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The Fall of the House of Usher

Original Story

The narrator approaches the gloomy house of usher on horseback. The sight fills him with dread, even more so when he sees its reflection in the tarn by the house. The narrator was summoned by the lord of the house and boyhood friend, Roderick Usher, who is ill, both physically and mentally. The lineage of Usher has not branched out, but persisted in a straight line from ancestors to descendants, with Roderick being the only current Usher. The house looks dilapidated, but oddly intact as a whole, with a peculiar zigzag fissure propagating from the roof into the tarn.

Upon the narrator's arrival, a servant takes the horse, and the narrator enters the house. A valet guides him to the lord's studio. On the way, they pass armorial trophies, and the physician, who accosts the narrator with trepidation. They arrive in the large studio, which looks lifeless. The narrator is greeted by Roderick, who looks like a husk of his former humanity. His behavior seems erratic, and so does his voice.

Roderick describes his illness as hereditary, and causing him to be agitated and overwhelmed by nearly everything his senses register. He is terrified by the events of the future, and speaks of a shadowy influence that looms over the estate.

Conversion to Playable Map

The tarn forms a mirror of the real house. The first boss consists of beings from a mirrored world attempting to cross over. A dull vapor lies over the tarn.

 

Some input from the overarching lore:

Necría: Goddess of Lingering Souls

  • Refuses to let the family die

  • Keeps their souls stuck in the house

  • Causes revenants, faint breathing behind walls, and “the living dead”

  • Forces memories to repeat, replay, and haunt

  • Enables the dead sibling (or ancestor) to rise again

  • Hates the idea of a bloodline fading into oblivion

Necría’s philosophy: “No soul should pass until its pain is heard.” She binds the family to their suffering.

Lethebron: God of Forgotten Death

  • Wants the family erased completely

  • Slowly unravels their memories, history, and lineage

  • Saps the house of identity, making halls look unfamiliar

  • Causes names to fade from documents, portraits to blur

  • Weakens the bloodline until it collapses

  • Considers the family a “rot” that should be removed cleanly

Lethebron’s philosophy: “Nothing is more merciful than oblivion.” He wipes the slate clean.

Why this family?

The family may have practiced forbidden rituals to preserve their ancestors or turn death into a form of power.
Lethebron sees this as an abomination. Perhaps they were supposed to guard or bury a sacred relic of oblivion… but instead preserved it, studied it, or even used it to stave off death. An ancestor committed a crime of memory and death: murdered someone whose soul wouldn’t pass, erased someone from history, preserved someone who should have died, Thus triggering the wrath of both gods.

Necría’s Signs (Lingering Life):

  • Soft sobbing or breathing behind walls

  • Portraits whose eyes sometimes open

  • A sibling or ancestor who “dies” yet does not stay dead

  • Rooms that feel suffocating or too warm

  • The presence of mold or growth—life in the wrong places

  • Family members developing uncanny vitality before collapsing

Lethebron’s Signs (Encroaching Oblivion):

  • Rooms that change arrangement when not observed

  • Names disappearing from books and diaries

  • Characters forgetting their own heritage

  • Paint flaking off walls to reveal… nothing beneath

  • Doors that lead to blank spaces or unfinished corridors

  • The house physically sagging, as if losing structural memory

The feud creates a tug-of-war:

  • Necría binds the souls, keeping them alive unnaturally.

  • Lethebron erases their identities, making them hollow and doomed.

The result is a family that: cannot truly live, cannot truly die, cannot remember enough to heal, cannot forget enough to be free

This is exactly the Usher energy: “animated corpses with fading minds, trapped in a house that reflects their ruin.”

The Siblings Become the Avatars of Each God

One is upheld by Necría, refusing to die. One is erased by Lethebron, fading into madness. Their final confrontation decides the fate of the house.

The House Collapses When the Balance Snaps. If Necría wins → the souls burst out, the house becomes a haunted prison.
If Lethebron wins → the house sinks, dissolves, or turns to dust.

The Player Can Influence Which God Prevails

  • helping the souls move on → Lethebron wins

  • preserving the dying family → Necría wins

  • breaking the cycle → both lose, the house is freed

Neither god is fully wrong.

  • Necría preserves—but also imprisons.

  • Lethebron releases—but by annihilating.

The family is a battlefield between:

  • memory vs. oblivion

  • clinging vs. letting go

  • unfinished life vs. unmarked death

It becomes a story where the house is not merely dying—it is being torn between two competing concepts of death.

