Age of Avatars - Campaign Idea - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 FrozenWastes Mar 01, 2010 8:53:29	As mortals reckon time, a generation has come and gone since the world was sealed. Despite your legions of angelic servants and your great divine power, you are no closer to discerning the cause behind it than when it first happened. You've discussed the matter with your peers and many theories have been put forward. Is it a plot of a great demon lord? Perhaps the World Spirit has had enough of the unnatural and shut the doors. Could one of your fellows have wrought such a mighy work for some secret purpose? Whatever the cause, one thing is sure. You and your fellow gods have been cut off from the world. Where you once heard countless thousands of prayers, you now only hear a handful of the most faithful. Every attempt to send a servant to the mortal realm has failed. Even scrying upon the mortal realm has failed. The greatest clues have come from the few prayers you have still been able to hear. Magic seems to have left the world. No cleric can channel your power and no wizard can work a spell. Well, if only it was so absolute. The most troubling prayers you have heard are those asking why those who invoke the names of demons can wield the supernatural. And why the restless dead continue to walk. As the years past, the prayers you heard continued to diminish. Whether because they perished or lost their faith, one by one the voices have dropped away. And where are the souls of the dead going? Not one has passed into your realm or the realms of your fellow gods in the last century. There is one last way for you to get answers. One last way to commune with your faithful. Rumours have reached you that others have already tried it. Some of your fellow gods as well as great archons and demon lords have already taken the journey. You have gone to visit some of them and seen them sit motionless upon their throne. The time has come for you as well. To send your essence into the mortal realm so you may act direclty... ---------------------------- Each Player Character will be the Avatar of a great supernatural force (likely a god). They will be the divine mantle that has come to rest on a mortal, utterly transforming them. Or perhaps they will create a form for themselves out of the elements of the mortal realm. The PCs will be beings of true power. Before them all beings that are not partakers of a supernatural spark count as minions. No mortal warrior can stand before them in battle. Only they and those like them can wield otherworldy power. All beings that are not of supernatural origin, great magical creatures, undead, etc., are minions before the might of the PCs. Names/Identity. How the identity, memory and mind of each supernatural being is expressed in it's Avatar is unique. Perhaps a PC will go by their divine name or perhaps a new name. Or perhaps they will see themselve as the son or daughter of their divine force. Perhaps they will retain much of the identity and relationships of the mortal they have come to rest upon. Magic Items/treature/etc., -- there are no magic items to be found in the world. Gods and demon kings will craft their own through their deeds. Items used by the PCs may be elevated to magic item status during the game. The PCs may also receive alternate rewards as per DMG2, Dragon/Dungeon magazine, etc.,. Gold has no intrinsic magical property and residuum is now simply white dust. PCs will have a level appropriate budget to spend on rituals, components, magic items, etc., that will use the reward guidelines in DMG1. Any PC can relinquish the elevated magic item status of an item for 20% of it's value to be added to their budget. Gold, gems, etc., can be used for mundane equipment and for the furthering of their political/instituional interests. Rituals -- All of the old rituals no longer function. The PCs and NPCs that make up the Avatars in the mortal realm will have to write new functional versions of the rituals. The Demons have a head start on this as their rites have not failed. Skills -- Much of each Avatar's supernatural mind is unable to make the journey through the seal around the mortal realm. As the Avatars grow in power, they shall surely regain their lost knowledge. Regular skill rules are being used. Skill checks may include information/aptitude from divine memory at the DM's descrition based on the die roll. Feats -- No change here. As the Avatars grow in power and their supernatural presence is more keenly focused in their forms, they will unlock new abilities. Death -- Who can say what will happen if an immortal being dies while they are a flesh and blood creature? Perhaps an Avatar will craft a new Raise Dead ritual once they are sufficiently powerful. Perhaps they can find another vessel for their divine spark? Perhaps their divine spark will pass to whereever the souls of the dead now reside? Party -- Fate has a way of working to bring the lead actors in the cosmic play onto the stage together. Perhaps the PCs are all gods who agreed to work together to break the seal around the Mortal Realm. Perhaps there is something special about a certain place that has drawn their essence together. Opposition -- The PCs are fighting for creation itself. Mighy liches, demon princes, rival gods, primodeals and their archons as well as those who have already learned to channel such power will make up their non-minion adversaries. The PCs will be engaging with things normally only encountered in the high Paragon and Epic tiers, but they will be re-leveled appropriately. As well, the world has undergone massive change and the previously strong have been made weak and the previously weak have been made powerful. Great Wyrms may wither in size and stature without magic to sustain them. A craven and weak minded cultist may channel a demon lord directly and become a being of true power. Quests -- The first quests will likely be about finding answers to specific questions. Discovering the new state of affairs and learning of tales of true power. Perhaps they will gather a following, try to revitalize the faith of those who have yearned so long to hear from them. Perhaps they will throw themselves into the focusing of their divine power so they can divine answers through magic. Thoughts? Ideas? Comments?
