Undead in the House of Black Wood

[canyonwalker]

The adventure I'm running with my D&D group right now is The Silent Quarter and the House of Black Wood. Or at least that's what I'm calling it. You won't find it published anywhere.... I don't use packaged adventures; I write them myself, sometimes with the help of AI. The result is at least 90% "me", though. I find AI best for helping with the seeds of ideas. It stinks at getting the details right.



This picture I use for the introduction to the House of Black Wood is a good example of a great concept but struggling to get detail right. The pic here is the result of multiple iterations. It wasn't until the fourth try that AI could get the basic shape of the house close to correct, even though I'd prompted with specifics several times. And when it got the shape right, it changed the walls from wood to stone. So I caution my players, it's a good illustration to set the mood, but it's not a map.

In the setting I planned out, there's a lightly graveled lane that leads around to the back of the house. Of course the group wanted to check out the back first rather than just approach the front door. But that was okay because I planned out the details instead of trusting AI— or the author of a packaged adventure— to do it.

They Roleplayed with the Crow 🙃

Oh, but first, Leoghnie's player announced, "Before we go around back I'm going to use my Handle Animal skill to squawk back at that crow."

See? That's an example of players doing creative things they're not "supposed" to. How many packaged adventures include detail like "Dead trees dot the yard, and in one of them a lone crow perches" (100%) but then are prepared for interaction with the crow (0%)? 🤦

Honestly, I wasn't prepared either, but since I wrote the detail about the lone crow perched in the branches of a dead tree I could ad lib this interaction. 😇

"What did the crow say?" all the other players wanted to know.

"He was like, 'Yo, 'Sup?" Jill answered. "And I was like, 'Yo, 'Sup.'"

"Is the crow going to attack us now?" everyone wanted to know, all their eyes turning to me.

"No, the crow is content," I explained. "The crow feels seen." 🤣

Coming In the Back Door

The group continued around back where they saw a carriage house, a small cemetery overgrown with weeds, and
— what they were really looking for— a back door. It took a few tries to get through the door, but they gained entry and started exploring the house.



After trekking through piles of dust and debris in a few rooms they noticed the dust start to swirl. The dust formed into human-like shapes, except with skin pulled tight and bones poking through. Despite empty eye sockets the creatures seemed to see the party, as they advanced menacingly with claw-like fingers outstretched. Zombies!

Now, this picture (immediately above) and the next two I made before the game. I knew that regardless of how the group entered the house— front door, back door, or climbing through a window— they'd be attacked by these dust-zombies in one of the main floor rooms.

The players really got a boost from me having this picture ready to use during the game, instead of creating it afterwards,

"It even has our marching order right!" they exclaimed. Except it doesn't, quite. They sent the NPC rogue in first. 😂



I asked AI to recompose the scene for a POV illustration. Here, at least, it anticipated which of the characters would be up front. 😅



I also asked AI to change the lighting in the picture, to portray daylight filtered through heavy shutters. I did that because I figured the group wouldn't be foolish enough to enter a haunted house at night— but that's exactly what they did! ...Actually, it wasn't exactly at night. It was literally dusk when they entered. I even confirmed that detail with them, just so nobody could later claim I railroaded them. They are going haunted house-hunting after the sun has fallen below the horizon and as night's gloom gathers overhead. 😨

We'll find out in two weeks what happens next!

Comments

[merhawk]

Herman and Kiarana swapped places in your first picture. Kiarana knows how to handle undead, but she’s still not dumb enough to be the first person in the room!