Tags
1960s, 1970s, Americana fantasy, ghost story, Gothic America, Groovy Era, Haunted America, haunting, magic realism, Midwest Horror, modern fantasy, paranormal, Prairie Horror, Road Crawl, Road Trip, Roadcrawl, Roadtrip, Seventies, Sixties, Small Town Horror, Southern Gothic, spirits, Urban Fantasy, Urban Legend, Weird America
Ah, the country life – free from the noise, filth, and bustle of the city. Also, it’s conveniently far from law enforcement! Spend some more time on the farms and ranches along the Uncanny Highway, where cattle get mysteriously mutilated, and the scarecrows won’t stay where you put them.
Table 6 creates the farmhouse. Table 7 defines the family that owns the farm or ranch – or at least whoever lives in the house! The primary barn is generated by Table 8. Table 9a creates other structures on the property, ranging from tool sheds to greenhouses. 9b defines the contents of any greenhouses – from strawberries to Pod People! You can determine the vehicles and machines on the property using Table 10. Table 11 can indicate the presence of anything from a concert stage for an upcoming music festival, to a dead scuba diver in a tree.
See Part I for Tables 1 to 5, defining the apparent and real income sources of the farm or ranch.
Table 6: The Farmhouse or Ranch House
Modifiers to Roll: -1 in west & southwest, +1 in northeast
d8 |
The architectural style of the farmhouse is.. |
1 or below |
Mission Revival / Adobe (1 or 2 floors) or Shotgun House,… (in the South, 1 floor) |
2 |
Ranch,… (1 floor) |
3 |
Craftsman / California Bungalow,… (2 or 3 floors) |
4 – 5 |
Rural Gothic,… (2 or 3 floors) |
6 |
Queen Anne,… (2 – 4 floors) |
7 |
Colonial Revival,… (2 or 3 floors) |
8+ |
Dutch Colonial (2 or 3 floors) or Shotgun House,… (in the South, 1 floor) |
d12 |
…it is painted predominantly… |
1 – 2 |
red… |
3 – 4 |
brown… |
5 |
light blue… |
6 |
gray… |
7 |
dark blue… |
8 |
gray-green… |
9 |
green… |
10 |
yellow… |
11 |
white… |
12 |
pink… |
d6 |
…and its condition is… |
1 |
dilapidated, with some boarded-up windows. |
2 – 3 |
not good, but it is obviously still inhabitable. |
4 – 5 |
average. |
6 |
excellent. |
- 75% chance in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, or Texas of a storm cellar dug into the ground nearby.
- 25% chance the house is haunted.
Table 7: The Family and Inhabitants
d12 |
The Farmhouse is inhabited by… |
1 |
a single man*… |
2 |
a single woman*… |
3 |
a single man with 1d6 children… Roll d20 for age of children. Flip a coin for gender. |
4 |
a single woman with 1d6 children… Roll d20 for age of children. Flip a coin for gender. |
5 – 11 |
a man and women with 1d10 children… Roll d20 for age of children. Flip a coin for gender. |
12 |
3d6 adults and 1d6 children living communally… Roll d10 for age of children. Flip a coin for gender. |
d12 |
…who mostly look(s)… |
1 |
like any average Americans,… |
2 |
exceptionally neat and clean,… |
3 |
oddly fashionable,… |
4 |
like they stepped out of the 19th century,… |
5 |
corpulent,… |
6 |
underfed,… |
7 |
dirty,… |
8 |
rough,… |
9 |
twitchy,… |
10 |
dull,… |
11 |
sickly,… |
12 |
inbred,… |
d12 |
…and generally behave(s)… |
1 |
with conspicuous honesty. |
2 |
with apparent friendliness and hospitality. |
3 |
in whatever manner they are treated by others. |
4 |
with suspicion towards strangers. |
5 |
shrewdly. |
6 |
piously. |
7 |
self-righteously. |
8 |
aggressively. |
9 |
coldly. |
10 |
like outrageous bigots. |
11 |
almost robotically. |
12 |
in a comically sinister manner. |
- 75% chance of 1d4 dog(s).
- 50% chance of a cat.
- 25% chance any farmer’s daughter is trying to run away.
- * Working farms or ranches inhabited by a single man or single woman will also always have 2d10 full-time workers on the property from spring to autumn (unless the farm or ranch is just a front for illegal activity). The workers may be housed in the farmhouse itself, in a section of the barn, in exterior shacks, or in trailers.
- Additionally, crop farms need at least 2 temporary workers per planted acre during harvest time.
