Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Seventh Seraph 05-06-04, 03:38 PM	There's nothing like a devastating, world-wide cataclysm to reinvigorate your world or storyline! So get those creative juices flowing, and let's hear what you got! I'll start off (you don't have to insert a story idea, but I thought it might be nice): 1) A curse causes all babies to be stillborn. PCs are of the last generation and have to lift the curse before they get too old. -SS
DMsDelight 05-06-04, 03:47 PM	2) Group of Dark wizards have managed to stop the Earth from turning! Now, one side of the Earth is in an eternal winter and the other in an eternal summer. It can really add to a plot, as the side that is in eternal summer will do anything in it's power to keep it that way, while the eternal winter inhabitants will do anything in their power to stop it. The PCs can be on either side, or can be a neutral power who wish to stop it by destroying the wizards and reversing the spell.
PSchirf 05-06-04, 04:34 PM	3) Disappearing Oceans The entire ocean is gone. Rain still falls, and rivers still flow, but it'll take a LONG time to refill the missing seas. What happened? Divination uncovers the truth; An army of thirsty giants drank the ocean. Can you help the Gods convince the giants to choak up the water before it's too late? And who was responsible for giving the giants the spicy food in the first place? (See below) 4) The Sun Nolonger Shines Somewhat related to #2 and #3... Something as stopped the Sun from rising in the sky and the land has settled into eternal night. The weather has gotten colder, bringing winterlike conditions. What has happened to the Sun god? Divination uncovers the truth; an evil god has wounded him with a poisoned spear while he slept and stolen the solar flame. Can the PCs help the gods find a cure for the poison, wake the Sun god, and also recover the flame from where it is hidden? Is this the same evil god who served up the spicy food or was that the sun god and this is revenge?
Not a monkey 05-06-04, 05:08 PM	5) Them A chaotic epic druid has created a variant of Giant Vermin with a worldwide range and permanent duration. The world is being overrun with giant ants.
StormKnight 05-06-04, 05:16 PM	Suddenly and simultaneously, everyone in the entire world... forgets how cheese is made.
Vumyan 05-06-04, 05:21 PM	Originally posted by StormKnight Suddenly and simultaneously, everyone in the entire world... forgets how cheese is made. He said catastrophic, not hellacious.
Shapedoctor 05-06-04, 07:24 PM	The GM can't find his notebook.
Amilius 05-06-04, 08:37 PM	-A Epic level druid completely disullisioned with the world as it is learns of a power artifact called gem of true wish which was the power to have one wish come no matter what it is. -A massive Black sphere appears in every plane and begins to suck everything, even the gods can't stop it.
RobTzu 05-06-04, 08:42 PM	A portal to the negative energy plane opens up and starts devouring the world a la Neverending Story.
Blu_Dijin 05-06-04, 09:47 PM	A mysterious island has floated to the surface of the ocean. This island is blank. Nothing is on it. Only grey space fills the island. Adventuring reveals that the gods created this island for their own paradise. Unfortunately, the staff the gods have put the island morphing power into has been stolen. The gods need it back!
Tusz 05-06-04, 09:55 PM	A previously unknown type of undead appears. Everything it or its minions kill rise as skeletal minions in 1d4 rounds. The only way to destroy a minion is to kill it and smash its skull, else it rises again in a few rounds. Start off small, with murders and caravan raids. Then start attacking armies. Or you could just have the Material attacked by one of these that already took over an alternate Material plane.
ArchmageOmega 05-06-04, 11:06 PM	10. (This is #10 right?) The overwhelming number of good aligned adventurers and people have killed off enough evil that the material plane is beginning to slip towards the good aligned outer planes, throwing the whole multiverse out of order. 11. The sun is really a gigantic vortex to the positive energy plane, but the protections that keep it from expanding are beginning to fail. 12. Something is causing the planet to expand, pushing the plates apart. If it isn't stopped, the planet is likely to explode.
Kash Darreder 05-07-04, 08:23 AM	13. Someone is uniting all the evil forces in the world into a cooperating and coherent unit, if not stopped they will overrun the world. 14. The bloodwar spills into the world as two major armies of demons and devils gets caught on opposite sides of the world. 15. All metal starts to rust and all plants begin to rot, as the deity of corruption set up a lair on the material plane. (a variation on the old "All magic disappears" to counter the usual Yeah well I am a fighter what do I care argument that might come up. 16. A rift into the Neg. energy plane starts to transform all creatures into undead. 17. The secret to making beer is lost. 18. A crossover with starwars with the empire tries to colonize the world. (In my game, I secretly played the same storyline with my Dnd aswell as my SW group, and both sides where in for a surprice as the Dnd groups suddenly faced energyweapons and starships and the SW people where hit by magic missile and deathspells) 19. A horde of wrathful Dm's invade your game:smirk: KD
Revelation 05-07-04, 09:26 AM	20. a variant on number 1, all people startdying as soon as they reach 30. that'd motivate the party as you keep a close record of their age 21. Divine druidic power brings sentience the earth, it can fight back against anyone who ploughs, quarries etc. Civilization slowly crumbles as people fight over what is left standing
Winsome 05-07-04, 09:44 AM	22. Wizards release 3.7, 3.8, 3.8.1, 3.8.2, 3.9.1, 3.9.2 all in quick succession. The multiverse goes off line to wait for things to stabilise. As an offshoot of this the spin of the real world is thrown out of control as the mass of currency stored in Wizards bank accounts in the US goes critical. 23. A mad wizard creates a plant/flesh creature that spreads fast and is almost impossible to kill. Before long it's taking animals and wanderers. Due to it's unique plant/flesh construction it's immune to standard plant control so the druids have to ally with the wizards to stop it. While this is going on the plant thing continues to grow (in my game this overtook a country while wizards and druids bickered. The party abandoned area and took to the seas)
SmiloDan 05-07-04, 10:33 AM	24. All water turned to blood. Divination reveals a vampiric/illuminati plot. If the blood isn't turned to water again soon, everyone will die of dehydration...or become thralls of level 1 clerics and druids with Create Water prepared... 25. A zealous cult of farmers deforests the world. This makes the climate too dry and massive erosion destroys all the topsoil.
