Pathfinder Adventure Path #109: In Search of Sanity (Strange Aeons 1 of 6) (PFRPG)

*wonders if Herbert West makes an appearance*

so, where in golarion is this Briarstone Asylum? Ustalav? Somewhere in Casmaron?

Paladinosaur,

I imagine we'll find out more when we get closer to July or August.

I love the idea of turning the players into both heroes and potential suspects for causing the lovecraftian situation. After all, if the players don't have all their memories, then what is to stop then from having kickstarted this, even if by accident.

I love the idea of turning the players into both heroes and potential suspects for causing the lovecraftian situation. After all, if the players don't have all their memories, then what is to stop then from having kickstarted this.

So many of ideas involve characters that are somehow tainted from the get go. Aberrant bloodline, dark tapestry oracle, insanity patron witch, fractured mind spiritualist, etc.

Shifting gears.

Re-configuring player roster.

A new project begins...

I was all set to cancel after HV, now I need to hold off.

All part of Paizo's cunning plan.

so, where in golarion is this Briarstone Asylum? Ustalav? Somewhere in Casmaron?

Thrushmoore, Ustalav.

Samy wrote:

So it's essentially deity write-ups in the same format as the Mummy's Mask ones, presenting a pantheon with all the mechanical stuff?

Pretty much, yup. Focusing on flavor but with the worshiper info, which is more or less aimed at NPCs since, you know... Elder Mythos.

All those CN Mythos deities are just begging for PC worship :-)

Paladinosaur wrote:

so, where in golarion is this Briarstone Asylum? Ustalav? Somewhere in Casmaron?

Thrushmoore, Ustalav.

Welcome back to Ustalav, where monster are a near perminant fixture, mobs with pitchforks are almost a government institution, and the dark powers run so wide and deep you could spend a lifetime hunting down monsters and still not make a dent in the corruption that has blighted these lands.

This latest set of horrors are but another to add to the list of reasons why the tourist board in this nations are some of the best con-artists and sales people in all of Golorian. WHO WOULD EVER KNOWINGLY GO THERE UNLESS THEY WERE INSANE, A MONSTER, LOOKING FOR WORK(adventurer), DESPERATE, OR ALL OF THE ABOVE!!!

Moving on... I hope this adventure path has some cool memento stuff where a bunch of clues are left by the players for themselves to help refill the empty vacant part in their memories that was made by the cosmic terrors.

James Jacobs wrote:

Samy wrote:

So it's essentially deity write-ups in the same format as the Mummy's Mask ones, presenting a pantheon with all the mechanical stuff?

Pretty much, yup. Focusing on flavor but with the worshiper info, which is more or less aimed at NPCs since, you know... Elder Mythos.

All those CN Mythos deities are just begging for PC worship :-)

Yep. they have had an evil AP

The Raven Black wrote:

James Jacobs wrote:

Samy wrote:

So it's essentially deity write-ups in the same format as the Mummy's Mask ones, presenting a pantheon with all the mechanical stuff?

Pretty much, yup. Focusing on flavor but with the worshiper info, which is more or less aimed at NPCs since, you know... Elder Mythos.

All those CN Mythos deities are just begging for PC worship :-)

Yep. they have had an evil AP

this one could have started with every PC being CN due to whatever thing has put them in the asylum

The two deity articles for this AP (Hastur the Unspeakable and Xhamen-Dor) aren't really in the same category as the CNs. Since the AP is telegraphing the King in Yellow as the big threat, having his worshipers in the party would be... a challenge. ^_^

A start like Planescape: Torment? Argh, the temptation...

My thoughts exactly!

Ruyan.

Paladin of Baha-who? wrote:

Paladinosaur wrote:

so, where in golarion is this Briarstone Asylum? Ustalav? Somewhere in Casmaron?

Thrushmoore, Ustalav.

Welcome back to Ustalav, where monster are a near perminant fixture, mobs with pitchforks are almost a government institution, and the dark powers run so wide and deep you could spend a lifetime hunting down monsters and still not make a dent in the corruption that has blighted these lands.

This latest set of horrors are but another to add to the list of reasons why the tourist board in this nations are some of the best con-artists and sales people in all of Golorian. WHO WOULD EVER KNOWINGLY GO THERE UNLESS THEY WERE INSANE, A MONSTER, LOOKING FOR WORK(adventurer), DESPERATE, OR ALL OF THE ABOVE!!!

Moving on... I hope this adventure path has some cool memento stuff where a bunch of clues are left by the players for themselves to help refill the empty vacant part in their memories that was made by the cosmic terrors.

To be fair, some people actually live in Ustalav. It's not all Virlych. (I'm still surprised people live in Versex, though.)

