“The House of Lament” is an adventure for a party of four to six 1st-level characters, who will advance to at least 3rd level by the adventure’s conclusion. The adventure’s climax serves as a springboard into future adventures in the Domains of Dread, should you wish to take your campaign into those haunted lands.
Story Overview
Ages ago, the vicious warlord Dalk Dranzorg ravaged the countryside at the head of a bandit army. After conquering the lands of Count Cordon Silvra, he took the lord’s fortress, Castle Laventz, as his own.
Months later, the relentless knight Mara Silvra received word of her father’s defeat. Calling in debts and intimidating mercenaries, Mara forged a small army during her grueling march home. Upon arriving, she expected to find her homeland’s nobility ready to rise to her cause, but they’d been cowed and terrified by reports of Dranzorg entombing captives and rivals in his castle’s walls. Calling them cowards, Mara drove her troops harshly on, suffering daily ambushes and desertions. When Castle Laventz finally came into view, Mara led less than a dozen irresolute knights. Shouting her frustrations into the night, Mara was answered by a voice from the shadows. This sinister force would give her the power to take back her home and rule her lands, but she would never leave Castle Laventz again. Without hesitation, Mara accepted the arrangement. In the same instant, Dranzorg’s troops swept in and took Mara and her knights captive.
Within the castle, Dranzorg showed Mara and her followers the hollow walls where they’d be buried alive. Mara’s troops pleaded for their lives. Wickedly, the warlord promised to spare them if they watched their leader’s entombment and spread the tale of her failure. As they agreed, Mara unleashed her rage with a supernatural, ear-bloodying scream. She slew Dranzorg barehanded and then, taking up his axe, felled the warlord’s troops and her own traitorous followers.
Soon after, local nobles received invitations to come to Castle Laventz and celebrate Mara’s victory. When each aristocrat arrived, though, they discovered they were the sole guests within a crimson-stained castle. Passing judgment on each noble for abandoning her family, Mara bricked them into her castle’s walls. Rumors swiftly spread of Mara’s vengeance and the castle whose walls cried. Mara was never seen again, and Castle Laventz came to be called the Castle of Lament.
Centuries passed, and Castle Laventz fell to ruins. Eventually, the successful merchant Loren Halvhrest purchased the land. By then, only one of Castle Laventz’s towers remained. The frugal Halvhrest incorporated the tower into the construction of a lavish manor for his family. The Halvhrests lived peacefully in their new home for several years before mysteriously vanishing. Those who investigated found no trace of the family but were deeply unsettled by the house. Grim tales rapidly resurfaced, providing the roots for all manner of ghastly tales and a new name for the structure: the House of Lament.
Running the Adventure
The following adventure requires the fifth edition D&D rulebooks (Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster Manual). You should read an entire adventure before attempting to run it. If you’d prefer to play this adventure, you shouldn’t read any further or you risk spoiling it.
The Monster Manual contains statistics for many of the creatures found in this adventure. When a creature’s name appears in bold type, that’s a visual cue pointing you to the creature’s stat block in the Monster Manual. If the stat block appears elsewhere, the adventure’s text tells you so.
Text that appears in a box like this is meant to be read aloud or paraphrased for the players when their characters first arrive at a location or under a specific circumstance, as described in the text.
Adventure Summary
The characters arrive at the House of Lament after a mysterious message leads them into the Mists. At the door, they meet investigators who invite them to participate in an exploration of the building. As the party initially surveys the house, it manifests subtle hauntings. The characters are then invited to participate in the first of several séances, allowing them to commune with the spirits of the house.
Depending on the spirit summoned during the séance, the characters learn about one of the tragedies that transpired in the house. Additional séances and discoveries ultimately wake the collective spirits and sinister forces lurking in the manor, trapping the characters inside the house. Escape requires the party to defeat an ageless evil. If they don’t, they’ll become another group of lost spirits imprisoned within the House of Lament.
The Hauntings of Halvhrest House
The House of Lament is a catastrophically haunted structure. It doesn’t rush to reveal its terrors, though. Rather, its history, threats, and phantasmal inhabitants reveal themselves gradually and in a variety of ways. Before leading your adventurers into the house, familiarize yourself with the varied ways the house’s hauntings manifest.
The House’s Domain
The House of Lament is both a domain and a Darklord, a collective of tortured spirits trapped within a single structure. The majority of these shades are nothing more than faint, rageful impressions, but a few powerful personalities remain. These remnants belonged to inhabitants of the house, desperate individuals like Mara Silvra and Dalk Dranzorg. Fractured and angry, the collective spirits within the house brood amid bitter dreams. Yet when strangers enter the domain, the spirits gradually wake, energizing the one instinct they share: to add to the number of souls bound within the house’s walls.
The House of Lament is capable of imposing itself over other lands and can appear in other Domains of Dread. A version of the house stands in western Borca (see chapter 3), and the structure can be accessed there no matter where else it appears. The house travels at the whims of the Dark Powers and might appear and linger for days or years before vanishing.
When the House of Lament closes the borders of its domain, a powerful thunderstorm surrounds it, bringing with it strong wind and heavy precipitation (detailed in the Dungeon Master’s Guide). Anyone who braves the violent storm discovers that the Mists surround the house in all directions. The Mists affect those who enter them as described in chapter 3.
The Entity
A mysterious malevolence lies beneath the House of Lament (see area 31). More a force of nature than an individual being, the Entity is a bodiless intellect that nudges those in the domain toward wickedness. As characters explore, use the Entity as a lurking manifestation of the Dark Powers, a vague glimpse of a terror even the house’s spirits fear.
Types of Hauntings
When the party enters the house, few menaces initially present themselves. As characters explore, though, spirits gradually stir to life, transforming the house into a supernatural deathtrap. The haunting within the house has two states:
- Dormant. When living beings arrive at the house, the haunting is dormant. During this time, the unassuming structure seems typical of an abandoned house. Impressions of past events and subtle, ambient haunts transpire during this time (see “Ambient Haunts”).
- Awakened. In the course of the adventure, the activities of the living alert the house’s spirits. Once this occurs, the House of Lament closes the domain’s borders, surrounds itself with the Mists, and conjures a powerful storm. Dangerous haunts occur throughout the house at this time.
Waking the House
The house reveals its full haunting at a dramatic moment. The adventure notes events that wake the house, many surrounding the events of the third séance (see the following " Séances" section). Use ambient haunts and the atmosphere-building tips from earlier in this chapter to drive the adventure toward a dramatic scene where it feels appropriate for the house to reveal its full malevolence.
If characters prove especially persistent (or destructive), the house might wake earlier. If this occurs, the adventure’s horror takes on a more in-your-face slasher quality, but there’s nothing wrong with that—ditch the subtlety and go for wild shocks. Triggers that wake the house early include deliberate damage inflicted by its visitors and entering and then leaving area 24.
After waking, the House of Lament will not become dormant again for several weeks.
Ambient Haunts
Even while dormant, the house is haunted. During this time, the spirits of the house drift and sleepwalk through a structure that’s changed radically over generations. Ambient haunts are glimpses of these phantasmal impressions. They’re subtle and reveal themselves to only a single witness. They exist to help you develop the house’s supernatural ambience and the spirits trapped within.
Using Ambient Haunts
An ambient haunt is unsettling but can’t harm characters. Use ambient haunts whenever you please to heighten the creepiness of a situation. Avoid overuse, however. If characters experience frequent haunts, the manifestations become mundane or ignorable.
Witnessing Haunts
Ambient haunts are fleeting visions that last scant seconds and that only one character ever sees. They appear when a character is alone or the last one to leave a room, or they are simply imperceptible to all but one character. They never manifest for the entire group. Haunts may favor appearing for certain characters, perhaps due to Dark Gifts or backgrounds individuals possess.
