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dresdenber
For anyone who has been in a party or GM'd the Glamis Castle 'challenge' from Dunkelzahn's will, I was wondering if you would share what went down in your version of events? I'm curious, anyone care to share stories? Thanks.



Hagga
Ooer. Pop back to paw through it all and immediately find something I can answer! It's been a while, but it was their 'retirement fund' game and we've not played Shadowrun since. I have some notes, my spotty memory and based most of it on a half-arsed appreication for the play and some local legends I picked up.

I kept an eye on the time, with certain events occuring depending on game time. We also do soundtracks - instead of normal, I just set up something atmospheric. Wind, chirps, etc. And a slight buzzing that intensified over time, subtle enough to be missed. Eventually I switched it off, at the 'game time' of midnight. The sudden shock was worth it.

Things I did to keep them on their toes:
-The astral. Everything was just peachy.. because the castle itself was masked with a serious effect, as were the grounds and woods. And the whole place was so saturated with dread and gloom that astral visibility was pretty limited to short range anyway. Astrally projecting was a poor choice, because swimming in all that murk were very quiet predators. They didn't mind you being there, even perceiving, until you shucked your meat and went walking through their habitat. Imagine the angler fish swimming along the sea floor - that's what perception/projection was like.
-Alchera. Once the sun set the first time, you couldn't escape until 24 hours had passed. The entire place shifted into the metaplanes. Walking on the roads lead you to the other side. Walking through the forest just got you confused until you arrived back to the castle, hopefully in one piece from all the spirits in the trees.
-Duplicates. Anyone who didn't stay in a group found themselves replaced. They didn't die, but shortly after 'they' would slip back into the room, claiming to have found nothing. When the real one of them returned, the team would look at the fake - who was now gone, leaving behind smoking cloven hoofprints.
-The singing. At random I'd make unexplained checks. Anyone who failed heard a ghostly song. Failing hard enough made you unable to talk about it. It was definitely coming from somewhere, and anyone who got up to go looking received some help from the source of the singer, who was happy to help keep dinner hidden until it broke down the walls.
-The murk. Like astral visibility, but as the night went on it became darker and darker. Sure, the moon was still full, and very low, and far too large. Didn't help with the lighting situation.
-Strangers. Like the duplicates above, but not imitating anyone. They'd wander in and strike up a conversation and offer bargains, actually spirit pacts. Entirely honest about what each one did and the benefits they'd receive. They were just horrible. Alternate payment plans, too - do X right now and I'll give you X. What? There aren't any orphans nearby? Oh, okay. Hey, that trollish mate of yours looks lonely.
-The feast. There was a full blown feast going on in a great hall. Anyone entering would find themselves with an offer to join. Once one person did, everyone else was herded there. Hearing noises, little clinks of plates and voices, that sort of thing. After everyone sat and enjoyed themselves with the folks who genuinely believed they (and the players) were nobility from the 15th century for a while, the players fell asleep. On waking, the place is empty, and the 'feast' turns out to be raw meat of dubious origin.

Night Hazards:
-The local loch. Perfectly clear. Seemingly lit from within, so you could see clear to the bottom even in the darkest night. Few obvious treasure chests sunk to the bottom. Oh, and an Each Uisage who was completely invisible thanks to the effect. Once they hopped in and went underwater, the effect disappeared. It was dark, murky and the water prince was no longer hidden.
-The healing room. There was a room in which they could hole up. The one with the highest charisma would gain massive healing bonuses while in the room. In the furthest, darkest corner of the castle, though. Staying in there alone caused every healing test to actually do damage.
-You might remember the prophecy in Macbeth. Well, it turns out the woods surrounding Glamis do too. They are actually perfect vessels for inhabitation plant spirits. During the full moon, after the castle shifts into its border alchera, the spirits return and inhabit. The longer you're out in the woods, the more ornery they get. Some are happy to strangle. Some might extend a creaking branch. Others might chase you out of the woods - or deeper into it.
-There were insect spirits in there somewhere, a small and mostly dormant ant hive - I don't remember exactly why, my notes don't say so, but I think there's a portion in the play, or a local legend about them. They mostly kept to themselves, all flesh forms who were really happy to ignore you unless you bothered them or struck up a conversation asking to be made 'immortal'.
-The skulls. There's a legend about some local nobles who died horribly, tortured (I think?) and their bones mounted. I turned that into a full blown astral gateway. Walking into the single spot where every skull focused would end with you physically entering the astral plane and not even realising it, since the murk was all gone now.
-The library. Surprisingly well stocked. Lots of interesting topics. Possible rewards, quickened spells that would automatically apply themselves if you read the right book for long enough, oh, and infection into a metatype appropriate vampire-HMHVV strain if you picked up a book on local legends and read too closely into it.
-Shifting halls. You wanted to go somewhere, you navigated. Carefully. Or you found yourself in another part of the castle entirely, after walking through a two metre hallway that no longer leads back to where you were.

And when daytime happened, all of the night hazards stopped. Instead, the 'good things of day' woke up. Armour suits patrolling the halls, ghostly knights chasing down the 'vile dark creatures' that they thought the characters were, occasional tests of virtue and morals and 'culture', which I'm pretty sure they all failed. The forest was still in effect, as was the alchera effect, so they couldn't leave until the full 24 hours had passed.
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