Floor Descriptions
Important Note: The floor plans are not exactly to scale. They give a general idea of the shape, size, and placements of the rooms, but not everything is the exact size it should be. And no, the House is not very well-designed. Please note that room keys open only the room to which a character is assigned, none of the other rooms.
GROUNDS
Map
Era: the near future
The grounds are fairly extensive, with nearly as much square footage as the ground floor of the house. They are surrounded by high stone walls, about ten feet tall, overgrown with ivy. If you attempt to scale the walls, you will encounter an impenetrable barrier. It cannot be seen and it makes no sound when you hit it, but it doesn't respond to even the most vigorous attacks, either physical or magical.
Most of the grounds are simple grass lawns, though there are several distinct elements:
Main Gates & Driveway ∞ The main gates are large ornate wrought iron gates that can theoretically be pulled open by hand, though any such movement is actually impossible. You can fit an arm or a hand out through the bars, but not even the smallest person can fit their entire body, and any attempt to move them is fruitless.
Leading from the gates is a gravel driveway. It goes straight to the steps at the front of the House, and runs along the front of the House, dead-ending in grass on either side. It allows room for a row of cars to pull up and turn around.
Hedge Maze ∞ In one corner of the grounds behind the House is a hedge maze. It's tall, about eight feet, and a bit overgrown, and deceptively difficult. Wander in, and you could be lost for quite a long time, as could anybody who's foolish enough to go in after you.
Rose Garden ∞ In the opposite corner of the grounds behind the House is a rose garden. These roses are a breed that haven't evolved yet. Most of them are pink and yellow, but there are some very strange colors of roses in there. Some of them are multicolored. The majority of the roses look very similar to roses that one finds in rose gardens everywhere, and grow in bushes and on trellises. Some grow naturally without thorns.
In one wall by the rose garden is an alcove with a door in it, with a painting of a red rose on the door. The door opens to a blank stone wall.
Duck Pond ∞ Near the rose garden, right up against the back wall, is a small pond. There are rushes around the sides, the bottom is sandy, and in warm weather it's absolutely delightful to go swimming in.
A flock of ducks live in the pond. They never seem to age, you'll never find a dead one, and in the spring there are always ducklings. The same ducklings. These ducks are caught in a time loop.
Occasionally, you'll see a flash of scales and the shadow of something far larger than should be able to fit in the pond. A tiny part of the pond exists in a time when it was a much, much bigger lake, and that's where the Afanc likes to hang out.
Stand of Trees ∞ Between the rose garden and the duck pond is a small stand of about three or four trees. These are your everyday, ordinary trees. Nothing special. However, a Wishing Well sits here, locked closed with a wooden cover. That may be worth paying attention to...
Gardener's Shed ∞ Tucked off to one side of the House is a gardener's shed, with all the tools one could possible need to maintain the lawns. Minus the electrical ones. The shed exists in the early 1920's, so you'll find rakes, pails, brooms, shears, heavy gloves, hedge trimmers, an axe, a net, and a push mower, the kind means you have to rake up the grass after you're done mowing [ reference pic ].
BASEMENT
Era: circa 2000
The basement exists circa 2000, though it doesn't offer much. It is, in fact, rather dilapidated. Not in a creepy way, it's just musty and rundown and will probably give you allergies if you hang out down there too long.
Boiler Room ∞ Near the bottom of the stairs is the door to a small boiler room. It's full of pipes and valves and a boiler.It's even more decrepit than the rest of the basement.
Laundry Room ∞ When you reach the bottom of the stairs, you'll be in the laundry room. This is a big, expansive room that dwarfs the stuff in it. At the far end are two dry-cleaning machines, for those characters who only ever wear suits.
There's also what appears to be a small laundromat, with a couple rows of free-standing washing machines and a couple rows of dryers built into the wall. There's an industrial-sized sink for handwashing, if you're into that.
