New Halloween Event new zone Haunted House Mystery

I really enjoy the Winter Event much more than the Halloween Event. Winter Event has its own special zone. There are lots of interactive things to do, hunt present boxes, give gifts, play games like the Ski Slopes. It has tons of great aspects.

The Halloween Event on the other hand has much less going on. Here are some Ideas that I would like to see in future Halloween Events.

1. Most Importantly, a new zone!
A place with a creepy vibe, like a town with a big haunted mansion, a cool cemetary with crypts and statues and old ornate stones, and a town neighborhood to Trick or Treat in with houses that have scary decorations. NPCs in this zone could walk around, but be clickable like contacts, to tell you about the history of the haunted mansion, or other things going on in the town. It would be a friendly zone for heroes and villains to enter.

2. Hero and Villain activities. Mischeivous activities could be performed by the villains. They would be able to run around and TP houses, smash pumpkins, scare NPCs, knock over tombstones in the cemetary, etc. while heroes would have to run around and clean up the houses and set out new jack-o-lanterns, reverse the damage, etc. Villains are trying to do all this bad stuff, and heroes are trying to do good stuff. The entire time there would be tracking of statistics, how many bad things happened, vs how many good things happened. And at the end of the event a special award (a badge, or a temp power, or a token for a random recipe drop) could be given to the winners (heroes vs villains) but there would not be any combat. And perhaps even a runner up (less valueble) reward could be given to the side that loses.

Another activity for both heros and villains could be bobbing for apples to give you a special buff power that lasts for 30 min of game time. But the activity would have a random success/failure rate so that you do not get a buff everytime, you could try again 1 minute later.

3. The Haunted Mansion Mystery. Go inside the mansion, talk to NPCs, click on non-glowing objects to find clues and open secret passages. Put pieces of the puzzle together to help you figure out what the clickable objects are, and where to find them. Riddles and objects could be spread out across the entire town, clues could include NPCs spreading rumors, books, statues, and objects inside the mansion, gravestones in the cemetary, hidden objects inside the crypt, a carving on a really old creepy tree, etc. Use all of the clues to enter a final room and confront the ghost AV that is haunting the place. This mystery could even change each year (i know it probably wouldnt but its a thought). Also there could be good and bad ghosts inside the mansion, trying to help you, or stop you. A ghost might randomly appear by a wall to show you there is a hidden passage there. Or maybe some bloody footprints lead you into a certain room and you have to find something there. Bad ghosts could attack you, or hit you with a special power that makes some clues dissappear, or inacessable. Maybe a bad ghost is sealing a door and you have to defeat him to be able to go in the next room to get the next clue. Then once he respawns the door closes again. There are many things that could be done in this mansion.

4. Halloween Candy. You can get candy from trick or treating, these special inspirations could have numerous kinds of buffs and abilities similar to the winter event ones, but with interesting differences. Some candies will have 2 or 3 buffs (damage and accuracy) (heal and defense) etc. but the more they have the less percentage they help. And the more candies you eat at once raises a chance to make you sick and reverse the effects debuffing you slightly.

Or a different candy idea would be new Halloween Salvage. In real life when you go trick or treating you always get something at each house. Maybe it is one piece of candy, maybe it is a handfull, maybe it is kettle corn or a caramel apple. So the idea I have is introduce a lot more kinds of event salvage that is like different kinds of candy, and you can use this salvage to purchase things the same way that candy canes work for winter event. That way you always get something good at every door. Then you could use this salvage to get random rolls like Costume Salvage pieces (the four salvage pieces from the old halloween events), recipes, enhancements, permanent costume pieces, etc. But since you get one or more pieces at every door, it takes a lot of candy to purchase things.

5. New enemies. With the winter event we got the Winter Horde enemies. Why cant we get some kind of new enemies like a special GM or something. The zone could have a giant cornfield, with a creepy scarecrow in it. And when something special happens the scarecrow could come to life and run around the town. You have to recieve a special Temp Power to weaken the scarecrow in order to defeat him.

The something special to awaken the scarecrow could be like a certain number of NPCs walking into the cornfield that do not return. And there could be certain things that you can do to make NPCs go into the field. A hero could tell them not to go into the field, that there is something scary in there taking people. but the rebelious nature of the NPC would just make them want to go because they were told not to. Or they want to prove that there is nothing in the field. Villains on the other hand could frighten NPCs so that they run away into the field. (just an idea i know it sounds kinda tough to make it happen).

6. A Costume Party. After a certain hour people could gather Inside a creepy old gothic cathedral. There could be a bunch of NPCs wearing costumes. It would just be a cool looking place to go hang out.

Out of all of these ideas I mostly want a new Halloween Zone, and the Haunted House Mystery. But if any of these other ideas are a possibility I would love to see them played out on halloween. I know this is a lot to do so I wouldnt expect it for this year. But if it could be done for next year it would be very cool!

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I like your ideas.

