Blood and Black Lace: More on B/X Giallo/Clock Tower

I've been thinking and iterating more on the giallo/Clock Tower-inspired stuff, and generally just working out a bit more how I'd work it, but first I'll drop a table on improvised weapons. The sort of stuff you pick up in a room and use it to fend off the killer. It's not a long-term solution as far as armaments, and given your general lack of skill and training, you're probably not going to kill with it unless you get really fucking lucky, but it might be enough to knock the killer out, or at least distract them long enough that you can make a run for it, find a hiding place and wait it out.

d50 Improvised Weapons Found in the Mansion

They all have a 4-in-6 chance of breaking after a single use.

1: Scissors

2: Knitting Needle

3: Paperweight

4: Hair Dryer

5: Heavy Book

6: Fountain Pen

7: Flower Pot

8: Broom

9: Razor

10: Chair

11: Frying Pan

12: Letter Opener

13: Extension Cord

14: Statuette

15: Mannequin Limb

16: Hammer

17: Golf Club

18: Silk Scarf

19: Riding Crop

20: Handcuffs

21: Decorative Sword

22: Antique Rifle (Unloaded)

23: Antlers

24: Silk Rope

25: Pencil

26: Tea Pot

27: Glass Shard

28: Ceramic Animal

29: Strand of Lights

30: Pearl Necklace

31: Sliding Door

32: Ornate Key

33: House Key

34: Heavy Duty Flashlight

35: Aerosol Can

36: Pot

37: Wooden Sword

38: Antique Pistol (Unloaded)

39: Jewelry Box

40: Long-Nosed Mask

41: Opera Gloves

42: Screwdriver

43: Mirror Shard

44: Fork

45: Candelabra

46: Hypodermic Needle

47: Hat Pin

48: Decanter

49: Wine Bottle

50: Gold Egg

The System

In my imagining, this runs off a very very simplified version of B/X or lotfp. An unarmored human has AC 9 (AC 10 if you use Ascending AC), and PCs don't get any bonus to their attack rolls. An unarmored killer has AC 7 (12) and will typically have an AB of +4 or more (depending on their HD), because they're made of sterner stuff than the untrained people you're playing as. There's no XP or levelling, because this sort of thing is generally intended for short-term play, and because in the genre, there's not really a lot of precedent for characters getting stronger or more competent, just more acclimated to the situation. 

All PCs have d6 HD. Stats are rolled 3d6 in order, using the standard Strength/Dexterity/Constitution/Intelligence/Wisdom/Charisma stats, with the standard bonuses like in B/X. 

There are three saves instead of the standard five: Poison, Paralyze, and Death. Poison is rolled for things like literal poison, disease, being clocked over the head, etc - stuff that inhibits your ability to function. Paralyze is usually for stuff like being grabbed. Death is things that'd outright kill you. Having your head bashed against a brick wall by a muscular killer. Taking a knife to the chest. Getting electrocuted. All that fun stuff. PCs save vs. Poison on a 13+, save vs. Paralyze on a 14+, and save vs. Death on a 16+.

In addition to instant-kill situations, saves vs. Death are also rolled when you're reduced to 0 HP. It's a chance to go on, staggering wounded and leaving a trail of blood through the mansion. You're still going to die without doing something about your wounds on a successful Death save from being reduced to 0 HP, but there's a chance you could figure out a way to patch yourself up, to staunch the bleeding, and keep going. When you're at 0 HP, the next damage you take will kill you though, no save. 

All non-combat rolls are handled through roll-under attribute checks. To move a heavy bookcase, roll under your Strength. To outrun a killer, roll under your Dexterity. To seduce the killer while you look for just the right place to stab them with the knitting needle hidden up your sleeve, roll under Charisma. To find information in a book you only have time to skim, roll under your Intelligence, etc, etc. 

