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Of late I've been mulling over a few ideas for PCs for APs, specifically Mummy's Mask and Strange Aeons. And after playing in Carrion Crown for a while, I've got Ustalav on the brain and while Mummy's Mask doesn't take place in Ustalav itself, I got the itch to make a character FROM there travelling to Osirion on an expedition, since Mummy's Mask is an AP that makes allowances for PCs coming from distant lands, as opposed to many other APs that assume the PCs are locals.
I have two basic ideas for PCs that developed in parallel, and I do want to use both, but I'm having difficulty deciding which to play in which AP. Both gel with the ideas and themes of both APs pretty well, and flipping a coin always leaves me with a feeling of "What If?" that makes me uncomfortable. Here's the two concepts:
The first is an investigator-type character, whether the actual CLASS of Investigator, or something close to it like an Alchemist, Rogue or Bard. They've studied at the prestigious Lepidstadt University and not only received one of the best educations in the country, but also became a skilled duelist, earning the famed Lepidstadt Scar (for those of you unfamiliar with the term, the Lepidstadt Scar is a cut on your face kinda like Inigo Montoya's from The Princess Bride that is a status symbol among Ustalav's nobility).
The second option is a True Silvered Throne, a high-ranking member of the Esoteric Order of the Palatine Eye. For those of you unfamiliar with them, they're kinda like Freemasons, and protect Ustalav via a combination of political maneuvering and mystical rituals, some of which were allegedly brought back from Osirion, and the Osiriani language features heavily in their ceremonies (they feature prominently in the backgrounds of both Curse of the Crimson Throne and Carrion Crown).
In Mummy's Mask, the investigator becomes an adventurer-archaeologist like Indiana Jones, using a combination of academic understanding, seat-of-the-pants improvisation and combat prowess to seek Osirion's treasures and put them in museums, and it fits well with the common plotline of Indiana Jones movies, where what begins as seeking a mystical or famous artifact ends up entangling them in conspiracies and dealing with the consequences of unleashing the dangerous mystical powers those artifacts may have. In Strange Aeons, they may have been a student or colleague of Count Haserton's who ended up being a thug for him as well, and may put the investigative skills they learned Lepidstadt University to join the Sleepless Agency, a company of private eyes that feature prominently in the campaign, plus regular scholars whose curiosity leads them to contact with alien eldritch beings and locations are common Lovecraftian protagonists (Randolph Carter, Dr. Henry Armitage, etc).
As for the True Silvered Throne, in Mummy's Mask they're exploring Osirion to better understand the rituals that are so important to them, and find documents of lost knowledge that they may bring back to Ustalav to improve their standing within the Esoteric Order and come closer to the enlightenment that is the Order's goal. Plus, the divine spells and abilities of the Shaman class could come in handy considering the sheer amount of undead in the AP. In Strange Aeons, on the other hand, they could be a noble Haserton contacted for information regarding the dark rituals he was studying, drawn into the Count's web of cruelty and insanity. Plus, one of the Campaign traits for Strange Aeons is "Ritualistic," essentially saying you remember a tiny bit of magic and vaguely remember that an understanding of rituals and performing symbolic actions in order yields result and believe such actions are the key to restoring your memory. And since more of Strange Aeons takes place in Ustalav, it makes sense that a a PC would be in the kinds of social circles that keep an eye on events like what happen in this campaign, and seek to get involved, even if what Haserton's up to has nothing to do with the Whispering Way, which is one of the organization's regular adversaries.
So...what do you folks think? Which should I play in which AP? Which one links the most strongly with the ideas each AP presents? The advice I'm looking for isn't so much how to build these characters, but how to fit them into the stories presented in an organic way.
I don't know much about Mummy's Mask, but I can tell you that only the first 2 books of Strange Aeons take place in Ustalav. And since the campaign starts with your character having complete amnesia, which you will not have the chance to remove until well after you leave Ustalav, any character concept created around being familiar with Ustalav or organizations within will be completely useless. When it is useful, you will not be able to use it, and when you can use it, it will no longer be useful.
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I'm well aware of the Fugue State you start in, but it's not complete amnesia. You start with enough memory to be functional, and you get enough clues in the first two adventures to at least have a basic understanding of who you are.
And as far as Mummy's Mask there isn't a DIRECT connection. But both Osirion and Ustalav have strong Pharasmin churches, so an Ustalavic character will feel at home there, and the AP has allowances for foreign PCs as well as locals, as opposed to most other APs, which strongly encourage you to be local. Plus, the True Silvered Throne is a member of the Esoteric Order of the Palatine Eye, which is obsessed with Osiriani mysticism.
Gepetto (Alchemist (Promethean Alchemist archetype) with his Homonculus Pinocchio who he keeps telling will be a real boy, someday. But Gepetto knows better.
Oh, I see, you weren't asking for ideas, my bad! I'll have to reconfigure and I'll come back to it. :-)