Pathfinder (D&D) Players as monsters campaign! "Horrors of the Red Cathexus!"

[Beckoncall]

hey guys!

This is a call-back to a concept I ran semi-successfully on the paizo boards ages ago called "horrors of the red cathexus" -- the idea behind it being that instead of creating normal characters for pathfinders, the players create a unique race/type of "body-snatcher" whether it be a possessing spirit, a cursed mind-controlling artifact, or even some form of parasite... players hijack the stat-blocks of creatures at first low in the dungeon hierarchy and attempt to climb up the CR food-chain with better and more powerful monster forms.

I'll post more about char/race creation and other (backstory) details after getting an initial interest check but it will basically be a chaotic and/or evil based campaign which might be an interesting change of pace for some of us. The parasite characters are supposed to be weak/vulnerable outside of a host -- but losing your host form doesn't mean you have to die, you may even be able to steal the body of the thing that killed you!

Think of it as "The one ring" meets "John carpenter's the thing"

As I said I got enough established to run this game for a while in another forum, so I'll get into mechanics and concrete specifics if there is interest.

Who wants to play pathfinder as the monsters and rise to become the BBGs of their own little corner of the underdark!?

 

[Demonsoul]

Interested.

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

Interested as well!

 

[Eliasdagood]

I would love to play that!

 

[Idea]

This sounds fun, but what are the OOC specifics? Namely, how this will be played (play by post, text-based sessions, voice-based sessions...), how often (daily, weekly,biweekly, monthly) and other details of the type?

 

[Buckteeth]

Interested pending further details.

 

[Beckoncall]

This sounds fun, but what are the OOC specifics? Namely, how this will be played (play by post, text-based sessions, voice-based sessions...), how often (daily, weekly,biweekly, monthly) and other details of the type?

It moves in play by post, but if specific player or players want to take time (together or separately -- this can be hard to arrange) limited sessions can be played on discord and I'll transcribe a summary in the main thread.

The game will move as fast as the players care to move it. If you declare actions, I will process them. A pace that works for everyone (or almost everyone) will come out organically. I'll post the backstory for the game later today.... but I was hoping for more bites (4-6 players)

 

[Beckoncall]

Backstory:
Hidden from the eyes of the lands of men and elves, there are epics and heroes of evil as much as of good. This is one such story, behind the veil of the dark tapestry, and behind the veil of broken ground in the deepest underdark -- this is the story of the Red Cathexis, and the horrors it issued like a cancer unseen beneath the surface of the world of Golarion.
In 4606 AR, The same year that the world-wound began to open in response to the death of Aroden, the fabric between the prime material plane and that of the dark tapestry weakened. The unimaginable and horrible beings of that place looked covetously upon this new world, and dangers so hideous the simple minds of mortals cannot comprehend them, quickly set to work on encroaching there --
However small the rift, a hole, a pore even - cunning beings set to realizing how they could jump the breach into Golarion. The beings that came forth were in diametric opposition to the gods of golarion, light, order, and the very laws of nature. As such, to simply cross the breach was impossible -- a being from the dark tapestry would be rent from the world explosively as quickly as it arrived. Undeterred, the horrors of that dark place set to creating a device -- a vessel, that would enable at least a fragment of a being from the dark tapestry to enter this world. That object came to be known as "The Red Cathexis" -- No larger than a grain of sand at first, and carrying merely a scintilla of the trueforms of the beings that rode within it -- it burst into existence deep underground, somewhere between Ustalav, Belkzen and Lastwall -- and began to grow.
it is now 4713, and the Cathexis -- now little larger than a fist, is finally large enough to open and release it's forbidding cargo into the underworld. The beings within, such as they are, cannot exist indefinitely outside of a native host, and to be seen as they truly are by light of day or without such cover from the sight of the gods would destroy them utterly. They had forseen this. They were bodysnatchers -- Hijackers of the minds and corpses of mortal beings, and they would use the forms of beings in the underdark to hide their nature, mitigate their relative weaknesses, and embrace their strength.
Their individual motives and goals are unclear, but to be certain they cannot bode well for any being on Golarion. All that is clear for now is that they are hungry, covetous, and malign -- The Cathexis has finally opened -- and they will offend this world, only hesitating in the face of their own destruction -- or the Cathexis they must protect if they are to maintain their ties to this world...
And so it began...

