Golarion Day: The Stars Are Right!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

So, I was out sick yesterday, and as a result missed out seeing Pathfinder #46 get sent off to the printer. Which is pretty exciting, since that volume's got more Lovecraftian awesomeness in it than anything we've done to date? The proof is in these out-of-context illustrations by Scott Purdy that are sure to get everyone thinking that the Carrion Crown Adventure Path will be taking some pretty drastic and unexpected turns! (Fans of Carrion Crown's Ustalav locations can breathe easy, though, since these pictures are from the foreword and the bestiary of the book, and thus don't actually depict events that occur in this volume's adventure.)

James Jacobs
Creative Director

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Tags: Alahazra Carrion Crown Golarion Thursdays Iconics Lovecraft Monsters Oracles Pathfinder Adventure Path Pathfinder Campaign Setting Seoni Sorcerers Wallpapers
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Liberty's Edge

That is a really big octopus humanoid with wings.

Sovereign Court

Awesome images, what's the scale on the tentacle-mouth beastie?

Seoni looks super-cool in her cold-weather cloak.


WOW! I am in love! And to be totally sure it isn't with the two humans!

Sczarni

GeraintElberion wrote:

Awesome images, what's the scale on the tentacle-mouth beastie?

Seoni looks super-cool in her cold-weather cloak.

I figure those are rays or magic missiles hitting his stomach from ant-like spellcasters...

Grand Lodge

Cpt_kirstov wrote:
GeraintElberion wrote:

Awesome images, what's the scale on the tentacle-mouth beastie?

Seoni looks super-cool in her cold-weather cloak.

I figure those are rays or magic missiles hitting his stomach from ant-like spellcasters...

Looked like warships shooting at it to me...


Soo... does that mean the Bestiary section will have Elder Things? It would make sense, since we already have Shoggoths in Golarion.

Dark Archive

words fail me to describe this... i guess i'll just go with "cool"

Scarab Sages

!!!NERDGASM!!!

The Exchange

Um I just want to make sure that people are not living under rocks here. Great C'thulhu Is the beast on the right. In case you were unfamiliar with the writings of H. P. Lovecraft

Sczarni

Crimson Jester wrote:
Um I just want to make sure that people are not living under rocks here. Great C'thulhu Is the beast on the right. In case you were unfamiliar with the writings of H. P. Lovecraft

But James has said multiple times that Cthulhu exists on Earth, not on Golarion... but, it is for the forward, so not being part of Golarion proper is ok


evilash wrote:
Soo... does that mean the Bestiary section will have Elder Things? It would make sense, since we already have Shoggoths in Golarion.

Well, here's part of the spoiler-ific synopsis of AP 46:

Spoiler:

"In a structure hidden beneath the black waves, the PCs discover the agent of the Whispering Way betrayed, and a congregation of eldritch things readying to unleash its foul lord, Shub-Niggurath."

Are eldritch things the same as Elder Things? Dunno, but they sure do *sound* similar.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

evilash wrote:
Soo... does that mean the Bestiary section will have Elder Things? It would make sense, since we already have Shoggoths in Golarion.

Sure looks like an elder thing in the ice, eh? :-P

As for the other picture... the idea there is a "what if" scenario—"What if Cthulhu attacked Riddleport?" Look close, and you can see the broken up cyphergate in the water...

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Cpt_kirstov wrote:
Crimson Jester wrote:
Um I just want to make sure that people are not living under rocks here. Great C'thulhu Is the beast on the right. In case you were unfamiliar with the writings of H. P. Lovecraft
But James has said multiple times that Cthulhu exists on Earth, not on Golarion... but, it is for the forward, so not being part of Golarion proper is ok

Cthulhu does indeed exist on Earth. He's still there. The fun part about all the forewords in Carrion Crown is that we, essentially, get to do thematic "movie posters" for that adventure's themes that don't necessarily equate to what's going on in the adventure.

That said... I did find a way to allow Cthulhu to influence things on Golarion in a way that doesn't break established canon that he's actually in R'lyeh on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean on Earth.


James Jacobs wrote:
As for the other picture... the idea there is a "what if" scenario—"What if Cthulhu attacked Riddleport?" Look close, and you can see the broken up cyphergate in the water...

I don't believe that. If a thing like that assaulted Riddleport, it would find the place deserted within half a turn of the hourglass. Certainly no small armada of pirate braves would sail against it (maybe one, steered by a lone foolhardy captain). I'd be the first one running for the gates...

Edit: which is to say that it is a super awesome picture


James Jacobs wrote:
That said... I did find a way to allow Cthulhu to influence things on Golarion in a way that doesn't break established canon that he's actually in R'lyeh on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean on Earth.

