A documentary on the History Channel about the witch hunts in Salem would provide an in-depth look into one of the darkest periods in American history. This film would explore the hysteria and fear that swept through the small town of Salem, Massachusetts in the late 17th century, resulting in the execution of twenty innocent people, mostly women, accused of witchcraft. The documentary would delve into the background of the witch hunts, examining the social, cultural, and religious factors that contributed to the mass hysteria. It would discuss the Puritan lifestyle and beliefs that dominated the town and how these strict religious doctrines influenced their views on witchcraft and the Devil. The film would examine the role of religion in perpetuating the witch hunts, with emphasis on the sermons and writings of influential figures at the time. Additionally, the documentary would highlight the initial accusations and trials that ignited the witch hunt frenzy.
Promotional consideration was provided in the form of a review copy. Strange Assembly may earn commissions from affiliate links in this article.
The new base class always gets the spotlight, and I think players will enjoy getting to figure out the right moment to use the precog s paradox dice. For example, at 2nd level the precog might choose future training to gain additional proficiencies, or advanced preparation to be able to spend paradox to create a consumable item you totally knew you were going to need that thing.
Additionally, the documentary would highlight the initial accusations and trials that ignited the witch hunt frenzy. It would feature interviews with historians and experts to provide a thorough analysis of the trial proceedings, including the use of spectral evidence and the unfair bias against the accused. Through reenactments and archival records, the film would recreate the tense atmosphere of the courtroom and the tactics used by the accusers, such as the infamous "touch test" and the tormenting of the accused.
Paizo Publishing Meet The Authors Of Galactic Magic (1 Viewer)
Get ready to reboot your spell caches with Starfinder Galactic Magic! This exciting new supplement dives into the most magical parts of the science-fantasy Starfinder setting, with a new class, a wealth of class options, dozens of new spells, and articles on how magic and religion affect day-to-day living in the Pact Worlds and beyond. Of course, none of this would be possible without our talented authors! Let’s learn a little more about some of them and what they worked on for this book in their own words. And if you’re a new (or returning) fan of any of these authors, be sure to check out their other projects, websites, livestreams, and more!
Jason Keeley (he/him)Starfinder Development Manager
Illustration by Arturo Gutierrez
James Jacobs (he/him)
Creative Director
I’ve had the good fortune to write a lot for Pathfinder and helped to invent a fair portion of its deities, but always in the context of the fantasy genre. The chance to revisit some of these elements in a different genre is exciting and liberating. after spending decades with deities like Desna and Sarenrae flitting around in my head as divinities first in my homebrew game and then more recently in Golarion. Alas, there was only so much room to talk about Desnan dream stations or to explore the implications of what worshiping the goddess of the sun might entail when you’re in outer space, but hopefully the entries in this book will help spark new ideas for how to use these deities in your game! And of course, on the opposite side of the “friendliness scale,” being able to lean into the science-fiction tropes of the classic pulps and explore how Nyarlathotep and the Elder Mythos functions in Starfinder was equally delightful. But the thing I’m most excited to see once this book’s out is all the amazing content created by all the other authors in this book!
Jessica Catalan (she/her)
Starfinder Society Developer
Hello! My name is Jessica Catalan and I’m the Starfinder Society Developer. I’m also a mother, gamer, blogger, and freelance author who primarily writes for Paizo’s Starfinder and Pathfinder RPGs. You can find a list of my currently announced writing credits on my Paizo profile (meloriel). Some recently released highlights include Secrets of Magic, Guns & Gears, Lost Omens Grand Bazaar, Galaxy Exploration Manual, and Tech Revolution.
For Galactic Magic, I wrote the mystic and witchwarper class options, twenty spells, and numerous deities, including Kadrical, Lamashtu, and all the ancestral deities. Galactic Magic also marks two big firsts for me. This is the first time I was hired to create entirely new deities of my own design (Dagosarn, Flux, Isvith, Jalvari, Meyel, Romgul, Uvonn, and the Vesk Saints). Galactic Magic is also the first time I was hired for freelance development work, making this my very first developer credit.
I’m beyond thrilled to have been a part of this book and I look forward to seeing it hit gaming tables! Enjoy!
Rigby Bendele (they/them or xe/xem)
I'm a sometimes-poet, sometimes-game designer doing my best to make engaging, inclusive tabletop games. In Galactic Magic, you'll find my work in the technomancer and Oras section. When I was writing the Oras section, I thought quite a bit about Donna Haraway's "A Cyborg Manifesto" and the way in which cyborgs offer a rejection of the separations between animal, human and machine. This should probably tell you that I'm a queer theory nerd (which is the crux of my academic background) and that I love thinking about alternative ways of being through TTRPGs. While Galactic Magic is my first hardcover with Paizo, you'll find my name on more books soon and can enjoy more of my Starfinder work with SFS #3-07: Strike at Zone 78 and SFS #4-04: Mission Not Found.