Suggested Haunts
Some encounter areas suggest ambient haunts specific to that location. Don’t hesitate to save these haunts for the party’s later visits to an area.
Creating Ambient Haunts
The following tables offer glimpses of specific spirits haunting the house. To generate a random ambient haunt, roll on the Spirits of the House table to determine what spirit manifests, then the Spectral Activity table to reveal what the spirit does. You can also personalize ambient haunts to involve characters' fears. Don’t hesitate to review these tables and prepare ambient haunts to have ready during the adventure.
Spirits of the House
| d20 | Spirit |
|---|---|
| 1–5 | Lost Spirit. Someone bound to the house, such as a noble Mara entombed in the walls, a past investigator, or someone a character knows |
| 6–8 | Newes. The Halvhrests' off-kilter family pet (an animal of your choice) |
| 9–10 | Victro Belview. The Halvhrests' stoic, nearly 7-foot-tall butler |
| 11–12 | Loren Halvhrest. An affable merchant who loves to sing (despite being not particularly good at it) |
| 13–15 | Theodora Halvhrest. The lady of the house, who loves her family, gardening, and dancing |
| 16–17 | Dalk Dranzorg. A cruel tyrant who wears a skull-faced helmet and frequently lies |
| 18–19 | Mara Silvra. A vengeful knight who expects betrayal and tries to expel trespassers |
| 20 | The Entity. A shadowy malevolence that manifests as grasping limbs or wounded masses within the house’s walls and floors |
Spectral Activity
| d20 | Activity |
|---|---|
| 1–3 | The spirit causes an object in the room to animate in a whimsical or unsettling manner. |
| 4–6 | The spirit leaves a brief message, threat, or question, perhaps asking where someone is or suggesting how one might hasten their demise. |
| 7–9 | The spirit walks through a wall or character. |
| 10–11 | Only a portion of the spirit appears—such as a hand, eye, heart, nervous system, or skull. |
| 12–13 | The spirit uses the room as they might have in life. If the room didn’t exist when they were alive, the spirit interacts with a space others can’t see (such as a stable, stairwell, or training hall). |
| 14–15 | The spirit lurks in an unexpected place, such as in a cabinet, under a bed, or in character’s pack. |
| 16–17 | The spirit sees a character. It draws near, whispers a question, or flees. |
| 18–19 | The spirit recreates a terrifying moment: either its own death or someone else’s visceral end. |
| 20 | The spirit is soundlessly ambushed by shadowy limbs that drag it into the floor or walls. |
Nightmares
Whenever the party takes a long rest in the house, one character suffers a nightmare. Choose a character at random or one who has a Dark Gift or background that makes them sensitive to visions of the past. If none of the characters sleep during a long rest, one of them experiences a waking vision that plays out like an ambient haunt. These nightmares gradually reveal details from the " Story Overview." Relate these specifics to the character experiencing the nightmare, embellishing them or presenting them as intense but half-remembered visions. Characters might witness any of the following events:
- A warlord in a skull-shaped helmet (Dranzorg) cackles as wicked soldiers brick a captive into a stone wall.
- A desperate knight (Mara) forces tired soldiers to march toward an ominous castle (Castle Laventz).
- A knight (Mara) howls her frustrations into the night. Shadows rise, surrounding her in a crimson aura.
- A screaming knight (Mara) slays a warlord (Dranzorg) and proceeds on a murderous rampage through a castle.
- A terrified aristocrat shrieks as they’re bricked into a stone wall by a bloody knight (Mara).
Waking from a nightmare can be worse than the dream itself. Unless someone watches each character for the entirety of the time they’re resting, the character who experiences the nightmare vanishes. Plausibly they could have wandered off in their sleep, but in truth they’re teleported elsewhere by the house. Roll on the Nightmare Awakening table to determine where the character wakes, or choose another unsettling locale.
Nightmare Awakening
| d6 | Waking Location |
|---|---|
| 1 | Standing on a railing on the widow’s walk (area 25) |
| 2 | In the tub of the master bath (area 17), facing a mirror smeared with blood that repeats the words “Bloody Mara” three times |
| 3 | Inside an empty cask in the wine cellar (area 27), which is easily mistaken for a coffin from the inside |
| 4 | Sprawled on the table in the dining room (area 11), surrounded by illusory diners draped in sheets |
| 5 | Seated in the office (area 18) before an illusory, phantom accountant who measures sins and virtues as ghostly coins on a merchant’s scale |
| 6 | Under the bedcovers in one of the bedrooms (area 14 or 21) while something approaches in the dark |
Haunted Traps
Several of the house’s hauntings manifest as haunted traps. Characters can use the Channel Divinity class feature to exorcise these magical traps. See “Haunted Traps” earlier in this chapter for details on these hazards.
Séances
At certain times in the adventure, characters have the opportunity to commune with the House of Lament’s spirits, contacting them directly through a series of séances involving a spirit board (see the appendix). These séances reveal the goals of the house’s spirits but also determine the adventure’s climax and how the party might ultimately escape the domain. These details are presented here for ease of reference, as the séances occur at multiple points throughout the adventure.
Prior to running a séance, choose or randomly determine which spirit the party will contact. The key spirits, the tone of their communication, and what they fixate upon include:
- Dalk Dranzorg. This manipulative murderer wants the party to trust him so they’ll free his corpse from area 5a. He gives his name as “Garland Kordz,” an anagram of his actual name.
- Mara Silvra. This rageful spirit expresses her anger at traitors and trespassers. She urges characters to find area 31, hoping to trade their lives for her freedom from a bargain she made with the Entity.
- Theodora Halvhrest. The sorrowful former lady of the house hides the spirits of her children in area 24. She’s wary of trespassers but sees them as a way to free her children.
Consult the " Escaping the House" section at the end of the adventure for details on the specific climaxes each spirit drives the plot toward.
Running a Séance
Séances reveal the mysteries of the House of Lament through atmospheric encounters. These events all take place in the house’s parlor (area 3). Before a séance, consider how you’ll run the encounter and what information it should convey.
Timing
They occur at points noted throughout the adventure or when you feel is appropriate to the tension of the story. The spirits of the house are willing to be channeled only once per day, so the party must wait until after the following dawn to conduct another séance.
Preparation and Ambiance
Plan for séances in a way that creates a safe, moody atmosphere. Prepare the spirit board and any other props ahead of time. Consult " Running Horror Games" earlier in this chapter for advice on creating atmosphere.
Conducting a Séance
One of the investigators detailed in the following " Guests of the House" section leads each séance. Narrate the start of the séance and encourage each character to ask a question. As they do, you control how the spirits within the house respond. To do this, subtly guide the planchette on the spirit board or otherwise make the spirits' intentions known. Use the investigator who isn’t running the séance to ask basic questions or ease the party into engaging. Provide short, mysterious answers.
Séance Pacing
None of the spirits immediately blurts out their desires. The characters are strangers in the spirits' house, and before the dead accept the trespassers, these spirits try to build a rapport through at least three interactions. The séances described in the following sections outline the information conveyed in these encounters. You may run more séances as you see fit.
Unanswered Questions
Decide what questions a spirit will or won’t answer. If a spirit chooses not to answer a question, they might affect the parlor’s lighting or decorations in some ominous but noncommittal way. A character can ask another question if a spirit doesn’t answer. Alternatively, if you’re using a prop spirit board, don’t move the planchette and see if the players unconsciously guide the planchette to a response.
First Séance
The investigator running the séance explains that they plan to use the spirit board in area 3 to contact the spirits to learn why they linger here. The investigators invite the party to sit at the parlor table and join them in touching a planchette atop the spirit board. The lead investigator then starts the séance, saying:
“Spirits of this house, we are strangers who come openly and without malice. We seek only to know your stories and to help you find peace. We entreat you: make your presence known.”
