TEXT: B R I N G
  B R I N G
  B R I N G
  D O W N
  D O W N
  D O W N
  T H E
  T H E
  T H E
  H O U S E
  H O U S E
  H O U S E
  the tabletop 
  game where 
  you are a 
  (who ruins lives)
   
  H A U N T E D  
  O B J E C T  
  by charles jamie linton
  
  “Player,” “ghost,” and “object” are used interchangeably. 
  “Occupant” and “inhabitant” are used interchangeably. 
  “Move” and “action” are used interchangeably in 
  One D12 die
  Up to eight D6 dice
  A piece of paper
  A pen or other writing implement
  Bring Down the House is a tabletop roleplaying game for 3 or more
  players and a haunt master (HM). The players portray ghosts trapped
  in household objects. The HM facilitates the game, portraying the
  House and its new inhabitants. 
   
  The ghosts            when every inhabitant has been chased off or killed. 
  The ghosts              if every haunted object is destroyed or removed
  from the premises. 
  It is unlikely this game will take more than two hours.
  Notes on terminology:
  reference to both choices the players make and the 
  responses these choices prompt from the HM.
  You will need:
  WIN
  WIN
  WIN
  LOSE
  LOSE
  LOSE
  Overview
  Overview
  Overview
  You are a                  who haunts an 
  When there are no humans present, you can travel the grounds freely in
  your spirit form. But as soon as someone sets foot on the premises, you
  are                                                            The previous occupants of your home
                                                                                         that you                                          
                                                  and for a time you roamed unrestricted. But      
                                                                and you are once again
  If you want to regain what passes for freedom in the afterlife, you’ll need
  to                                          one way or another.
  CONFINED TO AN OBJECT.
  CONFINED TO AN OBJECT.
  CONFINED TO AN OBJECT.
  DIED UNDER CURIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES
  DIED UNDER CURIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES
  DIED UNDER CURIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES
  Nothing to do with,
  Nothing to do with,
  Nothing to do with,
  EXTREMELY CURSED MANSION.
  EXTREMELY CURSED MANSION.
  EXTREMELY CURSED MANSION.
  newcomers have arrived,
  newcomers have arrived,
  newcomers have arrived,
  trapped.
  trapped.
  trapped.
  Get Rid of them...
  Get Rid of them...
  Get Rid of them...
  GHOST
  GHOST
  GHOST
  definitely Had
  definitely Had
  definitely Had   
  111
  
  First, figure out who your ghost is.
  PLAYERS, roll 1D12 to determine why you remain on this wretched
  earth, or pick from the list:
  Character creation
  Character creation
  Character creation
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  You are trying to solve the mystery of your death. 
  You are trapped on earth until you atone for your sins.
  You are watching over a relative who still lives. 
  You want to exact revenge on someone. 
  You are waiting for your beloved to join you on the other side.
  You are bad with directions and don’t know how to pass on.
  You’re waiting for your favorite author to finish the series.
  You were bad in life and are hiding from the consequences.
  You don’t know what comes next and you don’t want to find out.
  Your body was lost by the funeral home. You are not at peace.
  You were at peace, but your grave was robbed. 
  You just really enjoy scaring people.
  OPTIONAL: Come up with a short biography for your ghost.
  Ghosts are defined by two static stats and two fluid stats. Your static
  stats do not change. Your fluid stats will change over the course
  of gameplay.
   
  Your two stats are:
                            – Your ability to impact the physical world: moving
  yourself and other objects, and attacking people.
               – Your ability to influence human behavior: compelling people
  to do things, via emotional pull or emitting noise.
  Since the House has occupants right now (curse them), you’re
  trapped in an object.
  Spectral stats
  Spectral stats
  Spectral stats
  PRESENCE
  PRESENCE
  PRESENCE
  LURE
  LURE
  LURE
  222
  
  Describe what your object looks like for the other players.
  You are welcome to rearrange your stats (maybe you're a mirror on
  wheels, and therefore want to move a point from Lure to Presence)
  or come up with your own haunted object. Your Presence and Lure
  stat should add to a total of 6.
  Your fluid stats are:
                      
                     – The amount of hate contained in your vessel. 
                                                         – The extent to which your sentience
  and intent to commit mischief and murder is evident to the House
  occupants.
   
