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Fokker
Acolyte

14 Posts

Posted - 02 May 2021 :  01:32:20  Show Profile Send Fokker a Private Message  Reply with Quote  Delete Topic
Hi all, I hope I am not breaking any rules by posting here, I would like to know if it would be OK to solicit your feedback on our (alternate) version of Forgotten Realms?

I started running a campaign called “A long trek goodnight” for a group of friends back in Feb 2011. We used the Pathfinder ruleset, but the campaign was located predominantly in Forgotten Realms. It started in 1371 DR in Neverwinter, and I used Northern Journey (http://www.candlekeep.com/campaign/nj_main.htm) as a basis, as well as some parts of In the Land of the Lich Lords (you might, or might not, be familiar with those).

Of course it was heavily modified, based both on my sensibilities, but mostly on player inputs. We played 90 sessions and PC’s went from lvl. 1 - 22 or 23, along with some Pathfinder Mythic levels. There were a few deaths, but overall, the campaign ended with a blast/satisfying conclusion back in Oct/Nov 2019.

If OK with you, I would link a google doc with a few pages, or simply copy&paste from there in a few posts, and I would really appreciate your feedback on some ideas-concepts.

Thank you

Ayrik
Great Reader

Canada
7966 Posts

Posted - 02 May 2021 :  01:55:13  Show Profile Send Ayrik a Private Message  Reply with Quote
A lot of scribes have documented parts of their campaigns, rulesets, and homebrew stuff here. Many scribes have posted links to related material that they or others have made available elsewhere on the cloud. Many scribes have posted content that has little or nothing to do with Realmslore, aside from belonging to the same genre, lol.

Shouldn't be a problem as long as it's not spam.
Shouldn't be a problem as long as it's not copyright trespass.

[/Ayrik]
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
Moderator

USA
36779 Posts

Posted - 02 May 2021 :  03:43:34  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
What Ayrik said.

Candlekeep Forums Moderator

Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com
-- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct

I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!
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Fokker
Acolyte

14 Posts

Posted - 02 May 2021 :  16:24:56  Show Profile Send Fokker a Private Message  Reply with Quote
It is very hard to try and distill all the details of the campaign, but let me try to outline at least some of the major factors:
Entropy, in the form of Ar It Nudzh (yes, I know Tharizdun is Greyhawk deity, please bear with me here) slowly started descending on Faerun in 1371 DR
A coalition of all the gods in the multiverse is opposing Tharizdun
Among first manifestations of corruption/entropy is the fact that magic becomes cursed, and starts slowly corrupting all the casters. Arcane users are affected more than divine, and man more than women, but in the end, it is just a matter of time/resilience before almost any magic user succumbs to corruption
Corruption manifests in a specific way of slowly descending into madness, and the caster is typically not aware that it is happening at all. It is slowly emphasizing his strongest desire/trait, and over time magic-users becomes fully focused on just one thing (whatever is important for that person) at the expense of all other considerations
Along with corruption, there are other manifestations in the world - incursion of chaotic (not Hell or Abyss or even Far Realms) forces slowly manifesting
Players went from Neverwinter all across the North, Heartlands, Dalelands and finally Impiltur, Vaasa and a few planes along the way in order to try and stop it
In the end, they faced Ar It Nudzh (Tharizdun) and found out the truth - Tharizdun is an entity completely based on different philosophy. It is the means/way for the universe to finally fulfill itself.
All the existing gods of the multiverse are simply delaying the inevitable, because there will not be any gods in the new universe. They keep planting Gems of Tharizdun through their agents in order to keep Ar It Nudzh “mad” (and delayed) as long as they can, because in the new universe, they will not be needed
Since the gods, through their agents (which included players for the most of the campaign) could not stop Ar It Nudzh, they decided to cut off Forgotten Realms once and for all, from the rest of multiverse (from all other planes)
Finally, after reaching Ar It Nudzh abode, and having watched him easily defeat Talos, players found out the truth and sided with Ar It Nudzh, in the last session of the campaign. They went out as his agents in the multiverse, to bring the fight the gods

A long trek goodnight which led Realms into the corrupted embrace of Tharizdun (demented/temporarily crazed by joint efforts of all other gods) was stopped literally few days before the world ended. It changed Realms as we know it, for good. Weave was tainted by Tharizdun’s corruption, and madness overtook most of the all spellcasters. Cities, and in some cases whole regions, were either affected by the taint, or simply ran over by beings mutated beyond recognition.

