paizo.com Recent Comments on Order of the Amber Die—The Strange Aeons Experiment, Part 3paizo.com Recent Comments on Order of the Amber Die—The Strange Aeons Experiment, Part 32017-05-20T00:40:56Z2017-05-20T00:40:56ZRe: Forums: Strange Aeons: Paizo Blog: Order of the Amber Die--The Strange Aeons Experiment, Part 3Adam Smith (Order of the Amber Die)https://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo5ljda?Order-of-the-Amber-DieThe-Strange-Aeons#432016-12-18T04:44:55Z2016-12-16T15:07:18Z<div class="messageboard-quotee">Flynn Greywalker wrote:</div><blockquote> I'm so very sorry for your loss of a long time friend and original with The Order. My thoughts, prayers and heart goes out to you and his family. Speed of the geek energies to convey him to a more peaceful and long deserved rest from pain. </blockquote><p>Thanks so much Flynn, it's really been incredible to hear that so many people understood what Mike meant to us. When we noticed your comment, it was a bit ironic because we were in the middle of an Order conference call to decide on this next year (our 30th anniversary year)—and what Mike would have wanted to see us do for the occasion. We've got some great plans forming, so thanks again for being with us throughout!Flynn Greywalker wrote:I'm so very sorry for your loss of a long time friend and original with The Order. My thoughts, prayers and heart goes out to you and his family. Speed of the geek energies to convey him to a more peaceful and long deserved rest from pain.
Thanks so much Flynn, it's really been incredible to hear that so many people understood what Mike meant to us. When we noticed your comment, it was a bit ironic because we were in the middle of an Order conference call to decide on...Adam Smith (Order of the Amber Die)2016-12-16T15:07:18ZRe: Forums: Strange Aeons: Paizo Blog: Order of the Amber Die--The Strange Aeons Experiment, Part 3Flynn Greywalkerhttps://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo5ljda?Order-of-the-Amber-DieThe-Strange-Aeons#422016-12-16T19:01:53Z2016-12-16T04:55:19Z<p>I'm so very sorry for your loss of a long time friend and original with The Order. My thoughts, prayers and heart goes out to you and his family. Speed of the geek energies to convey him to a more peaceful and long deserved rest from pain.</p>I'm so very sorry for your loss of a long time friend and original with The Order. My thoughts, prayers and heart goes out to you and his family. Speed of the geek energies to convey him to a more peaceful and long deserved rest from pain.Flynn Greywalker2016-12-16T04:55:19ZRe: Forums: Strange Aeons: Paizo Blog: Order of the Amber Die--The Strange Aeons Experiment, Part 3Savannah Broadwayhttps://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo5ljda?Order-of-the-Amber-DieThe-Strange-Aeons#412016-12-16T14:40:04Z2016-12-14T17:11:31Z<div class="messageboard-quotee">Douglas Muir 406 wrote:</div><blockquote> <div class="messageboard-quotee">Savannah Broadway wrote:</div><blockquote> That said, the Dreamlands are a Lovecraftian facet that I'm not quite as familiar with (mostly through Horror on the Orient Express) and it did make me eager to read those parts of the mythos. </blockquote><p>•• spoiler omitted ••
<p>Doug M.</p>
<p></blockquote><p>Ah, those recommendations sound great! I've already been meaning to read Clark Ashton Smith's Empire of the Necromancers, so I'll definitely have to add Dunsany to my winter reading list. Thanks, Doug!Douglas Muir 406 wrote:Savannah Broadway wrote: That said, the Dreamlands are a Lovecraftian facet that I'm not quite as familiar with (mostly through Horror on the Orient Express) and it did make me eager to read those parts of the mythos.
** spoiler omitted ** Doug M.
Ah, those recommendations sound great! I've already been meaning to read Clark Ashton Smith's Empire of the Necromancers, so I'll definitely have to add Dunsany to my winter reading list. Thanks, Doug!Savannah Broadway2016-12-14T17:11:31ZRe: Forums: Strange Aeons: Paizo Blog: Order of the Amber Die--The Strange Aeons Experiment, Part 3Douglas Muir 406https://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo5ljda?Order-of-the-Amber-DieThe-Strange-Aeons#402016-12-16T14:40:06Z2016-12-14T15:40:51Z<div class="messageboard-quotee">Savannah Broadway wrote:</div><blockquote> That said, the Dreamlands are a Lovecraftian facet that I'm not quite as familiar with (mostly through Horror on the Orient Express) and it did make me eager to read those parts of the mythos. </blockquote><p>[Spoiler omitted]
<p>Doug M.</p>Savannah Broadway wrote:That said, the Dreamlands are a Lovecraftian facet that I'm not quite as familiar with (mostly through Horror on the Orient Express) and it did make me eager to read those parts of the mythos.
