//------------------------------// // Game Explanation, Turn 5 // Story: Betrayal at House on the Hill // by Arrow //------------------------------// Twilight returned from the kitchen with drinks for each of her friends, as well as Spike, who dutifully stood at the entrance, assisting the trick-or-treaters. He had already gone through two large bags of it. He took a brief break to see what the others were up to. “We’re playing a board game Twilight found,” explained Fluttershy. “it’s great for Nightmare Night. Scary-themed, but it’s not very scary since it’s all just words.” “Good authors can scare you with words alone.” Twilight countered. “But yes, this game isn’t too scary.” “It certainly matches the theme, though!” Rarity exclaimed. “Six friends, a haunted house, one of us being...more than we seem to be?” Rarity’s passion for overacting made her mouth stretch into a dangerous, predatory smile. “So how abouts does it work?” Spike asked. “Well,” Twilight began. “it starts with us in the front entrance over there, and we explore the house room by room. The rooms are tiles drawn from this pile over here, so each time we play the house is different.” “Along the way, we collect these cards here.” Applejack continued. “And the more omen cards we get, the higher the chance of triggering something called the haunt. ‘s when the game really kicks things into high gear.” “Yeah, one of us ends up being a traitor to the other five, and it’s up to the others to survive, or the traitor to finish whatever she was up to.” Rainbow concluded. “So do you know who the traitor is?” Spike asked. “No,” Applejack explained. “the traitor is picked according to one of these here books, as well as the story involving the house itself. Twi says there’re fifty different stories!” “Hey, sounds great!” Spike’s expression of excitement was quickly tempered into somberness. “Why didn’t you invite me?” “Oh, Spike, of course we would invite you if there was space!” Twilight’s apology rung somewhat hollow to Spike, who sighed about being the odd dragon out yet again. “Tell you what,” Twilight assured him, sensing his disappointment. “I may end up running to Canterlot with the box; Princess Luna in particular seemed excited when I explained it to her. If we run a second game, you can play with the princesses!” “Wow, really?” Pinkie looked excited at the prospect. “You gotta tell me how that game goes!” “I’ll be sure to record it somehow!” Twilight smiled. “Who do you suppose would be the traitor then?” Pinkie wondered aloud. “How would you feel if Princess Celestia ‘killed’ you if she ended up being the traitor?” “Well, it’s just a board game, right?” Twilight said. “It’d be the same as if I played chess or poker against her.” “Think she’d go easy on you?” Rainbow asked. “The Princess’ professionalism shines brightly no matter what she does,” Twilight proclaimed proudly. “and that includes stabbing her friends and family in the back when the game calls for it.” “Now THAT would be scary.” Fluttershy gave the smallest giggle at the thought. “Speaking of going easy,” Twilight continued. “I trust that nopony here will have an issue being the traitor?” “I definitely could never betray any of you,” Fluttershy shrunk at the thought. “but I suppose as long as it’s just a game…” “Hey, coming from Loyalty itself,” Rainbow Dash assured her. “I wouldn’t care. Like you said, it’s just a game. And traitor or not, I’m giving it my all!” “Some of us are just happy to be together,” Applejack argued. “Hey, don’t think about holding back on your friends just ‘cause you’d be a traitor or something.” Rainbow Dash said with displeasure. “Nah, but win or lose, I’m just glad we’re all together in real life.” “I do believe we’re all mature enough to know the difference between fantasy and reality.” Rarity remarked. “Out of curiosity,” Twilight began. “who here wouldn’t mind being the traitor if the book let us pick?” The hooves that went up belonged to Twilight herself, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie. “I...ahh…” Rarity considered her position. “Oh, I suppose if necessary.” she raised her hoof as well. “Even when I was younger, I sometimes had fun with Nightmare Night ideas on my own.” Twilight said with a distant smile. “I would sometimes pretend to be a mad scientist, resurrecting a book monster.” “Scary movies are scary, but that’s what makes them great!” Rainbow Dash chimed in. “Besides, sometimes it’s fun to watch everypony else squirm in them.” “More often than not you’re the one doin’ the squirmin’ during the movies,” Applejack countered. “I always prefered bein’ the hero anyhow. Honestly it seems more exciting. And more rewarding for when you beat the monster.” “IF you beat the monster!” Pinkie Pie replied. “A lot of the excitement for me comes from wondering whether anypony will actually make it! I mean, most stories