PSchirf 05-07-04, 10:39 AM	26 Who'll Stop The Rain? It's been raining for weeks... and it doesn't look like it's going to stop. Flooding has become a problem and if this keeps up it's going to get worse. Prophets and Priests see visions of a tower and of golden chains, predicting continued deluge if the cause isn’t found.
SmiloDan 05-07-04, 10:48 AM	27. The Plague of Ghouls. Ghouls have run rampant. Anyone bitten by a ghoul, and lives, must make a Fortitude Save DC 20 + damage taken or turn into a ghoul in 5d6 hours. Anyone killed by a ghoul becomes a ghoul in 1d3 rounds. (Yeah, this is based on Dawn of the Dead, 28 Days Later, and Resident Evil.)
PSchirf 05-07-04, 10:56 AM	Starwars + D&D? Yeah, that's Catastrophic
DMsDelight 05-07-04, 11:00 AM	Originally posted by Kash Darreder 18. A crossover with starwars with the empire tries to colonize the world. (In my game, I secretly played the same storyline with my Dnd aswell as my SW group, and both sides where in for a surprice as the Dnd groups suddenly faced energyweapons and starships and the SW people where hit by magic missile and deathspells) KD That has GOT to be the best setup EVER!! :ayyyy!:
Not a monkey 05-07-04, 01:48 PM	28. Power! One morning, every human in the world, from infants to kings, is granted sorceror power of randomly varying levels, with random spells.
PSchirf 05-07-04, 02:10 PM	29 It’s Raining Frogs Many people think these events are urban legends. A quick search of the ‘net will find numerous accounts of apparent real-world cases where frogs or toads have fallen from the sky. Make the episode world-wide and you’re talking catastrophic event.
Dymo 05-07-04, 03:01 PM	A crazed Wizard has stumbled upon a means to travel back in time, so far only short time spans, but he is learning quickly. To test a theory he has heard of (we call it the Paradox Theory) he selects a member of the nearby town whos father was known to him as a young adult. He goes back and kills the mans father before he was born. Upon his return he discovers that it worked as expected. Unknown to you or your group, you have just killed his most promising pupil. He had been searching the same dungeon as the group looking for something required by his mentor. His death was purely accidental. When word reaches him of the tradgedy, what sanity left to him is lost, he uses all of his available resources on finding out the family tree of everyone responsible. When he has that info he will go back in time and kill the parents of each before your birth, thus removing you all from existence and restoring his pupil to life. He probably won't stop there either. Better find him quickly...Muhahahaha
Loren Pechtel 05-08-04, 01:25 AM	Originally posted by DMsDelight 2) Group of Dark wizards have managed to stop the Earth from turning! Now, one side of the Earth is in an eternal winter and the other in an eternal summer. It can really add to a plot, as the side that is in eternal summer will do anything in it's power to keep it that way, while the eternal winter inhabitants will do anything in their power to stop it. The PCs can be on either side, or can be a neutral power who wish to stop it by destroying the wizards and reversing the spell. Doesn't work. The sun side bakes--anything without some heat resistance is going to be dead. Worse, the atmosphere starts settling out on the cold side. In time there won't be anything left to breathe.
Loren Pechtel 05-08-04, 01:33 AM	One I was working on for 2nd edition: A very powerful lich is preparing a slay living spell with planetary area-effect range. The potential cataclysm is sufficient that there are all sorts of omens but figuring out of what and what to do about it is another matter. (Note: Such a spell could be cast under the 2nd edition true magic system. It would take years to prepare and a *LOT* of exotic power components to get the final # low enough that it was castable.)
RoastSlinky 05-08-04, 02:36 AM	#32: The Worldbreak Massive chasms appear all over the globe. Divination reveals that an ancient race of gods is trying to break free of their prison within the earth.
Vumyan 05-08-04, 03:00 AM	Originally posted by Loren Pechtel Doesn't work. The sun side bakes--anything without some heat resistance is going to be dead. Worse, the atmosphere starts settling out on the cold side. In time there won't be anything left to breathe. D&D transcends reality. Reality shouldn't get in the way unless it's something really outlandish.
pog 05-08-04, 05:23 AM	Major catastrophes... 1) Incurable pestilence / plague 2) Total war ( think very huge - multi-continental / multi-planar etc. ) 3) Religious ' end-of-the-world ' scenario ( Apocolypse / Ragnarok etc. ) 4) Enviornmental disasters ( earthquakes, floods, tsunami, volcanoes, hurricanes etc. ) - either have one of Noahic proportions, or just lots and little ones happening simultaenously. 5) Diety Wars - the gods are fighting again 6) Crashing objects - comets, meteors etc. Nasty craters - lots of repercusions. 7) Magic Leak - magic doesn't work like it used to. 8) Invasion - aliens, either from the underdark, the far reaches of the cosmos or another plane. 9) The Blackout - darkness and cold 10) Serious global warming - think Darksun 11) Atlantian sinking - lands disappear beneath the waves. The Merfolk rule now. 12) Ryleh rising - new, strange islands appear. The stars look somehow different.... 13) Luck - eveyone becomes very, very unluckly - time to chase down a missing diety. 14) The dead rise - lots of zombies etc. Think Dawn of the Dead - global. 15) The dead don't die - a Pratchettesque scenario, death's gone on strike. Think this would be fun - consider the chaos when nothing dies 16) Nexus - Star Trek like Nexus storm deposits random people, cities etc. into anotehr dimension. Perhaps a Secret Wars adventure begins.... ( but with hundreds on either side??? ) 17) Lots more... but very bored now. How scary is it that a number of the above disasters could really happen ( think comet crash ).
