need help with the climax of an urban arcana campaign. - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

need help with the climax of an urban arcana campaign.

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
mindpirate
Jul 17, 2010 23:03:40 how would one theroeticly and in a thematicly appropriate manner seperate a wolrd from the multiverse?

be as vauge or as specific as you please, I just would appricate the help springbording.
#2
rustam1
Jul 18, 2010 20:27:13 How about...

Performing a ritual combining Dimensional Anchor, Arcane Seal, and Power Inversion.
Probably requires three casters chanting in unison.
Probably requires presents of open gate to specified dimension.
#3
TheRealOrion
Jul 20, 2010 2:34:00 Man, that's a vast and intriguing question.

I'd have to, first, define a "world" as a solar system, because a planet wouldn't survive without its star, but you'd have a planet with no night sky past local satellites or other bodies orbiting the local star. On an aesthetic level, then, you could kick off the whole thing by having the stars start to wink out, perhaps the most distant ones first in order to create tension. From there, you could have your PCs seek out how it happened?

Just a thought.
#4
taradusis
Jul 24, 2010 15:55:08 In spelljammer every solar system was enclosed in a crystal sphere and floated in Phogiston. Suppose a god got enough followers and closed off the world as his playground?
#5
taradusis
Jul 25, 2010 21:57:23 Now suppose an evil god was closing off the solar system as his own playground. He could have a giant Pandora's box that contains demons or devils based on the seven deadly sins. If the pcs fail to prevent the opening of Pandora's box they might waste a lot of time trying to stop the seven deadly sins,just the distraction the evil god/dess needs. What about Kali as the evil goddess of life-death-rebirth with a few allies like Shiva?
#6
TheRealOrion
Jul 26, 2010 1:34:26 I'm no expert on Hindu mythology, but my understanding is that Kali and Shiva are not "evil" gods. Setting them up as the villains would be similar to setting up St. Peter as the would-be destroyer of the Earth, wouldn't it?
#7
taradusis
Jul 26, 2010 21:27:05 This is where the alignment system really breaks down. If memory serves me both gods were evil in 2 Ed D+D but were dropped from later editions by publishers who were becoming oddly politically correct. I mean I'm not even certain you can still call a devil a devil or talk about Homo Sapiens without them getting weird.
#8
taradusis
Jul 27, 2010 23:35:35 MAKE THE WORLD GO AWAY ,AND GET IT OFF OF MY SHOULDERS,SAY THE THINGS YOU USED TO SAY,AND MAKE THE WORLD GO AWAAAAAY.....What are some reasons for making the world go isolationist. Because why you do it effects how you proceed?
scientific
Nemesis (a black hole)is coming. Entropy can be averted. Allows solar sytem to be moved? Contains sun's energy,warms up solar system like a dyson's sphere?
#9
TheRealOrion
Jul 28, 2010 2:05:51
This is where the alignment system really breaks down. If memory serves me both gods were evil in 2 Ed D+D but were dropped from later editions by publishers who were becoming oddly politically correct. I mean I'm not even certain you can still call a devil a devil or talk about Homo Sapiens without them getting weird.

I don't know what you mean by "political correctness." I suspect that they realised that they were quite simply dead wrong about how those two deities function in Hindu mythology.
#10
DwarfFighter
Jul 28, 2010 8:36:44
how would one theroeticly and in a thematicly appropriate manner seperate a wolrd from the multiverse?

be as vauge or as specific as you please, I just would appricate the help springbording.

I don't follow. What would "separating the world from the multi-verse" actually mean for the game world? That the PCs can't visit alternate Earths?

