This section details the house. Of course, these details should be changed as necessary to reflect the actual use to which the house will be put in an individual GM's campaign.

General Description

The Mountain House is an impressive work of local tone. The exterior is styled as if by Frank Lloyd Wright to blend in with the surrounding area. The first floor is characterized by tall, thin windows, except here the dining area tops a sheer cliff-face. The second floor offers more generous windows all around.

Approaches

The only way to take a side-view photograph of the house is from a helicopter. At the top of a small peak, the house commands the local area, and is dwarfed only by the nearby mountain.

Those who wish to avoid the road must climb. Since it is a wild area, the local flora and fauna are intact and pose a danger to those wishing to "rough it" on the way to the house.

Access

There are two ground floor access points into the house. The main door is an impressive double door of solid oak. There is a smaller door, also very strong, which leads to the rock garden. There is also a roof access to the heli-pad: this door is not ornate but is equally strong.

Some inhabitants may have also arranged for a secret passage out of the basement. The only other possible entrance is in the "sky room," which features skylight that opens.

Ground Floor

In general, the house is decorated in a natural motif The native stone is highlighted, and massive wood beams are exposed. Lighting is recessed and thoughtfully placed. Some floors are polished stone, wh ile others are covered with expensive carpets that bring bright colors into the house.

Foyer

The first thing that people see when they enter the house (by the main entrance) is the foyer. A spiral staircase goes up immediately to the right, while decorative double-doors to the left lead to the ballroom. straight ahead is the library area and beyond that, the sky room.

Library

This doesn't have to be a library of books: it could also be a collection of items important to the inhabitant. The library offers some comfortable seating and impressive place in which to display art. There is a fireplace that opens onto the library and sky room. There is access to the dining room via double doors from this room. The door to the rock garden is here.

Sky Room

This is the most comfortable place in the house. It serves as a lounge for casual discussion, it has a spa, and the most striking feature is the skylight that can be cranked open. There is ample room for sunbathing, too, allowing one to enjoy the sun's rays during the hot summer without being outside. The fireplace faces into this room.

Ballroom

Equipped with a grand piano, this ballroom can easily hold a dozen dancing couples. Floored with imported marble and graced with wall-sized windows that look out over a sheer cliff face, the view is stunning. The dumbwaiter serves this room and the dining room.

Dining Room

The dining room can serve two dozen people easily. A more intimate dining area can be set up near the window/wall for times when guests are not on the menu. In addition to the view toward the mountain, there is a wide expanse of glass that faces the rock garden.

Staircase

The staircase leads up to the second floor and ultimately to the roof. The down stairs are accessed from the short hallway between the foyer and the library. With iron rails and broad oak treads, the staircase is a historical artifact, brought here by the accountant from an old San Francisco mansion demolished years ago.

Upstairs

The upstairs appears to be more modern, and has a very "house-like" feel.

Master Suite

This is where the master of the house can not only sleep but also dine and entertain. In addition to the usual bed and bathroom set-up, all the furniture that would normally be in a living room are in an adjoining room. With views to three sides, the master suite is the sort of place millionaires rent for "if you have to ask" amounts of money per night.

Suite

One smaller suite provides the same level of comfort on a smaller scale.

Bedrooms

Four bedrooms are equipped much as an upscale hotel room would be.

Roof Access

The spiral staircase leads up to the roof, where a small landing leads to the steel door that gives access to the heli-pad and the rest of the roof.

Dumbwaiter

The dumbwaiter is accessible from the second floor hallway.

Basement

The basement is where all of the technical and utilitarian aspects of The Mountain House are located. It is finished throughout with paneling and deep pile carpeting.

Kitchen

This masterpiece of ergonomics and space utilization is an expanse of stainless steel. Only the best equipment was used to furnish it. A small subsection is for daily use, while the larger ovens and preparation areas are for hosting large gatherings. Food and drink are served to the upper floors with a dumbwaiter.

Security System

While the exact nature of the house's security system will depend on the inhabitant, there is a boothsized "room" in the basement that houses the system's electronics and, if required, video screens and recording devices.

Storage Room

This unfinished rock-walled room has sufficient space to store food for a small group of people for a long stay. There is also a small generator in case of emergency.

