◆) Haunting Echoes (targeting anyone currently frightened)
Screams of horrible deaths haunt the ears (and holes) of our intrepid heroes - including
Off to the side, the other Survivors take cover!
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As the party head into the district, first, it is eerily quiet... ...a chill wind picks up, pricking the hairs (or scales, or leaves) of our heroes' skin, and from the quiet, pained, desperate, and angry voices call out.
!
Squishy retains his wits, while Red Agnes goes White, and the others feel their bones shake. The Haunting Echoes proceed to reach out for those called!
Startled by the sound, a handful of zombies shamble from nearby dwellings, and begin slowly making their way towards the disturbance! Barlespin is taken off guard , as is Marius , but having foreseen the scenario, the rest of the party has a chance to act before being grasped!
The Stone Tree, devoid of outside energy and influence, remains still. DM Screen:
Spoiler:
(Shining Dawn off) (1) Auntie Wu:
This statue has not been fully purified yet - allowing Kugaptee to regain control of it after a certain amount of time. Purification is a Skill Challenge with the following statistics: ➤ Level: 6 (Base DC 22)
Sigurd:
This statue has not been fully purified yet - allowing Kugaptee to regain control of it after a certain amount of time. Purification is a Skill Challenge with the following statistics: ➤ Level: 6 (Base DC 22)
Lan:
This statue has not been fully purified yet - allowing Kugaptee to regain control of it after a certain amount of time. Purification is a Skill Challenge with the following statistics: ➤ Level: 6 (Base DC 22)
Kazuki: This statue has not been fully purified yet - allowing Kugaptee to regain control of it after a certain amount of time. Purification is a Skill Challenge with the following statistics: ➤ Level: 6 (Base DC 22)
The Stone Tree lashes out seemingly at random... @ Kazuki, Lan, and Vekka!
Making contact with Kazuki, it speaks "You feel... familiar...
The stone statue lurches to life, its branches whipping through the air as a horrifying roar rips through the monastery — a familiar roar that seems to come from underground...
Pulse of Fear (Finalize and Open):
Critical Success: The creature is unaffected. Success: The creature is frightened 1. Failure: The creature is frightened 2. Critical Failure: The creature is frightened 2 and fleeing for as long as it remains frightened.
Pallid arms struggle to keep Lan in their grasp!
He remains grasped, but not enough to pull him under… ◆) Disabled
Sigurd braces, and Kazuki's prayers aren't answered... ...the Arms of the Drowned unleash! No less than hands wrap each of Vekka's and Lan's ankles, leaving them unable to move - they begin trying to pull the two magic users into the depths below - while Sigurd manages to remain ungrasped.
◆) Ghostly Arms Grapple
A blast of river water sprays up inside the shrine, knocking everyone on the bridge over as it shakes - and with it, a legions of legless, sucker-and-teeth insects spill into the shrine area! ↺) Rising Waters
But Kazuki gets the jump on it!
As the group moves closer to the shrine, they realize that it isn't illusory - but haunted!
There also seems to be another sound coming from the central opening…
The grasping hairs release clutch suddenly, sucking back into the her head like growth in reverse, and as the apparition whirls on Sigurd and Auntie Wu, their combined efforts seem to awaken it's voice "Grandfather Bao was a liar, and this shop was founded upon my murder, to which I am entitled my anger" she dares anyone to contradict her, but the PCs, not having a personal stake in the matter, and being reasonable folk notwithstanding, do not contend her point.
"I will need not ushering, but something else" finally dropping Kazuki by the neck - as if her hands had minds of their own and she had forgotten she had him suspended - she continues beseeching the party their empathy before crossing finally into the Boneyard... Lan, it all comes back to you!: 1st Strange Coincidence - Mama Bao's grandfather came into a sudden windfall of money - sufficient to purchase the bun shop - within days of Hinode Akari's body being discovered. 2nd Strange Coincidence - Great Grandfather Bao was acquainted with a wealthy dollmaker from the city of Sze.
Ghost lady looks at Kazuki as if she may understand him… and lunges, strangling him with coils of her hair while she begins clawing through his long luscious hair, ripping it out by the handful!
The party responds!
↺) Cyclone of Hair Lan's yelling disturbs the ghostly woman, who in response shrieks and rises into the air as her hair grows swiftly, snaking through the shop to tangle into the rafters or weave through the seating area.
As she becomes more aware of the others in the room, she looks down at Kazuki, and holding her hands out with a strangling gesture, begins to float towards him!
The party determines that the hair strands are all around the same length (and so, likely came from the same head), and that the hair is well-maintained and undamaged (no split ends) and most probably was plucked from the scalp at the root (instead of cut with a blade)! Deciding to stay the night, the party bed down, when something strange happens on Lan's Watch! The ghostly form of a young woman with long hair drifts into the shop through one of the doors, then proceeds to pull out her hair by the roots...
Squeals and disspates.
Sigurd's calming words damage it's connection to the material plane...
the boar's face suddenly contorts, it's eyes white, droning, but it's voice clear! it starts laughing - low-pitched, multi-cordent, evil laughter! - 100 times over - root out the disturbers..." the voice quickly fades out, losing volume rapidly... ...the creature then seems to "revert" to being just a phantom boar once more...
"Fumeiyoshi - NO!" Terrified of Lan's hand sign, the remaining spirits run off screaming!
"Mewling. Ha ha ha HA! Your god has no power over us! Not Here! Not now! You don't even know where and when you ARE! Ha ha ha HA!!!"
