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====== Creepy Hotel ======

Go back to [[dark_champions]]

One of the most successful threads I've started on the Hero Boards was a thread entitled "[[http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38795|Help Me Populate A Creepy Hotel]]." The board members came up with the eeriest cast of characters you've seen this side of Charles Addams' cartoons. I got the idea from [[http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=95188|an RPG.net thread]] that was also extremely good. My original introduction still works well for it:

"... Imagine a hotel stocked with weird characters. They should be strange in a Twin Peaks/X-Files kind of way - they can be possibly vaguely slightly mystical (but it should never be obviously magic), or they could be vaguely slightly high-tech (in a conspiracy sort of easily-mistaken-for-something-else way), or whatever you like. The only requirement should be that they are weird characters easily captured in a few sentences. You don't have to give them names - giving them titles such as, er, Cat Piss Man or Dog Blood Man makes it easier to put them in any other game."

==== Employees ====
  - [[.ch_employ:The (All-Too-)Handy Man]] - by Dynamo
  - [[.ch_employ:The Always Seen Maid]] - by AlHazred 
  - [[.ch_employ:The Always there bellhop]] - by ken julian
  - [[.ch_employ:The Bartender]] - by Sketchpad
  - [[.ch_employ:The Cop On The Beat]] - by Basil
  - [[.ch_employ:The Elevator Operator]] - by Basil
  - [[.ch_employ:The Elevator Operator 2]] - by DEFCON Clown
  - [[.ch_employ:The Eternal Desk Clerk]] - by Dr. Anomaly
  - [[.ch_employ:The Exterminator]] - by i3ullseye
  - [[.ch_employ:The Gardener]] - by The Mad GM
  - [[.ch_employ:The Girl of Your Dreams]] - by Lucius
  - [[.ch_employ:Grunt, The Night Auditor]] - by Lemurion
  - [[.ch_employ:The Man In The Cellar]] - by AlHazred
  - [[.ch_employ:The Never Seen Maids]] - by Susano 
  - [[.ch_employ:The Never there bellhop]] - by Lemurion
  - [[.ch_employ:The New Bellhop]] - by i3ullseye
  - [[.ch_employ:The Old Postman]] - by Dr. Anomaly
  - [[.ch_employ:The Prophetic Bellboy]] - by CBikle
  - [[.ch_employ:Taxi]] - by Nothere

