Non-Combat Encounters for Castlevania-Themed Game

[Dsurion]

So, as the title states, I'm going to be running a Castlevania-themed game, hopefully some time in the near future. I can make out all of the hack and slash stuff very easily, but I don't want the entire game to be all about that. Trouble is, I've got a really hard time coming up with anything else for the players to do while in this castle.

• I want to throw in some elements of Gothic Horror
• In the castle library, I want very few creatures aside of animated books, to show that not everything is corrupted and evil, but have no idea where to go with that, either
• I had a vague idea of a docile faceless servant inviting them into a ballroom, which turns out to be full of other faceless people dancing, but again, have no idea how to further this
• While the master will be a lord of the undead here, they need not necessarily all be evil and actively trying to kill everyone.

Maybe someone else can give me a hand?

[Zaranthan]

Turning a side-scrolling action game into a compelling RP experience is tough, since you're basically writing fanfiction. For some horror scenes, you could set up some sort of clockwork torture chamber, maybe have a few innocents in there already so the players have to dismantle the machinery rather than just slip past it. The library could have more of a "haunted house" feel than the standard "army of skeletons locked in a room" that Castlevania runs on. A short maze with the bookshelves moving around to trap the players would be entertaining.

The eternal ball doesn't need to be any more than that. Put something the players want in there so they have to wander through the crowd looking for it. Have faceless waiters approach them and offer them translucent drinks. Have a dancing couple bump into one or two of the players, let go of each other, and take the players' hands.

[Traab]

With that endless ball thing, an interesting twist to add would be to add a will save to resist an urge to dance, and keep dancing until you make a saving roll when the dancer grabs your hands. Doesnt need to be a very high roll, just enough to make them realize there is a compulsion involved that keeps the weak willed dancing for eternity.

The library could be a good opportunity for a ghostly librarian to give the party the history and background knowledge of the castle and its inhabitants. Perhaps the book maze idea could be combined with a treasure hunt. "Oh? You wish to know of the Counts life? Then you need this book title. It is in the southern quadrant of the library."

Gothic horror? Not really my forte, but lets try this. The paintings are alive, (think hogwarts) and as you go deeper into his sanctum, the pictures start changing from portraits that merely watch you, to scenes of battle, to scenes of torturing monsters and their victims. The castle is a part of the count, so he can do things like, take over and animate a gargoyle statue to speak with you. Either to threaten, cajole, or just creep you out as that nice safe chamber you holed up in for a rest suddenly has him inside it as a talking image in the stained glass window. And much like the paintings, the castle itself grows darker, more evil in appearance, mirroring the count, and how he appears handsome, smooth, and in control on the surface, but deep inside he is an evil twisted beast that will drain and kill anyone who interferes with his plans.

[Lapak]

Does it have to be 100% in the castle? You could take a page from Simon's Quest and have all kinds of non-combat encounters in the surrounding area.

[Tiki Snakes]

The library could be a good opportunity for a ghostly librarian to give the party the history and background knowledge of the castle and its inhabitants. Perhaps the book maze idea could be combined with a treasure hunt. "Oh? You wish to know of the Counts life? Then you need this book title. It is in the southern quadrant of the library."

rather;

"Oh? You wish to know of the Counts life? Then you need this book title. It is in the southern quadrant of the library...Usually."

I like the compulsive endless Waltz idea, too.

It's Castlevania, right? So there should be large sections of the place that they can't get to except at certain times with certain items. Vast halls of clocks, and vast clockwork chambers that need to be carefully navigated or even re-configured to progress.

[Dsurion]

The library could have more of a "haunted house" feel than the standard "army of skeletons locked in a room" that Castlevania runs on. A short maze with the bookshelves moving around to trap the players would be entertaining.

"Oh? You wish to know of the Counts life? Then you need this book title. It is in the southern quadrant of the library...Usually."

Definitely going to use this. Fantastic.

With that endless ball thing, an interesting twist to add would be to add a will save to resist an urge to dance, and keep dancing until you make a saving roll when the dancer grabs your hands. Doesnt need to be a very high roll, just enough to make them realize there is a compulsion involved that keeps the weak willed dancing for eternity.

Also great. An irresistible dance that perhaps all of the former servants were forced into for the Lord's amusement.

Gothic horror? Not really my forte, but lets try this. The paintings are alive, (think hogwarts) and as you go deeper into his sanctum, the pictures start changing from portraits that merely watch you, to scenes of battle, to scenes of torturing monsters and their victims. The castle is a part of the count, so he can do things like, take over and animate a gargoyle statue to speak with you. Either to threaten, cajole, or just creep you out as that nice safe chamber you holed up in for a rest suddenly has him inside it as a talking image in the stained glass window. And much like the paintings, the castle itself grows darker, more evil in appearance, mirroring the count, and how he appears handsome, smooth, and in control on the surface, but deep inside he is an evil twisted beast that will drain and kill anyone who interferes with his plans.

This is pretty much perfect, thank you.

Does it have to be 100% in the castle? You could take a page from Simon's Quest and have all kinds of non-combat encounters in the surrounding area.

