Pathfinder 1E [Zombie Sky Press] It Came from the Stars (Pathfinder RPG)

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You don't have to go to the stars... they're coming to you!

It Came from the Stars is a new patronage project from Zombie Sky Press, exploring the effects of the weird on your game. Join today!

Beyond the Realms You Know

It Came from the Stars brings the mystery of the unknown and the weird to your Pathfinder Roleplaying Game with new player options, new monsters, and new adventures. Mystery, wonder, and terror from the starry vastness await you. Whether you play in a world that is already aware of what lies beyond or that has been so far oblivious, it's about to get ugly.

Discover bold new options for characters: Fantastic psychic abilities. Strange alien technology. Mindwarping secrets. Will you stalwartly oppose the madness or will you give in? Can you twist the dark whispers to your own advantage?

Confront challenging new foes: For instance, the dreaded star beasts (one is illustrated above). Each star beast is unique in personality, appearance, and power. What can you hope to do if one of these devastating forces comes to your world? Or any of the other new creatures, for that matter?

Plunge into harrowing adventure: The stars are here! Stave off invasion. Discover derelict technologies. Plunge yourself into worlds unknown. How will you fare in the coming confrontation?

Set Sights for the Weird

Join us in bringing the weird to your game. It Came from the Stars comes in two parts, 64 pages each, wondrously illustrated by Roxxy Goetz (The Spoils CCG). The first is full of player options, including new classes, new options for existing classes, and much more. The second is full of new monsters and crazy adventures. Discover strange, new technologies and portals to other worlds. Meet odd monsters and take their stuff. Save the day or die as your world burns. (This product will be supported with Hero Lab, character generation software from Lone Wolf Development.)

Who could bring you such a thing? Only masters of the weird, that's who: Scott Gable (Incantations in Theory and Practice, The Faerie Ring), Colin McComb (Dark Sun, Planescape, and Ravenloft Settings), Richard Pett (The Sixfold Trial, The Styes, We Be Goblins!), Michael Kortes (Entombed with the Pharaohs, Haunting of Harrowstone), Clinton Boomer (Incantations from the Other Side, The Infernal Syndrome). And you! You can join us in this craziness: contribute your designs, playtest the results, shape the final product, and have some crazy fun!

As a milestone, if we can reach 150% of our funding goal, we'll create three parts, instead of just two: the bestiary and the adventures will each have there own 64 pages. (That means a minimum of 192 pages!)

The Stars Are Here!

Maybe the strange creatures are here to enslave! Maybe they're here to eat! Maybe they're here to mate!! Whatever the case, it probably won't be pretty. It Came from the Stars is not a setting but a set of tools for you to add the wonder of the stars to whatever setting you wish. It's an event to up the stakes of your game and shatter expectations. It gives you what you need in order to add an element of the unknown to your game. Mysterious abilities, strange technologies, powerful foes, and mind-blowing adventures. It's about discovering that you're not alone. That there is much more than you had ever realized out there. That you are in terrible danger always.

It Came from the Stars provides the means to launch your game in new directions. Spice up your fantasy with a taste of the stars--some Lovecraftian horror here, some space opera there, a splash of pulpy action. Add some mystery to your ancient cultures, giving them ties to things beyond the stars. Add an unexpected twist to the storyline, upping the stakes and revealing new possibilities. Create rich characters with backgrounds hinting at the stars and powers threatening to consume them. Stave off the invasion forces and discover new worlds.

While a book of the weird, for sure, It Came from the Stars is fun and playable and still the fantasy you know and love. It's intended to shake up campaigns, pushing the limits--whether that's cthuloid squishiness or arcane science or weird psychic powers.

There's weirdness out there. You ready to explore it with us? Follow along with the pre-launch discussion and teasers at zombieskypress.com and Scott's G+.

It Came from the Stars is the first offering in The Weird Cycle. Future offerings under this banner will explore... other weirdness! It Came from the Stars complies with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Compatibility License.

 

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With Stars in Your Eyes

We just launched It Came from the Stars for Pathfinder RPG, and perhaps, the best place to start this conversation is with the stunning illustration by +Roxxy Goetz (at the top of the Kickstarter page).

The star beast in the image is a new type of dragon--one that thrives in the interstellar void. They are a little different from your standard dragons in that each star beast is unique. They look different from one another, they have different abilities and powers levels, and they have different personalities. But they are all out for themselves and are all very powerful. A handful of these dreaded monsters will be developed, from Fomalhaut (the star beast shown) to Wormwood (the most terrible of all).

But that's not all there is to that illustration: the star beast is chasing a falling star. A falling star in this context is, quite literally, a star-spawned fey. A star beast's favorite snack.

The tone is set right here in this one illustration. It's still the fantasy you know, but with a taste of what lies beyond. If that sounds fun to you or if you just want to see more of Roxxy's gorgeous illustrations, come join us.

Pledge today... I'm not sure how long I can keep the star beasts off your scent.

 

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With Stars in Your Eyes

Perhaps the initial ideas that gave birth to It Came from the Stars were for new classes. Something really different in flavor from the core. Something strange. Something that could only come from the stars. Whether that's because of the strange meteorite you and your friends found, because of the alien larvae in your head, because you were bombarded with Z-rays, or something else more bizarre, you can do some messed up stuff... (in a manner balanced with other classes of course).

