Foul sites with memories of ancient deeds...Architecture that helps invoke that slow sense of pleasing terror that is essential to the genre. Otherwise its just horror not Gothic horror.
Yes, architecture (and to lesser extent landscape) is of extreme importance in Gothic Horror. Think of classics such as The Castle Otranto, Northanger Abbey (ok, a parody of the gothic style, but still...), Wuthering Heights, Dracula, The Fall of the House of Usher, ...
So a sentient house that collapses on the inhabitants.
A mimic gone mad... a Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mimic :O
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I don’t know that you necessarily need to go the ‘building as monster angle’ ... and I’m sure there will be plenty of haunted houses and such. But, as in the classic gothic novels, where the house / castle / church / monastery is a character, I hope that in this AP the architecture is an NPC. Buildings and structures need character in a gothic setting.
Rather than approaching an old church on a hill, the PCs approach a lonely church perched high on a craggy hill, with flying buttresses, broken gargoyles adorning the corners of the rooves, and a single flickering light seen in a window within the crumbling bell tower.
Rather than being faced with a spiked metal fence, the PCs must contend with a fence of tall iron spears decorated with black metal lacework.
Rather than entering a once grand hall, the PCs enter a hall of cold stone and harsh echoes, the vaulted ceilings draped with sheets of dust filled cobwebs.
Rather than finding a secret door leading to a hidden passage, the PCs discover that shifting the iron candle sconce grinds open a stone panel leading to a claustrophobic passageway, barely two feet wide, its walls slick with moisture and mould.
Rather than an encounter taking place in a ten foot wide corridor, the PCs face their opponent on a crumbling stone walkway, its railing long since gone, high above a cobbled courtyard.
Then there is the Alb. A old and tiny man who would sneak into your house by night while you are sleeping. He would sit on your chest implanting nightmaers into your dream. He would then press unto your chest to get the nightmares out of your mouth to consume. His victims either went mad because of the nightmares or died because their chest would burst.
I am just thinking... parents should not tell small children those stories... they are awfull....
The Alb or Alp is etymologically from the same source as our Elf. Elves changed a lot from their pagan roots in Germany. But the Alp could be envisioned as an elf (though it sounds like an evil fey gnome) if one wishes to explore the parallels. Historically, the folkloric elf was linked also to disease, incubus-like activity, and blood sacrifices... And the Norse/Germanic anti-hero Hagen (Hogni) was a son of one of these sorts of night elves with a mortal queen.
Re Castle Otranto mentioned earlier (by Walpole): an enormous helmet falls from the sky on someone in that book, crushing them.
A strange work.
But it makes one think of a gruesome magical trap.
I added a spoiler tag.
What about Lovecraft's Deep Ones? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shadow_Over_Innsmouth
I mean, I grant you, kuo-toa are pretty much a take on a D&D version of deep ones, but generally one that turns them into less a horror monster and more a generic-D&D-ish underdark monster.
I think you could do a pretty good alternate gothic horror take on the deep ones. The whole devil's bargain that is a town like Innsmouth making an agreement to sacrifice to the deep ones and breed with them feels very gothic horror to me, especially when you add in the sort of dual humanity-inhumanity of the deep one-human offspring, growing up human in a sense but in service to inhuman entities, and never quite knowing when the call of the sea might steal the last vestiges of their humanity entirely.
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What about Lovecraft's Deep Ones? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shadow_Over_Innsmouth
I mean, I grant you, kuo-toa are pretty much a take on a D&D version of deep ones, but generally one that turns them into less a horror monster and more a generic-D&D-ish underdark monster.
I think you could do a pretty good alternate gothic horror take on the deep ones. The whole devil's bargain that is a town like Innsmouth making an agreement to sacrifice to the deep ones and breed with them feels very gothic horror to me, especially when you add in the sort of dual humanity-inhumanity of the deep one-human offspring, growing up human in a sense but in service to inhuman entities, and never quite knowing when the call of the sea might steal the last vestiges of their humanity entirely.
In Pathfinder Skum are Deep Ones equivalwnt ad Kua-Toa are closed content. As for Innsmouth, I suggest you read
This AP has me picturing The Witcher - the feel of the world, the grittiness of the cities and towns, and the creepy monsters that live there.
