All About Aberrations?

[Rechan]

Are there any PF bestiary books, revisited, modules, unleashed, adventure paths, etc that are good resources on Aberrations? Or maybe details on the Far Realms/Lovecraftian planes?

Edition doesn't matter to me; I'm looking mainly for inspiration material, because I'm running an aberration-heavy campaign set in the Far Realms.

[lemeres]

Aberrations tend to be a grab bag of things. The Dark Tapestry tends to be for anything Lovecraft related, and it is less a 'realm' and more 'anything related to outer space' in this setting. You will also tend to see more aberration related material in the darklands as well.

if I remember right, the Second Darkness campaign touches on both of those isues. It is old- 3.5, pre-Paiz-making-their-own-system old.

One of the main aberration influences in the setting are Aboleths/Alghollthu. They fill the 'dark and eldritch manipulator' role, doing a variety of long term conspiracies with mind control and the creation of servitor races through body manipulation. They are part of the WAAAY back backstory that set off many of the key events of the setting (Azlanti, Earthfall, the star stone, Aroden, etc).

[Ventnor]

The Strange Eons adventure path was named after one of the lines in Call of Cthulhu, so that might be a place to look.

[Deadmanwalking]

Aberration appears to be a bit of a grab bag of creatures that are biological organisms that breed, eat, breathe, and die (unlike things like demons and angels, which are made of souls) but are truly alien in either mentality, physiology, or both. So stating too much that they have in common is real tricky since all they inherently have in common is their divergence from the norms.

Many are indeed tied to the Chulhu Mythos, though some creatures from the Mythos aren't aberrations and many aberrations aren't tied to the Mythos.

[Rechan]

The fact they're a grab bag is fine; I'm just looking for any stray bits of new monster inspiration, maybe an ineteresting setup here or there.

Ventnor wrote:

The Strange Eons adventure path was named after one of the lines in Call of Cthulhu, so that might be a place to look.

I'll have to give that a look. I know From Shore to Sea is very much "The Shadow of Innsmouth".

Although I'm unfamiliar with what Alghollthu are.

[Deadmanwalking]

Rechan wrote:

Although I'm unfamiliar with what Alghollthu are.

Basically the supercategory for aboleths, like demons are for succubi. There's an in-depth article on them and their history and ecology in Chapter 1 of 'Ruins of Azlant' and the plots of the secretive Veiled Masters in Chapter 6 of the same AP. Lost Omens Legends also features one of said Veiled Masters and some details on their plotting.

[Temperans]

If you are looking on info about aberrarions is best to search PFSRD or AONPRD for aberration. That will get you a lot of the mechanical bits and creature stat blocks for Aberration.

Most of those stat blocks also list some info about the individual creature. Some more then others.

In general I suggest searching all the books about Horror and/or Occult.

Specially I recommed Horror Adventures, which has lots of rules and info on running various horror campaigns.

Page in AONPRD.

P.S. Far Realm in Pathfinder that has some info given by the devs.

[Rechan]

Don't need the rules info, not using PF. I simply find Paizo's products to be excellent--a prior campaign was hexcrawling exploration set in a pulpy Jungle setting, I heavily used Kingmaker's rules and lifted pieces from the Serpent Skull/Heart of the Jungle/Savage Tide/Razor Coast while still homebrewing a lot.

So the SRD having ecology is good enough for my needs.

Unfortunately this campaign is doing the opposite of what the devs designed for Golarion. They opted for "multiple points of origin for various things". My PCs are in a singular location on a specific plane. More specifically the campaign is like the game Half-Life if Black Mesa had been pulled into Silent Hill. Heavy doses of Dead Space, garnished with Hellraiser.

Still there's things worth using; over on ENWorld I started a thread about "friendly" encounters in the Far Realms and someone pointed out that the Golarion goddess of Dreams is basically a good Mythos deity. And that sounds incredibly intriguing. Granted I understand Dreamland is a separate plane in Golarion, I don't have to go that route.

[Temperans]

Hmm goddess of dreams? Yeah I can kind of see how someone would describe Desna as a Mythos Goddess. She has done some wild stuff just for the fun of it.

Since you wanted info on aberrations the stat blocks with descriptions, ecology, and sometimes other info is just a good source in general. Plus it also can give some inspiration for your own aberrations, if you wanted.

