Overview
Perched on a storm‑battered cliff overlooking a black, roiling sea stands an ancient estate locals call the Home by the Sea. Travelers vanish. Lights flicker in empty windows. And inside, ghosts relive their lives for any poor soul who can’t get away.
This is a linear, room‑by‑room haunted manor adventure built around three “memory rooms,” a heart‑binding puzzle, and a final showdown in town. The core motif repeats like a chorus: “Welcome… to the Home by the Sea.”
At a glance
- Levels: 11
- Session length: 4–6 hours
- Structure: 3 haunted “memories” → heart puzzle → boss fight
- Themes: captivity, regret, bargains, the sea as witness
Background
The manor predates the town below by centuries. Legends say its original owner practiced occult rituals and invited a curse upon the house. The truth is worse: a dark summoning bound a demon within the manor’s walls — a nabassu “death‑stealer” that feeds on souls.
- The summoner failed. Slain by his own creation, he left the fiend trapped but hungry.
- The haunt grows. Over time, countless ghosts became bound to the manor, unable to move on until someone hears their stories.
Unknown to the townsfolk, the current mayor — Phillip Collinson — discovered the demon in his youth and struck a bargain: he lures travelers to the manor to become prey. The demon’s heart, a fist‑sized black organ, was extracted and sealed somewhere inside the house, binding it to the estate.
Hook
The party is hired by Mayor Phillip Collinson under the pretense of concern. Strange lights flicker in the abandoned manor at night; locals who wander too close have vanished. He offers a rich reward — 5,000 gp for proof of what haunts the Home by the Sea. In truth, he’s sending the party to their doom.
Read‑aloud: Mayor Collinson’s Request
Late afternoon in Epping’s cliffside town hall, Mayor Phillip Collinson addresses you with a grave expression. “Thank you for coming. Our town has a… longstanding problem,” he says, pulling a heavy curtain aside to reveal a cracked window overlooking the stormy sea. In the distance, a lonely manor perches on the cliff’s edge, dark against the grey sky, but lights flicker in the windows.
“That house—‘the Home by the Sea,’ as folks call it, cursed this town since before I was born… people, good people, disappearing when they get too curious.” He turns back to you, voice lowered. “We’re a small town; we can’t afford more loss. I’m prepared to pay generously if you investigate the manor and put an end to whatever haunts it.”
He offers a tight, hopeful smile. “Be careful. No one who goes there ever comes back. Bring me answers, and you’ll be heroes of Epping.”
Town Info: Epping
Epping is dreary and downtrodden. Disappearances and rumors of curses have hounded the economy; most people are on the brink of poverty. The town feels heavy, like a presence is always watching.
Duke’s Tavern
Locals shudder at any mention of the manor. Some jokingly tell you to talk to a “crazy old guy” named Jonas. Jonas — an elderly fisherman — insists he often sees lamplight in the manor at midnight, as if “someone or something is home.”
The Sailor’s Story (read‑aloud)
It was many nights ago when I was just a wee lad. I was dared to enter the “Home by the Sea” by boys from a nearby town, and being the bull headed fool I am, I thought I would do just that.
I crept to the blind side of the manor… shinned up some ivy… climbed through a second story window. Scattered on the floor was an old puzzle, and I felt compelled deeply to put it away, so I began. But picking up the pieces, something didn’t feel quite right.
Then out of the darkness I suddenly heard: “Welcome to the Home by the Sea.”
Shadows but no substance in the shape of men… eyes that hold despair. Then as one they sighed and they moaned, “Help us… someone… let us out of here. We’ve been here so long undisturbed…”
The ghouls commanded: “Sit down… sit down… sit down. As we relive our lives in what we tell you.” The window I had come through was somehow sealed shut. So I ran and ran… and as I passed through the cusp of the front door it slammed shut behind me. The house was instantly silent, as if nothing had happened at all.
I still don’t know how I got lucky enough to get out. But I swear… that house is the center of all the pestulence & evil that happens in these lands.
Wind & Wuthering
Sister Danika maintains the lighthouse and a small apothecary. Years ago, she helped the mayor research exorcism rituals. She hands the party a sealed flask of holy water and warns that an unspeakable presence dwells inside.
- Gift: 1 flask of holy water
- Odd detail: Collinson never seemed afraid to approach the house himself
Mayor Collinson (subtle tells)
- Insight (DC 17): false sincerity; he’s eager for you to go
- Ring of Mind Shielding: blocks mind‑reading / thought detection
- Behavior: he waits at town hall — and pointedly avoids blessing you “if” you return
Part 1 — Journey to the Manor
The trek up the cliffside path is eerie but uneventful. As the sun sets into a blood‑red horizon, a chill wind carries the briny smell of the sea. The outline of the manor grows against the dimming sky while a storm rolls inland.