  Every ghost starts with a Malice and Obvious Malevolence of 0. How
  these stats are gained and used will be explained in the Gameplay
  section. 
  Use your pen and paper to keep track of these stats throughout the
  game.
  Button – Presence: 1, Lure: 5
  Loafers – Presence: 1, Lure: 5
  Rotary Phone – Presence: 2, Lure: 4 
  Mirror – Presence: 2, Lure: 4
  Television Set – Presence: 2, Lure: 4
  Doll – Presence: 3, Lure: 3
  Kiddush Cup – Presence: 3, Lure: 3
  Frying Pan –  Presence: 3, Lure, 3
  Kettle – Presence: 4, Lure: 2
  Lamp – Presence: 4, Lure: 2
  Broom – Presence: 5, Lure: 1
  Rocking Horse – Presence: 5, Lure: 1
  PLAYERS, roll 1D12 to determine what object you inhabit, or pick
  from the list:
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  MALICE
  OBVIOUS MALEVOLENCE
  333
  
  444
  The game begins with the HM describing the House and its
  occupants, including where each of the objects are located.
  HM, roll 1D12 to determine two ostentatious features of this House:
  Gameplay
  Gameplay
  Gameplay
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  An indoor pool.
  A dumbwaiter. 
  A branched crystal chandelier.  
  An underground lake. 
  Three separate fireplaces. 
  A hunting trophy room. 
  A billiards room. 
  A wine cellar. 
  An in-home bar. 
  A bowling alley.
  A kiln. 
  An elevator.
  HM, roll 1D12 again to determine the House occupants. Don't share
  this with the players, although it should become evident over the
  course of gameplay.
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  A husband and wife and their adult child(ren). 
  The last surviving members of a mob family.
  Nozama CEO Beff Jezos and the people he pays to be his friends.
  Influencers trying to get that sweet content.
  An eccentric heiress and her staff.
  The founders of a supply chain management startup. 
  The most obtuse members of a fraternity. 
  Cousins arguing over their inheritance.
  A slightly dysfunctional polycule. 
  A retired medium and their family. 
  Some friends moving in together after university.
  Relatives of the previous occupants.
  
  After the scene is set, the ghosts begin to work towards their
  ultimate objective: scaring the occupants out of the house or killing
  them. In order to do so, they must make moves.
   
  The ghost making a move should indicate both the action and its
  objective (Harm, Scare or Something Else) prior to rolling, as this
  will influence the move's difficulty and resolution.
  Moves to Harm the occupants are determined narratively. More
  precise and gruesome actions are more challenging. The occupants
  do not have hit points or other stats that determine health: if a
  mirror falls on an occupant with the intent to kill, and that roll
  succeeds, the occupant dies. However, a roll to kill would be more
  challenging than a roll to injure or Scare. 
  Moves to Scare the occupants are also determined narratively, but
  have an additional HM-facing mechanic: The Courage stat.
  Each occupant has a Courage stat that indicates how comfortable
  they feel in the house. Successful scare moves decrease the
  Courage stat of any inhabitant affected by the move. When the
  Courage stat of an occupant reaches 0, they flee the house, never to
  return.  Courage stats may vary between occupants, and may
  increase or decrease.
  Making moves
  Making moves
  Making moves
  The HM does not tell the players the
  Courage stats. Instead, they indicate
  how scared the occupants seem
  through description.
  Any Move that doesn't directly
  attempt to Harm or Scare the
  inhabitants are categorized as
  Something Else. Failing a Something
  Else move may, however, Harm or
  Scare inhabitants at inopportune
  times.
  555
  
  666
  As a spirit with limited material influence while you’re trapped in a
  vessel, even simple tasks someone with a body could accomplish
  require a roll. 
   