Table 8: The Barn
d20 |
The Barn is… |
1 – 13 |
wooden, and rectangular in plan,… |
14 – 15 |
stone, and rectangular in plan,… |
16 – 17 |
brick, and rectangular in plan,… |
18 |
round and wooden,… Or octagonal. |
19 |
round, and built of stone,… Or octagonal. |
20 |
round, and made of brick,… Or octagonal. |
d12. Roll twice. |
…it has… |
1 |
an attached silo,… |
2 |
a hay hood overhanging the entrance,… |
3 |
a cupola on top for light and ventilation,… |
4 |
a sliding door,… |
5 |
a completely open side,… |
6 |
livestock stalls,… |
7 |
a hayloft, and an exterior door directly to the upper level,… |
8 |
a threshing floor,… |
9 |
a ramp to the upper level,… |
10 |
an attached cart shed,… |
11 |
a corn crib,… |
12 |
hinged siding which allow the inside to be fully ventilated,… |
- Re-roll repeated results.
d6 |
…and its condition is… |
1 |
dilapidated. |
2 – 3 |
not good, but it is obviously still usable. |
4 – 5 |
average. |
6 |
excellent. |
- 10% chance the barn is haunted.
Table 9a: Other Structures on a Farm
d20. Roll twice. |
Also present on the property are… |
1 – 2 |
a tool shed. |
3 – 4 |
an old out house. |
5 – 6 |
a garage barn. Houses whatever Farm Vehicles and Machines are determined on Table 10. |
7 – 8 |
a second barn. |
9 – 10 |
a windmill water pump and water tower (or tankhouse) |
12 |
a grain windmill. |
13 |
a grain silo (stand-alone) |
14 |
a gazebo. |
15 |
a small, abandoned house. 25% chance to be haunted. |
16 |
a water tower. |
17 |
a greenhouse. Roll 1d4 times on Table 9b. |
18 |
1d10 migrant worker shacks or trailers. |
19 |
a slaughterhouse. |
20 |
an icehouse |
- Repeated results are possible.
- A farm can have unused structures which serve no current purpose.
- 10% chance the second structure rolled is haunted. This is in addition to any ghosts that may be present elsewhere on the Farm or Ranch.
Table 9b: Contents of a Greenhouse
d20. Roll 1d4 times. |
In the greenhouse there are…. |
1 – 2 |
flowers. |
3 – 4 |
strawberries. |
5 – 6 |
tomatoes. |
7 – 8 |
cucumbers. |
9 – 10 |
delicate lettuces. |
11 |
exotic fruits. |
12 |
exotic vegetables. |
13 |
marijuana. |
14 |
culinary herbs. |
15 |
trays where worms are grown. For composting, and sale to fishermen. |
16 |
ornamental tropical plants. |
17 |
ordinary carnivorous plants. |
18 |
1d4 large carnivorous plants of an unknown species, apparently being fed blood. There will be a bloody knife, and the carcass of a small animal nearby. If anyone comes close, the flower-like mouth(s) of the plant(s) will open and stretch out to bite. 25% chance the plant(s) are intelligent. 50% chance whoever is tending the plant(s) wants to start feeding them human blood. |
19 |
a strange blue and purple plant with powerful hallucinogenic properties. It is being used for research into mind control and the development of Psychic powers. |
20 |
human-sized pods of an apparently vegetable nature, inside of which are growing duplicates of the farm’s inhabitants. The pods are being tended by someone on the farm who is already a Pod Person. |
Table 10: Farm Vehicles and Machines
d20. Roll 1d6 times. |
In addition to a pickup truck and a tractor, there is / are… |
1 |
a bale handler |
2 |
a coupe utility vehicle. |
3 |
a cultivator. |
4 |
a forklift. |
5 |
a front-end loader. |
6 |
a harrow. |
7 |
a harvester. |
8 |
a livestock trailer. |
9 |
a manure spreader. |
10 |
a mower. |
11 |
an additional pickup truck. |
12 |
a mechanical planter. |
13 |
a plough. |
14 |
a reaper. |
15 |
a roller. |
16 |
a seed drill. |
17 |
a sprayer. |
18 |
an additional tractor. |
19 |
a wagon. |
20 |
a woodchipper. If the farm is secretly disposing of bodies, the woodchipper will be used for that purpose. |
- Note that a Farm or Ranch may possesses machinery and vehicles for which it does not currently have a use, but once did.
- Machinery will be stored either in the main barn, or in a garage barn (if one is present).
