Divine Mojo MIA

[Rechan]

I should not have to tell my players to BE GONE, but I'll say it anyways.

There was a book in 3.5 called "Requiem for a God", which dealt with the murder of a god. Unfortunately only about 24 pages dealt with theicide and the rest was classes/monsters/items/magic.

Even worse, the book doesn't address my issue.

What happens when a God goes Missing, is near death, or otherwise "out of commission"? And, what happens to their portfolio?

Here's the circumstance: Erathis, God of Cities and Civilization, is near death, if not dead. Definitely wounded, with pieces scattered about. Melora (or some other God representing the Wilderness and Nature) is poisoned and just MISSING.

What Happens?

So far, as far as Erathis is concerned, I have cities tearing themselves apart. Not literally, but civil unrest, barbarians marching on crumbling walls, and so on. Tribes are fracturing (under the notion of people coming together and acting in agreed upon ways = community). I had considered Oaths being unwoven (again for the sake of civilization), but I'm not sure. Also, Erathis's clerics aren't getting their prayers.

What else?

What about Melora? So far, I have primal spirits being the middle men as far as running nature is concerned (Melora as the Federal Government vs. spirits as the State/local, to give an idea). So, with the big Nature goddess missing, What Happens? What would be going on? What I want is for it to look like the Wilderness (not necessarily nature itself) is fraying, or getting out of control.

To give you some idea:
[sblock]The meta-plot of my Campaign: Erathis is nearly dead, and Doresaine, King of Ghouls and Yeenoghu, Demon Prince of Gnolls and Slaughter are competing to scavenge her bones (and crush civilization). Pelor and Bahamut are getting worn thin fighting the Good Fight. Devas souls are disappearing/being captured. Melora is MIA so that I can have the Wilderness go bonkers.

Because of all this, the world is going to hell in a handbasket (I stole liberally from here). The PCs are supposed to go out and make the world a better place, to clean it up, to be a shining beacon of hope in the darkness (to make sure teh Points of Light aren't snuffed out, basically). But as time goes on, as they get deeper into the muck, they see that the issue expands beyond lots of stuff going into the crapper, but the Divine being stretched beyond its limits.[/sblock]

As you can see, the Gods are important to the game. This is also because of the PCs I have.

[sblock]
Deva Invoker|Cleric of Erathis*
Dragonborn Paladin - Paladin of Sun God.
Dwarf Shaman - a medium for spirits.
Revenant Assassin - once was an Avenger of Bahamut, died on a holy mission. Bahamut strikes a deal with the Raven Queen to put his soul back into the ring.
Revenant Fighter - Really long story, but Blessed by the Evening Glory, undead god of Love, Beauty and Immortality
Barbarian (No details yet)

*The Deva basically has a piece of Erathis inside of him. He was floating around in the Aether when she was "Struck", and he got a bit of her divine gore in him, before an angel scooped him up and hurled him to earth. The player doesn't know this. He's also one of the last Deva who are active.[/sblock]

But I'm hitting some problems:

1) Again, issues with Erathis and Melora. What's happening to their portfolios now that they're not attending to them? Why are their Servants (Angels, whatnot) not getting the word out about their current state? Why aren't the Other Gods addressing the issue? In other words, why isn't it HANDLED, and the World is pretty much on its own?
1b) Any suggestions about the Melora plot would be real useful too, since I just tossed that in there but haven't gotten an idea yet.

2) What about the Evil gods? Why would they not be having a good time right now? I actually don't want to involve the Evil Gods all that much, at least not at first; I like the issue of Lots of Small or Local problems (well, relatively) being the big threat.

3) If the Gods are so distant and strained, can I still get away with them interacting with the PCs? Showing signs, interacting invisions/dreams, etc? (I'm thinking of Bahamut/Sun God/RQ/Evening Glory here, not E or M).

4) How do I make this metaplot relevent in the Heroic tier?

 

[Cadfan]

What if nothing is happening?

What if the reason everything is breaking down in terms of civilization is because people believe that without Erathis, there's no hope and no reason to maintain honesty and the bonds of civilization? What if the reason that nature is screwy isn't because of Melora's absence, its because of some entities direct, malignant intervention?

What if the solution to Erathis' absence isn't a new supernatural entity to create order, but rather action on the level of regular people and regular civilization?

 

[Rechan]

All of this may be moot. I have to get the campaign off the ground, and get the PCs involved. This post is partially me thinking out loud, and partially me providing other info of my campaign, and maybe some nice soul will toss something my way.