#2 strand0 Mar 04, 2010 21:49:38	What mechanics are you planning? I'd use Hero System/Champions or Mutants and Masterminds.
#3 FrozenWastes Mar 05, 2010 3:15:31	What mechanics are you planning? I'd use Hero System/Champions or Mutants and Masterminds. 4th edition D&D with level 1 characters. 4th ed is already pretty much a super hero game. The lowest power PCs can take punishment well beyond a normal person. My favorite part about using 4e for such a game is that XP/Levels isn't so much a power mechanic but a pacing mechanic. All of the monsters are built on a level forumula and leveling them up and down is so easy. And the minion mechanics are the perfect thing to differentiate divine/supernatural beings and mundane beings.
#4 urpriest Mar 05, 2010 16:09:13	One thing you might want to think about is whether the avatars are designed and crafted by the gods or whether they're preexisting humans given divine consciousness. Either creates interesting implications. Also, what would be up with PC clerics, warlocks, and perhaps dragon sorcerors? How do you make sense of a PC class built around worshipping another being? If it's self-directed, then why don't all the avatars have similar powers?
#5 samuraichicken Mar 05, 2010 16:47:47	This is a pretty fun idea. I once had a similar idea, except the PCs were demigods who would go on heroic journeys to earn the right to be full-fledged gods (similar to what hercules had to go through). Your idea, however, is probably better - you are a god, but you can only channel but a portion of your power onto the material world. As for divine characters, I don't see the "worship" thing as a problem at all. It's mostly just roleplaying, anyways. A PC who plays a cleric would be a god that uses inspiration, hope, etc. A PC who plays a sorcerer would be more of an elemental god (like a deity of fire - hey look Pelor is a dragon magic (fire) sorcerer! who would have thought). One thing I disagree with are rituals - I don't like the idea of removing them from the game entierly. If your group has no ritual casters, than this is not a problem. However if a member of your group is a ritual caster, you should allow them to have rituals (they are gods, remember?), since rituals are expected to be a balancing factor for that class. I have no problem with not allowing characters the Ritual Caster feat - make that something only avaliable to the classes that get it for free.
#6 mieorabloodsong Mar 05, 2010 23:58:03	They could always interchange Ritual Caster and Alchemist in the AV1. As I recall it says if you have the ritual caster feat as a class feature you can change it out for the Alchemist feat.
#7 FrozenWastes Mar 06, 2010 2:47:16	One thing you might want to think about is whether the avatars are designed and crafted by the gods or whether they're preexisting humans given divine consciousness. Either creates interesting implications. It certainly does. And each player would get to decide. They might have one last true follower who gives up their body to be the vessel of their god. They might create a body out of nothing. They might elevate a mortal and that mortal retains their personality/memory. As the players are playing the gods of the universe, they can decide how they manifest. Also, what would be up with PC clerics, warlocks, and perhaps dragon sorcerors? How do you make sense of a PC class built around worshipping another being? If it's self-directed, then why don't all the avatars have similar powers? The avatars are a focusing/embodiment of divine power. Until they can grow to have access to more and more of their power, they have only a piece of it. As for worship/pacts/etc., it again will depend on the nature of the manifestation. The mortal who retains their identity will probably see themselves as distinct of their patron. The avatar who makes a body from nothing would be tapping into their own divine power. As to why the avatars don't have similar powers? The gods are different. Why would a god of the sun and a god of shadows manifest the same powers? You could also have avatars who don't know their true identity and manifest based on their personalities. Perhaps the act of manifesting in the material plane strips an avatar of the domains of their godform and then they are redistributed based on the same unknown factors that caused the world to be sealed. In the end, it's up to the players to decide how they manifest and how their powers come about. Yes, you could even have a divine avatar that arrives with little or no power and then makes a bargain with another divine being for some power. Your idea, however, is probably better - you are a god, but you can only channel but a portion of your power onto the material world. I think the limiting of the divine as it becomes material is probably one of the easiest ways to make it all work with the rules of 4E. As for divine characters, I don't see the "worship" thing as a problem at all. It's mostly just roleplaying, anyways. A PC who plays a cleric would be a god that uses inspiration, hope, etc. A PC who plays a sorcerer would be more of an elemental god (like a deity of fire - hey look Pelor is a dragon magic (fire) sorcerer! who would have thought). Exactly. There's a helpful blurb at the beginning of Player's Handbook 2: "A power’s flavor text is only a starting point. You can modify that flavor however you like, as long as you don’t change the power’s game effects. Maybe you would rather think of the barbarian power macetail’s rage as channeling the World Serpent, a primal spirit that appears in some shaman powers. You might say, “The earth shakes beneath my feet as the World Serpent stirs, knocking my foe to the ground!” -- PHB 2, p4, Your Part in the Story

