Infinity War in your campaign (Spoilers)

[Grumpy RPG Reviews]

So in Infinity War Thanos lectures everyone on the virtues of Uwe Boll.
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I hope that is enough spoiler space.

Joking aside, just as a thought experiment, how would you include the end of Infinity War in your game, assuming you chose to do so?

The party is going about their business, maybe they are in a town or raiding a dungeon, etc. Then, half the people just disintegrate. Further, Thanos may not have "phrased his wish" carefully so to speak. The effect might have spared the undead. What would this do to the campaign setting?

 

[Sunseeker]

The mortal races have only just succeeded in overthrowing the dragons that once ruled their entire planet, thanks in part to the fact that have numbers and got access to "Old Magic" which relies entirely on force of will, (the dragons have more of it individually, but the mortal races have more collectively).

So, realistically the mortals likely just lost the ability to use Old Magic, not just on willpower, but presumably their knowledge of it has also been cut in half.

The dragons would be dramatically poised to regain control, even with half of them remaining. There were already few of them but they were just shy of gods. A handful of demi-gods is still a handful of gods, and without Old Magic the mortal races would have to fight with regular magic, which didn't do them much good before.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Well, it’s extremely disruptive, to say the least. And if certain powerful beings are unaware of the actual cause, their own preconceived notions about the power and intents of their rivals could touch off all kinds of wars.

Stepping down from the macro level, certain challenges definitely would change their nature. Hope none of the vanished were acting as counterweights or anchors for anyone else.

And I hope the GM cleared this kind of possibility with his players, or there could be a revolt.

 

[Imaculata]

Well, ignoring the finer details regarding the ending of Infinity War, I do like the idea of building up all these interesting characters, and then slowly steering the campaign towards one epic showdown where some of these characters will die.

I've been doing something similar for my 3.5 pirate campaign. I have a looming threat that has been slowly built up as the main antagonist, over the course of many sessions. I think we've been playing for over a year now, and my players have only once merely caught a glimpse of the big bad. Much like with Thanos, they have come to realize that it is not even close to a fair fight. The big bad is simply too powerful for them to have even a remote chance of beating him in a direct fight. So it is going to take a massive fleet, and all of the characters that they've come to love, to have any chance of winning. And some of those characters are not going to make it.

Unlike with Infinity War though, my campaign does not include a magical artifact that can change reality and rewind time, to undo all of those deaths. And that sets the stakes a lot higher.

 

[Thomas Bowman]

So in Infinity War Thanos lectures everyone on the virtues of Uwe Boll.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
I hope that is enough spoiler space.

Joking aside, just as a thought experiment, how would you include the end of Infinity War in your game, assuming you chose to do so?

The party is going about their business, maybe they are in a town or raiding a dungeon, etc. Then, half the people just disintegrate. Further, Thanos may not have "phrased his wish" carefully so to speak. The effect might have spared the undead. What would this do to the campaign setting?

What undead? I didn't see any undead in the movie, there was Red Skull from Captain America: The First Avenger, but he just looks like a skeleton.

 

[Thomas Bowman]

Well, ignoring the finer details regarding the ending of Infinity War, I do like the idea of building up all these interesting characters, and then slowly steering the campaign towards one epic showdown where some of these characters will die.

I've been doing something similar for my 3.5 pirate campaign. I have a looming threat that has been slowly built up as the main antagonist, over the course of many sessions. I think we've been playing for over a year now, and my players have only once merely caught a glimpse of the big bad. Much like with Thanos, they have come to realize that it is not even close to a fair fight. The big bad is simply too powerful for them to have even a remote chance of beating him in a direct fight. So it is going to take a massive fleet, and all of the characters that they've come to love, to have any chance of winning. And some of those characters are not going to make it.

Unlike with Infinity War though, my campaign does not include a magical artifact that can change reality and rewind time, to undo all of those deaths. And that sets the stakes a lot higher.

Its a lot easier with a movie than with a role playing game with unpredictable player characters. Dr. Strange went forward in time to check a bunch of outcomes to see how Thanos can be beaten, and he found only one outcome where such an event can occur, now in a role playing game you need multiple pathways not just one, because unlike in a movie where the characters always do what the author wants, player characters are unpredictable, you need to allow leeway to have multiple ways to beat the bad guy.

 

[Sunseeker]

Its a lot easier with a movie than with a role playing game with unpredictable player characters. Dr. Strange went forward in time to check a bunch of outcomes to see how Thanos can be beaten, and he found only one outcome where such an event can occur, now in a role playing game you need multiple pathways not just one, because unlike in a movie where the characters always do what the author wants, player characters are unpredictable, you need to allow leeway to have multiple ways to beat the bad guy.

For all we know Dr Strange lied.

Beyond that, "the players" did try multiple solutions. They tried destroying one (Mind). They tried beating the stuffing out of Thanos (which almost worked!). They tried to keep one secret from him (Soul). They tried to steal one away before Thanos got it (Reality).

I mean, the players can only be given so many chances to succeed.

 

[Grumpy RPG Reviews]

What undead? I didn't see any undead in the movie, there was Red Skull from Captain America: The First Avenger, but he just looks like a skeleton.

I meant what would the results look like in a fantasy world, not the MCU. Like, how would this shake out in the Forgotten Realms? In a place where undead exist, like vampires, and zombies, and shriners, and liches. Half the living sentient population dies, regardless of race, class, alignment. But that purge doesn't hit the undead.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Perhaps it wasn’t (just) “living” beings that were destroyed by Thanos, but “sentient” ones.

Didn’t see the movie, but did the oceans fill with ash from zooplankton, fish, etc? Did ash rain from the skies as birds & bugs flew around? Did any mechanical beings get destroyed? If not, “living” wasn’t really the key.

And if sentience is what matters, intelligent undead could be as at-risk as the living.

 

[Thomas Bowman]

I meant what would the results look like in a fantasy world, not the MCU. Like, how would this shake out in the Forgotten Realms? In a place where undead exist, like vampires, and zombies, and shriners, and liches. Half the living sentient population dies, regardless of race, class, alignment. But that purge doesn't hit the undead.

I think it doesn't matter if half the zombies and vampires disintegrate or not, there are not a lot of those in the first place. Most fantasy worlds aren't crawling with undead. I think what type of undead matters, a ghost can't really disintegrate since they are incorporeal, a zombie or a skeleton could. Vampires have a material component as well, so they would presumably disintegrate just like anyone else.