Help me figure out ideas to let the PCs know that only they can save the world.

[stenver]

My group really likes to RP and they have their own fleshed out characters. The characters are all very individualistic and the party even sometimes has inner fights(by fights, I dont mean heavy arguments, but actual damage thrown around). This is all cool and great fun. It promotes different ideas, approaches and its all very friendly n professional out of the game.

Another thing is that the party accidentally released undead apocalypse onto the world. They are to blame for it, though they didn't want to do it.

Thirdly, Im a DM that doesn't mind killing players. I think sometimes dice go bad and for some challenge, sometimes people need to die. It adds great dramatic effect. This, however, means that players need to be able to create new characters that join the party.

Finally, I want to make sure that players know that if they don't stop this evil, the world will be destroyed.

Now I was thinking of getting them next to a fortune teller. The Fortune teller would tell them that many heroes will rise and fall in this war. Many heroes will join their group and some of them will fall. But only their group can stop the black plague. If they fail, everybody fails.

Now the question is - What makes their group so special? Why cant the other groups succeed? If 100% of the initial members of the group die, then why do the new members of the group stand a chance?

TL:DR
How can you kill players in group, but say that only this group can save the world, even if the members of the group change?

[legomaster00156]

You really can't. If your goal is that these people must save the world, but these people change and/or die regularly, then it doesn't have the same emphasis that you obviously want.

[Seto]

Maybe they have an artifact instrumental to saving the world, and the group always carries it around (problem : they could give it to higher-level NPCs and tell them that they're better suited for the rescue).

Maybe (if your players know it and agree) they're the incarnations/chosen of the god(dess) of life brought forth to vanquish the undead plague, and for some reason that's a fixed number (symbolism, parts of a soul, etc). When someone dies, someone else is called. Apart from this call and maybe brief recollection of their former lives, the characters are completely different.

Maybe they're the only ones who know of a secret way to stop this evil (the difficult part being actually doing it), and they don't tell it to anyone other than their circle because the intel could be harmful in the wrong hands.

Maybe the undead plague spreads so fast that they're the only ones standing, and sometimes come across other survivors (new characters).

[mephnick]

Perhaps you could take a cue from some zombie movies and have a very small percentage of the population resistant to the plague because reasons? Every PC is one of these people.

There's no way to do this without fairly clearly outlining the PCs as PCs. "Only you can save the world!" doesn't really work unless everyone is just on board to work together and be heroes in the first place. It's one of those things that requires metagaming, but that's not the sin some people around here will try and convince you it is.

[Kid Jake]

As I recall The Legend of Dragoon back on the PS did something like that. There was a group of people chosen by these little spheres that turned them into medieval Power Rangers and only they could save the day. People died, but their spheres just moved on to somebody else and BOOM! New chosen one.

[stenver]

Hmm, giving them an artefact which can be bad in the wrong hands, is probably really good idea. The way they released the first apocalypse was that they gave an artefact to the wrong hands. Maybe creating 5 artefacts, so they can recruit more people if they lose some people.

Any examples of this sort of approach on top of legend of the dragons, so I could read about it?

[grimsly]

Hmm, giving them an artefact which can be bad in the wrong hands, is probably really good idea. The way they released the first apocalypse was that they gave an artefact to the wrong hands. Maybe creating 5 artefacts, so they can recruit more people if they lose some people.

Any examples of this sort of approach on top of legend of the dragons, so I could read about it?

Well... Power Rangers does this every time. That's how they got away with switching three actors in the first season. Chuck is a sister trope, and Wheel of Time has something similar, though that's reincarnation, not passing between adults.

Of course, I prefer the Die Hard approach, in which everybody they try to call in either doesn't believe them about the scope /nature of the threat or they get caught up in red herrings and obvious traps so the PCs have to step up. But honestly, the magical spirit/ artifact thing would be a whole lot less likely to be misinterpreted by the players.

How ever you decide to do it, remind the players that it's partially their fault and that they have an obligation to fix it. I realize that's not a huge priority for them, but it's a great source for character moments.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

I think the artifact thing may work, or maybe some sort of blessing. The unicorn lady Sizmi of Phantasmagoria has chosen these five brave people to receive her protection, without which even the strongest hero would fall to despair ones they enter the dark aura of Castle Crushyoursoul. The blessing is permanent and can't be given away ones received, she has chosen these five people because she has seen into their hearts and she believes in them. Should any of them fall she can bless a replacement, but she can only protect five people at a time.

*new player joins the table, DM facepalms.*

[Shackel]

Perhaps it's the bond between the group that is mystical and shall cause them to save the world? The bond might be pushed to its very brink(see: one person surviving a TPK), but, as long as one person with the bond is alive, they can rebuild. If all of them die, however, it doesn't matter who comes by; that mystical power just doesn't exist any longer.

It even allows for entire party rotations, if it happens slow enough, since so long as one person lives, the bond can continue and flourish.

[GungHo]

As they approach the MacGuffin That Shalt Saveth The World, have Elminster teleport in, say "I just wanted to tell ye good luck. We're all counting on ye", and then teleport out.

[rooster707]

Get them to start, or join, some kind of adventurer team, like a fantasy version of the Avengers. Those guys change members all the time.

[Hanuman]

Make it really really obvious that they are tied into some serious stuff, and then tell them exactly what that serious stuff is.

Dancing around the issue doesn't get through to players, and while there can be mystery around content, make that content itself blatant and goal oriented.

[Templarkommando]

I'm reminded of the plot to an old game called Darklands. As it's a game that is either on GOG, or Steam (Maybe both, I'll put my explanation in spoilers).

The party of adventurers uncovers the plot of a cult that is bent on kicking off the apocalypse early. Without getting deep into the plot of the game - which is rather interesting - the party receives a vision from a saint that makes it clear that the fate of the world is uncertain, and that their actions will directly impact whether the world ends early or not. Now, there are a couple of ways to approach presenting this to your party. Here's how I would do it: take each party member away and explain the dream to them separately. Explain that the dream that they have extremely vivid. It contains bright colors, scents, temperatures, and textures and that it is utterly memorable unlike most dreams that they have. It feels less like a dream, and more like a warning. Be sure and use apocalyptic imagery. Things like undead running all over the face of the world, loved ones dying in bad ways, great kingdoms falling, include demons, angels, the hells, heavens and angry gods. Once you get to the point of the dream where you want the party member to realize that only they can save the world, the scene lightens. Scenes of doom and destruction give way to a feeling of comfort albeit foreboding. A number of people shrouded in shadow appear. The dim light becomes brighter and brighter as the identities of these people become clearer and clearer. The last memory that they have of this vision is that as the stage is now fully lit, it is clear that they and the other members of their party will play vital roles in saving the world. They look at themselves in the eyes. Suddenly they are the only person there. Standing alone against the onslaught of the undead hordes. Their would-be friends are nowhere to be seen. Your party member feels the distinct feeling of steel being pushed through their gut and wake up in a cold sweat. One thing is for sure, they cannot do this alone.

Here's what I like about the vision bit. If you take them aside and read this vision to them, they're going to metagame. There's not any way around that. If your party is anything like mine, they will be desperate to discover what the content of the other party members' dreams was. Give each person a slightly different piece of a puzzle - a slight tease of the things that you have planned. If they want to sabotage the whole scenario, that's up to them, but it will be a decent opportunity for roleplay.

Yeah, it's pretty heavy handed. Maybe don't go this route if your party is violently opposed to railroading, but it's an option.

[goto124]

Looking at only the title...

How would they not know? They're the PCs! :P