will have a main character who can never die, because if he dies, the story ends! But with a horror movie, just about anything can happen!” “Sometimes, though,” Rarity added. “the scariest monsters are ones that represent a darker image of ourselves. That part of us we keep under wraps, because if we let it out, unspeakable things would happen. Sometimes the scariest monsters are the heroes themselves.” Fluttershy said nothing, a distant look on her face. Twilight sensed her mind was drifting back to thinking about her more aggressive side, brought forth by Discord and Iron Will, amongst others. Twilight picked up Fluttershy’s right hoof and brought it to her own. As Twilight glanced around the room, the others pieced together what Fluttershy was thinking and added their own to the group until five hooves and one draconic claw were all on top of Fluttershy’s. “We know that’s not really you.” Twilight said. Fluttershy bowed her head humbly. “Let’s go!” Rainbow darted back to the board. “We’ve got a house to explore, a haunt to start, a traitor to reveal, and a game to win!” “Or lose.” Applejack smirked. “Okay, so who’s where?” Spike asked, taking a closer look at the board. “Rainbow’s over there, in the Charred Room.” Twilight explained. “Fluttershy’s in the Statuary Corridor, and I’m a room over in the Game Room. Applejack’s in the Bloody Room. Pinkie Pie and Rarity are upstairs in the Research Lab and the Chapel.” she finished, pointing to the remaining three pieces.” “Right,” Rainbow picked up her piece. “then I’m going down...here.” == The carbon in the room was stifling. Rainbow coughed loudly to clear it from her system as she made her way to the door on her left. As soon as she opened it, the familiar smell of books and sight of comfortable chairs took her far away from this terrible house. It was then that Twilight’s voice rung true from two rooms away. “A LIBRARY? RAINBOW DASH, YOU FOUND THE LIBRARY??” Forget the house; Twilight’s newfound library-sense was the creepiest thing yet. Rainbow Dash picked out a book at random, checking the back of the book to ensure it wasn’t trapped, and gave it a quick glance-over. == “That’s not fair!” Twilight pouted. “I was supposed to find the library first!” “What’d be really ironic is if Twilight then found the gymnasium.” Fluttershy added, picturing the role-reversal in her head. “Y’know,” Applejack teased. “Rainbow dislikes reading so much, I don’t think she should get the Knowledge bonus.” “I admitted to you guys and everypony else I liked reading, okay? It’s just that…” Rainbow paused, thinking over her next words. “It’s just that only certain books are epic enough to be read by me.” “Seems that includes dusty old tomes in a haunted house.” smiled Rarity. “Hey, what did I do to you guys? I didn’t stab anyone!...yet. Why are you all making fun of me for finding the library?” Rainbow crossed her hooves defensively. “You just make it so easy.” smiled Pinkie Pie. “Now go draw an event card.” Rainbow Dash drew from the event card pile. GROUNDSKEEPER You turn to see a man in groundskeeper clothing. He raises his shovel and charges. Inches from your face, he disappears, leaving muddy footprints, and nothing more. You must attempt a Knowledge roll. (An explorer in the Gardens rolls 2 fewer dice on this roll.) 4+ You find something in the mud. Draw an item card. 0-3 The groundskeeper reappears and strikes you in the face with the shovel. The player on your right rolls a Might 4 attack for the Groundskeeper. You defend against this attack as normal, by rolling dice equal to your Might. “Well...crap.” was all Rainbow Dash could manage as she picked up her four dice. She shook them vigorously, hoping somehow her awesomeness would rub off on the dice. “Five!” she exclaimed, taking a sigh of relief. == Rainbow Dash covered her eyes as the groundspony charged her. Her body froze in fear as shovel the dark green, aggressive groundspony charged her. She saw the shovel come up, ready to strike. She closed her eyes and braced for an impact that never came. Rainbow opened her eyes. Muddy hoofprints were all over the library, something that no doubt Twilight would take offence to, but there were no other traces of Rainbow’s assailant. Looking more carefully at the mud, however, she noticed an object lying down in it. She wiped it clean on the floor and then took a better look at it. == Lucky Stone A smooth, ordinary-looking rock. You sense it will bring you good fortune. After you attempt a roll of any kind, you can rub the stone once to reroll any number of those dice. Discard this item after you use it. “Whaaaat?!” the others at the table exclaimed. “Okay, so let me review what I have here…” Rainbow Dash said, smiling confidently. “I have a Rainbow Cannon, Pickpocket’s Gloves, a Mask, a Spirit Board, AND a Lucky Stone.” “I’m fairly certain Rainbow Dash is going to