Bluebrush 05-08-04, 06:28 AM	#33 (or #50... The previous post wasn't numbered in sequence): Dead Letter Day Words begin fading from paper, carvings on tombstones disappear, even stylised letters engraved on belt buckles are becoming plain metal. Slowly, all written language is disappearing. This effect spreads in a circle, and seems to be centred upon a tall mountain in the barbarian lands, said to be riddled with dungeons and warrirors. Unless something is done to stop it, within a year no books will remain on the continent. Society will be set back hundreds, if not thousands of years as the next generation cannot read of the wisdom their ancestors discovered, and kingdom records will become good for nothing but kindling.
DeWayne 05-09-04, 02:46 AM	51. (Let's get things back in order) Ice Age It starts to take longer & longer for the snows to melt in the far North. And the first snowfall comes earlier each year. Soon there isn't enough growing season to support people, livestock or wildlife. Everyone & everything starts moving south. Things are becoming harder for the civilizations to the south for the same reason, although to a lesser extent (for now). Then they get hit with a trickle, then a stream, then a flood of foreign refuges from the north. Best case scenario is that this massive influx of foreigners leads to a collapse of social cohesion. A more likely scenario is violent conflict between the two groups (competing for limited resources and all of that). Either way, winters continue to get worse, forcing the survivors to continue their southward migration causing a cascading collapse of civilization. And if the shortened growing season and the messes that humans, elves, etc. will cause aren't bad enough, the falling ocean levels (that ice has to come from somewhere) are going to leave the port cities countless miles from the sea as the water retreats to the continental shelf - and if people try building a new port city, it'll be facing the same problem in a couple of generations.
MinusInnocence 05-09-04, 11:33 AM	52. The Apocalypse Stone.
Escef 05-09-04, 12:01 PM	Originally posted by Loren Pechtel Doesn't work. The sun side bakes--anything without some heat resistance is going to be dead. Worse, the atmosphere starts settling out on the cold side. In time there won't be anything left to breathe. If you think that's bad, imagine the effect of the Eath's rotation coming to a sudden halt. Lemme see, inertia + sudden removal of centrifical force? Now, if I recall correctly, Earth is about 8000 miles wide, and does a full rotation every (approximately) 24 hours, so we'd all go careening about at around 300-odd mph. Also, while one side would bake and the other freeze, just because rotation has stopped does not mean its orbit has, so much like Mercury we'd have a day of equal length to the year. That aside, a varient of an idea I saw elsewhere, have someone determined to destroy the world start luring Terrasques in through portals from every alternate prime material he can find.
Big_Jake 05-12-04, 11:34 AM	-Flesh turns to metal, and metal turns to flesh. What a great life we live. -The world is slowly being devoured by a god.
PSchirf 08-02-04, 02:55 PM	The ability to play music and sing disappears from the world due to some divine influence.
The GOP Dragon 08-02-04, 04:36 PM	The Rapture The events foretold in the book of Revelation in the Bible happens. And it is an evil campaign. Acidic Air A virus attacks trees and causes theoxygen to be infused with acids. The PCs have do do something without dieng with the first breath they take.
Mike the DM 08-02-04, 04:53 PM	Originally posted by Vumyan D&D transcends reality. Reality shouldn't get in the way unless it's something really outlandish. There is a school of thought, Vumyan that says the more realistic your world, the more fantastic its fantasy elements become. Little thing in literature called 'juxtaposition.' 58. (Or thereabouts?) Under New Management There's a new deity in town, and it's decided to remake the world in its own image. Beware the Unholy Eraser of Doom. 59. Hound of Hell The dog eats the DM's campaign workbook.
Zilred 08-02-04, 11:15 PM	60.Order Disorder: The Formians of Mechanus and the Slaadi of Limbo have decided to see who can spread the fastest, and they've chosen your world as the site of this contest. 61.So much trouble, over so small a thing: An evil mage has learned how to split an "atom" with magic, yielding previously unimaginable devastation for miles. With this new discovery, the mage is beginning to make demands for worldwide captulation to his rule.
Vaalingrade Ashland 08-02-04, 11:37 PM	62: Child's Play An evil cult's attempts to ressurect thier God fails... sealing his power into an 8 year old boy. The party must spring into action to find a way to undo the ritual as a child's cruel imagination is suddenly made manifest.
