I've occasionally ran a dungeon with lots of death, mayhem, and destruction for party members (and TPKs) with AD&D, OD&D, and BECMI D&D.
I have never done it with PF.
Characters are a tad more hardy in PF, and the creation process a tad more lengthy in PF than in AD&D/older D&D.
That in mind, how would you do a killer dungeon in PF? Would you have the players all make 4 or 5 characters...and what happens when they run out of characters?
I'm thinking Demon Souls type dungeon killing of PC's. XP WILL transfer (so even if they lose a character, they new character will have the same XP/Level of the old).
However, due to the length of time it takes some to make a character in PF, that could be a detriment.
It seems I have those who are willing to do a killer dungeon, but I'm also concerned about how attached to their characters players will be.
PF players seem to be more attached to their players than some of the players in games I mentioned above (of course I also had campaigns where players were DEEPLY involved with their characters).
I'm also thinking of maybe running an Emerald Spire as the Killer dungeon, and perhaps beefing up some of the encounters.
I'm just not quite certain about all the aspects in regards to players, replaceable characters (as I expect the death count will be quite high, perhaps several TPKs, as I am wanting it to have a Demon Souls type flavor to the game), and other aspects.
One bright aspect is that it allows me to min/max encounters finally, and unleash everything I have at the players (who will willingly allow it up to the end of November...at which point we'll continue with our regular programming...aka...campaign). I don't have to hold back, and can be absolutely brutal with my tactics and strategy.
I don't want character replacement to slow down or delay the game much. That's a worry I have. I am already wanting them to have 4 or 5 characters rolled up, but I'm thinking that might only last them half a session or less depending on how well they think out of the box, and how min/max'd the NPC's I create and the tactics I use become.
Some players will fare better then others (in fact there may be some that don't even use their replacement characters...or at most may lose one or two...while others will burn through theirs like crazy). I can already see that if someone loses all their characters, the ones that have lost none or one may get annoyed if the game gets delayed due to others making new characters.
I have thought that perhaps, in this situation, other players give those who have run out of characters, their replacements instead. I'm wondering if that's going to go over well however, as technically they are using characters they didn't design, and may not play it the way those who did, intended.
Also, what are some other things I need to be aware of with PF if I run a killer dungeon using PF rules?
I was going to suggest Rappan Athuk as well.
Your logistical problems are kind of solvable by the fact that you can't do it in a single session. If they have 5 characters, odds are they'll survive to the end of the session with at least one left. They can level their current character at the table, and their reserves between games.
How are you going to handle XP/leveling? If you divide XP after every encounter, they'll level in the middle of a session and have to make some choices on all of their characters, which will hold up the game somewhat, but will keep them ready to face whatever level they're on. If you hold XP til the end of the session, they can level all of their characters before the next game, but if you have a long session time, that may leave them unprepared for the next encounter. If you let them level mid-session, do they need to rest and heal up to their new HP totals or do they instantly heal and regain/prepare their daily allotment of class abilities? These are things you need to decide ahead of time.
If you hold them back from bringing a new character in until the end of a fight, I can't imagine they'd need more than 5 PCs in a single session. Unless you play for 12 hours at a time.
Sounds like a fun experiment. You should record it and put it on YouTube.
Yep, Rappan Athuk sounds like a great (if long) choice. Maybe a guild of wizards (or Gods) are the ones that teleport the adventurers into the dungeon - although in RA there are certain teleporting & scrying constraints that limit their efficacy. Which is a great help and guidance for running adventures like that.
For a killer one-shot game for the Kaidan setting of Japanese horror (PFRPG) there is Up from Darkness which is a very dark and deadly dungeon with a sinister twist at the end. This is definitely a one-shot requiring use of the pregenerated characters provided, and not for existing PCs. Although players will surely enjoy this module, they really wouldn't want to use it with existing PCs. This one runs about 4.5 hours to complete.
Although the starting dungeon level at the bottom is much like a tradtional dungeon, much of the dungeon after this involves vertical shafts rather than traditional dungeon construction.
Relying on the bizarre reincarnation mechanic from the Kaidan setting, the PCs can "expect to die multiple times" before completing this module, and all PCs begin the game within a tomb with complete amnesia as to who they are and why they are there. There is no other adventure like this one - it will be a completely unique experience for you and your players.
Read the reviews to get a good idea what this module is like.
Both excellent suggestions. You might also like HHammerdog Games' Grand Temple of Jing...
How has no one said Grimtooth's traps? Those things are nasty.
I do have Rappan Athuk, hadn't thought of that one. I'l take a closer look.
Idea is to have them level between sessions, so that will keep that paperwork from disturbing the flow of the game.
Sessions won't be twelve hours long, but may go upwards of 6-8 sometimes (on weekends).