  Your stat number tells you how many D6s to roll. Dice that display
  three or under are failures.  Dice that display four or above are
  successes. 
  The task difficulty indicates the number of dice that need to
  succeed (to display four or higher) in order for you to succeed at the
  move. 
  Your group can decide if you would like the HM explicitly share
  numeric task difficulties, or imply them through description. 
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  within the normal function of the object
  a little suspicious but ultimately explicable
  quite challenging to write off as ordinary
  clearly demonstrative of motive and sentience   
  Task difficulties
  Task difficulties
  Task difficulties
  A rocking horse doing a Scare move with Presence might bump
  into the legs of an inhabitant.
  A mirror doing a Scare move with Lure might compel an
  inhabitant to come look at themself in the glass.
  A kiddush cup doing a Harm move with Presence might fall
  onto the head of an inhabitant.  
  A lamp doing a Harm move with Lure might compel an
  inhabitant to eat a lightbulb.
  The ghost determines the move they are attempting and its
  objective. The HM determines whether this move is a Presence or
  Lure roll. 
  Both stats can be used to Harm and Scare, though types of moves
  possible with each stat are different.
  For example:  
  
  777
  The thing you wanted to happen happens. 
  If your action was noticeable to the occupants, your Obvious
  Malevolence increases by 1 and you roll to keep looking innocuous.
  The thing you wanted to happen does not happen, or doesn’t
  happen the way you wanted it to.
  If your action was noticeable to the occupants, your Obvious
  Malevolence increases by 1 and you roll to keep looking innocuous.
  You gain 1 point of Malice.
  The House makes a move.
  When you succeed: 
   
  When you fail: 
  If you roll over your Obvious Malevolence stat, the occupants
  remain none the wiser.
  If you roll under your Obvious Malevolence stat, the occupants
  become aware that the object is haunted and take –1 Courage. 
  Any time you make a move that might suggest you are not, in
  fact, an ordinary household object, but instead possessed by a ghost
  attempting to kill or terrify everyone who lives in the House, your
  Obvious Malevolence increases by 1. Roll 1D12.
  Success and failure
  Success and failure
  Success and failure
  obvious Malevolence:
  obvious Malevolence:
  obvious Malevolence:   Sentience is suspicious.
  If the Courage stat of any of the
  occupants targeted by the previous move
  is still greater than 0, they realize the
  object is malevolent and begin working
  to destroy the object or remove it from
  the house. 
  The HM determines whether a move
  increases Obvious Malevolence, following
  the guidelines on the subsequent page.
  
  888
  Both successful and failed Something Else moves might
  increase Obvious Malevolence.
  Successful Scare moves always increase Obvious Malevolence.
  Failed Scare moves might increase Obvious Malevolence.
  Successful Harm moves always increase Obvious Malevolence.
  Failed Harm moves might increase Obvious Malevolence.
  In general: moves the occupants do not witness do not increase
  Obvious Malevolence. Moves the occupants do witness increase
  Obvious Malevolence. A good rule of thumb is that if the thing that
  just happened would make the average person think twice about
  the object, then Obvious Malevolence increases.
  Additionally, Harm moves that succeed in killing an occupant make
  the object Immediately and Obviously Malevolent to any occupants
  who witnessed the murder.
  Malice:
  Malice:
  Malice: A tool of the dead and the furious.
  When things aren't going their way, ghosts get pissed. A ghost
  accrues 1 Malice each time they fail a roll. Malice can be spent on
  the following:
  Add 1 additional die for a Lure or Presence roll. The
  ghost must declare they are spending the Malice
  point before they roll.   
  2 POINTS
  2 POINTS
  2 POINTS        
          
          Peek behind the veil.
  Peek behind the veil.
  Peek behind the veil.
  The ghost requests an informational or descriptive
  hint from the HM to eek out an advantage.
  The ghost adds a detail to the house, describing a
  room or object that can be used to their benefit.
  10 POINTS
  10 POINTS
  10 POINTS      
        