ChaoticGod 08-03-04, 12:00 AM	63: Oh, death where is thy sting A good priest seeks to end death and decay. His god grants the miracle on a small scale but an evil god adds to the power. Now across the entire face of the planet . . . Nothing dies. Nothing decays. Generation after generation of insects is born. None die and they continue to breed. Generation after generation of fish are spawned. None die and the waterways are filled with gasping, starving fish that cannot expire. Wolves and other predators cannot be killed and grow in numbers only to starve without dying with their stomach filled with the still living flesh of their prey. Livestock and other prey animals won't die even after being dismembered. People face starvation or the consumption of living flesh which can't be digested. Even plants won't die or rot after being cut down. Agricultural foodstuffs can't be digested and fill the stomachs of those who consume them leaving people in agony. People starve with full bloated stomachs yet somehow don't die. People mortally wounded or even dismembered in battle continue to live on with the pain of their wounds even without water or food.
Loren Pechtel 08-03-04, 12:08 AM	Originally posted by DMsDelight 2) Group of Dark wizards have managed to stop the Earth from turning! Now, one side of the Earth is in an eternal winter and the other in an eternal summer. It can really add to a plot, as the side that is in eternal summer will do anything in it's power to keep it that way, while the eternal winter inhabitants will do anything in their power to stop it. The PCs can be on either side, or can be a neutral power who wish to stop it by destroying the wizards and reversing the spell. This one makes no sense. Everyone would suffer and eventually die. The side in eternal sun would roast, at least until they suffocated because the atmosphere froze out.
Tevish Szat 08-03-04, 12:19 AM	Originally posted by Loren Pechtel This one makes no sense. Everyone would suffer and eventually die. The side in eternal sun would roast, at least until they suffocated because the atmosphere froze out. it works if you somehow stop the planet's orbit... but spin, no.
Moridus 08-03-04, 12:25 AM	64. (note - this may or may not happen in a campaign I am going to run :smirk: ) Evil Clerics manage to complete a ritual that rips open rifts to the evil planes on the poles of the planet. The closer to the North/South pole you get, the more reality becomes twisted and the more powerful daemons one will find manefesting. And they want to take over.
The GOP Dragon 08-03-04, 12:48 AM	Originally posted by Loren Pechtel This one makes no sense. Everyone would suffer and eventually die. The side in eternal sun would roast, at least until they suffocated because the atmosphere froze out. I would be sure that a wizard with enough power to stop the earth from moving would have enough power to protect the atmosphere. Besides, if the wizard didn't then it would be a great time lock. the PCs have to get the earth moving before they roast and/or freeze. 65) Bad Day The DM has a bad day at work and his girlfriend dumped him, so he is feeling vindictive.
ck2001wendt 08-03-04, 06:43 AM	66) The Source: Here´s the one I´m going to pull in my FR campaign. Every star exists on both the Prime Material Plane and the Postive Energy Plane. On the Positive Energy Plane is a crystal sphere (a la Bastion of Broken Souls) and at the center of that sphere a font of Positive Energy, from which all life and warmth flows. It is the Source. The BBEG and his minions find a way to access the Source, and the moment after the players kill the BBEG´s duplicate during a massive battle between their army and the BBEG´s... the Sun goes out. The massive Evil Horde was just a distraction allowing the BBEG time to access the Source and gain ultimate power. Every powerful Wizard and Cleric, Druid and Sorcerer in the world (Good through Lawful Evil...Elminster and Khelban Arunsun working side by side with Zzass Tam and Fyzoul) enter into a Ritual to keep the world warm and stable...but they can only keep it up for a week. In that time, the party must find a way to access the Source and slay the now super-charged BBEG. At the end, if any of them get greedy and choose to go through the Source, they´ll find themselves in the middle of an office building in Seattle late at night...and that their magic spells and items no longer function.
ck2001wendt 08-03-04, 06:55 AM	67) Days of Future Past (thanks Chris Claremont): I often take my inspiration from comic books, so here´s a great World Catastrophe, especially for younger players not familiar with late 70s, early 80s X-Men: A neophyte Chronomancer goes 20 years back in time and falls unconscious at the feet of the party. When he awakens, he tells them a terrible tale: In a few days\weeks\months time, a group of demi-humans will successfully assasinate the King (or Crown Prince etc.) of the most powerful Good kingdom. The death will be so objectionable that the Kingdom will agree to new restrictions on demi-humans, branding them with tattoos and putting them in slave labor camps. To enforce this Demi-Human Registration Act and counteract Elven High Magic, the Kingdom aggress to the creation of the Sentinels...20 foot tall flying Stone and Iron Golems immune to Magic. Things go well for a time, until a corruption in the magic used to create so many Golems leads them to believe their new orders are to protect Humanity from ALL magic...all Arcane and Divine Magic users are imprisoned or executed, all magic items and weapons are confiscated and destroyed, and the Sentinels now rule the Continent. Now it´s up to the party to stop the band of evil Demi-Humans and save the King...and themselves!
ck2001wendt 08-03-04, 07:02 AM	More comic book goodness: 68) The World Eater A shining herald from the Ether arrives in the Kingdom to make a pronouncement: In one week´s time, the World Eater will come to devour your planet! How will you deal with this Herald (will he fight by your side?) and what will you do when the World Eater finally arrives? And the great old standby: 69) Nazi Toril: Someone is mucking with the timestream, and each day when you wake up, you find something is notably different than the day before...reality is slowly rearranging itself after an evil Wizard goes back in time and changes the balance of the last great War in the favor of Evil. Go back and make things right before you forget your world ever existed!
Loren Pechtel 08-04-04, 01:52 AM	Originally posted by Tevish Szat it works if you somehow stop the planet's orbit... but spin, no. Spin, yes. The cold side gets cold enough for the atmosphere to freeze. In time you have a big pile of frozen air in the middle of the cold side and no atmosphere to breathe.