Post/Author/DateTime

Post

FrozenWastes

Mar 01, 2010 8:53:29

As mortals reckon time, a generation has come and gone since the world was sealed.

Despite your legions of angelic servants and your great divine power, you are no closer to discerning the cause behind it than when it first happened.

You've discussed the matter with your peers and many theories have been put forward.

Is it a plot of a great demon lord?

Perhaps the World Spirit has had enough of the unnatural and shut the doors.

Could one of your fellows have wrought such a mighy work for some secret purpose?

Whatever the cause, one thing is sure. You and your fellow gods have been cut off from the world. Where you once heard countless thousands of prayers, you now only hear a handful of the most faithful. Every attempt to send a servant to the mortal realm has failed. Even scrying upon the mortal realm has failed.

The greatest clues have come from the few prayers you have still been able to hear. Magic seems to have left the world. No cleric can channel your power and no wizard can work a spell. Well, if only it was so absolute.

The most troubling prayers you have heard are those asking why those who invoke the names of demons can wield the supernatural. And why the restless dead continue to walk.

As the years past, the prayers you heard continued to diminish. Whether because they perished or lost their faith, one by one the voices have dropped away.

And where are the souls of the dead going? Not one has passed into your realm or the realms of your fellow gods in the last century.

There is one last way for you to get answers. One last way to commune with your faithful. Rumours have reached you that others have already tried it. Some of your fellow gods as well as great archons and demon lords have already taken the journey. You have gone to visit some of them and seen them sit motionless upon their throne.

The time has come for you as well. To send your essence into the mortal realm so you may act direclty...

----------------------------
Each Player Character will be the Avatar of a great supernatural force (likely a god). They will be the divine mantle that has come to rest on a mortal, utterly transforming them. Or perhaps they will create a form for themselves out of the elements of the mortal realm.

The PCs will be beings of true power. Before them all beings that are not partakers of a supernatural spark count as minions. No mortal warrior can stand before them in battle. Only they and those like them can wield otherworldy power. All beings that are not of supernatural origin, great magical creatures, undead, etc., are minions before the might of the PCs.