Read‑aloud: Approaching the Home by the Sea
You follow a narrow, winding road up the rocky bluffs north of town. Waves crash on the rocks far below as dusk settles. At the cliff’s summit, a wrought‑iron gate hangs ajar, its rusted hinges squealing in the ocean breeze.
Beyond, the mansion looms — overgrown gardens and toppled statuary, gothic spires reaching toward a darkening sky, cracked windows like black, unblinking eyes. The front door of heavy salt‑bleached oak stands shut, oddly kept.
As you pass through the gate, the lights of the manor all flicker on at once.
Manor Exterior
A two‑story manor (attic and cellar) in mixed Victorian and Jacobean styles. Part of the guest house has collapsed into the sea. Dead trees claw at the sky. Footprints lead in — but none come out.
Magical Trap: The House Seals
The moment the last character crosses the threshold, doors slam shut and vanish, windows ripple with illusory brick, and all light sources dim. Teleportation and planar travel falter. The manor becomes a prison domain until the demon is defeated.
Part 2 — Exploring the Manor
The interior is dark, dusty, and deathly silent — until the ghosts begin their stories. This adventure assumes a mostly linear progression through three major haunted rooms (“memory rooms”), culminating in a confrontation with the demon’s heart.
General Features
- Cold & damp: a salty dampness clings to every surface.
- Whispers: “welcome…”, “sit down…”, “you can’t get away…”, “with us you will stay…”
- Divine sense: strong evil and undead auras throughout.
Entrance Foyer — Caught in the Trap
A grand entry hall with twin curved staircases, a swinging chandelier, and faded portraits. Describe the final slam of the door — and its eerie disappearance into solid wall.
Ambient Scare (optional)
A hallway mirror briefly reflects not the PCs but a haggard old man behind them. Or a child’s giggle echoes and a ball rolls across the floor. Creepy, not harmful.
Memory Room 1 — The Summoning (Parlor)
Furniture shrouded in mildewed sheets. Bay windows shuttered against the sea. A portrait of Lord Almark Rutherford slashed by claws. A fancy skeleton slumps in a glowing green chair. The voices call: “sit down… sit down…”
Trigger: a PC sits in Rutherford’s chair.
Spectral Memory — Lord Rutherford’s Parlor
Candles spark to life with pale green flame. The room becomes new again. Lord Rutherford stands over a blood‑drawn ritual circle holding a curved dagger. A large black heart pulses in a rune‑etched box.
“Te evoco, Nisloclon. Veni ad hoc planum et mihi fortunam affer. Veni, Nisloclon.”
Thunder cracks. A hulking horned shadow appears — and the summoner’s confidence turns to horror. “Foolish mortal… your soul is mine.”
“Sit Down” Mechanic
The seated PC is psychically locked. Each round they choose: break free (DC 15 WIS; success halves their attack damage for the rest of the combat) or sever the bond (DC 20 WIS) to end the haunting.
Encounter
- 1 Wraith: Lord Rutherford’s ghost (CR 5)
- 3 Specters: servants pulled into the failed ritual
Clue & Treasure
- Rutherford’s Locket: protective charm (+1 saves), tinged with sorrow; contains a rune of heart‑binding.
- Whispered name: “Nisloclon” (ensure the party gets the demon’s true name).
Memory Room 2 — The Pact (Library)
Floor‑to‑ceiling shelves collapsed with moldy books. A desk with ledgers, a glowing ebony chair, and a recent letter with the town’s seal: “fresh souls delivered.”
Trigger: a PC sits at the desk.
Spectral Memory — The Devil’s Bargain
A hooded man bargains with a human‑shaped figure with ember eyes: “The town will be safe, and you will grant me prosperity?” The demon smiles: “As long as you feed me souls.”
The demon offers a rune‑carved box containing a beating heart. Intruders burst in — priest and guard — and the memory skips to their bodies on the floor. A voice echoes: “Good… feed their souls to me.”
Encounter (suggested)
- 2 Helmed Horrors (or upgraded animated armors)
- 2 Ghosts (the murdered priest and guard)
External reference: Helmed Horror.
Clues & Treasure
- Bloodstained dagger: a ritual key that can damage the demon’s heart; functions as a +1 dagger, +1d6 radiant vs fiends/undead.
- Cellar key: opens the magically locked trapdoor.
- Journal page: confirms the heart‑binding failsafe and hints the heart is hidden “where dawn never reaches.”
Memory Room 3 — The Failed Heroes (Cellar)
A cramped cellar accessed from the kitchen trapdoor. Wine bottles tremble. A cask with a sun painted on it sits tucked into an alcove. A tipped chair glows as voices beg: “sit down… rest… you can’t leave…”
Spectral Memory — Last Stand of the Unwary
Four adventurers prepare a cleansing ritual — until Nisloclon erupts from the floor. One by one they fall… and then a gunshot cracks. A memory of Mayor Collinson steps from the shadows, smoking pistol in hand. The fighter crumples. The cleric screams.