-DF

#11
taradusis
Jul 29, 2010 19:23:28 REAL ORION--they didn't just change alignments. They dropped the entire pantheon once they realised there were still hindus. They also dropped an arthurian mythology along the way as well,the subject of the Crusades a hot button topic? DWARF FIGHTER---a god could do this to limit other gods access to the world?
#12
TheRealOrion
Jul 29, 2010 19:33:11 Seems quite reasonable to decide to not turn a living religion into characters in an RPG. No idea why they might have dropped Arthur, though. The Holy Grail is one of his most famous stories, sure, but he was also created around the 5th century, well before the actual Crusades. But that's neither here nor there, really. It'd be interesting to do a side-by-side comparison of the mythologies removed or added to their Gods and Demigods books, and then to get some inside dope as to why they did it. Cultural sensitivity was likely a part of it, but there's no way to know unless they tell us.
#13
taradusis
Jul 29, 2010 20:09:17
Now ,this would be an interesting take on this world. As the magic comes back all these "Lost Pantheons" try take the world for their own?
ARTHURIAN
King Arthur and the knights of the round table are chasing the questing beast. Do the PCs start as knights of renown? How do they react to modern muslims?
#14
TheRealOrion
Jul 29, 2010 20:58:36 That's a great idea. Reset the clock back to when people really did make war to proclaim the power of their pantheons, but have those people commanded by the actual gods in question, all of them spreading the story that all the others are fakes, djinns, devils, and charlatans. Nice one.
#15
taradusis
Jul 31, 2010 10:44:40 If you had the blue book,Monster Mythology,you could use non-human deities. The Orc deities like baghtu are dumb as a fence post. The elvish deities could be trendy on the West Coast? The dwarven deities might be popular in towns,a dwarven motorcycle club as "Muscle"?
#16
taradusis
Aug 03, 2010 22:58:16 This is,at heart, an Armageddon or apocalyptic scenario. Not everybody is afraid of this world ending and the next beginning. Even groups that agree the goal is worth achieving may be the ones who want to make it happen. This should be like "It's a mad,mad,mad,mad,mad, MAD world." The screwball groups and their shifting alliances should virtually require a scorecard to keep track of.
#17
taradusis
Aug 08, 2010 1:03:04 Now,some scientists have speculated about Nemesis. Nemesis is a black hole or neutron star that has a wide orbit about earth and shows up every 60-70 million years to cause mass extinctions on Earth. If a group of Scientists spotted the arrival of Nemesis we could have a crash program to separate us from the same universe as this black hole? The pcs could protect researchers from assassins. People will blame the scientists and want to kill them. People will think the scientists are lying and trying to gain power and want to kill them. People will want to pray Nemesis away and want to kill the Scientists. Some countries will get paranoid and want to control what happens,they will kill other countries scientists to advance their own people or to have the honor of saving earth. Saving the earth means a lot of government contracts,corporations will want to control or kill scientists for profit. So basically this is a bad time to be a scientist,hope the pcs can target and destroy threats to scientists and their research facilities.
#18
AdmiralRanger
Aug 09, 2010 3:18:57 It is not that the pc's are seperated from the multiuniverse; it is that the multiuniverse has been destroyed and all that is left is Earth.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 mindpirate Jul 17, 2010 23:03:40	how would one theroeticly and in a thematicly appropriate manner seperate a wolrd from the multiverse? be as vauge or as specific as you please, I just would appricate the help springbording.
#2 rustam1 Jul 18, 2010 20:27:13	How about... Performing a ritual combining Dimensional Anchor, Arcane Seal, and Power Inversion. Probably requires three casters chanting in unison. Probably requires presents of open gate to specified dimension.
#3 TheRealOrion Jul 20, 2010 2:34:00	Man, that's a vast and intriguing question. I'd have to, first, define a "world" as a solar system, because a planet wouldn't survive without its star, but you'd have a planet with no night sky past local satellites or other bodies orbiting the local star. On an aesthetic level, then, you could kick off the whole thing by having the stars start to wink out, perhaps the most distant ones first in order to create tension. From there, you could have your PCs seek out how it happened? Just a thought.
#4 taradusis Jul 24, 2010 15:55:08	In spelljammer every solar system was enclosed in a crystal sphere and floated in Phogiston. Suppose a god got enough followers and closed off the world as his playground?
#5 taradusis Jul 25, 2010 21:57:23	Now suppose an evil god was closing off the solar system as his own playground. He could have a giant Pandora's box that contains demons or devils based on the seven deadly sins. If the pcs fail to prevent the opening of Pandora's box they might waste a lot of time trying to stop the seven deadly sins,just the distraction the evil god/dess needs. What about Kali as the evil goddess of life-death-rebirth with a few allies like Shiva?
