Vellimir's page

I never heard of Lovecraft until 1985 when I first began playing D&D. My DM had a copy of the original printing of "Deities and Demigods" and the Lovecraft mythos was included in. I was utterly fascinated by the meager information in the book and set out to find Lovecraft's works. Today he's one of the rare writers whose work I still enjoy reading over and over.

I hear you.

Vellimir wrote:

Yeah, I think Necromancers make great BBEGs, but are somewhat lacking in a party.

I disagree, a necromancer can be a very interesting addition to a party.

Well, there's a limited amount they can do without fresh corpses to practice their craft on.

Not everyone within Lovecraft’s stories are completely incapacitated by cosmic horrors. Randolph Carter was able to survive encounters with Mythos creatures and occasionally able to defeat them. In the short story Pickman’s Model the artist was not only able to witness cosmic horrors but able to draw them so accurately that they unhinged regular folk.

As the PCs become more powerful and less affected by Mythos creatures they themselves should become more horrific to ordinary folks. Dogs flee yelping within their presence, shopkeepers refuse to serve them etc.

Great Idea!

I have been a fan of Lovecraft for a while, and I think his best, and most adaptable, Story is "The Shadow Over Innsmouth"

Yeah, I think Necromancers make great BBEGs, but are somewhat lacking in a party.

Thanks, this is all really good advice.

Arctaris wrote:

I was wondering if anyone else on the boards was a fan of the great works of H.P Lovecraft. I myself have just recently been introduced to his books.

I live in utter fear of Dagon.....

Welcome to the Esoteric Order of Dagon

I was wondering if anyone else on the boards was a fan of the great works of H.P Lovecraft. I myself have just recently been introduced to his books.

YES!!! Lovecraft's books are the best!

Howard Phillips Lovecraft, one of the greatest cosmic horror writers of all time, has many stories that can be used in Pathfinder.
This brings me to the current discussion. How do you think that Lovecraft's influences should be used in the game?

Vellimir wrote:

Well, you could make wisdom his dump stat.

Vellimir wrote:

One way to find an example for insane clerics is Lovecraft's short stories. Read some, especially the Dunwich Horror.

Well, dumping Wisdom would eman the Cleric can't cast at all. Unless they take the one archetype that literally makes them a Lovecraftian insane Cleric, Elder Mythos Cultist. Doesn't really fit the OP's idea, though.

Vellimir wrote:

sounds like a really inventive idea

It's one of those cases that work better as an idea than as a character. The main issue is this: Once it was revealed that the Cleric's "cure death" is really just corpse animation, what reason do the other PCs have to not replace the a) clearly insane and b) apparently imcompetent Cleric in the next town?

Good point

A cleric’s domains are often represented something the cleric is looking to spread rather than something they are, especially when it is something negative or harmful. A cleric with the insanity domain might embrace insanity but would probably still be able to control his actions. My impression of this character is that they have lost touch with reality on this and are completely delusional. A CHA based caster just seems a lot more appropriate.

The character is also supposed to be a necromancer. Madness is not really that good of a domain for a necromancer. Every one of its domain spells are mind affecting that don’t work on undead. Usually, a necromancy focused cleric goes for domains like undead, death, fear, evil, destruction or other domains that will help fit the death and undead theme.

One way to find an example for insane clerics is Lovecraft's short stories. Read some, especially the Dunwich Horror.

There is a lot of general advice for making undead, but I'm wondering more about the gimmick here. How unaware does this guy need to be taht he isn't actually bringing people back to life?

Well, you could make wisdom his dump stat.

You could also treat it like the Egoist familiar archetype.

Or, maybe follow the rules for Intelligent Items, except the player is the voice of said item while the wielder is the NPC.

Good Idea

What does the player want to do? Do they want their character to float about and fight like a dancing weapon, or do they want to give bonuses to the person wielding them, or do they want mind-affecting spells like Brandon Sanderson's Warbreaker? That would have some effect on the best way to handle this I think.

Well, I think that the idea of creating a sentient-item character is unwise. Simply put, the person can just create a wizard character who is bound to a specific item. Eventually at higher levels, they can imbue this item with sentience and have it basically be part of their character. I personally have done this before with my longest running character, Vellimir the Wizard. I waited until I was 11th level and I could take the feat "Create Staff." Once that happened, I got my trademark weapon, Umbra Cerebrus. It was a staff imbued with charm and shadow illusion spells.

But I digress. I think that having a sentient item character is unwise due to the lack of rules supporting the idea. I am a huge proponent of the old styles of gaming, and I believe in supporting the rules. They are not just a guideline, they are a boundary. Some boundaries can be bent, but they should not be broken unless absolutely necessary.

However, if it comes down to the choice of having fun or following the rules, have fun! When it comes right down to it, it is just a game. Be happy!

that totally depends on the players and GM.

I don't think it's an option for new players who need to develop some Game System proficiency.

If people complain about wimpy low level wizards - well, they're not particularly and they're just playing them wrong and focused on power gaming.

I have felt for a long time that GMs need to play DnD 3.5, Champions 6ed, Call of Cthulhu(chaosium), Stormbringer, GURPS, Toon!, Paranoia, and HeroClicks or Marvel Super Heroes. The first 5 kinda span the RPG styles.

I think that characters should start at first level because you cannot get the same experiences with a character that is created at a higher level. Getting up to third level can take months or even years. By creating a character at a higher level, you rob yourself of experiencing all those wonderful and terrible moments as you level them up. Sure, sometimes characters die at lower levels, but that's just part of the game. You can learn from it and move on.

Spells

The following spells found in the Core Rulebook are not
legal for play and may never be used, found, purchased,
or learned in any form by PCs playing Pathfinder Society
scenarios: awaken, permanency, and reincarnate.
Any spell cast by a PC during the course of a scenario
that is still active at the end of a scenario ends when
the scenario does. For example, if your cleric PC casts
bless on the party and bless is still active when the
scenario ends, the bless spell ends at the conclusion of
the scenario. This includes spells with an instantaneous
or permanent duration, such as continual flame, create
undead, or fabricate.

I see nothing here that prevents you from raising undead just be careful how you do it and balance it with good acts.

Heck create undead is even called in in the list of spells that end after a scenario.

Well, I think that necromancers can definitely be good-aligned. Simply put, they can raise the undead for things such as public works or clearing out dungeons that are a threat to innocents. Put a mask on the faces of the cadaverous undead so that relatives cannot complain, and you can easily have a good-aligned necromancer.