To be continued...
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Fokker
Acolyte

14 Posts

Posted - 02 May 2021 :  21:34:23  Show Profile Send Fokker a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Among many wicked deeds and fell tales happening at that age, the story of Malkizid’s betrayal stands out. With help of many, often unwilling or unaware, human accomplices, numerable fae, predominantly elves were simultaneously summoned to Faeron, often to be ambushed immediately. This was synchronized with attacks on Feywild and/or Arborea, but also with agents of Eldreth Veluuthra which suddenly struck hoping for final reckoning with humans.

As the hour (of Tharizdun’s arrival) grew close, most of the gods and pantheons made a decision to abandon Realms once and for all, and forever seal any and all the gates/means of transportation in between Faerun and the rest of the multiverse. Plenty of gods brought their clergy and relics with them, and some even extended the choice to their faithful. Most of the elves left Faerun, as well as gnomes, being aware that should they choose to stay they would never be able to see the beauty of Feywild (which was under assault as well) again.

(Unknown) Heroes were able to make a pact with a true aspect of Tharizdun, known as Ar It Nudzh (First to come), and some of the wild magic consequences were mended. Low level magic (up to/including 3rd lvl spell slots) would be free of chaos taint in the near future (few years), while in a few hundred years all magic should be free of chaos taint, regardless of how powerful it is. One of the Heroes was able to envision medallions, which the other one crafted, leaving them in the trust of many orphans and urchins they were taking care of. Medallions enabled those who had them to touch the Weave without fear of corruption by chaos taint. However, the number of medallions was limited, and soon many were lost. And more help came from an entity called Ar It Nudzh, as he was able to bind beings mutated by chaos taint to the lands and areas they were in, preventing them from leaving in large numbers.

And then, on the morning of Uktar 25th, three Heroes left and Gates to Feywild, Sigil, Hell, Abyss...to any of the planes, the Gates closed. A good giant, champion of his race, stayed behind on the Dying Relms, knowing they had a bit more than 3000 years before a generation of “Children Which Will Dance '' was born.
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Fokker
Acolyte

14 Posts

Posted - 02 May 2021 :  22:35:25  Show Profile Send Fokker a Private Message  Reply with Quote
And here’s how Dying Relms look like at the beginning of a new age

Few were gods which decided to remain, but they were not bound by any of the previous rules. They were now true masters of the new world, their own fates and portfolios...or they would be, if there were not (other) meddling gods. But first, gods which remained had to decide whether they would become Pact Gods or Avatars.

Gods of the Pact were imbued by the essence of their portfolio. Their (indirect) power could be felt all throughout Dying Relms. They could not die/be killed/usurped, but they could never take the form of Avatar, or be actively involved in the faith of the world. Pact Gods would embody the idea of their portfolio and surrender most of their “personality/consciousness”. Most that their faithful could hope for was maybe an advice (usually in a dream), or to get a (cryptic) answer during ceremonies on holy days.

The other group were gods which decided to incarnate as Avatars on Dying Relms. In the beginning, each of the Avatars manifested somewhere in Relms, and their power in that region would be extraordinary, almost unmatched. However, as their faithful would move to other areas of Relms, connection to their god would diminish and power which Avatars would provide to their fuel their spells would weaken. Each of the Avatars was aware of the risk that they could be challenged and overpowered/killed and that they could disappear forever. However, unlike Pact Gods, Avatars could impose their will directly on the world and the environment surrounding them.

