Welcome to Weatherfield

Weatherfield is an old clifftop estate (and seaside village) playground for your daily does of quirky Edwardian manners meets surreal seafaring folklore. Meet selkies, travel to the flooded realm, try not to get stuck in conversation with a boring ghost, and embark on an eccentric tour of death to make Tim Burton jealous in Weatherfield mansion, offering attractions such as necromantic fauna, a watery curse, and a deed to immortality.

But what is it really? A picture patchwork setting which began as my attempt to weave together a series of ideas and pictures and is now being adapted for a One Page Dungeon (with varying degrees of success). Much has been cut to fit on to one page so I'm dumping the supplemental information on here. First up, a bit about the estate and the notable residents you are likely to meet should you take a tour.

Weatherfield Mansion

A decrepit house suffering from the usual effects of rot, necromantic infestation, and a long squandered family fortune. It benefits from the undying loyalty of its various lords and ladies while they are alive. Once they are dead, the loyalty might be gone but they stick around for the immortal life as a ghost rather than being forced to finally leave this world. The benefits of signing the estate's deed to immortality.

However, third cousin Sally sticking around as an immortal ghost that always lets a draft in is the least of Weatherfield's worries. There is that small issue of having a flooded nightmare seascape sealed inside. Still, having an inverted and very wet version of the estate ready to seep into reality doesn't seem to bother the current inhabitants...

The Weatherfields

Constance Weatherfield

The 10 year old lord of the aging estate he detests but feels duty bound to maintain. He has opened the mansion up for tours in an attempt to fund upkeep and relieve his boredom. Fastidious attention to detail and bookkeeping are not necessarily good skills for maintaining sanity in an ancient mansion that is falling apart around you but they do at least keep him alive despite his sister and the spirits' scheming.

Millicent Weatherfield

Constance's older (13 years old to be precise) sister loves nothing more than her family home and will do anything to become the legal owner. Convoluted death traps and terribly transparent attempts at flattery are the name of the game and she plays it daily.

She is followed by 7 ghosts of ancestral Weatherfield lords and ladies. At least so she claims. Constance is sure they are the product of her disturbed imagination (or simply another quirk of the house he hates).

Spirits of the Sea

The ghosts assisting Millicent are not, in fact, Weatherfields but rather spirits from the Flooded Realm who have assumed the identity of seven former lords and ladies: Percy, Galvinor, Valery, Loveday, Eulalie, Mimosa, and Islwyn. There powers are limited in this dry realm and it's hard work to try to destroy The Deed and unleash the Flooded Realm while also disguising themselves or their abilities from both Millicent and the true Weatherfield ghosts. The real question is where the missing Weatherfield ghosts whose identities they assumed are...

Horace

Millicent's schizophrenic cat and adopted Weatherfield by virtue of being such a beloved pet. On the outside, a completely normal, if slightly twitchy and deranged, looking cat. On the inside, still a normal cat. That hardly accounts for the murders but Weatherfield estate has bigger problems and no one can be bothered to deal with a single cat. That or they are scared to.

The Staff

Claude Montague

Weatherfield butler/cook. Unintentional psychopath. Other than that, actually quite friendly and always willing to whip up a quick snack for eager adventurers. Not eating said snack is a good way to set off one of his longstanding and potentially lethal grudges (just ask Sir Lachlan). Eating said snack is also a good way to die. Claude will cook anything. Anything. This is not helped by his habit of adopting different items/creatures as pets. Some temporary, like Bee, others permanent, like the Necromantic Tree.

Bee

Claude's unofficial kitchen helper/friend/pet. Mindless but earnest and eager to learn. Drawn to the Necromantic Tree but never has a chance to act on the urge since he is usually kept bottled up in the kitchen. Shhh, Claude found him with a delivery of meat. Don't tell anyone. It's their secret. Definitely do not mention him to the villagers or anyone in the general vicinity of the butcher's.

Sir Lachlan

Everyone at Weatherfield works at least two jobs. Immortal reanimated knights who have served the family for more generations than anyone can say are no exception. This suits Lachlan fine as he gets to fulfill the role of both guardian to the Weatherfield lords and ladies and indulge his horticulture hobby as head gardener. The only position he doesn't care for is his new role as tour guide for any sightseers but he is far to loyal and polite to complain.

Some visitors ask why he doesn't have a sword which starts the embarrassing conversation about his curse after which he will assure them no offense was taken and accept all apologies. A few visitors think it is a good idea to joke about this. They do not realise that a trowel is just as effective as a sword in the hands of Lachlan.

And let's not even get started on the ghostly ancestors...

God bless,
Kezle