To keep you occupied if you're bored waiting for your laundry, there's a solitary air hockey table.
FIRST FLOOR
Floor Plan
Era: circa 1900
When you enter the House, you find yourself in a large foyer. There are three doors, one on each wall, and a staircase leading up to the second floor. The door to the left leads to the dining room, the door straight ahead leads to the kitchen, and the door to the right leads to a corridor from which several bedrooms branch off.
The overall feel to this floor is dark, cloying, and ponderous.
Armory ∞ The armory doors are heavily locked and there are bars on the windows. Once inside, you'll find a small desk in the corner. It's a long, narrow room, with two shelves of weapons to choose from. There are older weapons, such as swords and knives, as well as guns:
.577 Snider-Enfield Rifle [reference pic]: This was a popular service rifle of the time. Each bullet has to be loaded individually, but it's effective up to 1000 yards and its maximum range is 2000 yards. It has a fixed-post front sight and a sliding rear sight for aiming. It's 50" long and weighs approximately 10lbs.
12 Gauge Boswell Shotgun [reference pic]: A double-barreled shotgun from circa 1860, this weighed 7lbs and was approximately 45" long. It's only effective over a short range, approximately 30-40 yards, but a single shot can easily kill almost anything.
Beaumont-Adams Revolver [reference pic]: A British service revolver that was fazed out of use by 1880. Despite not being produced anymore, old guns were still common outside the military. It's effective up to 35 yards and has a maximum range of 100 yards, and weighs just over 4lbs. It only holds five bullets at a time, but it is double-action, meaning it's automatically cocked to be fired again every time the trigger is pulled.
Borchardt C-93 Pistol [reference pic]: Invented in 1893, this pistol was the first semi-automatic to be readily available to the public. It's 14" in length and holds 8 bullets, which are held in a clip magazine in the handle for easy reloading. It's effective up to 100 yards. The recoil is surprisingly strong.
British Bulldog Revolver [reference pic]: This was a popular snub-nosed pocket revolver of the late 1870's. Like the Beaumont-Adams, it's double-action, and can hold five bullets at a time. The barrel is approximately 2.5" long. It's only effective over about 15 yards.
Enfield Mk II Revolver [reference pic]: This is the service revolver that replaced the Beaumont-Adams. It's a double-action revolver that holds six bullets and has a range of up to 200 yards, though it's only effective over 25 yards.
Webley "Metropolitan Police" Revolver [reference pic]: This was the standard-issue police revolver of the time. It weighs about 2lbs and can easily be concealed under clothing. Opening the top to reload automatically expels the spent cartridge. It's a double-action revolver, holds six bullets at a time and its range is about 50 yards.
Dinging Room ∞ The dining room is large, though there is currently only one table. It's long and stands in the center of the room, directly beneath a large chandelier. As the number of occupants grows, more tables will be added. The chandelier is electric, and is operated by a switch as you enter the room. The walls are papered with an unpleasant green patterned wallpaper, and the carpet is a dull rust red. There are wooden accents around the edges of the room.
Foyer ∞ This is a large, empty room, with a marble floor and large oak doors. The staircase is wide and sweeps up to the second floor. The ceiling of the foyer goes all the way up to the third floor, and you can see parts of the second and third floors.
Kitchen ∞ The kitchen has large windows overlooking the back lawn, and two doors leading outside. There are two large ovens, both gas. The stovetops heat up. There are cabinets full of cookware and tableware, all of which is in good condition. There's also a cupboard with cleaning supplies: mop, broom, bucket, etc. In one corner is a large, hulking refrigerator of the kind used in the late 1890's, run on an ammonia cycle. Off to one side is a pantry with the following foodstuffs:
Vegetables: Vegetables are available fresh only in the autumn, but dried vegetables will appear in the pantry through the other seasons. Canned beans are something of a staple.
