House That Hates
The House That Hates is a kind of horror that takes the form of a dilapidated house.
Overview
| “ | <Muffled screams, phantom footsteps, and doors slamming> | ” |
It is unknown whether there is only one house that manifests in different places or multiple. Regardless, this horror can appear anywhere in the world. It typically sells for far below market value, attracting house flippers or those who do not know better. After being bought, the House begins a slow campaign of terror and violence against the inhabitants. Upon the death or madness of all victims, the House either goes dormant or simply vanishes.
The nature of its attacks seems to indicate that the horror feeds on psychological trauma, and even its most violent kills are in the service of inflicting said trauma on one or two "focal victims", who survive to face Integrity breaking points.
Destroying a manifestation of the house is simple (ignoring the potential for police to get involved for destruction of property, arson, insurance fraud, and the like), but such an action will not stop the House itself, which often seeks revenge by targeting the attacker's loved ones. To actually eliminate the horror requires the focal victim(s) find the "core" of the House and destroy it, a process that inevitably involves facing up old traumas and personal failings.
Appearance
The horror typically appears to be large enough for a family of five. As mentioned prior, it tends to appear dilapidated. The interior of the House is entirely divorced from the outside. Though the interior and exterior begin in sync, the House can alter its floorplan, to the point of even being able to manifest further rooms where there were none or entire additional stories that do not correspond to any exterior height increase.
Character Sheet
Best At (10 Dice): Being scary and disorienting, lashing out with household appliances, luring people in and keeping them there.
Worst At (2 Dice): Anything but being a house.
Aspiration: To drive its tenants mad with terror.
Willpower/Scene: 6
Structure: 45 (specific structures like walls, floors, and doors have Hardness appropriate to the material)
Weapons/Attacks:
| Type | Damage | Range | Dice Pool | Special |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Telekinetic cutlery | 2L | 5/10/20 | 10 dice | — |
| Strangling cords | 2B | Melee | 10 dice | Grapples |
Dread Powers: Eye Spy, Home Ground, Influence (Fear) •••, Madness and Terror, Snare
References
- CofD: Chronicles of Darkness Rulebook, p. 150-152