...I'm afraid to ask, but: does it involve us being under some form of collective delusion?

Liberty's Edge

Ia! Ia! Cthulhu fhtagn!

Liberty's Edge

Crimson Jester wrote:
Um I just want to make sure that people are not living under rocks here. Great C'thulhu Is the beast on the right. In case you were unfamiliar with the writings of H. P. Lovecraft

Yeah, it concerned me a bit that it took 9 posts until anyone identified him by name ...

Paizo Employee Creative Director

LoreKeeper wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
As for the other picture... the idea there is a "what if" scenario—"What if Cthulhu attacked Riddleport?" Look close, and you can see the broken up cyphergate in the water...

I don't believe that. If a thing like that assaulted Riddleport, it would find the place deserted within half a turn of the hourglass. Certainly no small armada of pirate braves would sail against it (maybe one, steered by a lone foolhardy captain). I'd be the first one running for the gates...

Edit: which is to say that it is a super awesome picture

You grossly underestimate pirate pride! Also, pirates vs. Cthulhu is good business.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

LoreKeeper wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
That said... I did find a way to allow Cthulhu to influence things on Golarion in a way that doesn't break established canon that he's actually in R'lyeh on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean on Earth.

...I'm afraid to ask, but: does it involve us being under some form of collective delusion?

Nope.

More to do with the fact that he's not from Earth, that his spawn are certainly on more planets than Earth, and that Cthulhu's dreaming mind can reach far and wide to influence people on multiple worlds.


Ha-ha-ha! Leave it to Jacobs! Can't wait.


James Jacobs wrote:
...Cthulhu does indeed exist on Earth. He's still there... established canon that he's actually in R'lyeh on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean on Earth.

Wait, that sounds like you're not on Earth either, James. Just where are you accessing the Earth's Internet from?

Or are the Paizo offices in a demiplane, maybe next door to Leng? {suddenly feels inadequately Chaotic enough}

The Exchange

Mothman wrote:
Crimson Jester wrote:
Um I just want to make sure that people are not living under rocks here. Great C'thulhu Is the beast on the right. In case you were unfamiliar with the writings of H. P. Lovecraft
Yeah, it concerned me a bit that it took 9 posts until anyone identified him by name ...

No doubt, others were talking about how no one seemed to "just know" who it was.


Crimson Jester wrote:


Yeah, it concerned me a bit that it took 9 posts until anyone identified him by name ...

I assumed it was a foregone conclusion, and thus didn't need to be said.


Please tell me that giant great old one rising out of the Riddleport's coast is going to get STATS in a bestiary! It would make an EPIC final boss/villain for my PC's!

RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32

James Jacobs wrote:


More to do with the fact that he's not from Earth, that his spawn are certainly on more planets than Earth, and that Cthulhu's dreaming mind can reach far and wide to influence people on multiple worlds.

Ooh... are we gonna get stats for the star-spawn of Cthulhu?

'Cause that would be, you know, completely awesome. (CR 20 or higher please!)

The Exchange

Whoa...

It has been a long time since I have changed my wallpaper. But then, it has been a long time since I saw such an awesome new Cthulhu picture.


Stunned into worshipful silence by the awesomeness of this.


James Jacobs wrote:
...stuff...

Schweet!

Liberty's Edge

This is incredibly good!

As for Cthulhu and ships, I remember that one story had someone pilot a yacht through Cthulhu -- destroying him for a short time.

If beings from other planes can influence events on Golarion, why wouldn't Cthulhu, Hastur, and Nyarlathotep do so as well. (Hmm, Nyarlathotep in an Osirion based adventure would be interesting.)


I hate Cthulu..... never cared for Lovecraft's work

Dark Archive

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Yeah I am in favor of more chocolate in my peanut butter ... wait that sounded vaguely dirty... I would like to see some more cthulhu elements in Golarion.

Contributor

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Dark_Mistress wrote:
Yeah I am in favor of more chocolate in my peanut butter ... wait that sounded vaguely dirty... I would like to see some more cthulhu elements in Golarion.

No problem. Pathfinder #46 is chocked full, but there's plenty more coming down the line!

Dark Archive

The Gold Goblin is now taking bets on this fight, the odds are 66,666 to 1 in favour of Cthulhu.

Your chance for a big payout !

(CASH UP FRONT ONLY PLEASE)


Steelfiredragon wrote:
I hate Cthulu..... never cared for Lovecraft's work

well that just goes to show your a big silly :-P


Wow, now I can't wait for that part of the AP, even if they are out of context those pictures contain a massive amount of awesome within them!


