I love the amnesia aspect of ISoS. What I don't like so much: that the PCs, after the opening encounter, immediately find all their stuff and start off pretty much unscathed. I think the horror aspect is likely to be ramped up if the PCs have a more realistic "wake up naked in an asylum" experience. Yes, ISoS is a pretty tough module. But I have a party of six, so I'm okay with handicapping them a little. I think this system would also work with four 20-point characters (since the module assumes 15 points).
Before starting, I'm going to tell the players that they have six Starting Points, which they can distribute among four categories: Stuff, Physical, Mental, and Fugue. They can spend up to three points in each category -- so, for instance, a PC might start with Stuff 2, Physical 3, Mental 1, and Fugue 0. What I'll tell the PCs: "Stuff 3 means you start with all your stuff. Physical 3 means you're in great physical shape, Mental 3 same. Fugue 3, you have the least possible effects from the fugue." No details beyond that.
So what will these mean? Well:
Stuff 3: You find all your starting equipment in the first room. Since your character used to be a favored servant of Lowls, I will add a useful item of up to 2,000 gp value into your stuff... a magic weapon, minor magic item, a spellbook with extra spells up to fourth level, or the like. Your stuff will also contain a clue to your past (embroidered initials on fine clothing, or some such.)
Stuff 2: You find all your starting equipment in the first room. It's the normal equipment for a 1st level PC, with no clues.
Stuff 1: The DM determines one item that is definitely present -- a weapon, spellbook, or holy symbol, whatever the character most needs. Everything else, have the player go down his character sheet and roll: 50% chance it's there, otherwise it's marked "missing". Missing items will be found with Winter and the refugees, and can be claimed as soon as they trust the PC (attitude friendly or better).
Stuff 0: You got nothin'. You'll find one critical item (as above, weapon or spellbook) in the possession of the first ghoul or doppelganger you encounter in area B. After that, the refugees may have some of your stuff: roll for everything else, 50% there, 50% lost forever.
Physical 3: You're fine.
Physical 2: You have scrapes and bruises, or a minor injury: start at -2 hp.
Physical 1: You have a more serious injury (half your hp) that also affects your movement: either one arm isn't working, or you're at -10' on your move. The latter effect will disappear once you have healed the hp AND have a night's good rest (i.e., in the chapel... there's no good rest anywhere else).
Physical 0: You have the Sickened condition, and will have it until you have a night's good rest AND someone makes a DC 15 Heal check on you. You also have either a disease or an addiction (DM's choice); if a disease, you're already past the incubation period.
Mental 3: You're fine.
Mental 2: You're a little disoriented and distracted: -4 Wisdom until you get a good night's rest. (Unless you're a Wis-based character, in which case you're withdrawn and have a slight stutter and are at -4 Cha.)
Mental 1: As above, but you're at -4 to both Wis and Cha, and whenever confronted with a stressful situation (such as combat) you must make a DC 15 Will save in order to take an action other than cowering. You can retry the Will save each round; once it's made, you can act normally for the rest of that situation.
Mental 0: You seem fine at first, but in fact you have gained a madness as per the DMG -- either paranoia, mania, or phobia (DM's choice). The madness DC is 15. The madness passes if you can get a good night's rest and then make the Will save, OR you get a good night's rest after someone has made a DC 20 Heal check on you. The Heal check DC is reduced by 1 for every ten minutes the healer spends sitting with you and speaking calmly.
Fugue 3: You still get occasional flickers of memory from your past life. The DM may use this to give you hints or clues at any time during the first two modules. Additionally, during the first week after waking, you may reroll up to three attacks, saves, or skill checks, as the fading memories of your past self briefly inspire you to greater competence. These rerolls are a limited resource; once you've used them, they're gone.
Fugue 2: As per normal.
Fugue 1: You no longer remember your name. The DM or the other players will give you a name based on some characteristic ("Scarface", "Twitchy", or the like). Also, some of your memories are slow to recover. Whenever you attempt to attack with a weapon, use a skill, or cast a spell, there is a 20% chance you are unable to bring those memories to the fore. Once you have used a particular weapon or skill, or cast a particular spell, you no longer have to make this roll. You can try to reroll a failed roll after at least ten minutes have passed. This condition passes after a good night's rest.
Fugue 0: As above, except the failure chance is now 50%, and you don't remember how to read or how to speak any languages but Common. The condition persists until you can get a good night's rest and then make a DC 15 save, OR you get a good night's rest after someone has made a DC 20 Heal check on you. The Heal check DC is reduced by 1 for every ten minutes the healer spends sitting with you and speaking calmly.
