This Old Haunted House — 10 of 21

Chapter 2 - Scenery

[% Ran out of time and focus when it came to implementing the environment. Filling this section out correctly would probably be my first objective if I were to make a significant revision to the game.]

The description of the player is "[one of]You can't really see yourself, but you're wearing your toolbelt, your hard hat, and your headset. Oh, and you're a skeleton, obviously. 'Bone Vila', star of [italic type]This Old Haunted House[roman type], second only to the haunted houses themselves.[or]You've got your toolbelt, your hard hat, and your headset on.[stopping]"

Han is a man with description "[one of]You may be the star in front of the camera, but behind the camera it's all Han, who would wear the hats of producer and director (among others)... if he only had a head. That never stopped him from being a great cameraman[unicode 8212]or from talking constantly, which seems a little unfair since you've got more of a head than he does, yet you can't speak yourself.[or]Han is still here, observing the progress of your taping session however he's able to.[stopping]". Han is in the Present.

Instead of asking Han about something:

say "[conversational collapse]".

Instead of telling Han about something:

say "[conversational collapse]".

To say conversational collapse:

say "[first time]You can't really speak with Han, lacking both a respiratory system and the soft tissues necessary to shape sounds, but he's picked up just enough Skeletal Sign Language for your working relationship, so you can indicate when you need him to recap the current proposals, which he does. [only][chat]".

To say chat:

silently try talking.

Every turn:

if the location of Han is not the location of the player:

now Han is in the location of the player;

if the location of the ghosts is not the location of the player:

now the ghosts are in the location of the player.

The ghosts are a person with description "Hoary and Terry are a pair of ghosts. They're identical, except in coloration. You otherwise cannot tell them apart.[first time][paragraph break]Hoary is the lighter ghost, and he has a penchant for supernatural horror and for atmospheric subtlety. His brother... excuse me, [italic type]boo-ther[roman type]... Terry favors splatter flicks and the traditional trappings of Halloween.[only]". Understand "hoary" and "terry" and "hoary and terry" and "terry and hoary" and "ghost" and "ghosts" and "the property boo-thers" and "the property boothers" and "boo-thers" and "boothers" and "brothers" and "property brothers" as the ghosts. The ghosts are in the Present.

Does the player mean examining the ghosts:

it is very likely.

Does the player mean doing something other than examining the ghosts:

it is very unlikely.

[Han's gaming table is a backdrop with description "Scratched and grimy, but it serves your purposes.". Han's gaming table is everywhere.

The magazine is a backdrop with printed name "[italic type]Parapet Monthly[roman type]" and description "A monthly magazine full of roleplaying resources.[first time] Han shields the article from your view when he notices you looking too closely.[only]". The magazine is everywhere. Instead of taking the magazine, say "Han won't let you get your hands on his copy."

Han's mechanical pencil is a backdrop with description "Han refuses to write on character sheets with anything other than a mechanical pencil. This one is cheap plastic with a black coating that fades under your grip after several hours of use.". Han's mechanical pencil is everywhere.

Han's notebook is a backdrop with description "Han's habits as a game-master are on full display here, because his notebook is somehow always tipped so that you can't see any of the text he's written.". Han's notebook is everywhere. Instead of taking the notebook, say "Han is too possessive to let you examine his notes in any detail."

Han's ten-sided die is a backdrop with description "Han usually prefers twelve-siders, but this ten-sider is better suited to your current exercise.". Han's ten-sided die is everywhere. Instead of doing anything to the die, say "[one of]Han senses your attention turning to his die, and he grips it in his fist before you can move[or]Han snatches his die before you can even look at it[stopping]."

Han's sofa is a backdrop with description "Han's couches are fake leather, and the cushions are cracked. What they lack in sophistication, they make up in affordability." Understand "couch" and "couches" and "sofa" and "sofas" and "Han's sofa" as Han's sofa. Han's sofa is everywhere.

The vents are a backdrop with description "A trio of vents near the ceiling. Sometimes air blows from them." The vents are everywhere.

The fly is a backdrop with description "It's just a fly." Understand "the" or "bug" or "fly" or "insect" as the fly. The fly is everywhere. Instead of doing anything to the fly, say "It's just a fly in the other area[one of][or]. Don't worry about it[stopping]."

The stairwell is a backdrop with description "The stairs up to the rest of the house occupy a nook in the opposite wall. Occasionally you catch a glimpse of a fly landing on the bannister." Understand "stairwell" or "staircase" or "stairs" or "wall" or "walls" or "bannister" or "railing" or "steps" as the stairwell.]

A vision is a kind of backdrop with description "[one of]Since you film on green-screen, you can't actually see the haunted house you're renovating, so there's nothing here for you to examine[or]You'll have to imagine it, since it's not here[stopping].". Before taking a vision, say "You might as well try to take [one of]gravity[or]the sun[or]light itself[or]Han's name away from him[or]yesterday[or]the number twelve[or]Newton's first law[or]the color green[or]the sound a fly makes[or]back the last hour you've spent here[or]your own marrow[or]Hoary or Terry, who you should remember are intangible[or]some of your nonexistent props home with you[or]the aurora borealis[purely at random]." instead.

[Valdara is a vision. Valdara is everywhere. Understand "city" as Valdara. Understand "the city" as Valdara. Understand "state" as Valdara. Understand "the state" as Valdara. Understand "city-state" as Valdara. Understand "city state" as Valdara. Understand "the city-state" as Valdara. Understand "difficult" or "era" or "two" or "avenues" or "crisis" or "calamity" or "advisors" or "ministers" or "coastal" or "frontier" as Valdara.]

This old haunted house is a vision. This old haunted house is everywhere.