Questions regarding haunts and Foxglove Manor

[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.

[the Lorax]

I divided up the Haunts as I felt appropriate among the PCs and made them suffer through them (not that they had any channel energy).

I think the pacing and the story being told are the critical parts of Foxglove Manor - I dispensed with the initiatives and perception checks for detecting the haunts - however I made them make lots of superfluous perception checks to hear and/or see assorted things, like rustling curtains, rats in the walls, distant wailing coming from upstairs...ect

Misroi made a nice set of handouts for the haunts to do as you suggest - to hand to the players. I cleaned them (and did a number of tweaks) set them up 4 to a page, printed them double sided on cardstock, and handed them to the appropriate players when the reached the room with the haunt.

The cards had noted on them whatever relevant rolls that were required and the results (if they were easy to express). My players were EAGER to get more cards and learn more of the story. The stat damage wasn't really a concern.

As for advice:
1 - Lots of extra perception checks - you can use these to lure the players upstairs if needed.
2 - Describe unimportant things in detail - it'll make the players paranoid of objects that are just window dressing.
3 - Move the goblins into Aldren's room, hiding. Aldren alone is just gonna get beaten like a pinata.

[Latrecis]

Here are my interpretations:

1. See GMG p. 242: "All primary effects created by a haunt are mindaffecting fear effects, even those that actually produce physical effects. Immunity to fear grants immunity to a haunt’s direct effects, but not to secondary effects that
arise as a result of the haunt’s attack." So save bonuses would have to specifically apply to fear to be used. The elvish enchantment bonus would not apply.

2. Yes, bonuses for the ranger would apply - the haunts are undead.

3. See GMG p. 242: "On the surprise round in which a haunt manifests, positive energy applied to the haunt (via channeled energy, cure spells, and the like) can damage the haunt’s hit points (a haunt never gains a Will save to lessen the damage done by such effects, and attacks that require a successful attack roll to work must strike AC 10 in order to affect the haunt and not merely the physical structure it inhabits). Unless the haunt has an unusual weakness, no other form of attack can reduce its hit points." Emphasis mine.

4. The pc's can move out of the room if they notice the haunt and act before 10 in the surprise round. Your pc's might be able to use the wand, but note the surprise round doesn't let them move and attack so they would have to be within 5' of the haunt to use the wand that way. The pc's can use detect undead or detect evil spells to notice the haunt in addition to perception checks to notice the haunt. In addition, as mentioned in the GMG the pc's can use hide from undead or invisibilty to avoid the haunts. Invisibity would be a DM's call on a case-by-case basis. My view: the haunt would just target someone who is not invisible.

5. I just read the events to the whole table even if only one pc was experiencing them. I also added limits on what unaffected/non-targeted pc's noticed or could do. My players are pretty good at living within the boundaries. My personal play style: players struggle enough to get and manage information that I try to avoid putting them in a position where they need to get information from another player's interpretation of what I've told him. It's not quite as realistic as passing notes, etc. but it's how I typically run things.

6. My group had a cleric (as an aside that class is actually more challenging to the haunts than a paladin - the class which often gets more focus on these boards as problematic) and even then the haunts were challenging. First they had to figure out the mechanics - use detect evil and channel. Even then, the cleric had to beat the haunt in initiative and do enough damage to the haunt to take it out. They stopped a couple but still "got hit" by most. Other note: each use of a channel here is one the cleric can't use later on other undead or healing.

[altontanglefoot]

the Lorax wrote:

Misroi made a nice set of handouts for the haunts to do as you suggest - to hand to the players. I cleaned them (and did a number of tweaks) set them up 4 to a page, printed them double sided on cardstock, and handed them to the appropriate players when the reached the room with the haunt.

The cards had noted on them whatever relevant rolls that were required and the results (if they were easy to express). My players were EAGER to get more cards and learn more of the story. The stat damage wasn't really a concern.

Thanks for the help! But sorry, who is Misroi? Where can I find a copy of those handouts?

[Callum]

Misroi is someone on these messageboards. You can find the handouts (and other great things) in the Community Created Stuff thread.

[altontanglefoot]

Callum wrote:

Misroi is someone on these messageboards. You can find the handouts (and other great things) in the Community Created Stuff thread.

Got it! I knew about that thread, I got some great maps from there, but I didn't see these haunt handouts. Thanks!