Fruit: Citrus and tropical fruit are available only in very small quantities, and only in the early autumn. Other fruits, such as apples, peaches, and pears are available fresh in the autumn, and canned in the other seasons. Canned fruit of the time was full of chemicals and did not taste very good.
Bakery: Flour, sugar, baking soda, etc. are available in tins or sacks. The bread has a hard outer crust and is available in mass quantities. Things like muffins and scones are also available.
Dairy: Eggs come in packets, as do English cheeses (such as Lancashire, Cheddar, etc.). There are some French and Italian cheeses as well, though the selection is not as wide as the English cheeses. All come in wheels or wedges and are stored in the refrigerator.
Meat: Frozen chicken, pork, and beef are available in the refrigerator. There is also canned meat that, like the canned fruit, wouldn't taste very good. Sometimes there is frozen fish.
Snacks and Candy: There's plenty of penny hard candy and peppermints, as well as various types of nuts that come in packs. Condiments, such as jams, jellies, mustard, Tabasco sauce, mayonnaise, and ketchup are available in small quantities, though jam and jelly are more common than the others. There are various brands of chocolate available, including Nestle.
Drinks: Both coffee and tea would be readily available in packets. Water, of course, comes out of the taps. Pasteurized milk is available in the refrigerator in glass bottles. There is some alcohol, primarily wine and sherry intended to be used for cooking purposes.
BEDROOM DESCRIPTIONS
Each bedroom has two large four-poster beds with curtains. They are made of oak and practically dominate the room. There are two desks, also quite large. They each have plenty of drawers. There is a desk blotter on each and a ballpoint pen, along with a stack of blank paper. With the exception of room 106, all the rooms have large glass windows with thick curtains. These windows are on hinges and can be opened in warm weather. There are soft patterned rugs in a dark color on each floor. The walls are papered with patterned wallpaper. To keep warm, there are fireplaces and a stock of wood, as well as a set of iron fireplace tools: poker, tongs, and coal shovel. The room numbers appear on each door in iron screwed into the wood.
The bathrooms each have a freestanding clawfoot porcelain bathtub, a freestanding porcelain sink, and a porcelain toilet. The floor is hardwood, with a carpet by the tub to absorb any spilled water.
SECOND FLOOR
Floor Plan
Era: circa 1800
There is an open atrium looking down on the first floor foyer, around which is a wooden railing. There are walls only surrounding the medical ward and room 201. The landing, corridors, and Common Room all have a thick green carpet, rather tasteful and pleasant and a lot more comfy than the carpeting on the first floor. Once you arrive on the landing, there are two curving staircases leading up to the 3rd floor, a set of French doors leading out onto a balcony, and the Common Room on the right and an open corridor on the left.
The overall feel to this floor is airy, light, and tasteful.
Common Room ∞ This is a wide, open room, tastefully carpeted, with comfortable high-backed fabric chairs, a few loveseats, and mahogany tables scattered around. Many of the tables have flower arrangements on them. There is a high chandelier which uses an early form of gas lighting. To use it, you have to turn a knob and light it by hand.
Medical Ward ∞ This is a large room, painted white, and carpeted in a thick white carpet. There are rows of small cots. In various cabinets around the walls and on wooden shelves are medical equipment and medicine.
There are leeches in jars. This was common at that time. There are also scalpels, surgical needles and thread, forceps, and mercury thermometers.
The most common medicine you'll find is herbal. This medicine is generally better than the chemical drugs of the time. There are medicines for pain and various minor ailments. There are also both inoculations and vaccinations to be found in the cabinets. Without hypodermics, however, they must be rubbed into an open wound in order to be effective. There are some raw substances here, such as opium seed pods, that can be used to help or harm. There are also some refrigerated, preserved jars of blood, though they really aren't good for anything that isn't purely academic (or feeding vampires).