[Spoiler omitted] Doug M.Douglas Muir 4062016-12-14T15:40:51ZRe: Forums: Strange Aeons: Paizo Blog: Order of the Amber Die--The Strange Aeons Experiment, Part 3Savannah Broadwayhttps://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo5ljda?Order-of-the-Amber-DieThe-Strange-Aeons#392016-12-16T14:40:08Z2016-12-14T08:36:36Z<div class="messageboard-quotee">Douglas Muir 406 wrote:</div><blockquote><p> This makes me curious: what are you and your players picking up from / about the Lovecraft mythos by osmosis? Are you thinking "Okay, I see the appeal of this — I'd like to sit down and read some of his stuff afterwards?" Or is it more "once a philosopher, twice a pervert?" (1)</p>
<p>Doug M.</p>
<p>(1) attributed to Voltaire, the morning after a walk on the wild side.</p>
<p></blockquote><p>As the only person at the table who had experience with Lovecraft, it was difficult not to disrupt the osmosis process with direct injection, but I think I did a solid job of letting them experience the horror organically ;) That said, the Dreamlands are a Lovecraftian facet that I'm not quite as familiar with (mostly through Horror on the Orient Express) and it did make me eager to read those parts of the mythos.Douglas Muir 406 wrote:This makes me curious: what are you and your players picking up from / about the Lovecraft mythos by osmosis? Are you thinking "Okay, I see the appeal of this -- I'd like to sit down and read some of his stuff afterwards?" Or is it more "once a philosopher, twice a pervert?" (1)
Doug M.
(1) attributed to Voltaire, the morning after a walk on the wild side.
As the only person at the table who had experience with Lovecraft, it was difficult not to disrupt the osmosis...Savannah Broadway2016-12-14T08:36:36ZRe: Forums: Strange Aeons: Paizo Blog: Order of the Amber Die--The Strange Aeons Experiment, Part 3Matt Hardin (Order of the Amber Die)https://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo5ljda?Order-of-the-Amber-DieThe-Strange-Aeons#382016-12-13T14:26:51Z2016-12-13T11:57:59Z<p>RIP Mike. I'll always treasure our times sitting across the table, gaming together. You were truly one of a kind. Gone too soon my friend.</p>RIP Mike. I'll always treasure our times sitting across the table, gaming together. You were truly one of a kind. Gone too soon my friend.Matt Hardin (Order of the Amber Die)2016-12-13T11:57:59ZRe: Forums: Strange Aeons: Paizo Blog: Order of the Amber Die--The Strange Aeons Experiment, Part 3Adam Smith (Order of the Amber Die)https://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo5ljda?Order-of-the-Amber-DieThe-Strange-Aeons#372016-12-18T04:43:32Z2016-12-12T20:36:13Z<div class="messageboard-quotee">Nullpunkt wrote:</div><blockquote><p> Congratulations Adam to another awesome-looking marathon session!</p>
<p>The second picture in the first group, is that a printout of the map straight from the PDF? And if so, how did you blow it up to that size with such a great quality? </blockquote><p>Many thanks Nullpunkt! As long as people keep appreciating the effort and gaining something from it, we'll keep on documenting—it's great to hear so many positive comments about how this marathon turned out.
<p>The map is indeed the exact one from the adventure. I'd rather not say how short the prep schedule for this one was, but it set an OAD record for the least amount of time I've ever had to prepare a module. As such, I didn't even have time to draw many of the maps as I usually do (just the viscount's ball). We ended up having to print many of them out at full scale; however, the Order is fortunate to have the talents of <a href="http://www.axionstudio.com/#about" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Axion Studios</a> at our disposal. While Axion specializes in music production, they also have considerable skill in graphic design and photo editing. They were able to both expand and remaster Rob Lazzaretti's originals from the module and we simply took them to the printer.</p>
<p>The best part for all Strange Aeons fans? We're giving the maps away!</p>
<p>We just finished our first contest and gave away some remastered maps from <i>In Search of Sanity</i>; this week we'll be starting a new contest for maps from <i>The Thrushmoor Terror</i>. Keep checking our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/orderoftheamberdie/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a> for updates.</p>Nullpunkt wrote:Congratulations Adam to another awesome-looking marathon session!
The second picture in the first group, is that a printout of the map straight from the PDF? And if so, how did you blow it up to that size with such a great quality?