Names/Identity. How the identity, memory and mind of each supernatural being is expressed in it's Avatar is unique. Perhaps a PC will go by their divine name or perhaps a new name. Or perhaps they will see themselve as the son or daughter of their divine force. Perhaps they will retain much of the identity and relationships of the mortal they have come to rest upon.

Magic Items/treature/etc., -- there are no magic items to be found in the world. Gods and demon kings will craft their own through their deeds. Items used by the PCs may be elevated to magic item status during the game. The PCs may also receive alternate rewards as per DMG2, Dragon/Dungeon magazine, etc.,. Gold has no intrinsic magical property and residuum is now simply white dust. PCs will have a level appropriate budget to spend on rituals, components, magic items, etc., that will use the reward guidelines in DMG1. Any PC can relinquish the elevated magic item status of an item for 20% of it's value to be added to their budget. Gold, gems, etc., can be used for mundane equipment and for the furthering of their political/instituional interests.

Rituals -- All of the old rituals no longer function. The PCs and NPCs that make up the Avatars in the mortal realm will have to write new functional versions of the rituals. The Demons have a head start on this as their rites have not failed.

Skills -- Much of each Avatar's supernatural mind is unable to make the journey through the seal around the mortal realm. As the Avatars grow in power, they shall surely regain their lost knowledge. Regular skill rules are being used. Skill checks may include information/aptitude from divine memory at the DM's descrition based on the die roll.

Feats -- No change here. As the Avatars grow in power and their supernatural presence is more keenly focused in their forms, they will unlock new abilities.

Death -- Who can say what will happen if an immortal being dies while they are a flesh and blood creature? Perhaps an Avatar will craft a new Raise Dead ritual once they are sufficiently powerful. Perhaps they can find another vessel for their divine spark? Perhaps their divine spark will pass to whereever the souls of the dead now reside?

Party -- Fate has a way of working to bring the lead actors in the cosmic play onto the stage together. Perhaps the PCs are all gods who agreed to work together to break the seal around the Mortal Realm. Perhaps there is something special about a certain place that has drawn their essence together.

Opposition -- The PCs are fighting for creation itself. Mighy liches, demon princes, rival gods, primodeals and their archons as well as those who have already learned to channel such power will make up their non-minion adversaries. The PCs will be engaging with things normally only encountered in the high Paragon and Epic tiers, but they will be re-leveled appropriately. As well, the world has undergone massive change and the previously strong have been made weak and the previously weak have been made powerful. Great Wyrms may wither in size and stature without magic to sustain them. A craven and weak minded cultist may channel a demon lord directly and become a being of true power.

Quests -- The first quests will likely be about finding answers to specific questions. Discovering the new state of affairs and learning of tales of true power. Perhaps they will gather a following, try to revitalize the faith of those who have yearned so long to hear from them. Perhaps they will throw themselves into the focusing of their divine power so they can divine answers through magic.

Thoughts? Ideas? Comments?

strand0

Mar 04, 2010 21:49:38

What mechanics are you planning?

I'd use Hero System/Champions or Mutants and Masterminds.

FrozenWastes

Mar 05, 2010 3:15:31

What mechanics are you planning?

I'd use Hero System/Champions or Mutants and Masterminds.

4th edition D&D with level 1 characters.

4th ed is already pretty much a super hero game. The lowest power PCs can take punishment well beyond a normal person.

My favorite part about using 4e for such a game is that XP/Levels isn't so much a power mechanic but a pacing mechanic. All of the monsters are built on a level forumula and leveling them up and down is so easy.

And the minion mechanics are the perfect thing to differentiate divine/supernatural beings and mundane beings.

urpriest

Mar 05, 2010 16:09:13

One thing you might want to think about is whether the avatars are designed and crafted by the gods or whether they're preexisting humans given divine consciousness. Either creates interesting implications.