Gods of Dying Relms:
- Torm took the title “The True” and became first Pact God
- Bane took the title “Lord of Darkness” and manifested itself as Avatar in Vaasa
- Chauntea took the title “The Great Mother” and became God of the Pact
- Gond took the title “Lord of Smiths” and manifested itself as Avatar in Lantan
- Harbat Gul stole a piece of fleeing Malar essence, and became Avatar Herne the Hunter, in Great Dale
- Selune took the title “Moonmaiden” and became Pact God
- Tymora took the title “Lady who smiled” and became Avatar in Western Heartlands
- Uthgar took the title “Battle Father” and became Avatar near One Stone, on the edge of Moonwood
- Umberlee took the title “Bitch Queen” and became Pact God
- Auril became known as “Frostmaiden” and an Avatar of her appeared somewhere within Great Glacier (Pelvuria)
- Beshaba took the title of “Lady Doom” and manifested itself as Avatar in Yulash, and soon Hillsfar came under her influence as well
- Grumbar, “The Earthlord” became a reclusive Avatar in Earthspur Mountains
- Jergal became Avatar known as “The Scribe of the Doomed” in an unknown location
- Liira took the title “Mistress of Revels” and became God of the Pact
- Talona took the title “Mother of All Plagues” and became God of the Pact
- Laduguer, one of the two remaining dwarven gods, took the title of “Exile” and became Avatar in Underdark, within Great Rift
- Vergadain took the title “Merchant King” and became Pact Good
- Angharadh, the only elven god remaining on Relms took the title “Queen of Arvandor No More” and became Avatar, moving to Evereska
- Cyrrollale, good of halflings took the title “Hand of Fellowship” and became Avatar in Luiren, next to Lluirwood
- Sheela Peryroyl, god of halflings, took the title “Green Sister” and became God of the Pact
- In Mulhorand, Avatars of Anhur (“Falcon of War”), Nephthys (“Avenging Mother”), Sebeka (“Lord of Crocodiles”), Seth (“Lord of Carrion”) and Toth (“Keeper of Knowledge”) manifested themselves
- Gruumsh (“One-eyed God”), Shargas (“Night Lord”) and Yurtrus (“Lord of Maggots”) became Avatars in the Spine of the World
- GolosNabalAeros, almost 8000 years old red dragon, became known as “DragonLord” after deposing Tchazzar, and took over the rule of Chessenta
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Fokker
Acolyte

14 Posts

Posted - 02 May 2021 :  23:28:10  Show Profile Send Fokker a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Lands of Dying Relms:

Halrua is completely destroyed. Multicolored desert is all that remains (although sand and rocks will slowly revert to normal colors). Chaos wasteland prowled by a few rare, but extremely dangerous chaos-beasts/mutations.

Impiltur is recovering from the aftermath of The Black Night (of Impiltur). As an indirect result of the heroes ' actions, a dark ritual was performed and all Impilturan first born male children till age of 15 died, in order to fuel the resurrection of Bane. Queen Sambryl and most of her paladins died trying to avenge the foul deed, and the Empire has passed to Lord Teneros Samulbrar. He has support of three aging/remaining paladins (Lords of Imphras) - the rest went to Vaasa trying to defeat Bane. In Sarschel (due to the machinations of Inusalia, Lady of wasting intoxication, whom the heroes has thwarted previously) serious riots erupted and the city has seceded from the Empire and declared independence.

Silver Marches are no more. After Alustriel and Laeral left (trying to rescue/restrain Simbul), Eldreth Veluuthra struck. After the bloody clashes, (majority of) elves decided to retreat from Faerun. Current Silverymoon is just a pale reflection of what it was, its bridges and palaces ruined, run by very xenophobic human led government.

Sundabar – run by human slavers (enslaving dwarves and few gnomes which are left)

Waterdeep – in ruins after destruction of Skullport, it is estimated that approximately 30-40 inhabitants died in the calamity, harbor and docks are completely ruined.