Many thanks Nullpunkt! As long as people keep appreciating the effort and gaining something from it, we'll keep on documenting--it's great to hear so many positive comments about how this marathon turned out. The map is indeed the exact one from...Adam Smith (Order of the Amber Die)2016-12-12T20:36:13ZRe: Forums: Strange Aeons: Paizo Blog: Order of the Amber Die--The Strange Aeons Experiment, Part 3Nullpunkthttps://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo5ljda?Order-of-the-Amber-DieThe-Strange-Aeons#362016-12-12T20:08:39Z2016-12-12T20:08:39Z<p>Congratulations Adam to another awesome-looking marathon session!</p>
<p>The second picture in the first group, is that a printout of the map straight from the PDF? And if so, how did you blow it up to that size with such a great quality?</p>Congratulations Adam to another awesome-looking marathon session!
The second picture in the first group, is that a printout of the map straight from the PDF? And if so, how did you blow it up to that size with such a great quality?Nullpunkt2016-12-12T20:08:39ZRe: Forums: Strange Aeons: Paizo Blog: Order of the Amber Die--The Strange Aeons Experiment, Part 3Adam Smith (Order of the Amber Die)https://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo5ljda?Order-of-the-Amber-DieThe-Strange-Aeons#352016-12-18T04:42:14Z2016-12-12T18:50:21Z<div class="messageboard-quotee">Banesfinger wrote:</div><blockquote><p> Can you tell us more about how you crafted your scenery? Ships, water, buildings, docs, etc.
</p>
They are fantastic. </blockquote><p>Thanks Banesfinger! What you see in these photos, our PDFs, and on our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/orderoftheamberdie/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a> is the culmination of decades of collecting tabletop RPG scenery. It's hard to know where to begin, so I'll just address the stuff you see in these photos. The docks are from the Desert of Athas dungeon tiles (2010), while the ships are straight from the maps in this module. I created a PDF that walks you through the process of turning the maps into a 3D boat during our <a href="http://paizo.com/paizo/blog/v5748dyo5lhfu?Giantslayer-Marathon-Part-2" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Giantslayer</a> run, and it can be found in our <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/f0syx2wmtllodc3/AAD0rIehxx5gnbJdGx8gRqIsa?dl=0" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Dropbox</a>. As for the water and grass you see, we used <a href=" www.deepcutstudio.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Deep-Cut Studio</a> gridded 4x6' battlemats. The buildings were created by terrain artist John Robertson of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/geordiejohnstudios/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">GeordieJohn Studios</a>.
<p>So typically what we do to make these setups is I read the adventure, then try to envision the map the way I want it to look with our terrain options available. It's one of those tasks that falls solely on the GM, as even if the players want to help out, I can't often divulge the information to them because it's encounter-specific. However, other members in the Order that are not part of this particular campaign still lend their talents (as they are usually part of a different campaign and\or veterans of a prior project). For the fully functional sail, along with all of the other sails, Mike Dappolone spent time documenting how he created those, and we'll be releasing that information on our Facebook soon. One of my favorite pieces is the mausoleum you can see if you look closely behind the gug. </p>
<p>Hope that helps a bit. Feel free to reach out with more questions!</p>Banesfinger wrote:Can you tell us more about how you crafted your scenery? Ships, water, buildings, docs, etc.
They are fantastic.
Thanks Banesfinger! What you see in these photos, our PDFs, and on our Facebook is the culmination of decades of collecting tabletop RPG scenery. It's hard to know where to begin, so I'll just address the stuff you see in these photos. The docks are from the Desert of Athas dungeon tiles (2010), while the ships are straight from the maps in this module. I...Adam Smith (Order of the Amber Die)2016-12-12T18:50:21ZRe: Forums: Strange Aeons: Paizo Blog: Order of the Amber Die--The Strange Aeons Experiment, Part 3Banesfinger (RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16)https://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo5ljda?Order-of-the-Amber-DieThe-Strange-Aeons#342016-12-12T18:52:58Z2016-12-12T16:36:22Z<p>Can you tell us more about how you crafted your scenery? Ships, water, buildings, docs, etc.
<br />
They are fantastic.</p>Can you tell us more about how you crafted your scenery? Ships, water, buildings, docs, etc.
They are fantastic.Banesfinger (RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16)2016-12-12T16:36:22ZRe: Forums: Strange Aeons: Paizo Blog: Order of the Amber Die--The Strange Aeons Experiment, Part 3Adam Smith (Order of the Amber Die)https://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo5ljda?Order-of-the-Amber-DieThe-Strange-Aeons#332016-12-18T04:41:43Z2016-12-12T15:03:53Z<div class="messageboard-quotee">Purple Dragon Knight wrote:</div><blockquote> AAAAAAAAARGH! DEMOGORGON!!! </blockquote><p>Yes! And you know what's funny about that, when I slammed the nightmare dragon miniature down it was entirely out of the hype of the moment: It was late Sunday night, and we had just played for so many hours in the darkness that everybody was feeling a little woozy—I partly did it out of habit to try and jolt the pace back up. Well, that combined with the fact that I was super-excited to see a dragon in this AP. :)
<p>It was actually Maxx (doing camera work) who called out what you just did: "DEMOGORGON!!!"</p>Purple Dragon Knight wrote:AAAAAAAAARGH! DEMOGORGON!!!
