Foxglove Manor = The Perfect Halloween One-Shot


Rise of the Runelords

Contributor

I've been reading through the print version of Rich's "The Skinsaw Murders" and especially digging what the editors were able to do with Foxglove Manor. I have to say that this is the PERFECT haunted house for a one-shot night of Halloween gaming. The creepines, the hauntings, the mystery solving elements... all very, very cool and perfectly Halloweeny. So guess what I'll be running on my October 26th game night? :)
Hmmm. Maybe Nov. 2nd, though, since it's actually closer to Halloween. :\

Liberty's Edge

Halloween should oughtta be a week long, dude.

Dark Archive

Agreed.
Though the Hambley Farm scene has a nasty dose of creepyness too.

The whole adventure reminded me of some CoC classics (and considering how much I like CoC adventures, it's high praise), and I'm actually wondering if the RotRL is fitting for use with the scare/fear/sanity optional rules featured in Darkness&Dread by Fantasy Flight.

Mmmmhhhh... I'm an evil DM...


I was thinking the same, and the timing would have worked out wonderfully, but somebody decided to get married and have a reception on the gaming night. You would think that since the groom is in the group, he could have planned that better. ;)

But, as I'm looking at the house, I need to scale it up for the party (I have 9th and 10th level pc's, including a paladin). I'm thinking about bringing in a group of attic whisperers from burnt offerings, but looking for other ideas about how to scale this adventure (increase will saves, extra creatures, etc)

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

The farm scene reminded me of Jeepers Creepers.

We thought the same and ran three extra sessions the past two keeps to get "caught up" so that Halloween we'll be in the Manor. :)


Mine is actually a two-shot.

I have worked in the beginning of the savage tide with farm and manor of the skinsaw manor in my homebrew game.

Here is the most recent activity by the PCs if anyone is interested:

Spoiler:
The PCs came to their first major city (started in small rural area), they were given a note that they might want to visit a dealer of curios by someone they met on their adventures. This person was actually part of an organization called the Seekers (stolen from Savage Tide, applied Pathfinder characteristics).

He said if they were interested, his organization would like them to prove themselves by aiding the child of some dead members (Savage Tide people see where I'm going). They have overthrown the local thieves guild, but are looking for the brother of the person they are trying to help. They are told by a prisoner, as well as by info they found that the guy went to old abandoned manor.

His parents, adventurers, left some information that they thought this old manor of a family that went mad still might have some valuable loot. He took some of the thieves with him to check it out (Enter Foxglove Manor, Renamed Usher Manor, yeah I'm tacky).

*last session*
On the way there they were attacked and captured some theives guild members. When questioned they told how their boss had opened a hidden passage and their were overrun by hungry undead. This group was all that survived to get away (a couple were infected with ghoul fever).

After turning these folks over to the authorities, they head to the manor. The manor resides on a large hill (cliff on the far side), with overgrown and unattended corn fields between them and the manor. Through the corn fields they run into some ghouls dressed as scarecrows, as well as somebody (a guild member) who has been tied up to turn. He tells them about how many ghouls he thinks are in the field based on how many have come up and sniffed at him hungrily on occassion. He directs them to the old barn in the center of the fields, where they find some ghouls feeding. He gets attacked by a returning ghoul and dies.

After dealing with the scarecrows, including the one that had just "awoken" once they got to it, then headed up to the manor. The got through the first floor with the paladin destroying alot of the furniture (he's not too smart and he saw the burning manitcore effect though it couldn't harm him). The poor NPC bard has failed most of his saves and had to dance and get lesser restoration, and then tried to carry the halfling rogue out of the house. Luckily made the save to not be choked to death.

We stopped with them heading upstairs. I forgot about the carrionstorms, but I have also gutted the top floor so I am going to make it just an attic where the body of Vanthus's girlfriend is (I am not going to include her turning into an undead). Instead I plan on having holes in the roof of the attic and carrionstorms feeding on her. The party will probably accidently meet them and they will try to drive into the manor, so the party will probably have to fall back and close the door to the attic. Of course we will see if they remember that they smashed the stain glass windows on the first floor. Or if they won't remember till the horses (which they brought inside) start screaming from being attacked by the birds.