NeverWinter – Vampire kingdom

Luskan – chaos waste

Thay – chaos waste

Zhentil keep – monster infested (giants?)

Nesme – overrun by trolls

Longsaddle (Harpells) – chaos waste

Anauroch – chaos waste

Nagalands – YuanTi Empire (“point of light” - heavily fortified village of Nagar in Sespech)

Calimshan – deserted (90% of population “ran away/migrated“ to City of Brass (sold as slaves))

Secomber - chaos waste

Westgate - Uneasy truce between Thieves Guild, vampires and of course, Fzoul Chembryl which is “hiding in plain sight” (“plan” of one of the heroes made him realize that he should leave Teshwave and the remaining zhentilar). Fzoul is using the identity of one of the Thieves guild lieutenant and his machinations are keeping vampires in check.

Myth Dranor - after retreat of the elves, Mythal magic weakens and disappears. Ruins and surrounding woods are fully taken over by “local monsters”. A young roc made its nest on the only safe/consecrated place -abandoned temple of Lathander, on the edge of Myth Drannor.
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Old Man Harpell
Senior Scribe

USA
495 Posts

Posted - 03 May 2021 :  07:47:14  Show Profile Send Old Man Harpell a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Goodness, the Realms certainly seem to have had the hammer taken to them, hey?

I do like how things are detailed post-campaign. I do have a question, because my brain comes up with weird thoughts just before I make ready to log off for the evening.

Namely, if a location isn't listed, what is the assumed status of said location? Say, Port Nyanzaru? Or closer to home, locations in Tethyr, Ten-Towns, or perhaps the Moonshae Isles? Would it be safe to assume that they're more or less the same, or at most altered minimally?

Anyways, nicely done. Thanks for sharing.

- OMH

Edited by - Old Man Harpell on 03 May 2021 07:49:18
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Fokker
Acolyte

14 Posts

Posted - 03 May 2021 :  23:40:27  Show Profile Send Fokker a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Other items:

- Bane, which has defeated combined army of Impiltur and Damara, commanding from Castle Perilous, quickly takes control of Vaasa, pull his strings/puppets to seize Damara, and then turns his eyes to his favorite area - Moonsea region
- Uthgard, which swore that he will banish all “mom-people” (soft-ones, non-barbarians) from the North
- Jergal writing Dying Relms history and…
- Laduguer planning complete destruction of Evereska and all remaining elves
- Umberlee works (passively) on raising massive undead elven-zombie army, from the ruins of sunken Evermeet, in order to run down Sword coast
- Gond making his own warforged in Lantan and preparing them...for what?

Remaining exarchs:

- Igman Rollo Eugene, champion of all firbolgs
- Fzoul Chembryl, Disavowed by Bane, struggling against odds to stop expansion of his former Lord dominion
- Georgious the Resurrected, High-priest of Dark-Lord Bane
- Dove Falconhand, last of the Seven sisters, one of the three surviving, and only one remaining on Dying Relms
- Kraken of Umberlee
- Egden, former hymnist of Sune (bard/cleric?). He declined Sune’s invite to follow her with the rest of the faithful, wanting to stay behind and “spread love” in the new world, for surely it would be needed. Liira declared him as “her own” exarch, but plenty of times they speak in different voices
- Maglubiyet, exarch of Bane. God of war among goblinoid races, in Earthspur Mountains. Supported by Bargrivyek, an exarch of his own, in his service

