The howling wind outside is nothing compared to the groans of your undead friends within. As the blizzard rages, you find yourself trapped in a macabre house party where the guests are more interested in your flesh than your conversation...

Requirements: Level 2

Description:

You're trapped in a house with your ghoul friends during a raging blizzard. You must survive for 8 hours (8 rounds, each round representing 1 hour). You can go home but have to survive in the blizzard. Or you can stay with the ghouls.

Environmental Hazards:

1. Blizzard: Venturing outside deals 4d6 cold damage per round. A DC 15 Fortitude save halves this damage.
2. Ghoul Stench: While inside, at the start of each round, make a DC 15 Fortitude save or be sickened for this round.

Ghoul Management:

There are 3 ghouls (Ghoul creeper, Monster Codex p.82) per character. Each round, you must perform one of the following actions to keep the ghouls entertained, but you cannot repeat the same action more than twice:

1. Profession (Cook) DC 12: Prepare a grotesque meal using questionable ingredients found in the house. If you fail this check, the ghouls become enraged and immediately attack.
2. Perform DC 15: Put on a morbid show, such as a tragic play or a bone-chilling song.
3. Knowledge (undead) DC 15: Regale the ghouls with tales of famous undead or theories about their condition.
4. Diplomacy DC 25: Engage the ghouls in a semblance of polite conversation, appealing to their lost humanity.
5. Bluff DC 20: Spin outrageous tales of your own undead adventures or promise them a feast just around the corner.
6. Intimidate DC 25: Assert dominance over the ghouls, keeping them at bay through sheer force of personality.
7. Craft (carpentry) DC 20: Barricade yourself in a room, providing safety from the ghouls for a while.
8. Heal DC 20: Describe gruesome medical procedures or discuss anatomy in gory detail, fascinating the ghouls.
9. Knowledge (religion) DC 20: Share stories about the afterlife and undeath, piquing the ghouls' curiosity about their own existence.
10. Sleight of Hand DC 20: Perform magic tricks or illusions, using the dim light to your advantage to amaze the ghouls.
11. Acrobatics DC 20: Execute a series of impressive tumbles and contortions, captivating the ghouls with your agility.
12. Handle Animal DC 20: Demonstrate control over vermin or small animals in the house, impressing the ghouls with your mastery over lesser creatures.
13. Disguise DC 20: Disguise yourself as a ghoul, blending in with the rest of the house.
14. Insight DC 25: Read the ghouls' moods and subtle cues, anticipating their desires and adjusting your behavior to keep them calm.
15. Stealth DC 25: Find clever ways to conceal yourself within the house, turning it into a macabre game of hide-and-seek that intrigues the ghouls.

If you succeed, the ghouls remain happy for that round. If you fail, they get in a bad mood:

• Failed by 1-4: Take 2d6 negative energy damage
• Failed by 5-9: Take 4d6 negative energy damage
• Failed by 10 or more: The ghouls attempt to eat you (starting combat)

Helping each other:

If multiple characters attempt the challenge together, they can add up the DCs and the rolls of their checks each turn.

Healing Restrictions:

The ghouls are highly suspicious of divine magic and obvious healing methods. You cannot use positive energy healing, potions, or other obvious healing methods while inside. To attempt healing, you must succeed on either:

• Bluff check (DC 20)
• Sleight of Hand check (DC 18)

Rewards:

• 1 feat
• 1 Potion: Immunity to paralysis per character
• 1 Ring of cold resistance 5 per character if you went through the blizzard.
• 1 Bracelet of Ghoul Friendship per character if you kept the ghouls happy. It grants immunity to ghoul stench and ghoul paralysis.
• 1 Ghoul Hide Armor (+1 leather that grants a +2 bonus on Intimidate checks) per character if you killed the ghouls