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

Rysky wrote:

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.

In fact, there's plenty about the mythos being natural; the idea that the natural world rebels and abhors the mythos is mostly an after-the-fact apocryphal addition. In plenty of Lovecraft's stories, you can see that it's as much the natural world that's horrifying as it is anything supernatural, be it the whippoorwills in Dunwich Horror acting as psychopomps or the way the old ones created life itself in "At the Mountains of Madness."

Kevin Mack wrote:

Rysky wrote:

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.

In fact, there's plenty about the mythos being natural; the idea that the natural world rebels and abhors the mythos is mostly an after-the-fact apocryphal addition. In plenty of Lovecraft's stories, you can see that it's as much the natural world that's horrifying as it is anything supernatural, be it the whippoorwills in Dunwich Horror acting as psychopomps or the way the old ones created life itself in "At the Mountains of Madness."

*crosses fingers for an Ur-Naturalist Druid archetype*

I don't know, leaving the kineticist out of an AP were you are in an asylum seems like a missed opportunity for multiple reasons. And that is not even including the Mythos related stuff.

Superhero blaster seems a little in your face for my mental image of Cthulhu but then I haven't read a lot.

Let's not forget Imrijka, the iconic from Ustalav!

Superhero blaster seems a little in your face for my mental image of Cthulhu but then I haven't read a lot.

Spot on. I picked the four iconics I did for this one SPECIFICALLY because of how they each fit into the themes of Lovecraft's writing. A kineticist doesn't fit into those themes at all.

And no, it's not a cyclops on the cover. You'll need to wait and see the adventure itself to find out what that tattered thing is!

And no, it's not a cyclops on the cover. You'll need to wait and see the adventure itself to find out what that tattered thing is!

I have a theory. ^_^

Hastur’s symbol, the notorious Yellow Sign, is often used in conjunction with such magic, and often those who find the Yellow Sign become doomed to host the King in Yellow in their own minds and flesh, slowly transforming into eldritch agents of Him Who is not to be Named.

James, could we entice you to share how the revealed two iconics (Feiya and the spiritualist) fit into Lovecraftian themes in general, without any AP spoilers of course?

Could that tattered creature on the cover be...The Muffin Man;)

James, could we entice you to share how the revealed two iconics (Feiya and the spiritualist) fit into Lovecraftian themes in general, without any AP spoilers of course?

That's actually Erasmus the Medium.

Could that tattered creature on the cover be...The Muffin Man;)

Do you know him!? Does he live on Drury Lane?

That's actually Erasmus the Medium.

Right, that guy...who is not-Rivani. I have a problem remembering all those little candles beside the blazing bonfire that is Rivani.

James, could we entice you to share how the revealed two iconics (Feiya and the spiritualist) fit into Lovecraftian themes in general, without any AP spoilers of course?

Witchcraft featured strongly in Lovecraft's stories. In fact, a witch was the main antagonist of "Dreams in the Witch House."

The spiritualist doesn't fit well... it's the Medium who's also been revealed. We wanted to include an Occult character because Lovecraft's writings used occult themes all the time, with the exception of the Kineticist, all five of the other classes fit well into his themes. I chose the Medium because he's got the strongest in-world ties to Ustalav, where the AP begins.

James,

Will Herbert West show up in this AP at all?

James,

Will Herbert West show up in this AP at all?

Nope.

I have a theory. ^_^

It could be bunnies?

Samy wrote:

James, could we entice you to share how the revealed two iconics (Feiya and the spiritualist) fit into Lovecraftian themes in general, without any AP spoilers of course?

Witchcraft featured strongly in Lovecraft's stories. In fact, a witch was the main antagonist of "Dreams in the Witch House."

The spiritualist doesn't fit well... it's the Medium who's also been revealed. We wanted to include an Occult character because Lovecraft's writings used occult themes all the time, with the exception of the Kineticist, all five of the other classes fit well into his themes. I chose the Medium because he's got the strongest in-world ties to Ustalav, where the AP begins.

Not to mention it wouldn't be Erasmus' first trip to an asylum...

Erasmus awakens in an asylum.
Erasmus: "Damn it, not again."
Freyja: "Why did you say that?"
Erasmus: "I... Don't know?"

Dragon78 wrote:

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...

Indeed, Investigator makes way too much sense it cant not be one of the chosen iconics, both from an in game perspective and certainly from a meta one. I mean PC's in Call of Cthulhu aren't called adventurers, they're actually called "investigators". James is a smart guy though, he knows this. ;)

James Jacobs wrote:

And no, it's not a cyclops on the cover. You'll need to wait and see the adventure itself to find out what that tattered thing is!

I have a theory. ^_^

Wake of the Watcher wrote:

Hastur’s symbol, the notorious Yellow Sign, is often used in conjunction with such magic, and often those who find the Yellow Sign become doomed to host the King in Yellow in their own minds and flesh, slowly transforming into eldritch agents of Him Who is not to be Named.

Me too, PMing you to compare notes!

