Creating A Survival Horror Adventure

This is one for the TRAILseeker patrons! Resource scarcity, helplessness, and personal stories are all tropes of the survival horror genre for good reason: they work! By Jonathan Palmer; illustrations by Savage Mojo.

​

Also available to TRAILseeker patrons are these great articles:

1. Multiclassing Feats. This article presents a selection of multiclassing feats which allow characters to pick up skills from those whose paths they cross. By Jonathan Palmer.
2. Archery Contests. Running and conducting large archery tournaments can be fun and easy! By Russ Morrissey, based on an original article by Ryan Nock.
3. Red Fangs in a White Night. This is an adventure for four 7th-level characters. Werewolves, vampires, a city under a white dome, and a missing archmage. Can the PCs catch White Night’s mysterious werewolf? And what will they discover in the process? By Thiago Rosa.
4. Urndaemon, Voludaemon. This article presents an horrific demon, just waiting to corrupt your adventurers. By Jessie Staffler.
5. Weapon Style Feats. From mounted styles designed to be used in close-quarters, to ancient elven sword styles that emphasize deception and the use of a cloak as a defensive tool, this article introduces five new weapon styles, each with three weapon style feats, sure to enhance your game! By Jonathan Palmer.
6. Crypta Hereticarum: The Vault of Heresies. Evil lies trapped within the Crypta Hereticarum — the Vault of Heresies. The Clergy believes that true evil cannot be destroyed, and that killing an unholy disciple or destroying a cursed item will only free its malevolence to wreak havoc elsewhere in the world. For centuries, whenever the priests and godhands of the Clergy collected dangerous items, captured evil acolytes, or rescued afflicted innocents whose curses they could not break, they placed them in the vault, built beneath the desolate isle of Odiem, off the coast of the city Sid Minos. Many still tried to plunder its treasures - but these dungeon delvers are drawn not only by the promise of rare riches and powerful magic, but by the mysterious temptation of the vault’s greatest prisoner, Ashima-Shimtu.
7. Creating Enjoyable Puzzles for Role Playing Games. Carl Heyl shows you how to create enjoyable puzzles for your Pathfinder game. It's all too easy to stop a game in its tracks, or throw off any sense of immersion. The advice in this article gives tips on creating organic, fun puzzles which don't interrupt your game. Illustrated by Sade.
8. Fantastic Tomes & Librams. 1d100 mundane but exotic books and tomes to furnish a wizard's study, a library, or a treasure hoard. Each entry contains the book’s name, its author, a short description, and an optional notation indicating its rarity, relative value, and number of pages. By Russ Morrissey.
9. Making Mischief: A Dirty Trick Guide. Make the most of the dirty trick combat maneuver with this guide by Thomas Kyle, which also includes four new feats and two new spells designed to fool and bewilder your opponents in battle!
10. After Death. Congratulations! Your party is dead. This is a Pathfinder RPG adventure designed for 9th-level characters. It is also a little different, as the PCs will start it dead. Fortunately for them, death is not the end. With the help of the azata Asha, they can still defeat the monstrous lich who killed them in the first place… And recover their lives in the process. By Jonathan Garret.
11. Cherufe. A mighty, volcanic monster for your Pathfinder game! This menacing, CR14 giant appears to be made of magma. Its black, rocky mass radiates massive heat, while red light pours from its mouth and the cracks in its stony hide. Full stats, plus adventure seeds. By Jeff Lee; art by Xandits.
12. The Power of Theme. Anthony Torretti discusses ways to introduces strong thematic elements into a campaign while avoiding railroading in this helpful GMing advice article.
13. Creating A Survival Horror Adventure. Resource scarcity, helplessness, and personal stories are all tropes of the survival horror genre for good reason: they work! By Jonathan Palmer; illustrations by Savage Mojo.