The spirits wait long enough for the characters to wonder if the ceremony worked. Then the room grows cooler, the lights dim, and the planchette moves to the word “Greetings.”
One of the investigators asks the first question: “Who are we speaking to?” The spirit replies by spelling out the first name of the spirit you chose to contact (Mara, Theodora, or “Garland” for Dranzorg).
The spirits answer questions as guided by their aforementioned goals and personalities. All of them know the house’s history and anything characters have seen or done in the house. By the end of the first séance, the spirit conveys an unprompted message (with ellipses denoting pauses):
Dalk Dranzorg: “HELP U… UNDER PORCH”
The planchette then moves to the sword symbol. Dranzorg is trying to win trust by leading the party to his lost weapon buried in area 1.
Mara Silvra: “EVICT THE CHIMNEY WITCH”
The planchette then moves to the skull image at the top of the spirit board. Mara wants to use the characters to free her consciousness from the house. She tests them first, setting the characters after the Chimney Witch detailed in area 10.
Theodora Halvhrest: “SEEK THE WITCH STONE”
The planchette then moves to the candle image. Theodora tests the characters' willingness to help by having them light a candle detailed in area 25.
When every character has asked a question and the spirit conveys its message, the presence moves the planchette to the word “Farewell” and departs. The investigators are pleased with the progress and eager to contact the same spirit again. They encourage the party to continue their exploration of the house with the spirit’s words in mind, but they don’t feel the need to rush things, planning to pick up the investigation after resting and further research.
If characters have not already reached 2nd level, they gain a level when this séance ends.
Second Séance
The investigators conduct the second séance likely after the party has explored most of the house and followed the lead they received from the first séance. Preferably, the house has not yet awakened. If the party has not yet fulfilled a spirit’s request from the first séance, consider repeating the spirit’s request from the first séance at least once.
An investigator starts the second séance as they did the first one, and the same spirit from the first séance answers. By the end of the séance, the spirit conveys a personal message, even if not asked:
Dalk Dranzorg: “SHE MURDERED ME… TRAPPED… COLD”
Dalk plays for sympathy and hopes to pit the characters against Mara. It’s possible the players have realized who “Garland” is, but at this point he denies it.
Mara Silvra: “EVICT LEAPER NEXT”
Mara offers a new message only if the characters battled the Chimney Witch. She now asks the characters to combat the Leaper in area 5b.
Theodora Halvhrest: “RESTORE HER SHIELD”
Theodora offers a new message only if the characters acted on her last request. If they did, she ends her message by having the planchette circle the flowers and vines on the spirit board’s frame, suggesting the way to open the door to area 24.
After this, the séance ends as the first one did, and the investigators encourage the party to complete its investigations. If the players are enjoying the séances or are taking their time exploring, feel free to run this encounter multiple times, allowing the characters to ask more questions.
If the borders to the domain are not yet closed, a storm begins brewing at this point.
Final Séance
This séance occurs whenever you choose to run it, likely after the party has fulfilled any requests made during the second séance. At its end, the house wakes, shifting the party’s objective from investigation to survival.
An investigator starts the final séance as they have previously. The same spirit answers this call, but its demeanor has changed. Their effect on the room is more severe, causing it to grow darker and colder or causing portraits to animate in unsettling ways. By the end of this séance, the spirit has either set the party on the path to wake the house or has done it themselves:
Dalk Dranzorg: “SHE IS COMING… FREE ME… UNDER STAIRS”
Dalk has lost his patience with the party. He demands they free him from area 5a. If the characters realize who he is, he doesn’t deny it and insists they’ll never escape without his help. The séance ends with Dalk’s message followed by the house awakening and the sound of Mara’s distant scream.
Mara Silvra: “FIND ME BELOW”
Mara offers a new message only if the characters battled the Chimney Witch and the Leaper. She encourages them to come for her next. Mara opens the path in area 28. At this point, the rest of the house’s spirits think Mara is attempting to escape and awaken the house to prevent this.
Theodora Halvhrest: “GET THEM OUT”
Theodora shares a vision with all the characters in the room. Spectral images of the dragon and knight toys from area 24 hover in the air before dissolving into vapor. She wants the characters to get the toys her children haunt away from the house.
When the séance ends, review what happens when the house wakes and look ahead to " Escaping the House" at the end of the adventure. Unless otherwise noted, should the party try to conduct additional séances at this point, the spirits are unhelpful or aggressive.
If characters have not already reached 3rd level, they gain a level when this séance ends.
Starting the Adventure
" The House of Lament" serves as an introduction to the Domains of Dread and can serve as the first adventure in a longer horror campaign. As players make characters, use the following details to encourage them along the path leading into the Mists.
Leaving the Past Behind
Before beginning the adventure, ask each player to contemplate where and how their character lives. Their answers don’t need to be specific or rooted in the Domains of Dread. If you plan this adventure to be the first in an ongoing horror campaign, recommend characters avoid strong ties to their homes, as they might never see them again.
Mysterious Message
Once each player has conveyed their broad thoughts about their character’s situation, inform them that their character has come to possess a cryptic message and directions to an unfamiliar but nearby meeting place. Work with the players to decide the message’s contents, how each character mysteriously receive the message, and why they’ve decided to follow the directions. The message should be vague but enticing to the character, such as “They need your help,” “Prove yourself,” or “Reclaim what you’ve lost.”
Meeting in the Mists
Once the players are ready to begin, explain that they’ve each chosen to follow the message’s directions. Then read the following boxed text:
Following the directions in the cryptic message you received, it doesn’t take long before they lead you from familiar roads onto a disused trail overgrown by weeds and the roots of spindly trees. A light drizzle begins to fall as you travel. As you approach a wooded crossroads, the leaden rain makes the cloaked form standing there seem all the more unreal.
All the characters see this same sight, though they don’t see one another. Ask how each character reacts to what they see. Regardless, the figure responds in the following way:
The figure’s head snaps up, glaring with piercing, yellow eyes. What you took for a cloak spreads around it, revealing itself to be a pair of mighty black wings. With one powerful motion and a blast of chill air, the wings sweep and the vague figure is gone.
The characters have no way of knowing this for certain, but they’ve just glimpsed a wereraven (see chapter 5). They have no way of stopping the mysterious creature.
Again, ask the characters how they react. Those who approach the crossroads openly see each other coming down different paths toward the intersection. The number of paths that converge here equals the number of characters.
First Meeting
Give the characters time to meet, realize that they’ve all just witnessed the same thing, learn that they all received similar messages, and raise questions they have no answers for. The Mists of Ravenloft have subtly claimed them, and why they’ve been brought together is a mystery they might never fully understand.
One thing they are likely to realize, though, is that all of them just came from home, which is supposedly back the way they came. As characters converse, encourage them to gradually realize they’re unfamiliar with the landmarks the others refer to, despite supposedly all living nearby.
What Remains
Anyone who investigates the spot the figure vanished from finds a number of sizable black feathers, one for each character. They also find a planchette—a device tied to communicating with the dead—decorated with bird skulls. This item has no magical properties or immediate use but might prove useful as the adventure proceeds.
The Mists
The day’s drizzle has grown into a rainstorm, and anyone who looks back down the trails sees their path shrouded in haze. Eventually, characters will proceed along one of the paths and into this fog. Regardless of which trail they choose, those who enter the fog vanish for a moment, only to walk out of the haze a few steps from where they entered. Even if the whole party enters the fog, they soon reemerge back at the crossroads. Alternatively, you might use the Wandering the Mists table in chapter 3 to inspire other events. No matter what the characters do, the Mists lead the characters back to the crossroads.
Development
As the realization that they’re trapped dawns on the characters, the gray light in the cloudy sky begins to dim. As it does, though, a faint light becomes visible through the haze, leading up a wooded hillside. If the characters approach, they’ll soon find the light emanates from a most unusual structure.
