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Ia! Ia! Cthulhu fhtagn!
Greetings mortals, I am D'r'gnfaaazschnflha'aaym, Lord of the Second Night, Ruler of the Spaces Between Stars, King of the Unburning Flame. In a previous time, I was Dragonofashandflame, a humble GM for two ongoing games: Giantslayer and Wrath of the Righteous. Ever given to Ever given to the most arcane and academic pursuits, I lost myself in a book-keeper's shop in an odd alley I found in the ancient city of my youth. There I found a curious tome: Strange Aeons. I delved its occult depths, and lost myself in its arcane mysteries. Now, I long to see these places, and share them with the world.
I need 5 brave adventures to join me in this quest of my dreams to Unknown Kadath.
Characters are due: Sunday, September 11th, 2016 by 6am EST (that's Midnight, on the 10th where I live, which is why it's such a weird time).
Crunchy Goodness
All official paizo material is allowed, yes, including the leadership feat and its derivatives. I got really wordy… sorry about that.
No. Evils. Don’t ask, I’m not gonna budge. A lot of this game requires teamwork and trust (both in the GM and your fellow players), which are things that being evil doesn't often inspire.
Besides, part of the fun of this AP is you wake up with NO memory of who you are, or where you came from. Wouldn’t it be kinda cool to wake up, become this super awesome super good guy, only to realize later that you were a horrible monster? The conflict would be pretty gnarly and part of the package of Lovecraftian horror.
All official paizo content is allowed. Core, Base, Alternate, Hybrid, Unchained, and Occult classes and Prestige Classes are permitted, except for antipaladin, because they’re evil. If anyone seeks to join a prestige class that has stringent requirements, i.e. killing or binding a devil, murdering someone just because you could, satisfying a story feat, etc, I’ll make sure those requirements are met during the game. Characters that heavily rely on mounts (like samurai and cavalier) will have a hard time in this AP, since most of it happens indoors.
You have 25 ability points to spend using the point-buy method. You can drop no more than 2 scores to 7 (lower with racial modifiers, of course).
You’ll start at 1st level. We’ll advance using the Ad Hoc method: whenever you hit certain milestones in the game, I’ll advance ya a level. You should be around 16th level by the final fight, although I may figure out a way to push you to 20 so you have your cool toys at the end.
Hit Points: max HD + con mod each level.
Automatic Bonus Progression We’ll use Automatic Bonus Progression. But, you can swap when you take the mental and physical prowess trainings ONLY. i.e. Mental Prowess +2 happens at 6th level, and Physical Prowess happens at 7th level, a character may elect to take Physical Prowess at 6th level and Mental Prowess at 7th. BOTH enhancements MUST be taken, however.
Virtual Gearing and wealth You have max gp for your class to buy your gear. You can use skills like craft to reduce the cost of this gear as per the rules in the PFSRD. All rolls (pre-game) are assumed to be successes. Have fun. Basically, you just assume you find whatever gear you want when you level and pay for it accordingly from the wealth by level (although you only get half of the normal wealth thanks to Automatic Bonus Progression; you still come out ahead, though). Craft skills and feats can still be used to stretch your virtual dollar further.
Background Skills That brings me to skills. We’re going to use background skills in this game. Go nuts.
I like languages I think they lend some reality to a game where people with pointy ears shoot balls of fire at people while telling them to save the trees and NOT telling them to live long and prosper. So, unless the main language of an area is Taldane, Common won’t get you very far in that realm. That said, Varisian is the main language of Ustalav (where the game starts) and it'd be a good idea to know it starting out. If other languages end up becoming more important as the game moves forward, then your character should pick it up in game using spells, skills, etc.
Skill Unlocks
Both Occult and Unchained skill unlocks are allowed in this game. But, unless you’re an Unchained Rogue, or and Occult Character, you must take the required feat to access the unlocks.
Races
This is a bit of a conundrum. I like opening the world to all. And, all people are as likely to meet with the horror of the unknowable as any. However, a diverse menagerie of peoples is counter to the themes of the literature. To Lovecraft, an orc or a goblin, or even an elf, were things of horror and mystery, aberrations to the orderly flow of reality. Moreover, this is Ustalav. They are suspicious, paranoid, fear-driven, and superstitious to a fault. They’re stereotypical Transylvanian peasants in every B-horror monster movie ever made, ever. Anything that doesn’t conform to the general “human” paradigm is regarded with suspicion at best, and fear at worst. Plus, I hate Drow (i know, blasphemy). But, this IS Pathfinder, and if I were sticking to TRUE genre conventions the only “good” guys would be the guys unaffiliated with any sort of magic or deity and sharing a 1920s upper(middle) class New Englander’s world view. So….
