hafrogman
Adventurer
I think there have been quite a few good ideas thrown around here, with the most central thought being, "let the chips fall where they may". Your players lost, Orcus got his wand, got his spell.
I think it'd be interesting to see the world as a direct result of the failure.
Orcus casts his spell, the gods are dead and he reigns alone over the heavens. (For the cleric, I'd allow one of those good dragons to bestow him with his magic).
Then your players have a few choices.
1. Survive - You could build a campaign around living in such a world, perhaps trying to gather up people and supplies for one last bastion of good, hidden away from Orcus's forces.
2. Salvage - Well, we know there's a spell to kill the gods. It worked once, could it work again? Get the spell, get the components, get the power. Kill Orcus. Now it becomes the age of mortals. You could have a world with no gods, or a quest to ressurect the old gods, or a quest to become new gods, or a quest to find people suitable to become new gods. (I think this last one is kind of a neat idea for a campaign. Seek out that ancient mystic hermit, hidden away on a mountain top. Supply McGuffin. Seek out legendary warrior from years gone past. Offer him one last chance at glory. Etc. etc. Repeat as needed for full pantheon.)
3. Fix it - If you really want to give them a chance to not screw up, there's always that age old Deus ex Machina ... time travel. Somewhere in the world resides an artifact that will allow them one chance to go back to the point where time diverged from its destined path. If they couldn't beat the BBEG, perhaps they can do it with a few more levels, or by teaming up with their past selves who are already there, or both. The other option for this one is to shift the campaign forward a few hundred years for a few sessions. A new batch of heroes has grown up in a world ruled by Orcus. They hold out against the darkness, but always seek a way to go back and set time on its proper path.
I think it'd be interesting to see the world as a direct result of the failure.
Orcus casts his spell, the gods are dead and he reigns alone over the heavens. (For the cleric, I'd allow one of those good dragons to bestow him with his magic).
Then your players have a few choices.
1. Survive - You could build a campaign around living in such a world, perhaps trying to gather up people and supplies for one last bastion of good, hidden away from Orcus's forces.
2. Salvage - Well, we know there's a spell to kill the gods. It worked once, could it work again? Get the spell, get the components, get the power. Kill Orcus. Now it becomes the age of mortals. You could have a world with no gods, or a quest to ressurect the old gods, or a quest to become new gods, or a quest to find people suitable to become new gods. (I think this last one is kind of a neat idea for a campaign. Seek out that ancient mystic hermit, hidden away on a mountain top. Supply McGuffin. Seek out legendary warrior from years gone past. Offer him one last chance at glory. Etc. etc. Repeat as needed for full pantheon.)
3. Fix it - If you really want to give them a chance to not screw up, there's always that age old Deus ex Machina ... time travel. Somewhere in the world resides an artifact that will allow them one chance to go back to the point where time diverged from its destined path. If they couldn't beat the BBEG, perhaps they can do it with a few more levels, or by teaming up with their past selves who are already there, or both. The other option for this one is to shift the campaign forward a few hundred years for a few sessions. A new batch of heroes has grown up in a world ruled by Orcus. They hold out against the darkness, but always seek a way to go back and set time on its proper path.