BEDROOM DESCRIPTIONS
These rooms are airy. Like the rest of the floor, they have thick carpeting, this time in pale peach. All the rooms have glass windows with light drapes on them. The walls are painted pale peach to match the carpets, and the ceilings are high and painted white. There are two beds per room, both large and comfortable. There is a fireplace in each room, a stock of wood, and an elegant brass-plated poker, tongs, and coal shovel. The desks are ornately carved, with a few drawers and brass handles. There is a lamp that needs to be lit with matches on each desk, a fountain pen, and a jar of ink, along with a supply of blank paper. The room numbers are gold-leaf metal screwed into the doors.
The bathrooms are very similar to the ones on the first floor, though they are slightly larger. The bathtub, sink, and toilet are all made of porcelain and are free-standing, though the bathtub is less decorated than in the first floor bathrooms. The floor is tiled.
THIRD FLOOR
Floor Plan
Era: circa 1700
From the landing, the curved staircases continue upwards to the 4th floor. There is a large atrium overlooking the first floor foyer, and a wooden railing that goes all the way around, with plenty of room to walk. The landing and corridors are carpeted in thick patterned carpets. Large windows look out onto the back lawn, and across the atrium, there are also large windows to let in light from the front. Two open corridors lead to the bedrooms.
The overall feel of this floor is opulent, rich, and artsy.
Landing ∞ There are two carved wooden chairs to rest in if you wish to sit for a while on the landing or look out over the back lawn. The windows have thick drapes with tasseled chords to hold them back, if you want to let in the light.
Library ∞ This is a large room with a typical Baroque domed ceiling, made up of a twisting maze of bookshelves. Here and there are dotted sculptures by famous Baroque artists like Bernini and Borromini. As you wander, you might find yourself reminded of your neighborhood bookstore that sells cheap paperbacks, or an ancient library somewhere in Europe. The library isn't as stable in time as all that, so there are books from all eras, and in all conditions. The librarian's desk is a large wooden structure up against one wall, with a small card catalogue that only covers the books that exist circa 1700. All the others are unaccounted for.
BEDROOM DESCRIPTIONS
The two beds in these bedrooms are carved wood. They aren't as large as others, but they are quite comfortable. The desks are simple writing desks, without drawers, though they do have carved feet. There is a fireplace with a solid mantle, a fireplace poker, and a stock of wood and candles. Each desk has two candleholders, a quill, a well of ink, and a stack of paper. The floors have patterned rugs, and the walls are polished hardwood. Every room except 305 has glass windows, which can be raised or lowered, and they each have drapes that can be tied back by tasseled chords. In every room is a painting by a master artist of the 16th century, such as Michaelangelo Merisa da Caravaggio, De La Tour, Poussain, Rubens, Diego Velazquez, and Vermeer. The room numbers are painted elaborately on the doors.
The bathrooms have a tub built into the tiled floor - like a small swimming pool - a full-length mirror, and a free-standing sink that's more like a small basin on a pedestal.
FOURTH FLOOR
Floor Plan
Era: circa 1600
The landing on the fourth floor doesn't have quite the large windows of the second or third - they're smaller, but have stained glass in them. A large door leads to a ballroom, and all the corridors to the bedrooms are behind closed doors. The walls and floor are both wood. There are no curving staircases up to the fifth floor, rather a narrow staircase at the end of a hallway.
The overall feel of this floor is close and a bit dingy.
Ballroom ∞ The ballroom has a fairly high ceiling, though not as high as one might expect. There are large candelabras dotted around the floor, and suits of armor at regular intervals. Against one wall is a small stage for the musicians. There are two long wooden tables against the wall, and three large doors leading to the landing and both corridors. The windows are high and stained glass. The floor is polished hardwood.
The Long Room ∞ There is no way into the Long Room, but it's obviously there. The two corridors on either side don't take up nearly as much room as they should.