==== Guests ====
  - [[.ch_guest:The Age-Inappropriate Couple]] - by megaplayboy
  - [[.ch_guest:The All-Seeing Blind Guy]] - by Derek Hiemforth
  - [[.ch_guest:The Author]] - by Pogo
  - [[.ch_guest:Backwards Man]] - by Dr. Anomaly
  - [[.ch_guest:Bag Lady]] - by 5lippers
  - [[.ch_guest:Band-Aid Guy]] - by Just Joe
  - [[.ch_guest:The Battle Card Players]] - by csyphrett
  - [[.ch_guest:Byron]] - by Marcus The Impudite
  - [[.ch_guest:The Cake Lady]] - by Dr. Anomaly
  - [[.ch_guest:The Calculator]] - by lensman
  - [[.ch_guest:The Clatterer]] - by AlHazred
  - [[.ch_guest:Cleft]] - by Basil
  - [[.ch_guest:Coat Guy]] - by 5lippers
  - [[.ch_guest:The Cosplayer]] - by csyphrett
  - [[.ch_guest:The Dice Man Cometh]] - by tkdguy
  - [[.ch_guest:The Doctor]] - by radioKAOS
  - [[.ch_guest:The Dollmaker]] - by oroborous
  - [[.ch_guest:The Dummy]] - by Log
  - [[.ch_guest:Erich Zann]] - by Mr. Negative
  - [[.ch_guest:The Ex-Con]] - by War Cry
  - [[.ch_guest:The Faker]] - by Killer Shrike
  - [[.ch_guest:The FBI Guy]] - by McCoy
  - [[.ch_guest:The Formerly Pretty Blond]] - by starblaze
  - [[.ch_guest:Gary]] - by csyphrett
  - [[.ch_guest:The Ghostly Couple]] - by tkdguy
  - [[.ch_guest:Glenn]] - by Trencher
  - [[.ch_guest:The Glutton]] - by AlHazred
  - [[.ch_guest:"Got It!" Guy]] - by Basil
  - [[.ch_guest:Goth Girl]] - by Steve
  - [[.ch_guest:He Ain't Heavy]] - by BoneDaddy
  - [[.ch_guest:The Helpful Old Lady]] - by Basil
  - [[.ch_guest:Hey, Don't I Know You?]] - by Sketchpad
  - [[.ch_guest:H. P.]] - by Basil
  - [[.ch_guest:John]] - by V
  - [[.ch_guest:Jukebox Roy]] - by Kyle A.
  - [[.ch_guest:Just Left Of Reality Guy]] - by SKJAM!
  - [[.ch_guest:Key Boy]] - by 5lippers
  - [[.ch_guest:Knows-Where-You-Are-Girl]] - by 5lippers
  - [[.ch_guest:Let Me Check Lady]] - by Supreme Serpent
  - [[.ch_guest:The Lady or the Tiger]] - by megaplayboy
  - [[.ch_guest:Librarian Guy]] - by Basil
  - [[.ch_guest:Linda]] - by Mike Dean
  - [[.ch_guest:Little Annie]] - by KA.
  - [[.ch_guest:The Lycanthrope]] - by Korvar
  - [[.ch_guest:Man In The Long Coat]] - by Mr. Negative
  - [[.ch_guest:The Man Who Wasn't There]] - by Mr. Negative
  - [[.ch_guest:The Man With Half A Face]] - by Cancer
  - [[.ch_guest:Mandatory Routine Man]] - by SKJAM!
  - [[.ch_guest:The Mime]] - by BoneDaddy
  - [[.ch_guest:The Misplaced Tourist]] - by Dr. Anomaly
  - [[.ch_guest:The Missing Father]] - by tkdguy
  - [[.ch_guest:The Mistimed]] - by Pogo
  - [[.ch_guest:Mr. Cammino]] - by Trencher
  - [[.ch_guest:Mr. Invisible]] - by Korvar
  - [[.ch_guest:Mr. Long]] - by Susano
  - [[.ch_guest:Mr. Sunglasses]] - by War Cry
  - [[.ch_guest:Music Box Man]] - by 5lippers
  - [[.ch_guest:My Brother's Sister]] - by i3ullseye
  - [[.ch_guest:The Mysterious Guest]] - by Burrito Boy
  - [[.ch_guest:The Never-Seen Kids]] - by Blue Jogger
  - [[.ch_guest:The Nervous Writer]] - by megaplayboy
  - [[.ch_guest:No Biological Needs Guy]] - by Supreme Serpent
  - [[.ch_guest:The Novelist]] - by McCoy
  - [[.ch_guest:The Observer]] - by Just Joe
  - [[.ch_guest:The Officer]] - by McCoy
  - [[.ch_guest:Ornery Old Coot]] - by sinanju
  - [[.ch_guest:The Other Elevator Passenger]] - by Narratio
  - [[.ch_guest:Other Hotel Guy]] - by 5lippers
  - [[.ch_guest:The Other Twins]] - by McCoy
  - [[.ch_guest:The Painter]] - by Just Joe
  - [[.ch_guest:Peter]] - by Kyle A.
  - [[.ch_guest:Peter Simmons]] - by V.
  - [[.ch_guest:The Piano Player]] - by Von D-Man
  - [[.ch_guest:The Rain Man]] - by Basil
  - [[.ch_guest:Rape Man]] - by ThothAmon
  - [[.ch_guest:Ray]] - by csyphrett
  - [[.ch_guest:The Really Creepy Businessman]] - by Major Tom
  - [[.ch_guest:The Really, Really Fat Guy]] - by CBikle
  - [[.ch_guest:The Recruiters]] - by The Weapon
  - [[.ch_guest:Repeating Alan]] - by Kyle A.
  - [[.ch_guest:Rob]] - by Mightybec
  - [[.ch_guest:Robin]] - by Willow
  - [[.ch_guest:Rough Trade Writer]] - by McCoy
  - [[.ch_guest:The Savant]] - by tkdguy
  - [[.ch_guest:Sci-fi Geekette]] - by 5lippers
  - [[.ch_guest:Seen It All Before Guy]] - by Killer Shrike
  - [[.ch_guest:Sergei]] - by csyphrett
  - [[.ch_guest:The Semi-Retired Occultist]] - by Major Tom
  - [[.ch_guest:The Shadow]] - by Haven Walkur
  - [[.ch_guest:Shocked Saul]] - by Kyle A.
  - [[.ch_guest:Sleep-Deprived Man]] - by rogerfcw
  - [[.ch_guest:The Stranger]] - by AmadanNaBriona
  - [[.ch_guest:The Stud]] - by Korvar
  - [[.ch_guest:Sutter Kane]] - by Curufea
  - [[.ch_guest:Tangential Conversation Man]] - by BoneDaddy
  - [[.ch_guest:The Tapper]] - by Basil
  - [[.ch_guest:Tea Man]] - by Basil
  - [[.ch_guest:The Time Traveller]] - by Curufea
  - [[.ch_guest:Too Normal Guy]] - by Supreme Serpent
  - [[.ch_guest:Tough Old Broad]] - by sinanju
  - [[.ch_guest:The Tract Lady]] - by Dr. Anomaly
  - [[.ch_guest:The Twins]] - by Log
  - [[.ch_guest:The Vampire]] - by War Cry
  - [[.ch_guest:The Variable Bride (or Groom) Pool]] - by megaplayboy
  - [[.ch_guest:Victor And His Young Assistant]] - by Wilfred_Death
  - [[.ch_guest:The Vitamin Guy]] - by Dr. Anomaly
  - [[.ch_guest:Wally]] - by Basil
  - [[.ch_guest:What's He Building In There]] - by Mr. Negative
  - [[.ch_guest:Wheelchair Cop]] - by McCoy
  - [[.ch_guest:Where Is The Family?]] - by i3ullseye
  - [[.ch_guest:Where Is The Parent?]] - by i3ullseye
  - [[.ch_guest:The Whining Annoyance]] - by pendelfield
  - [[.ch_guest:Willing Pawn]] - by 5lippers
  - [[.ch_guest:The Woman From Stepford]] - by Steve
  - [[.ch_guest:The Woman In Black]] - by Blue
  - [[.ch_guest:You Lost This...]] - by Log