Actually, I pretty much started out with all of the non-castle encounters to flesh everything out and draw people in, pretty much to the exclusion of everything else, which is why I'm happy to have these delicious ideas. Please keep them coming

[Dusk Eclipse]

You could check Expedition to Castle Ravenloft (or other Ravenloft adventure) to get some ideas.

[Dsurion]

Actually, I probably should have mentioned in the OP that I have a friend sending me a bunch of AD&D Ravenloft books through the mail in the near future. Unfortunately, it may not be until this particular campaign would already be underway, so I'm trying to get something together 'til then.

[The_Werebear]

A circular set of stairs, either leading down into the basement, or up into one of the towers. The the tower is only actually up two stories, but once in the stairwell, they seem to go on forever. It's actually only a simply illusion, endlessly repeating the stairwell to make the party go in circles on a flat floor. The door to the real stairs is hidden on the far side of the room, and must be felt out once you know what's going on. For further entertainment, put an automatically resetting Deep Slumber or Waves of Fatigue trap at the end of a complete loop of the illusory room, and mention how exhausting the walk is, and how much a rest would be nice.

[Traab]

Im not sure how you could set this up but another thing you could do as a mood setter, is, going with the slowly darkening castle theme, is ghostly whispers. At first its light hearted childrens laughter, servants chatting as they clean, then once again, the whole atmosphere starts changing and it turns into hushed warnings, children warning you to leave while you still can, or asking for help. Then, ethereal crying, pleas for mercy, faint screaming, things like that. Or, have the castle tell a story. As the party travels through rooms, they trigger little spectral acts showing how things started going wrong, like triggered cinematics in a video game.

[Sebastrd]

I'd utilize the platformer aspect of the series to full effect. The castle isn't necessarily in perfect condition, and some areas could require quite a bit of effort to reach.

Different parts of the castle can require specific keys/items/times to enter. Day, night, dusk, and dawn can be utilized pretty easily for that.

I'd take a page out SotN, as well, and use the upside down castle idea. I wouldn't go with a whole upside down castle, but a single room or area that "flips" or reverses gravity at some point would be cool.

The PCs shouldn't have to "fight" everything they encounter either. There are plenty of monsters in the games that simply need to be avoided or require some pretty complex strategy to defeat - especially the bosses. "Full screen", puzzle bosses should feature pretty prominently.

[erikun]

Really? I would find this quite interesting. Think of any gothic horror or high wizard story that didn't involve traps or monsters, and it would probably fit. We're talking about an undead spellcaster who will likely spend an eternety speaking to nobody but himself. There are plenty of things that he could do to spend the time. Note that I tend towards the atmospheric over the dangerous, so some of these may not fit what you have in mind.

• A painting of a person that talks back, probably placed in a sitting room. It is designed to speak at length about a certain intellectual topic, and will frequently talk down to the party members or seek to derail the conversation towards its topic of expertise (even if the party isn't talking to it). They might be able to extract some information from it, although doing so would be notoriously difficult.
• Skeleton waiters throughout the castle, who will fetch whatever food is requested. Upon returning, the quickly disassemble one of the waiters into a small table and place the plate of food upon it. Once the food is finished, or the character seems uninterested, they'll take the food back and re-assemble the skeletal waiter.
• A "knowledge-demon" chained in the library, which has been magically bound to make no attacks and tell no lies. It does, however, like telling misleading statements, and has no requirement to answer any questions. It does like acquiring new knowledge though, and can be convinced to give some information if the party can tell it something it doesn't know. (Or can hand it some of those books, which are always out of reach.)
• Messenger imps everywhere, which could be anything from trickery to insults to combat to being asked to deliver messages. Everything in the castle works for the lord, after all, so dumping some duties onto some "lesser" subjects wouldn't be that unusual.

In the castle library, I want very few creatures aside of animated books, to show that not everything is corrupted and evil, but have no idea where to go with that, either

I will recommend against the ghost just giving vague details and leaving the party at that. It seems rather boring, just giving out a "It might be here, or it might not... HEHEHEHEHE!!!!"

I'd recommend rather to make the ghost librarian available at the main hall, and willing to take the party to whatever book they are looking for. Once they arrive, it gives a "Come see me if you need me again" and drifts off - assuming that the party can find their way out of the library-maze and locate the main hall without effort.

I had a vague idea of a docile faceless servant inviting them into a ballroom, which turns out to be full of other faceless people dancing, but again, have no idea how to further this

Perhaps the ballroom can be enchanted, with dancers who remain there slowly becoming one of the faceless people? Or make all the "dancers" marionettes, if you want a Death-Clock-Tower style boss fight.

While the master will be a lord of the undead here, they need not necessarily all be evil and actively trying to kill everyone.

Simply desiring eternal company would be bad enough - it would likely involve being turned into a ghost, vampire spawn, soul trapped in a mirror, or something else unpleasant. The fact that a place full of undead and demons has only demon meat to offer (assuming no werewolves or other living things) would also be pretty bad for living guests.