ALL I KNOW IS THAT THIS ADVENTURE PATH NEEDS ONE THING ABOVE ALL OTHERS:
plague doctors (possibly as an alchemist variant)
Something akin to the Pale Man from Pans Labyrinth! Uber creepy!
One of the coolest creatures I've run across came from Cthulhu, the Worm that Walks. I made a variant (and never got to use it.. :( )that was a necromancer who's essence was absorbed into a swarm of flesh-eating beetles (think the Mummy movie, but smaller bugs). It was meant to be a BBEG for the party but the game got disrupted by the usual "life too busy" stuff... I later used it as a character (somewhat nerfed down) in another game. I like the idea of an intelligent swarm hiding amongst humans as passing himself off as "just that creepy magic-user guy."
Little did they know...
Cannibals.....that always gives my players the shivers.....
Although it might just be my descriptives.
If no one mentioned that one already: Erlking.
Anything Lovecraftian and Mythos based. (Aren't one of the installments going to focus on the cults of the old ones?)
Director of Game Development
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Anything Lovecraftian and Mythos based. (Aren't one of the installments going to focus on the cults of the old ones?)
I think this issue might be the one you're looking for.
Anything Lovecraftian and Mythos based. (Aren't one of the installments going to focus on the cults of the old ones?)I think this issue might be the one you're looking for.
Yup, that's the one :)
ill be decidely upset without a PROPER Death Knight.
and ill DEFINITELY be playing an inquisitor/oracle with the haunted curse in this one!
DO NOT put any soul bound dolls int his one (theyve been in at LEAST three APs)
Im trying to think of Horror based stuff that is NOT undead.
what about a cult of abberation worshipping degernate assassins
something like the Thuggee Cult from India?
In-bred half orc assassins (plenty of deformities) that worship (and snatch bodies for) a Mind Flayer Sorcerer with the Undead bloodline? ooh or break the sorcerer mold with the mind flayer a bit, what about a mindflayer witch?
Im definately going to be disappointed now if there isnt a body snatching cult with a mindflayer leader now....
Dont let me down!
Sadly, mindflayers are WotC's private property, rather than open content. Paizo can't use them without ending up in legal trouble.
Sadly, mindflayers are WotC's private property, rather than open content. Paizo can't use them without ending up in legal trouble.
wait there isnt a mindflayer in the bestiary? weird i didnt even notice.
well what else could be a mind stealing body snatching villan?
an elite advanced gargantuan intellect devourer? (very cthulu-ish)
or maybe just some new tentacle-y monster of similar devoury-ness?
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Sadly, mindflayers are WotC's private property, rather than open content. Paizo can't use them without ending up in legal trouble.wait there isnt a mindflayer in the bestiary? weird i didnt even notice.
well what else could be a mind stealing body snatching villan?
an elite advanced gargantuan intellect devourer? (very cthulu-ish)
or maybe just some new tentacle-y monster of similar devoury-ness?
The Deathknight is already here, it's called Graveknight and was statted up in the 2nd episode of Council of Thieves (ironically, by the very same person who designed it for 3ed).
Intellect Devourers are Paizo's Designated Replacements for Illithids.
Sadly, mindflayers are WotC's private property, rather than open content. Paizo can't use them without ending up in legal trouble.wait there isnt a mindflayer in the bestiary? weird i didnt even notice.
well what else could be a mind stealing body snatching villan?
an elite advanced gargantuan intellect devourer? (very cthulu-ish)
or maybe just some new tentacle-y monster of similar devoury-ness?
The Deathknight is already here, it's called Graveknight and was statted up in the 2nd episode of Council of Thieves (ironically, by the very same person who designed it for 3ed).
Intellect Devourers are Paizo's Designated Replacements for Illithids.
intellect devourers certainly arent new if thats what you mean, they have been around since illithids
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intellect devourers certainly arent new if thats what you mean, they have been around since illithidsSadly, mindflayers are WotC's private property, rather than open content. Paizo can't use them without ending up in legal trouble.wait there isnt a mindflayer in the bestiary? weird i didnt even notice.
well what else could be a mind stealing body snatching villan?
an elite advanced gargantuan intellect devourer? (very cthulu-ish)
or maybe just some new tentacle-y monster of similar devoury-ness?