THE EXACT CURSE

“The Curse of the Divided Death”

The family is caught in a divine tug-of-war: Necría won’t let them die. Lethebron won’t let them live or be remembered.

Manifestations of the curse:

  • Family members slowly lose memories, but not vital functions.

  • They grow pale, thin, and restless—yet remain alive far past their natural lifespan.

  • They feel the house calling them back if they try to leave.

  • They sometimes “die” briefly—but revive with less memory each time.

  • Portraits shift between clarity (Necría) and blankness (Lethebron).

  • The family name is slowly disappearing from records in the outside world.

Purpose of the curse:
The gods are fighting over the family’s ancestral soul, which was split generations ago.

NPC CONCEPTS

A. The Fading Heir (Lethebron’s Chosen)

  • Sickly, quiet, gentle

  • Barely remembers childhood

  • Rooms become unfamiliar to him

  • Sometimes speaks in the past tense without noticing

  • Has visions of blank white corridors and drowning
    Goal: acceptance of oblivion (or resisting it).

B. The Returning Sister (Necría’s Chosen)

  • Dramatic, intense, “waxen” in appearance

  • Her heart stops occasionally—but she keeps walking

  • Appears in the player’s room at night, confused

  • Knows she is dead but refuses to be done
    Goal: cling to life and force memory to remain.

C. The Housekeeper (Neutral Mortal Anchor)

  • Old servant who remembers more than he should

  • Thinks the house is “breathing”

  • Inadvertently serves both gods with his caretaking

  • Provides exposition through fragmented stories

D. The Archivist (External Contact)

  • Expert on noble genealogies

  • Has begun to notice that all records of the family are disappearing

  • Contacts the player or arrives seeking answers

HOUSE LAYOUT AS A THEOLOGICAL BATTLEGROUND

The mansion itself is the “stage” where Necría and Lethebron struggle. Each area leans toward one deity.

Lethebron’s Wings (Oblivion)

  • Empty hallways that end in blank walls

  • Rooms with no furniture

  • Staircases that lead nowhere

  • Paintings with erased faces

  • Doors that open to darkness

Gameplay effect: disorientation, lost map, puzzles involving missing elements.

Necría’s Wings (Lingering Death)

  • Locked children’s rooms filled with toys untouched for decades

  • Conservatory with overgrown, moist vegetation

  • A crypt that is warm rather than cold

  • Rooms echo with footsteps or weeping

  • Dead insects that move slightly when watched

Gameplay effect: hauntings, revenants, animated memories.

The Central Hall (The War Zone)

  • A massive portrait that flickers between complete and blank

  • A grand staircase that “shifts sides” depending on the god in ascendance

  • A central chandelier that sometimes glows like a heartbeat

The Brothers of the Spoon 

The house—now plagued, weakened, and isolated—is the perfect place for the Brothers of the Spoon to appear offering “help.”

The family is starving for:

  • memories

  • comfort

  • closure

  • identity
    Mesorthan feeds on emotional deprivation as much as physical hunger.

They may:

  • bring food to the starving family

  • care for the sick heir

  • perform “comforting” rituals

  • place enchanted spoons in rooms

Every kindness binds the house to Mesorthan.

 

Possible quests / fights:

QUEST 1 — “SHADOWS ON THE LAKE”

Setting: Outside the mansion, beside a dark lake that reflects the house imperfectly—like the reflection itself is forgetting details.

Purpose: Introduce Lethebron’s influence & set the tone. First combat encounter. Lead the party to the mansion.

Who Might They Encounter? Two Options (or both):

A. Lethebron’s Shades — “The White Drowners”

These are souls that Lethebron has partially erased. They drowned in the lake long ago, but their names, faces, and memories are gone. They appear as pale, featureless silhouettes with water dripping from blank heads.

Combat Style:

  • “Memory Drain” attack: reduces player stamina or mana temporarily

  • “Blank Shriek”: stuns and blurs vision

  • “Weight of Oblivion”: slows movement as the character’s “name” is partially forgotten

Mini-boss: The Faceless Ferryman

A drowned corpse in rotted clothes who rows an invisible oar.
Carries the power to pull players into the lake’s reflection, fighting mirror-versions of themselves for a few seconds.

Narrative purpose: Lethebron is guarding the path. The lake is his gateway into the house.