Also my bet on the 4th Iconic is Damiel.

Dragon78 wrote:

Could that tattered creature on the cover be...The Muffin Man;)

Do you know him!? Does he live on Drury Lane?

She's married to the MUFFIN MAN? ;)

Kevin Mack wrote:

Rysky wrote:

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.

In fact, there's plenty about the mythos being natural; the idea that the natural world rebels and abhors the mythos is mostly an after-the-fact apocryphal addition. In plenty of Lovecraft's stories, you can see that it's as much the natural world that's horrifying as it is anything supernatural, be it the whippoorwills in Dunwich Horror acting as psychopomps or the way the old ones created life itself in "At the Mountains of Madness."

So is that a yes or a no to one being Lini?

Maybe we will find out who the other two iconics will be at Paizo Con.

Maybe we will find out who the other two iconics will be at Paizo Con.

That seems like a solid guess to me.

Samy wrote:

James, could we entice you to share how the revealed two iconics (Feiya and the spiritualist) fit into Lovecraftian themes in general, without any AP spoilers of course?

Witchcraft featured strongly in Lovecraft's stories. In fact, a witch was the main antagonist of "Dreams in the Witch House."

The spiritualist doesn't fit well... it's the Medium who's also been revealed. We wanted to include an Occult character because Lovecraft's writings used occult themes all the time, with the exception of the Kineticist, all five of the other classes fit well into his themes. I chose the Medium because he's got the strongest in-world ties to Ustalav, where the AP begins.

So does the spiritualist fit or not in your opinion (or were you saying the Iconic spiritualist wouldn't fit very well?)

If the class doesn't fit, why do you think it doesn't? Would the fractured mind archetype fit better?

I know I have time but I have several character ideas swirling around in my head and am looking to narrow them down for a very thematic fit, but am kind of a novice in terms of Mythos knowledge.

A solid list of writers. Although it would have been cool if Paizo had brought in Sandy Petersen himself to write one of the installments.

Hell, this might be even better.

Hmm, connection to Ustalav... Maybe Imrijka is involved.

Gambit wrote:

A solid list of writers. Although it would have been cool if Paizo had brought in Sandy Petersen himself to write one of the installments.

Hell, this might be even better.

Between that and this, Pathfinder GMs should have some great options for handling insanity.

I guess only one occult class, based on JJ's post above. Lovecraftian themes include tainted bloodlines, so Sorcerer or Bloodrager would fit. Calling things from outside reality is another one, so the Summoner might be appropriate too. And Investigator would be a good approximation for a journalist or writer.

I guess only one occult class, based on JJ's post above. Lovecraftian themes include tainted bloodlines, so Sorcerer or Bloodrager would fit. Calling things from outside reality is another one, so the Summoner might be appropriate too. And Investigator would be a good approximation for a journalist or writer.

I think the Investigator is likely a shoo in. So it's just the final slot. I'd add Oracle and maybe Shaman or Druid to your list of possibilities.

Dragon78 wrote:

Maybe we will find out who the other two iconics will be at Paizo Con.

That seems like a solid guess to me.

If upcoming covers don't reveal it before then, I'll totally reveal the other two iconics at PaizoCon.

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 agree, but I'm still worried that the approach to "insanity" in this AP will lack nuance and understanding.

While I'm not interested in playing an evil AP like Hell's Vengeance, I understand that there's a certain appeal. I just hope that the same kind of care and attention that Paizo folks have put into advising and recommending ways to play in an evil campaign can extend to how to play in a game like this. Namely, how to play in a game of alien, unknowable horror with strong themes of "insanity" while still being respectful of folks with mental illnesses. Without hearing more about the specifics, I'm very skeptical that this will be an AP I can respect, let alone enjoy.

James Jacobs wrote:

Samy wrote:

James, could we entice you to share how the revealed two iconics (Feiya and the spiritualist) fit into Lovecraftian themes in general, without any AP spoilers of course?

Witchcraft featured strongly in Lovecraft's stories. In fact, a witch was the main antagonist of "Dreams in the Witch House."

The spiritualist doesn't fit well... it's the Medium who's also been revealed. We wanted to include an Occult character because Lovecraft's writings used occult themes all the time, with the exception of the Kineticist, all five of the other classes fit well into his themes. I chose the Medium because he's got the strongest in-world ties to Ustalav, where the AP begins.

So does the spiritualist fit or not in your opinion (or were you saying the Iconic spiritualist wouldn't fit very well?)

If the class doesn't fit, why do you think it doesn't? Would the fractured mind archetype fit better?

I know I have time but I have several character ideas swirling around in my head and am looking to narrow them down for a very thematic fit, but am kind of a novice in terms of Mythos knowledge.

The idea of a spiritualist, based on the real-world definition of the word, fits well into Lovecraft, but the incarnation of the spiritualist in our game, as a class with a "pet ghost" does not fit into Lovecraft's themes at all. But when it comes to player characters, it's important to remember that you DON'T have the added restriction of being on-theme in artwork in a published book... you can pick whatever you want for your class, since your choice of class isn't going to affect the baseline presentation in the print product.

