Oh really? Awesome! With the discount applied to each Adventure Path book it seems like there's no reason not to subscribe then. Thanks again!
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Anyone can download the free pdf
You can end an ongoing subscription at any time, even in the middle of an AP
You can also wait for a few months after release and check the AP threads to get a feel for it before buying part or all of the AP though you will not get the benefits of being an AP subscriber
Ninjaed
It is rare, I get to Ninja someone else, consider yourself lucky grasshopper.
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Will there be guidance on how much of character background we should create? Do we remember all the way up until just a couple of years ago? Do we pick our traits?
I like the opening premise, but I guess I'm just a little leery about a lack of control over my character direction. Any assurances in the guide would be helpful.
Depending on how much the characters are affected by the amnesia (total vs. partial), guidance on playing a personality without a background would be helpful.
Advice on how to play (and how to GM) characters who have a significant amount of their class power based on starting items (occultists, especially) or animal companions (hunter, druid) if they don't have them immediately.
Suggestions on character options that will be disadvantageous in the AP.
They'll have personalities. They know who they are. They just lost five years.
You can easily have characters who were in their 20s or 30s. They don't need to be 18.
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Perhaps a 'how to play in this genre' section?
I may be over-reading it, but the blurbs for the APs sound much more like the PCs will be investigators-of-things-we-were-not-meant-to-know than usual. Perhaps some tips on how to avoid the more usual (?) Pathfinder adventure. I'm especially thinking about some of the comments made at Paizocon about the likelihood of non-CR-appropriate encounters early on.
If you approach this AP as if it's a 'normal' Pathfinder adventure path with a 'normal' power progression, there might be some meta-moments of thinking 'this can't be right' which could drag you out of the story. Granted it's not Call of Cthulhu where we just try to stay sane and alive for just a little bit longer - nonetheless it seems like it's a different mood than typical and players could improve the experience by going in with that expectation.
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It might just be me, but I would love a list of suggested languages. I hate investing skill points into learning Polyglot and then never once encountering someone who speaks the language.
But, I also understand if that is considered too specific a set of information.
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Maybe a system with mechanical benefits for recovering memories so that PCs who put the effort into looking for their past are rewarded for it.
And if the reward is something like additional feats, advice on how best to balance it would be great
Free feats or traits is something many GMs consider as alternate rewards but it seems awfully hard to do well. I would love to have some Paizo advice or guidelines on this
They'll have personalities. They know who they are. They just lost five years.
You can easily have characters who were in their 20s or 30s. They don't need to be 18.
Is it 5 years? I haven't seen that posted, but I could have missed it. That makes it both easier and harder. If you have no memory except your name and an instinctive mastery of your abilities (and maybe a sense of trust towards the other PCs), then your character needs to be driven by personality traits, but she will also be much more likely to put uncovering her past on the top of the to-do list. If they're missing a significant chunk of time but remember their past, then your character can be driven by past events, but she her backstory would have to be crafted in such a way that her priority wouldn't be to run off and tell her friends, family, investments that she's alive.
As a bit of a tangent: What's the difference between building a character around personality vs. history? Getting into a fight makes my heart pound with excitement and when I see someone being hurt, I feel compassion for them and must intervene, therefore I am a CG barbarian designed for the front line. Vs. I am Shoanti and everything in the Cinderlands tries to kill you, so I am a barbarian. Neither is wrong, but the latter more instinctive/traditional for a lot of people. However, if you don't remember your past, you then don't know what drives your character, while personality can persist despite the amnesia. The player of the former barbarian knows he will rush to defend his companions even if he doesn't remember why they're companions, while the player of the latter may struggle to rationalize his barbarian's decisions in absence of backstory.
RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32
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I know it's been said before above, but really having accurate information in the recommended classes and races section is so important.
Stuff like getting told that a fire sorcerer is going to be good for Mummy's Mask, and then waves of fire immune monsters, or that an ice sorcerer or winter witch would be good for Reign of Winter, can really cause a negative play experience for a player who took the advice they were given, and now their character is useless in a lot of fights.
I'd amend this to making sure the players know the mechanical consequences of certain build choices. To pick Reign of Winter as an obvious example, cold-themed characters are thematic, but will have trouble affecting foes who will be cold-resistant or immune - but, on the other hand, your character will likely be cold resistant as well. So it's a defensive choice. Conversely, a fire-themed character is less thematic and has no innate defense against cold, but will really mess up the opposition.
Things like that allow the player to make informed decisions about their character to make sure they get what they want out of the AP.
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RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32
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Even trickier - the backstory as you come to discover it needs to match the personality as you've played it since.
