The Strange Aeons Adventure Path begins with "In Search of Sanity," a mind-shattering foray into horror where the heroes awaken within the walls of the eerie Briarstone Asylum, their minds wracked and memories missing. Working together to recover their missing time, they soon learn that their amnesia is but a symptom of a much greater cosmic menace. As they struggle to retain their sanity, the heroes must ally with other asylum residents and fight against the monstrosities that have taken over the building and plunged it into nightmare. Can the adventurers defeat the terror that stalks the halls and free themselves from their prison of madness?
This volume of Pathfinder Adventure Path launches the Strange Aeons Adventure Path and includes:
"In Search of Sanity," a Pathfinder adventure for 1st-level characters, by F. Wesley Schneider.
A double-sized article that peers into the dangerous realm of the Great Old Ones and Outer Gods who make up the Elder Mythos, by James Jacobs.
A dollmaker's macabre secret in the Pathfinder's Journal, by Jason Keeley.
A collection of weird and frightful new monsters, by Eric Hindley, James Jacobs, Jenny Jarzabski, and F. Wesley Schneider.
ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-882-3
Bring your campaign to life! The In Search of Sanity SoundPack from Syrinscape is a complete audio solution when playing through the first chapter of the Strange Aeons Adventure Path.
"In Search of Sanity" is sanctioned for use in Pathfinder Society Organized Play. The rules for running this Adventure Path and Chronicle sheet are available as a free download (723 kb zip/PDF).
Other Resources: This product is also available on the following platforms:
This part of the Adventure Path sets the perfect start for a Lovecraftian horror setting. It is very clear cut who is good and who is evil, making the Players believe it is always very clear, which is where we want them, so we can surprise them later!
It is one big dungeon crawl, which can be a bit tedious, but otherwise an amazing adventure and a great start. Not too much prep-work needed, so you are able to focus on stuff like soundscape, handouts etc.
One of the best openers to an AP I've ever been in
To put it simply, I absolutely adored this book. I will never, ever forget the bizarre surreal experience of exploring the asylum and having no idea what was going on, the desperate struggle for survival, the dreamy, jaundiced quality to everything... just absolutely 10/10 on atmosphere.
I was a player, so can't comment on anything behind the scenes.
I want to give huge kudos to Paizo for setting a book in an asylum and not making mental illness the real terror, or making the place terrifying because of its mentally ill inmates. The place was beset by real monsters, which made the challenges faced by the staff who were trying to protect the patients all the more upsetting. The patients were handled sensitively and some were truly tragic, and none were monsters simply because of their afflictions. In a setting often beset by lazy, ignorant writing this was a real triumph.
It's not easy to tackle cosmic horror in a game where the players are accustomed to being empowered and are assumed to be able to kill everything they face. I think this book handled it admirably. The encounters seemed a little harder than I'm used to in a first book (perhaps subjective) and the things themselves were horrifying enough that even defeating them wouldn't exclude us from the psychological trauma of facing them down. It rewards thoughtful roleplay with a thought to real psychological consequences.
After reading other reviews of this entire AP, I realize that it holds much greater delights for those who are extremely familiar with the source material and perhaps comes across as bizarre or underwhelming for those who don't know it, or who have a very limited or stereotyped idea of what weird fiction and cosmic horror should be. That's a shame, but I want to add my voice to say that I think this AP was (largely) a unique and wonderful experience, and an excellent way to bring cosmic horror themes to a combat-oriented role playing game.
One minor point of note - I don't think we'd have made it through this AP if we'd used the sanity system out of the box. Too many things would be utterly ruinous to the point where we'd have been gibbering idiots before even the halfway point. We just ran a houseruled version which worked neatly enough, though I'd be interested to hear how it went for anyone who just went for it as is!
So I love this adventure. There's no two ways about it. But I do have some quibbles about the very beginning.
Adventure spoiler:
Right out of the gate, the PCs are required to hunt down and kill 3 doppelgangers, one of whom has a level in Mesmerist. And that of course means her stats are quite a bit higher than a standard doppelganger, which are already formidable CR 3 opponents. I would have much preferred if the orderly in the very first scene survived and vouched for the PCs, thus allowing them an opportunity to rest and recuperate between hunting foes far more powerful than they.
Another solid option would have been to swap the doppelgangers with some less intimidating ghouls, and move the doppelgangers elsewhere.
To make matters worse, the hypnotic doppelganger has crazy high (for 1st-level PCs) Bluff, Diplomacy, and Disguise skills, and explicitly tries to fool the party into sneaking her into the survivors' encampment. But the PCs need 3 doppelganger bodies, and Dr. Oathsday is one of them by necessity, so they can't technically even acquiesce to her request.