The setting you have sounds very interesting and actually is not too far off from Pathfinder. Just from the description it gives me a sort of Starfinder feel. Having said that, Starfinder has a lot more space theme and so a lot more space based aberrations. I am unsure how much info they have available but it might help.

Also the fact that things have multiple origins in Pathfinder does not mean they do not cross. There are many demiplanes that interset in many weird ways, I can see your campaign happening in a demiplane located in the Dark Tapestry. Which gives a lot of extra fun things to play around with. Like the fact the maze could shift if they are not fast enough.

Also of note is that just because something is an aberration does not mean it wants to eat you (depending on how smart). So you can potentially create your very own race of aberration that is into building things. Which would explain the mega dungeon in the middle of nowhere.

[lemeres]

Cosmopolitan origins also doesn't mean you can't have things generally come together. There could be intersection, cross over, and cultural merging involved.

Maybe one aberration born from mad magical experiments meets another that is sent from beyond the stars by their unspeakable lord , and the magical aberration says "well, you seem like a sensible chap. Tell me more about this whole 'end of the world' thing. Sounds interesting. I only have to make a regular donation of some human children? Well, I was doing that anyway, so this just adds to the fun".

Anyway, you might also want to look into Qlippoths. Paizo has this as another variety of Lovecraft material, but they tie more directly into the planes tied to morality. They are from the Chaotic Evil abyss, and they have a long term dispute with the demons over ownership of the plane. Basically, they were the ancient, alien beings festering and fecuid in places were men could not understand. Then, someone figured out how to recycle CE mortal souls into demons, and the Abyss decided it preferred that instead.

The Qlippoths were overrun by the sheer number of mortal souls sent their way, so they are on the backstep because their enemy always gets a steady supply of new 'recruits'. They hate mortals as a result, and they want to "solve the problem at its source"- by cutting off the flow of mortal souls entirely.

I am unsure of the publishing history of Qlippoth. I think Paizo wanted to do lovecraft without it being too on the nose, so they did that. But they later decided they also wanted more of the original flavor cosmic horror. So you see things like Dagon being a Qlippoth turned demon lord, but then you see the rest of the lovecraft mythos being played straight.

[Rechan]

Nothing else, wow those Qlippoths look freaky.

Oh, in Golarion, Demons are corrupted souls? Considering how many demons there are, how'd they get so many souls.

[lemeres]

Rechan wrote:

Nothing else, wow those Qlippoths look freaky.

Oh, in Golarion, Demons are corrupted souls? Considering how many demons there are, how'd they get so many souls.

Most of the major alignment related outsiders originate from mortal souls. Demons aren't always a 1 to 1 though. Sometimes one soul turns into a ton of minor demons, somethings a bunch come together to form something powerful. But yes- generally, it is a soul with sin, and that sin helps to define the type of demon it turns into. So, for example, the soul of someone that betrays people might become a Glabrezu (a demon that has an 'evil genie' wish gimmick).

And the souls end up in the abyss because they are Chaotic evil. Basically, Pharasma, the goddess of death, judges souls and sorts them out to the plane with the appropriate alignment. Good souls go to one of the various good planes, evil souls to evil planes. While her neutral stance means that the evil planes get reinforcements, it keeps a power balance and stops places like Hell (Lawful Evil plane) from taking overt moves to steal too many souls. Otherwise, the offender would get ganged up on by everyone else, either due to moral or 'financial' objections.

Sidenote on the creation of demons:

Lamashtu is credited as the first demon (or one of the first). Souls sent to the abyss turn into useless worm things. One of the Four Horsemen (the heads of the Neutral Evil plane; the residents of that plane specialize in using souls as a commodity and power source) decided to experiment with these worm like souls, and it turned into a demon as a result.

The Abyss, the Chaotic evil plane said to have its own will, noticed this and copied the process on the billions/trillions of mortal souls it had stored from the beginning of time, turning them into a wreathing newly born horde eager to make all of existence into broken playthings.

Lamashtu killed and stole the secrets to warping souls from the Horseman that created her, which let he become one of the strongest forces in the Abyss. She later became the first demon to attain true godhood by hunting down and ripping divinity from a god.

[S. J. Digriz]

If you are just looking for inspiration, there was 3.5 supplement called Lord of Madness that dealt with aberrations. It included some D&D copyrighted aberrations (mind flayers and beholders), but also had gricks and grell and aboleths.

