Murder Most Foul at Gloomgullet Hall
Cast
Detective Gravenhurst - A supernatural detective prone to being serious. To be played by one of the player characters.
Detective Grimsby - A supernatural detective prone to puns. To be played by one of the player characters.
Sir Percival Snootlebottom - The owner of Gloomgullet Hall & murder victim. He is to be played by the groundskeeper, Richard Turner.
Baroness Petunia McSnort - Local noblewoman & guest at Gloomgullet Hall. She is to be played by the cook, Chandi Ashtikar.
Colonel "Fiddlesticks" Wobblecheek - Retired mime that rents a cottage nearby. He is to be played by the butler, Tanaka Mochisue.
Madame Flapdoodle - The medium that was conducting the seance. She is to be played by the housekeeper, Fang Yun.
Professor Bumblesnuff - An expert in haunted furniture. He is to be played by the house maid, Rose Labey.
Miss Tilly Twerpleton - Fiancée of the Sir Snootlebottom. She is to be played by the groomsman, Nadeen Sabbag.
Minor Poltergeist - A ghost. It is to be played by the scullery maid, Adeline Penn.
Setup
Offer the players their choice between the detectives to pick. There isn't much in terms of notes for the roles, other that one tends to be serious while the other tends to make puns.
Meanwhile, the staff that have gathered will be busy putting on makeshift costumes for their roles: second-hand fancy clothes, pillows stuffed under shirts, false beards, silly hats, make-up, etc. If the players want, they can attempt to assist the staff with their costumes with a DC 10 Dexterity or Charisma check. A success makes the staff more likely to help the PC's during the performance.
The players can also attempt to don costumes, though the staff will suggest they simply wear large great coats with official looking hats and/or a false moustache to sell the roll of a detective.
Once all of the costumes have been arranged, the PC's will be led by the staff into the old dungeon. This large stone room is packed with long disused torture equipment from a more brutal era of the house's history. The other half of the room has a makeshift stage with curtains that remain closed. Currently, the stage is set to look like the interior of an old manor with a harpsichord, several chairs & other bits of furniture. The PC's will be instructed to wait just outside the curtain while the staff set up the scenery. If questioned, the staff will comment that if the PC's don't know where the clues are placed on the set, it will lend a certain authenticity when they do find the clues on their own.
While the staff are setting the scene, a few minutes will pass. Eventually, a chill in the air will become noticeable, as well as the clinking of rusted chains. Some of the various machines of torture will begin to creak & move on their own, as if someone is gently testing their movement. Suddenly, an iron chair (the kind covered in spikes & used for torture) will be dragged across the stone floor & spun around to face the stage. If a PC casts a spell like See Invisibility, then they will see the ghost of Old Tom the Torturer moving the chair & taking a seat in anticipation for the show.
Act 01
Richard Turner, also acting as the narrator announces from behind the curtain:
"For your viewing pleasure we present a performance of "Murder Most Foul at Gloomgullet Hall." Supernatural detectives Gravenhurst & Grimsby have been summoned to the remote estate to investigate an apparent murder during a seance. Out of the chilly fog & damp that is gathering in the late evening air, the detectives enter the hall & are led into the grand salon."
The curtains open, revealing the stage assembled to look like a fine parlor room that had recently been used for a seance (taroka cards, crystal ball, excessive numbers of candles, spirit board, etc.). The entire cast, except Minor Poltergeist, are assembled as their characters on the stage & henceforth will be referred to as their roles. In the center is Sir Snootlebottom, who has been impaled on an antique harpsicord.
The PC's can begin to ask those assembled about the nature of the crime. Common details known to all the suspects are as follows.
Sir Snootlebottom had an interest in spiritualism, seemingly more than a casual fancy like other nobles. Rumors were that he was perhaps hoping to learn something specific from the recently deceased.
Baroness McSnort was recently widowed, though rumors have been spread that her late husband's death might have been more than the casual boating accident officially reported. She was invited to seance due to her own casual interest in the supernatural. She seems to always be holding a handkerchief.
