Darkest House App at the Table
The Darkest House app was meant to run online. I say it works best in person, at the table. And I’m always right. ;)
What is It?
It’s a haunted house for any rpg, as it has a conversion from whatever system you are running, 5E, Cypher, Pathfinder, …, or anything, to the House System. Then you throw your PCs into the House, and the House Hates Them. Very spooky. I’ve run a bunch of haunted houses: D&D, Call of Cthulhu, Bluebeard’s Bride, and so on. Many were great. The Darkest House was the greatest.
Everything’s fine.
No, What is the App?
The app runs on Windows or Mac, and is hyperlinked to go to any room in the house. Each room gives you, the Gamemaster, what you need to run it. And images to share. Sometimes audio as well.
Each room page gives you an overview, what the PCs experience when they enter. Plus secret things they can discover and links to all exits. The house is decidedly non-Euclidean.
For example: The Music Room
This grand chamber has sweeping, arched ceilings and decorative wood panels. A grand piano dominates the room, although several other instruments can be found, as well as music stands and a few other furnishings. There’s an aura of practice and punishment here.
Then there are links to subsections: the instruments, the exits, and what happens if the local spook (the “Sister”) shows up here. And what happens if the PCs linger. Nothing good.
The Sister will see you now. The House Hates You.
If any exit needs a key, that is spelled out.
There is also an image of the floor plan and a first person view of the room that a PC might see. Above each image are two choices: “Copy Link” and “Download.” If there is audio, the same two choices appear.
The Setup
I brought my laptop and cellphone. I ran the app on my laptop. We played by candlelight at the table in a darkened room. Everyone had Discord running on their phone or tablet. I would copy the link, paste it into our Discord channel, and wait for the reactions. Typically creeped out.
For audio I put it on my phone and held it up and played it for them. Very immersive. If I had put it in Discord, they might have all played it at different times, out of synch, so I waited until after a session to share the audio links there.
Jump Scare
After many deliciously terrible encounters in the house, I looked over our host’s shoulder into his darkened living room. “Mike, I didn’t know you had a black cat.” Of course he had no such pet, this freaked him out which spread to everyone else. I pretended it had been a trick of the light. Nervous laughter all around.
Mission Accomplished.
The Format
Ever run the Darkest House app? Would you like to see other RPG material presented this way? What would it be?