Guests of the House
The characters are about to discover the haunted house known as the House of Lament. They aren’t the first to arrive, though. Two investigators are already there, having come for their own reasons unrelated to the characters' strange experience. Prior the party’s arrival at the house, choose which pair of investigators meets them. Unless otherwise noted, these characters are described in the " Mist Wanderers" section of chapter 3:
- Alanik Ray and Arthur Sedgwick. A mysterious third party hired these detectives to recover documents related to Loren Halvhrest’s business and discover the state of his missing heirs.
- Gennifer and Laurie Weathermay-Foxgrove. The renowned monster hunters were hired by a family in Borca to put an end to the house’s haunting.
Ireena Kolyana and Ez d’Avenir
These adventurers want to learn what made the House of Lament what it is and free the spirits that haunt it. Ireena Kolyana is a reincarnation of the fateful spirit named Tatyana detailed in the " Barovia" section of chapter 3. If you wish, she might be replaced with any other reincarnation of Tatyana detailed in that domain.
Rudolph (and Erasmus) van Richten
Doctor Rudolph van Richten appears to be alone, investigating the house to test methods of freeing lingering spirits. He has no idea—and refuses all evidence—that he is accompanied by the spirit of his son, Erasmus. Mentions of an accompanying companion elsewhere in this adventure generally don’t apply to van Richten, but Erasmus gradually reveals himself to those who help his father.
Arriving at the House
When the characters seek the source of the light, read or paraphrase the following description:
Gradually the haze and brush give way, revealing a bald hilltop. There stands a grim black tower, the last defiant turret of a long-crumbled fortress. Attached to this tower is a three-story manor house, weather beaten and veined with ivy. A porch girds the house, its sagging roof sheltering a stout front door that stands open and emits a flickering light.
This is the House of Lament. Abandoned for centuries, it was disturbed only moments ago by a pair of investigators who are in the process of bringing in their equipment for what they expect to be multiple days of exploration and study. They’ve identified the parlor (area 3) as the base for their investigation.
If the characters don’t disguise their approach, one of the investigators calls out, identifies themselves, and welcomes the company. They invite the party inside to meet with their partner. Ultimately, if the party proves cooperative, the investigators offer the following information:
- They know nothing about the messages the characters received.
- They have heard of mysterious occurrences wherein strangers become “lost in the Mists” and arrive in unexpected places.
- They likely don’t know where the characters hail from, but offer to lead the characters to the city of Sturben in Borca after their work is complete.
- If asked, they’ll share that the house was last owned by the Halvhrest family, it’s abandoned, and it has a reputation for attracting the dead.
- They offer each party member 20 gp per day to help them explore the house and document strange phenomena.
If the party accepts the investigators' offer, they acquire reliable allies. One of the investigators offers to join the party in their exploration the house. The other stays in the parlor to prepare to contact the house’s spirits (see the " Séances" section). In the case of Rudolph van Richten, he remains in the parlor while the characters explore the house.
If the party rejects the investigators' offer, they stay out of the characters' way. They’ll still invite the characters to participate in their séances and are amenable to collaborating if characters have a change of heart. Anyone who tries to leave the grounds surrounding the House of Lament find their way barred by the Mists. Whenever they enter the haze, the Mists lead them back to the house, just as they did at the crossroads.
Adventure Flowchart
Arriving at the House
The adventurers meet amid the Mists and find themselves drawn to the House of Lament. There they meet one or two determined investigators.
Exploring the House
With their new allies, the characters explore the house and glimpse fleeting hauntings.
First Séance
The characters participate in the first of three séances, communing with Garland, Mara, or Theodora.
Deeper into the House
The adventures explore more of the house, witnessing unsettling sights and learning more of its tragic history.
Second Séance
The spirit the characters previously communicated with provides more insights into the house and makes ominous requests.
Mysteries of the House
The characters reach the most haunted quarters of the house, potentially rousing deadly spirits.
Final Séance
A spirit makes a desperate demand, and the full fury of the house is unleashed.
The House Awakes
If the house’s hauntings have not fully revealed themselves, they do so now.
Once the characters meet the investigators and shift their attention to the house, their exploration begins.
House of Lament Features
The House of Lament appears to be an ordinary structure. It’s in ill repair and the floorboards are exceptionally creaky, but the construction overall seems sturdy. The house is unlit, but abundant half-burned candles and empty lanterns appear throughout the rooms. Unless otherwise noted, ceilings inside the house are about 10 feet high, and the doors are made of stout mahogany. Any of the doors might be swollen shut, requiring a successful DC 10 Strength (
Less obviously, the structure supernaturally resists damage. While dormant, the house appears to take damage normally, though soggy woods prevent fire from spreading. After 24 hours, though, any damage to the house repairs itself. After the house wakes, damage to the structure heals immediately, accompanied by bleeding boards or glimpses of horrifying spaces beyond the woodwork.
Discourage characters from trying to destroy the house while it’s dormant (the investigators oppose demolition attempts). Should the party obsessively persist in their destructiveness, the house eventually wakes to defend itself.
House of Lament Locations (1-9)
Locations in the House of Lament are keyed to map 4.1. The descriptions of these areas detail the house in its dormant state. Phantasmal activity that occurs in an area regardless of the house’s state is detailed in a section called “Ambient Haunt.” If the area changes when the house wakes, alterations are noted in a section called “Awakened Haunt.”
1. Porch
The porch is creaky, covered in dead vines, and infested with earwigs, but otherwise unremarkable. An unlocked double door opens from the front of the house into area 2. An unlocked door on the east side of the house leads to area 10. Characters who succeed on a DC 12 Strength (
Crawl Space
Destroying part of the porch reveals a 3-foot-high crawl space below. Any 5-foot-square space of the porch has AC 13, 10 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage. Medium creatures must squeeze to enter the crawl space, but Small or smaller creatures can enter unimpeded. Those who wriggle into the crawl space upset a swarm of unnaturally aggressive earwigs (use the swarm of maggots stat block in chapter 5).
Treasure
In the crawl space, just in front of the house’s front door, is a grave-sized rectangle of gray dust and dead bugs. Anyone who spends 5 minutes digging in this spot finds Dalk Dranzorg’s cursed battleaxe Bilestongue, a
2. Foyer
Peeling wallpaper and a musty scent cling to the walls of this spacious foyer. A curving staircase rises from the cracked tile floor to a balcony above, keeping its distance from a darkened chandelier. Doors lead in every direction. At the room’s center, a bronze sculpture of an antlered eagle perches atop a marble pedestal.
This once-impressive entryway is dusty and choked with cobwebs. The stairs climb to the balcony above (area 13). The ceiling here rises 20 feet from the floor. The statue is attached to the pedestal, which together weigh 800 pounds.
Closet
A closet to the west holds several moth-eaten black cloaks and, on a high shelf, a heavy but empty leather hat box.
Awakened Haunt
When a creature enters this room, the eagle statue shudders and cracks. A round later, a wet, red peryton hatches from the sculpture and attacks.
3. Parlor
Dozens of faded portraits cover this parlor’s walls, the subjects' eyes fixed on a circular table that bears an ornate spirit board. A wide mirror hangs over a tall fireplace set in the north wall.
Theodora Halvhrest used this room to tastefully indulge her interest in spiritualism. Wards and images here deter the house’s spirits from entering the room unless summoned via magic or an implement such as the spirit board.
At present, the investigators stashed their equipment here and plan to “make camp” in this room.
Séances
One of the investigators spends their time here, getting a feel for the place and poring through notes. When the party first arrives, they note that the spirit board here would be the perfect tool to contact the house’s spirits, but they don’t see anything suitable for use as a planchette. Encourage the characters to offer up the planchette they found. If they don’t, the investigator soon finds one in the room and begins preparing to conduct the first of several séances. How and when these séances unfold are detailed in the " Séances" section.
