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Ladies and gentleman I give you Cthulhu
Awesome that this is getting released,
Although, if it is the movie I think I heard about a while back, apparently there was discussion about how much they actually go into the mythos (ie. the movie is mostly drama, not so much horror).
But the trailer seemed decent, if a bit "shock value" towards the end.
Thank you for the answer regarding the sourceing of Mythic abilitis, Mr. Jacobs!
Now this question could be regarded as a pretty esoteric flavor thing, but, well, that's the sort of stuff that I'm interested in!
Anyway, the question is:
What is your view of the origin of Eidolons? What I mean is, are they an actual pre-existing Outsider species of mutable beings that are easily shaped by magic? Or are they something that is created by the magic at the moment of the summoning and shaped according to the will of the Summoner? (Perhaps formed from the material of the Astral plane, or from the raw essence of the Maelstrom?)
I am asking because of the very close similarities of the concept of the Summoner's Eidolon to the concept of the Buddhist Tulpa, a thoughtform that is created with a magical ritual and shaped by the will it's creator. (And while an Eidolon was classically the "spirit-image of a living or dead person" it also carried the implication of being an idea or concept given physical form, almost like the concept of the Platonic Ideal Form, but in this case the Ideal Form of an actual specific person. Which could also present the possibility of Eidolons being Ideal Forms summoned from Axis.) Did the real-world mythical/philosophical concepts of the Tulpa and Eidolon have much or any influence on the concept of Pathfinder's Eidolons at all?
I was wondering because I recently read about the Unfettered Eidolon, and how they can become loosed from their Summoner's control and become independent, but there isn't really a solid mention made of Eidolon's existence prior to their summoning. Because the concept of a thoughtform breaking free of it's creator's will and going on a rampage is also part of the lore of the Tulpa.
Is this at all relevant to the Eidolon of Pathfinder? Or am I grasping at straws here, and the similarities just coincidental because a shapable summoned creature is such a desirable thing? (Both for the game and for the Buddhists.) Was there an intention to mirror the actual legends behind the ideas of Eidolons, or was it a purely born of game-mechanics considerations?
If the question is just TOO esoteric, I apologize. I really enjoy knowing about the designers' thoughts behind the creation of the rules, and how much consideration is given to actual myths and legends when creating rules. If the answer is just "the Eidolon is the way it is because it's a cool idea we thought up as a good ability for characters," that's fine. :)
Maybe it's even actually a question that Summoners aren't sure of themselves, and they have debates about the nature of Eidolons between themselves on Golarion! It could bring up issues of slavery, especially in places like Andoran, and tie into the entire Summoned vs Called issue, with Calling bringing the actual being, while Summoning merely brings a magically created Ideal Form of the creature. But I won't go into that...
Sorry for my wordiness.