PCs have two skills, determined at character generation, that give you a bonus on these attribute checks. If you have a relevant skill, add +2 to your attribute and that's what you roll under. If you've got say, a 'Track Star' skill and 12 Dexterity, and you're trying to outrun a killer who's hot on your heels, you need to roll under a 14 instead of a 12. That sort of thing. Skills are chosen in a freeform kind of way, based on your character's background. They need to be specific (like the 'Track Star' example I gave), but generalized enough that they'll be useful. 'Track Star' works. So does 'Amateur Cartographer' or 'Occultist' or 'Camping Enthusiast' or 'Nurse' or 'Knitting Expert'. 'All-Around Badass' doesn't work, and neither does 'Jack of All Trades'. It's the sort of skill that should be useful in certain situations, but not this all-powerful thing that grants you bonuses to every check you roll.

Roll a piece of iconic clothing (or two, if you really feel like it, but if the second roll is a piece of clothing that functions as armor, reroll) and the Ref should secretly roll 2 objects that are in your pockets. When you think to search your pockets, you'll find out what they are.

You don't remember how you got here. You don't remember what you were doing before this (like, right before this. You likely remember the rest of your life, unless the Ref wants to go for a full amnesia thing, which could be neat, but it makes skills a bit harder to handle). You've never seen this place before, and all the doors are locked, all the windows are barred. Somebody's hunting you. Maybe multiple somebodies. 

There's other people locked in the house as well, trapped in various rooms or locked-off wings, confused, scared, and probably feeling a bit hopeless. They might even be pursued by killers of their own. If you die and need a back-up character, use one of these people. The next time the surviving PCs open a door they haven't been through, one of these new PCs is behind it. You'll also probably find some of these people outside of just the New PC thing, and maybe they'll hang out and try to help. Maybe they'll be a liability. Maybe you'll be a liability to them, you know?

Ref-side

To start with, grab a map of a mansion or an underground lab or whatever sort of place you want to set this whole thing in. Generally I see this as being a mansion, but you can do whatever. It just needs to be a location that PCs can be trapped in, that's generally accessible from a city within the amount of time it takes someone to wake up from being drugged. Generally there should be sorta a sense of opulence to this place. It should be as beautiful as it is horrific. 

You can map your own place, of course, but I'm a lazy Ref, so I like to just grab something pre-existing. You should probably aim for something with 30-50 rooms and at least 2-3 floors. Beyond that, it can easily get a bit too big for this game of cat and mouse, but below that and your location gets explored too quick, and the secrets get exposed fast. 

This place should have a major secret. This secret should pertain to why the PCs have been abducted. Maybe there's a cult that's killing people to summon their dark god. Maybe it's some Jigsaw-esque nightmare location like the house in Saw 2 or The Collection. Maybe it's a facility where the government is conducting a fear experiment. Whatever you want. 

There should probably also be weird traps in this place. I mean, presumably whoever's behind this has been planning it for a while and setting it up before they kidnap the PCs.

Killers have 4-8 HD, an unarmored AC of 7 (12), and a preferred weapon. Like the giant scissors that Scissor Man carries, or Jason's machete, or the switchblades and straight razors you see in so many giallo films. I'll probably make a table for killer weapons later. The weapon should probably do about d6-d8 damage. Enough that you're killing or crippling even the hardiest PCs with the high range. Killers also need a physical oddity of some sort. This'll probably get a chart later too. Like how Scissor Man's face is all fucked up, or an extra arm or unnatural size or something. Something kinda grotesque that you can use to highlight how twisted and frightening this person is.

Oh, and you should probably roll up a couple of killers, for when PCs inevitably manage to kill the person hunting them, so that killing the killer isn't just a straight-up 'The nightmare is over'. 

Every exploration turn, there's a 1-in-6 chance that the killer will show up in the room that the PCs are entering, or that the killer will burst into the room the PCs are in, or will wind up in their path in the next few minutes, etc. Each turn that the killer doesn't show up, their chance of appearing increases by 1-in-6. So at a maximum of every 6 turns, the PCs will have an encounter with the killer. And, of course, roll immediately if the PCs make a lot of noise, and increase the chance for the next roll if the killer doesn't show up.