 

Quest 2 - “The Clinging Dead”

Second wave just passed the doors to the mansion area. These are half-rotted family members from previous generations whose souls Necría refuses to release.

Their bodies crawl out of the lake mud?

Combat Style:

  • “Grasp of the Returned”: grappling attacks
  • “Echo Moan”: summons ghostly duplicates that attack once and vanish
  • “Last Breath Recoil”: explode into lingering soul-mist on death

Mini-boss: The Mourning Bride

A skeleton in a decayed wedding dress, still clutching a bouquet of withered flowers.
She shrieks names of those long forgotten.

Narrative purpose: Necría is fighting to keep the souls from slipping into Lethebron’s oblivion through the lake.

Quest 3 - THE COURTYARD BATTLE: “THE BROKEN FEAST”

(Occurs right after the lakeside double battle)

The players reach the mansion’s courtyard — a wide area between iron gates and the front doors. Fog drifts in from the lake. The mansion looms over them.

This battlefield introduces:

  • The Brother of the Spoon (Mesorthan’s agent in disguise)

  • The Genealogist (NPC ally and quest giver)

  • A supernatural ambush that forces the party inside the house

THE SCENE SETUP

As the party enters the courtyard: They see a thin man in a simple traveling cloak — the Genealogist — banging on the mansion’s doors, terrified but alive. Beside him is a calm, disquietingly cheerful man in a simple brown robe, holding a bowl and spoon.

The robed man turns and smiles: “Ah! More guests come to feast. The house will be grateful… and so will my Master.” This is Brother Havel of the Spoon, an undercover priest of Mesorthan. He is not overtly hostile — his role is to “welcome” the party — but before he can finish speaking…

💀 THE ENCOUNTER BEGINS

The courtyard gates slam shut behind the party with Lethebron’s power. The ground trembles. The stone statues around the courtyard — depicting old family members — begin to crack, their faces erasing, their bodies hollowing.

Enemies appear:

A. Lethebron’s Constructs — “Hollow Statues”

Statues animated by oblivion magic. Their faces are smooth, blank marble. Their bodies crumble unnaturally.

Attacks:

  • Shattering Steps — AOE concussive stomp

  • Dust of Forgetting — small cone of white dust that temporarily hides UI or removes buffs

  • Blank Grip — grapples and drains memory (stamina/mana)

These represent Lethebron tightening his grip around the house.

B. Necría’s Interference — “Awoken Remains”

Bones and scraps of old corpses burst from the soil, partially reanimating.

Attacks:

  • Clutching Soil — root-like hands that slow movement

  • Half-Life Lunge — sudden, jerky leaps

  • Mournful Wail — weak.

These appear after the Hollow Statues begin attacking — Necría is trying to protect the genealogist, who carries keystone knowledge about the house’s bloodline.

🥄 C. The Brother of the Spoon (Not Yet Fighting)

Brother Havel stays behind the statues at first, watching calmly. He says things like: “Don’t worry, heroes. When your strength is spent, the Spoon will comfort you.” “Such hunger in your eyes… yes, my Master will feed you.” He offers no help — but he is not the immediate threat.

📚 THE GENEALOGIST’S ROLE

The genealogist hides behind a toppled statue and shouts: “The crypt! The answers are in the crypt! The sister… she’s the key!
The gods are fighting over her — you must calm her spirit!” This gives the party the clear objective to flee inside the mansion to the crypt. He tries to escape with them — he does NOT fight. If he dies, part of the story is lost until the player finds his documents inside.

⚔️ THE BATTLE STRUCTURE

Phase 1 — Hollow Statues Attack: The statues close in. The party fights 3–4 enemies at first.

Phase 2 — Ground Cracks Open: As the statues weaken, Necría animates the corpses beneath the courtyard. Now the party is pinched between two forces.

Phase 3 — The Brother’s Revelation: When enough statues fall, Brother Havel begins chanting: “Master Mesorthan… accept the fear that feeds you.” This opens a Hunger Rift — a small, swirling vortex of reddish mist that spawns tiny spectral “Hunger Larvae” (weak but numerous, forcing the players back). These creatures latch onto the players’ legs and slow them. Now the courtyard is genuinely overwhelming.

The genealogist shouts: “Inside! Into the house! We can’t win this fight out here!”

