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I just finished playing through a PFS scenario that was full of well......Haunts.
The haunts while on the one hand conveyed some historical information, on the other, unloaded some viscious spells on our party. Luckily we survived, well some of us did.
So i am curious What are haunts?
As a GM putting an adventure together how would i use them?
How do you deal with a Haunt?
Are Haunts Undead?
If they are undead, can you use Channel positive energy to harm them? How about Channel Negative energy- Command Undead? And what about such necromancy spells as well "command Undead"?
Are they Traps?
IF so can they be found by a character with a trap finding skill and can they be disarmed by Disable Device?
Oh lastly- where would I find a description of haunts? the Core Rule book? One of the Bestiaries?
Thanks
You can find the rules here.
they are in the DM guild here is the PDR haunts. that will answer a lot
*edit i go so ganked
The link HaraldKlak posted will prettymuch explain the mechanics, but what are haunts good for? Basically, they're good for setting a tone, in theory. (Oh! The wall is bleeding, that's creepy! Ohhh! it's cold right here. Eerie!) They're also good for exposition with the rapping haunt variant that all haunts become rapping haunts when they're destroyed. (Rapping on wood, not busting mad rhymes.)
When I say they're good for setting a tone, I mean they do things a haunted house could do. Basically reflavoring spells so they also do something creepy. So the bleeding wall haunt is a bleeding wall, which is hard to do with a basic undead "creature." But mechanically a bleeding wall spell might also be a fear spell that affects any observing it.
They're harmed by channel energy and similar effects (with no save, if I recall correctly), but these things typically don't destroy a haunt any more than they'd destroy a ghost, and each haunt manifests again after so long, until its destruction condition is met. (Mechanically this is represented by the reset time.)
As far as poor use of haunts, I know how that goes. My last GM to use a haunt at the table had never used one and he ran it as a monster (somehow), and immune to channel energy. I think he realized he didn't know what he was doing with it though, because he resolved it by having it run off after saying something ominous.
As far as poor use of haunts, I know how that goes. My last GM to use a haunt at the table had never used one and he ran it as a monster (somehow), and immune to channel energy. I think he realized he didn't know what he was doing with it though, because he resolved it by having it run off after saying something ominous.
(in my mind)
DM:... and the bloody wall runs in to the night yelling "the raven is never like a righting desk"PC1:....
PC2:wut
pc3:(sniffing bag of chips for rot)
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As a player I hate the things. A trap that nobody can stop, a deactivation that can be nearly impossible to achieve, and effects that range from oooh I'm scared to lose control of your character and have it try to suicide.
As a GM I hate the things, as they are a pain to run well, and PFS they too often randomly put them in to boost the encounter numbers on short adventures.
At least they aren't quite as stupid as chase scenes. Those things are just stupid beyond belief. Either be a master at it (barbarian or rogue with right skills, or fly) or completely suck at it (clerics and fighters with armor on and typical skills).
As a player I hate the things. A trap that nobody can stop, a deactivation that can be nearly impossible to achieve, and effects that range from oooh I'm scared to lose control of your character and have it try to suicide.
As a GM I hate the things, as they are a pain to run well, and PFS they too often randomly put them in to boost the encounter numbers on short adventures.
At least they aren't quite as stupid as chase scenes. Those things are just stupid beyond belief. Either be a master at it (barbarian or rogue with right skills, or fly) or completely suck at it (clerics and fighters with armor on and typical skills).
I like haunts. And chase scenes.
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Haunts really only work if you want to establish that your characters are in a dangerous, scary place. It doesn't make much sense to have one unless that's the mood you're trying to establish.
That said, in reading most of them I found them to be basically like traps, only better done. A trap rarely does anything much more interesting than a few d6 damage to somebody. A haunt can do practically anything, and in a more memorable and interesting way. I also like how, by requiring channel energy to end the haunt, haunts basically consume the party's healing in the same way the fighter stepping in a bear trap would've.
The rapping haunt variant means that they can also be used to get a party back on track or give them clues as to what they're supposed to do, in a way that your average trap wouldn't.
RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2013 Top 16
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Important to remember that all haunts are mind-affecting fear effects. Meaning, among other things, that paladin aura of courage makes you completely impervious to haunts, and fighter bravery, inspire courage, remove fear, etc. all give you bonuses vs. haunts. Also protection from evil's ability to block exercise of mental control can make you effectively immune from many effects of haunts.
Important to remember that all haunts are mind-affecting fear effects. Meaning, among other things, that paladin aura of courage makes you completely impervious to haunts, and fighter bravery, inspire courage, remove fear, etc. all give you bonuses vs. haunts. Also protection from evil's ability to block exercise of mental control can make you effectively immune from many effects of haunts.