Here is the relevant stuff in the immediate:

The Andarian Empire of the far North is long dead. Once we all swore fealty to the God-Emperess and her Holy Daughters, angels in the flesh who it is said flew across the world to enforce her will. But a plague struck the capital of the Empire, spreading outward, and now we are on our own. Andar is dead, but it does not rest quietly. We no longer see the horrible beautiful faces of the Holy Daughters, but bear hunters and fisherman of the north tell of emissaries southbound, unable to speak for their tongues have long rotted out of their heads, but their message is clear enough. They'll melt the snow with the blood of any who let them come close.

The PCs have decided to go North, and I have yet to really come up with anything for this area. Or rather, I have come up with nothing to flesh out all this stuff. I stole it from the Sons of Kryos campaign that was posted here.

Well, I take that back, I have come up with a few things:
[sblock]
Plot 1) The campaign begins at Fort Rimespike. Here, the Herald of the Winter Everlasting is awakening. The Herald is a zombie-maker, who creates soldiers to usher in the End. The PCs, naturally, are going to stop him.

The Winter Everlasting is why the Raven Queen has sent the Revenant - to stop it from occuring. She, being the God of Fate and Winter, knows that this is too early for the Winter Everlasting.

Plot 2) The Dragonborn character is on a Quest. Dragonborn eggs are hatching, but inside is only blood and bones.

In the North is a Keep, a castle built on the bones of a dragon slayed by the God-Empress herself. This Keep is the Dragonborn outpost in the North, and rumor has it all eggs that reside within the walls have thus far shrugged off the Hatchling Curse. The Paladin is taking the eggs to this Keep.

But, when the PCs get there, they'll find all the DBs dead, and the eggs gone. But I've not decided who did it, or what it means, etc. I have a Result, but no explanation.[/sblock]

But for the most part, the area is a big black ? and I am trying to figure out how to 1) Work it into my meta-plot and 2) offer interesting stuff to flesh it out.

Another area on the Map (the East) addresses the Gnolls. And the Southwest, that's where Doresaine's ghouls are emerging. Players preferred the North, but the East was second favorite to go to, so I expect to go there.

 

[Rechan]

What if nothing is happening?

What if the reason everything is breaking down in terms of civilization is because people believe that without Erathis, there's no hope and no reason to maintain honesty and the bonds of civilization? What if the reason that nature is screwy isn't because of Melora's absence, its because of some entities direct, malignant intervention?

What if the solution to Erathis' absence isn't a new supernatural entity to create order, but rather action on the level of regular people and regular civilization?

Honestly, what I have in mind is simple: No one knows about Erathis/Melora outside of the Pantheon (and for some reason, Yeenoghu and Doresaine - wonder why they know ).

Partially I would explain this is that if it was made known across the multi-verse, there would be a horse race to get to the Gods goods.

So, as far as the Mortal world is concerned, it's just an age of turmoil. Although Clerics of Erathis not getting their mojo might be a huge hint.

Now, when the PCs find out, and they went public, that might be a way to address the problem.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

I don't have any ideas on Erathis, I think yours are sound and pretty well worked out but for Melora, well about the barriers between the Feywild and the world are wearing thin.
The effect of this is that in some places the natural world is going wild but in others it is disasterous as the intruding bits of the Feywild is out of sync. Winter in summer and visa versa. Also the Wild Hunt is loose and is really scary.

 

[jasonbostwick]

With regards to what the death/absence of Melora might entail:

If Melora is an overriding force keeping the primal spirits in check, it would be fitting to have her absence create great imbalances in nature.
I'd run with this showing as too much growth rather than death; more akin to invasive species or the results of eutrophication than to desertification.

Without Melora's tempering influence, the Great Vine Spirit overpowers the World Tree, and the forests become choked with kudzu and mistletoe.

The Spirit of the Owl's hunger consumes the Laughing Sparrow, leading to locust swarms as insect populations are unchecked.

Playing up environmental problems as caused by conflict between the Nature Spirits should definitely give you some interesting ideas with which to hook your Shaman PC.

To hook into the plot lines happening in the North, you could have the zombie-maker attempting to usher in the Everlasting-Winter brokering with the spirit of the North Wind.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Honestly, what I have in mind is simple: No one knows about Erathis/Melora outside of the Pantheon (and for some reason, Yeenoghu and Doresaine - wonder why they know ).

Partially I would explain this is that if it was made known across the multi-verse, there would be a horse race to get to the Gods goods.

So, as far as the Mortal world is concerned, it's just an age of turmoil. Although Clerics of Erathis not getting their mojo might be a huge hint.