Possible campaigns/storylines:
Home Before the Sky Falls - remnants of defeated Impilturan army, trying to retreat from Vaasa before the growing might of Bane, hoping to somehow return to Impiltur and see their loved ones once again, “before the world ends” (Campaign in progress)
Last Alliance - heroes must find legendary lost city of Keizar Dailan in order to stop Avatar of Laduguer which is raising a huge army of dwarves to lead in battle against Evereska and Angharadh, last Elven Queen (Avatara). Holly trinity of dwarven artefacts should play a role in this campaign (Gauntlets of Ogre Strength/Power, Girdle of Giant Strength, Mjolnir)
Aganst the Yuan Ti - Points of light campaign, how to defend Sespeech against the growing might of Yuan Ti empire?
Wave against the Sword - Krakens machinations (exarch of Umberlee) in an attempt to win divinity and conquer the Sword coast. However, Umberlee has plans within plans...
Crimson/Black dawn - an attempt by “Night strangler” (serial killer from Impultur) in order to get a piece of the divine essence and ran away from the Dying Relms, masked behind a (semi-hidden) doomsday cult proclaiming rebirth of the world “from Below”

Other considerations:
Sect of the Fourth – was created by machinations of demon Inusalia, Lady of wasting intoxication. The basic idea behind was that the name of the Fourth person/hero responsible for the Black Night of Impiltur, must be known/cursed and his absolution made by Queen Sambryl repealed. However, since Inusalia has left Relms and has no more influence, basic premise was somehow “lost in translation”, and now they work under the assumption that should they be able to remove name of Bryce (Fourth hero) from any records, all magic will disappear from the Relms and a new, better future shall begin

Rules - arcane spell up to and including third level spells, and priestly magic up to and including fourth level spells are not subject to the Taint of Chaos (for the next few hundred years, until influence of Ar It Nudzh finally heals the Weave). Any spell above that - chance of corruption (chances of contracting Taint of Chaos significantly increase with spell power level)

Faithful, or those spell users whose spells are channelled by Pact Gods have equal/normal access to magic/Weave, except in regions controlled by (opposing) Avatars, where they might face significant penalties.

Faithful, or those spell users whose spells are channelled by Avatars, have benefits in regions controlled by their Avatars, and/or additional favors if Avatars are present in the region (reroll failed rolls vs chaos taint/corruption), but their access to spells weakens decidedly the further away they are from Avatars/Avatar controlled lands.

BEdallions (Bryce/Edgar-Medallions, real name will be lost with passage of time and the word bedallion will become common usage for the specific type of medallion, and rarely anyone will be able to recall its original meaning) enable any spell user to cast any spell while providing caster full protection from the Taint of Chaos. Bedallions can be destroyed if touched by Avatars (should they wish to do so).

Chaos waste lands - Chaos taint is almost guaranteed if any spell is cast in these areas

No demons, devils, angelic creatures, fey...no access to any other plane. Dying Relms are effectively cut off from the rest of the multiverse

Summoning spells function as “Calling” - whichever creature you summon, it has been recalled from somewhere else on Faerun, and if the creature dies, it is truly dead. Also, how will you return the summoned creature back home (if intelligent)? What will you do with it?

Portals - most of them had to be destroyed, because chaos taint spread through them. There might be a few remaining, but those would be extremely rare and very few creatures would be aware of their existence.
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Fokker
Acolyte

14 Posts

Posted - 03 May 2021 :  23:42:34  Show Profile Send Fokker a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Old Man Harpell

Goodness, the Realms certainly seem to have had the hammer taken to them, hey?

I do like how things are detailed post-campaign. I do have a question, because my brain comes up with weird thoughts just before I make ready to log off for the evening.

Namely, if a location isn't listed, what is the assumed status of said location? Say, Port Nyanzaru? Or closer to home, locations in Tethyr, Ten-Towns, or perhaps the Moonshae Isles? Would it be safe to assume that they're more or less the same, or at most altered minimally?

Anyways, nicely done. Thanks for sharing.