==== Events/Pests ====
  - [[.ch_event:The Argument]] - by The Mad GM
  - [[.ch_event:The Comfey Chair]] - by McCoy
  - [[.ch_event:Crosstime War]] - by AlHazred
  - [[.ch_event:Dark Marks]] - by 5lippers
  - [[.ch_event:Deserts]] - by Curufea
  - [[.ch_event:The Disqueting Cornerstone]] - by Cancer
  - [[.ch_event:Disappearing Guests]] - by 5lippers
  - [[.ch_event:The Dream]] - by tkdguy
  - [[.ch_event:Drinks]] - by Cancer
  - [[.ch_event:The Eternal Game]] - by McCoy
  - [[.ch_event:The Falling Body]] - by The Mad GM
  - [[.ch_event:The Four-Hour Conversation]] - by Kyle A.
  - [[.ch_event:The Fourth Coathook From The Left]] - by Basil
  - [[.ch_event:Glitch]] - by Sketchpad
  - [[.ch_event:Graffiti]] - by Lawnmower Boy
  - [[.ch_event:Incandescent Bulbs Only!]] - by Basil
  - [[.ch_event:The Lost Pet]] - by i3ullseye
  - [[.ch_event:Low Murmurs]] - by BcAugust
  - [[.ch_event:The Lump In The Carpet]] - by Susano
  - [[.ch_event:The Magician]] - by cranialspasm
  - [[.ch_event:The Menu]] - by The Mad GM
  - [[.ch_event:The Mirror]] - by Susano
  - [[.ch_event:The Mirror In The Closet]] - by The Mad GM
  - [[.ch_event:The Nice Guy of Doom]] - by Nothere
  - [[.ch_event:Phone Mail]] - by The Mad GM
  - [[.ch_event:The Picture In The Lobby]] - by AlHazred
  - [[.ch_event:A Problem With Specs]] - by Basil
  - [[.ch_event:Psychic Room Service]] - by Susano
  - [[.ch_event:The Rats In The Walls]] - by AlHazred
  - [[.ch_event:The Soda Man]] - by csyphrett
  - [[.ch_event:Something's Just Not Right]] - by AlHazred
  - [[.ch_event:Strange Times]] - by Blue
  - [[.ch_event:The Trophy Case]] - by csyphrett
  - [[.ch_event:The Twenty-Minute Guest]] - by Basil
  - [[.ch_event:The Unseen Guest]] - by csyphrett
  - [[.ch_event:The Wet Spot]] - by Basil
  - [[.ch_event:The Backward Dog]] - by Curufea

==== Locations ====
  - [[.ch_location:No Reading After Dark]] - by Haven Walkur
  - [[.ch_location:The Chameleon Zone]] - by Curufea
  - [[.ch_location:The Dead Zone]] - by McCoy
  - [[.ch_location:The Deja Vu Room]] - by tkdguy
  - [[.ch_location:The Game Room]] - by Basil
  - [[.ch_location:The Gun]] - by Curufea
  - [[.ch_location:The Look Quick Lounge]] - by Nothere
  - [[.ch_location:The Music Room ]] - by tkdguy
  - [[.ch_location:The Neat Ghost]] - by Susano
  - [[.ch_location:The Old Monument]] - by Cancer
  - [[.ch_location:The Pheonix Conference Room]] - by cranialspasm
  - [[.ch_location:The Shop]] - by tkdguy
  - [[.ch_location:The Third Floor]] - by Curufea
  - [[.ch_location:What Is That Smell?]] - by Sketchpad