The very first of this batch is the starseed. As a starseed, you are a terrible warrior, whose "muscle" and "steel" take the form of tendrils of telekinetic force. You lash out at foes at range and toss them around at a whim. Your mind and body are becoming one. You are a scion of the stars themselves.

Join today... we'll crack that mind open for you.

 

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With Stars in Your Eyes #3

I was asked about inspiration for It Came from the Stars. The obvious names are the weird fiction masters who set it all off for me: HP Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, and the others of that era, like Blackwood, Machen, Dunsany, Chambers. But that is only a part of this project. Add to those the sword & planet and space opera fiction writers of later years: Moorcock, Wolfe, and so many more. Movies and television dealing with facing the unknown, like The Day of the Triffids, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Dr. Who, and The Twilight Zone. Comics, anime, music--there's so much that has been an inspiration for this.

But it's all yet to be written. And you, the patrons, will decide much of what is included, so who knows which bits of inspiration will have the greatest influence at the end. But you can bet that cosmic secrets, invading aliens, drugged-out cultists, rampaging monsters, crash-landed spacecraft, and even death rays will be among the tools we pick from.

Join today... and feel safe in knowing that you shot first.

 

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With Stars in Your Eyes #4

What about the adventures for It Came from the Stars? Well, I mentioned some inspirations last time, and you can expect to see a lot of those kind of stories. I think it's safe to say that the core conceit will be PCs struggling against the unknown.

• A strange rock has fallen from the sky, turning villagers nearby against them. How will they respond?
• After investigating an odd wreckage, the PCs start experiencing strange effects. Will the maddening whispers crush their wills? Will they turn on one another?
• Creatures from the sky wreak havoc upon the known world. Will the PCs survive?
• The PCs are trapped with an unknown enemy. Can they work together for freedom or will they destroy each other?
• The PCs step through a portal and find themselves on a new world. What oddities will they find? Will they ever make it back?
  

These are just some of the possibilities for adventure. What would you like to see?

Join today... there's strange people asking a lot of questions about you.

 

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With Stars in Your Eyes #5

Last time, I hinted at seeing other worlds in It Came from the Stars. While this isn't intended to be a space-faring addition to the game, there is still a chance to visit other planets. Portals.

Portals, whether driven by technology or magic (or both), will give you the chance to explore the stars. Maybe you went through one knowing what it was, maybe it was an accident. There'll be generic rules and guidelines for handling this in your own games. You'll be able to tweak the environmental options to create just the locale you need: modify gravity, air quality, landscape hazards, and more. There will likely be some specific worlds detailed, too, providing some interesting options to play with. Perhaps a (mostly) abandoned outpost, plunging into the sun. Perhaps an oddly disturbing temple, its nightmare landscape preventing you from leaving and threatening to destroy your mind. Perhaps an interstellar crossroads, full of odd races. Perhaps a seedy cantina with mysterious figures offering adventure to those brave enough to take it.

Join today... lithium is no longer available on credit.

 

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With Stars in Your Eyes #6

What about technology and arcane devices from the stars in It Came from the Stars? What secrets do they hide? Do you have the skill to figure them out?

What if this strange technology was built for the game like an incantation? That is, if you have the right skills, you can access their terrible, wonderful secrets. The shimmering surface of the portal promises untold sights. The brain canister hums mechanically. The giant guardian lurches to life. The personal transmogrification chamber whirs and bumbles quizzically. The death ray... looms menacingly.

Join today... it takes two of us to aim the death ray.

 

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With Stars in Your Eyes # 7

We already talked about one new class in It Came from the Stars--the starseed. But that's not the only one. There's also one called (tentatively) the untouchable.

The untouchable is an odd one, indeed. Those of this class develop a force field around their bodies. This is a tremendous boost to AC but prevents them from doing many things, such as use weapons. Instead, they have mastered ways of affecting opponents more indirectly, like reflecting attacks, redirecting enemy attacks into other enemies, and throwing enemies (not unlike aikido). Where the starseed uses telekinesis actively and deliberately, the untouchable's abilities are passive and always on.

Join today... ego the living planet's been asking about you.

 

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With Stars in Your Eyes #8

New classes won't be the only new player options in It Came from the Stars. But some of them come at a price.

Will you let the dark whispers in your head steer your decisions? After all, their words sound so sweet, their solutions so elegant. Will you give in to your symbiote's demands? If you don't, it will surely die--or turn on you. How much of yourself will you replace with alien technology? It started with just a little here and a little there, but now...

There are decisions to be made, and they aren't the easy kind.

Join us... it'll make you feel good.

 

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With Stars in Your Eyes #9

I've already teased some specific adventure hooks that you can build using It Came from the Stars. But the elements of your adventure are wide open.

Play a slow, brooding, mythos horror adventure. Play a high-flying, swashbuckling space opera adventure. Hells, play a swashbuckling mythos horror adventure. Emulate your favorite movies and novels or mix and match all your favorite tropes into something truly unique.

Join us... all signs point to crazy.