Yeah, for someone immune to mind-affecting or fear effects, I'd still describe the haunt to them though, so at least they get to see it. At least then it can still be eerie, even if it doesn't do anything else.
As for the haunt that said something and ran away, I think it actually disappeared instead of running, can't remember now. I remember we tried channel energy with no effect. I suppose mechanically it could have been explained as emulating a magic mouth or something. But basically the GM didn't know how to run haunts. It was his first time seeing them--I know because he asked me earlier in the week to prepare some monsters for a Halloween one-shot and I printed out the haunts and their rules and included them in the back of my three-ring binder of monsters. I'm just glad he didn't make us continue fighting it when he realized he didn't know how it worked.
I like haunts. I picked out some to put on my encounter list in my campaign three-ring. I'm planning to send the level 1s to deal with a medium spider that attacked a farmer's horse or mule and I'm trying to decide if the house where it lives (the old abandoned farm house on the cliff road) is haunted. As a vermin the spider is immune to mind-affecting effects so shouldn't be too bothered by sharing the place with a haunt. There might just be rapping spirits there, don't want to kill the PCs by accident.
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I'm curious, how do people generally have PCs learn the final method of destroying a haunt? Is there some method other than divination that people like?
As a player I hate the things. A trap that nobody can stop, a deactivation that can be nearly impossible to achieve, and effects that range from oooh I'm scared to lose control of your character and have it try to suicide.
As a GM I hate the things, as they are a pain to run well, and PFS they too often randomly put them in to boost the encounter numbers on short adventures.
At least they aren't quite as stupid as chase scenes. Those things are just stupid beyond belief. Either be a master at it (barbarian or rogue with right skills, or fly) or completely suck at it (clerics and fighters with armor on and typical skills).
Sure you can stop it, that's why all haunts have a Notice/Perception check. If you notice the haunt, you don't trigger it's effects and you can avoid the area. Once it's triggered, it's like a triggered trap - it goes off and then it takes positive energy damage at the amount indicated in the haunt to end it (at least for 24 hours) - it has rejuvination like a ghost.
As a player and GM, I love haunts - they are my go to 'trap' to really scare the PCs when I GM.
Rite Publishing has a whole series of #30 Haunt books by T. H. Gulliver, including my favorite (since it's for my published setting of Kaidan), #30 Haunts for Kaidan will really teach you what haunts can do, and the haunts in that book have many that are related, so one haunt triggers another, and include some associated undead beings.
Also #30 Haunts for Objects - got GamerFan's favorite product of 2011.
Haunts are great.
Most of the time I use a haunt, the PCs are just affected by it and then move on. In about half of the cases where they do actually eliminate the haunt, it's because I let them make a knowledge check to determine what to do; the other half of the time, they either figure it out, remember what to do from an earlier similar haunt, or do the wrong thing but something that sounds good enough that I call it good. Haunts are weird enough that a lot of the time the players won't realize that it's "just a haunt", and will treat it as a more complex encounter, especially if the haunt looks like a person or speaks.
I'm curious, how do people generally have PCs learn the final method of destroying a haunt? Is there some method other than divination that people like?
Like trying to find a way to lay a ghost to rest, it's going to take some investigative work to put them down. I think using haunts alone can lead to a ghost hunter type of game, where paladins, clerics and other adventurers seek the existence of haunts and go through the process of investigating the site, the individuals involved and ending the haunt permanently.
Combining legend lore, information gathering, Knowledge (local), augeries, hunting for diaries and other written records - talking to local religious centers. Anything and everything to investigatively find the culprit to causing the haunt and relieving it's existence.
Creative Director
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Haunts are basically a variant form of trap, and you should probably use them with the same care. A dungeon filled with traps is going to be a slog and a lot tougher to deal with if there's no one in the party who can disable device or spot traps, just as a dungeon filled with haunts is going to be a lot tougher to deal with if there's no one in the party capable of channeling positive energy or of casting healing magic to disrupt the haunts.
The first time you use haunts in a game, you absolutely SHOULD give the PCs a relatively simple Knowledge (religion) check (say DC 12 or so) to tell them the basics of how they work... same goes for traps, honsetly, but since traps have been in the game about 30 years longer than haunts, gamers have had a lot longer time to get used to them.
Haunts can be very thematic. There's a haunt in the final book of the Jade Regent series that suits the setting perfectly.
I have a haunt coming up in a PFS scenario I'm running. My fear is that a cleric will notice the haunt and neutralize it before anything cool happens.