In addition, what with the PCs starting in an asylum... they may not have come to Ustalav willingly. ^_^

ErisAcolyte-Chaos jester wrote:

Paladin of Baha-who? wrote:

Paladinosaur wrote:

so, where in golarion is this Briarstone Asylum? Ustalav? Somewhere in Casmaron?

Thrushmoore, Ustalav.

Welcome back to Ustalav, where monster are a near perminant fixture, mobs with pitchforks are almost a government institution, and the dark powers run so wide and deep you could spend a lifetime hunting down monsters and still not make a dent in the corruption that has blighted these lands.

This latest set of horrors are but another to add to the list of reasons why the tourist board in this nations are some of the best con-artists and sales people in all of Golorian. WHO WOULD EVER KNOWINGLY GO THERE UNLESS THEY WERE INSANE, A MONSTER, LOOKING FOR WORK(adventurer), DESPERATE, OR ALL OF THE ABOVE!!!

Moving on... I hope this adventure path has some cool memento stuff where a bunch of clues are left by the players for themselves to help refill the empty vacant part in their memories that was made by the cosmic terrors.

To be fair, some people actually live in Ustalav. It's not all Virlych. (I'm still surprised people live in Versex, though.)

In addition, what with the PCs starting in an asylum... they may not have come to Ustalav willingly. ^_^

I certainly did't. Those damn red owls picked my right up and dropped me through a window. Then for some reason someone put this jacket on me. I was not even cold and it really hampers my arms. Can't even scratch my butt. Hrmph!

Marco Massoudi wrote:

Auxmaulous wrote:

How soon will get a list of the various installments and writers for each AP?

#2 The Thrushmore Terror by Crystal Frasier

#3 Dreams of the Yellow King by Mike Shel

#4 The Whisper out of Time by Richard Pett

#5 What grows within by John Compton

#6 Black Stars beckon by Jim Groves

This was the line up when we announced the Adventure Path at GenCon, but between then and now things have changed a bit. The Thrushmoor Terror is by Tito Leati and Dreams of the Yellow King is by Ron Lundeen.

Must admit I'm just a tiny bit less excited now... Crystal Frasier (the Harrowing, In Hell's Bright Shadow and the Divinity Drive) and Mike Shel (Valley of the Brain Collectors and Curse of the Lady's Light) are pretty much two of my favourite authors working on Pathfinder... Still riding this train all the way to insanity though!!! (You had me at Richard Pett's Whisper out of Time)....

Cross my fingers and hopes for evil mimes and dire clowns;)

Adam Daigle wrote:

This was the line up when we announced the Adventure Path at GenCon, but between then and now things have changed a bit. The Thrushmoor Terror is by Tito Leati and Dreams of the Yellow King is by Ron Lundeen.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A second all-male AP in a row. :(

Still be getting it though.

I'm about 80% sure that the reason Crystal is not doing her part anymore is that she's been moved up to develop the entire AP, which would mean it is the first female developed AP.

Samy wrote:

Adam Daigle wrote:

This was the line up when we announced the Adventure Path at GenCon, but between then and now things have changed a bit. The Thrushmoor Terror is by Tito Leati and Dreams of the Yellow King is by Ron Lundeen.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A second all-male AP in a row. :(

Still be getting it though.

I'm about 80% sure that the reason Crystal is not doing her part anymore is that she's been moved up to develop the entire AP, which would mean it is the first female developed AP.

Really? Badass!

Such a long way from those early cave raptor days... Leveling up is kind of awesome.

Samy wrote:

Adam Daigle wrote:

This was the line up when we announced the Adventure Path at GenCon, but between then and now things have changed a bit. The Thrushmoor Terror is by Tito Leati and Dreams of the Yellow King is by Ron Lundeen.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A second all-male AP in a row. :(

Still be getting it though.

I'm about 80% sure that the reason Crystal is not doing her part anymore is that she's been moved up to develop the entire AP, which would mean it is the first female developed AP.

I thought Adam was developing this one an Crystal was developing the next one?

Samy wrote:

Adam Daigle wrote:

This was the line up when we announced the Adventure Path at GenCon, but between then and now things have changed a bit. The Thrushmoor Terror is by Tito Leati and Dreams of the Yellow King is by Ron Lundeen.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A second all-male AP in a row. :(

Still be getting it though.

I'm about 80% sure that the reason Crystal is not doing her part anymore is that she's been moved up to develop the entire AP, which would mean it is the first female developed AP.

Writing one of the adventures is freelance and not done on the clock. Crystal simply had too much on her plate to tackle writing the volume that I asked her to write. As for her developing, she is developing the (unannounced) Adventure Path after Strange Aeons.