Secret Room

This not-so-secret room leads to the recreation room of the house. By pressing a "secret" latch and pushing on a section of paneled wall, one can use the wall section as a door and gain egress to the pool table and trophy area.

Due to the house's unusual nature, it has been documented often by various news and TV shows. Any research on the house will reveal the "secret" room's existence.

More Secret Rooms

Some inhabitants may have added other secret rooms that are really secret, or perhaps the accountant had them installed but kept mum about them when the press came calling.

Utilities

Water is brought up from a deep, deep well (one of the most expensive aspects of building the house was getting the drilling equipment onto the mountain-top by helicopter and then drilling a very deep well) on a periodic basis by pumps that feed a cistern. The usual utilities are located here as well.

Servant's Quarters

A house this big runs much better with constant, professional care. If the inhabitant has servants, they live here in the basement. It's windowless, cramped, and noisy, but that's the life of a servant.

Special Elements

This section describes actual and possible elements of the house. GM's should use this information to customize the Mountain House.

Dumbwaiter

This old-fashioned but extremely useful device shuttles items from the basement kitchen to the first and second floors. It could accommodate a small adult or child, and is activated by control panels on each floor much like an elevator.

Security System

Since the house isn't new, extreme security measures might stick out like a sore thumb. On the other hand, money can solve any problem, so with enough time and trouble, the security system could be camoflaged or hidden.

Helipad

The heli-pad can accommodate a small or medium-sized helicopter. While there are landing lights, they aren't commonly turned on. There are tie-down points for long-term storage of a helicopter, but no fuel or repair facilities. Since there is a city airport ten minutes away by helicopter, this isn't a critical problem.

Tunnel to the Road: Option

Somewhere in the basement floor there is a trap door that gives access to a tunnel. This tunnel, probably only big enough for one person to move through at a time, leads to a point on the road below the house. A miniature garage that holds a small car or motorcycle might have been hollowed out near the road, allowing a quick getaway.

Tunnel to the Rock Garden: Option

By draining the spa in the sky room, a well- sealed trap door can be found that leads, via a shallow, sloped tunnel, to a secret room below the rock garden. This could then allow access to the sheer cliffs that face the mountain, or perhaps a larger system of tunnels below the house.

Rock Garden: Option

The rock garden might have some mystical significance, or perhaps it might house or cover access to an older tunnel system left by Things Man Was Not Meant To Know. Since the rock garden is next to a sheer Cliff, a clever assassination device might be built into some of the seating near the edge: a flip of a switch and whoops! Watch out for the sudden stop at the bottom.

Second Floor to Basement: Option

Since the dumbwaiter and the chimney flue are the only access between the floors other than the staircase, a vertical tunnel might be hidden in one or both of those places that would allow a fleeing inhabitant quick access to the basement from the second floor.

House Functions/Events

Any mansion of this size can be put to use in a number of different ways, if not by the present inhabitant then certainly by the accountant before he passed away. Adventurers can use such events to infiltrate the house and get a good look for themselves, or to sound their enemies out by throwing a lavish broohah-hah in the most happening place on the cliffside.

Business Meetings

The Mountain House is an excellent place to hold a confidential business meeting. The dining room can easily be converted into a meeting room, for example. In addition, some business meetings could run several days: with its many bedrooms, the house serves admirably as a retreat facility.

Holiday Gatherings

It can be nice to invite one's relatives to visit for a holiday. The ballroom can host an impressive tree, while all the bedrooms mean no one has to listen to Uncle Norbert snore.

Weddings

The ballroom can serve as both church and dance hall, with the wedding meal being served in the dining room. The breathtaking views make for a wonderful place in which to exchange vows.

Conclusion

The Mountain House is an American fortress. Built by one devoted dreamer, who knows what purpose it now serves? Isolated and secure, it is austere yet plush, safe yet perched precariously near the edge of a great drop. If the PCs in a game need a safe haven from which to fend off the bad guys, this is their house. On the other hand, if there is a bad guy in need of a haven from all those pesky PCs out there, the Mountain House has few competitors as a fortress against the slings and arrows of the good guys.

How this house is peopled and equipped in detail is up to the individual reader. May it serve you well.

The Mountain House An American Fortress

Introduction
Tuning The Mountain House
The Mountain House
Maps and Plans