Yes! And you know what's funny about that, when I slammed the nightmare dragon miniature down it was entirely out of the hype of the moment: It was late Sunday night, and we had just played for so many hours in the darkness that everybody was feeling a little woozy--I partly did it out of habit to try and jolt the pace back up. Well, that combined with the fact that I was super-excited to see a dragon in this AP. :) It was actually Maxx...Adam Smith (Order of the Amber Die)2016-12-12T15:03:53ZRe: Forums: Strange Aeons: Paizo Blog: Order of the Amber Die--The Strange Aeons Experiment, Part 3Purple Dragon Knighthttps://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo5ljda?Order-of-the-Amber-DieThe-Strange-Aeons#322016-12-12T15:31:38Z2016-12-12T14:54:04Z<p>AAAAAAAAARGH! DEMOGORGON!!!</p>AAAAAAAAARGH! DEMOGORGON!!!Purple Dragon Knight2016-12-12T14:54:04ZRe: Forums: Strange Aeons: Paizo Blog: Order of the Amber Die--The Strange Aeons Experiment, Part 3Adam Smith (Order of the Amber Die)https://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo5ljda?Order-of-the-Amber-DieThe-Strange-Aeons#312016-12-18T04:41:01Z2016-12-12T14:53:40Z<div class="messageboard-quotee">Douglas Muir 406 wrote:</div><blockquote><p> To bring it back: Call of Cthulhu models this by setting up a game-world where PCs are fragile, both mentally and physically; where the "win" conditions are often quite difficult to achieve, and failure is very much an option; and where victory, when you do somehow manage to pull it off, is usually contingent, heavily qualified, or temporary. As Adam notes in the introduction to the first book, this is radically different from the default heroic fantasy setting for a Pathfinder campaign. So it's a testament both to the flexibility of the Pathfinder system and the talents of the writers that they've been able to make a CoC-like Pathfinder game. </p>
<p>Doug M.</p>
<p></blockquote><p>Lots of great information there, thanks Doug! I'm not sure all of the players will want to/should look at the spoilers, but as a history teacher I came into the project with some of the background knowledge that you noted, though you certainly provided me with more. I'll let the other players chime in as they get a chance, but I definitely wanted to add something to what you mentioned about this AP. I agree with you about the flexibility of the Pathfinder system, and I can remember being at the Adventure Path Seminar at GenCon 2015 where someone asked if Strange Aeons was just going to be "Call of Cthulhu-Pathfinder," and I believe it was Adam Daigle or James Jacobs who said it would still have plenty of traditional elements of Pathfinder and fantasy (and you would get to fight, not just run away). I really like that this has been true so far about the path, where there have been places like Fort Hailcourse in PF110 that had our players doing some classic planning to raid a fort, complete with a massive melee once they got inside (on third attempt). The trip down the Sellen River was much the same way too, and our rescue of the senator from Galt felt like dashing fantasy. Paizo always seems to find ways to put their own spin on things and keep you on your toes, even when you're expecting to say, fight giants the whole way through Giantslayer. When they opened Giantslayer with a murder investigation and then had us in a druidic demiplane halfway through the second book, we knew it wouldn't be a perfunctory slog through innumerable giants for six volumes. I think I speak for the group when I say that all of us are looking forward to the twists that are still to come in Strange Aeons!Douglas Muir 406 wrote:To bring it back: Call of Cthulhu models this by setting up a game-world where PCs are fragile, both mentally and physically; where the "win" conditions are often quite difficult to achieve, and failure is very much an option; and where victory, when you do somehow manage to pull it off, is usually contingent, heavily qualified, or temporary. As Adam notes in the introduction to the first book, this is radically different from the default heroic fantasy setting for a...Adam Smith (Order of the Amber Die)2016-12-12T14:53:40ZRe: Forums: Strange Aeons: Paizo Blog: Order of the Amber Die--The Strange Aeons Experiment, Part 3Adam Smith (Order of the Amber Die)https://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo5ljda?Order-of-the-Amber-DieThe-Strange-Aeons#302016-12-18T04:40:40Z2016-12-12T13:27:25Z<div class="messageboard-quotee">clavejones wrote:</div><blockquote> Condolences on your loss. It was clear that Mike both brought a lot to the table and to the friendships as well. </blockquote><p>Thank you Clave, and you're right, the table and friendship is one and the same with all of us, as it is with so many gaming groups. Mike was our resident jokester; no matter how grim things were for our characters, he could spin the situation with humor. Outside the game he was always there to help anyone who needed it, and left an example for others to look up to. It's been really nice during this time to see so many supportive comments from the community.clavejones wrote:Condolences on your loss. It was clear that Mike both brought a lot to the table and to the friendships as well.