Obviously this can result in some fairly challenging outcomes. Interestingly flavorful, or just way too hard? What do you think?
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
I think this is an AWESOME idea.
As an aside, I'd be tempted to let players know roughly what comes with each choice. For example, that, roughly, a 3 is better than the written adventure's status quo/comes with some extra advantages, a 2 is the written adventure's status quo, a 1 incurs significant additional penalties (though not permanent ones), and a 0 incurs very significant additional penalties (also not permanent, but may be harder to remove or longer lasting). That might help to manage player expectations.
A couple thoughts about balancing:
--It seems 3 is given as the status quo option for physical and mental, and 2 is the status quo option for stuff and fugue. Maybe consistently go one way or the other? (For example, maybe add benefits to physical 3 and mental 3, or add further penalties to stuff 2 and fugue 2?)
--Balance-wise, the penalties for fugue 0 and 1 and mental 0 and 1 seem bigger than the penalties for physical 0 and 1 and stuff 0 and 1.
E.g., as a first level character, for many classes, having no equipment or just that one important piece of equipment isn't that big a deal (stuff 1), nor is having a move speed reduced by 10' (physical 1). But a 20% chance to lose every turn is a much bigger deal (fugue 1), and a DC 15 will check to not cower in any stressful situation has s good chance of effectively removing a character from the first couple rounds (which is often all of) of every interaction (mental 1) for the first part of the adventure.
Likewise, being permanently sickened is bad (physical 0), but not as nearly as bad as losing half your turns (fugue 0).
But overall, I love these suggestions. A great way to add to the terror feelings of helplessness and vulnerability!
Out of curiosity, have you read through modules 2 and more importantly 3? In regards to the first module, while this is a really cool idea, I would caution you against making the penalties so severe.
Spoiler:
While the first fight as soon as they wake up is mostly easy, Doctor Oathsday specifically can be a VERY tough fight for level 1 PCs, even with all of their gear and abilities intact. I actually had to change her tactics to make it a little easier on my party or else they probably would have lost their sorcerer in the first session.
In my opinion, it gives too much control to the players. I feel that if they can choose their handicap, it takes away from the feel of it.
But - if it works for your table, then go for it.
--It seems 3 is given as the status quo option for physical and mental, and 2 is the status quo option for stuff and fugue. Maybe consistently go one way or the other? (For example, maybe add benefits to physical 3 and mental 3, or add further penalties to stuff 2 and fugue 2?)
Thinking about it. Right now, the inconsistency is deliberate. The players are picking blind-ish, and the results they get may be unexpected and/or uneven. That stab-in-the-dark aspect seems consistent to me with the whole starting setup.
Quote:
But overall, I love these suggestions. A great way to add to the terror feelings of helplessness and vulnerability!
That's what I'm aiming for. I want the players to feel that they're in trouble right from the start.
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Douglas Muir 406 wrote:
Obviously this can result in some fairly challenging outcomes. Interestingly flavorful, or just way too hard? What do you think?
Just one thought about this particular part: while I think most of these are fun and not too hard (given a party of six), I'd worry a bit that Mental 1 and Fugue 0 are too hard and (more importantly) risk not being fun for some players.
The fun and flavorful limitations you have make things hard for the player (No equipment! Limited movement! One arm!) in a way that both makes them feel more vulnerable and forces them to get creative with what their character does. So a naked character might resort to improvised weapons or aid another checks or combat maneuvers. A character with a very slow movement has to be much more cautious and careful about positioning, and might work out a way of getting out of places quickly if they need to run (slung over the shoulder of the fighter?).
But Mental 1 and Fugue 0 don't constrain player choices, they give them a hefty chance of not having any choices at all. And it's not very fun to not be able to do anything because you're rolling poorly.
I'd be inclined to try something that constrains/hampers player agency instead of removing it. For example, perhaps the Fugue 0 state might impose a 50% chance of making you effectively non-proficient at the activity in question (for a weapon attack you're treated as not proficient with the weapon, for a skill you're treated as being untrained, for a spell you're treated as not having that spell on your spell list). That makes things like spell casting and skills which only work if you're trained in them a risky business, and can significantly hamper attacks and skill uses. But the player can still perform a cost/benefit analysis with respect to what kind of act to try given these risks. (Is it worth trying to cast the spell, or just aiding another or attacking?) And the player can still feel like they have fun decisions to make.
