Am I the only one completely unimpressed by her "reformed" status as a cultist? Or even as a cultist at all? According to her biography, she was hardly even a cultist to begin with. She seemed more like a secret society member who had second thoughts.
I was kind of hoping for a deeper story for her, I guess. Like perhaps someone she knew/ maybe herself was to be sacrificed to some evil creature, and upon seeing it, fully realized how depraved her fellows were?
But her printed story is so vague in its details. Just a gripe. Nothing more.
Diana Stanley's Backstory?
I wonder if she has a longer origin story in the sourcebook? https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2016/11/1/the-investigators-of-arkham-horror/
In the (probably off canon) AH novel Feeders From Within , Diana joins the Silver Twilight Lodge only to gain connections among influential Arkham business people to help her with her own new fashion store. Because she outshines the average dabbler in the occult when it comes to cleverness and determination, she quickly rises through the ranks and Carl Sanford himself is mentoring her.
She is initiated into the inner circle of the lodge, performing mind shattering magic rituals and blood sacrifices. She never subscribes to the cult's convictions, but has a natural aptitude for the occult. Although she recoils from these horrible deeds, at the same time they show her how dangerous and crazy this cult really is and what would happen to her, should she betray her fellow cultists.
When Diana finally gets a chance/reason to get out, she has been exposed to inhuman magic for months, causing a dissociative identity disorder with one personality that is frightened, remorseful and forever wrestling with the things she has done. Her other identity is a killer without emotions or conscience that embodies the resilience and tenacity that got Diana through her experience.
In that narrative, no matter how or why she got into the cult, Diana has been sticking sacrificial daggers into helpless creatures to summon horrors from beyond. That makes her a cultist. Now she uses her occult knowledge and skills to fight the Mythos and her former masters. That makes her reformed.
Edited by SameaOn 1/5/2018 at 9:25 AM, Samea said:In the (probably off canon) AH novel Feeders From Within , Diana joins the Silver Twilight Lodge only to gain connections among influential Arkham business people to help her with her own new fashion store. Because she outshines the average dabbler in the occult when it comes to cleverness and determination, she quickly rises through the ranks and Carl Sanford himself is mentoring her.
She is initiated into the inner circle of the lodge, performing mind shattering magic rituals and blood sacrifices. She never subscribes to the cult's convictions, but has a natural aptitude for the occult. Although she recoils from these horrible deeds, at the same time they show her how dangerous and crazy this cult really is and what would happen to her, should she betray her fellow cultists.
When Diana finally gets a chance/reason to get out, she has been exposed to inhuman magic for months, causing a dissociative identity disorder with one personality that is frightened, remorseful and forever wrestling with the things she has done. Her other identity is a killer without emotions or conscience that embodies the resilience and tenacity that got Diana through her experience.
In that narrative, no matter how or why she got into the cult, Diana has been sticking sacrificial daggers into helpless creatures to summon horrors from beyond. That makes her a cultist. Now she uses her occult knowledge and skills to fight the Mythos and her former masters. That makes her reformed.
Now it makes sense. Thank you for that info.
As indicated, those novels should be taken *** grano salis. They go far beyond mere character backgrounds, having investigators meet each other, fight epic Mythos threats and sometimes go insane or die. They do not tell you more about the characters you play, but instead play a whole scenario for you, grisly end and all.
But the Lodge is definitely not harmless. If you look at their Call of Cthulhu LCG cards, they have an awful lot of daggers and sacrificing characters going on.
On 1/5/2018 at 8:25 AM, Samea said:In the (probably off canon) AH novel Feeders From Within , Diana joins the Silver Twilight Lodge only to gain connections among influential Arkham business people to help her with her own new fashion store. Because she outshines the average dabbler in the occult when it comes to cleverness and determination, she quickly rises through the ranks and Carl Sanford himself is mentoring her.
She is initiated into the inner circle of the lodge, performing mind shattering magic rituals and blood sacrifices. She never subscribes to the cult's convictions, but has a natural aptitude for the occult. Although she recoils from these horrible deeds, at the same time they show her how dangerous and crazy this cult really is and what would happen to her, should she betray her fellow cultists.
*BREAK*
When Diana finally gets a chance/reason to get out, she has been exposed to inhuman magic for months, causing a dissociative identity disorder with one personality that is frightened, remorseful and forever wrestling with the things she has done. Her other identity is a killer without emotions or conscience that embodies the resilience and tenacity that got Diana through her experience.
In that narrative, no matter how or why she got into the cult, Diana has been sticking sacrificial daggers into helpless creatures to summon horrors from beyond. That makes her a cultist. Now she uses her occult knowledge and skills to fight the Mythos and her former masters. That makes her reformed.
On 1/5/2018 at 3:03 AM, MrJackdaw said:I wonder if she has a longer origin story in the sourcebook? https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2016/11/1/the-investigators-of-arkham-horror/
In the Investigators of Arkham Horror, she has the same initial backstory (up to the *BREAK* I inserted). It is after she helps summon an abomination through a portal with other members of the cult - which subsequently kills the tied and blindfolded man in the circle - that she realizes how deep in she is and what the Lodge is actually doing.