The Howling Manor

**The Howling Manor** was the first Trial of the Alpha Round. It was hosted by Polterpumpkin and scheduled for Halloween, between October 31, 2018 and November 14, 2018. The Trial was successfully beaten within four days.

A second act marked as **Trial 6** was scheduled for Halloween 2019, from October 04 to October 20.

## Intro

It all started out so harmlessly. No wonder was the fool the Players made out of themselves when they trusted the random merchant who had seemed too generous with their tailor art. The costumes had seemed too tempting to turn down in an effort to ease the mood this realm had caused among the Players. Tricked into the Trial they had tried to avoid at all cost until then, the group finds themselves on a graveyard, possessed by their costumes and unable to take them off, gloomy dusk forcing a bloodcurling atmosphere.
The players steps take them further over the cemetery, huddled together as frightening sounds echo from a distance. Some could swear that they are being watched. Before long, they realize that monsters roam the dreadful land, making some of them quiver with fear. Eventually, the malign monsters begin to chase them, driving them towards a selected grave on the yard.
A pile of strange, inhuman, dismembered body parts lies scattered in front of a gravestone. Next to the grave, a carved jack-o-lantern pumpkin glimmers, although no candle can be spotted inside. Captivated by the gruesome sight, the players would nearly jump out of their skin as they hear a high pitched laughter - one they had heard before, back on the stage of Yggdrasil.
“It's time, finally. Let's play some Trap or Treat, shall we?” a teasing voice echoes over the cemetery. A player's shriek resounds as they see the body parts start crawling towards the grave, earth budging when a hand rises through the surface. It is as if something had summoned them. Confirming the assumption, the pumpkin begins to float, positioning itself above the patch of earth. At once, the fleshy parts gather together, attaching themselves to the torso that emerges from underground.
With an almost sadistic chuckle, the pumpkin headed person summons a witch hat onto their stem, and bows.
“Your pumpkin dullahan at service to host the trial of horror. I am Polterpumkin, and I welcome you to The Howling Manor.”
## Host

Polterpumpkin is a Mystic of hostile nature, devious, gleeful and dastard. They hold great loyalty to Yggdrasil, although they have no true interest in taking the lives of Players, despite their aggressive Trial. Their tendency to sabotage dice rolls is high, as they enjoy taunting others, exposing them to their greatest fears for a good snicker. Polterpumpkin received their name by the Players of Round X, being named after the Poltergeist and the pumpkin head on their shoulders. Due to their mix of body parts, including a pair of bat wings, their abilities include flying.
The Monkey's Paw on their left leg is able to grant the Players three wishes, every wish holding a risk. Some whisper that the head they carry with themselves belongs to an unfortunate bride who resided in the Manor before Yggdrasil claimed it as stage for its creation, making her weep eternal tears of jet black bad luck.
## Stage

Breathing life into all creatures spooky, Polterpumpkin's stage accommodates various nightmare creatures who have sworn unquestionable loyalty to their Pumpkin King. They roam the garden containing a vast graveyard and a rosarium labyrinth, as well as in every other room within Polterpumpkin's demolished Manor, intending to give the Players the scare of their lifetime. The Manor contains an endless number of rooms, and serves as the real maze of the Trial. The Players are tasked to find their way into Polterpumpkin's throne room without falling victim to one of the numerous traps scattered on the stage. At any time, the Players are allowed to have one of three wishes granted by Polterpumpkin, although the Monkey's Paw holds far less pure magic than an ungrudging genie.
To make things more interesting for the mischievous host, Polterpumpkin tricks the Players into dressing into costumes, which will then take control over their wearer and turn them into whatever monster they have claimed for the entire duration of the Trial.