Pathfinder: When Haunts Come Knocking

The first Riyal’s Research covered Traps. The second in the series discusses Haunts. These 24 new haunts ranging from CR 1 to 15 with a page of the great researcher’s notes on the subject will be released Tuesday, February 14th, but we’re giving you a special sneak peak today. We hope you enjoy these haunts.

Misty River CR 2
XP 600
CE persistent haunt (5 ft. by 10 ft. river between old pilings)
Caster Level 2nd
Notice Perception DC 20 (to hear wood breaking)
hp 9; Trigger touch; Reset 1 day
Effect Long ago, a wooden bridge that crossed this 10 ft. wide river broke and fell away drowning a family. A path still leads to both sides of the river. When a creature touches the water just beyond the path where the bridge once crossed, a mist forms over the water (20 ft. radius, centered on where the creature touched the water) as per the spell obscuring mist. The mist lasts for 2 minutes.
Destruction A new bridge must be built crossing the river.

Breathless Gasps CR 6
XP 2,400
NE haunt (10 ft. by 15 ft. pool of water)
Caster Level 6th
Notice Perception DC 25 (the sound of water splashing and someone gasping for air)
hp 14; Weakness susceptible to water; Trigger touch; Reset 1 minute
Effect Deep in a cave long ago, an elf and drow war came down to last pair of warriors. They struggled until the elf was tripped and landed in a small pool of water. Filled with rage, the drow strangled the elf face down in the water. Whenever a creature touches that same pool, the water rushes into creature’s lungs as if affected by a suffocation spell (see Section 5 of the Advanced Player’s Guide). Any spell with the water descriptor (other than control water) damages the haunt equal to twice the spell level. Control water neutralizes this haunt.
Destruction During a full moon, the water must be completely drained and replaced with holy water. During the following new moon, a bottle of air must be shattered below the surface of the holy water pool.

Words of Asmodeus CR 9
XP 6,400
LE persistent haunt (15 ft. by 15 ft. altar dedicated to Asmodeus)
Caster Level 9th
Notice Perception DC 35 (to hear the sound of chanting in Infernal)
hp 40; Weakness vulnerable to sonic; Trigger proximity; Reset 1 hour
Effect It is said that the spirit of Asmodeus’s priest protects the altar against thieves even though no one worships there any longer. Those that have encountered one of these haunted altars tell of the powerful chants. Any creature that approaches sees the haunt manifest as a spectral cleric. Its chanting words cut deep causing creatures within 20 ft. of the spectral cleric to take 4d8 points of damage and are staggered for 1 round. Worshipers of Asmodeus sustain 9d6 points of damage and are stunned for 1d4 rounds. Half of the damage is sonic; the other half is negative energy damage. A successful DC 16 Fortitude save halves the damage and negates the staggering/stunning effect. This is similar to a rebuke spell (see Section 5 of the Advanced Player’s Guide). The spectral cleric can move up to 60 ft. away from the altar.
Destruction When the moon turns as red as blood, a cleric of any god other than Asmodeus must cast consecrate or desecrate on the altar. Within one day, the altar must be pulverized into tiny rocks and powder. Praises to any deity other than Asmodeus need to be sung or chanted during both phases of this destruction.

Grab out Riyal’s Research: Trap today and watch for Riyal’s Research: Haunts next week. Get these and more Pathfinder PDFs at Paizo and DriveThruRPG/RPGNow.com