takes a rest or spends a significant amount of time in one room.
  • A character makes a loud noise or significant disturbance.
  • A creature casts a spell from the Necromancy or Transmutation schools of magic.
Haunting Table
d100 Effect
01–05 The storm outside seeps in. Every living creature must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or take 3d6 necrotic damage and suffer 1 level of exhaustion.
06–10 One room a character is currently in fills with black smoke. The room is under the same effects as though a fog cloud spell filled the room.
11–15 Blackened vines fill one room a character is currently in. These vines replicate the effects of the entangle spell (DC 15) within the room.
16–20 All bright light in one room a character is in becomes dim light. Any dim light is snuffed out.
21–25 The temperature in one room a character is in drops until it is a little below freezing.
26–30 One randomly determined character can no longer hear or see any other living creature for 1 minute.
31–35 A veil of darkness falls over everyone's eyes. Every character's darkvision range is halved, if they had any.
36–40 All characters are deafened for 1 minute.
41–45 One randomly determined character begins to float as if targeted by the levitate spell for 1 minute.
46–50 Lucius or Petronia appear in the corner of a room to watch one of the characters. If spoken to or clearly noticed, they will disappear.
51–55 One randomly determined character's appearance changes to appear as though they were undead.
56–60 The nearest suits of armor will immediately begin to rattle, pursue and fight any living creatures in the manor.
61–65 One randomly determined character appears supernaturally horrifying. All other characters must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of that character for 1 minute.
66–70 One of the character's weapons or magic items is possessed by spirits from the nearby village.
71–75 The group may ask a question and have it answered as though by the augury spell.
76–80 All characters are blinded for 1 minute.
81–85 All characters must succeed on a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw or suffer an indefinite madness.
86–90 All characters gain 1d4+4 temporary hit points. While they have these hit points, they appear spectral and translucent like a ghost.
91–95 When a living creature bleeds, the blood forms to read an ominous message.
96–00 All characters must succeed on a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw. If they succeed, they enter the Ethereal Plane for 6 seconds. If they fail, they suffer a short-term madness for 1d10 minutes.

Creature Appendix

Following is a list of creature statblocks unique to this adventure. Any other creatures present in this adventure which are not mentioned here can be found in the Monster Manual.

Ghost of Cornelius Rasp

Medium undead, neutral good

  • Armor Class 13 (16 with mage armor)
  • Hit Points 52 (8d8 + 16)
  • Speed 0 ft., fly 40 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
7(–2) 16(+3) 14(+2) 18(+4) 12(+1) 12(+1)
  • Saving Throws Int +7, Wis +4
  • Skills Arcana +7, Medicine +4, Nature +7
  • Damage Resistances acid, fire, lightning, thunder; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
  • Damage Immunities cold, necrotic, poison
  • Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, petrified, poisoned
  • Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 11
  • Languages Common, Elvish, Sylvan
  • Challenge 7 (2,900 XP)

Ethereal Sight. The ghost can see 60 feet into the Ethereal Plane when it is on the Material Plane, and vice versa.

Incorporeal Movement. The ghost can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain, unless they are holding the amulet of darkness. It takes 5 (1d10) force damage if it ends its turn inside an object.

Unshackled from the Material. The ghost cannot be seen or affected in any way by a creature who is not currently holding the amulet of darkness. The ghost cannot voluntarily enter the Material Plane.

Actions

Withering Touch Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (4d6+4) necrotic damage.

Spellcasting The ghost is a 9th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 15, +7 to hit with spell attacks). The ghost has the following wizard spells prepared:

Cantrips (at will): chill touch, toll the dead

1st Level (4 slots): cause fear, ice knife, mage armor, magic missile, shield

2nd Level (3 slots): blindness/deafness, shadow blade, mind whip

3rd level (3 slots): counterspell, fear, vampiric touch

4th level (2 slots): phantasmal killer

Magic-infused Statue

Large construct, unaligned

  • Armor Class 18
  • Hit Points 60 (8d8 + 24)
  • Speed 30 ft
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
18(+4) 13(+1) 16(+3) 10(+0) 10(+0) 10(+0)
  • Skills Perception +4
  • Damage Vulnerabilities thunder
  • Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks not made with adamantine weapons
  • Damage Immunities necrotic, poison
  • Condition Immunities blinded, charmed, deafened, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, stunned
  • Senses blindsight 120 ft. (blind beyond this radius)
  • Languages —
  • Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)

Antimagic Susceptibility. The statue is incapacitated while in the area of an antimagic field. If targeted by dispel magic, the statue must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against the caster's spell save DC or fall unconscious for 1 minute.

