Using prophecy in you game, the nifty way

[Chaosmark]

http://www.gamegrene.com/node/923

While I found the introduction/hook to be extremely foolish and off-base, the idea this GM presents is sound. Has anyone (aside from MH, who's done everything) done something like this? Prophecy is a rather important part of the fantasy genre, and while not all systems have magical foretellings, sometimes it comes in handy, such as in the Prophecies of Redemption campaign AG did a few years back.

[MoonHunter]

Some ideas pulled from the spur of the moment chat.

[MoonHunter] 9:28 pm: The concept is there. Prophecy... and visions of the future are great plot pushing techniques
[MoonHunter] 9:29 pm: You give them a clue in one form or another. Let them follow it up from there.
[MoonHunter] 9:31 pm: But that works as a party rescue technique.

[MoonHunter] 9:32 pm: I have had a time traveller interviene once or twice
[MoonHunter] 9:33 pm: well once, but such an event was still in play
[MoonHunter] 9:33 pm: time traveller that is

[MoonHunter] 9:34 pm: Only other time has something like that happened in a campaign and the players have not walked away
[MoonHunter] 9:35 pm: The GM had a TPK and he had one of the PCs wake a day or so earlier....
[MoonHunter] 9:35 pm: it was all a dream
[MoonHunter] 9:35 pm: The players ended up having a second chance.
[Chaosmark] 9:36 pm: Did they decide to go at it anyway?
[Chaosmark] 9:36 pm: Or did they take it?
[MoonHunter] 9:36 pm: They still fuffed up, it was only a party slaughter instead of tpk,
[Chaosmark] 9:36 pm: (The article I read did roughly the same thing. TPK, in detail, then rewind to the present, where it's all just a prophecy.)
[MoonHunter] 9:38 pm: They went and only slightly modified the plan, rather than anticipated things

[MoonHunter] 9:41 pm: This concept only works if you lay the groundwork for it
[MoonHunter] 9:41 pm: You have to set the precedence for the campaign.
[MoonHunter] 9:45 pm: If you are going to do the "rewind" trick
[MoonHunter] 9:45 pm: You need to lay the ground work for it early
[MoonHunter] 9:45 pm: So the dreams the characters remember become clues for the future or events.
[MoonHunter] 9:46 pm: You need to know that "the (possible) future is knowable".
[MoonHunter] 9:46 pm: And that you can change it...
[MoonHunter] 9:46 pm: otherwise people go "DAMM this is the future and nothing we do will change it"
[MoonHunter] 9:48 pm: So they need to know that these are "trustworthy clues".  The ground work is required. You need to create that pyramid of belief.


[MoonHunter] 9:52 pm: But a well written prophecy (or my favorite six panels of ancient artwork on a cave or tomb all) can be a great motivator.
[MoonHunter] 9:53 pm: (and one of the panels has to be ruined/ broken/ stolen)
[MoonHunter] 9:53 pm: All items of prophecies that "must come true", a missing piece allows you some wiggle room
[Chaosmark] 9:54 pm: lol

[Chaosmark] 9:55 pm: C&P this into the forum thread, "MH's Threadkill Crash Course in Prophecy"
[MoonHunter] 9:52 pm: LOL