The Wrong Corridor ∞ There's a little plaque on the door that reads "This Is The Wrong Corridor." There's nothing in there, and it doesn't always stay in the same time. Six days out of seven, it opens to a stone hall in medieval times, complete with suits of armor and tapestries. On Wednesdays, it opens to a hallway in the 1950's, complete with floral carpeting and floral wallpaper.
BEDROOM DESCRIPTIONS
The floors and walls are wooden, and the windows, while not tiny, are not large. There is no glass in them, but there are light curtains and wooden shutters than can be pulled shut to keep out rain or wind. There is a very large fireplace with a high stone mantle, and a stock of wood and candles. The beds and writing tables are simple, though well-made and a decent size, with wrought iron headboards and footboards. There are heavy quilts on each bed. On the writing tables are quills, inkwells, and parchment scrolls, as well as small candelabras. The ceilings are fairly low. Most of the rooms have a suit of armor in them, though no weapons. The room numbers are a simple paint job on each door.
The bathrooms are small, with small mirrors. The bathtub is really a metal tub, and the sink is a smaller metal basin on a shelf. The toilet is a wooden bench with a hole in it, with a wooden cover. It does flush, never fear. There are curtains around the toilet for extra privacy. The floor is stone, with a small carpet in front of the bathtub and the toilet.
FIFTH FLOOR
Floor Plan
Era: various
A narrow wooden staircase brings you to the fifth floor. Right above the landing where the staircase ends is a trapdoor that leads to the attic. Down the hallway is a stupidly complicated maze that will lead to the bedrooms, but quick and easy to find is the pub. The walls and floors are stone, and the windows are empty wooden frames with wooden shutters to be pulled shut, though as you make your way through the hallways, you'll find yourself in very different times. Between 501 and 505, you'll be in the Dark Ages, with bare stone walls and torches in sconces. Down near 508 and 509, you'll find yourself in English Renaissance of the early 17th century, with strange little gadgets in alcoves in the walls, none of which seem to have much purpose, but all of which are intricate and cool to look at. Some of them spin constantly on their own. Up by 507 and 510, you'll be back in modern times, with plaster walls covered in tacky posters for popular bands. There's a little patch between 506 and 504 that seems to flit between 700's (Viking times) and the 1770's.
The overall feel of this floor is a hideous mess.
Pub ∞ (circa 1100) The pub is a long, narrow room with a long wooden bar, at which wooden stools are arranged at odd intervals. These can be moved, upturned, what have you. The floor is covered with straw, because that's easier to clean up when people puke all over it. Behind the bar are shelves of alcohol. Not the good stuff, just the strong stuff. There's beer on tap. Below the bar is a wooden cudgel, in case the barkeep needs it.
BEDROOM DESCRIPTIONS
If you can find your bedroom, it will probably remind you of something out of an old castle. The beds are wide and low, with high wooden headboards. The desks are simple wooden writing tables, with a quill, an inkwell, and scrolls of parchment, as well as two iron candleholders. Aside from the writing tables, there is another table in each room with four padded wooden chairs. The walls and floors are both stone, and the windows are carved out of the rock, with wooden shutters that can be pulled closed in case of wind or rain. The room numbers are carved into the doors.
The bathtubs resemble small stone swimming pools. The sink is a wooden bowl on a self, the mirror is a sheet of polished metal, and the toilet is a wooden bench with a wooden covering, like the ones on the fourth floor.
ATTIC
Era: The Dark Ages
The attic is big and empty, except for the parts that are overgrown with plantlife. There's a lot of ivy, and even some bushes, thick moss, and a tree in one corner. This used to be a high hill overlooking a lake before the ground flattened out and the House was built, and it looks just like it did back then.
ROOF
Era: the Bronze Age
Good luck trying to find the door to the roof. It's there somewhere. If you manage to get up on top of the House, you'll find that it's slanted, with lots of chimneys, bumps and crevices to run around in. It gives a spectacular view of the surrounding countryside, but unfortunately you can't get there. It's pretty big, but be careful not to fall off - you're five stories up!