The spirits screech at Sigurd's use of divine energy!
"Ha HA! You cannot exorcise us. Come, let us into your Mind!"
"Who still LIVES and doesn't DIE!!!" The wind picks up - all of Auntie Wu's belongings are swept as massive currents break the cloth covering the windows and strew about light weight objects! Kazuki is unable to see anything, even as his ears bleed!
There is a blood-curdling scream!
Auntie Wu's House is Haunted!
Everyone looks over at the door - CLICK - did it just lock itself!?
ssshhh... ...ssssshhhhh...
What is that eerie sound? Like a chill wind blowing, whispering... the sound becomes louder and louder by the moment!
Lan goes over to play with the doll. "You are Under Arrest!" it waves it's club at Lan. The doll "reads him his rights", then "arrests" him, then "locks him in a cell". "Thank you for playing with me!" The animating force suffusing the doll dissipates - it drops limp to the ground.
Otherwise completely still, the doll eyes rotate to perfectly track the movements of Darius as he is escorted from the house!
The doll rolls it's head sideways 45 degrees as Darius leaves it's side. It pays no heed to Kolphan. When Auntie Wu addresses it, it rolls it's head another 45 degrees, causing it's eyes to be below it's lips. And remains still.
"Play with ME!" The evil doll calls out to young Darius, beckoning him for physical attention. "PLAY WITH ME!!" it grows with insistence!
↺) Emotional Outburst
Lashing out above the low whispers, a Screaming voice chills the party to the bone!
Just before Zisiro manages to coup de gras the spirits, it lashes out at him desperately one last time, but dissipates before managing to inflict any more tangible violence...
Indirectly proportional to the damage the spirits seemed to have sustained, grows their anger, fury, and threats!
Zisiro succumbs a moment - intending to die in the way the voices show him "Cut the belly, yes" until he recovers a moment enough to fight for his will.
Meanwhile Natalu makes significant headway dissipating the restless spirits - perhaps halfway present now "We cannot move on - not without YOU!" they remain vigilant none-the-less
With both Natalu and Zisiro beset with terror, the spirits turn now to Brendar! ◆◆) Enfrighten Brendar (Will DC 22)
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤ Vengeful Spirits: Round Three Identify (◆) @ Occultism or Religion (DC 20) or Haunt Lore, Kami Lore, or Spirit Lore (DC 18)
Vengeful Spirits @ (-20 HPs) @ (□□)
The party is Up!
The spiritual whisper re-enacting it's own death on Brendar's travelmates loses a piece of it's essence at his use of the words 'not welcome' - it dissipates partially - it's hand fading back into the nether, the rest of it intact!
Natalu and Zisiro!
This time, the spirits lash out at ! Terror welling up inside of , whispers that he commit seppuku build! ◆◆) Enfrighten Zisiro (Will DC 22)
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤ Vengeful Spirits: Round Two Identify (◆) @ Occultism or Religion (DC 20) or Haunt Lore, Kami Lore, or Spirit Lore (DC 18)
The party is Up!
"What's that!?" the short fat pathfinder yells as a mass of swirling spirits come screaming out of the enchanted forest!
The screaming spirits target who's mind is tempted into committing seppuku!
Open after Rolling / Finalizing Will Save:
Critical Success The target is unaffected and is temporarily immune to this haunt for 24 hours. Success The target is frightened 1. Failure The target is frightened 2. The value of the frightened
Critical Failure The target is frightened 3. The value of the
The haunt uses its third action to compel any
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤ Vengeful Spirits: Round One Identify (◆) @ Occultism or Religion (DC 20) or Haunt Lore, Kami Lore, or Spirit Lore (DC 18)
The party is Up!
Horul leaves the room while Haohji attempts to smack some sense into Veiled Lady and Merellin unsuccessfully. Still bloodthirstily , Veiled Lady turns her vengeance upon Haohji while Merellin turns his vengeance upon Haohji "Kill the monk!" the whispers command our desperate heroes! ➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤
Ramona (full HP)
"Nooo..." Ramona works her magic, saving Merellin from going completely off the deep end, though not entirely, as both Merellin's and Veiled Lady's eyes begin to , and clutching their weapons, they make moves to attack their former allies! Merellin and Veiled Lady:
You hear in your mind, dictating your actions: "Yes! Take them with you!"
Ramona @ 24 @ Normal
A voice starts talking - it is coming from Banjo! "Is that you?"
The tiny puppet begins reaching it's arms around Ramona's neck, as if trying to choke her!
Whispers @ 22
The voice chokes in desperation as Haohji slips from it's grasp, shreds of flesh and meat left pooled in the room he was just pulled through, seeping gore into the cracks he burst into the floor with his own fists... The ghosts swirl back from whence they came - below the floorboards - their power expended for the time being... ...and all is quiet...
Haohji: This Haunt, having been Triggered, is satisfied to strike brutally once, in the hopes the stricken will bleed out.
For posterity, if you survive, here are it's Resetting conditions: Reset: The underlying spirits remain, resetting the haunt every midnight, until the true story of what happened here becomes public...
Reaching out of the floor at Haojhi suddenly appear ghostly, manacled hands, wrapping their chains around his ankles, and twisting with supernatural force, scraping him with skin-breaking abrasion, opening bleeding wounds!
Haunt Statistics (Open!):
Merellin:
You picked up some rumors about the Haunted Past! This grants you a +2 circumstance bonus to any skill checks to Identify the nature of the haunt!
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