The Spook Show: A Horror Themed One Shot

I wrote this one shot for my best friends girlfriend. She has never played a TTRPG, and most of us in the friend group play. With that in mind I made it new person friendly and invited my wife, my brother and his fiancé, and another friend to all join. Only myself and my brother have extensive backgrounds in TT, the others have far less. This also uses the Dread/Insanity system from Sandy Peterson's Cthulhu Mythos [5E] book, as well as some of the monsters ie: Wamp, Obsessed Artist, Leng Folk. This adventure primarily takes place in the Dreamlands. The first room in the actual dungeon was written specifically for one player who had written out a pretty dark backstory. It traumatized his character for almost the whole thing.

This is designed and balanced for five level 1 characters.

The Prologue The Prologue happens with the players as age 6-8yrs old children.

The village of Hashim sits in the northern part of a valley high in the mountains. The peaks surrounding it reach 9-13000ft into the sky. Fresh water creeks flow nearby before converging into a small river in the southern valley entrance. A single dirt road travels the floor from the southern entrance to the northernmost village, Hashim. Takes several days in good weather to make the trek. Hashim has a population of about 250 souls.

The air is cold in the evening as fall has begun in earnest and the pumpkins are ready for picking. Leaves begin to crunch under foot as children play, and learn. A group of hunters return pulling a large bear carcass on a litter, the creature had attacked the local livestock recently. The smells of food and earth flow through the soft breeze as the sun begins to set behind the western peaks.

The night seems like any other in Hashim. The moon hangs low and orange over the valley this night. You all eventually find sleep in your beds; happy and thinking of the next day's fun. You dream of floating or swimming. It isn’t the normal river or pond swim that you’d do during the summer, this is pushing through a thick dark rainbow colored substance. It squeezes around you as you try to reach the surface. Thrashing your limbs to get free.

Chapter 1 Act I

(Based on CHA scores, highest to lowest) [Note: Characters will vaguely remember the child scene at this point. As if a distant memory of a dream.]

You awake, not in your bed but in a bed of weeds. Dry and crackling with each movement, the grass sharp against your skin. Something isn’t right, these aren’t your hands, but you know these hands. You’ve seen them… somewhere before. You can hear others beginning to wake up around you, you can see each other fairly well. The weeds here are smashed down as if for a camp. There is no fire spot however. (Describe yourselves, talk amongst yourselves) [Note: at this point they'll remember they were sent to find something, it's hard for them to remember, at some ruins laying to the west]

When you look up at the night sky the moon sits in the west, it is low; impossibly low as if it was almost crushing you. The weight of night and the gravity of the moon seem to press upon each of you. [DC 15 WIS v Dread]

The stars twinkle and it almost looks like they twinkle to the rhythm of your heartbeat. The space between the stars shifts in hues of orange and pink as if a nebula was behind them. The mountains far far in the distance, easily dozens of miles away are pitch black but they feel sharp against the horizon. Like teeth waiting to bite into you. You’re definitely not in your valley but in a vast field of dry weeds. Rolling hills and the occasional bunch of trees against the night sky. Nearby a small grove of trees sit, their branches like gnarled fingers grasping upward like they’re reaching toward the heavens. Lifeless.

[Passive perception/Perception check 13] Something approaches from the left. Almost as if it’s stalking your party. The soft crunch of closeness as it prepares to strike. [Wamp, Cthulu Book pg 393] Description: This eyeless, human-sized creature has an egglike body supported by nine spidery legs ending in crimson claws. It has two long, pointed ears that adjust rapidly at every little noise.

On a hill to your right there appears to be an outcropping of rocks. Upon closer inspection you notice that they’re the beginning of ruins that flow down the hill into a canyon. From up here you can see small campfires throughout the ruins. There are things living here.

END ACT I

Chapter 1 Act II

[If Stealth DC 13] as they approach the ruins. The smell of smoke and something cooking comes from a little further into the ruins. Some of the silhouettes do appear to be humanoid in nature.

At the first campfire they see (or spotted near) an older human sits facing their direction spinning a skewer over a fire. Meat glistens in the fire light, and while the smell isn’t that appetizing it also doesn’t put them off. The man has a wide smile in anticipation of his meal, several teeth are missing and his hair is fairly unkempt. He sits on a stone wall that has long since been broken.

If a player is in need of a cure from a disease contracted from the Wamp he can assist with 1-3 on the d6. The others will require assistance from a different person located further into the ruins.