Also - and this is a comparatively minor quibble, though still bothersome - page numbers stop after page 25. Still, an awesome adventure by master of the macabre Mr. Schneider.
So I love this adventure. There's no two ways about it. But I do have some quibbles about the very beginning.
** spoiler omitted **
Oh I get that. In fact...
Adventure Spoiler:
It's required that the PCs kill all three doppelgangers before proceeding to the next part of the adventure (that is, the refugee camp). The three shapeshifters to the north are literally the only option. Unfortunately they are very much alive and kicking, and not exactly willing to lay down and die for the PCs' benefit.
Yes the doppelgangers are cut off from their compatriots. But still, the three of them (one of whom has a level of Mesmerist) are formidable opponents indeed for a party of approximately 4 1st-level adventurers. Even if the PCs gang up on them and manage to take them one at a time, a doppelganger can do serious damage and likely bring down even a well-built tank. According the the Core Rulebook, creatures with a CR 2 high than the PCs pose a "hard" encounter. Dear Mrs. Oathsday, at CR 4, is an "epic" fight. This just seems like a really poorly planned start to an otherwise awesome adventure. I can't help but imagine some TPKs, unless the GM really fudges things in his hapless PC's favor.
Just my thought on the matter. I haven't run this adventure. Though I certainly would like to - with a few adjustments.
there are three dead doppelgangers in B11. Of course, they have to kill a doppelganger to get them, and they're riddled with crossbow bolts and had strips of flesh ripped off, so I can see how what's his face would be dubious if you brought them back. :-)
I haven't read the book yet, but that additional option, and it's complications, is great. Good design gives players multiple paths and solutions to a problem.
Now I don't know about the physical edition but in the pdf pages 25-55 inclusive have their page numbers missing. Now I know the adventure's supposed to be set in an asylum and meant to have the pc's questioning their sanity but the gm shouldn't have to find himself questioning his own sanity simply trying to read the thing :P.
There's no artwork that would cover up the page numbers or anything. They simply aren't there.
Pathfinder LO Special Edition, Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, PF Special Edition Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Starfinder Superscriber
No they didn't. Mine was shipped August 30th, and arrived today. To be fair, a couple things had to be put back in the sidecart, 'cause they weren't in the warehouse.
I would be happy to leave a review for this, but I can't find the 'post a review' button. Amazing adventure!
You have to click on the 'Product Reviews' tab at the top of the page first... basically, you have to be on the page with the existing reviews (rather than this discussion of the product) to post a new one.
I'm getting ready to run this AP next weakend and it's seems very good :)
However...
One thing that I find odd is that there is monsters in this AP has extremly low damage like the Pickled Punks attack, Im guessing its just to see if they attach ? or activate their abilities ?
1d3-4 is even negative damage, whats the Point of this ?
Some times in horror, it's not about the kills, it about the wounds you suffer.
Well I figured as much , but as a plain rule question why do tiny creatures have damage stats that doesn't actually do damage, The To hit chance would have been enough in this case ?
Some times in horror, it's not about the kills, it about the wounds you suffer.
Well I figured as much , but as a plain rule question why do tiny creatures have damage stats that doesn't actually do damage, The To hit chance would have been enough in this case ?
They still deal 1 point of non lethal when their damage is like that. So they can still hurt you in a fashion. They can also get crits. Or their damage boosted.
Some times in horror, it's not about the kills, it about the wounds you suffer.
Well I figured as much , but as a plain rule question why do tiny creatures have damage stats that doesn't actually do damage, The To hit chance would have been enough in this case ?
They still deal 1 point of non lethal when their damage is like that. So they can still hurt you in a fashion. They can also get crits. Or their damage boosted.
About to start running this. There are six PCs and I want to establish their relationships to Lowls, so that I can drop hints and clues here and there. My thinking here is that Lowls sacrificed the people who were closest and most useful to him, not just random minions. I have a pretty good notion what three of the PCs were:
Paladin -- I think he used to be Lowls' muscle, chief of the thugs he sent out to enforce instructions and terrorize the locals. The high Cha might suggest some sort of caster, though? Or maybe he was just optimized for high Intimidate checks.
Wizard -- The wizard was a wizard, and he's going to find a spellbook with spells going up to 4th level. I think he was Lowls' companion in investigating the Great Old Ones.
Oracle -- The Oracle starts at middle age. He was Lowls' servant -- a valet, or perhaps an accountant.
That leaves three more: a Sczarni swindler rogue, a mesmerist, and a bard. Possible options might include lover, sibling, child, best friend, overseer, drinking buddy... but ideally, I'd like something that relates in some way to the build, and/or that will be interesting for the player to discover over time.
the most maddening thing of all? Getting the maps to line up with the grid in roll20. That main, large map TONS of uneven squares that make it maddening to line up with the grid. Surprised Paizo's map is that far out of whack.
