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#1 universalsnip Oct 24, 2003 14:16:04

Note: "Epic" means Epic as in lvl 20+. "epic" means epic in the… other sense. So what is a Destruction? A Destruction is a focus of power on a particular place, causing spectacular and rarely beneficial effects. Keep in the mind that while a Destruction is definitely epic, it doesn’t have to be Epic. They also do not necessarily have to involve total annihilation; if it’s a display that awes, shocks, and impresses, it’s probably a Destruction. Make it humbling! What causes a Destruction? Think of things that alter the basic makeup of their surroundings in powerful ways -- artifacts and gods being good examples. Now consider them nodes in a little map of your multiverse; they twist and buckle the world around them. Now, what if a node is suddenly removed (an artifact is destroyed), changes it’s influence (a god uses up all her power in some sort of desperation attack), or is added (a bag of holding and a portable hole, or possibly an insanely powerful one shot spell)? Reality changes in interesting ways, and that’s not healthy for your multiverse. So, to balance things out, something happens that will scar the minds of geologists for millenia to come. Maybe Atlantis sinks on Earth. Maybe the effect comes out at the point that caused it. I hope your PCs have a nice view. What is a “good view”? An epic destruction will generally have put the viewpoint in one of three places: 1) Inside the destruction. There is an enormous burst of energy and the powers that be smash everything. Survival is barely achieved, or isn’t achieved, in which case you have a TPK. The word "blinding" is involved. If it’s straight death and doom, it might be best to avoid this unless you’re REALLY high level, or it’ll seem quite implausible when the PCs survive it but nothing else does. 2) Right outside the area of effect. As everything goes to hell, there is a sudden, startling, disturbing change. For example, several tons of earth explode upwards not a foot from the viewer, spikes sprout from the inside of everything within a circle that barely ended in time (thus causing total mayhem and agonizing death), ect. This creates a feeling of a close shave with mortality. 3) From a far distance. The viewer stares in awe as the unleashing of mind-blowing amounts of energy causes predictably bad effects. A freak accident with a couple of rope trick scrolls carelessly left at a local carnival (don’t ask) causes a nuke-like explosion, throwing the PCs to the ground and making their hair fly in the hot wind on a hill a few miles away. As they pick themselves up, something vaguely recognizable as a charred and warped bone lands on the bard, knocking him out as the rest of the party simply stares at the circle of ash. Note: To get anything except view number 1, there has to be a delay while the pressure builds and the party moves around, probably unaware of the coming catastrophe. It’s irritating and illogical for the actual effect to start one hundred feet from the cause. On the other hand, it may be something that moves for quite some distance before actually activating, or the destruction might something the BBEG did. What is the impact of a Destruction? First, every local ruler within fifty miles is going to panic and assume the same thing will happen to them, whether it was a village or a forest that was flattened. Second, the major ruler (king) will be alarmed, angered, and scared. Expect the army, royal investigations, and songs about totally mythical monsters roaming the land in the pubs. International relations will become touch and go as everyone wonders what the hell is going on, particularly the spies in the court. Martial law is probable. Trade to the area might dwindle, or, in the rare case that it’s more fascinating than scary, tourists will travel to see the remains. Third, someone’s going to be connected it - your party, the BBEG, whoever. That person will feared, respected, and possibly hunted. Fourth, if the PCs caused it, make them feel the weight of responsibility. It may not have altered the whole world (if it did, either you’re playing Epic or Final Fantasy), but it has very real significance for the inhabitants. This is a major part of making them automatically remember it when making major decisions. Take as a theoretical example: The PCs tracked an Illithid party cut off from return to the their homes to their last refuge - the catacombs beneath a church in a conveniently located town. They’d stolen a variety of powerful magical items and built a laboratory with the intention of concocting a return, although the PCs don’t know their goal. The Paladin head of the guard has been secretly offering them aid in return for not harming the town denizens, fearing that fighting them would cause the needless death of innocents. In the big showdown in the laboratory, somebody needlessly sets off the incomplete machine. It starts operating a few minutes after they leave. While working their way through the wreckage, they find the paladin, sitting on a piece of rubble, his head between his hands and a blank, shocked look on his face. He says nothing at first, and then haltingly tells the whole story. Afterward he stumbles off into the desolation. When the PCs catch up to him, they find he’s driven his sword through his heart. How Should You Not Use a Destruction?. 1) Do not punish your PCs with a Destruction. It’s not a way to slap your players, it’s a plot event. On the opposite side, if they do something truly stupid, like enlarging a Sphere of Annihilation and trying to control it, you’re probably justified. 2) Do not use a Destruction TPK without giving them a resurrection. Once again, the exception is somebody who yells "Wheeeee! I guide the ship closer to the whirlpool for a better look!" 3) If a Destruction happens, do not grant miracles for plot purposes. If it’s logically impossible for an important NPC to survive, they don’t. Either figure out a plausible way to resurrect them, or live with it and start figuring out a way to replace your broken hook. 4) Do not take a Destruction from an action movie. Why? Because in an action movie, the extant of it is that the hero flies away while the destruction happens behind them. After that, it has no impact. When they think of your campaign, a Destruction should rank within the first three things they fondly recall, probably right after their character.