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Please read my FEAR/Portal/HalfLife Fan Fiction!
Repurposed

Sounds cool. An alternative, if the Devs think it's too much work, is to spawn this stuff, temporarily in an existing zone, like Croatoa.

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131430 Starfare: First Contact
178774 Tales of Croatoa: A Rose By Any Other Name ( 2009 MA Best In-Canon Arc ) ( 2009 Player Awards - Best Serious Arc )

BIG THUMBS UP!

More stuff like the Ski Slope for special events, please!

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bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonner-
ronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenth ur-
nuk!

Thanks guys I really appreciate the positive vibes. *BIG SMILE*

Spawning this stuff in Croatoa would work fine I guess, or even modify a zone that not many people like (i could be wrong here) but I dont think many people care for Dark Astoria or Boomtown. With the way that NPCs dissapear when you get close to them in Dark Astoria would be a cool way to make the ghosts in the Mystery Mansion. I would really like to see a new zone personally. But either way I would just like to see improvement from the current Halloween Event.

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Thanks guys I really appreciate the positive vibes. *BIG SMILE*

Spawning this stuff in Croatoa would work fine I guess, or even modify a zone that not many people like (i could be wrong here) but I dont think many people care for Dark Astoria or Boomtown. With the way that NPCs dissapear when you get close to them in Dark Astoria would be a cool way to make the ghosts in the Mystery Mansion. I would really like to see a new zone personally. But either way I would just like to see improvement from the current Halloween Event.

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If they were to implement this as a separate zone, I could see them slowly adding stuff each year, such as a haunted pirate ship ( Aaaarr, ghost pirates! ), Witch lair, etc.

Heck, I'd even like a TF similar to the "Headless Horseman" quest you get in WoW.

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131430 Starfare: First Contact
178774 Tales of Croatoa: A Rose By Any Other Name ( 2009 MA Best In-Canon Arc ) ( 2009 Player Awards - Best Serious Arc )

All in all, not a bad idea. Except this part:

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You have to recieve a special Temp Power to weaken the scarecrow in order to defeat him.

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You should never need a temp power to defeat a free-spawning Giant Monster. Unless you can just stop at a store and buy it. Relying on it dropping is not a good idea. If it spawns and no one has the temp power you have an unstoppable GM running around, potentially killing everyone in the zone.

I have no issue with the rest of your ideas though.

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To the OP, I would like to contribute some ideas for a Haunted House that I’ve been working on for awhile now.

Here’s a mixture of horror ideas most of which are inspired from horror novels, movies, TV shows, PnP RPGs, & video games.

Some ideas are recycled from other Halloween threads; I forgot to grab names so I apologize in advance.




Enviroment


The use of cut scenes to show you how other visitors to the house died.

Opening a certain door suddenly causes the rooms behind you to lock, forcing you to continue forward to find another way out. (Disable TP powers, Pocket D transport etc…)

Dim Lighting with the rooms only lit by Candelabras or Skull-Head Candle holders. (Found on most CoT style maps)

Fog/mist in the hallways.

Sound Cues. Assorted moans, groans, screams, creaking doors & the occasional Howling wolf sounds.

Ghosts walking thru the rooms/hallways that vanish when you get too close to them. (Dark Astoria ghosts)

Bleeding walls or Blood Written warnings that appear as you get close.

Statues that slowly turn to face you as you approach.

Glowing eyes in the dark that follow you.

Old fashioned machinery that suddenly starts up as you approach & then suddenly stops, or an antique victrola that plays a snippet of a haunting melody & then stops.

When defeated you rez in a room with dead bodies all around you. And you rez with low health & end.

Spiderwebs/Cobwebs (Can use the webs that hold your characters in the Arachnoid missions’ redside)

Swarm of bugs skittering across the floor. (Can use the same FX that is used near the Jail Bird badge redside)

Skeletons chained to a wall. (Similar to the ones from Fort Hades in Port Oakes)

Secret doors/Passageways.

Library full of books labeled Witchcraft, Voodoo or Pagan Rituals.

The kitchen should have food with worms & bugs crawling over it.





Encounters


1: Catacombs under the house that leads to a secret crypt with coffins. Some of the coffins act like the Striga Vampire transformation capsules.


2: A window separates you from a room you cannot enter. You see the room burst into flames & you hear screams. Bloody handprints begin appearing on the glass. After a moment the fire & screams stop, the handprints disappear & everything goes back to normal.


3: A section of the mansion has an indoor Arboretum or greenhouse with a moss covered pond in the center as get close vines burst forth from the pond & attack you. (The “vines” can be re-skinned Hydra tentacles made to look like vines) Once all the vines are defeated a few dead bodies float to the surface.


4: An altar sacrifice room, where as long as you are inside it you keep losing health & creatures continuously attack you while in that room. (Sort of a mystic version of the Terra Volta reactor room, but while you are losing health the attacking creatures are being healed)

There should be a unique sound cue for this room with chanting sounds in the background.
Bonus points if the NPC chat says, “Ph'nglui mglw'nafh C'thulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.”