Portraits
Portraits on the walls depict members of the Halvhrest family as well as members of the Keepers of the Feather (detailed in chapter 3), many of whom wear the Mark of the Raven. Any character who succeeds on a DC 16 Wisdom (
Reference Material
The investigators possess a variety of books detailing haunts and occult lore. Any character who spends an hour consulting these books gains advantage on their next Intelligence (
4. Gallery
Moody landscapes and dour busts atop marble pedestals collect dust in this modest gallery. In an alcove to the east stands a larger-than-life onyx statue of an athlete wrestling monstrous, disembodied tentacles. To the west, a wall made of black stone curves into this room, an arch opening into a darkened space beyond.
This room displays the Halvhrest family’s art collection. The subject matters vary, and the works have suffered years of neglect. The ancient tower attached to the house abuts the room.
Statue
Those who investigate the statue realize it is hollow and the figure’s eyes open into the cavity inside. The statue has AC 14, 10 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage. If it is destroyed, characters discover a crumbling scrap of parchment inside. It bears a short message from the statue’s tormented sculptor: “Shadowed fingers. Eyes like glass. Beware the below.—L. Dolan.”
Awakened Haunt
When a character enters this room, the four busts here explode, unleashing four Death’s Head of the gnashing variety (see chapter 5). If the busts have been removed from this room, choose a dramatic moment after the house wakes for them to “hatch.”
Treasure
The four busts and six paintings in this room are well made, and each fetches 50 gp from a collector. They are bulky, though: the busts each weigh 30 pounds, and the framed paintings weigh 15 pounds each.
5a. Tower Base
Wind moans through the open interior of the ancient tower attached to the manor. Stairs curve from the floor to circle the dark granite walls and vanish into a chamber high above.
This tower is all that remains of Castle Laventz. Here, Dalk Dranzorg threatened to imprison Mara Silvra within the castle’s walls. A bricked-over alcove remains, but while the house is dormant it’s impossible to notice or access. Both the tower and the floor are protected by the structure’s resistance to damage until after the house wakes.
The stairs here climb 10 feet to area 5b.
Awakened Haunt
Blood runs down the northwestern wall, outlining the hidden alcove. This part of the wall has AC 16, 20 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage. Opening the alcove reveals a cramped space packed with those Mara buried in her castle’s walls, specifically two boneless (see chapter 5) and the corpse of Dalk Dranzorg.
Dranzorg has the statistics of a revenant with one exception: his Rejuvenation trait restores him and the boneless after 1 minute, returning them to the alcove in this area. He wears the sinister armor and demon skull helmet he wore in life, but centuries of rust ensure they don’t affect his statistics. Dranzorg can be permanently destroyed only if he’s slain by Mara or a creature possessed by Mara. Consult " Tyrant’s Escape" at the end of the adventure for details.
5b. Tower Heights
The stairs along the tower’s interior lack railings and climb 40 feet into area 26. Creatures can climb the tower’s interior or exterior walls with a successful DC 14 Strength (
The Leaper
Any creature that climbs the tower hears a horrified scream. The sound of the scream originates from above, passes any climbers, moves to the tower’s floor, and then repeats. The effect sounds like someone repeatedly falling through the tower. This scream is an effect created by a malicious spirit called the Leaper.
While the house is dormant, the Leaper manifests as a sound and a powerful wind issuing from above. Any creature that climbs more than 30 feet up the tower, using the stairs or otherwise, must make a DC 15 Strength saving throw. On a successful save, the creature is halted in its movement and can’t climb higher due to the strong wind. On a failed save, it is thrown from the stairs and takes 10 (
Awakened Haunt
If the house is awakened or the characters seek the Leaper as directed to during a séance, the wind is replaced by a vindictive poltergeist (a variant specter) that tries to use its Telekinetic Thrust to throw characters from the stairs.
6. Sitting Room
The first floor contains three sitting rooms, where Loren Halvhrest expressed his dubious taste in curio collecting. You are free to determine the contents of these themed rooms and any ambient haunts that occur within, perhaps using characters' fears or interests as inspiration.
7. Conservatory
Desiccated vines sprawl across the tables and foggy glass walls of this conservatory. Rusted gardening tools and pots of barren soil lie scattered across sturdy wooden tables.
This indoor greenhouse was Theodora Halvhrest’s pride and joy.
Ambient Haunt
The first time any character enters this room (whether the house is dormant or awakened), a vision plays out:
Between eyeblinks, the conservatory is alive and filled with flowers. A transparent woman with a veiled hat and parasol strolls through the room. She pauses here and there to admire a bloom or adjust a pot, and then looks toward you. As suddenly as she appeared, she vanishes, and the room lies in ruin once more.
This illusory vision provides a glimpse of Theodora Halvhrest. Characters might recognize her if they’ve seen the portraits in areas 18 or 22. The illusion is harmless, and the characters can’t disrupt it.
Haunted Trap
When the scene ends, a haunted trap with a +2 Haunt Bonus activates (see “Haunted Traps” earlier in this chapter). Any creature in the room with a passive
After the trap activates, cracks run through the conservatory’s windows. The fractures form the word “Uninvited.”
Belladonna
Inexplicably, one plant is still alive and flourishing in the room: a belladonna plant with fat, black berries. It can be useful in completing the symbol of Ezra that appears on the door to area 24.
8. Ballroom
Broken boards mar the weblike design worked into this ballroom’s wooden floor. A short stage for long-departed musicians stands at the room’s far end, overlooked by cracked stained-glass windows.
The Halvhrests held delightful gatherings here, never knowing that Warlord Dranzorg’s audience hall previously occupied the same space.
Ambient Haunt
This haunting captures one side of an exchange between Dalk Dranzorg and his captives after he took Mara Silvra and her knights prisoner. The haunting occurs only once during the adventure. When two or more characters enter the room for the first time, read the following text:
A hollow, mocking voice reaches you, echoing as if from far away. “I’ll give you a simple choice, my misguided knights. You can join Lady Silvra, and I’ll entomb you all within my fortress’s walls. Or forsake your commander, bear witness to her execution, and then walk free to tell all of Dranzorg’s justice. My mercy knows but a moment, friends. Choose!”
Ask each player how or if their character responds, as if they were the knights in question. Following this, an ear-splitting shriek fills the room, affecting each character in the area in one of the following ways corresponding to their reaction:
- Join Lady Silvra or Belligerence. Characters who say they’ll join Lady Silvra or who taunt the voice hear the scream but aren’t affected by it. Instead, one of the stained-glass windows on the stage cracks. The fractures look like the character as if they were trapped within the glass.
- Forsake Lady Silvra or Silence. Those who say they’ll abandon Lady Silvra or who stay silent must make a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw, taking 10 (
3d6 ) psychic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. In either case, the character’s ears bleed until the end of their next turn. - Channel Divinity. If a character uses the Channel Divinity class feature, treat this manifestation as a haunted trap with a +4 Haunt Bonus. If the character’s Channel Divinity disables the haunted trap, the scream that follows sounds distant and weak. The sound is harmless and thereafter the room is normal. If the haunted trap wouldn’t be disabled, treat this as belligerence.
Closet
At the rear of the room is a closet filled with withered decorations from past celebrations. A faded banner depicts numerous winged seahorses and the words “Happy Birthday Regan and Vastion!”
9. First Floor Hall
The hall is lined with broken picture frames. A rug with a dizzying geometric pattern covers the floor.
Closet
The closet is dark and conspicuously empty.
House of Lament Locations (10-18)
10. Kitchen
A rack previously suspended from this kitchen’s ceiling has crashed, crushing a table and scattering rusted pots and cooking implements. A sizable iron stove is built into the north wall. Several doors lead from the room.