The Deathknight is already here, it's called Graveknight and was statted up in the 2nd episode of Council of Thieves (ironically, by the very same person who designed it for 3ed).
Intellect Devourers are Paizo's Designated Replacements for Illithids.
Nope, but since Paizo can't use mindflayers, somebody had to fill the shoes. ID's are a very good replacement, IMHO.
For Gargoyles, an interesting concept is the weeping angels from Doctor Who episode Blink. They are only stone if you are looking at them, if stop looking, even to blink, they move at astounding speed to kill you.
Not sure if anyone else has mentioned this (haven't read the whole thread), but there is definitely at least one Doctor Who fan hiding among the Paizo staff as the Weeping Angels are already confirmed to exist. :) Classic Horrors Revisited, in its gargoyles section, contains a couple references to gargoyles who take the form of blinfolded angels and can only move when not being observed.
No statblock, unfortunately, but it gives me hope that we'll hear more about them at some point. :) I know personally the Weeping Angels are one of the few things that gives me the heebie jeebies. The only thing that creeped me out more was the Vashta Nerada. Pathfinders stats for ~those~ would really be awesome.
For Gargoyles, an interesting concept is the weeping angels from Doctor Who episode Blink. They are only stone if you are looking at them, if stop looking, even to blink, they move at astounding speed to kill you.Not sure if anyone else has mentioned this (haven't read the whole thread), but there is definitely at least one Doctor Who fan hiding among the Paizo staff as the Weeping Angels are already confirmed to exist. :) Classic Horrors Revisited, in its gargoyles section, contains a couple references to gargoyles who take the form of blinfolded angels and can only move when not being observed.
No statblock, unfortunately, but it gives me hope that we'll hear more about them at some point. :) I know personally the Weeping Angels are one of the few things that gives me the heebie jeebies. The only thing that creeped me out more was the Vashta Nerada. Pathfinders stats for ~those~ would really be awesome.
The present showrunner for Doctor Who, Steven Moffat, wrote both episodes these monsters appeared in. I have always enjoyed his scripts more than other for the sheer terror they evoke (and quite appropriately, given the hide behind the sofa response so many kids had to the Daleks, who, I think, unfortunately became kind of silly).
Okay folks, we've done this before, but now it's time for the horror-themed bonus round!
What folkloric/mythological/public domain monsters to do YOU want to see in the Bestiary sections of the Carrion Crown Adventure Path?
We're really playing up the gothic horror angle with this one and a thousand eyes are always better than two when it comes to this sort of research, so whatcha got!?
When possible, links would be very helpful!
You'll have to come up with your own stats & mechanics, but there's a bunch of great visuals here.
How about Black Eyed Children? I first heard about them on 12 to Midnight's site when they were still doing d20M stuff and have since bopped around the net and read different tales of them. Creepy stuff. I believe one of the first articles on them is here.
I also like the idea of variant scarecrows. Like maybe soul-sucking ones, or the scarecrows that collect body parts in hopes of making a REAL body ;)
I always like the Brain in the Jar idea.
It's far too late, because the projects have probably already been assigned. That being said, if you even think about an intellect devourer.. I'd suggest the skintakers. From RPG Superstar. A popular monster that was never statted up or developed any further, and is now the property of Paizo Publishing.
I admit my bias.
On the other hand, I'm not holding my breath either. It's quite late in the development cycle I imagine.
"The helmet, my lord! The helmet!" =pRe Castle Otranto mentioned earlier (by Walpole): an enormous helmet falls from the sky on someone in that book, crushing them.
A strange work.
Got it covered. :P
Some kind of aristocrat 1/fighter 2/barbarian 1/rogue 3/necromancer 7 (vs lvl 12 players). Maybe not quite up to player strength, but utterly unkillable. Hack him to pieces? He'll just regenerate, no use digging out his heart (its gone!) etc.
Burning isnt much good either. Nailing him to the floor? Good for a while..
A crazed learned man who just so it happens, discovered immortality. And since then locked himself up in a vast rotten mansion filled with starnge skeletons, weird apparatuses and moldy books.