Colonel Wobblecheek is a notorious eccentric, still wearing his old mime costume & refusing to speak except through charades & hand signs. Any attempts at communication with him requires a DC 10 Wisdom (Insight) check if the answer requires a response more complicated than a "yes" or "no." He seems to be very jittery.
Madame Flapdoodle was conducting the seance. She is a medium by trade, but large by volume. While she has a reputation as a reliable summoner of spirits, she is also notorious for a handful of incidents in summoning more than was expected. None of those previous incidents resulted in more than embarrassments for her previous clients though.
Professor Bumblesnuff is a leading expert in haunted furniture, teaching about curses & enchantments at the local university while also consulting at auction houses & antique stores over items of potential interest. He had brought a few items from his inventory, including a levitating armchair & ottoman set, that he hoped to sell to the other guests at the seance.
Miss Twerpleton is the fiancée of the deceased but was once notorious in the gossip papers for her whirlwind romance with a young poet that left her at the altar. She remains very sensitive about the subject, but saw her betrothal to Sir Snootlebottom as a progress toward brighter future.
Through interactions with the characters & the set the following details can be discovered:
Baroness McSnort sneezes whenever she is nervous, & she has been sneezing frequently even before the seance. If pressed by the PC's (DC 12 Charisma check), she will reveal that she was nervous that her late husband would appear at the seance, but will dramatically flee offstage if the PC's ask for any further details at this time.
Colonel Wobblecheek is suspiciously jittery among the suspects (DC 15 Wisdom (Insight) check). If confronted by the PC's (DC 12 Charisma check), he will reveal that he saw someone tampering with the harpsicord prior the seance. However, the dim candlelight at the time obscured who it was he saw in the salon.
Madame Flapdoodle insists that the seance was conducted according to normal procedures, so she is convinced she is not at fault for Sir Snootlebottom's demise. She will willingly run through the procedure with the PC's, who will find nothing overtly malicious about her methods (DC 12 Intelligence (Arcana or Religion) check). Any discussion with other suspects will confirm that she did not deviate from her stated procedure. She will also mention that she did overhear an argument between Miss Twerpleton & the victim prior the the seance (DC 12 Charisma check), but she doesn't like to gossip.
Professor Bumblesnuff will reveal to the PC's that he was interested in selling several haunted pieces to the victim, but that the deal fell through (DC 12 Charisma). If pressed further about why the deal was cancelled, he will lie & claim it was due to the pieces not matching with the current decor (DC 15 Wisdom (Insight) check). If the PC's detect the lie & confront him, he will refuse to discuss the matter & fall back on his impressive credentials not covering interior design. He will also mention that he was Miss Twerpleton having an argument with the victim.
Miss Twerpleton, will confess that she & the victim had recently entered a rough patch (DC 12 Charisma). They had an argument concerning her ex-fiancée but they were working through it. She is hesitant to speak any further on the subject, stressing that the argument was not worth killing over.
If the PC's examine Sir Snootlebottom (DC 12 Widsom (Medicine) check), they will find that he was indeed killed via impalement, but there are no signs of other injuries that one would expect if the victim had been physically attacked or restrained prior to being killed. As if an unseen attacker with no physical body lifted him & dropped him onto the instrument.
If the PC's examine the room (DC 12 Intelligence (Investigation) check), they will find the remains of several smashed teacups. They are the remains from arguments that Miss Twerpleton had with the victim, a nasty habit whenever the subject of how she was jilted by her ex-fiancée comes up in conversation.
If the PC's examine the harpsicord (DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) check), they will find a broken tuning fork with strange sigils on the handle, which appears to have been dropped within the harpsicord itself. The PC's have advantage on the check if they have learned about the harpsicord being tampered with from Colonel Wobblecheek. The discovery of the tuning fork triggers Act II.
Act II
She had discovered that her former lover, the poet, had passed away & was hoping to use the seance to have a final confrontation with her ex over why he jilted her. Sir Snootlebottom did not like this idea, especially for a seance meant for a party.
It's clear, the harpsichord was possessed!
No, it was tuned to kill.
He called by haunted ottoman a footstool with delusions! I had no choice!
Another note-worthy crime.
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