        Give up the ghost.
  Give up the ghost.
  Give up the ghost.
  The ghost leaves its vessel to inhabit something (or
  someone) else. Choose new stats: object stat arrays
  add to 6. Possessed occupants have a Presence of 8
  and 0 Lure.
  4 POINTS
  4 POINTS
  4 POINTS        
          
          Make yourself at home.
  Make yourself at home.
  Make yourself at home.
  1 POINT
  1 POINT
  1 POINT         
           
           Draw on ghostly hate.
  Draw on ghostly hate.
  Draw on ghostly hate.
  
  999
  Harmful: The occupants turn on the
  High School Musical soundtrack to
  lighten the mood.
  Neutral: The occupants find a deck of
  cards on the living room table and
  begin to play.
  Helpful: The overhead light crackles,
  making the occupants jump.
  For example:
  Whether a House move impacts the
  occupants' Courage stats in any given
  instance is up to the HM.
  The House is also sentient, and it can’t quite decide how it feels
  about the ghosts and their scheming against the occupants.
  When a ghost fails a move, the House makes a move in response.
  The HM rolls 1d6 to determine whether this move helps the ghosts,
  hurts them, or something in between.
  The House:
  The House:
  The House: This Extremely Cursed Mansion has a
  This Extremely Cursed Mansion has a
  This Extremely Cursed Mansion has a   
  mind of its own.
  mind of its own.
  mind of its own.
  1-2
  1-2
  1-2     
       
       You have disrupted the House. The House is angry.
  You have disrupted the House. The House is angry.
  You have disrupted the House. The House is angry.
  The house does something, or motivates the
  occupants to do something, that harms the ghosts’ efforts.
  3-4
  3-4
  3-4    
      
      The House is ambivalent.
  The House is ambivalent.
  The House is ambivalent.
  The house does something, or motivates the occupants to do
  something, that changes the landscape but does not
  necessarily help or hurt the ghosts.
  5-6
  5-6
  5-6     
       
       The House is sympathic to your efforts, and feeling generous.
  The House is sympathic to your efforts, and feeling generous.
  The House is sympathic to your efforts, and feeling generous.   
  The house does something, or moves the occupants
  to do something, that aids the ghosts.
  
  Since you’re trapped in an object, your
  ability to directly help one another is
  limited. Teamwork can happen in three
  ways:
  A little spite can always be shared.
  When one ghost makes a move, other
  ghosts can give them 1 point of Malice
  from their own pool for an additional
  die, up to 8 dice. Malice can only be
  shared for rolls.
  Lending a Hand:
  Lending a Hand:
  Lending a Hand: How to help other ghosts.
  Simultaneous action
  Simultaneous action
  Simultaneous action
  Two ghosts can attempt different moves at the same time to work
  towards a collective goal. These moves are resolved simultaneously.
  For example, the broom might attempt to strike someone over the
  head just as the lamp flickers off. Ghosts must decide if their
  actions are simultaneous before rolling.
  Ghosts can make moves involving other ghosts that only involve
  one ghost rolling. For example, the lamp might attempt to fall over
  into the television set and break it, or the rocking horse might tip
  down the stairs with the loafers on its back. Always ask other
  players before making a move that involves their ghost. 
  Moves "against" other ghosts
  Moves "against" other ghosts
  Moves "against" other ghosts
  Giving malice
  Giving malice
  Giving malice
  If you're the HM, continue on to the next page for the HM
  guide. If you're a player, feel free to read on, but this is as far
  as you need to read to bring down the house. 
  Happy haunting!
  Happy haunting!
  Happy haunting!
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  Do they want success to be relatively easy, or are they looking
  for a challenge?
  Do they want you to help them win, or are they looking to play
  this as a strategy game, where bad luck and wrong moves lead
  to a quick loss?
  Are they looking for a goofy game of fun scares? Do they want to
  recreate a slasher film? Or something in-between?
  Horror and ghost stories exist on an enormous spectrum. This game
  can be as light or as visceral as you want it to be: you can even
  decide as a group to eliminate harm moves altogether and just play
  with scares. It's important to set the desired tone and expectations
  as a group. Which brings us to:
  These are suggestions, not rules! You know your players and their
  needs better than the game designer.
  hm guide
  hm guide
  hm guide
  talk to your players about the kind
  talk to your players about the kind
  talk to your players about the kind
  of game they want to play.
  of game they want to play.
  of game they want to play.
  Discuss and Set Content boundaries.
  Discuss and Set Content boundaries.
  Discuss and Set Content boundaries.   
   Each player will come to the table with different
  comfort levels and sensitivities to different kinds of
  content. Beyond making sure everyone is on the
  same page, establish explicit content boundaries,
  and stick to them.
  The list below is not comprehensive, but a good
  starting point for discussing horror content warnings: 
  amputation, beheading, blood, bones,
  burn injuries, cannibalism, death,
  drowning, exposure of internal organs,
  eye horror, gore, harm to animals,
  impalement, insects, interpersonal
  violence, rats, self-harm, spiders, suicide,
  suffocation, vivisection, vomit
  