You can find me on Twitter @slothscout.
Kendra Leigh Speedling (she/her)
Hello, all! I’m Kendra Leigh Speedling, and I’ve been freelancing for Pathfinder and Starfinder for about six years. You might remember me from this year’s Starfinder GenCon special, #3-99: Perils of the Past. I’m delighted to have been a part of Galactic Magic, helping give the “fantasy” side of “science-fantasy” some love. I did several sections for the book, including the faith introduction, the Besmara and Weydan entries, the Parallel Truths, and the new operative class options. I’ve always been fond of exploring how magic and faith interact with a highly technologically advanced setting, so this assignment was a lot of fun. I particularly enjoyed crafting the operative options, which hopefully add a little magical flair to your operative of choice!
I’ve got a few more Pathfinder and Starfinder projects in the works currently, though most of them are still Forbidden Knowledge at this point. I can confirm, though, that I got my grabby hands involved in Pathfinder’s upcoming Book of the Dead! In my non-freelancing downtime, I can be found hanging out with a book or video game—usually Animal Crossing these days—or pretending I know how to bake. You can find a full list of my writing credits at klspeedling.com and I’m on Twitter as @KendraLS, where I sporadically post cat pictures.
Sen.H.H.S. (she/her)
Hello, readers! Sen.H.H.S. here. You might have seen my name before in some Pathfinder Second Edition products such as Bestiary 3, Secrets of Magic, and many others. (See my carrd for the full list: https://senhhs.carrd.co/#portfolio) With Galactic Magic, it looks like I've made the jump over to write even more magic in a different(?) universe. This book has been a long time coming, and I hope you'll get to experience the magic (pun intended) within its pages soon. You can always find out what I'm up to on my Twitter @SenHHS. If my calculations are correct, you might get to witness me tweeting about "trace analysis in Golarion" in the next little while, for every reason whatsoever.
Shay Snow (they/them)
Hi, I'm Shay Snow, I'm an editor at Paizo, and I wrote up a bunch of species-specific spells and the entry on Zon-Kuthon, surprising exactly. no one! As my mutuals on Twitter know I'm a pretty big Zon-Kuthon fan so I joyfully jumped when offered the chance to give the pain man a new write up for Galactic Magic. You may have seen me in a few Starfinder scenarios, Pathfinder’s Lost Omens Grand Bazaar and Tech Revolution and I have a few things coming out in Lost Omens Monsters of Myth. Additionally, you can find my name on a few Coyote & Crow projects!
When not writing, I’m usually discussing Native issues and rights over on my Twitter @SpellsInSugar, where you can also sometimes catch me talking about video games and horror media. You can keep up with my work, or even contact me for hire, through my website https://shayjay.carrd.co/!
Jessica Redekop (she/they/he)
Hi! I'm Jess, and I wrote about some fabulous outsider deities in Galactic Magic ! Even though it's a smaller section, I'm particularly proud of my work in this book. It gave me an opportunity to introduce a lot of cool content into Starfinder, and there are some lines scattered through the section that are quite personal to me. I won't spoil which gods are included, but if you're familiar with my past work for PF and SF, some of them are very "me." I hope you like Starfinder's new and returning outsider deities as much as I do!
For more of my content check out Valiant, an actual play Pathfinder podcast on the Know Direction network, where I play Xiadani the aasimar druid. You can also find me @tectonomancer on Twitter.
Mikhail Rekun (he/him)
дравствуйте, уважаемые читатели! My name is Mikhail Sergeyevich Rekun, and you may recognize me from previous Starfinder products such as the Galaxy Exploration Manual (where I wrote about Accord and created the Starship Toolbox) and Starfinder Adventure Path #31: Waking the Worldseed (where I wrote the Hibb article), along with plenty of Pathfinder stuff. In my more mundane life, I’m a Russian-American historian, educator, and author.
Galactic Magic was a bit of a weird project for me. John Compton contacted me and said ‘we need magical nanomachines and we need them as soon as humanly possible.’ Well, I’m never one to shirk from a challenge, and produced the magical options for the nanocyte in basically a weekend. I’m reasonably pleased with the results, especially the ability to make fancy nano-runes and sigils like a proper anime protagonist. (That was what John wanted, right?)
Nanites are also of some interest to me for other reasons, as when not writing for Paizo, I’m working on Ourichor: Fulcrum of the Luminant Age alongside the inimitable Andrew Mullen and Isabelle Thorne (follow us at https://twitter.com/LuminantA). I shan’t share too much in the way of details, but let’s just say that fans of microscopic shenanigans may find our upcoming release, Armaments of the Luminant Age, of some interest to them.
