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<blockquote data-quote="payn" data-source="post: 8288283" data-attributes="member: 90374"><p>Paizo haunts have a bad rap. They actually turned traps up a notch for the first time in decades, IMO. One issue, is the source material is spread out amongst various adventure modules and rule books making them a little bit confusing for some GMs to run. Haunts are not disabled or sprung in typical fashion. Each one has a unique story behind why the haunt exists where it exists. Usually, something terrible happened in the place and a certain psychic energy exists. This can manifest as poltergeists that torment anyone who enters the area, or perhaps the haunt turns the room into a supernatural hazard of heat or cold that causes damage while inside. The haunt can be temporarily disabled via use of spells like cure. Each haunt has a reset time when the haunt will reactivate. Could be min, hours, or even days. You can permanently put a haunt to rest be investigating the circumstances that created it and setting the tortured souls at ease.</p><p></p><p>Many players hate haunts because they dont behave like regular traps. They cant be disabled with a simple roll check. Most of them can be bypassed, but players like solving problems and hate leaving things behind, IME. It can be hard, as presented, to tell a haunt's story. The Carrion Crown AP added the Ouija board element where after temporarily disabling a haunt, you can commune with the dead. Its through this commune you can learn how to put the haunt to rest. It's up to the PCs to decide if they want to or not. It can be time consuming to do so, or not really important and eventually someone else's problem. </p><p></p><p>Since I love the story element this is how I run a haunt (not a typical presentation in Paizo material). The PCs approach an abandoned farm and need shelter for the night. They see a partially burned down farmhouse. They decide to investigate. Once inside the PCs feel something is terribly wrong, like someone just walked over their grave. At this point, I'll ask that anyone in the house makes a will save. Any one who passes, feels like something tried to touch their mind, but couldnt. Anyone who fails gets a psychic trip and experiences what happened to the souls at the time of the haunts creation. </p><p></p><p>I tell the player the PCs eyes go blurry for a moment, and then suddenly their surroundings look very different. In this case, they see a fully restored farm house, with children reading a book at the dinner table, and a woman doing cleaning near the stove. The sound of horses and men's voices suddenly emits from outside the house. The PC runs to the door to see its been blocked by a wagon. Men are pitching torches on the house and passing them through the open window. Heavy smoke and flames are rapidly growing, as the family desperately tries to escape. Eventually, they succumb to their environment. The PC returns to their normal state in the burned down farm house. They take 3D6 fire damage, and begin to suffocate as long as they stay inside the house. Other PCs who made their saves, watch in horror as their companion(s) start to burn and choke. The effected PC will recover if they leave the house or suffocate if they do not. </p><p></p><p>At this point, the haunt has been triggered and is waiting a reset. A tapping on the stone floor can now be heard. Using the Ouija board the players can discern that the family who burned and suffocated here needs peaceful release. They can do so by gathering their bones and removing them from the farm house. They can then bury the family together outside, which gives them peace, and destroys the haunt. </p><p></p><p>My biggest wish from Paizo for the AP line, is a ghostbusters adventure where the PCs go around putting haunts to rest. I think that would be fabulous.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="payn, post: 8288283, member: 90374"] Paizo haunts have a bad rap. They actually turned traps up a notch for the first time in decades, IMO. One issue, is the source material is spread out amongst various adventure modules and rule books making them a little bit confusing for some GMs to run. Haunts are not disabled or sprung in typical fashion. Each one has a unique story behind why the haunt exists where it exists. Usually, something terrible happened in the place and a certain psychic energy exists. This can manifest as poltergeists that torment anyone who enters the area, or perhaps the haunt turns the room into a supernatural hazard of heat or cold that causes damage while inside. The haunt can be temporarily disabled via use of spells like cure. Each haunt has a reset time when the haunt will reactivate. Could be min, hours, or even days. You can permanently put a haunt to rest be investigating the circumstances that created it and setting the tortured souls at ease. Many players hate haunts because they dont behave like regular traps. They cant be disabled with a simple roll check. Most of them can be bypassed, but players like solving problems and hate leaving things behind, IME. It can be hard, as presented, to tell a haunt's story. The Carrion Crown AP added the Ouija board element where after temporarily disabling a haunt, you can commune with the dead. Its through this commune you can learn how to put the haunt to rest. It's up to the PCs to decide if they want to or not. It can be time consuming to do so, or not really important and eventually someone else's problem. Since I love the story element this is how I run a haunt (not a typical presentation in Paizo material). The PCs approach an abandoned farm and need shelter for the night. They see a partially burned down farmhouse. They decide to investigate. Once inside the PCs feel something is terribly wrong, like someone just walked over their grave. At this point, I'll ask that anyone in the house makes a will save. Any one who passes, feels like something tried to touch their mind, but couldnt. Anyone who fails gets a psychic trip and experiences what happened to the souls at the time of the haunts creation. I tell the player the PCs eyes go blurry for a moment, and then suddenly their surroundings look very different. In this case, they see a fully restored farm house, with children reading a book at the dinner table, and a woman doing cleaning near the stove. The sound of horses and men's voices suddenly emits from outside the house. The PC runs to the door to see its been blocked by a wagon. Men are pitching torches on the house and passing them through the open window. Heavy smoke and flames are rapidly growing, as the family desperately tries to escape. Eventually, they succumb to their environment. The PC returns to their normal state in the burned down farm house. They take 3D6 fire damage, and begin to suffocate as long as they stay inside the house. Other PCs who made their saves, watch in horror as their companion(s) start to burn and choke. The effected PC will recover if they leave the house or suffocate if they do not. At this point, the haunt has been triggered and is waiting a reset. A tapping on the stone floor can now be heard. Using the Ouija board the players can discern that the family who burned and suffocated here needs peaceful release. They can do so by gathering their bones and removing them from the farm house. They can then bury the family together outside, which gives them peace, and destroys the haunt. My biggest wish from Paizo for the AP line, is a ghostbusters adventure where the PCs go around putting haunts to rest. I think that would be fabulous. [/QUOTE]
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