House of Mystery

The House of Mystery is a sentient house that can travel the realms of time and space.

Theories of Origin
The true origins of the House of Mystery are a mystery; nobody knows the real story behind the House or its creation, or even the intent behind its creation. There are theories, however.

Some stories say that the House was created by a powerful witch in the early to mid-19th century as a way of escaping the witch hunts and persecution of the day.

Others say that the House was crafted by extraplanar beings, gods, beings of pure magic, aliens, a mad mage with untold power who was ultimately forgotten. Others believe that the House of Mystery is naturally-occuring; a by-product of creation itself that exists in the space between the Third and Fourth Dimensions.

Most guesses as to its age are made using the House's general aesthetic as a foundation, but this thinking is fundamentally flawed; the House is capable of changing its own architecture at will. This means that the House is likely much older than anyone knows, and that it could have looked different to different people.

First Records
The first recorded mention of the House was in a 1873 story related by Victorian adventurer and spiritualist Doctor Challenger. He spoke of a "strange, House of Mysteries" whose architecture, layout and even contents were malleable and fluctuated often. He even believed that he had not been to the same room twice, despite only entering a few doors. He did not seem to have spent long there and was there "under the guidance of a strange, whispering man".

The House's original owner--or at least the one who owned the House during Doctor Challenger's time there--lost the House to a forgotten sage in the early 20th century. The House remained hidden for many years. Since at least 1971, the House came into the possession of Madame Xanadu, who passed it on to Doctor Occult in 1986.

Doctor Occult
The Hero Mage famously used the House of Mystery as his base of operations for many years, leading the fight against dark mages and monsters from its halls. Doctor Occult and the House of Mystery were well-known, to the point that the two were practically synonymous: the hero Mage and his mad House of Mystery.

At some point during his tenure, Doctor Occult found a room that he began using to stash the dangerous magical items and lore that he found around the world. Today, the House has hidden that room to ensure the contents never fall into the wrong hands.

It is very implied that during his travels through time, Doctor Occut and the House served as the inspiration of science fiction legend Doctor Who and his TARDIS.

John Constantine
In the fall 2011, the House passed from Doctor Occult into the possession of con-man and "dabbler of the Arcane arts", John Constantine. The exact nature of this transaction is unclear, though John claims he won it "in a poker game between me, Doctor Occult and Father Time". The truth of this statement is unclear, though its doubtful Constantine is being completely honest. More than likely, he scammed it from Doctor Occult somehow.

However it happened, the fact that John Constantine is in possession of the House of Mystery fills other mages with both anger and terror.

John has turned the House into his own base of operations, living in its halls and exploiting its magical properties to feed his every urge and addiction. Around Halloween of 2012, Constantine managed to bind the demon Etrigan to the House--and, in turn to himself--in a series of events that the demon is embarrassed to talk about. Etrigan now serves as a bitter, reluctant butler and caretaker of the House of Mystery.

Constantine is very fast and loose with his use of the House, and is quick to introduce potential allies to its halls, though this certainly has an ulterior motive (see Features, below).

Features
The House of Mystery is a very unique location in the universe. The House is quasi-sentient and is capable of changing its layout, contents and architecture to suit the needs of the Master of the House and any occupants it considers "worthy". So, should an occupant need a space to practice their martial arts, the House would create a room within itself that held a martial arts dojo with the relevant equipment.

The space inside the House is much bigger than the outside would let on; indeed, it's bigger on the inside. The halls technically go on forever and the individual rooms inside vary in size and complexity, and there is no rhyme or reason as to the placement of the rooms in terms of contents; you are just as likely to find an enormous swimming pool on the third floor as the ground floor. Rooms can also shift around for convenience: just because you find your bedroom on the second floor the first time doesn't mean you can't find it behind a different door on the Ground Floor if you need it.

In general, the halls and most common rooms tend to have a general aesthetic of a gothic Victorian manor. Individual rooms are altered to fit the occupant's taste, desires and/or needs. Rooms can even mimic natural, outdoor conditions, including weather, a day/night cycle, water and flora.

The House of Mystery exists in a demiplane of its own outside of our own world, in a place Constantine describes as being "at the crossroads of time and space". It is capable of "flying" through space/time to any location on Earth in any point in time (see Powers and Capabilities below for more information). These trips can take anywhere between minutes, hours or even days. During "flights", the outside of the House appears to be a swirling, purple vortex. When "parked", the House seems to sit at the top of a snowy hillside behind a rusted, iron gate.

The House is unplottable and is intensely difficult to scry on, due to its existance in a demiplane and the many wards and charms that protect it. The only means to access the House is either by being "Invited" (see Powers and Capabilities, below) or by using the Key: an ancient, iron key that can be used on any outside door to access the demiplane that holds the House of Mystery.

The one thing the House cannot do is create life.

In terms of the rooms encountered by the characters thus far in-game, they have found:

--John Constantine's bedroom: A messy, Victorian-style bedroom, complete with a mini-fridge, an HDTV and a jacuzzi.

--Zatanna Zatara's bedroom: Originally a colorful Victorian-style room, it changes shape constantly to suit its occupant's constantly fluctuating taste and desires.

--Kitchen: This kitchen is surprisingly modern with every modern convenience. It is believed Constantine's ownership of the House changed the kitchen to become a modern, convenience-filled area. This was the room where Zatanna first used magic.

--Dining Room: Rarely used for its intended purpose but commonly used to discuss plans or sort through weaponry or lore over a beer.

--Library: This seven-story tall library seems to have an endless supply of books. Zatanna built a fort made out of books in this place.

--Swimming Pool: A cavernous room that contains a massive, beautiful swimming pool.

--Pirate Ship Room: Created by Zatanna, this room resembles the bow of a Pirate Ship, complete with salty ocean air and a seemingly endless ocean to sail upon. Zatanna often comes to this room when bored.

--Dungeons: A makeshift prison where Constantine has started to keep particularly nasty creatures he hasn't figured out how to kill.

Residents
--John Constantine: Master of the House and Keeper of the Key.

--Zatanna Zatara

--Etrigan: Demonic Butler and Caretaker of the House.

Powers and Capabilities
--Defensive Wards: The House is unplottable and nearly undetectable through scrying. Any intruders entering the House without invitation (or those who the House just plain doesn't like) is stricken with psychological attacks, cursed to relive their worst memories and experience their worst nightmares.

--Dimensional Shifting: The House of Mystery can travel anywhere on the planet Earth.

--Invitational Teleportation: Any creature who accepts an invitation into the House is placed under an undetectable enchantment: when desired, the Master of the House can "invite" the creature back to the House. Doing so immediately teleports the creature back to the House's doorstep, often to that creature's chagrin.

--Temporal Shifting: The House of Mystery can travel anywhere in time, though traveling forward or backward requires an enormous amount of strain and energy that takes time to buid back up and is capable of tearing a hole in reality if abused.

--Variable Architecture: The House is capable of altering itself to fit its occupants needs or desires. It can create items, clothing and nearly anything else the occupants can imagine. The House is also capable of rebuidling itself and repairing any damage done to it in a matter of minutes. Thus, the House can never be destroyed.

Trivia
--Nobody knows how old the House of Mysery truly is.

--The House is home to a number of spirits and supernatural entities.

--According to Constantine, the House is a "she". It is also apparently very picky about the people who enter it, and it doesn't always alter itself to their deires. Zatanna is "one of the only" people Constantine has seen the House actively take a liking to.