Thank you Clave, and you're right, the table and friendship is one and the same with all of us, as it is with so many gaming groups. Mike was our resident jokester; no matter how grim things were for our characters, he could spin the situation with humor. Outside the game he was always there to help anyone who needed it, and left an example for others to look up...Adam Smith (Order of the Amber Die)2016-12-12T13:27:25ZRe: Forums: Strange Aeons: Paizo Blog: Order of the Amber Die--The Strange Aeons Experiment, Part 3clavejoneshttps://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo5ljda?Order-of-the-Amber-DieThe-Strange-Aeons#292016-12-12T16:55:05Z2016-12-12T13:03:00Z<p>Condolences on your loss. It was clear that Mike both brought a lot to the table and to the friendships as well.</p>Condolences on your loss. It was clear that Mike both brought a lot to the table and to the friendships as well.clavejones2016-12-12T13:03:00ZRe: Forums: Strange Aeons: Paizo Blog: Order of the Amber Die--The Strange Aeons Experiment, Part 3Douglas Muir 406https://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo5ljda?Order-of-the-Amber-DieThe-Strange-Aeons#282016-12-14T20:17:09Z2016-12-12T05:44:32Z<p>Some brief, general and non-spoilery discussion of Lovecraft and his world-view. I don't think this is anything that's going to affect your enjoyment of the AP, but I'll put it behind a couple of spoiler tags just in case.</p>
<div class="messageboard-quotee">Adam Smith wrote:</div><blockquote> As GM, I've really enjoyed playing new monsters, since running a good many published adventures over the years it's hard to be surprised anymore. The research and investigative elements of the campaign have been really unique too, it's fun to just watch the players piece it all together. We are all so into the research (and research rules) that we even have a "research theme" on our soundtrack that we use every time we tackle some of the immense quantity of written material in the path. </blockquote><p>[Spoiler omitted]
<div class="messageboard-quotee">Aerick Lim wrote:</div><blockquote>Regarding the Lovecraft mythos, it’s hard to believe that people came up with these things a hundred years ago (it seems WAY ahead of its time) because I can’t imagine anything else that could’ve be out there back them that’s even remotely as horrific. </blockquote><p>[Spoiler omitted]
<p>To bring it back: Call of Cthulhu models this by setting up a game-world where PCs are fragile, both mentally and physically; where the "win" conditions are often quite difficult to achieve, and failure is very much an option; and where victory, when you do somehow manage to pull it off, is usually contingent, heavily qualified, or temporary. As Adam notes in the introduction to the first book, this is radically different from the default heroic fantasy setting for a Pathfinder campaign. So it's a testament both to the flexibility of the Pathfinder system and the talents of the writers that they've been able to make a CoC-like Pathfinder game. </p>
<p>Doug M.</p>Some brief, general and non-spoilery discussion of Lovecraft and his world-view. I don't think this is anything that's going to affect your enjoyment of the AP, but I'll put it behind a couple of spoiler tags just in case.
Adam Smith wrote:As GM, I've really enjoyed playing new monsters, since running a good many published adventures over the years it's hard to be surprised anymore. The research and investigative elements of the campaign have been really unique too, it's fun to just watch...Douglas Muir 4062016-12-12T05:44:32ZRe: Forums: Strange Aeons: Paizo Blog: Order of the Amber Die--The Strange Aeons Experiment, Part 3Aerick Lim (Order of the Amber Die)https://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo5ljda?Order-of-the-Amber-DieThe-Strange-Aeons#272016-12-18T04:39:40Z2016-12-12T03:17:16Z<div class="messageboard-quotee">Douglas Muir 406 wrote:</div><blockquote> This makes me curious: what are you and your players picking up from / about the Lovecraft mythos by osmosis? Are you thinking "Okay, I see the appeal of this — I'd like to sit down and read some of his stuff afterwards?" Or is it more "once a philosopher, twice a pervert?" </blockquote><p>Regarding the Lovecraft mythos, it’s hard to believe that people came up with these things a hundred years ago (it seems WAY ahead of its time) because I can’t imagine anything else that could’ve be out there back them that’s even remotely as horrific. I’m definitely curious about where all this came from, so after <i>The Strange Aeons Experiment</i> is over I’m going to look and see what I’ve been missing out on, but for now I prefer it to be a mystery to me.
