Divine ascension as an endgame reward?

[Dire Panda]

(Note to readers: If you're currently playing in a 3.5 fantasy/steampunk game with a were-anaconda swordsage as the party leader, there's a good chance you're one of my players. Stop reading now!)

So what experiences have the Playgrounders had with PC divine ascension as a story reward, and what sort of work do the players and DM need to do to make it feel suitably epic? My current campaign is slated to end sometime this spring, and I must have rewritten the endgame at least six times. Given all the effort they've put forth, and the number of times they've outwitted my villains' cleverest plans and forced me to scrap pages of plot, I want the reward to be something beyond simply saving the world. Preferably something that has an impact on future campaigns that will be set in the far future or a distant world. Divine ascension seems like it would fit the bill rather nicely.

The gist of the scenario:

Five hundred years ago, the heroes of the previous campaign used a time paradox to destroy the universe's creator, That Which is Mother and Devourer, just seconds before it was going to awaken and remake the cosmos. This cut off the cosmic source of magic, causing all lesser deities to wither and die without that sustenance, the Outer Planes to collapse, and the gradually declining amount of magic in the cosmos has forced mortals to obey an E6 ruleset.

In the present (industrialized) age, Asmodeus - who survived in a vastly weakened form - has manipulated the nations of the world into a great war, with each of their defense budgets funding a different techno-magical superweapon. Combined, the devices would not only be able to resurrect any sort of dead tissue, but also to clone it on a vast scale and fill it with the souls of the war's recently deceased. Asmodeus's cult has recovered a tissue sample of TWiMaD and plans to resurrect a "lobotomized" version of it with a fragmented mind stitched together from millions of tortured souls, serving as a new font of magic without an agenda of its own. He'd then use his control over it to become the universe's sole deity.

The PCs know all of this and are going to confront Asmodeus while he's performing the ritual that will return magic to the universe and grant him godhood. Assuming they prevail, there are a number of different ways they could resolve the situation - four major categories of ending in total, plus any the PCs are clever enough to come up with - but both Asmodeus and an NPC they've come to trust will advise them to complete a modified version of the ritual which will split the divine power evenly between each character.

If they do take this path - and knowing one or two characters in the party, it's fairly likely - there is enough racial and alignment diversity in the party (plus Asmodeus for the LE component) that the resulting pantheon will be fairly balanced and suitable for use in future campaigns. The trouble comes when I consider the mechanics of the process itself and the impact it'll have on future campaigns.

My plans so far:
-Given the small size of the pantheon, each PC should pick maybe 6-8 domains
-The PCs can also appoint an NPC whom they're particularly fond of to become a demigod in their service
-Each PC designs their own holy symbol, new divine name (if desired), favored weapon, doctrines they'll spread, and what creatures they'll send as their heralds/servants
-A new Outer Plane forms around each PC, reflecting their character and the domains they've chosen
-This is an important one: I'd want to play up the psychological changes that divine ascension introduces into the characters. The sense of being completely overwhelmed by cosmic knowledge and the prayers of mortals at first, then gradually adjusting while losing one's "humanity" and developing a mindset that totally emphasizes the aspects of existence they've chosen to embody. Friends and loved ones might find the changes terrifying, or they could begin to worship their former comrade.
-One post-campaign adventure dealing with all of the above - adjusting to godhood, forming your plane, helping mortals pick up the pieces of their shattered world, and developing interesting divine politics. (The party has its share of divisions already - not enough to induce PvP when there's a world to be saved, but enough to be a good catalyst for conflict)

That's it for the ideas I have at the moment. I'd appreciate input, especially from anyone who has used a similar plot point before!

[Psyren]

Rather than pick domains, I'd have them pick portfolios - broader spheres that you could later justify having several domains underneath. That way you don't have to go to all the trouble of defining domains up front, and you could even have some overlap between two deities of differing alignments this way.

For instance, one player could have the portfolio of Love (NG or CG), while another has Honor (LN or LG). Both could feasibly grant the Protection domain, while only the latter has War. Keeping it broad like that then means, if you want to add more obscure domains later like Dream or Glory. you'll have a place (or better yet, several places) to put them.

[Renen]

both Asmodeus and an NPC they've come to trust will advise them to complete a modified version of the ritual which will split the divine power evenly between each character


So the main villain will tell them to do something and you think they'll do it?

[danzibr]

Of course that's granting some obscene power. I had a similar plan but instead intended to give the player in question a divine rank of 0. It's still very cool but not game shattering. Actually, a player with a divine rank of 0 can continue to go on normal adventures, like a level 15 VoP monk with a divine rank of 0 could fight alongside a DMM Persist Cleric or something.

[Dire Panda]

So the main villain will tell them to do something and you think they'll do it?

Once they've defeated Asmodeus in combat, they pretty much have him by the throat - the very machine he was going to use to achieve godhood can also be used to consume his soul - and his suggestion that they split the divine power is going to be more of a last-ditch offer from someone who knows he's beaten but still holds the key to finishing the ritual. Interestingly enough, they've been able to outwit lesser devils in the past (totally in-character, I might add - it's amazing to what you can do to INT and WIS in only six levels) and get contracts that were balanced or outright favorable. As beings of absolute law, devils can't break their contracts and are limited to exploiting loopholes. There will probably be a good deal of haggling over the conditions, but given their superior bargaining position I'd expect the PCs to be able to broker a deal that even Asmodeus would have to stick to... at least until the next campaign. :smallbiggrin:

Psyren: Good idea, I like the idea of distancing game concepts like domains from the roleplaying fluff.

