What would happen to a home that has been unoccupied for 2 years?

[NewJeffCT]

In my ongoing D&D game, the players have been awarded some property in game as a reward for both saving the town and rescuing the duke.

The home is a pretty good size for the medieval era, and it had belonged to a knight that fell in battle 2 years prior...

The knight died without any family and the servants left when his money ran out, so the home has been unoccupied for nearly two years now.

What sort of problems would there be?

The climate for this area would be like a Georgia or South Carolina - warm & humid, so snow is not a real concern.

I would assume cobwebs all over, lots of spiders and bugs. Maybe some mice/rats and a few stray cats?

How about the structure itself? Would it just need a thorough cleaning and a fresh coat of paint? I just want to give them an estimated cost to get the place into a liveable condition.

[EstimatedProphet]

1. What is it made of?

[NewJeffCT]

3. good question

lower level is stone, while the upper is wood.

[IndianaJones]

2. mildew, animals may take up residence. nt.

[yellowdogintexas]

4. dude the kudzu would totally take it over, or maybe Spanish Moss..nice and creepy

if you have mice and rats the stray cats would definitely follow..a nice feral colony.

OH OH of course: Rising Damp there would have to be Rising Damp

[NewJeffCT]

5. rising damp?

what's that?

[yellowdogintexas]

7. British Term for creeping moisture see Wikipedia entry below:

Rising damp is a condition caused by ground moisture rising up a masonry wall by capillary action. It occurs where there is no damp-proof course (DPC) or where the DPC has been damaged or bridged. Where present, moisture can rise up the wall to a height of a metre and it will often leave a characteristic horizontal 'tide mark'.

In the temperate/wet British climate, water infiltration into a house can be a problem, particularly in houses without a cellar or crawl space beneath them. The result of water penetrating the inner wall is visible as a darker patch on the plaster lining of the inner wall, usually starting at floor level on the ground floor and rising up from there, hence the term. In extreme cases, salt leached out of the wall forms crystals on the surface of the plaster as the water evaporates. Needless to say, the appearance of rising damp everywhere in a house is a symptom of neglect, age, decrepitude etc.

also a BBC Comedy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rising_Damp

[NewJeffCT]

8. Thanks

The home does have a crawlspace basement, so they probably have at least something of a problem there.

[B3Nut]

9. It was also a British sitcom

that used to air on MTV...you know, many many years ago, when MTV was actually interesting. Yeah, I'm showing my age here. :D

[DarkTirade]

6. I'd wager there'd be a 1 in 1d6 chance of getting one's foot stuck in an old rotted floor.

:)

[flvegan]

10. Vulgars are squatting there.

An infestation of them.

[NewJeffCT]

11. I was thinking mind flayers

but, that might be too big a surprise.

[Orsino]

15. An autonomous collective of them, in fact. n/t

[Orrex]

12. Depending on the nature of your realm

I would assume that squatters have taken up residence, though their species is a matter of conjecture.

Depending on the character of the fallen knight, it seems possible that he might still live there. Well, unlive there. What then?

Anything able to be scavenged will have been scavanged; anything edible (textiles, baskets, etc.) will have rotted or been eaten.

If there's a chimney, it will have been invaded by vermin (raccoons or the equivalent, if nothing else).

If it's a thatch roof, it might very possibly have fallen in, or at least developed gaping holes. Also, any seeds that have fallen into the thatch will likely have sprouted.

Any metal objects (cookware, utensils, hinges, etc.) will have rusted to a degree dependent upon their place of storage and the condition of the home's roof.

Cobwebs aplenty.

What's the floor like? If it's dirt, then it will have been overgrown with mold, moss, fungus, or other opportunistic life. If it's wood-on-dirt, then it will have rotted. If it's wood on an elevated frame, then it will likely be intact except beneath any holes in the roof.


Is the house really abandoned, or are you setting up a Guards and Wards spell?


Geek!

[Book Lover]

13. This might help

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/27/business/27home.html?ei=5087&em=&en=4f5e80f3f052ea94&ex=1212120000&pagewanted=all

[Orsino]

14. Leaky roof.

Inevitable if the roof was thatched. The place should be covered up in stray cats, handy for spotting the ghost of the former owner.

[Raven]

16. Sewer lines probably blocked or broken by tree roots that

been able to invade because no one has been flushing the toilet.