The Waking of Willowby Hall

Physical copies are available here.

I’ve run The Waking of Willowby Hall more times than any other adventure. Every time it has been one of the best gaming experiences of my life. It’s a masterpiece of modern TTRPG design.
- Mike Mearls, Co-Lead Designer of Dungeons & Dragons 5e

Absolutely excellent . . . a masterclass in usable design. The scenario provided within is dynamic and inventive, and the aesthetics of the product are absolutely dynamite and point towards, I think, a new sort of poetics for the old-school space moving forward.
- ava, bones of contention

There is A LOT to do in this adventure. Buttons to push . . . things to interact with, flee from, and leverage to your own ends. Great f****** adventure.
- Bryce Lynch, ten foot pole

The Waking of Willowby Hall is a dense, highly interactive RPG adventure set in a ruined manor beset by a rampaging giant, roving bands of restless dead, and a very angry goose.

• Suitable for PCs of approximately 3rd level.
• Features a highly interactive environment that rewards clever play.
• Perfect for one-shots or for dropping into an existing campaign.
• Contains "One Page Dungeon" maps that allow the DM to run much of the adventure at a glance.
• Uses bullet points and control-panel layout for maximum ease of use.
• Statted for Knave, but easily useable with any old-school fantasy RPG.
• Writing, layout, and cartography by two-time ENnie Award winner Ben Milton, author of Maze Rats, Knave, and Jim Henson's Labyrinth: The Adventure Game.
• Lavishly illustrated by Sam Mameli.

Download includes:

• Two versions of the adventure, one with two-page spreads and one without.
• The full wraparound cover image
• Blank, unkeyed maps for use with virtual tabletops

The manor of Willowby Hall is under siege by a giant, enraged at the theft of his magical goose. The band of thieves has taken shelter within the manor's crumbling walls, cowering with their ill-gotten poultry as the building shakes itself apart. But something else is stirring. The giant's rampage is slowly awakening a Death Knight from its black slumber, and once it rises it will call on the bones of the manor's old residents to drive out the intruders.

Will the party loot the manor of its ancient relics, or succumb to the blades of its skeletal guardians? Who will make off with the goose and its golden eggs? Will anyone survive the giant's onslaught? The only way to find out...is to play.

Update (1/21/2024): The files have been updated to fix a few typos, add bookmarks, add hyperlinked page references, and change the minimaps so that clicking on a room takes you straight there!