 

[SpiralErrant]

Well I let this down last time but after learning more about pathfinder and how to go about this I would love to do an intimidation heavy magic ring that bullies mortals into wearing it if this goes ahead.

 

[Idea]

It moves in play by post, but if specific player or players want to take time (together or separately -- this can be hard to arrange) limited sessions can be played on discord and I'll transcribe a summary in the main thread.

The game will move as fast as the players care to move it. If you declare actions, I will process them. A pace that works for everyone (or almost everyone) will come out organically. I'll post the backstory for the game later today.... but I was hoping for more bites (4-6 players)

I'll say that I am willing to give it a shot at least. I do have my concerns about the group ending up leaving me behind due to my incoming schedule issues that last for nearly a month, but I'll participate. Just, with the understanding that I might have to leave midway if I feel I can't keep up.

 

[Beckoncall]

You can always fade out and fade back in, if people know you'll be gone. Falling off the earth needn't be an option.

 

[Beckoncall]

I'm glad this thread is starting to see some interest! Here below are some thoughts/ideas I have for the game so far, as I've run it previously but it petered out.

Expect hyper-cheese or ridiculously complicated rules morasses to either be discouraged, or banned. We may be breaking the game, but as a GM I'm going to try to make sure it doesn't get truly broken.

If some people are REALLY into it, I may set up established times (Pacific zone) to do mini-adventures in a chat client. Even if it is one player, it might be fun potentially -- and it could be a good way to get more involved people accomplishing more together. The bodysnatchers communicating and hatching plans together can be as important as carrying forward of the plans themselves...

The game, as I said, will be played fast and loose. If things do get Overpowered but it is still fun (for most players AND GM) I may just let it ride. But my ideas for starting a character are thus:

*The original forms players have are weak and vulnerable BY DESIGN -- you don't want to be caught without a host. If your host dies, you're either in big trouble, fleeing to find another victim to hijack, or you're already dead. I will likely require or encourage one or more dump stats to reflect the relative weakness of the bodysnatcher forms, but these dump stats will be replaced by the baseline stats of their hosts when they are hijacking, and some or all of their stats that are considerably higher than the host in their profile may carry over even onto the host form. Ie, "Fetch" has a 3 CON and a 4 WIS -- but his STR and INT are respectively high. His host form will have none of his weaknesses, but may have his strengths -- if his host dies he better not have to make a will save and he'd probably be crushed like a bug given his base hitpoints. This will likely not get much better even as players increase in CR, to keep emphasis on the hosts players must hunt/trick/occupy.

*I may, if players are interested, come up with some custom rules for character creation, or leave things nebulous if people aren't really into that aspect. My ideas so far are to give players a choice of the KIND of bodysnatcher they are, which may give them special advantages, weaknesses, and ways of securing hosts. Here are some examples:

Spirit -- hijacker form is like a disembodied ghost, light, or demon, with little or no ability to act on the world outside of a host. Advantages may be harder to spot/harm/kill once ejected from a host, but may need to consistently pass will saves to keep from being exorcised. The spirit may be even come back in circumstances where other hijackers are killed for good -- but it's never much fun to be a disembodied voice trying to trick creatures into "letting you in"... and if you don't find a host fast enough your voice may rapidly wane into nothing...
Abberation - who knows what this fleshy mass covered in eyeballs and mouths is, but it's on that ogre's neck and it's manipulating him like a godforsaken marionette. Abberations unlike some other hijackers are usually (or always) on the outside of the host, so can be attacked by those smart enough or intuitive enough to do so. They however may be hardier than other hijacker forms, or at least have fewer weaknesses. If hurt enough in combat, they may opt to detach and run for it. Perhaps, an Abberation is the ONLY form of hijacker that is formidable outside a host, at least in the short-term.
"The Thing" -- This Hijacker, like the movie-monster of it's namesake, doesn't occupy hosts as much as copy them. It is exceedingly vulnerable to certain forms of attack (perhaps fire?) and also when it is changing forms or it's current form is incapacitated. However, it may be able to turn into any type of creature it has previously copied -- so it doesn't need to depend on finding new forms or being caught at a disadvantage as much as when other player's host forms die. "I'm a dire boar AGAIN."
Parasite -- this thing is a bug that like the abberation usually clings to the outside of the host, but it can disguise or stealth itself to look like a crown, or a piece of armor, a bony ridge, what-have-you -- which may help it stay hidden and safe even if it's host dies... one may even be lucky enough to be worn by the killer of your original form? However, the parasite is not nearly as hardy as the abberation, and is perhaps the most easily squished if it is discovered for what it is...
Slime -- What it says on the tin. May cover hosts, or be ingested, bodysnatching slime may have distinct and profound weaknesses and resistances, which potentially change over time. It may be harder to kill outside a host, or have an easier time hijacking bodies than others -- but it's toxic nature kills host bodies faster than any other hijacker, so it will need that advantage.
Germ -- The player is the established consciousness of a collective of fungus, virus, micro-organisms that in concert, form a singular evil being. The germ is insideous, highly infective, and constantly mutating. What hurts it one day may do nothing the next, and previous immunities may be discovered lethal vulnerabilities the day after. It's hard to kill the entire germ, as the smallest part in the right environment will grow back to sentience-bearing volumes... but don't THINK you'll last a second if a cleric casts Cure Disease on you. Germs, because of their collective nature, may have advantages over other hijackers when it comes to using swarms as hosts -- possibly occupying several swarms at once, or forming horrible hybrid swarms with the shared abilities of various different creatures in a single mass…

