How to save a world, or trawling for ideas for such

[ZeroSpace9000]

I've got a game that may be coming together in the near future, and I've got a general idea of what I want to do with the game. The only thing is, I need a bit of help with a few of the details.

The gist of the campaign is that, due to a near total collapse of the pantheon due to an eldritch abomination, the world is falling apart. The gods, when they were still around, acted as pillars of reality, and with all of them save one gone, the world is simply withering away. The one remaining god will resurrect the PC's (who would have succumbed to perils of time, dying of old age) to help him fix the world.

The short of how this plan is supposed to work is by attempting to restore peoples faith, as that acts as power for deities. The thing I need some help with is coming up with some ideas for what the players need to do to fix things up. What I've come up with so far is having to rescue a scribe with a supernatural ability to empower his writings with magic. This will be seeing use by the servants of the aforementioned eldritch abomination, dubbed 'The Devourer', to produce demons born of suffering and pain, as scribe will be forced to write about the torment he endures. And yes, those 'demons born of suffering' are running Wrackspawn stats, out of MM5. Rescuing the scribe will not only cut off a decent source of troops for the Devourer, but the last god, who has the working name of Doros, will collaborate with the scribe to produce a holy book to help spread the word of faith.

I have a few other ideas, but they're a lot less fleshed out, and a lot less definite. I may be willing to scrap the 'holy book' idea, but that would require a suggestion that really wows me.

[HC Rainbow]

Very interesting..

You may want to start the PC's off in one of the very very few lands that is still owned by civilization, and have them help that civilization expand their land by defeating troops of demons and encampments throughout the area to make their city bigger. Once that gets too big help guide a group of townsfolk across the map to create another city, and build up civilization once more.

Maybe at some point you'll realize that resources around the world are very slim, so they'll need help from a powerful druid to help re-create the land, fertilize the land, create rivers for water, recreate forests for lumber, etc.

Later on start helping the world slowly bring about an immense army to fight off the demons, maybe you'll have them find a cave filled with ores and steel to make weaponry and armor to help fight off everything.

Maybe theres a quest to bring back one of the lesser deities through the help of a very powerful cleric, who at the time may have turned evil, but the PCs can try to restore his faith and bring about a second rising of that deity.


Theres tons of things you can do with this.

I love the concept though.

[FreakyCheeseMan]

Depending on the level of the campaign, I'd at least give the PCs the opportunity for apotheosis. As they go around rescuing specific communities or delaying the inevitable slide into chaos, give them the choice to dedicate their victory to a god, a concept, or themselves. Once enough belief is built up, either the gods are restored, humanity's faith in the ideals the PCs put forth becomes enough to support the universe, or the PCs take the place of the gods.

[Drork]

Two ideas I came up from this.

The players have to become gods doing god like things saving towns people fighting of demons etc will create believe behind them. You can work this in with the holy script writer creating their faiths as they embody who they are as godly persona.

The second idea I had was what if they cant win. Their actual charge is to get as many people races etc and spirit them to a new world leaving behind the creation of a hell for future myths of your world. That gods dont have to be dead they could have just abandoned the people. They can delay the coming of hell but only for so long well they help others make their escapes. Would create a situation where there are low resources and the pressure is always on, giving the chance for epic sacrifice holding the line or leaving people/races to die. In the end there is a literal paradise of a world with a hell below it. The PCs holding the line.

[Slipperychicken]

A brutal totalitarian dictator crushes faith wherever he sees it, in exchange for great power from the Abomination. This brazen persecution saps people's faith and makes them cynical and start to doubt the Gods. The PCs must assist the rebellion, unseat the dictator, and install a pro-God leader in his place. They get massive bonus points for making the dictator's death look like an Act of God (dress up as angels, descend from the sky? Lightning? Crash his own airship into him?), and doing it during one of his anti-faith speeches. That could make for a pretty epic confrontation.

[ZeroSpace9000]

A lot of really good ideas so far. In particular, I liked HC Rainbows ideas for rebuilding physical aspects of the world (civilization and the lands around it), as well as slipperychickens fascist state bit.

I was thinking of also having some tomb raiding in there as well, searching for holy symbols, divine relics, and ancestral weapons. This would not only provide them with more stories of faith and divinity to relate to the faithless masses, but also be a source for picking up some interesting new tricks.

Adding in the odd 'random encounter' against the minions of the Devourer, and I may have enough material to stretch this out into a decently lengthy campaign. With that said, if anyone is still itching to throw out a few more ideas, far be it for me to stop you.

[Shining Wrath]

Most people are shallow. They are more willing to believe in God when things are going well for them, and more likely to pray to God when frightened.

An ever-expanding border where the demons are just over the horizon (inspiring fear) but the PCs are keeping them at bay (inspiring faith) could work. That is, the more demons slain or driven away, the more the balance of the world moves toward faith.

The scribe quest fits in with this idea. Depriving the Devourer of minions improves the balance of the world. Having copies of a Holy Book which may be read in temples to inspire faith improves the balance of the world. If the Holy Book copy can be used to work miracles (cure light wounds at first, working up to Heal as faith grows) that builds faith as well.

Now: is Doros a monotheist at heart? Does he want to be the only god when it is all said and done, or does he want to raise his fellow pantheon members back from wherever the Devourer sent them, or does he want to replace them with suitable mortals - in which case the PC group has to be on the short list.

[HC Rainbow]

A lot of really good ideas so far. In particular, I liked HC Rainbows ideas for rebuilding physical aspects of the world (civilization and the lands around it), as well as slipperychickens fascist state bit.

I was thinking of also having some tomb raiding in there as well, searching for holy symbols, divine relics, and ancestral weapons. This would not only provide them with more stories of faith and divinity to relate to the faithless masses, but also be a source for picking up some interesting new tricks.

Adding in the odd 'random encounter' against the minions of the Devourer, and I may have enough material to stretch this out into a decently lengthy campaign. With that said, if anyone is still itching to throw out a few more ideas, far be it for me to stop you.

Glad you like the idea. I had to do something very similar after my entire party was SUPER pissed that they couldnt survive the tomb of horrors, No surprise. So I had them resurrected many many many years in the future where very few people are still alive and the abyssals have rampaged into their realm.

[ZamielVanWeber]

This campaign setting reminds me heavily of Okami.
Basic faith builders could include doing helpful deeds in the name of the gods, casting divine spells, etc. Starting small would make a lot of sense here, given the deceptive nature of fiends in general.