The kitchen of the Halvhrest home now lies in shambles. The debris and broken furnishings make the entire area difficult terrain.
Oven
This simple oven is little more than a fireplace with metal racks arranged behind an iron door. The racks can be removed, creating enough space to admit a Medium or smaller creature, but the chimney is too narrow to climb. Anyone who opens the oven finds a warm caramel chip muffin sitting inside, a gift from the Chimney Witch.
Chimney Witch
An aloof,
- Baleful Baker. The Chimney Witch can manifest a single baked good once per hour. Icing on the pastry might form one letter or a similar design. The witch’s baked goods are delicious but sometimes have tiny, harmless surprises hidden within—perhaps a key the party overlooked, a fingertip, or a twitching lizard tail.
- Witch Fingers. The Chimney Witch can manifest a claw that reaches from the chimney on a gaunt, too-many-elbowed arm once per hour. As an action, the witch can make a melee attack with a +3 bonus against a target it can see within 10 feet of one of the hearths. If hit, a target takes 2 (
1d4 ) piercing damage and is pulled into the nearest hearth. - Witch Fire. The Chimney Witch can use an action to cause a roaring fire to blaze in one of its hearths once per hour. Any creature that starts its turn inside a blazing hearth or that enters an ignited oven or fireplace for the first time on a turn takes 7 (
2d6 ) fire damage. The flames vanish after 1 minute. - Manifestation. After the house is awakened, the Chimney Witch can spend an action to summon a specter in one of its hearths once per day. The specter looks like a burned hag with flailing, overly long arms. If the specter is defeated, the Chimney Witch cannot perform any actions and remains silent for 24 hours.
The Chimney Witch wants to see the House of Lament destroyed, hoping that will free it from the chimney. It might aid the party in defeating the house’s other powerful spirits but grows agitated if ignored. Use the spirit to provide subtle hints to the party as necessary and to make Small creatures wary of the house’s fireplaces.
If, during a séance, Mara sends the characters to “evict” the Chimney Witch, the witch summons a specter. Defeating it satisfies Mara’s request.
Pantry
The foodstuffs in this pantry have decayed to dust and rotten smears inside sealed glass jars.
Treasure
Searching the pantry reveals a vial with a rat skull on the label. Inside is one dose of
11. Dining Room
Chairs and candelabras covered in dusty sheets attend this hall’s broad dining room table. Still life paintings depicting multiple grand feasts hang on the walls, their faded oils making the food look rotten.
Several doors open into the dining room, including a sliding door that connects this space and the music room (area 12). A sideboard is filled with cracked dishware and sixty-six bent spoons. The art on the walls is worthless.
Dinner Guest
A conspicuous, child-sized form is seated under a sheet covering one of the chairs. Beneath sits a ragged doll in a frilly red dress. A white patch covers a missing button eye.
12. Music Room
Overstuffed furniture faces a handsome concert harp dramatically sculpted with a flock of flying doves.
The dusty music room holds saggy, damp, no-longer-plush furnishings.
Evensong Harp
This haunted harp stands 6 feet tall and weighs nearly 300 pounds. It’s in fine condition and looks as if it’s been oiled regularly.
Any character who touches the harp must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or be compelled to play it. A character compelled to play must make a DC 16 Charisma (
Anyone compelled to play the harp learns the song Blood-Tears of Claveria, knows it was written by the composer Lyron Evensong, and has advantage on subsequent Charisma (
13. Second-Floor Hall
This hall starts at a balcony overlooking the foyer (area 2), the floor of which is 10 feet below. One of the doors in the hall opens to a stairway that ascends to area 20.
Awakened Haunt
The coughing from area 16 is audible in this hall.
Séance One
When the party finishes exploring the floors below, the investigators invite them to participate in the first séance (see the " Séances" section earlier in the adventure). If the party goes directly to this area, the investigators invite them to the séance after they explore two or three rooms.
14. Guest Bedrooms
Extra bedrooms on the second floor each hold a sagging bed, a wardrobe, and a writing desk.
Ambient Haunt
At your discretion, ambient haunts in these rooms employ bedsheets and dark places under the furnishings. Other possible haunts include animalistic forms stitched into the bedding; pillows contorting to form sizable, fanged maws; or a room looking exactly like a character’s childhood bedroom.
15. Morning Room
Wicker chairs and a small table set for tea occupy this airy morning room. Pale drapes fall away from wide windows overlooking the manor’s grounds. A plump, tasseled pillow embroidered with the name “Newes” rests near a fireplace.
This room is prepared for a breakfast that never arrived.
Pet Bed
The Halvhrest’s pet, Newes, slept here. A toy or evidence of its nature, whatever you decide that is, remains here.
Awakened Haunt
The first character to enter the room sees a gigantic eye staring through the window. The character must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution throw or be
Treasure
The tea set includes four cups and a teapot with a delicate pattern of flowering foxglove. The fragile set is worth 200 gp. One cup has tea leaves dried at its bottom, the debris forming the shape of a screaming face missing an eye.
16. Master Bedroom
A grand, canopied bed occupies this room, its headboard engraved with the phases of the moon. A wardrobe, writing desk, and torn leather chair fill out the space, all bearing rampant mildew. A chemical smell, like ammonia or medication, lingers here.
Loren Halvhrest died here, succumbing to an inexplicable disease after months of illness. With the exception of the bed, the room’s furnishings are rotted and fragile. They fall apart if touched.
Ambient Haunt
The smell in the room has no source, a subtle haunt that recalls the medicines that filled Loren Halvhrest’s last days of life.
Awakened Haunt
Anyone in this room or an adjacent area hears wracking coughing fits. Those who enters the bedroom see a wheezing form huddled under the bed’s heavy comforter. If the bed’s sheets are pulled back or attacked, a zombie plague spreader (see chapter 5) emerges and attacks.
17. Master Bath
Remains of opulent fixtures fill this moldy bathroom. Wardrobes, dressing screens, and a vanity with a cracked mirror line fractured tile walls. A raised marble tub next to a built-in fireplace asserts a commitment to decadence.
The bathroom is humid and moldy, its walls stained with colorful but harmless growths.
Chimney Witch
The fireplace connects to the haunted chimney detailed in area 10.
Treasure
A perfume bottle with an ornate bulb atomizer sits on the vanity, its label bearing the name “Boritsi” in intricate cursive. The bottle and the vanilla-scented perfume within is worth 50 gp, or ten times that if sold in the domain of Borca.
18. Office
This office is decorated with sturdy shelves and a desk carved with reclining satyrs. The desk’s high-backed chair is turned away, obscuring any occupant.
Loren Halvhrest managed his small trading company from this office. A merchant’s scale, blunt writing implements, and a tiny, framed portrait of Theodora Halvhrest sit on the desk.
A glass door leads to the exterior balcony (area 19). The bolted door is easy to open from this side.
Documents
The books and papers in the room include copious documents, Loren’s business files interspersed with personal papers. Most are ruined by age, but any character who success on a DC 14 Wisdom (
- Loren’s Will. Loren’s will and death certificate names the four members of the Halvhrest family—Loren, his wife Theodora, their daughter Regan, and their son Vastion. An addendum notes that Loren died of “tenacious deviltry of the leftmost lung.”
- Deed to the House. A sheaf of dry legal documents includes the deed to the house and rights to the surrounding land. These documents enumerate the land’s features, including “Ruins of Castle Laventz; prior owners: Lady Mara Silvra, Dalk Dranzorg, Lord Cordon Silvra; dates unknown.”
Treasure
In addition to dull business records, the desk holds a key to the lockbox in area 22, a 4-foot-long silver chain necklace worth 40 gp, and your choice of a
House of Lament Locations (19-27)
19. Exterior Balcony
This sturdy, ivy entangled balcony stands 15 feet over the porch (area 1). A glass door leads from the balcony into area 18, but it’s bolted closed from the other side. The door has AC 14, 8 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage.
