When playing with any potentially insane person, I will occasionally pull them aside and give them other information about things occuring. You hear shuffling behind you... you feel them looking at you... you hear your friends laughing at you when they think you are not around... you see the monster pulling the strings of the people around you... see CP for more insane things.

Then if they refuse to act upon this information, I pull the rest of the people aside and we run a less than lucid moment. The other players act out the strange reality and the character must react to it appropriately because it is really happening... to them. I then take notes about what the crazy one does and says. We then play out the game, with me telling them what the crazy person does. Go to Comment

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Occasionally they send the mad from other areas of the land to Asylum. You might encounter an army unit herding some crazies to the city, while taking them supplies.

An interesting idea is to be a young person inside the city, being a little nuts, rather than insane, As you advance in experience you, you advance into madness.

The leader of the country uses Asylum as a prison for political prisoners. "I am the Duke of Ellington! yah, right, another crazy. But, I AM!. Yah. Right. Move along."

An interesting idea is to be a new army officer assigned to watching over the city and realizing how insane the officers are. Are you just nuts? Is that why they sent you here? If they realize you will tell others they are insane, they will stop you... perhaps throwing you into the grand city.

Perhaps you have to risk Asylum to reach the great library, or find a political prisoner, or find the orb of McGuffin (an object of power that is requires to save the city/ world/ temple), or even on an expedition of healers to try and heal the mad. Go to Comment

Want to give credit where credit is due.

There is a game call Asylum as well. When the world went mad. Interesting, but not really.

Additional ideas...
Perhaps it has been centuries, now the land is farmed by zombie automotons. The only living people in the region are the guards around the city.

Perhaps the entire country is comprised of great cities converted to asylums.

Perhaps there is a gate of somekind in the city where extradimensional things come through and possess the humanfolk.
.....They want to communicate with the sane to save their world, yet their presence causes madness.
.....They would escape the city, but the unique stone of the wall wards them. Talismans of that stone protect you from them.
..... Perhaps they already have escaped the city and have prepared for an invasion. The city is their staging area. Go to Comment

I seem to be on a jag with these orbs.... (See Corvus )

But imagine if a greater orb went mad and took the city with it (given its ability to manipulate people). It could be pushing the regions leader to supporting the poor people of Asylum in its more lucid moments (or asking one of orbs if it would take help the city out).

Even nastier... the orb is telepathic and conducting an experiment on the human minds inside the city (and nearby). It may not be cruel or evil per say, but simply sees the humans as transient lab rats. Go to Comment

Actually...
Yep. It could be anything. The only people who know for sure are totally mad. I actually like it that nobody knows, it just is. We can put out a number of theories, but we should never say this is right because it would kill the mystery and make it just another puzzle for the players to solve. Go to Comment

Madness can be quite liberating. There is a fine line between madness and genius, and sometimes that line is very, very, blury.

Mad people see the world in different ways, not constrained by binding (or blinding even) paradigns. They can see solutions to problems or innocvations that so called sane people can not seen. It is only those who see the world different who can't relate to those who see the world normally that we lock up (well we should lock up, but now they waunder the streets in and out of halfway houses and medical facilities). Those who can vaugely relate, we pay large sums of money for their interesting ways of looking at the world and the problems that their way of looking at the world can solve. Go to Comment

I think Asylum is an intersting fantasy idea. It is certainly different from most fantasy entries. If you have an idea for a plot or idea revolving around Asylum, feel free to add it. PM me, MoonHunter, and I will add it to the Asylum post so it will come up.

All I ask is that you "don't solve the mystery" of the place. Every GM who runs this should make up their own reason for why this occurs.

As for reasons, we have a angry God, something in the water, an insane magik user/ psionic creature, one of those glowing balls in Star Trek Original Series that eats madness rather than hate or death, or an ORB of Corvus. Pick one of ours, or make it up for yourself. Go to Comment

Thank you Cheka, it is one of mine as well. It is a great addition to any setting. It provides background and drama and a place of mystery. Really what more can you ask for? Go to Comment

Plot Lines:
Another outbreak of madness has occured. Do we make a new city or try to herd a town's worth of mad people to this one? Of course, the PCs are involved in some way...

An army of barbarians is invading the land. They are approaching Asylum. What to do? Leave it to its fate or defend it to the last man, just in case the madness might expand. And the Barbarians do not know about Asylum's special history.. and the defenses of the city are to keep people in... not out. Go to Comment

I saw this as a random today. It has been a while since it has seen the light of day. You would be crazy not to comment on it ;)

This was one of my first submissions on the Citadel. It does show. However, this one has a lot of potential. It is one of those defining elements for a game world, as it is so "odd" that society has to have a response to it. Go to Comment

I forget about some of these old posts.  I like this one, as it is very useful.  So much fun can be had with it.  Add some Orbs and you have some additional history.

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It could even be a forgotten god the people once had. He is angry for being forgotten, and is cursing his former servants Go to Comment

yes, only a mad-man seeks madness himself. Go to Comment

This should be a Golden Submission, it's one of my favourite posts here. Go to Comment

This one is very sweet and yes, it shows that it is an oldie. But actually, compared to many other posts at that time this one is at the peak. I would love to see this one shaped up a bit, many nice ideas in the comment section that could easily be implemented into the sub itself. But then again, it is also useful as it is.

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Only voted Go to Comment

A unique city and problem for characters to encounter. It can be a great place for a party to be tasked with infiltrating for the purpose of either retrieving a lost artifact or rescuing someone accidentally sent here. (assuming they aren't already infected by the insanity.)

Another interest possibility is that it's not the people that are insane but more an artifact or curse upon the area that's making them act insane. Trying to smuggle someone out to verify this could prove quite challenging, especially if the persons insanities are disruptive or extremely dangerous.

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So many ways to mess with players' heads... I like it.

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Legend type items, for me, are hard to incorporate into actual gaming. Might be a fun way to end a campaign with somebody sacrificing themselves to save the rest. Either way though it is another one of those things that you can spin an entire history around. Go to Comment

All those Corvus Orbs were annoying the bejeezus out of me!

I like the bit about karma and reincarnation. It allows it to fit into Nipponese-style settings as well as Western, with a few modifications. Go to Comment