He will note their appearance and how similar they are to others that have come through in the past. Sometimes others would stay for a while helping out those that lived in the ruins. For this place is terrifying enough in the day, but at night nightmares wander the dark and sometimes find their way into this place. Which he informs them is called Sal’lam Quesh. Was the city capital of the land before it fell some centuries ago. Those that live here now are from distant shores or tossed aside. All in hiding. He’ll let them rest around his campfire as morning is coming.

He alludes to a madness that passes over the land. Those words seems to send a dark chill down their spines. Maybe after their rest (or if they need someone else to help cure disease) they can head into the ruins, maybe they’ll find their quest item.

The sun rises. The sun only slightly warms the air around them, but it feels thick and heavy. While skin is exposed to the comfortable temp, it can feel like small needles pressing and rolling against them. The sky streaks in colors of crimson. Pressing in, making you feel tight and small.

A thunderous booming voice echoes across the land in an alien [Aklo] language. Any nearby NPC’s immediately cover their heads to hide from the sound. [DC 17 v Dread] as a large creature roams past the area carrying a creature that appears to be worm legged.

[DC 15 CHA v Insanity] if the players don’t cover themselves. It is called The Byhakee and it serves as a steed for the old ones that roam the world. Carrying followers summoned by madness.

The ruins themselves are covered in dust, dirt, grime, and the shadows always seem thick as pitch with even a hint of light. Various races of humanoid, and some of the monster races like goblin and drow, seek shelter here. Some willing to talk, others not so much. Many of them with various amounts of fear in their eyes. Rumors of a shimmering door that lead away or outside or to something worth hunting. Some people speak in gibberish, sometimes mentioning the shimmering door. A couple of former adventurers can also be found. A human shrieking in madness at random intervals, just the long dead sound of despair. Sending chills down the spine of the players. Another is a tabaxi that, like the players, woke up here in this dream land and was unable to escape. They had come with others to save their friends. He had stayed behind for his sister, she was an airship captain in their home. She died some time ago, but he can’t find his way home… or was he always from here? His memory sometimes feels faded. He sits with those that need help and is able to cure what diseases the old man could not.

He suggests venturing further into the ruins, maybe the answer lies that way.

Shortly after leaving the tabaxi a kid is running pass chased by four cats. [Pg 288] Two have four legs and two have 7 legs. Combat or scare the cats off.

When they die they begin to shrivel up and start melting as if acid was poured onto them. The final one reveals a small brown leather pouch. Five healing potions, and some papers are inside. The papers reveal notes from a previous group that become stuck here.

“We’ve travelled here to the ruins in search of the shimmering blue door. Stuck in the dreamlands now for months and we’re close. All the research we did in ---- (scribbled out) points to this place. Quesh is goal”

Investigation Check/asking around leads to a human woman. She sees the party and immediately realizes they obviously need help. She’s helped others that came before. She can lead them to the door outside the dreamlands. It’s very close.

Eventually she’ll lunge at the party. A dagger in hand as she tries to cut the weakest looking player. Shrieking that this is the only way to the door. Player will deflect the slice and end up pushing the woman away which causes the dagger to embed into her own chest. The sound is wrong. They’ve heard knives entering flesh and against bone from their homes. This sounded like a dull thud. The woman stands in front of the group and begins to tear at the wound with her bare hands. Stretching her chest open as the dagger clatters to the floor. Screaming with laughter as a large door, shimmering in silvery blue is ripped from her body and she collapses into a messy violently ripped heap. The door awaits.

End Act II

Chapter 1 Act III

The door opens to a dimly lit entrance room (30’ x 30’) with a stone dias in the middle emitting a soft blue light. The area is rather chilly in comparison to the world outside. Two darkened hallways extend from this room, one to the right and one straight ahead. Looking down the hallway to the right they see a door appx 45’ away. A faint orange glow from under the door is the only visible light down there. The hallway straight ahead is pitch black, and leads to room 2.

Room 1: Lava Room

From outside the door there is the orange glow underneath and heat emanating from the room. The door is unlocked and not trapped. Opening the door two things are immediately noticeable: First there are four people in here, two are bound by ropes and chains. Second, there is a 10’ x 15’ section of the floor that is lava. The people inside pay no attention to the party. Two fire genasi stand over an individual, using threats and taunts towards the smaller one tied up nearby. The smaller one bears a remarkable semblance to a tiefling child. The two genasi take turns cutting pieces of the two’s tails and tossing them into the lava. Listening as the lava burns the body parts. Taking joy, and almost ecstasy pleasure, in the screams and smells.