20. Third-Floor Hall
This hall is especially creaky. It features a threadbare rug covered in geometric patterns, the lines of which are impossible to follow.
Séance Two
The second séance should occur soon after characters reach this floor. If the séance hasn’t occurred yet, the clock in area 22 inexplicably chimes thirteen or a dead raven topples from a door frame. If one of the investigators accompanies the party, they are startled and encourage the party to return to the parlor to relax and renew their exploration later—ultimately, after the next séance.
21. Servants' Quarters
These modest rooms belonged to the Halvhrests' servants. Each holds a bed, footlocker, writing desk, and chair. They’re identical except as noted below.
Agatha’s Room
This room is locked, and the only key is inside. A character using thieves' tools can try to pick the lock, which requires 1 minute and a successful DC 14 Dexterity check.
This room belonged to Agatha Kavenza, the nursemaid of Regan and Vastion Halvhrest. A devotee of the god Ezra, Agatha decorated her room with a plaque of her god’s symbol, a shield crossed with a spring of belladonna. This displays the missing part of the symbol that appears in area 23. Agatha hid herself here when spirits overwhelmed the house. Her fate is unknown, but a series of long scratches and broken fingernails end at a conspicuous bag on the floor. This is a
Victro’s Room
Victro’s bed is unusually long, built to accommodate his 7-foot-tall frame. The key to his locked footlocker is in area 27. A character using thieves' tools can try to pick the lock, which requires 1 minute and a successful DC 12 Dexterity check. Inside the footlocker are suits custom-made for a very tall man, a pouch containing 13 sp, and an amulet bearing the symbol of a skull surrounded by a skeletal ouroboros—the icon of the Priest of Osybus (see chapter 5).
22. Family Room
Rich furniture clusters around a tall fireplace, its mantle lined with dusty knickknacks. Above it hangs a portrait of a stiff but handsome family.
The furniture here is musty and greasy with dust.
Portrait
This oil painting depicts the four members of the Halvhrest family, Loren, Theodora, Regan, and Vastion. Any character who examines the painting and succeeds on a DC 12 Wisdom (
Awakened Haunt
A malicious spirit animates the family portrait. The spirit isn’t one of the Halvhrests, despite its claims. The Halvhrests' painted bodies perpetually melt and recongeal as the spirit speaks through each of them. It demands to know who the characters are, why they’re in its house, and how they’ll make amends for their trespasses. Whether the spirit can be placated and how is up to you—encourage the players to suggest ways to satisfy it. If the spirit grows displeased, the Halvhrest images push through the painting, toppling out one per round until four Ghoul emerge. Each oil-paint-smeared ghoul attacks as soon as it appears from the painting.
The portrait has AC 12, 20 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage. It can also be exorcised as a haunted trap with a +2 Haunt Bonus. If destroyed or exorcised, the painting returns to normal, the spirit no longer speaks through it, and no further ghouls emerge.
Treasure
Those who open the lockbox hidden behind the portrait find a 1-foot-long black feather and velvet pouch containing nine pieces of silver jewelry worth 10 gp each. A tenth piece is an amulet bearing the Mark of the Raven, a symbol used by the Keepers of the Feather (see chapter 3). The Mark of the Raven is not magical, but some fell forces recoil from the righteous powers it suggests (as in area 31). The amulet is worth 25 gp.
23. Nursery
This nursery lies in disarray. Toy chests, bookshelves, and chairs sized for children lie in splinters of colorful wood. Misshapen characters and bizarre animals smile from hand-painted murals covering the walls.
The remains of toys, dolls, and furnishings sized for children lie shattered about the room. The murals are creepy in the style of children’s art.
Sanctuary Door
The door to area 24 is under divine protection that manifests as an
Each time the door is damaged, a blast of energy erupts from it, dealing 7 (
Awakened Haunt
The room’s shattered toys animate, clattering together into three spindly forms with the statistics of two Carrionette (see chapter 5) and a scarecrow. In a hollow voice, the largest creature howls, “Halvhrests! We smell Halvhrests!”
Chimney Witch
The fireplace here connects to the haunted chimney detailed in area 10.
24. Children’s Bedroom
The room smells fresh, as if it’s been recently cleaned and aired. Not a spot of dust sullies the pair of child-sized beds and other furnishings. A skeleton wearing a lady’s dress with a veiled hat stares at you from where it sways in a wooden rocking chair.
The skeleton is all that remains of Theodora Halvhrest. It is not undead, but a blessing laid upon this room causes the chair to sway. If the skeleton or the chair is touched, the chair stops rocking.
After the characters first enter the room (whether the house is dormant or awakened) and react to the skeleton, read the following:
A boy’s voice issues from a stuffed purple dragon on one of the beds. “They’re not like the others. Should we hide from them too, Regan?”
“Well, it doesn’t matter now, donkey!” a girl’s voice replies from a figure of a tin knight on the other bed. “They got in, so maybe they’re not hungry things yet.”
The two spirits are Regan and Vastion Halvhrest. Their mother’s occult knowledge and prayers to Ezra protected this room, but also trapped Regan’s and Vastion’s spirits here. The ghosts don’t visually manifest, but they speak through their favorite toys. They eagerly converse with characters and fall silent if threatened. The spirits know the following information and share it with friendly characters:
- The skeleton is their mother, Theodora. She prayed to Ezra to protect the room and keep out the “hungry things.”
- The hungry things are bad spirits that took over. They “stole” the children’s parents. The children don’t know any named spirits.
- They would like to leave but don’t know how.
If the characters tell the spirits that Theodora sent them, they eagerly cooperate. See Theodora’s parts of the " Séances" and " Escaping the House" sections for details on helping the children.
Ezra’s Blessing
Thanks to the fervent prayers of Theodora Halvhrest, the god Ezra warded this room with a
Development
The effects of Ezra’s blessing end when anyone enters and then leaves the room. This reveals Regan and Vastion’s spirits to the other apparitions in the house, causing the house to awaken. See " Waking the House" earlier in the adventure for details.
25. Widow’s Walk
This walkway along the roof of the house provides either a commanding view of the lands surrounding the House of Lament or, if the Mists have risen, a foggy netherworld.
Roof
The roof beyond the Widow’s Walk is treacherously angled, covered in loose shingles, and slick with moss. A character moving across the roof without the aid of magic or gear to steady themselves must succeed on a DC 15 Strength (
Witch Stone
A ledge juts from a chimney about 30 feet east of the northeast corner of the widow’s walk. This is a witch stone, a mundane architectural superstition said to provide a place for witches to rest during their nightly travels. The chimney bearing the witch stone connects to the haunted chimney detailed in area 10. Any character who succeeds on a DC 14 Intelligence (
26. Tower Chamber
The tower chamber is empty except for a suit of crimson ring mail strewn across the floor. It lies in the middle of a faded chalk drawing of the Mark of the Raven. Theodora Halvhrest made this mark to stifle the evil she felt in the tower and, particularly, around the armor.
Armor
This
27. Wine Cellar
Creaking stairs lead into a damp, cobweb-draped cellar containing dusty racks and eight-foot-tall wine tuns. One of the casks has burst, covering the stone floor in crimson stains.
All three wine tuns are empty, though the one farthest from the stairs looks as though something burst from within. The racks are packed with bottles bearing obscure names, such as “Purple Grapemash No. 3” and “Ludendorf Arsenic Wine.” All the wine either leaked or spoiled long ago.
Creatures
The cellar is infested with five Gremishka (see chapter 5). Soon after any character enters the room, a gremishka makes a comically bad cat noise, trying to lure them closer.
