I'm just curious: is this going to be dealt with in any sort of mechanical sense? Other horror-settings have done so (for example, in Ravenloft, they replaced "fear immunity" with "bonus to saves versus fear"). I would have expected the Player's Guide to have some sort of sidebar along the lines of: "the mists of Ustalav erodes even a Paladin's sense of self: after being exposed and for 24 hours thereafter, Paladins lose their fear immunity", but I didn't see that.
Or are we going to encounter a number of fear-like-but-isn't-fear effects like "make a Will save, if you fail, you are under a compulsion to run away from the altar and not look at it."?
I'm just curious how it's going to be handled, or if we have to start cooking up home rules for it.
Also, is there going to be any info on the fluff-aspect of fear immunity? For example, is a Paladin unphased by the idea of a killer taking her friends hostage?
This was discussed in another thread and in the Player's Guide I think. If I remember correctly, they're not going to have a mechanical expression of the dread the PC's face. That's being left up to role play, the DM, and the usual fear spells. Paladins will still be immune to fear just like they normally are, unless your DM house rules a fear mechanic in.
Also, is there going to be any info on the fluff-aspect of fear immunity? For example, is a Paladin unphased by the idea of a killer taking her friends hostage?
...What kind of paladin would be unphased by a killer taking her friends hostage?! That would almost be immediate grounds for falling, in my book. (Almost, mind.)
Now, she might not be afraid, but she may well be disturbed, and she'll certainly be concerned for her friends. She just won't be quaking in her booties is all.
This was discussed in another thread and in the Player's Guide I think. If I remember correctly, they're not going to have a mechanical expression of the dread the PC's face. That's being left up to role play, the DM, and the usual fear spells.
In that thread, the devs said that they wouldn't be introducing any expressions of dread above and beyond what already exists via fear effects. Thus implying they'd be making heavy use of fear effects. So I'm wondering how that's going to be handled.
Creative Director
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The bulk of the fear-based effects in "Carrion Crown" are from haunts, spells, or monster abilities.
In the case of spellcasters and monsters, those will have other options to handle the paladins.
In the case of haunts, the adventure with the strongest haunt element in it is the first one, wherein the PCs will be 1st to 3rd level. Paladins aren't immune to fear until 3rd level, so that's 2 levels that they'll get to experience the spooky spookies.
Also, the vast majority of groups who play through any AP (Carrion Crown included) won't have all paladins. Fear effects work fine on the rest of the group.
AND ALSO: The point of being immune to fear is rendered moot if there's never any fear effects to be immune to. I've always found it to be kinda frustrating when a GM tailors adventures so that they're designed to avoid things that the PCs are good against. It's really lame to gain a new ability and then never get to see it used because the GM withholds opportunities for you to use it.
In the end... a paladin's immunity to fear will be helpful in the Carrion Crown AP, but not to the extent you fear, and honestly, not to a much greater extent than any other AP.
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Creative Director
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This was discussed in another thread and in the Player's Guide I think. If I remember correctly, they're not going to have a mechanical expression of the dread the PC's face. That's being left up to role play, the DM, and the usual fear spells.In that thread, the devs said that they wouldn't be introducing any expressions of dread above and beyond what already exists via fear effects. Thus implying they'd be making heavy use of fear effects. So I'm wondering how that's going to be handled.
What already exists:
Haunts
Spells like cause fear, scare, fear, phantasmal killer, and the like
Monsters with fear attacks, like mummies or some devils or big dragons
That's pretty much what we mean when we say "fear effects that already exist."
ALSO:
Mechanically putting fear effects into a horror adventure is, frankly, kinda lazy.
We're trying to instill these adventures with actual horror that will affect the PLAYERS. None of whom are immune to fear.
I like that - sometimes fear should be more than a saving throw.
Typically when a fear effect goes off the annoyed player counts off the rounds and then comes charging back in.
That's OK, but sometimes, done right, the player ought to be secretly thankful they have an excuse to make a hasty exit. Perhaps even give some serious thought as to whether their sudden flight instinct wasn't the right idea after all.
As a player- I much prefer the "I'm in fear for my life" and behave accordingly (either running away or fighting on despite the danger) to the "fear effect" of dropping your pants and running around like a moron for X rounds.
Having control of your character yanked away is always 100% grade A annoying. (that being- fear: Panicked, or per the spell)
-S
And don't forget that while paladins may be immune to the primary effects of a haunt, they are granted no such protections against a haunt's secondary effects, which can be quite real. Like telekinetically-thrown furniture, for example.