This has been driving me mad extracting the maps for use in MapTool to play online. I'm ok with having to screencap the maps from the interactive PDF because of the layering, but the base resolution is only the same as in the print volume, so it expands pretty terribly. That alone is ok.. but the map squares are constantly out of true! Laying a digital grid over the map requires constant adjustment as they move around the board. Reviewing some maps, it seems to be the very large maps, such as Redlake Fort in 92 or as you mention the asylum in 109. I'd bet it's an artifact of working on them at a higher resolution and then shrinking them to fit on the page, it just works out terribly going in reverse for digital use.
We finished the first book "In search of Sanity" this weekend and here are my thoughts about it.
The overall adventure is VERY good, maybe abit to railroaded but ok..The CREEPINESS IS A TOTAL BLAST.
But there is ONE HUGE complain thou, and that is TATTERMAN not the characther or the idea of a Freddie Cruger like villain , that is awesome.
BUT..
Hes just impossible to beat without cheating as GM or metagaming as a player.
And yes..I could let the players roll a knowledge whatever, but..this is a unique characther and remember the charachers are lvl 1 when they enter with a fugue state, It makes Little to no sence at all that the characthers would be able to know anything at ALL about this mythic beiing. Once they all got all the stupid silver weapons up from their backpacks mid fight they would be dead.
1 I could have made him easier as a GM, but why ? , isn't this suppose to be an adventure for 4 Characthers , I played it with 5 but I'd argue that hes still impossible, Hes at AC 20, most of the time they wont even hit him, and when they do he will just regenerate it back. And he also has DR 5, and flying ...
2 Yeah I know you get silver daggers and silver Sheen etc etc, but thats metagaming, infact it's rather silly having the cultist running around with silver daggers, just because this is the loot they need to kill the last boss. As an experienced Pathfinder player you would probably see this as a hint/clue ..but thats just a stupid clue/or matagamey since the characthers has no WAY of knowing that they should have changed their own weapons against a silverweapon that i worse than what they are carrying to beat a boss, It's daggers after all and silver.
AS a GM you could certainly ADD hints, books or other such thing and in this case the best way you could have hinted about how to beat him in the Dreams, but for that to happen you would have to be very experienced as a GM, this should have been done BY THE Authors of the adventure.
Finally they could flee , but to where ? Seriously :)
It's a cool concept to figure out how to kill a Nighmare Creature like Tatterman, but when half of the team has been running away like scared rabbits and the rest is trying to beat him with waterguns it's not fun, just frustrating. and I absolutly didnt wan't to TPK the party after the first episode because it's just poorly thought trough, did they even playtest this ?
My team was also composed of classes recommended from the players guide, like Gravedigger , detective, cleric, inqiusitor. and a rouge type
Honestly, silver is classic anti evil creature material, so thats not really that meta gamey. And its plausible to identify unique creature's weakness with knowledge check even if they don't know what creature precisely is. YMMV though I guess
Honestly, silver is classic anti evil creature material, so thats not really that meta gamey. And its plausible to identify unique creature's weakness with knowledge check even if they don't know what creature precisely is. YMMV though I guess
What kind of Knowledge Check would that be ? A creature that is not mentioned anywhere, how could anyone notice that a creature has a particular weakness without actually trying, this is also a very poor solution and a flaw in this game , if this is the only way to do it. Besides, If they mid fight actually succeded in a knowledge check with I guess super high DC and found it out, they would most likely be dead already.
Yes, for you and the players it's just that, a "Classic anti evil" material thats just why it is a poor clue and even meta gamey, Hey now we have found 3 silverdaggers and Silver Sheen , maybe we will encounter a warewolf soon, better equip these more/less useless weapons so that we are prepared.
They atleast could have made some other beeings Before Tatterman require silver weapons, that way they would have had them ready more naturally, maybe :)
My players didnt even remember that they had those daggers, since they had better weapons like Red Destiny for example..
Well you get the idea, It could have been done so much better.
It would IMO be totally legit to have the Tatterman toy with the PCs like a cat with mice. Suboptimal, yes, but legitimate. He enjoys instilling fear just as much as he does killing.
I agree that his fear aura means that it's possible for half the party to fail their saves, leaving the others in a very sticky situation. If you like, you could replace this with some weird/creepy terrain effects -- undulating surfaces, time slowing down (maybe instead of fleeing, PCs get hit with a Slow spell), bizarre sensory effects, you name it. That's the good thing about being on the borders of the Dreamlands: you really have carte blanche to get weird and creative.
