As a collaborator of d20pfsrd I've been adding traps, haunts and various creatures to the site, but I have found a problem with the haunts.
These are pre-pathfinder haunts so instead of destruction info they have an effective HD instead so I'm uncertain what to put in place of effective HD to convert these haunts to current PF rules.
I have a few samples below for those who won't be effected by spoilers to have a look and tell me what you think:
Allip Vortex CR 9
Notice Listen DC 25 (to hear the faint sounds of battle);
Effective HD 18
Effects
Trigger proximity (2 round onset delay); Reset automatic
(10 minutes)
Effect As the storm of allip-like spirits churn into an
overwhelming vortex, all creatures in this room must
make a DC 25 Will save to avoid suffering 2d6 points of
Wisdom damage.
Gold-Eating Dwarf CR 8
Notice automatic; Effective HD 16
Effects
Trigger proximity; Reset automatic (24 hours)
Effect Silas’s words function as a mass
suggestion spell; anyone who hears him
must make a DC 19 Will save to resist the
compulsion to scoop up and eat a handful of
the arsenic-tainted dirt on the floor of the room. The haunt enhances
the already deadly effects of the arsenic in this case—anyone who eats
the stuff must make a DC 20 Fortitude save to avoid taking 2d6 points
of Constitution damage, and then 1 minute later must save a second
time to avoid taking another 2d6 points of Constitution damage. Silas
watches as anyone eats, and as the victim feels the poison flowing
through his system, the haunted character sees Silas suddenly shrink
in on himself, grow emaciated, and then fly apart in a red explosion of
bite-sized morsels of flesh and bone. An instant later, he is gone.
I just want some pointers on how to change these haunts and others so I can finish the conversions for these APs and they can be posted up. I know the obvious like changing listen and spot into perception but that's about it.
Hey Aron!
I don't see much of a conversion problem. Hit points are calculated according to CR now, and since you've got that listed, the equation is hp=CR X2 for normal haunts, and hp=CRX4.5 (rounded down) for persistent haunts.
Neither of your sample haunts listed above are persistent, so they'd have 18 and 16 hp, respectively.
Saves and attack mods are also dictated by the current rules, though in this case you have special effects, rather than spell-replicating effects, so you may stick with what's listed:
A haunt's attack modifier (if one is needed) is equal to its CR. If a haunt's spell effect allows a saving throw to resist or negate the effect, the save DC is equal to 10 + the level of the spell + the ability modifier of the minimum ability score needed to cast that level of spell.
Does that help? If I get a few minutes later I'll post up conversions for you as examples.
Hey Aron!
I don't see much of a conversion problem. Hit points are calculated according to CR now, and since you've got that listed, the equation is hp=CR X2 for normal haunts, and hp=CRX4.5 (rounded down) for persistent haunts.
Neither of your sample haunts listed above are persistent, so they'd have 18 and 16 hp, respectively.
Saves and attack mods are also dictated by the current rules, though in this case you have special effects, rather than spell-replicating effects, so you may stick with what's listed:
A haunt's attack modifier (if one is needed) is equal to its CR. If a haunt's spell effect allows a saving throw to resist or negate the effect, the save DC is equal to 10 + the level of the spell + the ability modifier of the minimum ability score needed to cast that level of spell.
Does that help? If I get a few minutes later I'll post up conversions for you as examples.
Yeah that helps a lot Brandon. I had no idea what to do with the conversion. I'll post up your suggestion right away so that me and others can look up what's needed for converting haunts. Really helps me with my CotCT group. Only at part 2, but good to get it out of the way before part 5.
Well, depending on how big of a stickler you want to be in an accurate conversion, you've got a decision to make. A lot of the early haunts, and indeed even many of Kortes' haunts in Haunting of Harrowstone, play a little more fast and loose with their in-game effects than the more cut-and-dry haunts based directly on the GMG rules, in that they often have unique effects and circumstances that go beyond the simple "spell-as-a-spirit" equation.
So, you can either translate them directly, unique effects and all, or you can try to convert it over to a spell effect, or at least make a reference. I'd say the latter is the best -keep the unique effect, but give it a close reference spell. Here's a shot:
Allip Vortex (CR 9)
XP 6,400
CE haunt (swirling spirits in 45 ft. radius area)
Caster Level 9th
Notice Perception DC 25 (to see manifesting spirits)
hp 18; Trigger proximity (2 round onset delay); Reset 10 minutes
Effect As the storm of allip-like spirits churn into an
overwhelming vortex, all creatures in this room must
make a DC 25 Will save to avoid suffering 2d6 points of
Wisdom damage, similar to having been touched by touch of idiocy.
There IS some funkiness here. Going down the statblock:
1. The radius is calculated according to rules at 5-ft rad. xCR, but you can also confine it to a specific area, such as a 20x20 room. What's listed is max-by-RAW.
2. Proximity trigger has this "onset delay" thing which is awesome, and something covered by my upcoming KQ Haunts article, but it doesn't currently exist in RAW. This delay lets PCs shuffle into a room to experience the haunt, rather than it manifesting at the edge when the first PC enters, so it is an important option.
3. 10 minute reset option no longer exists -you've got 1 minute (+2 CR) or 1 hour (+1 CR).
4. I added touch of idiocy as a reference spell. It at least gives you something to work from and reference if there are any questions, like if Wis can be reduced below 1. Since your average damage dice from 2d6 is 7, and a maximized touch of idiocy could drain 6 Wisdom, I'd say this is equivalent to a 5th or 6th level spell. Since base CR of a haunt is base spell+1, We could start with, say CR 7. Then add +1 for a 25 Perception, and add another +1 for the weird 10 minute reset, and you'd have a CR 9, if you wanted to reverse engineer it.
That's it!
Gold-Eating Dwarf (CR 8)
XP 4,800
LE haunt (persuasive muttering in 40 ft. radius area)
Caster Level 8th
Notice automatic (to hear spiritual voice)
hp 16; Trigger proximity; Reset 1 day
Effect Silas’s words function as a mass suggestion
spell; anyone who hears him must make a DC 19 Will save to resist
the compulsion to scoop up and eat a handful of the arsenic-tainted
dirt on the floor of the room. The haunt enhances the already deadly
effects of the arsenic in this case—anyone who eats the stuff must
make a DC 16 Fortitude save to avoid taking poison damage, as if under
the effect of a poison spell.Silas watches as anyone eats, and
as the victim feels the poison flowing through his system, the haunted
character sees Silas suddenly shrink in on himself, grow emaciated,
and then fly apart in a red explosion of bite-sized morsels of flesh
and bone. An instant later, he is gone.
Conversion Notes: At first glance I made the decision to convert the poison dirt to a spell effect, since the original description says the haunt augments it. But that is going to drop the save to 16 since it is now calculated using the haunt rules (save DC is equal to 10 + the level of the spell + the ability modifier of the minimum ability score needed to cast that level of spell.) CR is a little weird here since you've got two spells to deal with, but it is something I've done before. You get some wiggle room since with an automatic notice, that's a whopping -2 off the CR calculation. You also have to decide if this is a persistent haunt or not; the mass suggestion is a once-only effect, but the poison effect persists. I think you're safe being non-persistent here. I'd say CR =SL6+ SL4/2= SL8+1=base CR9-1 for Notice DC<15=CR 8.
I hope those two serve as good examples to get you started!