Core races, Changlelings, Dhampir, and Skinwalkers are allowed without question. (it IS Ustalav, and theses guys are pretty common.. Plus they can hide).
Plane-touched and Underdark races are forbidden.
Anything else, is allowed on a case by case basis. REALLY make a strong case for why they’d be allowed to roam Ustalav and not lynched
1 Drawbacks and 3 traits. Every character MUST have a drawback to reflect their past and a piece of how they came to be in the asylum. They will receive the usual bonus trait for this drawback, which brings their total traits to three. One of these traits must be a campaign trait selected from the traits listed in the Player’s Guide.
However, the Campaign Traits need a bit of attention. There are lines in most of them that say something to the effect “You have the vague sense that you did something really bad, but you’re Much Better Now, and you know you’re forgiven by your deity/authority figure/moral compass”. No. You may have the vague sense that you did something bad, but you’re not forgiven. You screwed up. Big time. The fact that you still receive spells from your god, patron, or mystery or you're still allied with your order or whatever is no small miracle. You have been shown some measure of mercy for doing something very, very wrong, even though you don’t remember it. Or, perhaps, BECAUSE you don’t remember it. Either way, it doesn’t sit well with you.
This is because whatever you did, and the drawback you select ,will be used to drive the plot, and your character’s motivations, throughout the AP. They will be sources of angst and ennui that may lead to psychosis and mental illness. They may be weapons that the villains will use against you. They may even become powerful tools and allies, if wielded appropriately.
This brings me to sanity. We’re going to use the sanity and fear rules from Horror Adventures. Why? Because this is a Lovecraft-inspired AP, and one of the strongest themes in his works is that humans are not meant to deal with things outside the normal ken. Meddling with that which man was not meant to know, even being exposed to such things takes its toll on the human condition as our feeble mortal 3-dimensional minds try to comprehend non-euclidean geometry, alien biology, and other-worldly thought patterns. This means that encountering things like undead, aberrations, shapechangers, outsiders, and even fey and underdark races can shake even the staunchest of wills as their minds try to rationalize things that violate their preconceived notions of reality. You will not ALWAYS need to make fear or sanity checks for these things, and the number of checks needed to make will decrease as your minds become inured to the horrors they face, or their shattered psyche begin to heal. But, there will be checks from book 1 to the very end of book 6.
What can and will drive your character insane will be tied to your character’s campaign trait and drawback, as well as the events of the game. Characters can get better, or fall even more into the depths of madness, throughout the course of a game. If a character is nearing too close to “unplayable” we’ll discuss options.
What’s the fun in playing with the Cthulhu mythos if someone doesn’t have the risk of going crazy? We all go a little mad, sometime. Even characters that are normally immune to fear and mind-effects (like androids, or paladins at high enough levels) are not immune. Characters immune to fear will suffer the effects of fear 2 levels lower (so they need to be scared to suffer the effects of spooked).
[/b]You’ll be expected to track your Sanity Score, Edge, Threshold, and current fear rating.[/b] I’ll do my best to keep track of sanity on roll20 and Fear in a spoiler at the bottom of all posts. But, I’m something that pretends to be human. I may make mistakes. Characters that are immune to effects that would change their sanity, will follow a similar rule as the one for fear
Your character may not knowingly worship any chaotic evil god. What does this mean? This means that if your character’s alignment permits, the PC may worship, say Asmodeus, but not Rovagug. But, they don’t KNOW they worship this god. They know they worship a deity, they know they may even receive spells from said higher power. But, that’s it. They don’t know the name, or anything like that. They will, eventually, regain this knowledge, and the discovery might be something for celebration, or it might shake the very foundations of all they held dear.
This is also true for anything dealing with the Mythos. PCs can have knowledge of the creepy things that dwell between the stars, they may even have studied been an expert on them before they entered the asylum. But, now, they remember these things as though a dream or deja vous. They don't know how they know, just that they know such things.
Your characters have no memory of their lives. Thus, they have no background. Instead of sending in a background for your amnesiac characters, I want you to write a response to this scene. It’s the opening scene to the AP.