throw the balance of the game in question if she draws any more cards like this…” Rarity sighed. == Shortly after Twilight’s library sense went off, Applejack opened the door heading away from the bloody room she found herself in. It was clear when she opened it, however, that she had stepped out of the frying pan and into the fire. This outdoor area, completely fenced in, was covered in tombstones. Applejack counted three...four...five of them. Time had long erased the names on them, and their sizes varied from ones just slightly taller than Applejack herself to at least two that towered over her. The most intimidating, however, was the one that was tucked away in the corner of her vision. The scariest grave by far was the open one - one that had yet to receive a casket. Applejack made a terrified noise and backed away from the graveyard, as much as she could. She also regretted thinking about how this graveyard tied into the bloody room she saw earlier. == “...I really don’t like this,” Applejack murmured, drawing an event card for entering the graveyard. Burning Pony A pony on fire runs through the room. Her skin bubbles and cracks, falling away from her and leaving a fiery skull that clatters to the ground, bounces, rolls, and disappears. You must attempt a Sanity roll: 4+ You feel a little hot under the collar, but otherwise fine. Gain 1 Sanity. 2-3 Out, out, you must get out. Put your explorer into the Entrance Hall. 0-3 You burst into flames! Take one die of physical damage. Then take 1 die of mental damage as you put out the flames. “Eurghh…” Applejack made a disgusted noise as she rolled a meager three dice, really hoping for the best. “A three.” Applejack said. “Well, I suppose it’s not that bad…” “But wait, Applejack,” Rarity interrupted her. “when you leave the Graveyard you have to make a Sanity roll of four or higher or lose Knowledge.” Applejack paused, then glared at Rarity. “I hate you, you know.” she muttered, picking up the three dice again. “Four exactly.” Applejack breathed a sigh of relief, moving herself unencumbered to the Entrance hall. == Instinct took over as Applejack scuttled away as fast as she could away from the burning pony. Just staring at it made her own body warm up, and not in a pleasant way either...it became warmer and warmer, and just when she was ready to catch fire herself she bolted for the graveyard’s exit. The air that chilled the nerves of the other ponies felt refreshing to Applejack’s overheating, and soon she found herself back where she started and at a far more comfortable temperature. She took a sigh of relief, taking a quick review of her faculties and her body before moving on. There wasn’t any lasting damage, at least. Elsewhere… Forging on with her silent filly companion, Fluttershy braved the creepy statues lining the corridor and found herself in a wide open room with little in the way of furnishing. The high-vaulted ceiling, piano in the corner, and other musical instruments littering the floor suggested to her that she was in the mansion’s ballroom. Fluttershy took a sigh of relief, figuring to herself that she could have ended up in worse situations. It was then that she felt something around her ankle.. == SOMETHING SLIMY What’s around your ankle? A bug? A tentacle? A dead hand clawing? You must attempt a Speed roll: 4+ You break free. Gain 1 Speed. 1-3 Lose 1 Might 0 Lose 1 Might and 1 Speed “I suppose it does depend on what it is in the end, though that would certainly surprise me.” Fluttershy picked up her four dice and began rolling them. “A lot of aquatic animals are slimy and cute still.” “Just about anything’s cute to you, Fluttershy.” Twilight sighed. “Six.” Fluttershy counted. == As soon as she felt the cold slime wrap around her ankle, Fluttershy instinctively twisted it free. Her ankle bent awkwardly, but her wings, acting on their own accord, righted herself so she lost little in the way of momentum. She easily righted herself. “Hm. I guess that could have been worse…” Fluttershy muttered, looking at her leg for any trace of the slime. She didn’t find anything, and though the feeling still lingered, her ankle was as dry as it was beforehand. She glanced at the filly. “You didn’t see anything?” The filly shook her head, which made the worry creep back in… Meanwhile, Rarity found the chapel to be a dead-end, so she had to backtrack through the Operating Lab and the Servant’s Quarters to find unexplored territory. Opening the door just between the two beds of the Servant’s Quarters, she found herself in a room full of chairs, clocks, and wooden crates. It was a storeroom of some description - truly fitting to have it close to where the servants would stay. Finding nothing peculiar about the room, she searched the room for anything useful. Searching just behind a pair of crates, however, her eyes brightened. “Aha!” Rarity exclaimed. == MEDICAL KIT A doctor’s bag, depleted in some critical resources. Once during your turn, you can attempt a Knowledge roll to heal yourself or another explorer in the same room: 8+ Gain up to 3 points of physical traits. 