Table 11: Notable Things on the Property
d100 | In an otherwise unused part of the property, you’ll see… |
1 – 10 |
an antique car, rusting atop cinder blocks. |
11 – 20 |
a pond. Roll again in the Southwest. 10% chance the pond is large and deceptively deep, containing 1d4 cars, and 1d8 corpses. Any pond in the South is also 10% likely to have an alligator in it at any given time. |
21 – 25 |
children’s playground equipment. A slide, merry-go-round, monkey bars, etc. |
26 – 30 |
a traveling circus or carnival being set up. Roll 2d6+1 times on the Attractions table in AMUSEMENT and THEME PARKS to determine the attractions being set up. The show will start this coming Friday night. If the PCs attend, determine a Secret and Event with the tables in AMUSEMENT and THEME PARKS. |
31 – 35 |
a concert stage being set up. The show will start this coming Friday night. 25% chance this is going to be a 2 or 3 day Hippie festival. Concert will be attended by d100 x d100 people each day. |
36 – 40 |
tents beings set up for a Christian revival meeting. The meeting will happen this coming Sunday morning. Revival will be attended by d20 x d20 people. d10: The preacher is… 1 – 4 = just an ordinary man or woman, 5 = an actual Miracle Worker, 6 = an Angel in disguise, 7 = an Extraterrestrial in disguise, 8 = one of the Fairy Folk in disguise, 9 = actually an Android, 10 = possessed by a Demon. |
41 – 50 |
1d6 Mobile Homes. d8: Inhabitants are… d8: Inhabitants are… 1 = vacationers, 2 = retirees, 3 = migrant workers, 4 = Irish Travelers, 5 = Romany, 6 = U.F.O. chasers, 7 = a film crew, 8 = storm chasers. |
51 – 55 |
a mutilated animal, apparently drained of blood, partially skinned, and with organs removed by extremely sharp and precise instruments. If the Farm raises livestock (other than bees), this is one of them. |
56 – 57 |
a cock or dog fighting pit. Unless the Actual Income Source is hosting animal fights, the pit is unused, and barely recognizable for what it once was. |
58 – 63 |
a large pile of junk. |
64 – 70 |
a spot where something was recently burned. |
71 – 75 |
a dug-out firepit or barbecue pit. |
76 – 77 |
a dead scuba diver caught in the branches of a tree. |
78 – 79 |
a small crashed aircraft. d4: Craft is a… 1 = two-person helicopter, 2 = hot-air balloon, 3 = hang-glider, 4 = propeller-drive light airplane. |
80 – 81 |
an oddly lifelike scarecrow that seems to be in a different position each time you look. |
82 – 83 |
a mass of fish apparently fallen from the sky |
84 – 85 |
d4 thread(s) that hang(s) from the sky. The thread is similar in composition to fishing line. It is impossible to determine what the other end is attached to. |
86 – 89 |
a graveyard with 2d6 headstones. 25% chance the surname on the headstones is different from that of the current family. |
90 – 93 |
a locked shed with no actual windows, just ventilation louvers you can’t see into. If the Farm or Ranch is just engaged in legal farming or ranching, the shed is used to store fertilizer. Otherwise, it contains evidence of the farm’s Actual Income source – weapons, bricks of marijuana, a dead body, etc. |
94 – 96 |
a small, glowing meteorite at the bottom of a crater. d6: Meteor… 1 = is very hot but otherwise harmless, 2 = encloses a hungry Star Jelly that will flow out to attack any bare flesh, 3 = mutates anyone who touches it into a hairless cannibal, 4 = transforms anyone who touches it into an Undead Zombie, 5 = grants the first person to who touches it the power to recognize disguised Extraterrestrial and understand their language, 6 = grants super-strength to the first person who touches it. |
97 – 100 |
what looks like a freshly dug grave with no marker. d10: If you dig you’ll find… 1 = a sheet of plywood covering an old well, 2 = the hatch to a bomb shelter, 3 = an old septic tank, 4 = a collection of Rock n’ Roll albums, 5 = a collection of pornographic magazines, 6 = the corpse of a dog (or an exotic animal, if any are present), 7 = 1d4 duffle bags filled with d100 x d100 dollars each, 8 = the corpse of a Strange Animal or Creature, 9 = the corpse of a bank agent who was trying to foreclose on the farm, 10 = the hatch to a long-buried Flying Saucer. |
- 10% chance a field on the property is haunted. This is in addition to any Ghosts present in any building on the farm.