On second thought, I guess that's the same issue with traps, but with traps I can then describe to the rogue what would have happened had the trap not been disabled.
Would it be okay to describe to the cleric something of what would have happened had they not "turned" the haunt? Something like, "The restless spirit of Throckmorton haunts this place, ready to devour the souls of any who disturb his grave in a cloud of evil, biting flies."
[This scene is completely fabricated so don't worry about spoilers.]
You know what you need to try? A haunt induced chase scene. Those are fun. :]As a player I hate the things.
...
At least they aren't quite as stupid as chase scenes.
Be sure to involve an anthropomorphic dog.
Lakeside, I think that'd be a great solution.
I have a haunt coming up in a PFS scenario I'm running. My fear is that a cleric will notice the haunt and neutralize it before anything cool happens.
On second thought, I guess that's the same issue with traps, but with traps I can then describe to the rogue what would have happened had the trap not been disabled.
Would it be okay to describe to the cleric something of what would have happened had they not "turned" the haunt? Something like, "The restless spirit of Throckmorton haunts this place, ready to devour the souls of any who disturb his grave in a cloud of evil, biting flies."
[This scene is completely fabricated so don't worry about spoilers.]
Actually, I see no reason why the visual manifestation of the haunt shouldn't still take place. Just that if it's been neutralised, it has no mechanical effect.
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I'm curious, how do people generally have PCs learn the final method of destroying a haunt? Is there some method other than divination that people like?
For me, if it comes down to a die roll it might as well not have been there. Haunts not only create atmosphere but give the characters another opportunity and incentive to explore and interact with the game world other than combat.
You make that happen with consistent and clear descriptions, but be careful to not have it turn into a note taking marathon. Make the names evocative, not long slurs of incomprehensible syllables. Reuse catchy and descriptive adjectives for the same person/place/thing. With the example of the wizard's crypt above where the portrait of the wizard is on the wall use the same description the villagers used to describe the "sketchy-eyed old man" who used to live in the manor for the portrait. Raise your voice, change your tone, do something a little different when you describe so that the players know they are hearing something relevant. Unless you want it to be a dream session for investigative librarians you need to be a bit obvious in your mystery, I've found.
You could use a haunt to trap the PCs in a room and force them to fight a bunch of creepy animated dolls that try to ambush them from doll houses built into the walls. Of course, why anyone would build doll houses into the walls of their house is beyond me, but it would be funny.
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You most comprehensive articles about Haunts are as follows. The GMG section where they're introduced, the Haunt article by Brandon Hodge in AP#44 "The Haunting of Harrowstone," and finally this thread in the Carrion Crown forums that goes more in depth on the article with input from Brandon Hodge. It is an invaluable read if you want to use haunts in your own games.
Haunts are very nice mechanics to make spooky locations. Like traps they need to be used in moderation, but when used correctly they can make an adventure.
They really are story based undead magical traps. As such there are mechanical ways to bypass/survuve them in combat AND RP/invesitgation hooks that need to be solved to truly put them to rest. As such they can be used as the fundamental hook for an adventure as well as interesting encounter.
curious, how do people generally have PCs learn the final method of destroying a haunt? Is there some method other than divination that people like?
The best ways to treat haunts are using Knowledge (religion) to identify it as a haunt, the undead type, and basic haunt mechanics (normal or persistent). Secondly when trying to figure out their reason for existing probably the best skill choices are Knowledge (history or local) as the cause is usually a local legend or tragedy.
--Vrocky Horror
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You could use a haunt to trap the PCs in a room and force them to fight a bunch of creepy animated dolls that try to ambush them from doll houses built into the walls. Of course, why anyone would build doll houses into the walls of their house is beyond me, but it would be funny.
"Hey Jake, we're all out of lumber!"
"What? We still got three more rooms to build on this house! What are we gonna do without wood to build 'em out of?""Well, all we got is all these dollhouses..."
"You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"
I have a haunt coming up in a PFS scenario I'm running. My fear is that a cleric will notice the haunt and neutralize it before anything cool happens.
On second thought, I guess that's the same issue with traps, but with traps I can then describe to the rogue what would have happened had the trap not been disabled.
Would it be okay to describe to the cleric something of what would have happened had they not "turned" the haunt? Something like, "The restless spirit of Throckmorton haunts this place, ready to devour the souls of any who disturb his grave in a cloud of evil, biting flies."
[This scene is completely fabricated so don't worry about spoilers.]
haunts still have hp so if you really worry about it just jump up the hp of the haunt to be kinda high
(say you have a cleric lvl6 so 3d6 for his channel so he avg.9 max of 18
you could give your haunt 12 hp making hard but not impossible to kill out right by the channel first round )