6-7 Gain up to 2 points of physical traits. 4-5 Gain 1 point in a physical trait. 0-3 Nothing happens “Wow, that seems really useful!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “How’s your Knowledge?” Twilight asked. “Those need some really high rolls to make it work…” “Four.” Rarity said, looking at her character card. “You could get lucky, I suppose.” Twilight reasoned. “Depending on how this turns out, you may want to trade it to someone else who has more knowledge.” “Why, are you reasoning that I’m dumb?” Rarity feigned injury. A familiar-looking couch zipped out of nowhere to catch Rarity as she collapsed. “Oh, you hurt me so, Twilight!” “Well...no, that’s...not…” Twilight spluttered. “Okay, let me start again.” When the group laughed, Twilight gave up and went back to the board game. == Pinkie Pie continued on past the Operating Lab and found herself in a luxurious bedroom with a massive king-sized bed. “Heyhey! I bet that’s comfy!” Pinkie Pie leapt forward on the giant bed to bounce on it, but then she realized she wasn’t entirely alone. Stuck in the corner was another pony… == MADPONY COMPANION A raving, frothing madpony. Gain 2 Might and lose 1 Sanity now. Lose 2 Might and gain 1 Sanity if you lose custody of the Madpony. This omen can’t be dropped, traded, or stolen. Make a haunt roll now. “Ohhhh noooo!” Twilight exclaimed as the others around her gave other expressions of shock and fear. “Pinkie Pie going even INSANER?” Applejack laughed. “This can’t possibly be good for Equestria.” “The world implodes from Pinkie Pie meeting her equal. The end!” Rainbow exclaimed. “Everypony loses, except for Pinkie Pie!” “Woohoo!” Pinkie Pie shouted. “Alright, Madpony,” she said, clutching the card. “you and I are gonna break out of this story and wreak havoc on Equestria! WE’LL BE AN UNSTOPPABLE TEAM!” “I think we have a real traitor on our hooves,” Twilight laughed. “But first we have to make a haunt roll.” Fluttershy added. The entire room quieted down instantly. “Oooohhhhh…” Twilight sighed. “Okay so...how many omens are in play now?” “Pinkie just got the madpony,” Rainbow counted. “Rares has the spear, I have the mask and the spirit board, Fluttershy has the filly and the holy symbol, and AJ’s got the ring. So...seven.” Pinkie Pie somberly took six dice and, somewhere in the back of her mind, secretly hoped she would roll a six. As soon as she completed her roll, a little smile crept up on her face. “Six exactly.” she announced. “HAUNT TIME!!” Twilight exclaimed as Fluttershy cowered behind Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked as dangerous as ever. “Alright, so let’s see…” Twilight picked up the rulebook and looked it over. “It was triggered by the Madman in the Master Bedroom, so that means we’re doing Haunt 10.” Twilight flipped the page further. “The traitor is the haunt revealer, so that’s you, Pinkie.” “Ahhhh…” the others breathed a sigh of relief. “Alright!” Pinkie Pie bounded happily. “Murder time! What happens now?” “Well, Pinkie, you’re going to take this book here,” Twilight said, handing her a blue book. “and turn to Haunt 10. That has everything you need to know. You’re going to read it upstairs in my bedroom so nopony knows what you’re up to. Everypony else is going to read from this green book so we know how to beat you.” “Okie-dokie!” Pinkie took the blue book and bounded upstairs as she started thinking of the best ways to maim or otherwise mutilate her friends. “She’ll be fine, right?” Fluttershy asked. “Oh yeah.” Rainbow said confidently. “Right, time to beat her up. Let’s go.” == Pinkie Pie turned to her new companion, whose head jerked around as if listening for something. "Do you hear it?" he asks Pinkie. "Under the floor, where I put them. My family." It was then that Pinkie and the others realized that the former denizens of the house were slowly coming back to life. “Huh?” Pinkie stared at the madpony, whose teeth were far sharper than anypony’s teeth had a right to be. “Wha...what are you doing? Stop!” Pinkie cried. “Stay away!” A hoof strike to her side sent Pinkie flying across the room as the madpony glowered at her, teeth bared. The only rational thought that went through the madpony’s head was how much it was like tasting pink cotton candy. The rest of his family, dead no longer, rose from various rooms in the house, ready for their own treats. == “Whaaat?!” Pinkie Pie cried from upstairs. “You mean I’m DEAD?!” She barged down from upstairs as her five friends hid their green book. “I can’t betray anypony when I’m DEAD!” “Come on, that’s how the story goes!” Rainbow exclaimed. “It won’t work another way!” “It