<p>As the player captain, it’s been stressful having to deal with a lot of events and encounters that have me at a disadvantage for not knowing anything about Lovecraft, but as challenging as that it is, it’s also part of the fun. It’s one thing to be facing TPK against an army of giants, but I’ve been there before and know how to handle that kind of pressure. However, the Lovecraft mythos has me at a great disadvantage. From what I’ve heard about CoC, if you meddle in things you don’t understand, you either run screaming, lose your mind, and/or you die—that pretty much sums up Strange Aeons, at least the way I’ve seen it through Erasmus’s eyes. At the midpoint of this module, he was devoured by the formless spawn and woke up with a greater madness that took away his ability to communicate. Losing his class abilities was rough, but what was just as bad was not being able to lend my voice to the others when we were reacting to a lot of the crazy things we were going through. When someone would look to me for advice, but all I could do in-game was pantomime as much as I was able to, play the best that I could without having access to any of his abilities, and hoped that we’d survive, if only to experience everything else this AP has to offer.</p>Douglas Muir 406 wrote:This makes me curious: what are you and your players picking up from / about the Lovecraft mythos by osmosis? Are you thinking "Okay, I see the appeal of this -- I'd like to sit down and read some of his stuff afterwards?" Or is it more "once a philosopher, twice a pervert?"
Regarding the Lovecraft mythos, it’s hard to believe that people came up with these things a hundred years ago (it seems WAY ahead of its time) because I can’t imagine anything else that could’ve...Aerick Lim (Order of the Amber Die)2016-12-12T03:17:16ZRe: Forums: Strange Aeons: Paizo Blog: Order of the Amber Die--The Strange Aeons Experiment, Part 3Daniel Scholler (Order of the Amber Die) (alias of Shpaackle)https://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo5ljda?Order-of-the-Amber-DieThe-Strange-Aeons#262016-12-18T04:39:29Z2016-12-12T01:38:58Z<div class="messageboard-quotee">Douglas Muir 406 wrote:</div><blockquote><p> This makes me curious: what are you and your players picking up from / about the Lovecraft mythos by osmosis? Are you thinking "Okay, I see the appeal of this — I'd like to sit down and read some of his stuff afterwards?" Or is it more "once a philosopher, twice a pervert?" (1)</p>
<p>Doug M.</p>
<p>(1) attributed to Voltaire, the morning after a walk on the wild side.</p>
<p></blockquote><p>This AP has definitely piqued my interest in Lovecraft and the Cthulhu mythos. Once we are finished, I plan to dive into the books to see what we missed and to help bring some kind of understanding to it all. I'm sure there are fine points that I have missed along the way, that fans would have picked up on easily, but I'm realizing that is half the fun for me. It's much easier for me to slip into character when I'm just as confused about the situation as Quinn would be.
<p>I only had second and third-hand knowledge of what to expect from a Cthulhu game, I had always heard it was difficult and intense. The authors have managed to translate that well into Pathfinder and have managed to humble our players a few times. Even though our characters are growing more powerful, we have now witnessed powers that are beyond our belief and know that this is only beginning. I'm looking forward to the next module with trepidation and excitement.</p>Douglas Muir 406 wrote:This makes me curious: what are you and your players picking up from / about the Lovecraft mythos by osmosis? Are you thinking "Okay, I see the appeal of this -- I'd like to sit down and read some of his stuff afterwards?" Or is it more "once a philosopher, twice a pervert?" (1)
Doug M.
(1) attributed to Voltaire, the morning after a walk on the wild side.
This AP has definitely piqued my interest in Lovecraft and the Cthulhu mythos. Once we are finished, I plan to...Daniel Scholler (Order of the Amber Die) (alias of Shpaackle)2016-12-12T01:38:58ZRe: Forums: Strange Aeons: Paizo Blog: Order of the Amber Die--The Strange Aeons Experiment, Part 3Adam Smith (Order of the Amber Die)https://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo5ljda?Order-of-the-Amber-DieThe-Strange-Aeons#252016-12-18T04:39:13Z2016-12-11T21:19:36Z<div class="messageboard-quotee">Douglas Muir 406 wrote:</div><blockquote><p> This makes me curious: what are you and your players picking up from / about the Lovecraft mythos by osmosis? Are you thinking "Okay, I see the appeal of this — I'd like to sit down and read some of his stuff afterwards?" Or is it more "once a philosopher, twice a pervert?" (1)</p>
<p>Doug M.</p>
<p>(1) attributed to Voltaire, the morning after a walk on the wild side.</p>
<p></blockquote><p>Yeah, definitely a great question Doug. I think when we're considering the initial results of "the experiment" after 3 adventures so far in the path, one thing has certainly been clear for all of us: You don't have to be familiar with Lovecraft, Call of Cthulhu, or the Elder Mythos to have a great time in this AP.
