OK, so I want to run a horror adventure for October, lasting around 3 sessions hopefully. My basic idea is in three parts:
Part I: Strange things Afoot
1. The PCs are all enjoying a long cruise vacation (I believe it is best if it is a cruise that doesn't have a lot of stops, so I am thinking about a transatlantic cruise originating in Florida, but heading north from there, eventually stopping in Copenhagen - I am basic it off an actual cruise route), and know each other because they are dinner companions and thrown together in other shipboard activities.
2. A few days in, 2 of their dinner companions (a couple) who are all about doing everything on ship and liked to be around the PCs (maybe a little too much to where the PCs are, at first, happen to be rid of them) stop showing up for things; first dinner, then a couple of activities the PCs know the two were looking forward to.
3. The initial investigation will be largely brushed off by anyone on the ship (for the usual reason), but they will get a purser to assist them, this will eventually lead them to a dark secret, but before they can do anything about it they wake up on bed with little memory of the last 24-hours. (Unbeknownst to them, they are now dead because they were successful in finding The Beast and it killed them; thus starts the second part of the adventure.)
Part II: The Restless Spirits
Note: As spirits (who don't know they are dead), they see what they "want" to see. This means that when they talk to a living person (who doesn't actually see or hear them) they believe they are interacting with that person, this is because they cannot believe/know they are dead yet, and things that will alert them to the fact will not be noticed. (At least at first, but small clues might add up enough.)
1. They will try to continue the investigation and uncover what happened "yesterday". (I am thinking about instilling in them a sense of urgency because maybe at dawn each day, they return to their cabins with no memory of what has done on. This means that they could have failed a few times prior to now. Dunno, still spit-balling.) During this time, they will be able to see The Beast as it prowls the ship, right alongside everyone else, though no one else seems to see it - its powers prevent them from doing so.
2. Strangely, many people brush them off - including some of their loved ones (not everyone connected to the PCs went off on their "Scooby-Doo" adventure), but their friendly purser is still able and willing to help. (Yes, he is dead too, but more importantly, he is a cultist that worships The Beast, so he set them up to die and still works for his master in death.) Also, they will encounter other passengers and crew that will talk with them, but not help them, including the couple they were out looking for in the first place. (Yes, these are all dead too, and don't know it, and don't want to know it. So, they will be of no help.)
3. At the end of this part I want them to find the lair (which will be deep in the ship and have all the bodies of all the people The Beast has killed so far (easily a hundred or more), including the bodies of the PCs. Each PC will be able to clearly see the corpses of their companions, but their own corpse will not be recognizable to them, only that there are bodies that "seem familiar", (again, their mind/spirit is blocking things that tell them they are dead). It will take an act of willpower to break through that, I think.
4. The PCs will also discover that the cultist plan on ensuring that the entire ship is sacrificed to The Beast. To that end they have compromised in some way the communications, steering and the power of the ship.
Part III: End Game
1. Finally coming to terms with the fact that they are ghosts, the PCs now have the task of saving the ship and everyone still alive on board. I think I will have them learn that they can possess people to affect the physical world. Hopefully this will allow them to have some fun as they do a little "body-hopping." This will be probably the most problematic part of the adventure with me needing to have a whole bunch of stock NPC stats for them, ranging from children to old people - perhaps some animals too.
2. Using their new abilities (as well as they can), they will need to figure out a way to stop what is happening by either killing The Beast (and likely a bunch of the cultist), getting the ship back on course so they can hopefully get to a port and get the people off the ship. Perhaps get communications back up and running and call for help, though I would hope they would be smart enough to not say their is a monster on board, but terrorists. This way they may bet some special forces bodies to posses, that could be fun. This is another area I will need to have a lot of work done on, so I can cover any path they choose.
3. Ultimately, defeating The Beast and the cultists will allow their spirits to leave, to go on to the next... whatever, game over.
Now, what I would like from you guys (and gals) is ideas. Lots and lots of ideas about any aspect of the adventure. Ideas on how to keep the PCs from figuring out they are ghosts, while still dropping clues. Ideas on encounters, pre-death and post-death - and not really combat ones, but eerie, creepy and unsettling ones. (Though a couple of combat ones wouldn't hurt.) So, anything you can think of I would love to hear, or read as is the case here.
Also, the PCs will be pre-generated, largely normal folk, but a bit on the stereotypical side - keeping in line with horror movie tropes - such as the stripper with the heart of gold (and the abusive boyfriend she just can't quit), the jerk attorney/publicity agent/etc... and the drunk wife looking for anything else, the middle-American couple who are just as wholesome as can be, etc... Any other stereotypes you can think of will be appreciated.