The city is ancient, older, even, than storied Absalom, the City at the Center of the World. The entryways to stately mansion of crumbling black and silver brick open, unseeingly to the cobbled street. Above, black stars sparkle in a viridian sky, and the whole city is bathed in the harsh light of a vermillion moon. Not a soul stirs on the streets in this nameless city, save for you. You know not how you have come to this fabled unnamed city, but this strange city is hauntingly familiar. At the fountain, long gone dry and dusty, in the plaza around the bend, you sat and listened to minstrels sing ancient tales of far-off Lomar and Oriab. Your feet slow, drawn by the haunting remembrance, not quite a memory, but far more than a vague feeling. You can still hear the lyres play, the bard’s songs. But, then, unease fills your heart, and you look back.
Behind you is a wall of sickly yellow fog, tumbling through the street’s canyon of crumbling, leaning manses like some jaundiced flash flood. Ahead, the oddly familiar avenue, curving to the left and right. Behind, from the silent swell of mist, emanates the sound of footsteps--slow and staggered, but somehow keeping pace with the careening, hungry wave. And always just behind. Ever out of reach, but close, and drawing closer. Within, you can discern faint shapes. The fog swirls and billows in opposite ways, as though stirred by the beats of wings and or animals deep within. And always, there are the footsteps.
Still you run, fleeing the plaza of your half-remembered songs, across a courtyard of pillars top by cerulean orbs that fold in on themselves in an alien geometry. Your flight takes you down another avenue, and the battered buildings appear almost ruinous, they slump over the path, nearly blotting out the bruised twilight sky. Again, the grimy cobblestone street splits. This time, one route curves uphill, while the other recklessly descends. Behind, the yellow fog and the relentless sound of pursuit grow closer…
We’re going to use Roll20. It’s free, and available here, if you don’t have an account already.
I’ll roll initiative, perception checks, saves, and anything that needs to be resolved immediately, you can handle everything else.
If you want an immediate action to go off, you need to tell me when you want that to occur, either during your turn as a condition that I’ll look for the subsequent round (yes you will need to keep stating the condition for the immediate action each turn). I will not, slog through 3 actions to get the immediate action in play. So, if you don’t immediately tell me when you want your immediate action to occur (or the condition that triggers it), it’s not gonna happen.
Please remember that this is a horror game, your PCs are supposed to be scared at some point. If things get too intense, please PM me and I’ll adjust accordingly. Similarly, if you need the fear factor to be dialed up a bit, notify me and I’ll get my Hammer Horror on.
I’m expecting a post schedule of 1 per 48 hours to allow for time differences (I live in Hawaii and teach from 6am to about 6pm. My noon is 6pm in NYC, and I don't check emails at work, or the "little darlings" tend to reenact some of the more interesting scenes from the Shadow Over Innsmouth).
Please keep track of your own statuses and what not. List essential stats (race, class level, alignment, hp, initiative, saves, SANITY, and perception) in the alias bar, spoiler everything else.
Please, be civil and polite to each other in these threads. I don’t approve of name calling or anything like that. If you disagree with someone’s opinions, discuss it respectfully in a level tone. If something really bugs you, send me a PM and I'll try to deal with it.
I’m new to PbP. I’m going to make mistakes. Please be gentle when I do :) I’ll try to fix what I borked.
*dot*
Currently looking at something with psychic magic. How will the fear and madness rules interact with emotion components?
Emotion Components: Emotion components represent a particular emotional state required to cast the spell.
A psychic spellcaster marshals her desire in order to focus and release the spell's energy. It is impossible to cast a spell with an emotion component while the spellcaster is under the influence of a non-harmless effect with the emotion or fear descriptors. Even if the effect's emotion matches the necessary emotion to cast the psychic spell, the spellcaster is not in control of her own desires and animal impulses, which is a necessary part of providing an emotion component.
Like will being spooked preclude using spells with them? Or a break with sanity?
*dot*
Currently looking at something with psychic magic. How will the fear and madness rules interact with emotion components?
Like will being spooked preclude using spells with them? Or a break with sanity?Emotion Components: Emotion components represent a particular emotional state required to cast the spell.