<p>As soon as the campaign is over, I am looking forward to reading Lovecraft, Chambers, and many of the other authors I've seen referenced in the modules so far. Keeping with that, I really appreciate Paizo including so many of the real-world origins of monsters and mythos—it makes a great bibliography from which to start. </p>
<p>As GM, I've really enjoyed playing new monsters, since running a good many published adventures over the years it's hard to be surprised anymore. The research and investigative elements of the campaign have been really unique too, it's fun to just watch the players piece it all together. We are all so into the research (and research rules) that we even have a "research theme" on our soundtrack that we use every time we tackle some of the immense quantity of written material in the path. In that sense, this AP reminds us that there are just so many facets to Pathfinder, there's really no one standard way to play the game, nor is there any set way an adventure should unfold. I think it's fitting to mention this in the blog for <i>Dreams of the Yellow King</i>, as this adventure just broke so many boundaries by having us halfway between two worlds throughout—it was really an incredible marathon experience. </p>
<p>There have been a few challenges to GMing this AP without any background knowledge, the main one being that I've definitely done a lot of page-flipping because the names are all so unfamiliar. Carcosa had me confused for a bit; it seemed almost as if there was a tad of expectation that I should know what it was, where it was, or its significance. As events unfolded in the path it all became clear to me though, so there's really nothing I'm too concerned about understanding at this point. One thing I didn't mention yet about the project is that I've also tried to be disciplined about not asking Adam Daigle (or any of the other Paizo staff I interact with) about some of the Lovecraftian elements of the campaign—even when I've felt I might need to know. The list of questions I'm building is two pages long, and getting longer with every volume of this AP. The thing I wonder about most is how significant certain foes or places are in Lovecraftian culture. For example, where do the Great Old Ones rank in regard to each other (OOG too)? I can't tell who's been written about the most, or which is respected/feared the most, except that I suppose we've all probably heard the name Cthulhu. Don't tell me yet! :)</p>Douglas Muir 406 wrote:This makes me curious: what are you and your players picking up from / about the Lovecraft mythos by osmosis? Are you thinking "Okay, I see the appeal of this -- I'd like to sit down and read some of his stuff afterwards?" Or is it more "once a philosopher, twice a pervert?" (1)
Doug M.
(1) attributed to Voltaire, the morning after a walk on the wild side.
Yeah, definitely a great question Doug. I think when we're considering the initial results of "the experiment"...Adam Smith (Order of the Amber Die)2016-12-11T21:19:36ZRe: Forums: Strange Aeons: Paizo Blog: Order of the Amber Die--The Strange Aeons Experiment, Part 3Sterling Brunsvold (Order of the Amber Die)https://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo5ljda?Order-of-the-Amber-DieThe-Strange-Aeons#242016-12-18T04:38:46Z2016-12-11T20:11:29Z<div class="messageboard-quotee">Douglas Muir 406 wrote:</div><blockquote><p> This makes me curious: what are you and your players picking up from / about the Lovecraft mythos by osmosis? Are you thinking "Okay, I see the appeal of this — I'd like to sit down and read some of his stuff afterwards?" Or is it more "once a philosopher, twice a pervert?" (1)</p>
<p>Doug M.</p>
<p></blockquote><p>Doug, thanks for asking. This is a really great question. I'm sure each of the PCs will respond when they get a chance. I definitely plan on checking out the mythos and reading up on things when we are done. I'm sufficiently intrigued at this point. Over the years I've felt a little repelled by some of it, as you quote "twice a pervert" in a sense. I feel differently now and would even like to explore some of the games like Cthulhu Wars, etc. Based on this, it seems our experiment is successful thus far.
<p>After getting the tidbits we have up to now, as our characters are gathering clues to their past and what the ultimate plan is, in tandem we as players are gathering clues to a whole new world that we can decide to pursue further or leave be once it's all solved. This makes for a really great roleplaying experience because we actually are stumbling through it in awe the same as Alahazra, Erasmus, Feiya, and Quinn. </p>
<p>My sentiment: It's all a little strange. </p>
<p>But, in the best way possible. :)</p>Douglas Muir 406 wrote:This makes me curious: what are you and your players picking up from / about the Lovecraft mythos by osmosis? Are you thinking "Okay, I see the appeal of this -- I'd like to sit down and read some of his stuff afterwards?" Or is it more "once a philosopher, twice a pervert?" (1)
Doug M.