Now, when the PCs find out, and they went public, that might be a way to address the problem.

There are different ways it could manifest.
- Rituals performed by Melora or Erathis priests fail or yield strange results.
- Ancient magic items and relics act up strangely or not at all.
- Initiation ceremonies for new Melora or Erathis clerics (or other classes) fail.

The question about portofolios might be what are gods doing with them in the first place? How do they interact with them. What are the gods doing to "justify" their portofolio?

For example - does the Raven Queen as the "owner" of the Winter domain let it snow? And end the snowfall at the end of the season?

If you want Melora losing control to mean that animals and plant life gets out of control, so be it. Maybe animals get wilder without her. Maybe crops die and are replaced by pest plants. Maybe more diseases spread.
Without Erathis, conflicts turn into violent conflicts faster. At the same time, cities and villages begin to grow faster then is good for them, leading to more destruction of nature life, which in turn becomes crucial because of more aggressive animals and failing crops.

Anyone that doesn't know that Erathis and Melora are gone missing might even see both as consequences of each other. Failed harvests require acquiring more lands. Intruding into the ecosphere further means that animals feel threatened and find less food, turning them more aggressive.

Of course, once people also learn that the priests experience strange results, they might see a connection. But still, some might see the connection the other way around - they think that the actions of humans alienated Erathis and Melora, leading them to turn away.

 

[Jhaelen]

What happens when a God goes Missing, is near death, or otherwise "out of commission"? And, what happens to their portfolio?

The Raven Queen takes over and integrates everything into her portfolio.

 

[Rechan]

Another question is: Where IS Melora? What's going on there at all? Which brings me to this.

I don't have any ideas on Erathis, I think yours are sound and pretty well worked out but for Melora, well about the barriers between the Feywild and the world are wearing thin.
The effect of this is that in some places the natural world is going wild but in others it is disasterous as the intruding bits of the Feywild is out of sync. Winter in summer and visa versa. Also the Wild Hunt is loose and is really scary.

I like this, along with Jason's suggestion. But that last point really has my attention.

An idea I was kicking around was Melora being hunted for sport. The Goddess of Nature being a hunter's prey is deliciously poetic.

The Problem is this: Someone big enough to be hunting a God (especially in the case of the Wild Hunt) is a Seriously Bad Dude. How do you get PCs that aren't Epic in on the action, here, at all?

(I've never had a campaign reach two digit levels, so I like to at least take into account that it might not LAST long enough to resolve everything. Thus I want some level of accomplishment, even if I might not even get to touch my Meta-plot. So I'm trying to find a way to make the Characters relevant, in SOME capacity, from day 1.)

Without Erathis, conflicts turn into violent conflicts faster. At the same time, cities and villages begin to grow faster then is good for them, leading to more destruction of nature life, which in turn becomes crucial because of more aggressive animals and failing crops.

Actually. Looking at Erathis's little blurb in the PHB, she's all about city's spread and domination over nature. So, I'd think that the opposite would happen in her absense. She's not holding it in check.

I'm starting to feel that Erathis and Melora should be sisters, given that they are very much two sides to a coin. That there's always a struggle between them, in the issue of man's encrouchment/domination over nature, and what is Natural vs. what is Civilized and Proper. I also can't help but feel that they, being sisters, should have some implication for the Metaplot, but what I don't know yet.

they think that the actions of humans alienated Erathis and Melora, leading them to turn away.

That's a good explanation. That people might see this as "We have offended thee! We are being punished!"

Additionally, the other Gods are being more distant too. One point I haven't mentioned is that the Sun itself has dimmed. Not too much - it still lights the world, it still burns undead, and it hasn't impacted crops greatly (yet), but it's like overcast, even in a cloudless sky at high noon.

I think that I can explain "Nature getting too productive" or "Nature encrouchign" might also be explained by the Spirits. Basically, if the Big Boss Lady is out, the spirits are going to start trying to get beyond their bounds. The forest that spreads into farmlands may be an ambitious spirit, and whathaveyou.

I still haven't figured out, for instance, what the heck the Goddesses' servants are doing. Their retainers - angels and whatnot. Even if the Gods themselves are MIA, their servants should be able to be doing something. Maybe the servants are the ones that, for instance, might be keeping all hell from breaking loose for Melora, or answering prayers. They can "Hold down the fort", but only for so long, or only keep so much in order, hence why some places are more crazy than others.

 

[Rechan]

One question I need to answer (since it's pertinent to a PC's quest) is: What or Who is causing the Hatchling Curse, and what/who killed all the DB in the Special Keep and Took the Eggs, and WHY?