Horror themed PFS scenarios

[William Ronald]

As October is approaching, I am thinking of a few good horror themed adventures to run locally for PFS.

I am considering Decline of Glory, Among the Living, the Pallid Plague, and the Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment. So, what are some of the good horror-themed scenarios or mods that you have played in or GMed?

[bdk86]

Hall of the Flesh Eaters, The Traitor's Lodge, and the The Haunting of Hinojai are all good horror scenarios.

[Nefreet]

The new quest series, Phantom Phenomena, is something I would highly recommend.

Here's a search for "Halloween" themed options that you might find helpful.

[FLite]

And of course mists of mwangi and voices in the void.

[Clank Clank]

"No Response from Deepmar"

[Fromper]

Black Waters, and presumably its newly released sequel.

Feast of Ravenmoor, if you're looking at modules, too.

[Duiker]

Also on the module side of things, Carrion Hill and From Shore to Sea are both terrific Lovecraftian modules.

[chris manning]

midnight mirror

[Glord Funkelhand]

Black waters is spooky. It's sequel is not.

Great list, will look into those.
If you have played the scenarios, could you also mention what kind of horror they fall into?
Like lovecraftian, spooky/ unreal, gory, etc?

[Muser]

Lovecraftian: Voice in the Void, Carrion Hill, From Shore...nah, this one just tries.

American gothic: Golemworks Incident, In Wrath's Shadow, Cairn of Shadows

Ghost story: Black Waters, Haunting of Hinojai, Goblinblood Dead

Romeroesque: Decline of Glory, Among the Living

[FLite]

Mists of Mwangi is also lovecraftian, it just isn't what people usually think of as lovecraftian.

Phantom Phenomenon is heavily lovecraftian.

[Muser]

You, I like you. That term needs a rescue.

[Lava Child]

I take that as a compliment, about phantom phenomenon. I'm a heavy lovercraft reader, and I tried to put his ideas into the parts I wrote. By the way, this is a great lovecraft podcast: www.hppodcraft.com

[FLite]

Muser wrote:

You, I like you. That term needs a rescue.

Thank you.

One of the things that impressed me when I finally sat down to read the entire Lovecraft Canon recently was just how many of the names and tropes we commonly use in horror and D&D he invented. It is a lot broader than just the Cthulu / great old ones stuff. It was also interesting to see how seamlessly he mixed magic and scifi in his stories.

For example, I didn't realize that he invented ghasts. (His are cooler than D&Ds ghasts though.)

[Muser]

Everyone should read Pickman's Model since Lovecraft's ghouls are basically Golarion ghouls. Nemret Noktoria is double cool for that. They're like flesh vampires instead of an unpgraded zombie of sorts.

I think none of my fave Lovecraft stories deal with cosmic horrors or malevolently amoral tentacle presences from beyond(or beneath the sea) yet that's always the one thing associated with his bibliography. More Cool Air or Beyond the Wall of Sleep plz.

[Lava Child]

The Mound, which he ghost-wrote, is a strong contender to be the basis of the underdark and dark elves. . . James Jacobs I believe notes it in his underdark book as a source for the Golarion underdark.

[FLite]

Nicholas Milasich wrote:

I take that as a compliment, about phantom phenomenon. I'm a heavy lovercraft reader, and I tried to put his ideas into the parts I wrote. By the way, this is a great lovecraft podcast: www.hppodcraft.com

massive phantom phenomenon spoilers:

It was interesting to see the moon-beasts and the inhabitants of leng conflated.

I did like the description of the university town, though it felt almost like a merging of Lovecraft's idyllic descriptions of new england, with the town from The Prisoner TV series.

The morlocks from the well were also a great reference.

There are a lot more, but some (like the destroyed portrait in the manor house) I am never sure if those are Lovecraft references, or just tropes that he used and other people used after him.

[FLite]

Nicholas Milasich wrote:

The Mound, which he ghost-wrote, is a strong contender to be the basis of the underdark and dark elves. . . James Jacobs I believe notes it in his underdark book as a source for the Golarion underdark.

I don't think I have read that one.

I did like Rats in the Walls, and Dreams in the Witch House.

more PP spoilers:

If I ever get another chance to run PP again, when I have time to really dwell on the flavor, I think I might use some of the elements of Rats in the Walls in the Manor. Would be especially awesome if someone plays Lini again. I really missed an opportunity there.

"Droogami stares intently at the wall, even though nothing is there. When she looks away the wall paper ripples as if something tiny were running under it..."

ETA: Gahh. spoiler tags are thwarting me today guys. Sorry about that.

[Kezzie Redlioness]

The Midnight Mauler is an interesting one.

[Muser]

FLite wrote:

Nicholas Milasich wrote:

The Mound, which he ghost-wrote, is a strong contender to be the basis of the underdark and dark elves. . . James Jacobs I believe notes it in his underdark book as a source for the Golarion underdark.

I don't think I have read that one.

I did like Rats in the Walls, and Dreams in the Witch House.

** spoiler omitted **

ETA: Gahh. spoiler tags are thwarting me today guys. Sorry about that.

Yeah, Rats is my favorite. It's so vile particularly if you happen to have an overactive imagination. Really hits home on some mental health things too.

/end off-topicness

[Disk Elemental]

Hall of the Flesh Eaters is also a really good horror session (if your GM is willing to go the extra mile to set the scene).

And yeah, Rats in the Walls is probably my favorite of Lovecraft's writings; just an uncomfortable, but utterly engaging, read.

[Codanous]

In Wrath's Shadow can be sufficiently scary.

[Slothsy]

7-05 School of Spirits is good for Halloweeny stuff. It's less "horror" and more "occult". It's pretty neat.

Day of the Demon is good when built up appropriately. (My GM did a great job with this for it).

[Andrew Christian]

Cairn of Shadows has a hellraiser feel. And Darkest Abduction tries to be horror mystery.

[UndeadMitch]

UndeadMitch wrote:

Here are my picks, by tier.

1-5: Black Water
1-7: Voice in the Void
3-7: In Wrath's Shadow (I've also heard Day of the Demon could fit the bill in this slot, but I've never gotten the chance to play it, The Traitor's Lodge also deserves an honorable mention at this spot.)
5-9: Cairn of Shadows (Honorable mention goes to Haunting at Hinojai)
7-11: Lost at Bitter End
Module: Feast at Ravenmoor (I would go with Tears at Bitter Manor here, but it's so long that it doesn't really make for a good Halloween module, though part one could be finished in a night, and Halloween could be a good starting point for the module.)

Figured I'd leave my post from the Halloween thread active on the GM thread here.

[Woran]

Disk Elemental wrote:

Hall of the Flesh Eaters is also a really good horror session (if your GM is willing to go the extra mile to set the scene).

I had handouts for the players. Things only they would see/feel/smell. By the end they were really paranoid :)

[Leathert]

If longer things would be appropriate, Tears at Bitter Manor def. has some horror-inspired sequences.

I'd also like to point towards Traitor's Lodge, when I ran it I really wished the players would get the same "this is a seriously creepy place" feeling I got from reading it.

[kinevon]

From an AP, Book 2 of Rise of the Runelords, especially if you have time to do the setup before the sanctioned section.

I am just about to start running Book 2 for my players, and I have to say that just reading the first part of the book gave me the creeps. Not quite sure which kind of horror it qualifies for, tending toward Hitchcockian, though.

[blackbloodtroll]

Rise of the Runelords, is, very mature content.

You basically need to flanderize certain parts, depending on the play group.

[I'm Hiding In Your Closet]

How about You Only Die Twice?

Good catch on the Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment - that's more subtle, high-concept horror.