Unless the set up includes a serious personality change.
You can always go the Total Recall route and decide your previous self was a jerk/idiot.
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You can always go the Total Recall route and decide your previous self was a jerk/idiot.Even trickier - the backstory as you come to discover it needs to match the personality as you've played it since.
Unless the set up includes a serious personality change.
And now I am thinking of playing Hell's Vengeance and recycle my villainous PC through Strange Aeons ;-p
I know it's been said before above, but really having accurate information in the recommended classes and races section is so important.
Stuff like getting told that a fire sorcerer is going to be good for Mummy's Mask, and then waves of fire immune monsters, or that an ice sorcerer or winter witch would be good for Reign of Winter, can really cause a negative play experience for a player who took the advice they were given, and now their character is useless in a lot of fights.
I'd amend this to making sure the players know the mechanical consequences of certain build choices. To pick Reign of Winter as an obvious example, cold-themed characters are thematic, but will have trouble affecting foes who will be cold-resistant or immune - but, on the other hand, your character will likely be cold resistant as well. So it's a defensive choice. Conversely, a fire-themed character is less thematic and has no innate defense against cold, but will really mess up the opposition.
Things like that allow the player to make informed decisions about their character to make sure they get what they want out of the AP.
The Reign of Winter Player's Guide actually does say in the Character Advice section (on page 4) second paragraph: "Character options with winter themes are available to PCs, and while having protections against cold will be very helpful, remember that it is likely your character will be fighting creatures that are acclimated to the cold and resistant to the cold energy type." This is shortly before (not quite right before) the Character Tips section.
I am also looking at the Mummy's Mask Player's Guide, but I can't find anywhere that fire Sorcerers are recommended.
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I would like to see more than just 6 Campaign traits... some groups are larger and also it would be nice if the players felt that they didn't have to shoehorn themselves into the ONE trait that seems Rogue-ish, or Mage-ish, etc. I'd really like to see 10 or 12 Campaign traits in each thread to give players a wider range of choices.
Traits.Obvs. ;)
: Maybe not for the first encounter (or two), but PCs have access to their starting gear at the start.
Booo!! No no no... players should NOT have access to their equipment in the first section of the adventure. If they are prisoners or inmates, why would all their stuff be kept in a room nearby?? Be original, make them start with nothing but the clothes on their back and salvage what weapons they can as they go, or learn to use items as improvised tools/weapons.
Booo!! No no no... players should NOT have access to their equipment in the first section of the adventure. If they are prisoners or inmates, why would all their stuff be kept in a room nearby?? Be original, make them start with nothing but the clothes on their back and salvage what weapons they can as they go, or learn to use items as improvised tools/weapons.: Maybe not for the first encounter (or two), but PCs have access to their starting gear at the start.
Torment beckons from beyond...
Ruyan.
Pfffft. As if having their weapons will save them...
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Tammy doesn't need weapons.
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< *has me*
One thing i have been wondering about is making an old god themed character. I have always wanted to make a CG cleric of azathoth. There is explanation for a lot of whats going on and exactly how it works exactly, i wont go into detail with it for now, but what i want to know is will there be any support for a character who draw power from, worships, or in some way is associated with them, even if they get their power unknowingly from them?
Booo!! No no no... players should NOT have access to their equipment in the first section of the adventure. If they are prisoners or inmates, why would all their stuff be kept in a room nearby?? Be original, make them start with nothing but the clothes on their back and salvage what weapons they can as they go, or learn to use items as improvised tools/weapons.: Maybe not for the first encounter (or two), but PCs have access to their starting gear at the start.
The problem with that (probably more so in PFS) is classes where equipment or animal companions are a significant part of their power. Occultist is shut down completely. A wizard with an arcane bond item (I know, who does that?) takes a serious penalty. Even just an archery focused character: why are there bows and arrows in an asylum? I'm a hunter and my wolf companion, Wolfy, who I've known since I was a bo--What? He's dead?! And I have to wait until I can spend a week meditating to summon something from nearby?
I'm reminded of the Slavelords series, with the last part being when the PCs wake after being captured and having only a loincloth and having to escape. And having no spells to speak of.
So homage that if you want. You [Paizo] did an excellent job of doing an homage to Expedition to Barrier Peaks with the start of Iron Gods. It makes far more sense for something like this with Strange Aeons at a low level than a deus ex capture at higher level.
That said... if the PCs DO have starting equipment, have a reason for them to have it. Maybe a kindly guard smuggled them some basic stuff. Or some other Actor (in the metaphysical sense) delivers "generic" stuff for them to start with.
