Byn's Spooky Manor featuring a Treasure Hunt

There are some houses that look welcoming from the outside.

As I approach 8, A Cutting Edge Home, Founder's Point, I see Byn’s tall, dark manor looming over its plot, its windows glowing faintly beneath a gloomy sky.

It looks like the sort of place where travellers disappear during storms. The lighthouse in the distance doesn't offer much comfort... in fact, it makes the house feel even more isolated and foreboding.

I think I know how characters in horror films feel like now.

Before I even finish that thought, a goblin walks up to me unexpectedly. I do my best to hide my absolute terror surprise.

Byn welcomes me to his "cosy and ominous" manor.

A Dark (but cozy) house

My host gives me a moment to look over the exterior.

The building has a tall, rectangular silhouette, built mostly out of … and …. The back is simpler than the front, but I'm sure we're all well acquainted with the exterior decor budget.

Byn: I made the whole thing for unnatural dark.

The lighting is designed around that: having the right amount of light in different spaces was a real consideration.

He leads me through the front door.

The atmosphere changes immediately.

Byn's entrance is designed to make the house feel large but without feeling like a maze (though it is - we'll get to it). You're given a visible choice of where to go next since he opts for open thresholds between rooms (as opposed to using doors in small doorframes).

Before I can investigate anything, Byn points towards a crystal in the room.

Byn: There are 9 of these crystals hidden throughout the house

Dosaki: Is this like a treasure hunt?

Byn: Yes. Treasure hunt.

I chose crystals 'cause it looks nice and video-game-objective-y

That's a first. I've been to dungeons but I haven't seen a treasure hunt in a house before.

I'm not going to spoil the crystal locations - see if you find them in the virtual tour.

The bar and lounge

My guide tells me we're starting with the bar. It’s a warm, comfortable space, although the dark walls, smoky lamps and exposed beams prevent it from becoming too cheerful. I'm still not asking what’s in the house special.

Byn points at the top of the bar wall - he makes use of the back of a … to add details. That's when I realise how high the ceiling is. It makes it feel grand, but also mysterious. Particularly with all the criss-crossing beams overhead.

My host leads me into the main lounge, another tall room that extends about three floors up. From here, I can see balconies, walkways and parts of the attic far above us.

It looks impressive but I suddenly think it could be hiding something that is watching us.

As if to distract me, the goblin points towards the glow behind the windows: The effect is created using a … placed behind them. However, the glow only appears on this side of the house.

Byn: Because, you know... Sun is on one side.

The dining room and kitchen

Through the doorway on the left of the fireplace, we enter the dining room. There are platforms overhead with machinery and room for storage.

This is only a small detail but I really like the drawer to the side of the room. Using … as drawers is brilliant!

As Byn mentioned, the windows in the dining room don't have any sun-ray effects. It’s a small detail, but it gives the building a believable sense of place.

We walk towards the Kitchen and the floor immediately catches my attention. I'm told it’s made using many ….

The kitchen still follows the same Gilnean and Kul Tiran themes. Heavy wooden furniture, dark walls and carefully placed lamps carry the atmosphere from one room to the next.

There are apparently many secrets nearby, but my guide insists we remain on the main floor for now.

He wants to show me his favourite room.

A backyard built indoors

We backtrack to the entrance, move up the hallway and Byn opens the way into the back garden.

The outside area is arranged as patio with beautiful view of the surrounding area. It is surrounded by plants that slowly disappear into the distance. The reduced-size windmill and houses (…) help sell the illusion, but the key progressive anchors are the roses:

Byn: One thing I did was with the roses: They are very big up front and get smaller the further you go, so it reinforces that perspective.

For a moment, it looks like we have stepped outside into a large garden.

To our left there's a ladder (that works!) which lets us climb to the rooftops and appreciate the view from above.

Back on the ground level, Byn shows me the two side-rooms: a storage space and a toilet.

I always find it interesting to see how people construct toilets in their houses.

Byn: They’re nowhere else in the game.

But in our WoW houses, we make them.

Exactly! This is what is so much fun about WoW Housing: how can we clump together enough decor so that we can create something that doesn't exist?

The personal quarters

Eventually, we come back inside, and we take the stairs up to the second floor (that's the 3rd story for those of you over the pond) - Byn wants to show me the bedroom.

The room has an ensuite bathroom to the left of the entrance and there's a trapdoor to one corner which leads to the maze-like innards of the manor.

The room is fairly large and needs its own fireplace to keep it warm.

There's a mezzanine in at the far end, allowing us to look all the way down to the common areas and up into the attic. The beams and balconies connect the different floors visually, reinforcing just how tall the building is.

If you're an acrobat, you can jump over the wall and walk on the beam to the far wall, where one of the many backrooms awaits. There's machinery inside, supposedly keeping the manor in a working state.

Inside the walls

We take the trapdoor and I find myself above the bar area. There's a platform with a sleeping bag and an assortment of objects.

My host tells me none of that belongs to him - a squatter perhaps?

We climb down onto the beams above the bar. I've got to be careful so that I don't fall.

One of the beams leads us to a control room: There are pipes, wires, machines and what appears to be a switchboard controlling the interior workings of the house. This is where he performs maintenance - and "sneaks around doing goblin stuff".

