A comet, a rogue ball of methane ice and dust is passing close enough to be seen clearly with the naked eye. Astrologers claim that the end is come, that the sign of the elder and evil gods is riding high in the sky, repent or forever be cast into damnation.
Riding on the coattails of the uproar, banditry has skyrocketed, as commoners lay down their tools and farming equipment, cast aside their bonds to the land and their lords to go afield. In a short time, many cult cells form around charismatic apocalyptic preachers. Some preach ritual suicide to gain spiritual blessings from the the omen of fire, others promote other religious extremes.
Bonfires roar as questionable literature is burned, hermits and magi are hunted down as harbingers of absolute doom, and chaos ensues. The church is rocked as heretics become as common as locusts, preaching their own interpretation of the holy scriptures.
Along for the Ride - The PCs are swept away with the tide of madness, pillaging and looting as these are their last days.
Against the Tide - The PCs have to stand and defend their stronghold against the tide of madness. This could be a personal holding that has been targeted by Bonfire of the vanities fanatics, a chuch against agnostic berzerkers, or the walls of a palace against rioting commoners. The theme would be survival against massive odds.
The Final Days - Perhaps the comet is an omen and the gates of the nether realms are cast open, and the characters have to strive to survive the apocalypse.
We over-reacted - after a few days of mayhem and carnage, the omen of fire passes and vanishes from the sky. The end doesnt come, and after alot of hard, often violent work, everything is brought back into line. The PCs are rewarded for bravery, or called to account for their actions.
September 13, 2004, 9:33
This is a great way to revamp your game world some, if it has become tired during play.
There is a related topic here
http://www.strolen.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=908
September 13, 2004, 11:25
September 13, 2004, 18:13
AND THE WORLD SHALL BE BATHED IN THE CRUCIBLE OF FLAMES!
4/5.
September 13, 2004, 20:32
Why leave the PC's earthbound with a modern interpretation of a comet? Let it be Zrgnax' Chariot of Doom or whatever, and let the mayhem begin. Then send the PC's off to deal with it as the first part of the plot - good transitory change of venue, wierd physical distortions, bizarre magical effects, etc, for a few sessions.
Ah, and so They Save The World! Or do they?
The threat in the sky may be gone, but it will be a long time before it's forgotten, and now the PC's must deal with a new social order. How did their fief, friends and fortunes fare? Some did well (or made out well by doing ill?), some did ill (or suffered ill for doing right?)? Surprising alliances, and unexplained enmities? Some gone missing, and none will say where? Let them discover the rippling after-effects of the social upheaval, which happened despite (because of?) their Grand Adventure. How different the world they return to is, of course, enough to drive a whole campaign.
Could they ever "return it to normal", if they wanted to?
January 30, 2005, 2:02
A question to anyone else who saw the movie, why were the necromongers the only people with capital ships?
October 20, 2009, 23:23
My question is, where is New Mecca?(sp?) The place they were originally heading in the first movie.
January 30, 2005, 5:01
January 30, 2005, 12:39
January 30, 2005, 20:24
IE - the Kingdom of Tammuz existed for 150 years, followed by 50 years of Ghazi occupation. Then, the records cease to exist for thrity to fifty years. Following that, the Arbela dynasty rose and lasted 200 some odd years before vanishing, leaving behind sketchy recounts of an omen in the sky and panic and confusion.
It has been nearly 250 years since the fall of the Arbela Dynasty. Do the PCs get nervous?
October 13, 2009, 18:23
October 20, 2009, 23:24
June 14, 2013, 13:18