The Strange Manor

"The Lord has freed me from temptation by sending me to this destitute place. It's clear why the local village lacks a church. They can't afford the wine, but they can certainly stare. The land that this rundown Manor rests upon is worth more than the building itself, but perhaps this rustic setting will cleanse my soul."

-- Father Duncan

The Strange Manor is a journaling game where a single player or group will employ tables and charts to construct an ominous mansion. They will fill up its rooms with sketchy cobwebs and ominous phrases, like saying of an unsettling foyer, "If there's an entry that's the most welcoming, this would be the opposite."

They will create characters, referred to as guests, such as the calculating priest Father Duncan, who sized up parishioners by the change in their pockets. Three guests to start with, but more will take up residence as the game progresses. Because the core experience is how all these strange folk interact through a series of events, which will test their wits, body, and soul. Some are bound to be lost in the process, but not everyone needs to survive for the player(s) to reach the sprawling final events that lie at end of their stay.

Contained within this tome are 80 booklet-sized pages stuffed mostly with 108 pre-written events, where chance and choice will lead to a range of results. Even then the player(s) aren't bound by what's written. These events offer structure for a macabre tale of their creation, and so have been left intentionally vague. It's up to them to drape such bare bones in sinewy specifics. For example, when a guest develops the trait doomed, don’t simply write the word. What caused them to feel the end is nigh? Perhaps a horrific run in with some animal of the wood leaves them convinced the world will soon be overrun by towering elk. 

And so they may be right. I will leave that choice up to you.

A free trial version of the Strange Manor can be found here:
https://aardrewn.itch.io/the-strange-trial