| altontanglefoot |
My players are in Chapter 2 of Rise of the Runelords, and will be going to Foxglove Manor in an upcoming session. I've been prepping for it, making sure that I understand how all the haunts work, and I have a few questions.
1. What spells are each of the haunts based on, if any? One of my PCs is an elf, with the Elven Immunities racial trait ("Elves are immune to magic sleep effects and gain a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells and effects.") So I need to know, which of the haunts inflict enchantment effects? For example, is the Phantom Phage haunt in the guest bedchamber an Illusion (of tumors and boils on the PC's face) or an Enchantment (a compulsion to claw at their face)? What about the other haunts?
2. If a ranger has Undead as one of their Favored Enemies, would you grant them a Favored Enemy bonus on Perception checks to detect haunts?
3. If none of the PCs are clerics or have the ability to channel positive energy, is there any point to rolling initiative or having the surprise round before the haunt triggers, as described in the haunt rules? It's not like they can do much to stop it, and I worry that asking them to roll initiative right before each haunt will just ruin the pacing or mood that I want to create.
4. In relation to the previous question, if the PCs succeed in their Perception checks to notice the signs of a haunt, what can they do to stop or avoid it without a cleric or the Channel Energy ability? All they have is a Wand of Cure Light Wounds with very few charges left; can that be used to deal positive energy and damage the haunt's hit points? Can they simply leave the room in the surprise round before the haunt triggers? GMs, how would you rule this? Did you really follow the haunt rules to the letter?
5. In haunts where a PC sees or experiences something that the other PCs can't perceive, did you pass a secret message to their respective players? Is it worth the possible interruption in the pacing to let the players roleplay their reactions to what's happening while keeping the other players in the dark? Or is it more fun to describe the creepy visions out loud to the table, and trust them not to meta-game?
6. To GMs and players that have played the Foxglove Manor quest, how did it go? Any interesting stories or useful advice? The whole encounter is so different from anything that my players have ever faced before, or from anything that I've ever run as a GM, and I really want it to be cool and interesting and memorable.