==== Disquieting Things That No One Talks About ====
It can be decor, people, events, other things. It's cooler for the GM if there is an actual reason for the wierdness, even if the players never are told what it is.
  * The floors go 11-12-14-15 (of course), and room 1408 on the "14th" floor is said to be haunted by... something. The room is left empty and no one enters it. However, late at night, noises are sometimes heard inside the room. Rumor has it that once a guest went inside to check, and never came out again. [By Susano ([[http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=895272&postcount=78|original post]])]
  * If you count the stories from the outside, the number of floors doesn't match the number you can access from the inside. [By Susano ([[http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=895272&postcount=78|original post]])]
  * Counting windows results in too many (or too few) rooms per floor. [By Susano ([[http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=895272&postcount=78|original post]])]
  * At least one door in the hotel will not stay closed overnight. [By Susano ([[http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=895272&postcount=78|original post]])]
  * It could also be weird if there is a 13th floor button, but it only shows up at night or maybe even only at midnight, if a character gets in the elevator at that time. The rest of the time, it's not there. [By Steve ([[http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=895279&postcount=79|original post]])]
  * The elevators have no 13th floor button (and no 13 light above, where the current floor is indicated), but observant passengers will note a lag time between 12 and 14. Rarely, someone watching the floor indicator will note see the 14 light up, then go dark for a minute before the 12 lights up. [By Just Joe ([[http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=895279&postcount=86|original post]])]
  * There is a 13th floor, and it can be seen from the outside, but the guestrooms are no longer used since . . . something happened. There might be a 13th floor button in a service elevator, and the 13th floor might be used for storage, but most staff avoid it, especially at night. Another possible way in is by stopping the elevator between floors and manually openning it. If one takes the stairs, the door might be simply locked, or it might be walled off altogether. **Note:** This idea can be combined with others, such as the 13th floor button appearing at midnight. [By Just Joe ([[http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=895279&postcount=86|original post]])]
  * There are two elevators in the hotel, one on the right, and one on the left. Whenever you get in one, you seem to exit the other. [By The Mad GM ([[http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=895279&postcount=96|original post]])]
  * When I was 11 or 12 years old, I went to Rome with my mother and sister. There was this elevator that would take us up either to the top floor or the ground floor. It took us a few tries to get to our floor. Strangely enough, it only did that when there was only one person in the elevator. It happened to me a couple of times; my sister complained about the same thing. When there were two or more people, the elevator worked perfectly. [By tkdguy ([[http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=895279&postcount=101|original post]])]
  * A good creepy bit you can use is the suddenly appearing insignificant wounds and cuts on the characters. For instance, you don't remember cutting yourself, but you have a couple of cuts on the back of your hand, already scabbed over. Or your knuckles hurt like you've been in a fight. Nothing that would affect combat in any way, just things that imply actions the characters don't remember doing. Not hotel specific, but it could easily tie in. [By The Mad GM ([[http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=895279&postcount=106|original post]])]
  * The open elevator shaft, always cordoned off with "under repair", never fixed. Maybe strange clanking sounds irregularly come from below. The repair crew is never seen. [By Cancer ([[http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=895279&postcount=108|original post]])]
  * A very large dead house plant in the lobby. It is watered daily, but it is brown and stiff. Unless you see its reflection in one particular mirror, and there it looks green and flowering.... [By Cancer ([[http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=895279&postcount=108|original post]])]
  * A chandelier that always goes dark when a guest walks underneath it. Doesn't do that for hotel staff, just guests. [By Cancer ([[http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=895279&postcount=108|original post]])]
  * The newspaper box that always has one particular day's paper (probably a date long in the past, recording some macabre event) on display. Open it and it has today's paper; even if you remove the display copy, when you look at it after removing it, it is today's paper. Put a new paper in the display slot and close the box, and again you see the particular date displayed. [By Cancer ([[http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=895279&postcount=108|original post]])]
  * A lobby phone that rings every few minutes. If someone answers it, there's just insane gibbering coming over the line. If no one asnwers it, it rings thirteen times and then falls silent for another half hour or so. [By Cancer ([[http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=895279&postcount=108|original post]])]
  * The large aquarium in the lobby, bar, or ballroom is populated with carnivorous fish. One of the staff -- who has a hook instead of a right hand -- drops a rat or two into the aquarium every morning, and the fish consume it in a frenzy. [By Cancer ([[http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=895279&postcount=108|original post]])]