Lokiyn 08-04-04, 02:01 AM	Originally posted by Loren Pechtel Spin, yes. The cold side gets cold enough for the atmosphere to freeze. In time you have a big pile of frozen air in the middle of the cold side and no atmosphere to breathe. not with the oceans acting as a heat sink. you would get a rainbow world. one section roasting hot, the other icy cold with an intermixed temperate zone on the obundries between.(plus the air would most likely liquify not freeze) Shamless plug 15th-ish level character plots to destroy world located here;) (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=273288)
Tevish Szat 08-04-04, 02:08 AM	Originally posted by Loren Pechtel Spin, yes. The cold side gets cold enough for the atmosphere to freeze. In time you have a big pile of frozen air in the middle of the cold side and no atmosphere to breathe. erm, i wwas referring to the eternal winter/summer thing you'd get that if you stopped a planet's orbit... and were somehow able to keep it from falling into it's home star.
PSchirf 08-04-04, 07:43 AM	Originally posted by Tevish Szat erm, i wwas referring to the eternal winter/summer thing you'd get that if you stopped a planet's orbit... and were somehow able to keep it from falling into it's home star. Falling into a star? My game setting is a flat rock held by three titans. The moon is the underside of a bowl of water and the sun is a burning ship that a god rides across the sky each day. What type of magic is this "orbit" thing you speak of?
rusdrake77 08-04-04, 10:49 AM	... to excavate the Prime for uranium. Many mines appear, where strange robots work for no apparent reason. Upon gathering enough material Primus creates an atomic bomb. He plans to use it as a cleaning device prior to transforming other worlds into solid steel clockwork nirvana. PCs mission: sabotage!
wereooze 08-04-04, 07:00 PM	Atomic Dragon: An evil alien monster (monster similar to great wyrm red dragon with too many horns) crash-lands in the frozen north. But the alien magic eminating from his giant unicorn-like horn functions like radiaton on our planet! Plants die, lakes turn poisonous, and a group of very ****** druids need the PC's help RIGHT NOW! (radiation sickness also a good way to kill overpowered character is 2d8 months if you catch my drift :smirk: ) Love's Eldritch Ichor: Far beneath the surface of the world in the Underdark a cabal of powerful illithid begin a ceremony to awaken, and bring their dread demon-god Yog Shothoth to the prime material plane! The side-effect unfortunately cause all the world's elves, half-elves, and people with just a little elvish in them to have horrific hallucinary nightmares! This of course prevents any restful sleep and greatly interfeers with the casting of divine or arcane spells (psionics too if in your campaign)! The PC's have to travel deep into the underdark and destroy an evil cult of Mind Flayers before the end of the world happens! :eek: Nazi Invasion!: General Kroenen and Rasputin open a dimensional gate to the players world! Soon outlying countries are invaded and defeated by an evil human army weilding a terrible weapon, mid-20th century technology! The players need to destroy the dimensional gate control before something really bad happens. Like an evil army that finds a way to harness the chromatic dragons and launches a World War under the banner of the swastika! (And nazi's don't like sharring worlds with dwarves, elves, and halflings. Gnomes, suprsingly, are welcomed with open arms). Appologies to every sci-fi book/movie that ever used the plot "if nazi's won ww2" before me. The opening 10 minutes to Hellboy, And Dinoriders. red dragons with brainboxes being ridden by nazi-stormtroopers would be surreal. :uh-huh:
darkjedi1 08-04-04, 07:24 PM	Kind of like the Nazi invasion post right above but, current year or in the future a portal opens up in America somewhere and the government sends soldiers thru. THey get over and see what it is like and come back and tell the government. The government, who covered up the roswell crash and others through paranoia decide to send an army thru the gate. President Bush (or next crazy president) decides these are terrorists and monster and must be destroyed. The U.S. Military travels through the portal to destroy the other side. Including the Army, Marines, Air Force, some Navy depending on how close the portal on the other side is to water. So you have modern or near future weapons, soldiers and vehicles along with all the supplies needed, going into another world. Nobody on the other side would stand a chance. Elves in forest shooting our men, fine send jets over and bomb the crap out of the forest. Etc etc.
Loren Pechtel 08-04-04, 11:03 PM	Originally posted by Lokiyn not with the oceans acting as a heat sink. you would get a rainbow world. one section roasting hot, the other icy cold with an intermixed temperate zone on the obundries between.(plus the air would most likely liquify not freeze) The oceans would slow it down but they wouldn't stop it. Anything, air or water, that got too far onto the cold side would freeze and wouldn't be available to circulate heat to the cold side. As for air only liquefying, the liquid range is pretty narrow.
Loren Pechtel 08-04-04, 11:07 PM	Originally posted by wereooze Atomic Dragon: An evil alien monster (monster similar to great wyrm red dragon with too many horns) crash-lands in the frozen north. But the alien magic eminating from his giant unicorn-like horn functions like radiaton on our planet! Plants die, lakes turn poisonous, and a group of very ****** druids need the PC's help RIGHT NOW! (radiation sickness also a good way to kill overpowered character is 2d8 months if you catch my drift :smirk: ) If you live a couple of months you're going to make it. Anyway, a heal spell would fix this.