If/when the party tries to intervene, it’s revealed to be just an elaborate illusion. Nothing the party does can stop what is happening. Trying to leave the room (or just turning around to go back) reveals the same room. The scene plays out for appx 10mins; the sounds, smells, visuals all coming through in horrific detail. The scene ends and a key drops next to the lava, which is still there and very hot. After a few minutes the scene starts again but the party can actually leave this time. The cool air from the hallway returns as a signal they can go.

Room 2:

The room main walkway is a few feet lower than the rest of the floor. Stone is curved into this 10’ wide gulch that the players enter the room with. There are steps up on each side of the walkway by the entrances. This room is also 30x30. No light source in this cool, damp room exists. You can taste the fear in the back of your throat. Bitter, sour, and thick. There is another hallway on the far side of the room.

There are four statues, two on each side. As the party enters and get a few squares in the four statues slowly begin to move in agony. More twitching and looking like they’re struggling. Their faces contorted in pain and agony, screaming for help. Upon closer inspection their movements are really just them writhing, standing in place. Their eyes begging for release of their pain. A character with telepathy of any sort can communicate with these statues. They scream and howl for release; their pain and agony making most words incomprehensible. However the players decide to deal with them [destroyed/beheading is fine enough] a key drops near the pedestal and can be heard fall to the ground.

Hallway: The hallway goes for another 25’ before it turns to the right. There is a small alcove about 30’ on the left hand side. You’ll notice swarms of small spiders reacting to your light, skittering along the walls and webs to get away. The husk of a body that has been here for awhile, simple investigation check reveals it bears similarity to [PC 1]. Another 20’ and the hallway continues forward as well as splitting off to the left. With the light [whatever source] they can see that a little further ahead there is another split in the hallway continuing forward but also to the left and right.

Room 3 [if they take the first split to the left]

The hallway this way goes into the darkness [total 72’] before it turns towards the left and 15’ to another door. This door is solid stone and very cold to the touch. [DC 13 lock, no trap]

Upon entering this room you see two human-ish figures in some sort of lab room. In the middle is another person strapped to an elaborate altar. There is writing along the side that you soon recognize to some of the words written in the city ruins you came from. Aklo. The two individuals are speaking in this language to one another and looking down at what could be notes. The person strapped down is visibly struggling as an intellect devourer [just give the description of it] races across the floor from an unseen entrance and immediately begins to feast on the person trying to scream through his gag. It stands on the person's chest psychically attacking them. If the players attack before the process finishes, only the Intellect Devourer can leave the room to attack anyone, the other two humanoids cannot.

If the party has only sat and watched this happen, then afterwards the three individuals will turn to the party and attack. Super quick and easy combat, basically one-two** hit kills. After combat the combatants disappear like an illusion. The room takes on a sickening smell of death. The air feels very cold like it wants to freeze you in place. Scattered remains lie across the floor from long dead creatures, including an intellect devourer. On the altar, in what remains of a ribcage, lies the shiny twinkling key.

Hallway: The four way split: To the right is a very short hallway that leads to an elaborately decorated metal door. It holds several locks that cannot be picked, and can only be unlocked by the gathering of the keys. On the door in a deep blue color: [Read to players] To unlock the door witness and abhor the things you need to see to set ourselves free. There are six keyholes. Each matching a key the party acquires: Lava, Statue, Brain, Throne, Skeleton, and Acid.

To the left hallway it goes 66’ before opening to another room. In the hallway itself are two more alcoves. Similar to the one before except one holds a [PC 2] husk, and the other [PC 3]. The room at the end of the hallway has a stone arch that is gorgeously carved with beautiful elvish runes along the edge. It starkly stands out of place in the rest of what you’ve seen since waking up in the grasslands. However, the writing is gibbering nonsense. As if written by someone gone mad.

Room 4:

This room is 30’ wide and 84’ long. An 8’ wide, and unknown depth, river of blood flows under a metal grate beneath the party. It flows towards the opposite end of the room. The room has a sickenly blood red glow about the whole place. The sound of blood pumping reverberates around the party. Almost halfway through the room on either side are two 5x10’ alcoves. Inspecting them shows desks that have been smashed by something. There is paper on the floor and what little can be read is more elvish nonsense. Following the room further, the blood river enters into another grate under the floor, the final 15’ being solid stone flooring that they’ve become accustomed too and a stone throne. The throne looks of dwarvish construction. Anyone that can read dwarf sees a title etched into the backside of it. [High King Cerfiwr Breuddwyd] (pronounced Cair Vur Bry Wood) Roughly translates to Dream Carver. A place for a crown appears on the seat of the throne and a large fragment resides nearby. [Investigation 15 to find the pieces around the chamber] The pieces assemble together rather easily.