Enlight_Bystand wrote:

Samy wrote:

Adam Daigle wrote:

This was the line up when we announced the Adventure Path at GenCon, but between then and now things have changed a bit. The Thrushmoor Terror is by Tito Leati and Dreams of the Yellow King is by Ron Lundeen.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A second all-male AP in a row. :(

Still be getting it though.

I'm about 80% sure that the reason Crystal is not doing her part anymore is that she's been moved up to develop the entire AP, which would mean it is the first female developed AP.

Writing one of the adventures is freelance and not done on the clock. Crystal simply had too much on her plate to tackle writing the volume that I asked her to write. As for her developing, she is developing the (unannounced) Adventure Path after Strange Aeons.

Well now I'm excited about what comes next ^w^

The Raven Black wrote:

James Jacobs wrote:

Samy wrote:

So it's essentially deity write-ups in the same format as the Mummy's Mask ones, presenting a pantheon with all the mechanical stuff?

Pretty much, yup. Focusing on flavor but with the worshiper info, which is more or less aimed at NPCs since, you know... Elder Mythos.

All those CN Mythos deities are just begging for PC worship :-)

Yep. they have had an evil AP

this one could have started with every PC being CN due to whatever thing has put them in the asylum

CN is not insanity, and insanity is not CN. A person can be insane and still be any alignment in the spectrum. A LG person with mental illness to the point of disconnection with reality would be ready to fight with honor against any of the dark forces threatening the innocent -- it's just that the particular dark forces he'd be trying to fight against don't actually exist. (Think Don Quixote.)

To Insanity... And Beyooond!!!

Enlight_Bystand wrote:

Samy wrote:

Adam Daigle wrote:

This was the line up when we announced the Adventure Path at GenCon, but between then and now things have changed a bit. The Thrushmoor Terror is by Tito Leati and Dreams of the Yellow King is by Ron Lundeen.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A second all-male AP in a row. :(

Still be getting it though.

I'm about 80% sure that the reason Crystal is not doing her part anymore is that she's been moved up to develop the entire AP, which would mean it is the first female developed AP.

Writing one of the adventures is freelance and not done on the clock. Crystal simply had too much on her plate to tackle writing the volume that I asked her to write. As for her developing, she is developing the (unannounced) Adventure Path after Strange Aeons.

So no paper minis for Kingmaker #4, #5, and #6 for a loooooooooooooooooong time *sadface*

Yet, there's always hope.

Ruyan.

So is that a Cyclops on the cover ? or something else ?

So is that a Cyclops on the cover ? or something else ?

Someone who has survived a great many ordeals, and was finally shown the truth.

No it's FEIYA!!!! More Feiya yay yay yay

She's a perfect fit for the crazy AP anyway. :D

The two deity articles for this AP (Hastur the Unspeakable and Xhamen-Dor) aren't really in the same category as the CNs. Since the AP is telegraphing the King in Yellow as the big threat, having his worshipers in the party would be... a challenge. ^_^

Is this from the original announcement at Paizo-Con, or is it from somewhere else. I'm just curious, because I'm relaying a lot of this to a friend and he's probably going to ask at some point.

Kalindlara wrote:

The two deity articles for this AP (Hastur the Unspeakable and Xhamen-Dor) aren't really in the same category as the CNs. Since the AP is telegraphing the King in Yellow as the big threat, having his worshipers in the party would be... a challenge. ^_^

Is this from the original announcement at Paizo-Con, or is it from somewhere else. I'm just curious, because I'm relaying a lot of this to a friend and he's probably going to ask at some point.

It was posted somewhere on the boards, in answer to a question. I believe James Jacobs is the source. Let me see if I can find the post...

EDIT: Right here. ^_^

Enlight_Bystand wrote:

Samy wrote:

Adam Daigle wrote:

This was the line up when we announced the Adventure Path at GenCon, but between then and now things have changed a bit. The Thrushmoor Terror is by Tito Leati and Dreams of the Yellow King is by Ron Lundeen.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A second all-male AP in a row. :(

Still be getting it though.

I'm about 80% sure that the reason Crystal is not doing her part anymore is that she's been moved up to develop the entire AP, which would mean it is the first female developed AP.

Writing one of the adventures is freelance and not done on the clock. Crystal simply had too much on her plate to tackle writing the volume that I asked her to write. As for her developing, she is developing the (unannounced) Adventure Path after Strange Aeons.

Ah sorry - that was why I put the 80% figure on it - I knew that Crystal was developing one of the upcoming APs, and thought it might be related to that.

In addition, what with the PCs starting in an asylum... they may not have come to Ustalav willingly. ^_^

Pretty sure a few got dropped off there by strange mists...