Good old Green Slime. Yes, the variety that kills in 2 rounds. But this one also reanimates the killed. Very low hitpoints, and instantly slain by fire.. sure.. its weak. In a sense.
Now face a whole crowded cave of them. And your only defence is fire or cold. How long can they keep the torces burning?
Fireball me, damnit, fireball pleaasee!!
Ok haven't read through all of this thread yet so I don't know if its been mentioned yet. But im just after re-reading the old kingdom trilogy by gareth nix and so would love to see some monsters inspired by that.
Now while most of his undead can be summerized as zombies, perhaps instead think of them as long dead souls that, either through their own willing power or by the forcefull power of a necromancer have forced their souls into some form of body. Now this can be anything from a recent dead human, which in the books would be the hands or one soul placed into a large number of crows (say 100 or so) that where killed for this purpose (http://oldkingdomwiki.wikia.com/wiki/Gore_crows).
You could also have the shadow hands, which are the souls brought back into the living world without a body but instead by infusing them with magic. As a result they are unaffected by physical weapons (unless specificly enchanted) and certain magic only slows or stunes them.
Of course the older the soul or the more powerfull it is the more it consumes and decayes the body it is in. Therefore the mor it needs to find the living to feed upon their live to sustain its own or to kill them so as to transfer to a new and fresh body.
Id also love to see something like the greater dead and freemagic creatures. Thease would be creatures who are either partly or completly constructed of horrible destructive magic housing a horrible transformed and possibly insane soul. They shape themselfs as what they think of as beautiful and normal, but due to them being dead for so long this is now a horribly twisted image to witness.
In the books these creatures tend to change themselfs slightly depending on the situation. For instance one moment they might seem almost human(maybe while somewhat elongated or stretched looking) but then when suddenly angered turn into
Examples: http://oldkingdomwiki.wikia.com/wiki/Mordicant
http://oldkingdomwiki.wikia.com/wiki/Stilken
Will a Headless Horsema-, uh I mean, Dullahan make an appearance?
I will be gravely disappointed if he doesn't. :D In the AP, not the bestiary part, we have those.
It's pronounced 'Igor'!OMG!
IGORS AS A RACE!!!!
Awesome.
"I'm a 12th level igor! I have improved hunch!"
Igors would be most epic!
It's probably too late to add now, but how about...
How about the Rusalka? The souls of drowned maidens who lure men to their watery graves where they drown them. They're sort a cross between classical sirens and glamered, waterlogged zombies. Plus they're slavic myth, so they have an "Ustalav" kind of feel...
I'd like to see something like the corpses in the Dead Marshes from LotR. Gollum screeching "Don't look into the lights!" and Frodo becoming hypnotized is a pretty creepy scene.
Basically, I'm hoping and praying to give my group nightmares with Carrion Crown. The more terrifying the monsters turn out and the more jarring the situations in which we'll meet them, the better. If I'm really lucky I'll get to make fun of a poor buddy for an emergency change of shorts for the rest of my life.
The Barber from Suck-a-Thumb. That's all that needs saying about that.
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I'd also really enjoy seeing a dragon designed to evoke horror. It's hard to do because they're the blunt instruments of fantasy fear, but there's something there in the ancientness and alien nature.
The Umbral Dragon has a good leg up on that... any dragon that eats ghosts scares the heck out of me. And certain interpretations of the Jabberwocky have that sense of wrongness that makes horror work. I used the Jabberwock to good effect in a Ravenloft game once.
But I think it'd be a good design challenge to create a dragon designed from the ground up for horror.
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... Weirdly enough, when it comes to mining ideas for horror stories and monsters, I keep wanting to watch Courage the Cowardly Dog
OMG!
IGORS AS A RACE!!!!
Awesome.
"I'm a 12th level igor! I have improved hunch!"
3e Ravenloft adapted the Half-orc to the caliban race.
See also this fanmade ravenloft pathfinder conversion: Mistfinder.pdf
3e Ravenloft adapted the Half-orc to the caliban race.
You know, I gotta admit, that always kinda weirded me out. Does that mean orcs and half-orcs are immune to the Mists?
I keep imagining a half-orc saving his party from going to Ravenloft by staring down an oncoming fog-bank.
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*HALF-ORC-STARE!*
The Mists look sheepish somehow, and slink away.