A psychic spellcaster marshals her desire in order to focus and release the spell's energy. It is impossible to cast a spell with an emotion component while the spellcaster is under the influence of a non-harmless effect with the emotion or fear descriptors. Even if the effect's emotion matches the necessary emotion to cast the psychic spell, the spellcaster is not in control of her own desires and animal impulses, which is a necessary part of providing an emotion component.
Good question. RAW, there should be some kind of penalty... but that would mean occult casters would be almost sitting ducks in this game, which seems... counter-intuitive. So, for lesser fear, no problem, the extent nerfs from the different states are significant enough to be penalty enough. For greater fear, again, they get the job done without me houseruling anything, since you don't have control of your character (and HAVE to cast spells) for a number of rounds. So...we go by what the fear table says.
Sanity will not affect thought components. Crazy psychics happen all the time.
Boopy dot of Boopiness.
I've no idea what exactly I want to play... so I should get on that. :)
Much dotness.
Quite possibly a human occultist. Very quite possibly. Almost certainly.
Dot in the darkness.
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This character was submitted for another strange Eons game.
Need to adjust to your spec, but she's a slayer and she's obviously trained to track and kill things.
She's neutral, because she doesn't know who she is, she just knows that she needs to work with these strangers to get out, she'll do whatever she needs to, but doesn't think she's inherently bad.
It seems hard to justify anything other than Neutral for me, as surely alignment is to an extent based on your sum of experience. Though I don't judge anyone for alternate reasoning.
I also like the idea of playing a relatively basic character for a relatively weird path. Though aside from picking up some two-weapon fighting, I've no real plans for the character stats-wise so can develop organically.
As a reaction to the initial post.
Somia makes a split second decision, her mind racing in slow motion as her legs propel her forwards. Is this a symbolic choice? Should she strive to try and rise above this? Break back to open open ground. Such thinking is a trap, there's no difference, up is likely as bad as down - she descends further downwards. It's easier to run downhill than up, she most likely belongs in the darkness anyway.
Oh, I should make an addendum to the chargen: this game is PbP, we're just using roll 20 for the maps. Everything else will happen here.
This character was submitted for another strange Eons game.
Need to adjust to your spec, but she's a slayer and she's obviously trained to track and kill things.
She's neutral, because she doesn't know who she is, she just knows that she needs to work with these strangers to get out, she'll do whatever she needs to, but doesn't think she's inherently bad.
It seems hard to justify anything other than Neutral for me, as surely alignment is to an extent based on your sum of experience. Though I don't judge anyone for alternate reasoning.I also like the idea of playing a relatively basic character for a relatively weird path. Though aside from picking up some two-weapon fighting, I've no real plans for the character stats-wise so can develop organically.
As a reaction to the initial post.
Somia makes a split second decision, her mind racing in slow motion as her legs propel her forwards. Is this a symbolic choice? Should she strive to try and rise above this? Break back to open open ground. Such thinking is a trap, there's no difference, up is likely as bad as down - she descends further downwards. It's easier to run downhill than up, she most likely belongs in the darkness anyway.
Cool. Interesting take.
For those of you selected, Dragonofashandflame is a phenomenal GM. I would apply myself if I wasn't already selected for another game.
Dot of much interest.
I'm thinking of a changling oracle, occult mystery or maybe heavens.
Or a human sorcerer.
Much thinking to do
When you say you want a response to the scene instead of a backstory does that mean we shouldn't have any idea of our character's backstory? I know they have amnesia, but the Player's Guide did say they may have some memories of their earlier life.
For those of you selected, Dragonofashandflame is a phenomenal GM. I would apply myself if I wasn't already selected for another game.
*blush* thanks!
*quietly gives D'hara a cookie and some insane artifact of demon-slaying as a bribe... I mean reward... I mean hey! Look! Shiny!!!*
This sounds really cool.
I've been wanting to try out an arcane trickster for some time (using accomplished sneak attacker to stay only one level behind normal), do you think that would fit for this game?
When you say you want a response to the scene instead of a backstory does that mean we shouldn't have any idea of our character's backstory? I know they have amnesia, but the Player's Guide did say they may have some memories of their earlier life.
I'd prefer not knowing anything, because that works better towards the atmosphere. Also, one of the reasons you are in the asylum is a HUGE plot point for the AP (without spoiling anything and the AP assumes certain things I'm not going to divulge, but most people wouldn't put in the background.
