Aspect of Veles
First Post
My current group has been together for a few years. We started with 1st edition AD&D and moved on to 4E as soon as it came out. We've been playing 4E ever since, but me and some of my players have begun to grow quite tired of its structure and overall theme (the rest of the group loves it). We are just starting a new campaign set in the 2nd Edition AD&D Ravenloft setting, using the Call of Cthulhu rules set, but I was interested in other systems for future use, so I started looking around.
Lo and behold, before long I had acquired a copy of the Pathfinder Core Rulebook, and I love it! I am seriously leaning towards using this as our next system, but had a couple tweaks which I wanted to make.
I am a big fan of gothic and/or gritty and realistic horror (with a lean towards Lovecraft, Shelley, and Stoker) and tend to incorporate elements of this into my campaigns. Flipping through the Pathfinder rules, the flavor text at the start opf the chapters leapt out at me; it seems to me to focus on a less blindly heroic feel, and more on a slightly more realistic approach to situations than found in the flavor text of , say, Dungeons and Dragons. Also, it seems to hint at horror (at least to me) in some of the text.
To this end, I am considering manufacturing a sanity system for use with the game, based primarily off of the Fear, Horror, and Madness checks of 2nd Edition Ravenloft. I still have to dig through the rulebook a bit, but I was thinking that it might add a bit more of a role-playing focus to sessions (as it sure seemed to, switching from 4E to CoC). I was thinking of using Fear checks (the least serious) for events such as separation, confusion, death of party members/friends, etc. Horror checks (slightly more grievous) would be used for encounters with Undead, Devils, unnatural creatures, magic affecting the actions/goals of yourself or those you know closely, etc. Finally, I was thinking of using Madness only for major villains/monsters in the campaign whose mere presence seems to shatter the characters long held beliefs of the world.
Horror checks would have a chance to leave long-lasting effects if failed (such as phobias or mental disorders), whilst failed madness checks would always leave these mental scars.
I'll post more once I've had a chance to further explore the limits and guides of the system.
Lo and behold, before long I had acquired a copy of the Pathfinder Core Rulebook, and I love it! I am seriously leaning towards using this as our next system, but had a couple tweaks which I wanted to make.
I am a big fan of gothic and/or gritty and realistic horror (with a lean towards Lovecraft, Shelley, and Stoker) and tend to incorporate elements of this into my campaigns. Flipping through the Pathfinder rules, the flavor text at the start opf the chapters leapt out at me; it seems to me to focus on a less blindly heroic feel, and more on a slightly more realistic approach to situations than found in the flavor text of , say, Dungeons and Dragons. Also, it seems to hint at horror (at least to me) in some of the text.
To this end, I am considering manufacturing a sanity system for use with the game, based primarily off of the Fear, Horror, and Madness checks of 2nd Edition Ravenloft. I still have to dig through the rulebook a bit, but I was thinking that it might add a bit more of a role-playing focus to sessions (as it sure seemed to, switching from 4E to CoC). I was thinking of using Fear checks (the least serious) for events such as separation, confusion, death of party members/friends, etc. Horror checks (slightly more grievous) would be used for encounters with Undead, Devils, unnatural creatures, magic affecting the actions/goals of yourself or those you know closely, etc. Finally, I was thinking of using Madness only for major villains/monsters in the campaign whose mere presence seems to shatter the characters long held beliefs of the world.
Horror checks would have a chance to leave long-lasting effects if failed (such as phobias or mental disorders), whilst failed madness checks would always leave these mental scars.
I'll post more once I've had a chance to further explore the limits and guides of the system.