One of the routes is yet another jumping puzzle of beams, but Byn had to make some adjustments after discovering that larger races struggled to cross the gaps.

Byn: This beam isn’t needed for small races.

You can jump across, but bigger races struggle.

I had to make my treasure hunt all inclusive.

Finally: accessible haunted-attic infrastructure.

The public rooms below are tall, open and carefully presented. Behind and above them is an entirely different house: narrow walkways, maintenance passages and hidden chambers threaded between the walls.

It really makes this all the more mysterious.

A perfectly legitimate business

These backrooms aren't only used for maintenance. My host tells me there are some he doesn't visit often (hence the cobwebs).

He also shows me some repurposed areas, he's remodelling one of them into a "recreational" room. There's a hookah in a makeshift lounge. The room is still a work in progress and Byn tells me he's considering mixing in a bit of gambling.

Very entrepreneurial! But I think I'll pass - shady gambling spots have literally costed me an arm and a leg in the past.

Into the attic

There are several routes around the attic and plenty of places where secret chambers could be hidden. Eventually, we find something that looks a little out of place - at least to me.

In front of us is a portal. Byn casually strolls in and I follow reluctantly.

We find ourselves inside... a cave? There's a suspicious looking green flame below too. Reminds me a little of the warlock den my housemate thinks we don't know about.

Byn: Old houses like this... You just get this kinda stuff sometimes.

Yes... of course. Obviously.

Byn's thoughts

We get back to the garden, where Byn graciously answers my questions.

The economics of the manor

Byn isn’t sure exactly how much he spent.

His initial estimate is at least 100,000 - possibly twice that.

There are also a number of items purchased using alternative currencies, including Kul Tiran windows obtained through Battle for Azeroth world quests. He also farmed a significant amount of lumber.

Considering the house is sitting at 4,340 out of 4,340 decor, I suspect the true cost may be much higher than he estimates.

But I'm not going to tell that to a goblin, I wouldn't want him to faint. I'll let his accountant do that.

Three cornerstone pieces

I ask Byn where the manor’s distinctive style came from.

Although Drustvar provided the broad inspiration, much of the house grew from a few specific decor pieces.

Byn: The Surwich Wagon is such a transformative item.

Besides that, I really like to keep themes consistent.

Really doubling down on a few particular items.

The … inspired the brewery element; the … pushed it towards a more haunted-house vibe; and the … helped establish the interior’s visual identity.

Byn: Those three items are like 99% of the vibe in here.

Oh, and the Gilnean smoke lamps.

The lamps are everywhere.

They have been resized depending on the amount of light needed in each space. In some places, the visual effect of the lamp matters more than the lamp itself.

The house was designed specifically for the Unnatural Dark setting. Switching back to ordinary lighting makes individual objects easier to see, but it also exposes the construction and weakens the illusion - particularly in the forced-perspective garden.

As usual, lighting isn’t something added after the house was completed - it’s part of the build.

Designing from the entrance

The strongest lesson from this build may be visible from the moment you walk through its front door.

Byn: I like the contrast of the big open spaces.

I saw someone had stacked stairway rooms and I wanted to make this coherent layout of this long rectangular building.

A lot of houses feel very maze-like to me, even if they’re not supposed to be mazes.

Ironically, Byn has intentionally built a maze - but only within the hidden areas.

However, the main house remains very coherent and easy to orient yourself in. And this was a deliberate choice.

From the entrance, visitors can immediately see the backyard, the fireplace and the stairs. Each one acts as an invitation to explore a different part of the house.

Byn: The position of the entry explains the whole house.

You see the backyard - that invites you outside.

You see the fireplace and you see the stairs.

Byn says he often sees houses containing amazing rooms deeper inside, while the entrance itself doesn’t clearly guide visitors towards them.

His advice is to establish clear sightlines, especially from the entrance.

The first room doesn’t need to reveal everything, but it should make you curious enough to continue.

Byn’s advice

Before I leave, I ask Byn whether he has any advice for other builders.

Plan your layout of rooms.

Use some cornerstone/foundational items and repeat them.

And consider lighting.

The manor demonstrates all three.

The stacked stairway rooms established the overall shape before the details were added. A small number of repeated pieces keep the theme consistent. Finally, the lighting ties everything together and conceals the seams where the illusion needs a little help.

Planning the main structure first prevented the secret spaces from overwhelming the actual house.

What’s next?

The manor may have reached its current decor limit, but Byn isn’t finished.

The mechanical rooms need more pipes. Several hidden spaces need more character, particularly the gambling room. He would also like to add more secrets and perhaps another outdoor room.

A basement would suit the house perfectly, although building one presents some practical problems currently (though apparently we'll be able to move the Entrance room soon!)

Byn: 12.1 pls.

I spent much longer here than expected. Between the nine hidden crystals, the jumping puzzles, the forced-perspective backyard and the network of passages behind the walls, there is always another corner to investigate.

Byn’s manor succeeds because it understands when to be large and impressive, and when to become cramped and secretive. Its public rooms form a believable tavern and home. Its hidden rooms and treasure hunt turn the building into something more playful.

It is cosy. It is ominous. And apparently, a couple of its residents may not be paying rent.

Oh! Did you find all 9 crystals in the virtual tour?