But I get that most players like to have backgrounds. I know I do. I doubt I'd be comfortable with submitting a character I didn't have at least an inkling about his past. However much you, as a player, know and write about your character's past is irrelevant to to getting in to the game. What matters most is how well you can immerse yourself in the themes of this AP. Hence, I'm only judging entries on the response to the prompt.
This sounds really cool.
I've been wanting to try out an arcane trickster for some time (using accomplished sneak attacker to stay only one level behind normal), do you think that would fit for this game?
Sure, I think.
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Hmm... Lets see if I can get into a DOAAF game.
Base Skinchanger no race type, Inquisitor Sanctified slayer of unknown deity. (Kelinahat - spies, stealth... even has darkness domain in her options)
Drawback - Power Hungry.. can he rise above his origins or will he let the darkness consume him, accompanied by evil laughter.
Lets see if I can get this all together.
Dot. I'll put something up soon. A question: our DM for a Strange Aeons game appears to have completely disappeared, but we only just got *ahem* rudely awakened, if you catch my meaning. Is that okay?
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Okay so still working on the actual crunch and stuff but i do have a general idea. thinking for an animal companion going with a velociraptor because they are my favorite dinosaur...
But anyway question before i write my response to the opening. Is the response before we lose our memories? or after? i want to make sure i get this done right.
Dot. I'll put something up soon. A question: our DM for a Strange Aeons game appears to have completely disappeared, but we only just got *ahem* rudely awakened, if you catch my meaning. Is that okay?
Ya, just keeping any knowledge the Color from Outer Space may have gifted you with to yourself. ;)
Okay so still working on the actual crunch and stuff but i do have a general idea. thinking for an animal companion going with a velociraptor because they are my favorite dinosaur...
But anyway question before i write my response to the opening. Is the response before we lose our memories? or after? i want to make sure i get this done right.
Hmm good question.
After.
Dotting for interest. The character is from a profile that didn't make it into another Strange Aeons game, so most of the stuff should stay as is; I'll have to re-tool his stats for 25 point-buy, but the overall feel will remain the same.
I chose Sarenrae as the deity of choice for a number of reasons related to the themes of the AP:
First, Sarenrae is a goddess who has strong feelings about the undead and I am fairly certain that the undead will factor into the AP at some point.
Second, part of Sarenrae's portfolio is redemption. If there is a deity who would be willing to forgive some horrendous sin a follower has committed against her, it seems like she would be it.
Right now the profile is put together as a Warpriest of Sarenrae, but I'm probably going to swap it for an Inquisitor just to eliminate any issues of synergy with the True Devotion ability. I'm about to start working on the profile now, just making sure I got my dot in!
Dotting for interest. The character is from a profile that didn't make it into another Strange Aeons game, so most of the stuff should stay as is; I'll have to re-tool his stats for 25 point-buy, but the overall feel will remain the same.
I chose Sarenrae as the deity of choice for a number of reasons related to the themes of the AP:
First, Sarenrae is a goddess who has strong feelings about the undead and I am fairly certain that the undead will factor into the AP at some point.
Second, part of Sarenrae's portfolio is redemption. If there is a deity who would be willing to forgive some horrendous sin a follower has committed against her, it seems like she would be it.
Third, right now I think the profile is tooled for a Warpriest of Sarenrae, but I'm probably going to swap it for an Inquisitor just to eliminate any issues of synergy with the True Devotion ability. I'm about to start working on the profile now, just making sure I got my dot in!
Cool.
L
A few things I forgot to mention:
1) I don't care about party balance. Play the characters you want to play. If that's 5 Orc rogues with 3s in all mental stats, and drawbacks to will saves, go for it. If that's a perfectly balanced demographically correct mix of all adventurer "roles" that's cool too. I find it's better for my games when the players are playing what they want, not what they they "have" to.
2)Divine characters are a bit of weirdness here. Basically, if there are any abilities that tell you the name of your God, or give you special insight/protection, they work, but the knowledge is vague and obsire. Asmodeus would be "guy nameless guy who REALLY likes contracts... I like this guy... So I should probably make sure everything is written down." Pharasma would be "gal who doesn't like undead, but likes comforts me on my transition between this world and the next."
3) you WILL, eventually, get your memories back. (It's not a spoiler if it's in the book descriptions on the website). So you can take some comfort in that.