gleep 08-05-04, 03:55 PM	The <insert name of campaign world here>, tired of being downtrodden and taken for granted for millennia, decides to stop holding its actions (see phrennzy's quote) and strikes at everything it can in a whirlwind attack for 20d6 damage, killing most everything and pretty well demolishing all forms of civilization. :D --gleep [edit: +n]
ck2001wendt 08-05-04, 05:19 PM	------------------------------------------------ gleep said: The <insert name of campaign world here>, tired of being downtrodden and taken for granted for millennia, decides to stop holding its actions (see phrennzy's quote) and strikes at everything it can in a whirlwind attack for 20d6 damage, killing most everything and pretty well demolishing all forms of civilization. ------------------------------------------------ That reminds me of an "Authority" story arc where an imprisoned villian "convinced" Earth that humanity was trying to harm it...leading to a series of increasingly worse natural disasters. Now, to be a nerd: The ramifications of a planet instantaneously up and Whirlwind attacking every being or object on its surface (and the Underdark). 20d6: average damage 75 (assuming no strength bonus...let´s call it "natural" damage or some such). I will assume you don´t want to roll individually for each object affected in the attack... This feels a little like a comet strike, actually... This would be enough to kill every man, woman and child with an NPC class on the planet...destroying all Kingdoms and ruining the world´s economy and cultural tradition. The only people who would survive are very high level Warriors or d6 NPC classes with 20 levels and a decent Con mod...I´m not holding my breath on either of these. Every animal and monster on the planet would die...except those with very high HP. You would be left with extremes...Tiny insects that were too small to be effected, or Large or greater creatures that took the hit and lived. The damage to the food chain will kill off most non-magical predators. Most likely, the only creatures left in the world would be high-level heroes or NPCs with adventuring classes, and monsters with lots of HP. Even then: At average damage, allowing for a Con 18 for all adventurers: -every d4 class with 11 levels or fewer would die, as would every d6 class with 9 levels or fewer, every d8 class with 8 and every d10 class with 7. Essentially, you´re left with a cross between "Mad Max" and "Super World," where everyone is highly competant, with years of adventuring experience. The local blacksmith down the way? 12th level Paladin. Oh...and since everyone under 20 is dead and adventurers are predominantly male (based on observed evidence), you´d be left with a crippling demographic burden. Best bets: Get the remaining Wizards to Plane Shift everyone to a new home...or claim the planet for yourselves and push for inter-planar immigration to your new kingdom...there´d be plenty of wealth to go around. Now: If the "Earth attack" were affecting objects as well, virtually every wooden structure or tree on the planet would be destroyed (smashed into kindling, methinks). If you let Tiny or smaller creatures like algae survive (swarm subtype?), you´d still have enough plant life to keep recycling oxygen...this is a good thing. Plant seeds buried under the ground would probably make it through okay too...so vegetation would begin to return over the next century or two. Assuming the Earth attack was more like a sledgehammer blow, and not something at the molecular level, it would pulverize the first several inches, so heavy fortifications like castles or wizards towers might survive...though they´d be the only visible structures or vertical objects for dozens of miles. If it affected every inch of stone and metal equally, it would pulverize the entire planet down to the bedrock. Most likely, all mundane and magical items not made of Adamantine would be destroyed.
Phrennzy 08-05-04, 05:45 PM	Ah, the seeds of evil I plant bear fruit... Gleep, :thumbsup:
obrysii 08-05-04, 06:05 PM	Ripped in Two: A great war between two higher deities results in the Material Plane being ripped in two. Unfortgently...the plane continues to drift apart. The PC's need to save the day by drawing the two parts back together, or the world will float away!
gleep 08-05-04, 09:11 PM	:D --gleep
Levism84 08-11-04, 10:56 AM	# (eh) Magic begins to fade as an orange cloud looms over the material plane, slowly spreading outward. Everything under the cloud feels weakened (especially spellcasters) as the magic is slowly being sapped away. No magical items work, spellcasters as sickened, and even non-spellcasters feel "wierded out." The party follows the magic drain to a temple lost in a deep jungle (losts of fun fights with other wierded out creatures without the use of magic), and discover mindflayers deep in an incantation (unearthed arcana) and they appear to be sapping away the magical force of the plane and trapping it in a super-charged magical gem. (Once the gem is in the parties possession) Any spellcaster holding the gem can use magic at +10 caster level, and all magical items seem to function normally for them. However, the depleeted magical energies of the plane leave all other spellcasters at -1 caster level, and magical items only work half the time. The party must find a way to destroy the gem and return the balance of magic to the plane. Also, the party discovers a number of simular gems, each one attunded to one of the elemental planes- or other planes- (which when held boost the caster level of the spell with a corasponding elemental type by +10). Should your resident caster keep the gems? Or should she return them to their proper plane and release the energy? What would happen if she released the energy in this plane? And who is this secret order of mind flayers bent on stealing all the magical energies of the plane. Likewise, one of the gems could be from another material plane... the PRIME material plane where magic hasn't existed for millenia, but technology has florished, as the people there play games that simulate what it would be like if they could actually use magic (something that, of course, doesnt really exist anyway). ~Rain~
orcslayer 08-14-04, 07:46 PM	Barney and his evil army of tellatubies take over the world.
Hero of Sshamath 08-14-04, 09:26 PM	(I don't know what number it's on)...*darn inconsistant people!* A new deity is on the move and takes over portions of many other deities portfolios, the ensuing battle polorizes the world between to the two deities...Battle tears across the planet. *It will work with all types of campaigns Good, Neutral, and Evil...Depending on the deities you chose...and you get to make a GOD!!! :smirk: MUAH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!