🏃 THE FORCED RETREAT

As the players head to the mansion doors:

  • The statues regain strength

  • More undead hands burst from the soil

  • The Hunger Rift spits more larval ghosts

This combination creates an “infinite enemies” sensation — encouraging retreat.

Once they reach the mansion steps:

  • The doors burst open by themselves

  • A shockwave of Necría's energy pushes the courtyard monsters back

  • The genealogist stumbles in

  • Brother Havel watches them enter… smiling

He calls out: “Go on, then. Into the depths. The Spoon feeds all in the end.”

The doors slam shut, separating the players from the courtyard monsters.

Quest 4 - Meeting Lord Usher — Inside the Mansion

Once inside, the party enters the main foyer: Portraits shifting between clarity and blankness. The house groaning as if alive. Here they meet Lord Usher, the brother of the supposedly dead sister:

Lord Usher Character Concept: Pale, weary, elegant in attire, but physically frail, Haunted eyes; voice soft but commanding

  • First words: “Welcome… I feared you might be lost to the lake. Come inside… you must see what has become of my sister, and of this house.”
  • Usher explains:
    • His sister lies in the crypt, prepared for burial
    • Strange horrors have appeared in the mansion (Lethebron & Necría’s influence)
    • The family is trapped between life and oblivion
  • He becomes the guide for the crypt quest, providing story context and stakes.

Combat Outside, Before Retreat

  • Some Hollowed Servants or Minor Ghosts (Lethebron or Necría agents) may have followed the party inside the foyer.
  • Mini-ambush:
    • Players must fight 2–4 enemies in the foyer.
    • Usher provides limited support (he may heal briefly or use a defensive charm).
  • This battle establishes:
    • the supernatural threat
    • the need to descend to the crypt to intervene personally with the sister
QUEST 5 — “THE CRYPT OF THE UNFINISHED DEAD”

Setting: Beneath the mansion: a warm, humid crypt where Necría’s presence is strongest. Candles that never melt. Corpses gently breathing. Shadows that twitch.

Purpose: Main encounter with the sister & major story and combat moment.

Sister Encounter Setup

The sister lies in a stone tomb, hands folded, waxen skin gleaming. She looks dead, but her chest rises faintly every few minutes.

A priest of the household stands nearby, preparing her burial rights.

Suddenly…

Necría manifests: whispering, stirring candles, freezing the priest, animating the dead around her with fragile life. Necría wants the sister revived. Lethebron wants her erased. The player is caught in the middle.

Combat Phase 1 — “The Coffin Wakes”

Enemies:

  • Breathing Corpses: dead bodies that refuse to stay still

  • Memory Wraiths (Lethebron’s agents): ghostly forms trying to pull the sister’s soul out of her body

Mechanics:

  • Players must fight enemies while also preventing the wraiths from touching the sister

  • If wraiths succeed: her memory drains (and the boss changes)

  • If corpses overwhelm the party: Necría becomes hostile, seeing the player as too weak to help

Combat Phase 2 — “The Sister Rises”

Regardless of how phase 1 ends, the sister suddenly reanimates, gasping violently.

Her form depends on whose influence dominates:

A. If Necría dominates → “The Returned Sister” (Undead Champion)

She stands, eyes glowing faint violet, movements sharp and too quick.

Fighting Style:

  • Uses broken crypt weapons (rusted sword, bone fragments)

  • “Lingering Grasp”: drains health to heal herself

  • “Soul Anchor”: prevents players from dodging freely

  • “Dead but Not Done”: revives once after defeat

She screams:

 

“I won’t go! I won’t be forgotten!”

 

B. If Lethebron dominates → “The Fading Sister” (Oblivion Specter)

Her body half-detaches from reality, flickering like a damaged memory.

Fighting Style:

  • “Erase”: deals damage + removes abilities temporarily

  • “Hollow Pulse”: creates blank zones that silence magic

  • “Name-Stealer”: steals the character’s name for 30 seconds (reduces stats)

  • Teleports mid-combat

She whispers:

 

“Let me go… let me end…”

 

C. If both gods are balanced → “The Divided Sister” (Dual-Phase Boss)

Flickers between undead and oblivion forms mid-battle. Season finale–level fight.

Outcome:

  • If the party subdues her without killing her, they can bring her to the Central Hall for future quests.

  • If she dies: Necría tries to revive her (starting another arc). Lethebron tries to erase her (cutting off some storylines).

 

 

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