QuidEst wrote:

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 agree, but I'm still worried that the approach to "insanity" in this AP will lack nuance and understanding.

While I'm not interested in playing an evil AP like Hell's Vengeance, I understand that there's a certain appeal. I just hope that the same kind of care and attention that Paizo folks have put into advising and recommending ways to play in an evil campaign can extend to how to play in a game like this. Namely, how to play in a game of alien, unknowable horror with strong themes of "insanity" while still being respectful of folks with mental illnesses. Without hearing more about the specifics, I'm very skeptical that this will be an AP I can respect, let alone enjoy.

This is absolutely something that's on our radar and that we fully intend to be as respectful and mature about approaching as possible. Madness and mental illness is a big part of the themes of this type of horror, but we also understand that it's an important topic to handle with care. And beyond that, the very nature of horror itself is something that's not for everyone; a horror RPG is going to, by necessity, go to some dark places, and a group needs to be comfortable with that going in, and the GM needs to know his player's limits and safe zones. This topic will be an important one... the MOST IMPORTANT one... that we cover in Horror Adventures, in fact, but we'll chat about it in the AP as well.

There's no reason why we would stop treating our topics with the same kind of care and attention we've put into previous APs at this point, in other words.

In other words, it's D&D going places where other RPGs have gone and came back and forth long ago. World of Darkness, in particular.

In other words, it's D&D going places where other RPGs have gone and came back and forth long ago. World of Darkness, in particular.

But in the current/modern era where awareness toward things like mental illness is more advanced and I would hope to say more enlightened and more progressive.

How someone approaches a topic in the past is not always the best way to approach the topic in the present, and it's by learning from the mistakes of the past that we as a society get better at BEING a society.

I've never had that particular problem with WoD, its "This is a dark game about things that are screwed up, proceed with caution" disclaimer was always quite obvious.

But I agree that there have been RPGs in the past that handled some themes very irresponsibly.

I've never had that particular problem with WoD, its "This is a dark game about things that are screwed up, proceed with caution" disclaimer was always quite obvious.

But I agree that there have been RPGs in the past that handled some themes very irresponsibly.

WoD hit its height in a very different time. A lot has changed in the past few decades.

The fact that they had that disclaimer is good though, and certainly helps to prepare the reader for what they're getting into.

The simple fact is that RPGs are immersive, and as such need to treat certain topics like horror and what causes horror with more maturity and caution than other forms of entertainment, like movies or novels, which are less immersive.

The Strange Aeons Player's Guide will certainly have warnings like that in it, in any event, similarly to how we tried to let folks know ahead of time what was coming for Hell's Vengeance.

In any event, if folks want to continue this discussion... let's take it to its own thread in the Strange Aeons forum? We want to keep this thread on-target for the product itself; thanks!

I'm still going to approach this AP with caution, but I appreciate the assurance that y'all are going to do your best to tackle this subject thoughtfully. Thanks. :)

Thomas Seitz wrote:

James,

Will Herbert West show up in this AP at all?

Nope.

How about Randolph Carter?

James Jacobs wrote:

Thomas Seitz wrote:

James,

Will Herbert West show up in this AP at all?

Nope.

How about Randolph Carter?

There WILL be a couple of NPCs from Lovecraft's writings who have roles to play in this AP... but I'm not gonna say who they are, now that I've already said that Herbert West isn't in the adventure (of course, the timing doesn't work out for him, since he's met his fate years before the events of Strange Aeons...).

You'll find out soon enough!

I think you folks are on the wrong track... I'd be more curious if Cassilda will show up, or Hildred Castaigne. ^_^

Is it Tammy.

MythicFox wrote:

James Jacobs wrote:

Thomas Seitz wrote:

James,

Will Herbert West show up in this AP at all?

Nope.

How about Randolph Carter?

There WILL be a couple of NPCs from Lovecraft's writings who have roles to play in this AP... but I'm not gonna say who they are, now that I've already said that Herbert West isn't in the adventure (of course, the timing doesn't work out for him, since he's met his fate years before the events of Strange Aeons...).

You'll find out soon enough!

Didn't West come back as a disguised alien in Through The Gates of the Silver Key, though? Or do we, like Lovecraft himself, not talk about that one? ^_^

I keep seeing people say, "I guess I will keep my subscription going for this one, even though I was going to cancel."
Why would you cancel? There are more APs currently out than I will ever have time to play in my life, probably. But I still get it in the mail every month. Each one has so many cool articles, short stories, monsters, and stuff about Golarion that I peruse each one. Even if I won't ever be able to get to it.

...Are those nightgaunts I see on the cover?

I have never read any of Lovecraft's books, so I have no idea who these characters are.

...Are those nightgaunts I see on the cover?

Absolutely.

That... that means...

Dreamlands?

Excuse me... I'm off going to weep TEARS OF ULTIMATE FANGIRL JOY.

ULTIMATE. FANGIRL. JOY.