Danzibr: Yeah, it's gamebreaking power alright, but the campaign is ending and they'll be rolling up new characters for the next one. Godhood is intended to be more of a story reward than a mechanical one. (Plus, it would be kinda fun to play a cleric of your previous character!)

[Invader]

I think it's an excellent idea giving them another session to feel out being a diety. I think to often players get that reward at the end of a campaign and then it just ends and its always disappointing that you never get to actually experience your reward. The same thing is true for legendary weapons and artifacts. "thank you for saving the world, here's uberblade, its pretty much the slap chop of all magical weapons ever made, phenomenonal cosmic power and all that jazz. Now, please discard that character sheet and pick some new level 1 starring gear".

[Gnome Alone]

a level 15 VoP monk with a divine rank of 0
The God of Ideas That Seemed Good at the Time.

[Bonzai]

I did use divine ascention as a reward for a long term faerun campaign. Magic of the Incarnum had just been released, and I wanted to run a campaign to introduce it to my players.

The campaign took place in Northern Impiltur. The party were random patrons in a small town inn. Their revelry was cut short by a blood curdling scream, and the villiage was under attack. They found villagers being attacked by strange mad men (lost from MotI). They defended the village, and learned that other neighboring towns were under attack. They decided to investigate. Long story short, the attacks were the handy work of an order called The Ebon Dawn.

During the time of troubles, Mystra cut off Cyric from the weave. Though she had since been forbidden by Ao from doing so again, the insult rankled Cyric greatly. He began to search out alternative forms of magic, and eventually rediscovered Incarnum, an ancient and primitive form of magic. Cyric directed some of his followers to an ancient focal point of Incarnum energy. A large crystal attuned to Chaotic Evil energies, centered on ancient ley lines in the ruins of a crumbling ruin in Narfel. The narfellians had built it on top of an even more ancient ruin, for daemon summoning was greatly enhanced there. With the power of this crystal, the Ebon Dawn was established. A militant order fanatically loyal to Cyric. It is this fanaticism that allowed them to survive the ritual of initiation. Cyric infused the participants with the soul energy under his dominion. All the murderers, liars, and madmen that ever were or will be flood into their minds. The strongest and most fanatical survive mostly intact, infused with Incarnum energy. Those that lose themselves to it, become one of the Lost.

The party learned that the Ebon Dawn was raiding villages and converting the villagers into lost shock troops. They also had formed an alliance with the Hobgoblin tribes from the Giant Spire Mountains. They were planning a full scale invasion of Impiltur as it had been weakened by recent events (year or rogue dragons). The party was able to stop the invasion, track down the Ebon Dawn to its base, and change the ritual to gain Incarnum energies themselves (shape soul meld feat for free, meld was based on their religion and alignment. For example the Banite monk got mauling gauntlets).

My players had a great time with the campaign and wanted to continue. So they studied the crystal and learned about the ley lines. This started a globe spanning campaign, hunting down the other 7 crystals. One for each alignment. Each one located in the ruins of an ancient civilization based upon that alignment. At each their meld shaping ability was improved slightly.

Once the last crystal was found, the party realized were the intersection of the lines were located at. They travelled there, and found a temple, along with NPCs associated with some of the adventures they had. Included among them was a Seer who had helped the party several times over the course of the campaign. The Seer revealed him self to be Savras, the god of divination and prophecy. He explained that he had foreseen a great disaster befalling the Realms. The Weave would fall, magic would be wild and unpredictable, and he himself would not survive the calamity. He would not leave mankind defenseless. If the weave was going to fall, then an older, simpler form of magic must return. To this end, he set several seekers upon a quest to re-awaken this magic. Many, like the party, were entirely unaware that they were being manipulated.

The temple was dedicated to the ancient gods of the Incarnum pantheon. One for each alignment. These gods had long since atrophied on the ethereal plane, with only the barest vestige of their former selves remaining. Savras had prepared one final ritual. Each NPC and PC felt pulled toward a statue of a god that matched their alignment. There, Savras began the ritual, and each player was pulled into a battle of wills with the vestigial remains of the fallen gods. Each had a vision were they were tested several times. Each test passed proved their worthiness, and their adherence to their alignment. Each players visions were different, and personalized to their character and their backstory. Once they passed, they engaged in a final battle of wills against the deity. If they failed, then the deity would subsume them. Win, and its power was theirs, and the gained divine rank 0.

Each party member became one of the 8 new gods of Incarnum magic. Their portfolios included Incarnum and those that matched their alignment. Savras then charged them to prepare for the impending disaster, to spread knowledge of Incarum magic, and to gain followers. With that the campaign ended, but at least one of the player characters had ascended to divine rank 1, and was worshiped by players in another game we played.

[danzibr]

Danzibr: Yeah, it's gamebreaking power alright, but the campaign is ending and they'll be rolling up new characters for the next one. Godhood is intended to be more of a story reward than a mechanical one. (Plus, it would be kinda fun to play a cleric of your previous character!)
Oh right right right... I wasn't suggesting to not do it. I was just saying if you gave them a divine rank of 0 they could reasonable play as their old characters.

But it would indeed be cool to play as new characters knowing your old characters became gods.

Actually, this reminds me of a campaign where everyone rolled bad guys, became really strong, took over the world, campaign ended. Next campaign started, everyone rolled good guys, goal was to kill their old characters.

[Warior4356]

In stead of killing them have your will removed and become sentient undead :smallbiggrin: