Hello fellow GMs!

Every once in a while we GMs do love to create a fun, stressful horror adventure and now it's my turn. I'd love some suggestions from my fellow GMs for encounters/spooky moments that might happen inside the theater. But first, some short background so you know what you're dealing with.

Brief background

The theater was built by Leopold Werner (a playwriter from Altdorf who didn't like the big city life, or the critics that lived there!) outside the small town of Fausthofen. Initially the theater did well but after a while it started to suffer. Fausthofen was not Altdorf. The population was much lower and the people just didn't have time for luxuries such as going to the theater. Because of this Leopold had to take up additional work in town to keep his (and his wife's) luxurious lifestyle. But because of his marriage started to suffer.

His wife, Lenora, felt abanonded and while she tried to fix things Leopold was just too caught up with his work to listen to her. Because Lenora felt she needed someone tobe close with she started a relationship with one of the theater guards. This relationship continued for awhile but in the end Lenora was overcome with guilt. Between the first and the second act in a midnight show, she confessed what she had done to her husband. Leopold was devestated, wracked with remorse and anger. He told Lenora he never wanted to see her again and only then, at the end of their relationship, did Lenora know how much Leopold meant to her.

She tried to talk him out of it, but in the end neither words or action could keep him from leaving. In desperation she kissed him, then plunged a knife into his chest, killing him. Afterwards she put the theater to the torch, with everyone still inside. The theater was the thing that had taken Leopold from her and she hated it. After that she went into her house and overdosed on the herb schlaf. In death they would be togheter forever. All twently actors as well as ten people from the audience died in the flames.

So that's the quick and dirty version of the backdrop of this adventure.

The player characters are there to find out what really happened in the house (almost everyone believed Leopold killed his wife and burnt down the theater, everyone expect for his best friend who hired the PC to find out the truth).The spirits of Lenora and Leopold are still in the theater, unable to move on, Lenora's spirit is holding them both captive in the theater.

Some encounters I've thought of so far:

Seeing the spirits of Lenora and Leopold wandering the house.

Leopold asking for help by writing "Help me" in his diary, and Lenora trying to get the players to leave by writing "Leave us alone!" on the wall of her study.

The chandelier falling from the roof (a classic!)

Someone looking right back at the PC through the lock as they try to pick it (or looking back at them as they slowly open a door)

Skeleton actors carrying on the play, then trying to kill the players (since a battle scene is part of the play!)

Finding the notes of a Grey Wizard that came before the PC to investigate the house. He died before fhe could find out what was going on.

Finding the diary of Lenora, detailing the events of her relationship with both the guard and Leopold, as well as her growing guilt.

That's it for now, but I would love some suggestion for spooky moments!

Sincerely,

Reclusiarch

I like this idea a lot! I hope you'll tell us how it goes or maybe even write it up formally, because I'd run it. More ideas:

*Have theater stage pieces be set up mysteriously overnight when the PCs either leave or stay there, and someone could make an Education check to see that the "ghosts" have set the stage referencing plays about lovers' betrayal.

*Have a former critic from Altdorf be plagued by nightmares after Leopold's death, so much so that he takes his life or does something newsworthy enough to reach the PCs.

*PCs see strange fire-lights and/or feel strangely warm in places where the theater was badly burned.

*Dumb local children dared each other to sleep overnight in the theater; either all are plagued with night-terrors from then on, or one disappears and the others are too scared to talk about it. (You could have a side quest where the find out what happened to the little ghosthunter.)

*The PCs find strangely 'new' playbills for plays not put on by the theater listing dates after the theater burned. If they take one and put it in their sacks or leave the stack alone, they find that the playbills have disappeared.

Those are just ideas off the top of my head. I hope some are useful. Good luck with the adventure.

Finding a half-written play which has their names amongst the Dramatis Personae and a half-finished scene in which their character enter a room and find the play script.

Have the PC's stalked by a Raven which seems to be trying to stop them from uncovering the truth. It could even say 'Nevermore' at one point.

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll use quite a few of them, I'm sure!