So I'm looking into running the Mummy's Mask campaign and just read about haunts. If I am reading it right the PC's get one turn to make a check just before the haunt happens. But even if they pass the check to notice the haunt is about to occur, that doesn't tell them what object is causing the haunt in order to prevent it. And once it happens if the haunt has a lingering effect (such as cause fear) I don't see how they are supposed to figure out what the particular destroy terms are for the haunt.
It seems a little unfair to throw something that's unstoppable at the PC's, I like haunts in terms of telling story and setting mood. But i'm considering having the haunt's just be an event that happens and passes. Or am I missing something completely.
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Haunts can be damaged by positive energy, so a Channel Positive Energy or two can possibly deal sufficient damage to neutralize a haunt. This is temporary, and the haunt will return. When the haunt description talks about destroying a haunt, that's what needs to be done so the haunt will NOT return. Destroying the haunt is not necessary to get past it, usually.
Do you have access to the GameMastery Guide? The rules for Haunts can be found HERE on the PRD
In addition, Occult Adventures added some explanations/expansions to Haunts as optional rules HERE.
These may help to make your Haunts more manageable. They're not unstoppable, but it can be tough depending on who notices it.
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If the party is slowly moving through the dungeon, and a PC triggers the haunt, then succeeds at his Perception roll, and gets an Initiative result above 10, he could just move backwards as fast as possible, to get out of the area of effect.
That sounds like a lot of maybes, but people tend to pump Perception and Initiative anyway, so it's not all that unlikely.
Since many haunts go off only once per day, that tactic can be pretty effective. Trigger the haunt, run back, then go past it.
If the party is slowly moving through the dungeon, and a PC triggers the haunt, then succeeds at his Perception roll, and gets an Initiative result above 10, he could just move backwards as fast as possible, to get out of the area of effect.
That sounds like a lot of maybes, but people tend to pump Perception and Initiative anyway, so it's not all that unlikely.
Since many haunts go off only once per day, that tactic can be pretty effective. Trigger the haunt, run back, then go past it.
I've read the rules on it, I'm looking at from the perspective of, if it hits a person or group and they miss their save DC, how are they reasonably supposed to figure out how to destroy the haunt. These haunts are being thrown in at level 2 with this campaign, and it's not reasonable to think anybody will have a spell to dispel cause fear or other effects. The destroy mechanism for the one's i'm looking it is things like. "The gate must be fully repaired shut and sprinkled with holy water." or "The ring must be given to somebody else out of love". I don't see how they would figure those rather specific things out in order to stop the lingering effects if they do get hit by it. Also they won't always be able to figure where the haunt is coming from, so they won't know where it's safe to abscond to.
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What you're missing here, Statboy, is that haunts can be damaged and temporarily destroyed with channeled positive energy, cure spells, holy water, etc (see the links Urath posted above), so PCs do have a chance to temporarily disable/dismiss a haunt if they can reduce it to 0 hit points before the effect triggers. OR they can continue damaging it as the effect goes off in subsequent rounds, possibly ending the effect when the haunt is reduced to 0.
You're right that PCs can't determine a haunt's means of permanent destruction and perform those actions in a matter of combat rounds, but they can still damage the haunt in various ways, reduce it to 0 hit points, and make it go away, then figure out how to permanently lay it to rest (if they choose to do so) before its reset time comes back around.
What you're missing here, Statboy, is that haunts can be damaged and temporarily destroyed with channeled positive energy, cure spells, holy water, etc (see the links Urath posted above), so PCs do have a chance to temporarily disable/dismiss a haunt if they can reduce it to 0 hit points before the effect triggers. OR they can continue damaging it as the effect goes off in subsequent rounds, possibly ending the effect when the haunt is reduced to 0.
You're right that PCs can't determine a haunt's means of permanent destruction and perform those actions in a matter of combat rounds, but they can still damage the haunt in various ways, reduce it to 0 hit points, and make it go away, then figure out how to permanently lay it to rest (if they choose to do so) before its reset time comes back around.
Thanks for the info, I'm not missing that part it just sounds like the PC's have to have a Cleric/Paladin or else haunts will always be 10x harder. It doesn't make sense to force a specific class type like that. Or to give them a potentially unsolvable mystery, if they wish to actually destroy it. I'm definitely modifying these to be one off events and make all lingering effects only last 1 rnd
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I think in a well-written haunt, the "drama" (hallucinations, noises, visuals, and game effects) of the haunt should be clues to the destruction condition.
For example, if someone's been imprisoned by being bricked up, the haunt might make you feel like you're being pressed against that wall, suffocating and blinded by darkness. [all of which could have game effects] That should be a big clue that tearing down the wall and giving the skeleton a proper burial might finally clear the haunt.