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  There are no stat tables for the occupants, because you will
  customize these for each game!
  For a “normal” difficulty game (challenging but totally winnable),
  the recommend number of occupants is one more than there are
  players, and an average Courage stat of 5. 
  So if you have 3 players, that would be 4 occupants, and a total
  Courage of 20 for the group. However, not every occupant needs to
  have the same Courage stat! You could have someone with a
  Courage of 8, and three people with a Courage of 4, or any other
  combination that adds up to 20. 
  Keep track of each occupant’s Courage stat throughout the game.
  This will dictate their reactions to the developing situation,
  including when they will flee the House.  Narrative detail about the
  occupants of the House and the gameplay experience your players
  want to have will inform Courage stat distribution.
  figure out occupant and stat numbers.
  figure out occupant and stat numbers.
  figure out occupant and stat numbers.
  And here are Three more pieces of advice:
  And here are Three more pieces of advice:
  And here are Three more pieces of advice:
  Resolve Obvious Malevolence before describing Move outcomes. 
  This is mostly for game flow. For example, a successful scare roll that
  unexpectedly reveals an object as haunted early on in the game will
  feel disjointed if “occupant now seems a little frightened” and “oh
  wait, the occupant suddenly realizes you are a haunted doll” are
  conveyed separately. 
  Develop most of the House during gameplay.
  Rather than writing descriptions for tons of rooms your players may
  not ever encounter, position all ghosts and occupants in just a couple
  of rooms to start. Use the House Moves, Peek Behind the Veil, and
  Make Yourself at Home to add more rooms and more details.
  The House is alive, and you can use it to make the game more fun.
  Every move in Bring Down the House is designed to propel the game
  forward: there's no "nothing happens" result.  If you do get caught in
  a lull, the House (you) can always make a move of its own volition. 
  
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  Charles Jamie Linton is a writer and dramaturg from the San
  Gabriel Valley. He does not like jump scares. This is his first tabletop
  game. You can find him on itch and Twitter @NearFutures.
  credits
  credits
  credits
  About the designer
  About the designer
  About the designer
  All the art in this game comes from Openclipart.
  Thank you to everyone in Bicoastal Writers’ Workshop and “We Like
  Genre Here” Writers’ Workshop for playtesting Bring Down the House
  and for very nicely telling me a functional version of this game would
  be too complicated to fit on a single page. You were right. 
  Additional thanks to Samson Soulsby for the very specific and
  thoughtful feedback that made this game what it is now, and Brian
  Gillick for telling me that story about the haunted doll full of bees
  that inspired it to begin with.
  Acknowledgements
  Acknowledgements
  Acknowledgements
  Bring Down the House is licensed under a Creative Commons
  Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License:
  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
  Licensing
  Licensing
  Licensing
  
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