Bahamut's page

In terms of sheer size and ambition Kingmaker. The GM has to put a lot of work into it and the PCs have to be willing to give a lot to it; but for the right group, it becomes a wildly entertaining and epic ride.

In terms of how enjoyable an AP is to run and play in, Skull and Shackles. I've never had a better time as a GM with Pathfinder and my players have never had a better time in Pathfinder than being pirates. The AP went off the rails several times, but never to the detriment to the AP. It's free-wheeling insanity at its best.

As for the best overall story in an AP, I'd give a tie to Reign of Winter and Strange Aeons. Reign of Winter is so gonzo that players knowing nothing works better not knowing just how much the AP goes out of its way to top itself. Strange Aeons has the best opening scene and the best starting dungeon in an AP. The realization that the AP twists back on itself to end right where it begins despite going in some very strange directions is great. The fugue mechanic and overt Lovecraftian elements may turn a lot of players off, but I love it.

I finished GMing Skull and Shackles all the way through last summer and my players had a great time. The first book was rough (it's so dis-empowering), but once it opens up (and boy does it) players in S&S have all the freedom in the world (provided their GM is game).

I did what was posted above: I emphasized the how nasty the officers were and how much the crew began to admire and respect the PCs as things went along. If your GM is game, you have to build relationships with your NPC crew members. This will make the back half the first book well worth it. (Trying to remain spoiler free).

My group also used the ship-to-ship combat as presented in the S&S Player's Guide and they really liked it; by the end of the campaign they were sad that there wasn't more opportunities to use the rules in the campaign because they wanted to do more single ship-on-ship battles rather than the fleet battles at the end of the campaign.

They were so enthusiastic that they coated their ship's ram in Glaucite (the Iron/Adamantine alloy) in preparation for ramming more ships.

Ars Magica, all the way.

But I'll second Delta Green and Cthulhutech, but I don't think those two are very unknown. Hell, none of them are very little known any more, I think.

-Ben.

I'm going to second Cthulhutech, on the last legs of a two year long campaign with the system. I wish they had been able to release more material for it, I know they had a lot of production problems.

Bahamut wrote:

Mr. Jacobs,

With the coming of the new Strange Aeons AP I was wondering, what's your favorite Mythos creature(s) and why?

(Sorry if you've already answered this question)

Thanks!

Hastur is my favorite, because he's so mysterious and thought provoking and creepy, and combines into one entity everything that's compelling and frightening about human nature AND inhuman nature. And the fact that I liked the picture of him in the 1st Edition Deities & Demigods book the best of all the Cthulhu Mythos monster pictures certainly helped!

His complicated real life backstory (Bierce to Chambers to Lovecraft) certainly helps with the enigmatic nature of his being. His exact nature was and is very hard to pin down but I agree that somehow works in his favor to make him seem compelling and strange.

The illustration where he's depicted as a giant tentacled, cilia-covered dinosaur? That's a good one, I wonder which source the artist pulled for that one? Mostly he gets illustrated in the form of the King in Yellow, such as in Bestiary 4. Maybe the kaiju-sized worm/lizard thing was a Derleth interpretation? Idk.

Thank you again for answering!