Doug, thanks for asking. This is a really great question. I'm sure each of the PCs will respond when they get a chance. I definitely plan on checking out the mythos and reading up on...Sterling Brunsvold (Order of the Amber Die)2016-12-11T20:11:29ZRe: Forums: Strange Aeons: Paizo Blog: Order of the Amber Die--The Strange Aeons Experiment, Part 3Douglas Muir 406https://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo5ljda?Order-of-the-Amber-DieThe-Strange-Aeons#232016-12-11T22:47:35Z2016-12-11T18:55:57Z<p>This makes me curious: what are you and your players picking up from / about the Lovecraft mythos by osmosis? Are you thinking "Okay, I see the appeal of this — I'd like to sit down and read some of his stuff afterwards?" Or is it more "once a philosopher, twice a pervert?" (1)</p>
<p>Doug M.</p>
<p>(1) attributed to Voltaire, the morning after a walk on the wild side.</p>This makes me curious: what are you and your players picking up from / about the Lovecraft mythos by osmosis? Are you thinking "Okay, I see the appeal of this -- I'd like to sit down and read some of his stuff afterwards?" Or is it more "once a philosopher, twice a pervert?" (1)
Doug M.
(1) attributed to Voltaire, the morning after a walk on the wild side.Douglas Muir 4062016-12-11T18:55:57ZRe: Forums: Strange Aeons: Paizo Blog: Order of the Amber Die--The Strange Aeons Experiment, Part 3Jody Gerst (Order of the Amber Die)https://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo5ljda?Order-of-the-Amber-DieThe-Strange-Aeons#222016-12-18T04:38:25Z2016-12-11T16:52:06Z<p>Daji? </p>
<p>Daji, my friend, I know you're there. You can come out now, I'm not crazy anymore. I'm really not! </p>
<p>I know I've said that before...</p>Daji?
Daji, my friend, I know you're there. You can come out now, I'm not crazy anymore. I'm really not!
I know I've said that before...Jody Gerst (Order of the Amber Die)2016-12-11T16:52:06ZRe: Forums: Strange Aeons: Paizo Blog: Order of the Amber Die--The Strange Aeons Experiment, Part 3Adam Smith (Order of the Amber Die)https://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo5ljda?Order-of-the-Amber-DieThe-Strange-Aeons#212016-12-18T04:38:05Z2016-12-11T14:58:48Z<div class="messageboard-quotee">Yakman wrote:</div><blockquote> As always, you guys knock it out of the park. </blockquote><p>Thanks Yakman, and if you are considering this AP, I can offer from the GM's perspective that this path provides some completely different and exciting approaches to the game: sanity, horror, time, wild treasure, dreams, space, freakish monsters, and the list goes on. I know that some of this might just be because I have never had any experience with Lovecraft or the Elder Mythos, but either way it's been incredibly motivating as a GM even when the prep workload is piled high.
<p>For the first time in OAD history I got to watch the players slap hands and scream because they scored a critical hit on a library. How awesome is that? :)</p>Yakman wrote:As always, you guys knock it out of the park.
Thanks Yakman, and if you are considering this AP, I can offer from the GM's perspective that this path provides some completely different and exciting approaches to the game: sanity, horror, time, wild treasure, dreams, space, freakish monsters, and the list goes on. I know that some of this might just be because I have never had any experience with Lovecraft or the Elder Mythos, but either way it's been incredibly motivating as a...Adam Smith (Order of the Amber Die)2016-12-11T14:58:48ZRe: Forums: Strange Aeons: Paizo Blog: Order of the Amber Die--The Strange Aeons Experiment, Part 3Yakmanhttps://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo5ljda?Order-of-the-Amber-DieThe-Strange-Aeons#202016-12-11T22:17:57Z2016-12-11T14:03:21Z<p>As always, you guys knock it out of the park.</p>As always, you guys knock it out of the park.Yakman2016-12-11T14:03:21ZRe: Forums: Strange Aeons: Paizo Blog: Order of the Amber Die--The Strange Aeons Experiment, Part 3Sterling Brunsvold (Order of the Amber Die)https://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo5ljda?Order-of-the-Amber-DieThe-Strange-Aeons#192016-12-18T04:37:37Z2016-12-11T06:01:19Z<div class="messageboard-quotee">Adam Daigle wrote:</div><blockquote> As always, thank y'all for sharing your experiences at the table with the community! </blockquote><p>Hey Adam! You are most welcome! The thanks goes to you though. We love sharing our adventures with the community and interacting with everyone. You have created a really awesome (and for us, unique) experience with <i>Strange Aeons</i> and we are incredibly excited for whatever you have in store for us next.
<p>You keep lining 'em up and we'll keep coming up with awesome ways to knock 'em down.</p>
<p>Talk soon!</p>Adam Daigle wrote:As always, thank y'all for sharing your experiences at the table with the community!
Hey Adam! You are most welcome! The thanks goes to you though. We love sharing our adventures with the community and interacting with everyone. You have created a really awesome (and for us, unique) experience with Strange Aeons and we are incredibly excited for whatever you have in store for us next. You keep lining 'em up and we'll keep coming up with awesome ways to knock 'em down.
Talk...Sterling Brunsvold (Order of the Amber Die)2016-12-11T06:01:19Z