There is also Sandy Peterson's Cthulhu Mythos for PF1e. It's pretty cool, and contains information about handling the re-appearance of an old one in the game world.

People have mentioned the Strange Aeons adventure path. I have read parts of it, but have not run it. The first adventure seems awesome. It's for PF1e.

In addition to aberrations, look at the qlippoth. They are ur-demons with a Lovecraftian vibe.

There have been a number of adventures over the years that were inspired by the Lovecraft story 'A Shadow Over Innsmouth'. One is Carrion Crown #4 'Wake the Watcher'. It is a PF1e module from the Carrion Crown adventure path.

[Taja the Barbarian]

S. J. Digriz wrote:

If you are just looking for inspiration, there was 3.5 supplement called Lord of Madness that dealt with aberrations. It included some D&D copyrighted aberrations (mind flayers and beholders), but also had gricks and grell and aboleths.

I also recommend this book, but it does illustrate the core issue with writing about Aberrations: Membership in this category is generally defined by what they aren't than what they are, so members don't generally have much in common. For example, four of the creatures included are:

• From the dawn of time,
• From the end of time,
• From the depths of space, and
• From an 'alien' plane of existence

They really have nothing in common beyond being 'not really fitting into another category very well.'

Semi-relevant video about the conclusions of a lifetime of studying fish.

[Seventh Seal]

You mentioned Silent Hill & Hellraizer as inspirations for your game/setting, right?

As such, perhaps have a look at Pathfinder's Sakhils (former psychopomps that are the embodiments of fear & would fit right in with a Silent Hill setting) & Velstracs (group that expands on kytons & is heavily inspired by Hellraizer)?

(You are looking for inspirational material, & if you find the Qlippoth inspiring, then maybe Sakhils & Velstracs will be, too...)

As for sources: explore the Pathfinder wiki, which tends to have a good list of where to find information on specific topics that are often spread throughout multiple books.

[Rechan]

LORDS OF MADNESS. Yes! I'd seen that book, I knew it existed, then forgot it existed, so I was thinking "Wasn't there an Aberrations book?"

And yes, I will totally check out the Velstracs and Sakhils. And Kaorti.

Anyhow, I think my idea of the Far Realms is basically a realm full of chaotic energy, of endless potential, that anything of sufficient will can warp and change. It's a place of the mindscape. Have enough force of will and your hut can become a tower, and so on. The kind of place mages can just create pocket dimensions in, and so on. The problem is once you get something powerful and nasty in there, it's sort of a ripple effect, pain and negativity spawns more and more, and any sort of unique monstrosity could pop out, so aboleth and illithids et al have rendered the place pretty hostile. But not entirely, as it is fairly chaotic, it's also having some overlap with dream, and so on.

Thanks for the help, folks.

[Rechan]

General advise, since the topic is here and folks are answering.

One of my PCs has elemental resistance, and there's a pretty sweet item I want to give that grants elemental resistance. Problem is aside from maybe acid (or a Beholder pewpewing rays), I can't see many aberrations using fire/cold/etc. Any suggestions for implementation?

[Deadmanwalking]

Rechan wrote:

General advise, since the topic is here and folks are answering.

One of my PCs has elemental resistance, and there's a pretty sweet item I want to give that grants elemental resistance. Problem is aside from maybe acid (or a Beholder pewpewing rays), I can't see many aberrations using fire/cold/etc. Any suggestions for implementation?

In PF2, Mental and Poison are damage types, and commonly inflicted by aberrations. Having the item provide Mental or Poison Resistance seems valid to me. Neither are ubiquitous, but they'll come up.

[Rechan]

Yes, those are common damage types aberrations do. But they don't fit the item for the same reason red dragonscale armor wouldn't have necrotic resistance.

The PC has fire resistance. And the item is themed around elements.

I think an easier answer might be that oozes are more common in the plane. Who doesn't love oozes?

[Perpdepog]

If you really need an elemental damage type, I'd recommend either cold or sonic. Both types fit a lot of the more cosmic style of aberrations. Things like the mi-go, star-spawn of Cthulhu, and other aberrant critters are, or rather were, immune to cold damage in PF1E, what with space being so cold (It's not, but whatevs.). Lots of aberrations of that stripe also have powers relating to unearthly, eldritch music, like the beings of Azathoth's court, some entities of the Dominion of the Black, or gibbering mouthers, with all their gibbering. (Space doesn't work that way either, but try telling Azathoth that and see what happens.)