This is likely to join Iron Gods on the list of APs that I'd refuse to GM, because I want to play in them.

I'm glad to see Richard Pett working on a module in this AP. He writes good stuff.

Kalindlara wrote:

In addition, what with the PCs starting in an asylum... they may not have come to Ustalav willingly. ^_^

Pretty sure a few got dropped off there by strange mists...

Uh, yeah mists, they sure can be tricky can't they...

*sighs* Herbert West! Where are you?!!

MythicFox wrote:

Kalindlara wrote:

The two deity articles for this AP (Hastur the Unspeakable and Xhamen-Dor) aren't really in the same category as the CNs. Since the AP is telegraphing the King in Yellow as the big threat, having his worshipers in the party would be... a challenge. ^_^

Is this from the original announcement at Paizo-Con, or is it from somewhere else. I'm just curious, because I'm relaying a lot of this to a friend and he's probably going to ask at some point.

It was posted somewhere on the boards, in answer to a question. I believe James Jacobs is the source. Let me see if I can find the post...

EDIT: Right here. ^_^

Thanks!

This looks amazing! The art for the cover is awesome, and absolutely love the set up for the adventure being in an Asylum(the amnesia sounds creepy and cool and I love me some Sanity rules.)The only bad news here is that I have to wait til August.

I really liked the Egyptian Gods write-up in Mummy's Mask, so I'll be glad to see another column like that.

I'm also sad about Crystal not developing or writing in this one. Adventures like "The Harrowing" took traditional ideas and made them zany and fun, I would've loved to see her take on theatrics and the King in Yellow. I'm also sad that Nick Logue isn't writing for this AP. His ogrekin are legendary. If anyone knows what he's up to these days, I'd love to know.

I'm really hoping that Orv gets some presence. The last underground AP we had was way back in Second Darkness, and Golarion was still being developed. To me the underdark represents a sinister parallel world that has so much potential. It's also right under your feet, no advanced magic needed to get there.

In media res can be difficult to pull off. It isn't an often used storytelling tactic, so I'm interested in seeing how the resident demonologist pulls this one off. I'm really looking forward to the King in Yellow's theatrical debut, ever since the great Freeport campaign featuring His Highness, I've been hooked. Oh yes, for those of you who can't wait, check out Freeport's ode to the Mythos.

The thing I'm happiest to see on this is the heroes teaming up with the other residents of the asylum rather than being told to fight their way through them.

I'm also sad that Nick Logue isn't writing for this AP. His ogrekin are legendary. If anyone knows what he's up to these days, I'd love to know.

Nick Logue wrote this module published last year: Feast of Dust and also wrote Lords of Rust in the Iron Gods AP... But I agree that he and / or Brandon Hodge could have been great additions to this roster...

When things are desperate and the lovecraftian horrors are at the door trying to silence you for good, a little cooperation with the mad people certainly is going to get you out of your cell, nay maybe even through this godforsaken night. Plus it's a great way to set up how crazy/ badass the situation is-fire being flung through hall ways, the straight jacket psychic calmly violating the minds of the horrors, a witch cackling manically as she and a mesmerist stare down a group of terrors and then part to allow the possessed medium and spiritualist to help part the way through them.

Little moments like that can build up some character identity in the players mind. That these insane people once were heroes in their own right, but their minds were broken by some terror or life shattering experience. It lets them see them as more than just npcs(because let's face it, asylums are going to be full of people, some might just be stronger than you).

Just noticed the tentacles!--will we see more and more of them on the cover the further the AP progresses?

Ruyan.

So we have the witch and the medium, I wonder who the other two iconics will be?

So we have the witch and the medium, I wonder who the other two iconics will be?

I really wanna say Quinn (Investigator) and Amiri (Barbarian).

The Investigator makes sense but so does the spiritualist, occultist, kineticist, oracle, shaman, rogue, summoner, mesmerist, and alchemist.

The Investigator makes sense but so does the spiritualist, occultist, kineticist, oracle, shaman, rogue, summoner, mesmerist, and alchemist.

But... it's a Mythos AP... you NEED an Investigator.

... though going off how CoC usually works Merisiel (Rogue) might work better in that regard...

The Investigator makes sense but so does the spiritualist, occultist, kineticist, oracle, shaman, rogue, summoner, mesmerist, and alchemist.

Emphasis mine. Merisiel does seem to make herself appropriate for just about all the APs. She certainly shows up for more of them than any other iconic...

This looks AWESOME!

Dragon78 wrote:

So we have the witch and the medium, I wonder who the other two iconics will be?

I really wanna say Quinn (Investigator) and Amiri (Barbarian).

Kind of hoping for Lini since Druids being all nature and mythos stuff being all unatrural.