Encounter — Revenants of the Failed
- 1 Revenant (lead fighter; or sword wraith commander)
- 1 Wraith (wizard)
- 1 Ghost/Specter (cleric or second warrior)
Major Loot
Blade of the Light: a +2 longsword that glows on command. 1/day it casts “dawnbreaker” (homebrew): stuns evil creatures in its rays for \(1d4+1\) rounds.
Optional side rooms (flavor exploration)
Conservatory
Shattered glass roof, dead vines, a smashed harp among fallen beams.
Loot: silver tuning fork (10 gp), sea lily fossil (25 gp), monocle (15 gp).
Child’s Nursery
Faded murals of ships and sea creatures. A rocking horse creaks when no one is near.
Loot: sailor figurine “AG” (5 gp), half‑burned lullaby journal.
Kitchen / Butchery
Rusted cutlery, moldy barrels, cleaver embedded in a stained chopping board.
Loot: alchemical spice pouch (20 gp), aged wine (40 gp).
Gallery Hall
Portraits that follow the viewer. One painting slashed — a peephole behind.
Loot: gilded frame piece (5 gp), silver snuffbox (35 gp).
Collapsed Guest Room
A bed fallen through the rotted floor. Books in Common and Elvish.
Loot: seashell letter opener (10 gp), fire‑damaged lute with white rose inlay.
Part 3 — The Demon’s Heart (Puzzle & Banishment)
With the guardians gone, the cellar falls silent. The strongbox containing Nisloclon’s heart is hidden behind the “sun” cask. Open it — by force or by pushing the spout — and a small room is revealed with a demonic altar. On it rests a rune‑carved box, chained and locked, glowing sickly red through its vents.
Puzzle warning
Brute force triggers necrotic backlash (suggestion: \(4d10\) necrotic in 10 ft, DEX save half) and the heart remains intact.
The intended sequence
- Speak the true name — “Nisloclon” — to suppress the ward.
- Sanctify the box/heart with holy water or a holy symbol.
- Pierce the heart with the ritual dagger.
Optional riddle (Abyssal): “Name me to bound me, sanctify that which grounds me, then strike at my heart to unfound me.”
Timed danger (make it cinematic)
Once the name is spoken, the manor begins to tear itself apart. Debris falls each round, and a fiendish manifestation (like a shadow demon) disrupts the ritual. Treat the sequence as a short skill challenge under pressure.
Read‑aloud: Destroying the Heart
With a final shouted “Begone, Nisloclon!” you plunge the ancient dagger into the demon’s grotesque heart. Time seems to stop. The heart gives one last thunderous beat… then explodes into ash and viscera. The oppressive weight in the air lifts.
A dozen figures appear around you — the trapped souls — smiling in silent gratitude before fading like mist in morning sun. The demon’s furious presence is gone. The house is finally at peace.
Finale — Confront the Mayor
Returning to Epping in the dead of night, you find the town square deserted. A skittish guard says the mayor has locked himself in the town hall with a couple of loyal thugs — and something “ain’t right with him.”
Read‑aloud: Showdown with Mayor Collinson
Inside the town hall, the mayor’s cordial facade has dropped. “I must say… I’m impressed.” He claps slowly, mockingly. “No one’s ever returned from that house. But your meddling has ruined everything!”
One guard stammers — and Collinson slashes his throat without looking. He smears blood across an amulet and begins chanting in Abyssal. His limbs contort. Eyes burn like coals. In a voice that’s half his and half Nisloclon’s growl, he roars: “I’ll feast on your souls myself!”
Boss: Mayor Collinson, Fiend‑Touched (Deadly)
- Phase 1: human warlock (ranged control + blasts)
- Phase 2: demonic form (flight, multiattack, fear aura, shadow step)
If you need a helping hand, Sister Danika can arrive with healing and holy wards; if you want it harder, add a summoned minion wave.
Epilogue & Rewards
Dawn breaks over Epping. The oppressive gloom lifts. Villagers gather, wide‑eyed, and the town finally exhales. The manor on the cliff is just an empty shell now — no lights, no whispers.
Rewards
- Town reward: gems and gold (including the promised 5,000 gp if you want it honored).
- Locket of Lord Rutherford: cleansed charm of protection (+1 to saves).
- Dagger of Bitter Mercy: ritual dagger, +1, +1d6 radiant vs fiends/undead.
- Blade of the Light: +2 longsword, 1/day dawntheme stun (homebrew).
- Ring of Mind Shielding: taken from Collinson — possibly still… occupied.
Story source: adapted from “Home by the Sea” (Genesis) as a tabletop one‑shot outline. External monster links above are provided for convenience.