The Seasage Effigy

[Krome]

Okay the PCs caught me unprepared with some very basic questions.

1) WHAT is the Seasage Effigy. Sure I know what an effigy is, but what about this one. Is it life sized, doll sized? What is it made of?

2) WHO was the Seasage? Mmmm darn good question.

3) Was it valuable and why? I assume so or it wouldn't be in an Antiquities Department, but why should anyone care about this effigy any more than any other effigy?

In short the PCs have to solve the Trial of the Beast question. The most obvious questions are about the Effigy, which led to the Beast's capture. But I can find nothing of any real value about the Effigy.

Any one have some advice?

[Generic Villain]

Krome wrote:

Okay the PCs caught me unprepared with some very basic questions.

1) WHAT is the Seasage Effigy. Sure I know what an effigy is, but what about this one. Is it life sized, doll sized? What is it made of?

The best description of the SSE can be found on page 19, the second paragraph: "Physically, the effigy is a murky green statuette depicting a grotesque creature writhing with tentacles." As a statuette, it is not life-sized - it's idol-sized. It is made of murky green stone.

Krome wrote:

2) WHO was the Seasage? Mmmm darn good question.

3) Was it valuable and why? I assume so or it wouldn't be in an Antiquities Department, but why should anyone care about this effigy any more than any other effigy?

"Crowl is frankly baffled by events—he admits that the statuette was very singular, but it was hardly valuable."

In other words, the currators of the museum know next to nothing about the Effigy. It's likely something that they stumbled upon, realized it as being unique, and stuck on display with a bunch of other fetishes and fish carvings. Sort of like those people IRL that buy some knicknack at a garage sale for $5, only to find out later that it's a priceless artifact. Also, although Crowl suspects the SSE is related to the worship of alien gods, he has no definite proof.

The theft of the SSE is a mystery for several reasons. Someone obviously went to a lot of trouble to steal the thing, so clearly it is valuable, but why? And why didn't they bother taking some of the obviously valuable exhibits in the museum as well? These are precisely the questions the PCs should be asking to get them invested in the story, and to drive them on their quest.

They'll find out the truth of the SSE soon enough, but for Trial of the Beast, they'll have to settle for speculation.

[Generic Villain]

To be more pragmatic, the SSE is based on the HP Lovecraft story "The Call of Cthulhu." The story begins with the discovery of (surprise!) a strange effigy, described thusly:

spoiler:

It seemed to be a sort of monster, or symbol representing a monster, of a form which only a diseased fancy could conceive. If I say that my somewhat extravagant imagination yielded simultaneous pictures of an octopus, a dragon, and a human caricature, I shall not be unfaithful to the spirit of the thing. A pulpy, tentacled head surmounted a grotesque and scaly body with rudimentary wings; but it was the general outline of the whole which made it most shockingly frightful. Behind the figure was a vague suggestion of a Cyclopean architectural background

If you'd like an idea of what the SSE will probably look like, do a Google image search for "Cthulhu statuette."

[Krome]

Thanks guys that helps a lot!

[Robert G. McCreary]

The Seasage Effigy also makes an appearance in the Carrion Crown item cards and...

Spoiler:

reappears later in the AP, in Pathfinder #46: Wake of the Watcher.

[Liz Courts]

For a minute there, I thought the title of this thread read "Sausage Effigy". And then I wondered who was a fan of the Preacher comic books.

Carry on!

[Generic Villain]

I think, as a GM, it's best to play up the mysterious, otherworldy, vaguely sinister nature of the SSE. Make the PCs understand that it must have some purpose - and given that an evil death cult just stole the thing, that purpose cannot be a good one.

[F. Wesley Schneider]

I'm totally in agreement with G.V. on all this, some spot on advice here. Also, don't overplay the Seasage Effigy like it was the Hope Diamond or anything (Ustalav's version of that is elsewhere). I don't think it ever says the effigy was on display (could be wrong, it's been a while since I read that adventure). In any case, I always imagined the idol to be wrapped or boxed up sitting on a shelf, cataloged away in the back rooms of the Antiquities Department - it's a school, not a museum after all, and that location alone probably suggests how much value folks placed on the thing.

But also don't fear. The Seasage Effigy only really needs to be a macguffin at this point. It's importance will come back up, but for now it just needs to be one more reason for the PCs to be interested in and start tailing the Whispering Way.

[F. Wesley Schneider]

Rob McCreary wrote:

The Seasage Effigy also makes an appearance in the Carrion Crown item cards and...

** spoiler omitted **

Yeah. I keep calling that picture the Squidbilly Effigy. :P

[Lipto the Shiv]

Liz Courts wrote:

For a minute there, I thought the title of this thread read "Sausage Effigy".

Carry on!

I don't know how many times I read through the adventure and actually saw 'sausage' before my brain kicked in and said "No, dip$#!+! Read it again!"

[Luther]

I'm seconding Lipto... I kept seeing "Sausage". Does the name Seasage Effigy have any plot-specific significance? I'm considering changing the name because I know my group and if any of them latch on to "Sausage Effigy" as a running gag then I'll never hear the end of it.

[Ullapool]

Luther wrote:

I'm seconding Lipto... I kept seeing "Sausage". Does the name Seasage Effigy have any plot-specific significance? I'm considering changing the name because I know my group and if any of them latch on to "Sausage Effigy" as a running gag then I'll never hear the end of it.

And here we are back to the original poster's question #2 - who is the Seasage? It is a sage of the sea? Sounds a bit heavy handed but we're talking about a fish-like statuette which clearly aludes to the Cthulhu mythos which was rooted (initially) in the aquatic.

[Ice Titan]

I've already considered Chthonic Effigy, but I'm also open to suggestions. My group, likewise, Sausage Effigy, and I'm really not looking forwards to hearing it's lavish description from the more creative members of the party. :P

[Jon Kines]

Ice Titan wrote:

I've already considered Chthonic Effigy, but I'm also open to suggestions. My group, likewise, Sausage Effigy, and I'm really not looking forwards to hearing it's lavish description from the more creative members of the party. :P

Grr, now I'm calling it the sausage effigy, thanks a LOT guys! :P