[[EDIT]]
4) if people want to say their characters' know each other pre-game, that's fine. However, they still don't remember each other at the start. They will, however, get the vague sense that the other is familiar. They may instinctively trust each other, hate each other, be attracted to each other, or whichever other way you can think of that I'm told people normally interact with others.
5) My take on the memory-wipe thing is sort of like in the beginning of Dark Matter: You can do stuff, but you don't know how or why or even who you are.
Dotting.
I've been wanting to play an aberrant bloodline sorcerer for a while. Now I think I found the right adventure to do it.
Dotting.
I've been wanting to play an aberrant bloodline sorcerer for a while. Now I think I found the right adventure to do it.
That sounds interesting
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i'll drop a dot, i've heard good things about stranger aeons. i'll have something up for an idea soon.
race Half elf
class Druid feyspeaker archetype
drawback Feytaken
interesting combo :) .
A question: Would you perhaps be willing to allow the Slippery combat trait without the Bellflower Network prerequisite?
A question: Would you perhaps be willing to allow the Slippery combat trait without the Bellflower Network prerequisite?
Seems ok to me
This character has been selected for a Strange Aeons game but the DM is rather absent. What would you think of the character concept if I submitted it to your game (along with various tweaks and modifications?)
I'm listening to the first post in text to speech and I find it funny how badly the engine handles ' being replaced by `. I'm going to assume it's just the purposefully mad machinations of an awesome GM to confound and drive the potential players insane.
I really loved the start of Baldur's Gate II, though the asylum part was awesome too. I'm hoping this is equally as awesome, even if we sadly can't be the child of Bhaal. Though that does kinda make me want to play a synthesist summoner, maybe playing the child of Bhaal is possible after all? A lot people quite dislike the class and especially that archtype, how do you feel about it? I never did like what the did with the unchained version though... Maybe it's better and safer if I go with my original idea after all.
I simply adore horror. I've been thinking about a lot of these PbPs so I may as well think about this one.
I don't want to step out of line but I'm thinking about a character concept that at least part of the idea itself I'd want to keep a secret from the other players. Would you mind if I PM you just about that secret, oh wise and mighty DM?
I'm having a hard time settling on a character concept that I would want to use outside of my initial idea of a Warpriest of Sarenrae, so I wanted to ask:
The first part of the True Devotion trait would be unaffected by Warpriest, since it pulls from cleric spells anyway, but the "in addition" ability that lets you reuse the first granted power of only a domain or inquisition. Would you allow that to extend to one additional use of a warpriest's blessing, but only on a minor power?
Dotting
Also definite maybe...
I'm listening to the first post in text to speech and I find it funny how badly the engine handles ' being replaced by `. I'm going to assume it's just the purposefully mad machinations of an awesome GM to confound and drive the potential players insane.
I really loved the start of Baldur's Gate II, though the asylum part was awesome too. I'm hoping this is equally as awesome, even if we sadly can't be the child of Bhaal. Though that does kinda make me want to play a synthesist summoner, maybe playing the child of Bhaal is possible after all? A lot people quite dislike the class and especially that archtype, how do you feel about it? I never did like what the did with the unchained version though... Maybe it's better and safer if I go with my original idea after all.
Excellent! Soon you shall be reading the King in Yellow.... Yes.....
As for the synthesist. I'm ok with it. In my giantslayer campaign, one of the characters is a Blood God Disciple/Synthesist. And, while he is a formidable threat on the battlefield, he is far from invulnerable. He's actually a lot of fun to GM.
I'm having a hard time settling on a character concept that I would want to use outside of my initial idea of a Warpriest of Sarenrae, so I wanted to ask:
The first part of the True Devotion trait would be unaffected by Warpriest, since it pulls from cleric spells anyway, but the "in addition" ability that lets you reuse the first granted power of only a domain or inquisition. Would you allow that to extend to one additional use of a warpriest's blessing, but only on a minor power?
Yes that's fine
I simply adore horror. I've been thinking about a lot of these PbPs so I may as well think about this one.
I don't want to step out of line but I'm thinking about a character concept that at least part of the idea itself I'd want to keep a secret from the other players. Would you mind if I PM you just about that secret, oh wise and mighty DM?
Sure. Shoot me a tell.
I really loved the start of Baldur's Gate II, though the asylum part was awesome too.
I have really got to play BG2 at some point. And finish BG1.