5: You find a lost child alone that, while talking to you, suddenly transforms (Warwolf or Kheldian style) into a horrifying monster. After defeating the monster the ghost of the child thanks you for freeing him/her.


6: A ballroom full of guests in formal wear. A bright lighting flash erupts & all the “guests” are transformed into zombies in formal wear. The NPC chat says, “Join us…Join us.” (As homage to “The Shining” one guest should be named Jack & another named Grady)

For each zombie you defeat, 2 more rise from the ground. The only way to win is to leave the room; the zombies do not pursue & they stop spawning.


7: One room is a torture room, with a midnighter mage on a rack. He shouts “Nooooo…Get Out…Run.” A large GM class enemy with an axe charges at you.


8: A room with a fireplace where the flames form different shapes & horrifying faces. When you get close to the fireplace a swarm of fire imps & gremlins attack you. While you are fighting them larger & larger fire creatures/fire demons keep coming out of the flames until you destroy the fireplace.



9: A room that has several dead bodies on the floor. One fatally wounded citizen on the ground says “HELP ME, help me, hel---.” (If the devs can make the body twitch, even better)

Beyond the bodies there is a small boy holding a bloody knife (untargetable, of course) & says “It made me do it, the house made me do it. There is no hope left, not for me…not for you either, I see that now. This is the only way to leave this place.”
He stabs himself & dies; you see his spirit rise from his body. (Carnival Death animation)


10: Suits of Armor that come to life & attacks you. (Can use the Living Armor from the Darrin Wade storyarc)






Too bad this game doesn’t have mirrors; there are a few good things we can do with that.

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You should never need a temp power to defeat a free-spawning Giant Monster. Unless you can just stop at a store and buy it. Relying on it dropping is not a good idea. If it spawns and no one has the temp power you have an unstoppable GM running around, potentially killing everyone in the zone.

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Absolutely not a random drop, actually it would be a temp power that you could get by completing the haunted house, that way people would have to enter the house. There could even be little clues that the NPCs would tell you like one NPC says "I hear that the Scarecrow comes to life on this night every year, but some say he has a weakness" then a different NPC could say "I heard that the Lord of the mansion used a special tome to control the scarecrow" and then another rumor could be "There is a hidden library in the mansion with books on magic and the occult." or some similar clues of that effect that lead you into the mansion to get the temp power which could be a magic tome.

The weakening effect could be similar to the one to defeat Dr. Aeon, except multiple people would get it and use it, or similar to the temp power in the new Kahn TF comming with i15. Only difference really is that you are using it on a GM instead of an AV.

NICE those are cool ideas Hero. Yeah I definately want the house to connect to the graveyard crypt. Some of the things I automatically throw in with a haunted house and need not elaborate. Just Imagine anything from The Haunting and go from there. As for the Shining homage, I love your idea but I doubt the devs would do it because copyright issues. "Its OKAY hunnie, he saw it on the television..." Cue Nickelson crazy face expression.

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The use of cut scenes to show you how other visitors to the house died.

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I am all about cutscenes, but finding out how these people died through solving the riddles is really the point here. The fun is unveiling the mystery, not having it shown to you. Maybe a better way to do this is have the AV at the end tell the story in a cut scene just before the battle, or after the battle before he dies and whithers away in a gentle breeze.

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Opening a certain door suddenly causes the rooms behind you to lock, forcing you to continue forward to find another way out. (Disable TP powers, Pocket D transport etc…)

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When defeated you rez in a room with dead bodies all around you. And you rez with low health & end.

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These are definately cool ideas, but causing a character to be "stuck" and unable to move backwards is more of a pain in the rear, rather than a fun cool element that causes you to proceed ahead. When stuck in the CoT Jail, or the Villain Jail in Mayhems, is interesting, but causes everyone in the team to have this overwhelming "awwwwww man " kind of feeling. I want this to be about fun. If you don't like something or if you are getting bored, or having a hard time getting through, I want you to be able to get out and recruit or be able to tp everyone to be rezzed etc. But I applaud your effort for something new!

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Statues that slowly turn to face you as you approach.

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This is an AWESOME idea but how would the statue turn its head to follow a person on a team, it cannot follow everyone if they are spread out. Perhaps instead it would slowly turn and change expression when a proximity trigger is hit somewhere in the next room or the end of the hallways etc.

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Swarm of bugs skittering across the floor. (Can use the same FX that is used near the Jail Bird badge redside)

Skeletons chained to a wall. (Similar to the ones from Fort Hades in Port Oakes)

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These would be cool for the crypts but I don't think it would be good in the mansion.

I am liking all of these ideas but they would probably have to be things that are added later. Just creating the new map and new AVs & GMs would be a lot of work.

It seems that everyone likes this thread so please tell your friends about it. Thanks.

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