The Cursed Ryokan (country inn)

[Ghostman]

Good work with the map. Do you think it's right that the walls and posts seem to cast shadow on all directions around them? That gives the impression of light coming from directly above, which is kind of in contrast with their beveling that shows the left & up corners brighter and the right & down corners darker.

The background flavour of the place is great, but it seems pretty wasteful if all one is to get from the inn is a straight forward combat encounter. I'd be tempted to keep up the illusion through the supper and let the player characters settle down for the night. Then they could be woken up and lured to the cellar by the ghost of the innkeeper's wife, or the innkeeper's ghost might lust after any female PCs, etc. Unwitting characters might end up being played as pawns in vengeful plots of these ghosts before the horror is exposed to them.

[Gamerprinter]

Well consider there's a roof and no definitely light source, except the open fireplace in the center of the communal room. Halo shadows work well for VT purposes, instead of directional shadows, as light source changes and shadowing changes. Placing shadows here simply amplify where the walls are and and which objects are a part of the floor and which are above it.

Depending on my needs, I use both directional and halo shadows.

So I see no problem with using a halo shadow for the interior.

GP

[Gamerprinter]

The background flavour of the place is great, but it seems pretty wasteful if all one is to get from the inn is a straight forward combat encounter. I'd be tempted to keep up the illusion through the supper and let the player characters settle down for the night. Then they could be woken up and lured to the cellar by the ghost of the innkeeper's wife, or the innkeeper's ghost might lust after any female PCs, etc. Unwitting characters might end up being played as pawns in vengeful plots of these ghosts before the horror is exposed to them.

Actually, as I mention in my Post Script, I'm having difficulty with the publisher's writing style/adventure format, that I will have to do some major changes to make this work. He's more a freeform/sand box RPG designer. For an Asian Horror setting or any dark setting, the story is a major part of flavor and to induce horror into the game - so story-telling is necessary.

Originally I wanted to "go into the night" rather than starting the melee at dinner time, as you suggest. Actually, your thoughts here regarding being pawns of the ghost's own agendas coincides with my thinking exactly.

I guess I was trying to compromise with the publisher's direction, but I think its better to carry the plot further and make this encounter much more a major aspect doing the "whole story" - the location really works well for that.

Since I'm planning a major rewrite of the publisher's first draft anyway, I'm might as well extend this encounter to a more complete ghost story in the process to make a better product.

Good ideas!

GP