Not an entirely unfair assessment or solution if you don't have a cleric or paladin in the party, and you want to avoid excessive PC frustration at the game table, in any case. Using haunts is a lot like using swa
Another option is to hand out a bunch of holy water as treasure, allow blessed weapons to deal full damage to haunts, or hand out a few haunt siphons or scrolls of calm spirit as treasure.
Ascalaphus has some good advice on hinting at means of permanent destruction up there ^^^, too!
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Haunts should tell a story, not be a random healing tax. In the cases where I've seen them used well, destroying them wasn't all that hard. About 75% of the time it was a matter of destroying the BBEG who was responsible for the gruesome death in the first place. In those cases the haunts were mostly used to showcase the BBEG's earlier crimes and make it clear he's really bad.
The story part is what makes it interesting, I'm using roll20 so i'm able to add sound effects as well. I wouldn't feel so bad about throwing them at the PC's at a level later than 2, and if their was a skill check to determine the destruction.
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In a home game (as opposed to PFS) I would also allow some player creativity in laying haunts to rest. If the players come up with an appropriate action to end the haunt that's different from what the author had in mind, I might let it work too.
You can't always guess the contrived things authors come up with and making it a Divination tax is also stupid. On the other hand, I don't want there to be a "one size fits all" haunt disposal method; the thing the players come up with should be appropriate to this haunt specifically. That will probably require some effort to learn its history through detective/history skills or experiencing it to see the story unfold...
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Statboy, take a look at the PFSRD entry for Haunts, specifically the subsections for Investigating Haunts and Seances and Spirit Communication. Once a haunt is neutralized like Brandon and others have noted, you can treat the haunt like a "rapping spirit" that has enough of an animus to communicate. The most difficult way is to ask questions into the air and try to interpret the creaks and groans and such with Linguistics.
The accomplished (or better yet, the meddling) occultist can utilize things like a spirit planchette to communicate with the haunt at that point, asking probing questions and maybe receiving cryptic answers. In my home games I use this liberally and allow players to flavor their occult investigations of haunts with harrow decks, possession style seances, effigies, even technological sensory equipment to measure pressure and atmospheric changes and soforth. It is usually a flavor thing with similar rulesets based on what is there in the PFSRD.
One of my own characters is a bard who crafted a series of wondrous item instruments that could be utilized by haunts to help them express their emotional state. Wonderfully creepy when in the midst of your research a dissonant flute melody plays in A minor.
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Yossarin, I am so thrilled to hear that someone else also uses those haunt-communication materials (that originally appeared in one of my first AP articles for Carrion Crown, and later reprinted in Occult Mysteries and Occult Adventures) in their home game. I wrote all that stuff and those rules are very dear to me, mostly because they are one of the closest approximations of real-world, historical Spiritualist beliefs in the game. Thank you for putting that stuff to such great use and recommending it to others!
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When haunts were first introduced there weren't many options for players to deal with them. However, the 'haunt toolkit' has grown pretty consistently since then... to the point that there are now character builds which can casually dismiss most haunts, or even benefit from them.
The 'problem' is that some groups still don't anticipate / plan for haunts at all. It would be like having a party that gave no thought to dealing with traps or locked doors... they'd be effectively helpless / crippled if they encountered those things. The only real difference is that traps and locks have been part of the game forever, so everyone expects them and has contingencies in place. Haunts are still 'new' to some people.
For the OP - My suggestion would be to hit the party with a fairly weak, but annoying, haunt early on so they know it is going to be an issue and can look into options to be ready in the future.
The 'problem' is that some groups still don't anticipate / plan for haunts at all. It would be like having a party that gave no thought to dealing with traps or locked doors... they'd be effectively helpless / crippled if they encountered those things.
Kick down the locked door.
Trigger the trap, then heal yourself.
Even with no Disable Device skill, the average character has ways of handling these things. Less so with Haunts, which require very specific countermeasures.
Statboy, take a look at the PFSRD entry for Haunts, specifically the subsections for Investigating Haunts and Seances and Spirit Communication. Once a haunt is neutralized like Brandon and others have noted, you can treat the haunt like a "rapping spirit" that has enough of an animus to communicate. The most difficult way is to ask questions into the air and try to interpret the creaks and groans and such with Linguistics.
The accomplished (or better yet, the meddling) occultist can utilize things like a spirit planchette to communicate with the haunt at that point, asking probing questions and maybe receiving cryptic answers. In my home games I use this liberally and allow players to flavor their occult investigations of haunts with harrow decks, possession style seances, effigies, even technological sensory equipment to measure pressure and atmospheric changes and soforth. It is usually a flavor thing with similar rulesets based on what is there in the PFSRD.
One of my own characters is a bard who crafted a series of wondrous item instruments that could be utilized by haunts to help them express their emotional state. Wonderfully creepy when in the midst of your research a dissonant flute melody plays in A minor.
That I hadn't considered, that's a really good idea. Allow the PC's to "talk" to the spirits. We aren't really using the occult book as a whole, and this will be the first time my group has used haunts, so I really hope they enjoy it.