“Preciouses” – these are items with powerful wills that supplant the will/soul of the creature carrying them. A cloak, a ring, or some other item that cannot move or effect the world much (or at all) on it's own, but manipulates it's wearer/wielder.

(I can understand why some people might like ideas like this, but I can also understand that some people might feel that if a mechanic is too far outside established bounds for some to feel like we are still playing a pathfinder game. I will endeavor to accommodate the most interested and faithful players, and beyond the wacky concept do my best to keep things "Golarion."

As far as a backstory, I'm going to leave it mostly true sandbox -- Players explore, I will keep expanding the world and adding new environments, Mega-dungeon style and the story may be as colorful or drab as the players motivations and goals -- hopefully growing from localized hack and slash into reigns of terror, hex-by-hex enslavement of entire areas or levels of dungeon, Stripping areas of life, that sort of stuff.

Couple things to keep in mind -- There will be little or NO surface dwelling in this game -- holes or cracks leading to the surface are EXTREME HAZARDS. Sunlight BAD, Moonlight barely if even tolerable. This should be an epic of unseen horrors the likes of which civilizations on the surface never dreamed -- adventurers MIGHT encounter the players, but it's equally possible a player will never see a single human, elf, or gnome for the entire campaign. Maybe. Going to the surface is something that if done, will almost certainly result in the quick or instant death of the character. My current mechanic for this is that the PCs -- the bodysnatchers, are actually unique, but weakened entities from the Dark Tapestry. Their existence on this plane is such an offense to nature and the gods that for the sun to fall upon them above ground they would be annihilated, perhaps explosively, as their horrific nature cancels out the natural order like a matter/antimatter reaction. To be seen by the gods of law and good (or by the naked eye of their agents) may be enough to violently rip them from the plane. You get the picture. Run and hide if you're short a host, and avoid such situations. The default backstory is that the players (however many there are) are all such beings slipping into this world through a horrible dark tapestry artifact known only as "The Red Cathexis" -- which if destroyed ends the campaign for EVERYONE. Hiding and protecting the Cathexis should be an early and often updated objective, especially as it may grow in size, vulnerability, or discoverability as players grow in number and power. Eventually a main objective of the campaign might be finding someplace dark and horrible enough to hide the Cathexis from it's enemies -- The players delving ever deeper into the underdark to hide it, find host creatures strong enough to protect it, and ultimately establish the players at the top of the dungeon food chain... forever.
(players who don't like this origin story MAY be given leeway for the backstory of their character -- I don't like dictating who or what my players choose to be (if I did would I have a crazy idea like this?)

Stuff like that is on my mind. Any of this stuff seem particularly interesting (or not?) Any of this conflict with what you perceive is typical of a successful/conventional PBP?

This WAS a wall of text -- but hopefully the subject matter is worth at least a skim. Thanks for your interest. Feel free to tap me about any of the above, and I'll start soliciting specs during the Thanksgiving holiday, when hopefully several people have time to start strong.

People who already have character concepts, origin stories, ideas/goals/plot-seeds for their characters (or have their own ideas they'd like to run by me or questions about char. generation) -- feel free to post in this thread or PM me if you prefer. I'll be checking back semi-regularly hereforward until we can officially begin.

THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO HAS SHOWN SOME INTEREST!!

Sincerely,

-Beckoncall, drooling vortex of the Red Cathexis, Ripper of the Tapestries, The eye, the lie, and the gate!


PS -- please feel free to ask/attempt to stump me with questions!

 

[Beckoncall]

If you really want to play and have a character concept -- PM me and we can flesh out a character!

 

[Daimao]

I've always wanted to play as some kind of disgusting brain worm, so I'm definitely interested

 

[Beckoncall]

I've always wanted to play as some kind of disgusting brain worm, so I'm definitely interested

you've come to the right place.

 

[Beckoncall]

Anybody coming up with a stat-block and a character concept -- I'll quickly make a cool character PDF for them!

 

[SpiralErrant]

Beckoncall You know I juuust might!

The Band of Thorns, just Thorn to its friends.

Thorn was forged in the infernal foundries. Made from ore that does not exist in the mortal planes and quenched in the screaming souls of the damned. This doesn't make it special, it was actually made as part of a mass produced set and you better believe all the magic seords and crowns would never let it forget that! It was passed around from demon lord to hell fiend for a few eternities before finding its way to the mortal plane to lurk under the ground for years on end until someone looted it from a pile of muck. Then the dim witted adventurer would either die or a meddling wizard would deem it "EVIL" and see it banished by the hands of an annoying deity.

This cycle went on for what mortals would call a very long time until Thorn found themselves being thrown away again! That was when the plucky little band had decided it had had enough. Its magic and sentience had grown enough for Thorn to become self aware and to retain memories of the world. Thorn knew they had spent their entire existence being thrown away and passed around like trash and it would not put up with it anymore! Of course it couldn't actually do anything on its own... but now, now it has been accidentally dropped through the Cathexus! Now this angry, petty, vindictive piece of jewelry is ready to take on the world! Now Thorn will have the adventure!

*****​

So Thorn is a Precious kind of hijacker in the form of a plane looking band of iron with hellish looking runes on it (on that can probably shrink or expand to be like a ring or an armband for size/fluff reasons).

In his base form Thorn's highest stat is Strength (cus it's a magic ring of strength buffing!) with its second highest being Constitution (to show it being tough and harder to squish than its fleshy friends) and its dump stats being Dexterity what with it being unable to move and Intelligence since it just exists to help things fight and lives in the now like a dog.

 

[Demonsoul]

I was going to play a Precious too but I feel like that's too common of an option now.

 

[Beckoncall]

SpiralErrant :

Once you're sure what your stats and class are going to be we can get a PDF made for you. Catch me on discord and let's show 'em how it's done!

 

[SpiralErrant]

I was going to play a Precious too but I feel like that's too common of an option now.

If you'd rather not double up I'm happy to be something else, I've got a couple other ideas for stuff like the germ swarm.

 

[Demonsoul]

If you'd rather not double up I'm happy to be something else, I've got a couple other ideas for stuff like the germ swarm.

Nah its fine, I got a different idea.

 

[Idea]

I think I will try to play some kind of ancient curse, with like conditions that if you incurr in them you get possessed by the curse. A crime--> punishment deal

 

[Demonsoul]

Deep within the void exists a species, an apex predator. This species is known as Abrathers. Each Abrather begins their life as a tiny creatures resembling a cross between a crustacean, an insect, and a squid. In this small state they rely on stealth and acting as parasites to hide within other creatures and control them. As they feed and get stronger they grow at a rather rapid pace quickly becoming too large to hide within other creatures and so they become more active predators.

Character Name: Vasilissa
Creature Type Abberation
Size: Tiny (Increases by 1 size category every 5 levels)
Class: Slayer
Stats:
Str: 18
Dex: 16
Con: 14
Int: 5
Wis: 10
Cha: 1
Skills: 1 Rank in Stealth, Acrobatics, Perception
Feat: Dodge
Natural Weapons: Bite: 1d3, 2 Claws: 1d2
Steal Body Save: Reflex
Languages: Common, Undercommon

 

[Beckoncall]

SpiralErrant is the first character to get a cool PDF!

It was really easy to do in herolab, so nobody get intimidated! I'll make Demonsoul's char next!

 

[Beckoncall]

Demonsoul 's PDF is ready!