Gah, one of your players is a Blood God Disciple/Synthesist :(? I was also thinking to go down that route. Blood God Disciple is pretty close to a spawn of the God of Murder and it slots perfectly alongside Synthesist. But I'm guessing you might not want to GM for two such characters... Half-elf is also somewhat tempting though. I'll have to think of what I can come up with. The most important is to figure out what fits best for the game. Synthesist, especially with the kind of form I'm imagining, might be a real drawback in superstitious Ustalav.
I'm thinking that it would fit the character to have compulsive murder/slaughter thoughts, but sadly I'm not finding any drawback that fits all that well. Cruelty is close but not exactly the same. The drawback is also very harsh for a melee characters, probably worse than a negative feat a lot of the time. Though thinking about it, that might just help to balance things out and it only require a slight flavor shift to work.
Gah, one of your players is a Blood God Disciple/Synthesist :(? I was also thinking to go down that route. Blood God Disciple is pretty close to a spawn of the God of Murder and it slots perfectly alongside Synthesist. But I'm guessing you might not want to GM for two such characters... Half-elf is also somewhat tempting though. I'll have to think of what I can come up with. The most important is to figure out what fits best for the game. Synthesist, especially with the kind of form I'm imagining, might be a real drawback in superstitious Ustalav.
I'm thinking that it would fit the character to have compulsive murder/slaughter thoughts, but sadly I'm not finding any drawback that fits all that well. Cruelty is close but not exactly the same. The drawback is also very harsh for a melee characters, probably worse than a negative feat a lot of the time. Though thinking about it, that might just help to balance things out and it only require a slight flavor shift to work.
Actually, I'm ok with it. I really like the concept and his take on it might be different than yours. If I judged every AP I run by the APs I have before it, i'd end up with very few character options. Seriously, I like the combo, and I have a crap ton of fun GMing for it in Giantslayer. Go with the combo if that's where your interests take you.
Either way, I doubt you'll be at all like the character in Giantslayer, since you're two different players... Or are you? This is Lovecraft, after all.
The flavor-twist on the drawback seems fine.
So... I can't find the Insanity and Fear rules anywhere online, and I don't have horror adventures. Would not knowing them be an obstacle to playing?
I do so love me some lovecraft.
Certainly not! They may even be an asset... For me. To torture the PCs with. :) the big stuff is sanity (how to calculate it, track it, lose it, what have you). I shall put up a happy doc called "sanity made simple" or some such. It'll have condensed relevant rules
This seems like a good place for a Tortured Crusader Paladin. Which I had just been lamenting until some other users set me straight on how good it can actually be.
Sorry - a question of clarity here.
What exactly do you mean by 'planes-touched' races? I'm assuming Ifrit, Undine, Oread and Sylph since they're pretty obvious. What about aasimar and tieflings, particularly if they have the relevant "Pass for Human" or equivalent racial trait?
Very much in process, but right now I'm weighing:
Medium Oriented around the Marshal spirit.
Mesmerist Probably casting-oriented, focus on save-or-sucks for bad guys and support for the party. Been thinking the most about this one, but that's in large part because I'm trying to gauge how effective he might be vs. foes immune to mind-affecting stuff. Personality-wise, probably a positive, friendly type. I play enough gruff sociopaths.
Psychic Probably a Formless Adept oriented toward scouting with impunity.
Sorry - a question of clarity here.
What exactly do you mean by 'planes-touched' races? I'm assuming Ifrit, Undine, Oread and Sylph since they're pretty obvious. What about aasimar and tieflings, particularly if they have the relevant "Pass for Human" or equivalent racial trait?
Good questions, since there is definitely ambiguity there I hadn't considered.
Plane touched means nothing that's descended from an outsider (unless already permitted on the list) so, no: aasimar, tiefling, ifrit, oread, sylph, undine, suli, fetcing, wayang, shabti, astomoi, ganzi, etc. Basically, if it has "outsider" in its type, even as a native outsider, it's out, along with the interplanetary species (kasath, lashunta, triaxian, shaobhad, reptoid, etc ).
Underdark will mean these races: duergar, derro, munavri, drow (including half-drow half-elves and nobles), driders, svirfneblin, caligni and anything else that primarily lives underground and isn't a core race.
This is more of a thematic call than anything to do with power. Typically, these creatures were the servants of the bad guys in Lovecraft's fiction. And, I want to preserve SOME of the tropes from the genre.