Of course, that's not the Player's Guide... but even so, having reasons why the PCs might have some basic equipment could be a good thing, especially as they are inmates and thus should be limited as to what they have.
And that could also be of merit for starting PC suggestions - classes like the Brawler, the Monk, the Rogue, the Sorcerer, the Bard, or the Bloodrager, who don't NEED a lot of starting equipment and yet can remain capable.
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One other thing to consider and add in the Player's Guide and in the main books is this: what happens when a PC dies? This was problematic in Reign of Winter and Wrath of the Righteous - how does someone bear a Mark of the Black Rider, or have Awakened Mythic Ability if they were not one of the PCs who met the Rider, or were there when the main group of PCs Awakened?
This story is about people who are missing their memories and awaken in an asylum. They are bound together due to their ignorance and loss. How would a new character, a replacement goldfish, fit into this? And what about groups that grow larger with new players?
Having some form of pool of NPCs or some other means of explaining new PCs or replacement PCs would be quite handy.
Booo!! No no no... players should NOT have access to their equipment in the first section of the adventure. If they are prisoners or inmates, why would all their stuff be kept in a room nearby?? Be original, make them start with nothing but the clothes on their back and salvage what weapons they can as they go, or learn to use items as improvised tools/weapons.: Maybe not for the first encounter (or two), but PCs have access to their starting gear at the start.
Of course, maybe this is {secretly?|unintentionally?|subtly?} Giving us some information about the AP. What if the captors of the PCs actually want them re-equipped for nefarious secret purposes, perhaps after a short delay? They captured them to do stuff to them, took their equipment away temporarily, test them to make sure that the stuff they did to the PCs (including the mindwipes) was successful, and then after a couple of test runs, they return them to their equipment, possibly sacrificing some low-level minions to make it look unintentional.
With respect to what happens if a PC dies, maybe they've been cloned. Survival just isn't sustainable without a proper amount of Paranoia . . . .
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One other thing to consider and add in the Player's Guide and in the main books is this: what happens when a PC dies? This was problematic in Reign of Winter and Wrath of the Righteous - how does someone bear a Mark of the Black Rider, or have Awakened Mythic Ability if they were not one of the PCs who met the Rider, or were there when the main group of PCs Awakened?
This story is about people who are missing their memories and awaken in an asylum. They are bound together due to their ignorance and loss. How would a new character, a replacement goldfish, fit into this? And what about groups that grow larger with new players?
Having some form of pool of NPCs or some other means of explaining new PCs or replacement PCs would be quite handy.
I would definitely find this helpful.
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May be too late, but I would like to see a section on, "why should I roleplay being scared" that would amount to something more substantial than "for fun". This is supposed to be a "horror" AP, but for all I know, characters will just strut around beating up Lovecraftian monsters like XP pinatas with precisely the same amount of horror that they would have against goblins or owlbears. What makes this different for the players or characters? Are my characters intended to act differently against Lovecraftian horrors than against regular monsters? Are they meant to be scared? Against regular monsters they rarely are. What makes this different? Is it just a common agreement between players to accept that the monsters are "horrible", or is there some kind of backing for that? Is there any mechanical effect like "dragon fear" in 3e to make the players afraid? Or can anybody choose to just act blasé in the face of tentacley horrors?
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The latter actually depends on the GM.
For instance, when I ran RotRL's cornfield encounter during Book 2, I had an incoming thunderstorm create a sense of tension. I had lightning actually hit at the edge of the field behind them. They were running from the storm and then ran into the contents of the field and I had them not knowing what was happening.
A GM could play that as an ordinary encounter. Many do. But a cunning GM can play up the atmosphere, turn a session into something memorable.
Likewise with Lovecraftian horrors. You don't just say "you face an X" you build the scene. You use atmosphere and setting to help establish the horror, of the thing glowing and the glow not touching or illuminating the ankle-length fog filling the area, the sense of goosepimples running up your arms even as you sweat from the heat and humidity... you craft a sense of WRONGNESS and it builds the horror of the situation.
Use mood music. Use dim lighting. Even use your players' imagination, letting them know that ahead of time of the horrific elements of the game... and even throw a few hope spots, some moments of laughter, little brief flashes of light... to cause the darkness to become deeper and more ominous.
It isn't up to Paizo so much to create a horrific setting. It is up to the GM to bring that setting to life and to chill your players to their very marrows.
I know my background music will be totally different for this AP. Instead of the heroic soundtracks like Avengers: Age of Ultron that I use with our Kingmaker campaign, I'll use something like the Suspiria soundtrack by Goblin. That one really puts people on edge after a while.
I'll also use the Asylum sound set by Syrinscape.