  * The piano in the ballroom is badly out of tune for everyone except the cadaverous pianist. [By Cancer ([[http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=895279&postcount=108|original post]])]
  * There is always a broken heel, as from a woman's black dress pump, on the fifth step of the broad staircase leading from ground-floor entry lobby to the ballroom/promenade level. If someone removes it, an identical one appears in the same place as soon as that person leaves and everyone has looked away. [By Cancer ([[http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=895279&postcount=108|original post]])]
  * The door that leads to a hallway far larger than the hotel can hold. [By Susano ([[http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=895279&postcount=109|original post]])]
  * Every Sunday, guests are invited to play in a special game. They are required to roll a dice to select a destination. Once there, they will acquire a card that triggers an obstacle they have to overcome to reach the next destination. This continues until they reach the final goal and are rewarded for their perseverance. [By csyphrett ([[http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=895279&postcount=115|original post]])]
  * Sometimes when the moon is right, and the sky is virtually cloudless, a low flying plane will roar pass the hotel, rattling windows, and shaking the furnishings. Only no one ever sees a plane flying away, and the airport is miles out of the way for such a pass. [By csyphrett ([[http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=909445&postcount=134|original post]]) **Variation:** A body falls past the windows. Or the shadow of one does, anyway. [By Susano ([[http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=895279&postcount=135|original post]])]
  * One of the PCs sets something down, hard, and it strikes the wall, creating a crack in the plaster. A moment later a fragment of plaster drops away, exposing not wood lathes, but something else. Something... metallic. Something warm to the touch.... That seems to be vibrating faintly.... [By Susano ([[http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=895279&postcount=160|original post]])]
  * A PC opens up a walk-in closet and finds a noose handing from the clothes rail. [By Susano ([[http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=895279&postcount=164|original post]])]
  * In the area where they have their continental breakfast, there is one table that has a brownish stain on it. When the PC notices it, it looks vaguely like a handprint, and has the consistancy of a coffee stain. If the PC tries to wash it away, it comes up with a little elbow grease, but the next day it is back, possibly a little darker. If someone takes the initiative to cover it with a light-colored tablecloth, the portion of the tablecloth over the stain is immediately saturated with fresh blood. [By oroborous ([[http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=895279&postcount=213|original post]])]
  * On certain nights the building super locks himself in his room and spends the night praying. He tries to ignore the sounds outside his door and never questions the missing guests the next morning. [By Susano ([[http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php/38795-Help-Me-Populate-A-Creepy-Hotel?p=1990691#post1990691|original post]])]
  * You enter the hotel's lobby/ballroom/dining room/bar and notice it takes about a half-second for everyone in the room to start moving. [By Susano ([[http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php/38795-Help-Me-Populate-A-Creepy-Hotel?p=1990691#post1990691|original post]])]
  * You see blood fall onto the carpet. You look up. There is nothing on the ceiling. Examining the drops, you notice that they are still falling. But they are falling from a spot about chest high in the middle of the room...from thin air. [By Susano ([[http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php/38795-Help-Me-Populate-A-Creepy-Hotel?p=1990691#post1990691|original post]])]
  * Your reflection in the mirror in the morning, while you brush your teeth, does things slightly different. You brush up, it brushes down. [By Susano ([[http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php/38795-Help-Me-Populate-A-Creepy-Hotel?p=1990691#post1990691|original post]])]
  * The lights in your hallway begin to flicker. When the light is on, you see nothing. But each time it goes out, you can make out the silhouette of a figure. Each time the light goes off, it gets closer. [By Susano ([[http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php/38795-Help-Me-Populate-A-Creepy-Hotel?p=1990691#post1990691|original post]])]
  * In the hotel basement there is a door with a large padlock and lengths of chain securing it. If you listen, you can hear faint moans. [By Susano ([[http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php/38795-Help-Me-Populate-A-Creepy-Hotel?p=1990691#post1990691|original post]])]
  * Every time you blink, something in your room/the hotel lobby/other hotel space moves. [By Susano ([[http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php/38795-Help-Me-Populate-A-Creepy-Hotel?p=1990691#post1990691|original post]])]
  * It's happening again. Just like last week, but this occurrence seems a lot worse. What will happen if it gets out? [By Susano ([[http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php/38795-Help-Me-Populate-A-Creepy-Hotel?p=1990691#post1990691|original post]])]




===== Hotel Names =====

[[New York names]]

===== Random Hotel Generator =====
<html><iframe src="http://www.curufea.com/hero/hotel.php" width="100%" height="400px"><a hre="http://www.curufea.com/hero/hotel.php">Random Generator</a></iframe></html>