David Waldron sent me a copy of William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion to review.  Not other compensation was made for my time.

Set in the Australia of 1890, this very short scenario is meant to be completed in a single session.  Unlike some that claim that, I think this really is a single session scenario.  The history of the plot is a bit complicated, but the plot itself is fairly simple.  With pre-generated player characters tailored for the events, there’s ample reason for everyone to be involved and to help drive the action forward.

The basic premise is that William Bailey gained money and local position through shady business practices.  He made some enemies.  Now things are going weird at his house and he thinks someone he screwed over might be up to no good.  Mix in some wacky religious folks, a too-credulous wife, and a tome bound in human flesh, and you’ve got a recipe for trouble.

I’ve never run Masks of Nyarlathotep, and it’s not like that campaign is screaming out for expansion, as it often takes as much as two real life years to play out.  However, as I was reading through this, I couldn’t help but think how cool it would be to link this scenario with that venerable campaign.  Like, perhaps, Jackson Elias comes into possession of some of the clues and the writings of a surviving investigator, and it becomes one of the things that leads him down his ultimate path.  If any investigators survive this, they’ll be relatively old in the Masks time, but might make for a good mentor in the Australia chapter.  I don’t know.  It’s a thought.

I like that David Waldron and Shannon Nichols have presented a tight little scenario here, with multiple handouts and fully fleshed out pre-gen characters.  There’s even a paragraph for each investigator to give them an idea of who they’re playing and how they might approach things.  As a keeper, I lack efficiency.  I was barely able to run The Haunting in a four hour session, and we skipped a lot.  I think I might really be able to run this one in about 3 hours, and with the pre-gens and the NPCs, I think there’s some good opportunity for some roleplaying. 

The scenario is inspired by real people and a real house, which is purported to be one of “the most haunted houses in Australia.”  

You can see my first look video here.

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