- OMH



Typically, if a location isn’t listed, it means I did not visit it yet and implications of world-wide changes might be minimal. Or maybe not, depends. For example - you asked about Port Nyanzaru. Chult specifically will see the rise of Sseth reborn/Sibyl, but also organized expeditions of Lantanite units composed of newly created warforged creatures, led by priests of Gond. Loss of routine/usual trade lines, as well as other developments (a storm-wrecked pirate ship was able, by pure chance, to stumble upon one extremely-rare dragon turtle egg) led to Port Nyanzaru declaring independence from Amn early on, and becoming a kind of pirate heaven. Several delegations of Gond priests and warforged visited the city, and there are stories of their contacts/talks with wild dwarves of Chult...At the same time, Amn faced an incursion of a kind of elementals of almost all types, rolling from Mount Speartop towards south, so they were rather busy with problems of their own and were unable to prevent Port Nyanzaru from seceding.
Things in Tethyr went pretty good, compared to some other parts of Relms. Run by wise Haedrak (Lhaeo) and Zaranda, which understood early on that magic use would be suicidal due to the Chaos taint, kingdom saw potential for prosperity after initial turmoil. Amn to the north was almost besieged by the elementals, while lands of calimshan to the south of them were almost completely deserted overnight. Also deserted by most elves and fey creatures was Wealdath (Forest of Tethyr). The only unusual thing affecting Tethyr was the sudden appearance of new types of monsters, elemental like creatures which spawned in significant numbers in the wasteland of Spires of Mir. Creatures were rather aggressive, but for reasons unknown were unable to leave Spires of Mir area. Swiftly named sparklers by the local populace, they soon started attracting numbers of adventurers, because of the (somewhat true) tales that magic gems could be found on their corpses after their demise. Gems that could easily be used to enchant weapons and armor…
Luskan being turned into a chaos waste sent waves of refugees (even) to Ten towns. But the sudden appearance of three orcish Avatars in the Spine of the world, followed with their almost instant war with Uthgard barbarians essentially cut off this part of the world from the rest of Faerun.
An aspect/patron called Klarvu manifested on Moonshae isles and protected most of its people from the worst effects of both weather and taint of chaos. For months, even the simplest of magic would not work on Moonshaes, unless you would invoke the name of Klarvu. Only with her blessing you could use simple priest/druidic magic. Also, Moonshaes saw the return of one of the heroes - firbolg Igman Rollo Eugene, along with his wife, storm giant princess Gerti.
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Fokker
Acolyte

14 Posts

Posted - 04 May 2021 :  16:14:13  Show Profile Send Fokker a Private Message  Reply with Quote
So my first question/ask for help, if anyone is willing to contribute.

We started playing Home Before The Sky Falls, retreat of defeated Impilturan army from Vaasa. We are some 10 sessions into the campaign and I would appreciate any ideas for minor/regular NPC's, especially the ones which could interact with the players.

Caravan/column is currently consisting of approximatelly 5300 surviving soldiers, (out of more than 9000), at least 2000 of them wounded. 2500 soldiers are from Impiltur, while the rest is Damara/Bloodstone. Damaran/Bloodstone is commanded by General Liam McAron, Paladin of Ilmater, (former) Deputy commander, the only surviving high officer. (NPC from Northern Journey campaign)

As to Impilturan soldiers, they are commanded by Deacon Tumbrar, former Paladin of Torm, and is supported by mage BadEye Tom. Mary Tulpin died during one of the opening sessions (also all NPC's from Northern Journey).

Unknown to many, Queen Sambryl had a fallback option in place (in case they loose, which happened). She was first and foremost dedicated to her country and wanted to ensure that kingdom will survive, even in case their forces lose the battle for Castle Perilous (which they lost). She knew that Paladins/Lords of Imphras would follow her to the bitter end. So she has contacted Deacon Tumbrar beforehand, and put everything in place, in order for him to take over command, should it be required. So - overall commander is Deacon, with a single mission - return majority, or as many people/soldiers back to Impiltur to secure the future of the kingdom.