Tevish Szat 08-14-04, 11:52 PM	Originally posted by Hero of Sshamath (I don't know what number it's on)...*darn inconsistant people!* A new deity is on the move and takes over portions of many other deities portfolios, the ensuing battle polorizes the world between to the two deities...Battle tears across the planet. *It will work with all types of campaigns Good, Neutral, and Evil...Depending on the deities you chose...and you get to make a GOD!!! :smirk: MUAH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! A bit of a variation: Karsus is resurrected and uses his avatar spell sucessfully to steal the power of a god (picking more wisley this time). It seems to stop there... until the deific Karsus uses his spell again, destroying another god and adding its power to his. Karsus contunues to cast as the remainder of the gods attempt to mobilize against him before he can become unstoppably powerful or drain them all. Some divine servitors and minor gods side with Karsus for protection from his wrath, ruled by fear of their master. now what side do the PCs choose?
myeviltwin 08-16-04, 12:08 AM	Inspired by ck2001wendt's proposed solution to the Earth Attack scenario: In a desperate attempt to save itself from some disaster, the entire population of another planet plane shifts to the game world. The population of the world instantly doubles.
Ambli Ironcutter 08-16-04, 11:36 PM	Have a new cure for a somewhat uncommon, yet deadly disease be discovered by an alchemist. Unbeknownst to them, the cure has somehow changed into an even more deadly disease which cannot be cured. The only way to stop the spread is to use an experimental portal a powerful wizard created to travel through time.... 10 points to the person who can tell me where this plot came from.
Generic Fighter 08-17-04, 01:49 AM	Someone has found the True Rod of Wonder and is using it to randomly change all of reality. Suddenly everyone in the world has purple hair and blue skin, every plant in the world grows 100 feet and every weapon in the world becomes a fish! Someone has to discover the cause of this phenomenom and stop it before the True Rod of Wonder breaks reality itself! Generic Fighter:fight!:
Eclipse Lutgehr 08-17-04, 03:25 AM	Originally posted by Ambli Ironcutter Have a new cure for a somewhat uncommon, yet deadly disease be discovered by an alchemist. Unbeknownst to them, the cure has somehow changed into an even more deadly disease which cannot be cured. The only way to stop the spread is to use an experimental portal a powerful wizard created to travel through time.... 10 points to the person who can tell me where this plot came from. This was a plot to the show, Seven Days. I don't know the episode name, but it's the one when Frank's replacement travels back about 70 or so years to stop the cure for cancer from being discovered. They only verified his story by testing his blood for the antibodies of said superdisease created after the "cure" for cancer is administered worldwide.
ck2001wendt 08-17-04, 03:46 AM	Mirror Mirror: A horriffic attack is carried out on the soil of a powerful Kingdom...by what appears to be the PCs (high level groups only!). Their investigation leads them to discover the startling truth: the PCs ARE responsible for the attack...but it´s a version of the PCs from the mirror universe, where everyone´s alignment is reversed (note: that´s not the true premise of the ST mirror universe, but still interesting). They are the advanced scouting party for a full-scale invasion of your universe. As your world stands on the brink of invasion, find the portal they came from, and keep them from building more!
ck2001wendt 08-17-04, 03:59 AM	Nuclear (?!?!) Blackmail: A well-known Arch-Wizard threatens your world with destruction. If the major powers do not pay him an unimaginable sum in magic items in the coming days, he will begin destroying their capitals one by one. To prove the threat is real, he vaporizes The truth: The Wizard has plane-shifted into a 20th century world, and acquired several loose nuclear weapons! He knows how to activate this "techno magic" but not how to reproduce it. Adventuring in the vaporized city creates a Gamma World situation, where nothing is left but mutants and some more hardy monsters. Of course, there better be clerics there with Cure Disease and Heal handy for Radiation poisoning. And, of course, the players want to stop the Wizard and destroy the "artifacts" lest they fall into another´s hands. Mark on the World (an Authority plot): An arch-villian is growing old, and decides to leave his legacy on the world by tracing a trail of destruction in the form of his sigil (your discretion at what that sigil looks like), sending powerful NPC villians forth from his tower to destroy cities until there is a burned out sigil-mark that can be seen from space. Yeah, I read to many comic books. But I find they give me some of the best ideas both as a DM and player.
wereooze 08-17-04, 09:54 AM	Their investigation leads them to discover the startling truth: the PCs ARE responsible for the attack...but it´s a version of the PCs from the mirror universe, where everyone´s alignment is reversed Isn't that kinda BIZZARRO?!?
Keeper of the Mists 08-18-04, 03:11 PM	This is a variation of the world-wide catastrophe I'm about to unleash as the start of a campaign: One morning, the people wake up to find two suns in the sky. The second sun is larger and brighter than the original one, but more importantly, travels slower than the original...so much slower in fact that night ceases to exist as the two suns' orbits no longer allow any sort of darkness to cover the world (just to let you know, my world is a flat world, where this type of thing is easier to reproduce). In reality, the second sun is a colossal portal to the elemental plane of fire that has been opened in space near the planet. Nobody knows why this happened or how, but it's clear that without night, many events are shifting on the planet below as undead and denizens of the night become considerably weakened while most humanoid races start suffering from lack of real sleep, in addition to the plantlife that has their photosynthesis cycles severely disrupted.