William Ronald wrote:


If beings from other planes can influence events on Golarion, why wouldn't Cthulhu, Hastur, and Nyarlathotep do so as well.

Who says they aren't?

Indeed, it has been strongly hinted that the CE god Rovagug is a member of the Cthulhu Mythos, as is the "being" that possessed Zon-Kuthon. I even recall reading a post from some time back suggesting that Zon-Kuthon is, in fact, one of Nyarlathotep's many faces.


Generic Villain wrote:
Spoiler:
"In a structure hidden beneath the black waves, the PCs discover the agent of the Whispering Way betrayed, and a congregation of eldritch things readying to unleash its foul lord, Shub-Niggurath."

Oh, man... who do I have to sell my soul to to get some

Spoiler:
Dark Young
in there as well?
Paizo Employee Creative Director

Berselius wrote:
Please tell me that giant great old one rising out of the Riddleport's coast is going to get STATS in a bestiary! It would make an EPIC final boss/villain for my PC's!

Cthulhu is very much beyond the maximum CR 25 that I'm comfortable statting up using our current rules system. He gets talked about a LITTLE bit in the book... but no stats are given. But I will say this—we give you the tools you need to stat him up however you want.


William Ronald wrote:
If beings from other planes can influence events on Golarion, why wouldn't Cthulhu, Hastur, and Nyarlathotep do so as well.

Well, how far away is Aldebaran from Golarion's solar system?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Ooh... I forgot to mention this because I had to rush to write the blog post, but I'd like to give the awesome folks at Chaosium a HUGE thank you for letting us play in their eldritch pond! Lovecraft's writings are, of course, in the public domain, but Chaosium and their Call of Cthulhu game have done an INCREDIBLE amount of work keeping his writing popular and accessible, particularly among us gamers, and if it weren't for the incredible work they've been doing over the past 3 decades plus, this volume of Pathfinder would likely have been a completely different thing altogether. So... Huzzah for Chaosium!!!!!

Paizo Employee Creative Director

evilash wrote:
William Ronald wrote:
If beings from other planes can influence events on Golarion, why wouldn't Cthulhu, Hastur, and Nyarlathotep do so as well.
Well, how far away is Aldebaran from Golarion's solar system?

In a setting where there are spells like gate and interplanetary teleport... distance doesn't matter.

Sczarni RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

Generic Villain wrote:
William Ronald wrote:


If beings from other planes can influence events on Golarion, why wouldn't Cthulhu, Hastur, and Nyarlathotep do so as well.

Who says they aren't?

Indeed, it has been strongly hinted that the CE god Rovagug is a member of the Cthulhu Mythos, as is the "being" that possessed Zon-Kuthon. I even recall reading a post from some time back suggesting that Zon-Kuthon is, in fact, one of Nyarlathotep's many faces.

What about Nodens? He is my favorite Elder God, but doesn't get much press.

Just had a thought implanted in my head. Nodens = Aroden! Aroden, while mortal was controlled by Nodens to find and raise the starstone. Touching the starstone allowed Nodens to enter into Aroden, thus giving him godly powers. All who passed the test of the starstone have an Elder God, Great Old One, or Outer God controlling them.

Paizo Employee Chief Creative Officer, Publisher

Well, it _did_ come from outer space... :)

Dark Archive

>.>
<.<

well there can always be more Cthulu like beings out there... maybe a whole race of them....

Sczarni RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

Erik Mona wrote:

Well, it _did_ come from outer space... :)

And would explain the crazy guy south of Mediogalti Island. It IS Aroden, whose mind has been shattered with the removal of Noden's control.

All my theories are fitting together now. MWU-HA-HA!!! Time to rethink my next campaign. Or just start working on a 3rd one...


I can't wait for this Adventure Path to come out. I've been running a Kingmaker campaign...

Kingmaker spoiler:
that expands off of the Candlemere tower and deals with the Dreamlands, Kadath, Leng, and the King in Yellow.

I think I will find great use for this.

RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16, 2011 Top 32, 2012 Top 4

P'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn, indeed!

Owner - House of Books and Games LLC

James Jacobs wrote:
Cthulhu is very much beyond the maximum CR 25 that I'm comfortable statting up using our current rules system. He gets talked about a LITTLE bit in the book... but no stats are given. But I will say this—we give you the tools you need to stat him up however you want.

!!!!!!!!!

KNEW I'd get to use my WizKids Mightly Cthulhu sooner or later!


Nice artwork, can't wait for this one.


James Jacobs wrote:
Also, pirates vs. Cthulhu is good business.

Heh. Very true indeed.

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