False Prophesy?

[hammymchamham]

So, I'm thinking for my upcomming campaign that I want to do a False Prophecy as a major story arc (with the PC's at the center of course). Has anyone done anything like this? If so, how did you do it? Or how would you?

My campaign will be set in Forgotten Relms, and I'm thinking of having som NPC cleric who is leading a rogue group of his church (not a bunch of rogues, but a splitnter church group), and the cleric leader read some prophecy and thinks the PC's are those who are expose to fullfill it. Basically something about killing an anchient evil (namely Cthulhu j/k) to save Faruen (yadda yadda) or alont those lines. I want to be present it so that its not a cliche of 'save the world' story line, because thats NOT what they're actually doing. I'm considering either someone else is expose to fullfill it (so the PC's are competing with some NPC's that show up) or even its just blantently a false prophesy and no one is to fullfill it.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Here's a random thought.

The PC's begin the campaign against some evil church of evilness and evilosity, killing priests, destroying temples, et al.

They did *such* a good job that a high ranking priest from the local good church sees them as the potential saviors! He thinks they're so great, he'll send them to fight an even greater evil, because no one but they can do it!

Of course, the high-ranking priest giving the mission is actually just a cleric/rogue with a lot of Bluff and one similar domain, and he's Evil, Evil, Evil, and was also a high-ranker in the church of evilness the PC's recently destroyed.

The Prophecy becomes just another excuse to get rid of the PC's, for him, but perhaps all around the PC's and the priest expect them to be victorious.

Build up their confidence. Give them "ancient holy weapons slay the evil!"

...and then the evil nearly kills them, throttling them well enough to put them in the underdog position. Now, the campaign is all about how the PC's get back up and uncover the priest. And perhaps in the course of this, they find out that perhaps they almost fit a philosophy anyway....one that casts the priest who sent them here as the Great Evil....

....though getting the townsfolk to understand that *may* be a bit difficult.

Anyhoo, just an idea.

 

[JDragon]

First, see if you can get Pirate Cat in here, from what I've heard he has done some cool stuff with prophecy.

Second... have it be a forked/twisted prophecy (or something like that) that if they follow the branch they've been presented it will actually bring about a great evil instead of stopping it. As the campaign goes along leave little clues to start letting them see the error in their path, and if they don't correct it soon enough have groups of good NPC's trying to stop them. It could also be that they need to let one smaller event of evil happen to stop the greater one.

Let us know what you go with and how it goes.


JDragon