Feeb 08-18-04, 07:52 PM	#?? Fungus Among Us! I apologize in advance if this idea has already been raised, but as a follow up to Not A Monkey’s idea (#5 THEM) : The Druid actually created the Ants to fight of a horde of subterranean Fungi which threaten to overwhelm (and subsequently, devour) the surface world. The PC’s, fresh from their battle with the ants, must now confront the impeding myconid invasion!
gleep 08-19-04, 10:16 AM	The world is often thought of by druids as having a spirit and body. Little did everyone else know but the treehuggers were not only right, but were quite literal. The time of cataclysms barely remembered in the ancient past occurred when the world and its companion got together for some "quality time." Now, after many centuries, the fruits of their labor are on the way and the world is soon going to give birth. As with most living things, the process is somewhat traumatic and will involve an amount of moving and shaking on the surface that will most likely completely rearrange the world's features. :D --gleep
ck2001wendt 08-19-04, 11:16 AM	---------------------------------------------- Keeper of the Mists: One morning, the people wake up to find two suns in the sky. The second sun is larger and brighter than the original one, but more importantly, travels slower than the original...so much slower in fact that night ceases to exist as the two suns' orbits no longer allow any sort of darkness to cover the world (just to let you know, my world is a flat world, where this type of thing is easier to reproduce). In reality, the second sun is a colossal portal to the elemental plane of fire that has been opened in space near the planet. Nobody knows why this happened or how, but it's clear that without night, many events are shifting on the planet below as undead and denizens of the night become considerably weakened while most humanoid races start suffering from lack of real sleep, in addition to the plantlife that has their photosynthesis cycles severely disrupted. ---------------------------------------------- Well, I don´t think it would be as tough on the humanoid races as you think. Drow and Dwarves couldn´t care less (though this does seriously impede Drow plans for surface domination). The undead are screwed, but how is that a bad thing? Considering people live just fine above the Arctic Circle with 6 months of straight light at a time, I don´t think humans will have a hard time either. Some will get insomnia, but if your game world has the curtain it shouldn´t be that bad. I think it´s more accurate to say that wildlife and plants would be negatively effected by the changes. It´s also safe to say that there would be some global warming with the new source of heat, which could be more dangerous than the constant light (glaciers melting and so on). Your scenario also provides a great opportunity for political intrigue. There are probably some Churches (with portfolios like Sun, Light or Fire) that WANT the portal (or whatever they think it is) to remain open. Your players might find themselves with opposition from unexpected quarters, like the main opponents of the Undead, who are ignorant of the potential negative effects but support the change for the benefits.
ck2001wendt 08-19-04, 11:27 AM	#### Return of the Atlanteans (or Netherese, or whatever): The Atlanteans (or other major ancient people), who plane-shifted their continent to another world millenia ago, return to the world for mysterious reasons. -If the continent returns to the seabed, the geographic effects are instantaneous: the displacement of millions of cubic gallons of ocean threatens to flood the lowlands in the rest of the world. -Whether by sea or by air, the return of a powerful kingdom (probably with magic far in advance of modern arcane) signals a totally new competitor in the world´s balence of power, one that could signal monumental changes. Especially if the Atlanteans feel the new kingdoms sit on territory that once belonged to them. #### Good Old Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Perhaps it´s been said already, but four beings of unimaginable power descend at the four corners of the world and begin cutting an unbelievable swath of destruction toward some point in the middle, harbingers of the Apocalypse. -Plague sickens tens or hundreds of thousands, and is joined by the World´s most powerful Cancer Mages (BoED) and various disease carrying creatures. -Pestilence leads an army of viscious giant Locusts, Ants, Wasps, Spiders, and Snakes, as well as Blighter lieutenants (Complete Divine) devouring all human and animal life in its path. -The mere presence of War immediately rekindles old conflicts or starts new ones, as he and his army of Drow, or Giants, or Evil Dwarves, or Humans, or whatever, conquer whoever survives. -And finally Death, the most powerful Horseman, and an army of thousands of intelligent and unintelligent undead, led by Liches and Necromancers, cuts a swath of death (and undeath) throughout its part of the world.
Drachasor 08-19-04, 12:54 PM	(I believe I counted from #69 correctly--but I didn't double-check) #92 The World Within Some months ago.... Underdark races across the globe have tunneled quite deeply. About they same time, they all come across an adamantium wall (magically enchanted and unbreakable), seemingly encasing the core of the planet. A group of Deep Gnomes uncovers a doorway and opens it....only to find more Underdark. Exploring this realm, they quickly realize it is another world. Unfortunately, everything is extremely tough on this hearty planet (+20 Hit Dice--with all that entails and damage is increased too), and the Gnomes are quickly killed by what would have normally been trivial opponents. As the doorway stays open, vermin and other creatures of this world naturally spread though....and eventually the alternate Drow find out and venture into an unsuspecting world. #93 Too Much of a Good Thing A powerfully magic group of near god-like entities comes to the world. They are good and actively stop the spread of disease and accidental death. Anytime things go wrong they set them right again. They don't destroy any nation, but they do try to change them to good (they have some patience though). They feed the hungry and provide high quality items and construction for everyone.... However, the common man is losing his desire to accomplish anything. If these newcomers can do it better and cheaper, then why bother? Also, everyone is behaving more and more carelessly, as the newcomers quickly stop such laziness from ending in death or permanent harm. Slowly but surely, the desire for achievement is disappearing, as everything is provided for by the newcomers and the common man has nothing to give. Some nations try to resist and put off help, but they just can't withstand the might of the newcomers. (It is important here, imho, that the newcomers *are* Good, but they are too stubborn to comprehend the consequences of their actions). #94 Chaotic Greedy A group of highly powered epic NPCs comes to the world determined to loot it all. They kill people without any good reason and always shoot first before shooting some more. All the time they are gather up any possession worth more than 1 GP, and packing it into their Epic Bags of Holding. All the nations must band together, with the help of the PCs, to stop this menace! -Drachasor