Once placed the beating heart sound stops. The walls seem to close in as the blood river erupts into the room. [Dex save 13 vs 1d6 acid damage] Afterwards the crown rises into the air as an apparition appears wearing it. It looks towards a character and holds out it’s hand with a key. Taking the key returns the room to its previous appearance.

Return to the four way hallway. The turn to the left (formerly the straight ahead when the party first hit the four way hallway) goes down 90’. There are two alcoves on the right hand side of the hallway; similar to before spiders and husks, one looks like a [PC 4] and the other kind of [PC 5]. At the end of the hallway is a pit trap [perception 13 to notice something off if not using investigation to check for traps occasionally] Pit trap spans the section of the floor at the T-section split. Let party handle as they see fit. Hallway turns left and right from here.

To the left you can see a split off about 40’ away and the hallway continues on past that into another room. The split off leads to a caved in section of the tunnel. What looks to be rare gems scatter the ground (200gp worth)

The hallway section going right seems to go for about 40’ before it reaches a corner. [Proceed to the section after Room 5 if the party goes this way first] Room 5:

In this room, similar in size to the room of blood, are several stone coffins. A few are partially ajar with skeletal remains strewn across the floor near each one. 12 in total. As the party searches for whatever may be in this room, in a random 1d6 closed coffin is a skeleton holding a key. Reaching for the key, the room suddenly blazes with heat as two large fires come to life, one on each wall. The room is now brightly lit and a few skeletons come to life and attack the party. Another very easy combat. Once defeated the room plunges again into darkness aside from the party light source and is colder than before. Characters can see their breath now. The key now rests on a pedestal near the front of the room, ready to be retrieved.

Hallway leading right from the T-split. 40’ up it turn to the right before turning left again 35’ further down. 35’ from that corner another hallway can be seen, and 40’ beyond that another hallway. First hallway leads to a room that looks just like the entrance with a single door on the left wall. Going through it leads to the original entrance room [DM Note this is a safe room to rest]. Another door stands on the right side that leads to another caved in section of tunnel and a scattering of 50g and 50s. You can see over the debris of the cave in to see the tunnel went forward about 30’ before turning to the right. Probably leading to the tunnel further down the one you came. There also appears to be yet another hallway further down that turned left.

Last Key Room:

This room has two 10x10 pools of acid that randomly erupt. In between each pool is a key floating in the air. The acid eruptions cover the area surrounding the key but the key is left untouched by some barrier. Party can handle this as they please. It’s the last key.

Final Room: (There may be more than one individual here, depends on how the party is doing)

The door unlocks after all 6 keys are placed. It splits down the middle and each section retreating into the wall. There are stairs leading down and a soft faint blue glow emits from the walls. There are images smeared across the wall, but they don’t make sense. The stairs go down for what seems like forever before coming to another simple wooden door with an opening at normal head height. Looking shows a large room 85’ wide and 125 long, 10’ high. In the middle of the room is an individual standing over five small forms. The person, whose voice sounds like nails on a chalkboard and scratchy, is reciting some ritual and drawing Aklo runes in the air that then appear on the children's foreheads. Before the party can act the ritual ends and the forms disappear. Each character realizes that was their child-self.

Seemingly to the party (no matter if they’ve entered or not) he says “Now, forever tied to the Dreamlands. Children of the lambs brought to spread.” Upon seeing the room itself roll DC 15 Wis vs Insanity. The room itself is covered in artwork depicting madness. It’s beautiful and crushing and looking at it feels like an explosion of madness and elegant renditions of gods, evil and pure intent of corruption. There is a will there and you partially want to let it envelope you, shred you and build you back together in exquisite pain. The Obsessed Artist will open combat with the Fear spell. [If it’s not alone use Leng Folk Thief as adds, or standard bandits]

After combat ends there are a few moments together before the children wake up. Depending on dread levels, they will all feel connected to an otherness and each other. The higher the ending dread levels the panic they feel upon waking. The nightmare is over, wait was that a nightmare? Or dream? Things seem cloudy to the kids.

End Act III

I ended it this way in case the players wanted to expand beyond the one shot. Which, they ended up wanting to do. So now I have to build out far more, but I'm okay with that. I love horror movies and stories so I have a lot to draw from after this. Which world is real kind of stuff is going to be brought in as well. Hope you enjoy, and I hope I wrote this out properly. I'll try to reply to any questions/comments as they come up. Here is a link to my Drive Folder that also includes the map I built in Roll20.

Edit: Stats for the Wamp, Leng Folk Thief, and Obsessed Artist