Thanks for the the update everyone! @gamer-print
@Endzeitgeist
The ETA on the 'Dwarven Kingdom' section is about another 4-5 days. The other adventures should release around every two to three weeks after that. I'm not really great at layout and formatting PDFs, so don't expect high production values on any of those things. I hope you enjoy the content though!
PLAYERS, AVERT THINE EYES OR RISK THE GAZE OF THE UNDYING LORDS OF THE OUTER DARK UPON YE!!! ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Here are a few cool ideas that I plan to implement in my game of Strange Aeons. I will probably add more as I think of them. 1.I didn't see anything like this in the PG or the actual AP book, so here's a suggestion: have your PCs list up to three 'pillars' of their former life. These were people, places, or events that they had a strong attachment to. They remember these things, although they are hazy and sometimes lacking in context. Someone with a spouse as a pillar might for example have flashbacks of them sometimes and remember the way that person looked, the way they smiled, the sound of their voice, and the way that they felt about them, but not remember what their name is, how they met, ect. This could help give rise to some excellent impromptu character building as they unearth more about the people they used to be. 2. Maybe give your characters the choice to begin with an insanity that they will have to deal with most the campaign and, in exchange, they get a feat for it. Very little beats playing such a character... unless you happen to be on the DM side of the screen and you get to play as the monsters. 3. This is going to sound crazy but hear me out: this AP is perfect for antiheroes! I know some of you are tearing at your clothes and wailing in terror at that one, but consider: The PCs are in a situation where banding together is not a matter of convenience, it is a matter of survival. After the initial need for survival, they all will be following the same path to find the answers to who they were and how they lost all their memories. Evil characters would realize that banding together would be the best way to find their answers. Then comes what happens after they find out everything? They all stay banded together as they pursue their former benefactor, whether it be for revenge or to stop the coming doom. Even evil people should fear an apocalypse brought on by a Great Old One. Now obviously this means that an evil PC should likely be lawful evil or neutral evil and should not be a devotee of something like a Great Old One, Rovagug, Groetus, one of the Four Horsemen, or other entities seeking an apocalypse. That's a given in most campaigns or, at least, I would hope so! 4. Dreamlands corruption! That's right, maybe part of the Dreamlands wormed its way into the tabula rasas that are the PCs and is in them to stay. My thoughts on the matter are this. Maybe if a PC needs to make a save or else risk dying/TPKing the group, you could whisper to them that if they push a little harder, dig a little deeper inside, they can succeed. Well if choose to do so, they tap into that Dreamlands corruption. They succeed automatically but they begin to change and adopt one of the stage one corruptions listed in Horror Adventures. Further pushing of their limits would result in deeper corruption. Refluff certain corruptions as thematically appropriate. Maybe the werewolf corruption does not turn them into a werewolf insomuch as it starts mutating them into a squamous predatory beast with thin, fleshy tendrils in place of fur and a face that is primarily a gaping, toothy maw. Few things could be more terrifying than slowly losing oneself and turning into a monster. It would also make for poignant tales of self-sacrifice. And yeah, it could be a secret 'get out of jail' card, although one with a heck of a caveat. This could be especially worth it in PBP where no PC wants to lose a character they spent years playing.
Is there any way to get in on 'The Blight' kickstarter, despite it being over already, Mr. Pett? Can I bribe you with aboleth slime cookies?
Been a tad bit busy with stuff lately, but here's the promised spoilers in a bundle. I decided to reveal things that could be drastically different depending on whether you or Explorer or Tyrant, or even whether your Explorers are evil/morally gray. It may be seen that Drow have a little bit harder time of it in this adventure but that is by design. For one, they are a much more powerful race than Dwarves. For another, Dammerhall was the Dwarven capital and so it makes sense that Dwarves would be more able to handle the stuff than Drow. Stay calm, Drow have an easier go of things when it is time for their capital to pop up in a later book. Spoilers for Book 3: A Dwarven defender who was willing to sacrifice everything for her people and is remembered to this day as one of the greatest heroes of the age. The pact that she secretly swore in desperation to help her aid the Dwarven people in their escape has taken its toll on her and exists now a dark shadow of what she once was. Can you strike down the hero of your people to free her from the curse that consumes her mind, body, and soul? Or do you see her as a tool that can be molded into the perfect servant?
A crown in the form of a Cassisian. Are you worthy to take up the Crown of Yore and begin a new chapter for the Dwarven people? Or will you twist and break the creature to serve as the instrument of tyrants? A colossal-sized golem... no, I'm not joking. While it was heavily damaged and is near destroyed, it is a formidable opponent. Dwarves might recall the phrase used to bypass the golem but the magic sustaining the golem is haywire and all the phrase manages to do is just make it behave erratically instead of being COMPLETELY focused on murdering them. Drow, well, they'll just have to improvise.
