So I'm about to start running SA in just under 2 weeks, and I have a bunch of ideas I want to try that I wanted to get some opinions on.
Some background: I'm running a group of mostly PF newbies but with solid gaming backgrounds and letting them throw in the kitchen sink. They are running 25 point buy and 4/5 of them are hybrid classes. I'm guessing they will struggle a little at the start but before long I will be beefing up encounters, which I am comfortable with.
Sanity
So first, I want to use the sanity rules, but I don't like how long it takes for them to heal, and how quickly they can stack up on low threshold characters. I think I will use the fugue state and their experience from their previous employer, to say they are quicker to heal. But I'd also think it could be fun to have them on the brink of insanity constantly.
Given a single nights rest in a very safe area, like the chapel in the Asylum, I want to give them the cure check. I figure even with a good save and restorations, any madness will still last a couple days. This also lets the game progress without frequently stopping for a month to cure everyone's sanity.
What I could use some help with, is still making sure low threshold characters aren't constantly going mental. Luckily I don't have anyone dumping all mental stats, but I could still have 1 guy with a threshold of 1. Any thoughts how off it would be to have madness require sanity damage exceeding he threshold? So at least 2 damage to trigger. I think that would make a huge difference for the one character, but then the ones with a threshold of 4 now need 5 to go mad, and it will be ages before anything happens.
I had also considered instead of a threshold, since I will also let them heal quicker, trigger a madness every cumulative 20-25% of max sanity damage they take. So if someone had 32 sanity, after taking 8 total damage, they get a madness, even if it was 1 at a time. If they are below half when it happens, that would trigger a greater. So everyone would semi-regularly go mad, and then heal, and greater madnesses should be rare.
Anyone see any glaring issues?
Corruption
So I really want to incorporate this. I'm going to take each player, and tie 1-2 old gods to them, matching their drives and desires. If anyone dies, I would take them aside right away, and they would get a visit from their old one offering great power that would hopefully be very tempting to them. They could instantly come back to life tainted, no one else knowing what happened. I figure I could also find a number of other ways to tempt them with power that just saving from death.
Anyway, I just came up with this idea today, so I'm thought I'd request some help to tie the old gods to the different corruption types. I don't really have the time to make my own.
Deep one is obvious. Aboleth could be used for a couple.Plagued, etc. Anyone more familiar with the mythos able to lend a hand? I mainly wanted to share the idea and any suggestions you all have would just be a bonus.
Improvised weapons
My last big idea I think is hilarious. I don't want my group finding all their starter gear right away. Mechanically, they get their gear, but flavor-wise... The investigator finds a pair of trowels for daggers. The bloodrager, a sharp shovel or a long pipe. A jagged piece of metal with a cloth "handle" for the swashbuckler. Pot lids for shields, etc. Mechanically, I will let them be just like the weapons they want, but visually... the survivors will see this group of crazy people who don't know who they are with a bunch of improvised weapons running around. In the personal effects storage room later, I'm going to give them their "old" gear, masterwork weapons of their preferred type and things such as that.
I'm just having trouble coming up with good stand ins for some items, especially crossbows. I know its a bit goofy, but I think it will be memorable and fun. If anyone has good ideas for improvised versions of basic weapons and armor, I'm all ears!
If you actually read all of that, Thank You!