#6 TheRealOrion Jul 26, 2010 1:34:26	I'm no expert on Hindu mythology, but my understanding is that Kali and Shiva are not "evil" gods. Setting them up as the villains would be similar to setting up St. Peter as the would-be destroyer of the Earth, wouldn't it?
#7 taradusis Jul 26, 2010 21:27:05	This is where the alignment system really breaks down. If memory serves me both gods were evil in 2 Ed D+D but were dropped from later editions by publishers who were becoming oddly politically correct. I mean I'm not even certain you can still call a devil a devil or talk about Homo Sapiens without them getting weird.
#8 taradusis Jul 27, 2010 23:35:35	MAKE THE WORLD GO AWAY ,AND GET IT OFF OF MY SHOULDERS,SAY THE THINGS YOU USED TO SAY,AND MAKE THE WORLD GO AWAAAAAY.....What are some reasons for making the world go isolationist. Because why you do it effects how you proceed? scientific Nemesis (a black hole)is coming. Entropy can be averted. Allows solar sytem to be moved? Contains sun's energy,warms up solar system like a dyson's sphere?
#9 TheRealOrion Jul 28, 2010 2:05:51	This is where the alignment system really breaks down. If memory serves me both gods were evil in 2 Ed D+D but were dropped from later editions by publishers who were becoming oddly politically correct. I mean I'm not even certain you can still call a devil a devil or talk about Homo Sapiens without them getting weird. I don't know what you mean by "political correctness." I suspect that they realised that they were quite simply dead wrong about how those two deities function in Hindu mythology.
#10 DwarfFighter Jul 28, 2010 8:36:44	how would one theroeticly and in a thematicly appropriate manner seperate a wolrd from the multiverse? be as vauge or as specific as you please, I just would appricate the help springbording. I don't follow. What would "separating the world from the multi-verse" actually mean for the game world? That the PCs can't visit alternate Earths? -DF
#11 taradusis Jul 29, 2010 19:23:28	REAL ORION--they didn't just change alignments. They dropped the entire pantheon once they realised there were still hindus. They also dropped an arthurian mythology along the way as well,the subject of the Crusades a hot button topic? DWARF FIGHTER---a god could do this to limit other gods access to the world?
#12 TheRealOrion Jul 29, 2010 19:33:11	Seems quite reasonable to decide to not turn a living religion into characters in an RPG. No idea why they might have dropped Arthur, though. The Holy Grail is one of his most famous stories, sure, but he was also created around the 5th century, well before the actual Crusades. But that's neither here nor there, really. It'd be interesting to do a side-by-side comparison of the mythologies removed or added to their Gods and Demigods books, and then to get some inside dope as to why they did it. Cultural sensitivity was likely a part of it, but there's no way to know unless they tell us.
#13 taradusis Jul 29, 2010 20:09:17	Now ,this would be an interesting take on this world. As the magic comes back all these "Lost Pantheons" try take the world for their own? ARTHURIAN King Arthur and the knights of the round table are chasing the questing beast. Do the PCs start as knights of renown? How do they react to modern muslims?
#14 TheRealOrion Jul 29, 2010 20:58:36	That's a great idea. Reset the clock back to when people really did make war to proclaim the power of their pantheons, but have those people commanded by the actual gods in question, all of them spreading the story that all the others are fakes, djinns, devils, and charlatans. Nice one.
#15 taradusis Jul 31, 2010 10:44:40	If you had the blue book,Monster Mythology,you could use non-human deities. The Orc deities like baghtu are dumb as a fence post. The elvish deities could be trendy on the West Coast? The dwarven deities might be popular in towns,a dwarven motorcycle club as "Muscle"?
#16 taradusis Aug 03, 2010 22:58:16	This is,at heart, an Armageddon or apocalyptic scenario. Not everybody is afraid of this world ending and the next beginning. Even groups that agree the goal is worth achieving may be the ones who want to make it happen. This should be like "It's a mad,mad,mad,mad,mad, MAD world." The screwball groups and their shifting alliances should virtually require a scorecard to keep track of.
#17 taradusis Aug 08, 2010 1:03:04	Now,some scientists have speculated about Nemesis. Nemesis is a black hole or neutron star that has a wide orbit about earth and shows up every 60-70 million years to cause mass extinctions on Earth. If a group of Scientists spotted the arrival of Nemesis we could have a crash program to separate us from the same universe as this black hole? The pcs could protect researchers from assassins. People will blame the scientists and want to kill them. People will think the scientists are lying and trying to gain power and want to kill them. People will want to pray Nemesis away and want to kill the Scientists. Some countries will get paranoid and want to control what happens,they will kill other countries scientists to advance their own people or to have the honor of saving earth. Saving the earth means a lot of government contracts,corporations will want to control or kill scientists for profit. So basically this is a bad time to be a scientist,hope the pcs can target and destroy threats to scientists and their research facilities.
#18 AdmiralRanger Aug 09, 2010 3:18:57	It is not that the pc's are seperated from the multiuniverse; it is that the multiuniverse has been destroyed and all that is left is Earth.