“As you enter the hall dust rises in the stale air, shimmering in the moonlight. You recognize this hall although you’ve never been here before. A place abandoned by time, and forgotten by all. All except you, it seems. You touch the brass handrail and shiver as it welcomes you home. “
As a visitor you will play together with the other visitors. You are drawn to the mystery of the old manor and will attempt to uncover its secrets while being haunted by the spirit that dwells here. The spirit is powerful and its intentions and abilities unknown to you, so tread carefully.
Will you stay together with the other visitors, since there is safety in numbers? Or will you spread apart to cover more ground? As you separate on the board you will be unable to help or speak to each other. Only when together can you share information or offer advice.
If no other visitor is within hearing distance you are alone. Whenever a visitor is alone the spirit can use some of its more powerful effects, such as attempting to bond with you..
You take actions using a hand of cards that you draw from your personal deck, and gain while exploring. Armed only with a candle you brace the darkness in search for clue cards.
As you collect these, you gather more and more knowledge about the secrets of the spirit, finally attempting to reveal them to dissolve its power over you, winning the game.
Each visitor carries a simple candle with an open flame. It is fragile protection, but it is protection. The spirit is less powerful in the light, and reluctant to approach when it can be seen. The candle lights up the whole room, meaning it can protect others in addition to yourself.
The spirit that haunts you is shy at first, avoiding the light that you carry, but will grow in power as the hours pass. It wants to reach out and touch you. You do not know what will happen if it does, but you can sense its rage and misery. Eventually you will need to decide if you choose to trust it, and that choice will have significant impact on your survival.
The spirit is not the only danger here. You will face horrors that manifest from your own fears, and from looking too close at things better left alone. Every time you suffer fear the spirit will grow stronger, and as it grows so does its power to either aid or hurt you. You are going to find out which, but will it be on your terms, or on the spirits?
You may also find spirit items, personal possessions that are closely tied to the spirit. These let you use powerful effects to aid both you and the spirit player.
However, be careful, as an evil spirit will become even stronger, and it may even decide to play along, postponing its inevitable betrayal until a more opportune moment..
To your aid you will find items around the house. Some give you more powerful actions, and some let you endure the horrors a while longer.
Some of these, the holy items, lets you fight back. However, in doing so a benevolent spirit it will quickly anger and turn on you, making an enemy of a potential friend.
As a visitor you came prepared for a mystery, but what you face will be much more. In the darkness, things have waited for the living to grace these halls again, and now that you are here supernatural things stir to meet you. Ultimately the choice is yours. That is, if you make it in time. Your best defense will be your wit and intuition.
Good luck.