So, I have the following (major) NPC's already defined:
Marshal – Deacon Tumbrar (human)
Mage - BadEye Tom (human)
Quartermaster – Torgga Strakeln/The Limping Torg (dwarf)
Medic/Doctor - Grim Tallstag (human)
Spy – Ceidil Tann (human), from Impiltur Ministry of finance
Scout – Tessele Dundragon (human)

I would appreciate any ideas as to other people, mostly drafted and volunteered man and women from Impiltur (or optionally Damara/Bloodstone, or any of the surrounding lands). These are typically man and women who either lost someone (son, brother, nephew...) or know someone who lost someone (in the Black Night of Impiltur, detailed above).

Any and all input/ideas for NPC's are welcome. Thanks.
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LordofBones
Master of Realmslore

1477 Posts

Posted - 05 May 2021 :  04:05:05  Show Profile Send LordofBones a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Man, poor Maglubiyet; he went from being the top dog of his pantheon and one of the most feared greater deities to being the lackey of an upjumped power squatting on a dying Prime world.
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Fokker
Acolyte

14 Posts

Posted - 05 May 2021 :  22:27:37  Show Profile Send Fokker a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by LordofBones

Man, poor Maglubiyet; he went from being the top dog of his pantheon and one of the most feared greater deities to being the lackey of an upjumped power squatting on a dying Prime world.



Well, first sentence in his description states that he is an Exarch of Bane, so after the roll for him was made to stay, it somehow made sense. Although, it is true that he is a greater deity, still...
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Kelcimer
Learned Scribe

USA
136 Posts

Posted - 26 Aug 2021 :  02:19:17  Show Profile Send Kelcimer a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Hello Fokker!

You requested feedback.

You lost me at "A coalition of all the gods in the multiverse".

The multiverse is a pretty big place. "All the gods in the multiverse" could be untold millions of gods. All of them got on board?

And if it takes "all the gods in the multiverse", then I would assume that the scale of this is sweeping through untold number of worlds. Otherwise, why would all of them get on board?

The scale of the calamity is so large that why should a player care? If all the gods in the multiverse can't stop a thing, then what hope should players characters have? The idea that some unknown heroes managed to get through to such an all powerful mega-deity when all the deities of all the multiverse couldn't just doesn't scale right. On a narrative/mythological level, it just feels like it should not be.

If that is all just background info and the players aren't involved, I wouldn't even mention it to the players. I would think it would be better to let the players deal with the consequences of what horrible things are happening to the world. It's like a zombie apocalypse. It really isn't that important to any given zombie apocalypse story exactly why there is a zombie apocalypse. The important thing is that it is a zombie apocalypse and that is the thing characters have to deal with.

BTW I find games where the world is at stake to not be very interesting. Because if the world is at stake, then the players can't loose. If they loose, the game ends and that's that. The only way for the game to continue is if the players win. End of the world scenarios are cheap from a character motivation perspective, because every character would like the world to continue. Good, bad, evil, indifferent. There isn't any way to have unique character motivation. I find stories with small stakes where the players can lose to be far more interesting. I recognize that is a personal preference.

I don't know if that is the kind of feedback you were hoping for, but there you go.
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CorellonsDevout
Great Reader

USA
2708 Posts

Posted - 26 Aug 2021 :  03:07:07  Show Profile Send CorellonsDevout a Private Message  Reply with Quote
So has this affected the afterlife? I'm always curious about the fate of souls, and if most of the gods have left, and those that remain have been...changed a bit, how does this affect the realms of the deities, where the souls would reside?

Sweet water and light laughter
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ElfBane
Learned Scribe

USA
275 Posts

Posted - 26 Aug 2021 :  08:06:56  Show Profile Send ElfBane a Private Message  Reply with Quote
There are too many Gods here. But that appears to be the way you like it. Having a multitude of Gods will exponentially increase the chances of BIG plot holes. Don't be surprised if some (all?) of your players soon figure this out.
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Delnyn
Senior Scribe

USA
883 Posts

Posted - 26 Aug 2021 :  08:11:36  Show Profile Send Delnyn a Private Message  Reply with Quote
What role does Ao play in all this? Will he react if most of the gods take a powder and leave their posts? Or that Toril is being cut off from the rest of the multiverse?
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