A haunting always makes for a good story. This Hong Kong set adventure from 6d6 should keep your players on their toes.
Act 1: The Grand Opening
The characters all work in a brand new high rise shopping mall. Lots of investment from smaller financiers has gone into making the project work, tying it to the local community. This afternoon is the soft opening and the mall must make a good impression if it is to succeed. The story begins with the characters solving all the little problems that come on opening days. Not unexpected, but these are just that bit more serious than you’d normally expect. There’s a small fire in a kitchen, a burst water main, a horde of lost school children, a stuck elevator and an escalator that keeps changing which way it’s going. Shortly after the mall closes at midnight, this all culminates in a nasty poltergeist event, with the staff being repeatedly attacked by thrown objects for five minutes.
Act 2: Information and Ingredients
If the public finds out the mall is haunted, it’s all over. Hong Kongers are very superstitious and will not only avoid the building but will shun those associated with building it. The ghost must be got rid of. The first step is to consult an elder witch. These aren’t easy to find amongst the charlatans, herbalists and feng shui practitioners. Once the party has tracked one down, she’ll insist on visiting the mall. If the team can protect her from the ghost, she’ll give them a shopping list of ingredients they’ll need to get rid of the ghost. Top of this list is the baby daughter of the chief investor. Oh, and some biscuits.
Act 3: Banishment
The elder witch has determined that an ancestor of the chief investor performed a dark act and that the ghost is seeking revenge. To placate it, a ceremony asking it to forgive on compassion for the innocent child is needed. Fortunately, the chief investor will be at the grand opening with his family. The characters must find a way of getting all the ingredients in place, deal with the ghostly activities and perform the ceremony whilst not letting the public know what’s happening. If things go poorly, the party will have to hope they’re a good shot with a thrown biscuit.
Ideas for Characters:
A waitress in one of the restaurants who is supernaturally sensitive, the general manager of the building, a contractor trying to finish an installation, a security guard with a fear of the dark, the e-list celebrity who is opening the mall, the event manager, an accountant from the holding company, some random child, the creepy old guy who runs a teashop, a homeless man looking to setup a camp in the car park.
Image Credit : Sunset Hong Kong Victoria Harbour by Pasu Au Yeung – CC-BY-2.0