Several players didn't want to stop, but one or two have to get up early so they will have to wait in anticipation.

Dark Archive RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32

Steve Greer wrote:
I've been reading through the print version of Rich's "The Skinsaw Murders" and especially digging what the editors were able to do with Foxglove Manor. I have to say that this is the PERFECT haunted house for a one-shot night of Halloween gaming.

My sentiments exactly, though I've gone and twisted it a bit for even MORE terror!


Skaven13 wrote:

I was thinking the same, and the timing would have worked out wonderfully, but somebody decided to get married and have a reception on the gaming night. You would think that since the groom is in the group, he could have planned that better. ;)

But, as I'm looking at the house, I need to scale it up for the party (I have 9th and 10th level pc's, including a paladin). I'm thinking about bringing in a group of attic whisperers from burnt offerings, but looking for other ideas about how to scale this adventure (increase will saves, extra creatures, etc)

What if the entire place is unhallowed as the spell?

Add in that any undead within will reanimate unless the circumstances that left the place unhallowed is removed otherwise every night after they leave the place they will be attacked or subject to nightmares leaving them fatigued the next day unless they rest during the daytime, but its really dependent on what would scare your group.

One adventure I played in had a front rank of undead that turned out to be illusionary, however the next rank wasn't...

PS: Will be at least a week before I can pick this up but all the best with your halloween special!


hopeless wrote:


What if the entire place is unhallowed as the spell?

Add in that any undead within will reanimate unless the circumstances that left the place unhallowed is removed otherwise every night after they leave the place they will be attacked or subject to nightmares leaving them fatigued the next day unless they rest during the daytime, but its really dependent on what would scare your group.

Well, looking into the unhallow spell, it does give the standard undead a little bit more staying power, and a bane effect against the pc's would help against the haunts, or an aid affect for the undead would make them a little tougher. I'll tie the unhallow in with the temple underneath. (maybe I could scatter pieces of the broken phylactery around the house, and if brought to the temple underneath, blessed, and destroyed...)

The problem is that I've taught my players to be cautious (though, not necessarily a bad thing) ;). I think the environment will be enough to be scary, but, ghouls tend to be a cakewalk, and while a lot of the haunts could bring down some of their power, I can see the party start to turtle around the paladin for the bonus to fear saves. And the group does pretty well on their will saves.

I'll have attic whisperers drawn to the pc with the obsessed haunt, since I believe that is the one with the haunt where the child is watching the parents try to kill each other. Aldern will need a few more levels. I could increase the number of ghouls, or convert the ghouls to ghasts....

If anyone else has some ideas, here's the party makeup: Paladin, Rogue/Sorcerer, wizard/scout/loremaster, cleric (spontaneous caster rules , so like a sorcerer), and a soulknife/soulbow. They are a 9th/10th level party.

Contributor

golem101 wrote:

Agreed.

Though the Hambley Farm scene has a nasty dose of creepyness too.

The whole adventure reminded me of some CoC classics (and considering how much I like CoC adventures, it's high praise), and I'm actually wondering if the RotRL is fitting for use with the scare/fear/sanity optional rules featured in Darkness&Dread by Fantasy Flight.

Mmmmhhhh... I'm an evil DM...

Huzzah!

That is very high praise, some CoC stuff is amazingly good.

Unhappy Halloween>)

Contributor

I should add as well that the amazingly twisted Mr Jacobs deserves high praise for many of the good things on offer at Foxglove Manor...

Muhuhuhuzzah

Liberty's Edge

I'm more than halfway through, and I'm blown away - to the point that I had to stop, come over to these boards and say something.

With all the contrite boring or "funhouse" haunted houses that D&D's tried to use through the years, this one SO takes the cake. Outstanding job. Creepy and cool.

-DM Jeff

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