Considering this is the month for Halloween, I thought I’d do a set of adventure hooks tying into some classic Halloween monsters. Some of these will be fairly obvious, some will require a bit of historical digging to understand what the reference is to, but they should all be accessible for game any time you might want to throw in a more frightening element to keep your players on their toes.
51. While in the city looking for lodging, the party catches word about one of the high-end hotels whose uppermost three floors and ballroom are entirely unusable due to a malevolent ghost that has been haunting them. Witnesses report seeing glimpses of the ghost in human form from the back or side, but as soon as it becomes aware of someone’s presence, it turns to a ghastly green monster and attacks – and no one has managed to catch a glimpse of its human face. The hotel is offering free lodging for life, as well as a generous stipend, for anyone who is able to resolve the issue.
52. A small farming community on the edge of the Scottish highlands has had a series of unusual cases of Looking Glass Fever the past several months. The victims appeared to be turning into Snarks, given the increase in muscle mass and body hair, though larger than usual and with changes in facial structure – and the strangest part is, each occurrence started during the full moon. Last month, a farmer by the name of Agnus Hemming started a similar transformation, but after three days when neighbors went to check on him, found his home ransacked, his wife dead due to vicious claw and bite attacks of unknown origin, and Agnus himself entirely missing.
53. About a day’s train ride from London, a physically small but well-to-do town set up a municipal electrical grid for the town and neighboring estates about a year and a half ago. Over the last few months, the electrical company has been seeing major fluctuations to the grid, mostly occurring at night and indicating a huge amount of draw, with the amounts gradually increasing, to the point where it’s becoming dangerously high for the grid to sustain. The local police have their hands full investigating a series of grave robberies, and so have put out the word to hire out independent contractors to get to the bottom of it.
54. One of the party’s contacts with ties in Scotland Yard catches wind that they’re having trouble investigating a series of break ins among several upper class homes. In each case, victims left at the scene have been found murdered by various types of magic; they’ve called in assistance from the Knights of the Grail, and their mages report the spells are unknown but seem to be very ancient. They’ve found that each of the owners purchased relics from the Egyptology collection that the history museum put up for private auction among their wealthiest donors to raise funds, but so far investigations into anyone who had access to the buyers list have come up empty.
55. The players receive a summons from a Lord Balec Aliestain, who has heard of their reputation and wants to hire them for a job, to his manor north of Cardiff. His family and the Herz family have manors on opposite sides of the Mandragora valley, and have been feuding for years over which one should have proper stewardship over the valley territory, which is symbolized by possession of Mandragora sword. Lord Aliestain had possession of the sword until recently, and he suspect the Herz family to have stolen it. Ancient rules forbid him from entering their territory unbidden, so he is forced to hire outside help to enter discretely, locate the sword, and return it to him.
56. A hamlet east of Nottingham made news a few months ago when some sort of humanoid monster from the wetlands that had been attacking travelers and supply trucks was found and killed by a local hunter and adventurer. Papers are still hung up around town showing him battered and wounded from the fight, dragging the marshy body of the beast into town. Recently, the attacks have started up again, this time apparently with more intelligence, and our dear hunter has not been heard from since to find out how he dealt with the beast last time.
57. Several members of the Chattox family in and around Lancaster have been encountering a series of unexplained incidents recently that have either killed or severely wounded them. Thus far, there have been one poisoning of unknown origin that killed one woman and left her husband comatose, one young girl who fell into an old well and drowned with no explanation as to how she even got to the well, an elderly man who somehow got locked in a tool shed that caught fire, and one infant that was bitten by a venomous spider that is far from native to the area. The family has put out the call for assistance for anyone who can help protect them and put an end to these disasters.
58. The research division of the Order of Britannia Victorious have been secretly researching into Haitian magical lore about raising the dead, trying to study the methods and effects in hopes of finding a similar mechanism in how the Samsut undead work, and possibly create a magical method to counteract it. In one of their secret facilities where specimens have been kept and experimented on, and outbreak has occurred and the cursed effect is spreading unchecked amongst the workers there. The facility is on lockdown, and they need outside help to deal with this quickly and quietly, priorities being to contain, counteract, and rescue any survivors.
59. During one of the party’s escapades where they encounter a mystery or challenge that is exceedingly difficult for them, one night passing through a dark area they will be found by a lone imp. The imp’s only goal is to deliver a message, so even if the group attacks, it will simply drop an envelope for them and flee. The message is from someone claiming to have the solutions they seek, and offers to meet with them the following night at a nearby remote crossroad, away from prying eyes and ears.
60. In the Gruv, a logging community has recently come afoul of some sort of creature that has been attacking the workers. Lone workers and small groups have been found hanging from cocoons in trees, their blood having been entirely drained. For a while, the logging company has held out by hiring mercenaries to accompany the workers and keeping groups large, until about a week ago when their entire headquarters was found cocooned in thick silk, and no one has yet been able to get inside to see if anyone is left alive.