I am hoping for a fair few campaign traits - lately there seem to be less per guide than previously - and some good mechanical suggestions for each class or class type (also, suggestions what archetypes, feats etc might NOT be a good idea).
Strange gear, memories etc would be a good idea and might tie in with the traits. More fluff for getting in the mood is definitely great for a horror AP.
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It would be nice to have a section mentioning that this is a Horror-themed campaign and not a standard Heroic campaign. It would help to reiterate the player's expectations for the campaign. I know that this is somewhat the GM's responsibility too, but it would be nice to have it reiterated in the Player's Guide.
I mention this because I'm currently running Carrion Crown. Everyone is having fun, but nobody is afraid for creeped out. There's a ton of joking at the table (humor breaks the mood of horror games). Essentially, the group has decided to play it as a heroic campaign. I've resigned myself to this, so that I can have fun too, and I'm enjoying it. It was just really cool in the first few sessions when the players really WERE creeped out about what was going on.
I read in another thread, essentially, that being a "tourist" rather than a thematically appropriate character concept is to be preferred. I want the player's guide to sell me on why being some random schmuck would be more fun than the awesome concepts I read about. Frankly, the idea kind of killed a little of the fun of it for me.
If you can't be a character with ties to the Dark Tapestry in THIS adventure path, when will it EVER be appropriate? Thinking of interesting ways to connect my character to the DT was half the fun.
Also, having my character's history handed to me... bleh. If that's the way it's going, I hope it's handled well. Having my character's history/memories not match up with reality? Done that. It wasn't fun then. Maybe it would be now, but I'm already kind of annoyed with it, because the DM had a bad case of, "let's not give you enough information to base any decisions on, then punish you for making 'wrong' decisions." Oh, and, "it was all a dream." If I ever have to play that again, I am out. What a waste of my time, basically nullifying everything that I worked for.
OK, that turned into a rant. Sorry.
It is sounding like this is a situation where you want to define your character's background a bit at a time. This will fit some people better than others.
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This also sounds like a situation where a certain Story Feat will come in handy. ;) That being Forgotten Past.
Whatever the class ends up being, my character is taking definite shape.
She's... kind of a hoot. I see... a haze of scraps of paper fluttering around as she goes through her pockets. Inappropriate enthusiasm. And magical sucker-punches.
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^Suddenly I have an idea of a character not taking shape. Cave Druid . . . .
I read in another thread, essentially, that being a "tourist" rather than a thematically appropriate character concept is to be preferred.
I believe that post you're referring to was simply stating that the author thought we'd have more fun playing fish out of water neophytes to the goings-on than dark masters of the occult who know all there is to know about the outer gods, not that you couldn't play one.
Now, the Player's Guide may cater to that sort since there will be (especially in PFS) more of the former than the latter.
^This reminds me of the old computer game Hack, in which one class you could pick was Tourist. One of your starting items was "an expensive camera", which actually provided a pretty useful debuff on enemies. Unfortunately this is probably more appropriate for Iron Gods than Strange Aeons . . . .
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One thing I'd really been hoping for as the "unique mechanic" of the AP was that instead of starting with a campaign *trait*, you'd start out with a campaign *drawback* that continued to develop as the campaign progressed.
One thing I'd really been hoping for as the "unique mechanic" of the AP was that instead of starting with a campaign *trait*, you'd start out with a campaign *drawback* that continued to develop as the campaign progressed.
That sounds like a really cool idea. Maybe something caused or related to the Amnesia, which even if they regain their lost memories, still affects them. Brain damage sounds for once like fun.
Mostly I just hope the advice for the backstories are good, because my players like to write out at least 1 page of backstory and amnesia may make that difficult.
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I wonder if this is supposed to be the AP for people that are bad at writing backstories . . .
I wonder if this is supposed to be the AP for people that are bad at writing backstories . . .
Are you kidding? I've been having a blast figuring out backstories :P It's been interesting coming up with character concepts independent of this AP and then going, "Okay, now how is this character going to react to waking up in an asylum with no memories of the past X months/years?"
I would like to know how well the nonstandard races will fit in, especially the native outsiders with their immunity to "X Person" spells. Also, while it is bleed over from other games/books/movies anytime I hear "horror" and "sanity" I always think back to Lovecraft and the things of the deep, so how much water to look forward to would be nice to know ahead of time.
Related but on a personal note... any love for the Deep One Hybrids?
My players can't wait to make characters for this AP. The excitement level is high. What I need now, is to know what exactly their employer was employing them to do.
That will help them tailor their PCs to fit.
In the meantime, I'll just keep watching Stranger Things to get me in the zone. ;)