I'll start! Remember, this list is for the classes themselves without archetypes. In no order, they are... TOP 10
2. Bard- Pretty scary in combat if you build one right and exceptional in
3. Wizard- The cheap way to god-mod a game. 4. Oracle- The REAL way to god-mod a game! 5. Paladin- What's not to like? Awesome combat, awesome concept, fun to see
6. Druid- Wild Shaping, cool thematic spells, and a lot of utility in combat. 7. Brawler- Pimp slap a dragon down... now with 50% less stick-up-the-arse than the leading Monk! 8. Occultist- Seriously, this is a cool class for anyone with real occult knowledge. 9. Spiritualist- It's a summoner, but cooler and creepier. Quite thematic too. 10. Vigilante- BE THE BATMAN! BOTTOM 10
2. Antipaladin- Nothing says suck like a code of conduct that basically forces you into the old, boring stereotypes of evil. Apart from that, it's a paladin clone. Make it more distinct! 3. Cavalier- Bland and horses don't fit in all locations. 4. Samurai- Same reasons as cavalier, but it also feels like a very poor representation of a samurai, at least in how iconic it is. Perhaps more historically accurate but it violates the rule of cool. 5. Witch- While it's cool, they are either too weak or too busted to play unless you gain levels fast and the DM adds some nerfs to some abilities. 6. Gunslinger- I love the concept of the gunslinger but I am not fond of it. I know it had to be balanced but it feels crippled compared to some other classes. 7. Summoner- I would have preferred a class similar to the Final Fantasy summoners, with a little bit of 'white magic' to go with a powerful being that they summon. Being able to choose from a few types, some more iconic/unique evolutions, and have a finishing move would have been awesome. 8. Unchained Summoner- It's the summoner, but more restrictive... enough said. 9. Fighter- Still too bland without archetypes. It's pretty much just passive benefits. Ever since the Tome of Nine Swords in 3.5 and Path of War from Dreamscarred Press, I would venture to say that fighters are just lame. 10. Warpriest- Meh. Atlas shrugs.
I am posting a few teasers for people interested in the upcoming fan material that I made. I'm only adding some juicy highlights here to keep you all occupied while I work on formatting everything for the PDFs. These are in no order whatsoever and are just things I am putting down to pique interest. Fan-Made Book Three Spoilers, DMs ONLY!:
- An iron golem inhabited by the spirit of its maker, a master smith, who could end up serving the PCs.
- A Morrigna who has shown up to determine the fate of Dammerhall's inhabitants, as few souls have escaped the mountain, and find the source of a growing evil within the ruined kingdom. - A ghostly legion of Dwarven warriors who swore their eternal souls to guard their king... who later killed himself when the kingdom was under siege. Their souls still haunt the ruins of the throne room and await someone worthy of wearing the crown. The legion won't recognize just any ruler though and the PCs must prove themselves worthy of the crown and the legion's service or else enlist the Morrigna's help in ousting them in order to claim Dammerhall. - The undead remains of the dragon who was instrumental in destroying the nation of Dammerhall... along with its Arkenstone-like cursed hoard. - The mad son of the former High King of the Dwarves, whose mastery of Dwarven rune magic carried over beyond the grave. - Kobold squatters and their devious traps for that classic, old-school feel. Beware, these Kobolds are far more cunning than most! - A vat of sentient liquid mithril that housed the Dwarven people's entire history. Let your imagination figure out the rest. - Rules for kingdom-building in Dammerhall and what you can expect from a city ruled by either the Explorers or Tyrants side of the campaign. Both have different unique kingdom events, groups who wish to curry their favor, and more. - A soul-eating horror whose presence foreshadows the cosmic horrors coming in later books. So while book one's theme was underground civilizations and book two's themes were primeval life and furious elementals, my version of book three's themes are undead ruins and lost relics. I think I will tease one more cool thing in the book every day until I release the first first PDF. Sound like it's all biscuits and gravy?
Agreed. A complete project would be wonders, even if he did steal my fan material to do so. The kickstarter has went on far too long and even I lost my patience with it. That's sad, because I'm usually a patient person and try to be as understanding as possible. At this point, I would hand him the script if it meant we get our books in the next few months.
No need for emails! I'm probably going to just put a link to the fan material I made on this thread or possibly a new one. Much easier on me not having to put around three hundred emails down as recipients and much safer for people not having their email address floating around the internet for whoever to see.
@Monsieur Orgon I probably would be if I can be given a week or two to prep for it after release. I want to get registered as a PFS GM in case people want to play it for credit. I need to see if it is what I'm hoping it is first though. Horror is VERY hard for most people to nail down... especially antediluvian/cosmic/psychological horror. I have faith in Paizo though. Before people ask, no gestalt. I don't do gestalt unless it is a villain I am buffing up.
Because no one provides fishing bait quite like Yhidothrus!
It would be a good idea to also play up how he killed people in real life, by setting traps that they themselves would spring, dooming themselves. I, myself, had a villager wander down there and he set them up as bait in a very Saw-esque trap that would trigger on the PCs if the person was freed.
"50 Shades of Grey Elf"... it's a thing now.
Plenty of good wizards in the lore with golem servitors, sometimes almost a battalion of them, so I would say that it is moral... and that's just in Pathfinder, where raising a soulless carcass as a zombie to go tend a field that feeds an orphanage is evil because reasons.
Advanced sandmen with multiple templates formed of shimmering silver sand, the time lost between young lovers whose lives were cut short. Some of the prophecies that were lost during the Age of Lost Omens, given shape. Ruined, barely working golems that are permanently berserk. An intelligent animated object oracle of the dark tapestry in the form of a book. Lost souls. The possibilities are pretty vast with this concept.
Bards also get some very good sonic-based spells. You could make a Magus-like gish that has the added benefit of having damaging spells that most creatures have NO resistance to, let alone immunity. In fact, there is a deceptively high number of creatures in the game that take more damage from sonic, primarily crystalline or stone creatures. Using the Flame Dancer archetype will also add some staple fire spells to their spell list and the Magician Archetype will allow them to add their choice of arcane spells to their list, as well as making them better at mage-y things. Other options for making Bards blasters are the Soundstriker and Thundercaller archetypes. Very fun stuff to play. If you want a melee-based bard, Dervish Dancer and Savage Skald are amazing and will make done-ion rings out of many combats! For the goth bards, you have the Dirge Bard. Gaining necromancy spells and the ability to control undead via mind-affecting effects makes for a very fun character. Mascara and bad poetry optional. Hope that helps a little! <3 |