Treasure
Anyone who investigates the wine racks and succeeds on a DC 8 Wisdom (
House of Lament Locations (28-31)
28. Storage
Old furnishings, rotten pantry staples, and boxes of mundane junk fills this musty storage space.
Any character who sifts through the room’s contents and succeeds on a DC 14 Wisdom (
Ancient Wall
The ancient wall here hides the buried ruins of Castle Laventz. While the house is dormant, this wall is impervious to harm. However, after the house wakes, the junk in the room moves into stacks against the east wall and an archway appears in the west wall, leading to area 29.
29. Buried Ruins
This hollow isn’t part of a larger construction, but rather a space between buried ruins. A rusted iron door is set into the wall of what used to be the ground floor of the tower. The iron door looks thoroughly rusted. As any character tries to open it, the door slams open.
30. Buried Tower
Stairs curve along the wall of this buried tower chamber, rising then halting abruptly at the ceiling. Much of the floor has fallen away, collapsing into darkness.
Centuries ago, this level of the tower was bricked over. The pit descends 30 feet to area 31 below.
Echoes from the Pit
As characters approach the pit, they hear their voices echo down the hole. Randomly determine one character whose voice doesn’t echo. Instead, a pale amber light ignites in the dark below and something whispers the character’s name from the pit.
31. Amber Cavity
Nothing is natural about this buried cavity or the amber light flooding the space. Petrified figures lie trapped among the pale stone walls, their faces contorted in terror. Deeper, the floor forms a craterlike depression filled with inky muck. From the center of the pit rises a jagged amber monolith. A faint glow issues from within, backlighting a vague, elusive shape.
The cavern’s walls are contorted in the shapes of the hundreds of souls trapped within the house. This is the heart of the House of Lament, a tortured space formed around the amber monolith that contains the Entity.
A 30-foot-diameter depression surrounds the amber monolith. The sloped sides and the 2-foot-deep, polluted water at the bottom make the entirety of the crater difficult terrain. The water isn’t harmful, but it is bitter, viscous, and stains like ink.
Mara Silvra
If the characters approach the monolith, the air around them grows colder. The spirit of Mara Silvra (use the banshee stat block) fades into view above the crater, a spectral knight with distorted, screaming features. Mara shouts before attacking, attempting to bargain with the force in the amber monolith: “You foul thing! Take these lives and release me!”
Amber Monolith
The amber monolith is a rough block of solid amber 8 feet tall, 5 feet wide, and 5 feet thick. Within drifts a smoky wisp, the last lingering vestige of a dead, hateful deity of any origin you choose. This vestige can’t be harmed or controlled, and it is immune to all conditions. Any creature that touches the amber monolith forms a telepathic link with the vestige inside. The vestige tries to coax the creature into its service by offering it a Dark Gift (see chapter 1).
The amber monolith has AC 16, 80 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage. If the monolith is damaged or if a character openly bears Theodora’s Mark of the Raven, inky tendrils rise from the dark water and attack. These limbs use the statistics for five Shadow and don’t leave area 31. Destroying the monolith causes the limbs and the vestige within to vanish without a trace. Whether the vestige is destroyed or released is for you to decide.
Mark of the Raven
The amulet from area 22 begins glowing when it’s brought into this area. If a character uses an action to present the Mark of the Raven, Mara does not attack on the next turn, the light from the amber monolith dwindles, and the shadowy limbs have disadvantage on attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws. A character can use the amulet multiple times, but doing so causes the shadowy limbs to focus their attacks on its bearer.
Treasure
The opaque water hides the skeletal remains of dozens of the house’s past victims. Any character who uses an action to sift through the water and succeeds on a DC 10 Wisdom (
Development
If Mara is destroyed, the cavern releases a mighty sigh. The house remains awakened, but the domain’s borders open. Mara re-forms after one week, returning the house to its full power.
If the amber monolith is destroyed, the house responds as described above and the inky water drains away, revealing the treasure within. Mara’s spirit fades, whispering, “Your slights are forgiven. Leave and never return to my home.” Despite the monolith’s destruction, the house regains its power after a week.
Escaping the House
After the house is awakened, the domain’s borders close and the house’s spirits set their full attention on the party. Escaping the house requires disrupting the house’s spirits in one of three ways, each encouraged by the spirit the characters communed with during their séances.
Guardian Spirit
If the party communed with Theodora during the séances, the adventure’s climax unfolds as follows.
Hidden Halvhrests
After the characters explore and leave area 24, the house detects the hidden Halvhrest children and wakes.
Escape the House
If the characters attempt to leave the house with the children’s toys, the spirits of the house physically manifest as a shadow demon and two Specter at opposite sides of the front porch (area 1). Once characters leave the house, a new specter emerges from the house every other round on the specters' initiative count. The spirits shriek things like “part of the house” and “feed us forever” as the characters try to escape. If the characters reach the Mists, the spirit of Theodora Halvhrest parts the fog, allowing them to leave the domain.
Reunion
Eventually the party emerges from the Mists, but Regan and Vastion don’t follow. Looking back, the characters see the spirits of the two youngsters along with their parents as they fade into the Mists. At your discretion, the Halvhrests might grant the characters an eerie boon, potentially in the form of Dark Gifts (see chapter 1).
Mara’s Bargain
If the party conversed with Mara during the séances, the adventure’s climax unfolds as follows.
The Darkness Below
Mara urges the party to find area 31. This isn’t to help her escape as her messages suggest, though. Rather, it’s to attempt to sacrifice the characters as a way to bargain with the Entity for her freedom.
Tyrant’s Escape
If the party communicated with Dalk Dranzorg during the séances, the adventure’s climax unfolds as follows.
Dranzorg Released
After the house wakes, Dalk Dranzorg can be released as described in area 5a. If the party doesn’t release him, he breaks free himself after an hour. Dranzorg torments the party and rampages through the house, calling for Mara to face him. Once freed, he won’t enter the parlor (area 3), wandering off if the characters take refuge there.
Enemy of My Enemy
Dranzorg can be permanently defeated only by Mara. If it doesn’t occur to the characters, one of the investigators suggests reaching out to her spirit for help. Whether characters use the spirit board or another method to contact Mara, her furious spirit appears and demands the characters aid her in destroying Dranzorg. If they do, she’ll let them leave the house. Mara demands the characters retrieve her armor from the tower chamber (area 26). If they use it in combat as described below, she can help them defeat Dranzorg.
Eternal Rivals
Dranzorg focuses his attacks on the character wearing Mara’s armor. If a character wearing Mara’s armor is reduced to fewer than half their hit points, Mara’s spirit possesses the character. From then on, the character has advantage on attacks against Dranzorg, and their attacks deal an extra
Evicted
After Dranzorg is defeated, Mara relinquishes control of the character and allows the party to leave the house. At your discretion, a character who was possessed by Mara might carry a piece of her spirit with them, potentially in the form of a Dark Gift (see chapter 1).
Beyond the House
From here, where the party’s adventures lead is up to you. Perhaps the Mists deposit them back in their home worlds, concluding their shared nightmare. Or perhaps their fates are now inexorably bound to the Mists. In the latter case, the Dread Possibilities table suggests what might be in store for them.
Dread Possibilities
| d4 | Further Adventures |
|---|---|
| 1 | The characters glimpse the winged figure they saw at the start of the adventure through the Mists. It leads them to a random domain. |
| 2 | The investigators invite the characters to join them in Mordentshire. The characters gain a reputation as phantom liberators, a talent the spirits of Mordent desperately need (see chapter 3). |
| 3 | The party travels from the house to Borca (see chapter 3), where they’re contacted by either Ivana Boritsi or Ivan Dilisnya, who is eager to hear all about their exploits. |
| 4 | Firan Zal’honan (see chapter 3) seeks out the characters and is interested in learning about their experience at the house. He’s eager to patronize their search for “amber sarcophagi.” |