A Tale of the 13th Floor - Scenario Generation - gameplay guide

Oct 6, 2026

Upload by Jake

A Tale of the 13th Floor outlines a roleplaying scenario built around a dreamlike elevator that reaches a nonexistent “thirteenth floor,” where investigators become trapped in a succession of rooms reflecting their own memories. The guide details player-driven setup after 1900, character creation with significant people and cherished items, and secretly tracked unused suggestions, including potential Mythos entities. It then covers the elevator jam, escape attempts, sanity and POW losses, hallway navigation, escalating threats, and the logic for waking Randolph to end the nightmare.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

Scenario Generation

Setup decisions after 1900

Elevator start and jam

Investigation to the thirteenth floor

Secret Dreams and POW-loss rooms

Memory crossover and escalating threats

Escape logic via waking Randolph

Thitisasone-page sa hybrid bceenariotween isCsaloml ofethinCthuglhouf7an experimth Edition aenndtiGnUCalMSlofHOCEthulhWhuascenart we pio desirovidegfn, reor yinug on phere islatyheer inputskeletaonn:dyKoueeapnedriympourrovisatiplayersonpr—ovtihink ode thef musculature and functional organs during play. Our scenario takes inspiration from Ogden Nash’s 1955 poem,“A Tale of the Thirteenth Floor,” widely available online. We recommend that you read the poem before play. A Tale of the 13th Floor Scenario Generation. 1. At the outset, invite your players to help you determine a period after 1900—this marks the shift to available, completely automatic elevators, with doors that close the elevator off from the elevator shaft. 2. Collectively decide on the nature of the building the investigators find themselves in—the only requirement that it have enough floors to warrant an elevator, in your period. 3. Decide if the investigators know one another. It may be that they all work together, and this is the skyrise in downtown Manhattan where they trade stocks. Or, they may all be lodgers of a hotel in the early 1920s, who have never met. The combinatorial possibilities are literally endless. 4. Finally, on a 3x5 card, have each investigator privately write down a significant person, location, cherished item, and special memory for their character, and hand it to you. 5. During these generation phases, secretly record the seemingly banal, interesting, and extraordinary suggestions of the players that go unused in the final building design. Especially if any Mythos creatures happen to be named in this phase, (even in jest) write them down (and underline them). You will return to these notes later. The game starts in an elevator with a lift attendant (“operator”), no matter how temporally out-of-place he may seem. The lift attendant is an old man, in his 70s at least. When the investigators board, he sits on his attendant’s chair, slumped in one corner, snoring gently. They will have to wake him to begin their ascent. The attendant will only speak if spoken to, at least until the elevator jams; if asked he gives his name as “Randy.” For his lastname, choose a banal but distinctive word that cropped up during scenario generation. Despite the invented last name, this is really Randolph Carter dreaming through one of his first experiences of the Dreamlands, and the investigators have stumbled into his nightmare (see Lovecraft, The Dreamlands of Unknown Kadath). The investigators are dreaming in their beds, and the whole scenario takes place in Carter’s dream. Until the finale, Randolph remains unaware or in denial of the nature of the reality they are all in. The elevator rises slowly. Encourage odd looks between the investigators as they hear the creaking of the cables, feel the swaying of the counterweight as it passes by, and notice the liver spots on Randolph’s hands. With a terrifying jolt the elevator lurches to a halt. Randolph will attempt to calm the investigators, stating that the elevator usually clears itself after a moment. He moves the handle back and forth, causing more terrifying grating as the elevator shifts against its emergency breaks. The investigators are well and truly jammed…Investigation begins as an attempt to escape the elevator. Allow creativity here, calling for appropriate rolls as they attempt to force the doors, reach the ceiling hatch, etc. No matter where they end up, above, below, or prying open the inner doors, the investigators see a placard for the thirteenth floor. Randolph screams. INT rolls or appropriate interpersonal skill to calm Randolph will reveal that this building does not have a thirteenth floor (SAN 1/1D4) . Climbing rolls to reach other floors reveal that they are all number 13…(SAN 1/1D6). This is a high sanity loss. But imagine the Keeper’s delight when a player loses 5 Sanity in this situation Secret Dreams. As the investigators open the door to the thirteenth fl

FAQs

How do players generate the building and timeline for the scenario?

Players first pick a period after 1900 and then decide what kind of building the investigators find. They also choose whether the investigators know each other, and the process includes collecting unused player suggestions for later use.

What happens when the elevator reaches the thirteenth floor?

Investigation begins as the group tries to escape the jam. They discover a placard for the thirteenth floor, but checks reveal the building does not truly have one, and climbing reveals that they are encountering only number 13, causing major sanity loss.

How do the “Secret Dreams” rooms affect investigators and what is the role of Randolph?

Each time investigators enter a room, everyone who crosses the threshold loses 5 POW, except for Randolph. Rooms contain both a clue (a cherished item) and a threat that can only be escaped from, while returning to safety requires remembering which door leads back.

Oct 6, 2026

Upload by Jake