John Godek III (he/him)
Hi everyone! My name is John Godek and I am an avid Starfinder GM, player, freelance author, and podcaster. I had the opportunity to write several sections of Galactic Magic and I can’t wait for you to see them! I created two brand new soldier fighting styles—the spellbrawler and the archer—along with new weapons, gear boosts, fusions, and armor upgrades that synergize with these styles as well as offer cool options for other styles and classes. In addition, I formulated nearly three dozen new magic spells, including spells that provide basic utility, create different types of barriers, and are related to or originated in the Vast. Finally, I crafted three new legendary artifacts of tremendous power, each steeped in ancient lore. Other Paizo projects I have forthcoming include work on the Drift Crisis hardcover, backmatter in Starfinder Adventure Path #44, and my very first adventure—Starfinder Bounty #1: The Cantina Job!
You can find me playing with the Emerald City Lodge in Seattle, or you can listen to my podcasts on the Know Direction Network, including: Digital Divination with Ron Lundeen, Intrepid Heroes, a Stafinder actual play, and Presenting, a podcast where I interview game designers, developers, artists, and writers.
Nate Wright (he/him)
Evening, everyone. I’m Nate Wright, a blogger on the Know Direction Network and a freelancer who has contributed to multiple works from Paizo. Some of my favorites include the anadi ancestry from Lost Omens The Mwangi Expanse and the memetic zenith from Starfinder Adventure Path #24: The God-Host Ascends. The best part about writing for this book has been visualizing the awesome abilities I’ve always wished my character could have and getting the opportunity to share that vision with the rest of the community.
If you want to see my most recent work, you’re in need of a freelancer, or you just want to watch me share cool art I found, you can find me on @RoscMan on the cursed bird app.
Dennis Muldoon (he/him)
Hi folks! My name is Dennis Muldoon, and I've been freelancing for Paizo for a few years now. I've contributed to almost every line Paizo publishes, now, most recently SFS #4-10: The Way In, the Azlanti Space Age material in the toolbox of Starfinder Adventure Path #42: Whispers of the Eclipse, and the ssumzili and golgopo monsters in Pathfinder Adventure Path #171: Hurricane's Howl. For Galactic Magic, I wrote the experimental apparatus mechanic alternate class feature for all your magically inclined mechanic needs, along with magic-themed mechanic tricks for mechanics of all types. I'm also extremely excited to bring the Lucky Drunk himself into Starfinder with a section on Cayden Cailean! My full list of credits is on my Paizo profile, and you can find me on Twitter @dkmuldoon.
Kate Baker (she/her)
Hey, Starfinder fans! I’m Kate, and I’ve been writing for Starfinder and Pathfinder for about five years. I was delighted to get to write the sections on Hylax and Talavet for this book. Hylax is near and dear to my heart after writing one of the Attack of the Swarm volumes, and I even have a tattoo of the Crown of Hylax! Talavet speaks to me equally, with such a strong focus on the importance of stories, something I’ve never appreciated more than in the last year and a half. I hope you enjoy reading about their role in the galaxy, along with the many other deities featured in this book.
Follow me at @KateBakerGM on Twitter to hear more about what I’m working on, including some upcoming projects for Starfinder Infinite!
And, yes, there are ~35 pages of new spells, so there’s very much something for everyone. Some themes include sonic spells and magical mitigation (including a flat-out counterspell).
Moreover, the documentary would shed light on the psychology behind the witch hysteria, exploring the phenomenon of groupthink and how it contributed to the spread of accusations and the justification of violence. It would present interviews with psychologists to analyze the psychological factors that led otherwise rational individuals to turn on their neighbors and friends. The film would also address the aftermath of the witch hunts, highlighting the social and psychological scars left on the community. It would examine the eventual recognition of the wrongful executions and the efforts to memorialize the victims and heal the wounds of the past. Overall, a documentary on the History Channel about the witch hunts in Salem would provide a comprehensive examination of this dark chapter in American history. Through analyzing the religious, social, and psychological factors involved, the film would strive to educate viewers and promote a deeper understanding of the dangers of hysteria and the importance of protecting innocent lives..
Reviews for "The Psychology of Hysteria: Understanding the Mass Hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials"
- Julia - 2/5 stars - I was really excited to watch this documentary about the witch hunts in Salem, as I've always found this period in history fascinating. However, I was quite disappointed with this particular film. The production quality was subpar, with grainy visuals and poor sound quality. Additionally, the narration was dull and lacked any sort of enthusiasm or engagement. I also felt that the documentary failed to provide a comprehensive or in-depth analysis of the events that occurred during the Salem witch trials. Overall, I was left wanting more from this documentary and would not recommend it to others.
- Michael - 2/5 stars - I thought this documentary on the history channel about the witch hunts in Salem would be informative and enlightening. Unfortunately, I found it to be quite lackluster. The pacing was slow, and the narrative felt disjointed and hard to follow. The documentary also focused more on the sensational aspects of the witch trials rather than delving into the socio-political context of the time. I was hoping to gain a deeper understanding of the societal and psychological factors that led to the witch hunts, but this documentary fell short in that regard. Overall, I was disappointed with the lack of substance and would not recommend it to others looking for a comprehensive examination of the Salem witch trials.