will work another way!” exclaimed Pinkie. “Watch me!” == “You’re a laugh riot, Mr. Madpony!” Pinkie laughed as she conversed with her companion in a way that only the two of them could understand. “What did you say your name was again?” “I said it starts with a D…” he began, seeming to grow in size and distort into something more bipedal. “...and ends in an ‘iscord’.” “Heeey!” Pinkie exclaimed. “What are you doing in a place like this anyway?” “Oh, I was just looking around this old house for some fun!” Discord said with his usual smile and confident tone. “The ponies who lived here died a while ago, but why not stay with me and let’s see if your friends can figure out how to deal with them?” “Oh, I don’t know, Discord. I wouldn’t want to abandon my friends.” Pinkie said, looking back at the door she came in. “I have some chocolate rain for you, Pinkie. Besides, your friends won’t mind; you’ll still be with them! You’ll just be watching instead, cheering them on!” “Works for me!” Pinkie shouted, the thought of chocolate completely dousing her mind. == “See?” Pinkie said with a smile. “I still like the first one.” Rainbow argued. “It don’t matter to me,” Applejack said. “fact of the matter is, there’re zombies in this here house and we gotta pin ‘em down somehow.” “Shh! Don’t tell her too much, darling!” Rarity cautioned. “We have different books for a reason.” “Ohh, right.” Applejack realized. “Heyhey!” Twilight shouted. “Shoo! We survivors have to strategize!” Though Pinkie protested being shunted off to Twilight’s bedroom with the rules, she walked back upstairs to read through her part of the story. “Okay, so Pinkie is going to create a bunch of zombies we’re going to have to deal with.” Twilight briefed her friends. “The book says we need to trap them in the Master Bedroom, Chapel, Conservatory, Game Room, Library, or the Attic. Each room can only house one zombie, and it needs to fail a Knowledge roll of 4 or higher in order to trap it in. We win once all the zombies are trapped.” “Fair enough,” Applejack said. “though it doesn’t seem we can do much. We don’t know where the zombies are going to appear.” “We also don’t have any zombie tokens,” Rarity said. “we’ll just have to use these changeling tokens instead.” “How do you suppose we get the zombies to go into the rooms?” Applejack asked. Twilight thought it over for a minute. “Live bait.” “Good idea.” Rainbow said, before backtracking. “Heyy!” she said. “Don’t sweat it, Rainbow. You’re already in the Library.” Twilight said. “You can trap the first one that comes in, if it fails the roll.” “Think I could shoot it and just kill it?” Rainbow asked. “No, that’ll stun them. The only way to knock them out is to force them into the rooms.” “What about me?” Fluttershy asked. “I’m nowhere near any of those rooms…” “Shoot.” Applejack said. “Fluttershy’s right. She needs to get into one of the rooms so she can lure them in.” “Try to make a break for upstairs and help Rarity,” Twilight instructed. “there are several rooms up there she can use to trap the zombies.” “Alright.” Fluttershy said. “Oh, don’t worry, Fluttershy, we’ll come out of this victorious!” Rarity assured her. “Especially with Rainbow Dash and that much firepower.” “Yeah, as long as I’m around, you guys don’t have to worry about a thing!” Rainbow boasted. == Upstairs in Twilight’s room, Pinkie reviewed the situation in her head. Most of the pieces she could use were uncontrollable once they came in sight of one of her friends. “What do you think, Gummy?” she asked Twilight’s pillow. “Silly me, of course you’re not Gummy. But I still need something to bounce ideas off of.” Twilight’s pillow didn’t move. “I guess I’ll have to use Discord,” Pinkie reasoned, having replaced the madpony in her mind with someone more familiar to her. “he’s the only one I can actually control a lot of the time. I’ll have to use him to quickly kill the others, especially Rainbow. No idea how I can beat her…” She shrugged, wandering back downstairs. “Alright, let’s put down the zombie tokens on each of the omen tiles!” Pinkie bounded back downstairs to the others. “Heya Pinkie!” her friends greeted her. “Have fun reading about how you’re going to win?” Twilight asked. “You mean how you guys are going to lose!” Pinkie laughed. “Alright, zombies start here, here, here, and...here.” Pinkie placed changeling tokens - actually zombies in this case - in the Junk Room, the Dining Room, the Charred Room, the Abandoned Room, and the Servant’s Quarters. “Ohhh…” Fluttershy shrunk again, confirming her position on the board. “...my…” She was completely walled off from her friends, and nowhere near a room she could use to trap them. “Yep!” Pinkie smiled. “These are my friends, and they’re huungry!” “Yer goin’ down, Pinkie!” Applejack shouted confidently. Fluttershy wished she shared her friends’ confidence in victory.