An undead invasion topples civilization, then what?

[Mr. Draco]

*Rescues from the bottom of the second page to get more feedback*

 

[Patman21967]

Draco,
What I mean about the magic is this....You will have Liches, Vampires, Mummies etc....Are they also " cut off " from magic? That is why I think having magic just removed from " the living " might work better. Maybe dead beings can still access magic, but until the ritual, living beings could not draw upon the appropriate energies. Just an idea, because I can't see Havendash, or other Liches and Vampires not able to use magic. Also, I see parties of intelligent undead also looking for relics, scrolls etc...from the past time. I like the idea of the characters starting with no magic items, but having to research where to find them....

 

[Mr. Draco]

Hrm... that's an interesting thing to think about. I think what I'll probably go with is that the intelligent undead retain their (Ex) and (Su) abilities, but no spells or spell-likes. That would ensure the proper sort of "magic denial" i'm going for.

 

[Patman21967]

just another quick question, if the Creator Gods have left, abandoned or died off, where are the Clerics getting their spells from, and paladins their powers? Maybe the Old Gods have been replaced by New ones...ie...you could use the DM Guide Gods, or the FR pantheon....I can see Havendash and his followers, racing against the PC's to find the Hand and Eye of Vecna, Sword of Kas...and all the assundy and various Evil Items, before the PC's can destroy them, also trying to find the last Holy Avenger, etc.....a real good way to incorporate Artifacts in your game....How about Demi-Humans? Dwarves, Elves, Half-Dragons Orcs.etc....or will those be limited to just the PC's...I can see one of my players being the last Dwarf, and wanting to find the old kingdom to claim the artifacts....or better yet, finding a way to bring the races back. That would be cool...The PC's being the last of their kind, and them having to find a ritual to contact the Forgootten Gods, to bring their races back....

 

[Mr. Draco]

After the ancient gods abandoned the world, the clerics and paladins etc... began drawing their power from "spirits of the land." These are fey-like beings who are lower on the divine hierarchy than most true gods, but still possessing a level of divinity. These spirits are usually tied to some aspect of the land itself (whether it is a mountain range or river or whatnot), and while they cannot physically travel beyond their landform (they can "manifest" an avatar-like being in other similar areas), they can still grant spells/do other divine things. On the divine hierarchy, they rank below Death, but certainly above any mortals.

I like the idea of racing against evil groups for the "last" holy avenger and such. That's definately adopted!

As for the Demi-humans, that's a good question. Seeing as how the PCs are only humans and elves, I could have whole races extinct (I'm already ruling that inherently magical beings all died; i.e.- dragons, "outsiders", etc...), and it would certainly provide another aspect to the story, of possibly finding a way to bring now-dead races back to life.

I think also alongside the idea of reintroducing magic, there'll probably be a bit of reintroducing religion, as with th absence of magic, most worship probably stopped. Hrm...

 

[Patman21967]

As for abilities...in the latest Dragon Magazine, they have a prestige class called Infused, in which th PC soul is bonded with that of a Celestial, and as the PC advances, the Celestial grants him more power..

 

[Patman21967]

I could see the Dragons dying out. It would be cool if one of the PC's were a half-dragon, intent on bringing them back. Also, I would see the Demons, Devils and celestials still around, but since worship has waned, so have they. They have no access to the Prime Material plane unless summoned ( in my games ). I could see the PC's unwittingly summoning a Balor, and he wanting to advise/ally with them to bring the living back....it would be boring to be a Ta'Narii and not being able to tempt with greed or power....I also see a few tribesmen doubting the abilities of the PC's, and plotting against them, because they think they are charlatans, or even moreso, are duping the tribes into a false hope, and will be working against the PC's. Maybe even 1 or 2 actually allying with Deaths agents to have the PC's fail, because they themselves have the same goals...not really Evil, but misguided...It would present a moral challenge for the Characters, what to do with them. You could have Deaths agents granting them power etc....I'd think roving bands of Giants, Ogres, etc....not mgical creatures, natural ones, could have left their Evil ways, and be struggling against the undead too....Maybe there is an exceptionally powerful Vampire Clan, which is feeding on the Frost Giants, in the mountains. Some of those obviously would have become undead also...Are you planning on using all forms of Undead, or mainly Skeletal ones....I mean Wraiths, Specters etc....I would say death raised up all forms from the army, not just animated ones....It would be cool to replay that as week 1, the denial of Havendash, battle of Ironwall, etc....then fast forward 1000 years....I think I'm going to go away from your idea ( which I like ) of the PC's knowing what has been going on this whole time. Perhaps they have been with their respective Gods since the battle, and the Gods have heard the call of the people, and sent the PC's back to aid them, since they were there during the battle. That fits more with my players, as it gives alot of roleplaying opportunities to learn about the last 1000 years...whew....I need to eat and go to work.....later...

 

[Calico_Jack73]

I second the using of some Midnight campaign ideas for yours. To answer your question, Midnight is only as "Winable" as you want it to be. If you want the players to be waging a futile struggle then you can do it that way. I am currently running Midnight and I don't see it that way... in my game "Hope" IS the force that can defeat The Shadow. Without hope then the resistance has no chance and it is hope that Izrador is trying to destroy more than anything else.

Anyway, as Death is pretty much ruling your world you might use a mechanic from Midnight. In Midnight the other planes are totally cut off. When creatures die their souls have nowhere to go and unless special precautions are taken the dead will oftentimes rise as undead. Basically, when anything dies it makes a Will save. If it fails then the creature will rise as a Fell (undead) and will slowly begin to physically and mentally deteriorate until they become a skeleton. At first the Fell may not even realize that it is undead.

Another good thing about Midnight is that it presents a good look at a campaign world where a force of evil is the ruling power. It sounds very appropriate to your campaign... simply replace the Orks with fairly powerful unthinking undead and replace the Legates with powerful sentient undead.

Edit: Some of the other posters mentioned that the old gods abandoned the world. In Midnight they have been separated from it by The Sundering of the Prime from the Planes. Outerplanar creatures have been trapped for over 1000 years. There are no Divine magics other than those given out by Izrador.

 

[Patman21967]

Calico....what is this Midnight you speak of....I have never heard of it....

 

[Dogbrain]

Although, one does have to wonder why Death would pollute itself by dealing with the undead. Undeath is the most absolute and extreme insult one can imagine against Death. Death is pure and absolute. Undeath is a polluted parody of Death.