Swineheart Motel
A downloadable adventure
On a lonely, late night interstate, it just takes one wrong turn to ruin your life.
The Woodside Motel is that turn.
Here, far from civilization, a dark cosmic entity is nurtured; feeding on guests, growing in power. In dreams, it whispers its name: Swineheart.
What Have I Stumbled Into?
Swineheart Motel is a modern day horror adventure designed to be completed in 1–3 sessions, set in a middle-of-nowhere roadside motel occupied by a cast of creepy characters.
The adventure includes:
- 3 versatile hooks, including ways to add the adventure to an existing game or run it as a one-off.
- A protean setting that fits into any time period from the 80s to the modern day.
- Two cosmic entities that can twist the characters in terrifying ways.
- Simple systems that increase tension as the adventure unfolds, leveraging an event die, act changes, and an encounter table.
- A detailed isometric map of the area.
- 17 locations, ranging from a blood-stained motel room to a drained swimming pool with a dark secret at the bottom.
- Designed for usability at the table, so the GM has all the information they need right at their fingertips.
System Neutral
Swineheart Motel is written without any particular system in mind, with simple standalone procedures built in. If you’re looking for one, my recommendations are:
Contributors
Writing, map, and layout by Ty Pitre.
Art by Victor Winter and HODAG.
Editing by Michael R. Chandler.
What's Next?
Fringe Variables is a series of stand-alone modern day horror adventures tied together by the presence of cosmic entities called Archaics. Swineheart Motel is the first, but there are plans in motion for more releases: Bloodstained Mirrors, Dead Butterflies, and Deathplane, to name a few.
Purchase
In order to download this adventure you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $5 USD. You will get access to the following files:
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Community Copy
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Comments
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I just ran this last night and it was honestly so much fun and super well-written. My favorite thing about Swineheart Motel is the layout and legibility in play, it was easy for me to quickly find information I needed in the moment and reference key information right before the session started.
Major brownie points for the descriptive and snappy text for areas, horror elements, and anything revolving the Swineheart itself. My players were piecing things together with all the well-placed context clues and the map helped them cement themselves in the location quite easily.
My few minor complaints are related to the previous comment revolving around the pool and hunting party, but if you think about it ahead of time, you can come up with creative solutions to fill those holes.
Overall, I highly recommend this mystery for those who want a taste of slasher horror!
Thank you so much for the comment! It made my weekend. Happy that you and your group enjoyed the adventure!
Swineheart Motel is a system neutral slasher horror TTRPG similar in vibe to Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Psycho, A Machine For Pigs, and The Devil In Me.
The PDF is 40 pages, with a plain but very readable layout, a helpful map, and some lovely and evocative interior art.
Lore-wise, Swineheart Motel is quite elaborate. There are beings from outside reality, massive god corpses, swimming pool witches, and a generally high-weirdness atmosphere. You could run a starting DnD party through it, and their powers and capabilities wouldn't feel 'too much' for the task at hand.
In terms of mechanics, Swineheart wants you to use a system that can track the PCs' stress, but otherwise is quite flexible. You could run this with just about any horror RPG, and there's lots of narrative room for the GM to back off from the serial killers and evil spirits and let the tension build again.
One thing the game's cover doesn't quite communicate is that the adventure takes place during a blizzard, so it's relatively easy for the GM to keep the PCs on site. And if containment fails, it's not a big deal. The adventure is on a time table, and there are consequences if the PCs simply leave.
The atmospheric writing is also very strong, with each area of the motel feeling distinctly lived in. Everything connects, and it's possible to infer a lot about the place just by visiting a few rooms.
Overall, if you're looking for a slightly surreal modern cosmic horror with slasher-y overtones, Swineheart Motel is a solid pick. There's lots of room for the adventure to head in different directions, but all of its moving parts are easy to interact with, and any player choice will produce tension and meaningful results. Regardless of which system you prefer, it's worth picking up.
Quibbles:
-Page 15, Jimmy worrying about the pool being closed feels weird, as it's midwinter.
-Page 16, Wesley sending the hunters after the PCs feels like it's inclined to fall apart. The hunters don't have a solid reason to just start shooting, and the PCs (probably) aren't carrying the motel's stolen money. The cocaine is an X factor, but doesn't feel to me like it'll escalate them to murder.
Thank you SO MUCH for this thoughtful review. Reading it has made my day!
No problem! It was fun to read!