Also, what would be up with PC clerics, warlocks, and perhaps dragon sorcerors? How do you make sense of a PC class built around worshipping another being? If it's self-directed, then why don't all the avatars have similar powers?

samuraichicken

Mar 05, 2010 16:47:47

This is a pretty fun idea. I once had a similar idea, except the PCs were demigods who would go on heroic journeys to earn the right to be full-fledged gods (similar to what hercules had to go through). Your idea, however, is probably better - you are a god, but you can only channel but a portion of your power onto the material world.

As for divine characters, I don't see the "worship" thing as a problem at all. It's mostly just roleplaying, anyways. A PC who plays a cleric would be a god that uses inspiration, hope, etc. A PC who plays a sorcerer would be more of an elemental god (like a deity of fire - hey look Pelor is a dragon magic (fire) sorcerer! who would have thought).

One thing I disagree with are rituals - I don't like the idea of removing them from the game entierly. If your group has no ritual casters, than this is not a problem. However if a member of your group is a ritual caster, you should allow them to have rituals (they are gods, remember?), since rituals are expected to be a balancing factor for that class. I have no problem with not allowing characters the Ritual Caster feat - make that something only avaliable to the classes that get it for free.

mieorabloodsong

Mar 05, 2010 23:58:03

They could always interchange Ritual Caster and Alchemist in the AV1. As I recall it says if you have the ritual caster feat as a class feature you can change it out for the Alchemist feat.

FrozenWastes

Mar 06, 2010 2:47:16

One thing you might want to think about is whether the avatars are designed and crafted by the gods or whether they're preexisting humans given divine consciousness. Either creates interesting implications.

It certainly does. And each player would get to decide. They might have one last true follower who gives up their body to be the vessel of their god. They might create a body out of nothing. They might elevate a mortal and that mortal retains their personality/memory. As the players are playing the gods of the universe, they can decide how they manifest.

Also, what would be up with PC clerics, warlocks, and perhaps dragon sorcerors? How do you make sense of a PC class built around worshipping another being? If it's self-directed, then why don't all the avatars have similar powers?

The avatars are a focusing/embodiment of divine power. Until they can grow to have access to more and more of their power, they have only a piece of it.

As for worship/pacts/etc., it again will depend on the nature of the manifestation. The mortal who retains their identity will probably see themselves as distinct of their patron. The avatar who makes a body from nothing would be tapping into their own divine power.

As to why the avatars don't have similar powers? The gods are different. Why would a god of the sun and a god of shadows manifest the same powers? You could also have avatars who don't know their true identity and manifest based on their personalities. Perhaps the act of manifesting in the material plane strips an avatar of the domains of their godform and then they are redistributed based on the same unknown factors that caused the world to be sealed.

In the end, it's up to the players to decide how they manifest and how their powers come about. Yes, you could even have a divine avatar that arrives with little or no power and then makes a bargain with another divine being for some power.

Your idea, however, is probably better - you are a god, but you can only channel but a portion of your power onto the material world.

I think the limiting of the divine as it becomes material is probably one of the easiest ways to make it all work with the rules of 4E.

As for divine characters, I don't see the "worship" thing as a problem at all. It's mostly just roleplaying, anyways. A PC who plays a cleric would be a god that uses inspiration, hope, etc. A PC who plays a sorcerer would be more of an elemental god (like a deity of fire - hey look Pelor is a dragon magic (fire) sorcerer! who would have thought).

Exactly. There's a helpful blurb at the beginning of Player's Handbook 2:

"A power’s flavor text is only a starting point. You can modify that flavor however you like, as long as you don’t change the power’s game effects. Maybe you would rather think of the barbarian power macetail’s rage as channeling the World Serpent, a primal spirit that appears in some shaman powers. You might say, “The earth shakes beneath my feet as the World Serpent stirs, knocking my foe to the ground!”
-- PHB 2, p4, Your Part in the Story