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Vanitas stilleven Rijksmuseum SK-A-3471

One goal for the future Second Edition of Ghastly Affair is providing even more inspirational lists and tables for creating suitably Gothic characters. If you’re having trouble coming up with an Inheritance for your Everyman character, these tables are for you. Players of other rpgs with Gothic themes (or set in Georgian / Regency / Napoleonic times) might also find the tables useful. Select an Inheritance, or let the dice decide!

Inheritances for Upper Class Characters

A child of privilege, you have inherited…

d20

a small, prosperous country estate. Of course, there’s another relative convinced that they are, in fact, the rightful owner.

1

a large country estate in disrepair.

2

a small pleasure house or hunting lodge in the country. There is no supporting estate.

3

a small castle. You’ve never been there, but its rumored to be haunted.

4

a ruined (but partiality inhabitable) castle, site of a horrific battle.

5

a noble title, to which you did not know you were heir.

6

seigniorial (or even sovereign) rights to a small territory you’ve never visited.

7

ownership of most of the land in a village you’ve never heard of.

8

ownership of several rental properties in the city.

9

a town house. You’ve never been there, but its supposed to be haunted.

10

a large town house, in an unfashionable district (or city).

11

a small town house, in a fashionable district of the capital. If only the servants could get all those bloodstains out of the carpets and upholstery!

12

a beautifully appointed carriage (berline, coupé, post chaise, or phaeton), with horses.

13

a seemingly inexhaustible bank account from which you can draw freely – with the understanding that you will continue to stay as far away from the respectable members of your family as possible.

14

all the furniture salvaged from your beloved ancestral home, which burnt down years ago.

15

your mad aunt’s art collection, including some pieces with obvious occult significance.

16

your uncle’s collection of rare books.

17

your grandfather’s collection of (d20 x 5) antique guns, all of the finest quality.

18

a set of engraved, gilded, and, ivory handled dueling pistols from a renowned Italian gunsmith. Apparently, one of them was used to kill someone famous.

19

a medieval sword that belonged to an ancestor renowned for his bravery and piety.

20

Inheritances for Middle Class Characters

Neither poor nor aristocratic, you have inherited…

d20

a colorful and loquacious parrot (or macaw).

1

a tortoise, with strange markings cut into its shell.

2

a mischievous monkey. Or is it murderous?

3

a locket. No one knows the identity of the two people painted inside.

4

a fan, hand-painted by a well-known artisan.

5

a grimoire of ceremonial magic, or an alchemical treatise.

6

a large and elaborate bed, supposedly haunted.

7

the strange journals of a distant relative.

8

a set of dueling pistols.

9

a small house in the country.

10

a narrow, 2-story house in the city.

11

a sword (or other weapon) from the Orient.

12

a statue of Aztec (or other Mesoamerican) origin.

13

a large, animated clock.

14

a large, engraved key whose use no one remembers.

15

a disturbingly life-like automaton.

16

money in the amount of 3d6 x 1000 p. (Or 3d6 x 10 gp for Old-School games.)

17

a locked steel chest to which the key is missing. Something rattles around when you shake the chest.

18

a set of especially high quality tools suitable to your Profession or Avocation.

19

a small carriage, such as a chaise, cabriolet or gig, with two horses.

20

Inheritances for Lower Class Characters

Though you are from a poor family, you have nonetheless inherited…

d20

an old horse.

1

a cryptic treasure map. Supposedly all previous attempts to find the treasure have ended in tragically.

2

a small piece of jewelry with a clue to your true identity.

3

your mother’s wedding ring.

4

a set of loaded ivory dice.

5

a pack of fortune-telling cards.

6

a spyglass.

7

a pistol, in fair working condition.

8

an old military musket.

9

a dagger, with a blade grooved to hold poison paste.

10

a skull that supposedly brings good luck.

11

a one-horse wagon, and an old mare.

12

a donkey or pig, said to be unusually intelligent.

13

a military sword.

14

a gold ring, given to your mother by your real father – before his aristocratic family made him send her away.

15

a military uniform, with just a single bullet hole.

16

a small cottage in the country.

17

a piece of scrimshaw.

18

a single plate or pot of Chinese porcelain, with only a slight crack in it. Supposedly, you have relative who has has been to the temple depicted on the piece.

19

a mask and/or costume from a strange festival held in your parent’s home village.

20