Anyway, just my 2 cents. And let me re-iterate that I think this is an awesome idea!
Porridge, your points are well taken. I'm shifting things around a bit, and taking some of your suggestions.
Stuff:
No changes to Stuff.
Stuff 3: You find all your starting equipment in the first room. Since your character used to be a favored servant of Lowls, I will add a useful item of up to 2,000 gp value into your stuff... a magic weapon, minor magic item, a spellbook with extra spells up to fourth level, or the like. Your stuff will also contain a clue to your past (embroidered initials on fine clothing, or some such.)
Stuff 2: You find all your starting equipment in the first room. It's the normal equipment for a 1st level PC, with no clues.
Stuff 1: The DM determines one item that is definitely present -- a weapon, spellbook, or holy symbol, whatever the character most needs. Everything else, have the player go down his character sheet and roll: 50% chance it's there, otherwise it's marked "missing". Missing items will be found with Winter and the refugees, and can be claimed as soon as they trust the PC (attitude friendly or better).
Stuff 0: You got nothin'. You'll find one critical item (as above, weapon or spellbook) in the possession of the first ghoul or doppelganger you encounter in area B. After that, the refugees may have some of your stuff: roll for everything else, 50% there, 50% lost forever.
Physical:
Physical 3: You were dosed with a powerful stimulant that will temporarily increase either your Con or your Dex by +4. The stimulant wears off four hours after you wake up.
Physical 2: You're fine.
Physical 1: You have an injury (half your hp) that also affects your movement: either one arm isn't working, or you're at -10' on your move. The latter effect will disappear once you have healed the hp AND have a night's good rest (i.e., in the chapel... there's no good rest anywhere else).
Physical 0: You have the Sickened condition, and will have it until you have a night's good rest AND someone makes a DC 15 Heal check on you. You also have either a disease or an addiction (DM's choice); if a disease, you're already past the incubation period.
Mental:
Mental 3: You awake with your mind strangely clear and strong. You are immune to San damage for the next four hours. If not using the Sanity system, then you gain +4 on Will saves for the next four hours.
Mental 2: You're fine.
Mental 1: You're disoriented and distracted. You are at -4 to either Wis or Cha,and whenever confronted with a stressful situation (such as combat) you must make a DC 15 Will save in order to place yourself in danger. (If you fail the Will save by 5 or more, you can do nothing but cower.) You can retry the Will save each round; once it's made, you can act normally for the rest of that encounter or situation.
Mental 0: You seem fine at first, but in fact you have gained a madness as per the DMG -- either paranoia, mania, or phobia (DM's choice). The madness DC is 15. The madness passes if you can get a good night's rest and then make the Will save, OR you get a good night's rest after someone has made a DC 20 Heal check on you. The Heal check DC is reduced by 1 for every ten minutes the healer spends sitting with you and speaking calmly.
Fugue:
Fugue 3: You still get occasional flickers of memory from your past life. The DM may use this to give you hints or clues at any time during the first two modules. Additionally, during the first week after waking, you may reroll up to three attacks, saves, or skill checks, as the fading memories of your past self briefly inspire you to greater competence. These rerolls are a limited resource; once you've used them, they're gone.
Fugue 2: As per normal.
Fugue 1: You no longer remember your name. The DM or the other players will give you a name based on some characteristic ("Scarface", "Twitchy", or the like). Also, some of your memories are slow to recover. Whenever you attempt to attack with a weapon, use a skill, or cast a spell, there is a 20% chance you are unable to bring those memories to the fore. For a weapon or a skill, you are treated as non-proficient (-4 to attack rolls, no +3 bonus on skill checks). For a spell, you are unable to cast it, but you do not lose the spell or slot. Once you have used a particular weapon or skill, or cast a particular spell, you no longer have to make this roll. You can try to reroll a failed roll after at least ten minutes have passed. This condition passes after a good night's rest.
Fugue 0: As above, except the failure chance is now 50%, and you don't remember how to read or how to speak any languages but Common. The condition persists until you can get a good night's rest and then make a DC 15 save, OR you get a good night's rest after someone has made a DC 20 Heal check on you. The Heal check DC is reduced by 1 for every ten minutes the healer spends sitting with you and speaking calmly.
I'm just about to try these on my PCs in our PBP campaign, so we'll hae a chance to see how it goes!