False Appearance. While the statue remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from a normal stone statue.

Siege Monster. The statue deals double damage to objects and structures.

Actions

Multiattack. The magic-infused statue makes two greatsword attacks.

Greatsword Melee Weapon Attack +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit 11 (2d6+4) slashing damage.

Skeleton Fighter

Medium undead, unaligned

  • Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
  • Hit Points 76 (8d10+32)
  • Speed 30 ft
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
18(+4) 14(+2) 18(+4) 6(–2) 8(–1) 5(–3)
  • Damage Vulnerabilities bludgeoning
  • Damage Immunities poison
  • Condition Immunities exhaustion, poisoned
  • Senses darkvision 60ft., passive Perception 9
  • Languages —
  • Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)

Sentinel. The skeleton's body remembers its ability to act as a stalwart defender. It has the following abilities:

• When the skeleton hits a creature with an opportunity attack, the creature's speed becomes 0 for the rest of the turn.

• Creatures provoke opportunity attacks from the skeleton even if they take the Disengage action before leaving its reach.

• When a creature within 5 feet of the skeleton makes an attack against another creature, the skeleton can use its reaction to make a melee weapon attack against the attacking creature.

Turn Resistance. The skeleton has advantage on saving throws against any effect that turns undead.

Actions

Multiattack. The skeleton fighter makes two greatsword attacks.

Greatsword +1 Attack Melee Weapon +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit 12 (2d6+5) slashing damage.

Skeleton Wizard

Medium undead, unaligned

  • Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
  • Hit Points 60 (8d6+32)
  • Speed 30 ft
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
10(+0) 14(+2) 18(+4) 6(–2) 8(–1) 5(–3)
  • Damage Vulnerabilities bludgeoning
  • Damage Immunities poison
  • Condition Immunities exhaustion, poisoned
  • Senses darkvision 60ft., passive Perception 9
  • Languages —
  • Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)

Magic Resistance. The skeleton has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

Turn Resistance. The skeleton has advantage on saving throws against any effect that turns undead.

Actions

Multiattack. The skeleton wizard makes two necrotic blast attacks.

Necrotic Blast Ranged Spell Attack +6 to hit, range 120 ft., one target. Hit 9 (1d10+4) necrotic damage and the target must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened until the end of the its next turn.

Undead Shambling Mound

Large undead, unaligned

  • Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
  • Hit Points 136 (16d10+48)
  • Speed 20 ft., swim 20 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
18(+4) 8(–1) 16(+3) 5(–3) 10(+0) 5(–3)
  • Skills Stealth +2
  • Damage Immunities necrotic, poison
  • Condition Immunities blinded, deafened, exhaustion, poisoned
  • Senses blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 10
  • Languages —
  • Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)

False Appearance. While the shambling mound remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from a tangled mass of decaying plants.

Necrotic Absorption. Whenever the shambling mound is subjected to necrotic damage, it takes no damage and regains a number of hit points equal to the necrotic damage dealt.

Actions

Multiattack. The shambling mound makes two slam attacks. If both attacks hit a Medium or smaller target, the target is grappled (escape DC 14), and the shambling mound uses its Engulf on it.

Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) bludgeoning damage.

Engulf. The shambling mound engulfs a Medium or smaller creature grappled by it. The engulfed target is blinded, restrained, and unable to breathe, and it must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw at the start of each of the mound's turns or take 13 (2d8 + 4) bludgeoning damage. If the mound moves, the engulfed target moves with it. The mound can have only one creature engulfed at a time.

Delve into

Fear and

Tragedy

This horror filled adventure was written and created by CrossOut with maps provided by /u/Zalitz87 on Reddit using assets from Forgotten Adventures.

Go check out Zalitz87's reddit for more awesome maps and the Forgotten Adventures website and Patreon for amazing assets and battlemaps.

A huge thank you to all my followers and Patreon supporters. You're the best and inspire me to make better and better content.

Credit for Art

Cover: Daniel Danger @tinymediaempire — unspecified title
Page 8: Georges Roux — The Ghost
Page 9: WotC Interior Illustrator for Tasha's Cauldron of Everything — A Haunted Manor
Page 14: Slawomir Maniak — Hollowhenge Scavenger

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