2002-07-15 - 4:21 p.m.
Well, I'm back. I've been traveling the last few days, mostly poking around Alaska, checking out glaciers and such (yes, I do live far enough north that an outing of that sort is a casual weekend trip), so I have been a little out of touch. Nothing like a good glacier to get one thinking primordially, though, so, given my current Paragon project, that's probably a good thing.
After giving it a lot of thought, I have decided that I will start posting some of my current campaign notes to the blog, as I mentioned earlier. The first entry will be made in a couple of days, once I have had time to neaten up my notes and warn my players away from this site for a while, so that they don't spoil their own fun.
Having said this, I should probably give you a quick overview of what to expect. Which means that we need a little...
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If you are one of my players...
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...bugger off now...
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...and I might be merciful. ;-)
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(But probably won't be.)
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(Bwah, hah, hah!)
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Okay, hopefully that will do the trick, and the only people left reading this will be the ones who are supposed to be here. So, without further ado...
A Little Background
Ever since I first watched Unbreakable, a while ago, I have had a vague sort of campaign idea floating in the back of my head. It occurred to me that running a Paragon game in a low-powered, almost normal world, with only a handful of paranormals, might be a lot of fun. The players would have to be especially cautious, since the public would be unaware that "superheroes" really exist. At the same time, they would occasionally be faced with some tough moral decisions (which I would certainly do nothing to make easier), once they realized that there simply weren't that many people around who could actively oppose them. Being a hero in a world that expects you to be a hero and that is made for heroes is easy. Being a hero in a world where there are few real rewards for altruism and lots of perks for crossing the line... Well, that's when things get interesting, and you find out what people are really made of.
It was a cool idea, but, since I was busy with a lot of other things, it never turned into anything more than that. Then, one night, a couple of weeks ago, I watched Unbreakable, again, and decided that it was finally time to do something with the notion. After musing over it for a while and coming up with several organizations and such, I realized that there was one large piece missing from the puzzle: where the heck did these weird people come from? In a comic world, this isn't a big concern -- it's a weird universe, and weird people inhabit it. But in world more like our own, where things are relatively normal (at least on the surface), a general origin for super powers becomes more important. In fact, it occurred to me that this one decision would set the tone for the entire campaign. So, what tone did I want?
As luck would have it, some of my players wanted me to read the rules for Mythos, the next day (I'm "Rules Guy" in our little corner of gamer-land). For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, Mythos is a collectible card game, based on H. P. Lovecraft's stuff -- the same background material that was used in Chaosium's original Call of Cthulhu RPG (which I have) and the later d20 spin-off (which I don't). Anyway, reading those rules got me to thinking about the Cthulhu RPG and wondering where I had buried it, so I dug through my prodigious collection of game material and eventually found it. After enjoying a trip down memory lane for a few minutes, I suddenly had a brainstorm. The scheming going on in the back of my head got mixed up with what I was reading, and suddenly, in all of that cross-wiring, I had the answer I was looking for. Suddenly I knew exactly where the super powers had come from. And I had a cool and very serious threat to keep the heroes occupied, as well. Five minutes later, I was happily typing away on my computer, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Cute Story. So What's This Really All About?
I'm glad you asked. Picture this:
The time is around 250 million B.C., and two god-like alien races with radically different outlooks are battling it out for galactic supremacy. The losers -- the Sheloth -- end up broken and scattered all over the cosmos, and a few of them wind up on Earth, around the end of the Permian period. Using their ultra-tech, they begin converting the planet into something more friendly to their biology and, in doing so, trigger the Permian extinction. Unfortunately for them, they lack the time and resources to succeed in their mission and end up having to go into suspension, beneath the Earth. From their hidden lair, a few conscious ones begin working on a new plan: by manipulating the genetic material of several indigenous creatures, they encourage the growth of the dinosaurs, eventually planning to create an intelligent slave race that will do their work for them. The end result will ultimately make the Earth uninhabitable for that same race, but... hey... you know what they say about omelettes and eggs, right?
Now, enter the winning side -- the Vasloi. They get wind of what is going on and send their own expedition to Earth. They battle it out with the first group, a few times, but ultimately realize that they are outnumbered and outgunned, given that their foes have had millions of years to prepare. As a last resort, they bombard Earth, using mass drivers, and trigger the Cretaceous extinction. The dinosaurs are wiped out, including the brighter ones that were evolving their own civilization (the Surd) -- well, most of them, anyway.
At this point, both sides are in rough shape and the planet is a mess. The Sheloth decide to play it safe, this time, and make subtle changes to the DNA of a number of promising mammal species. The plan is to create a sort of genetic "time bomb", so that, by gently guiding the evolution of the altered creatures, the Sheloth can engineer their own rebirth, along with that of a super-powered slave race to do their bidding. Think of it like a poison that has two or more parts: individually, they are harmless, but, when mixed together...
In the meantime, the Vasloi have plans of their own. They also tinker with certain creatures, with plans to evolve a race that will act as hosts for their spiritual essence. Most of them commit a sort of ritual suicide, assuming as semi-conscious astral form that will allow them to survive the ages, until the time is right. Their allies, a race of spiritual energy-beings known as the Onjina, assist in this plan and promise to watch over the modified locals, guiding their evolution.
Time passes. Lots of time, actually. Eventually, one species develops sentience. By that point, homo sapiens are the only mammals left carrying the Sheloth genetic sequence. Ironically, they are also one of only a handful of species that also carry the Vasloi sequence. Throughout history, the Sheloth sequence pops up, briefly, creating super-powered indivuals who inspire legends of gods, demi-gods, and heroes. This occurs in three waves, the last of which arises during the twentieth century. Which, of course, brings us to the here and now.
The world appears, on the surface, to be very much like our own; however, a small number of paranormals exist. Several governments are aware of them and have secret prorgams to recruit or destroy them, but the public, on the whole, is oblivious -- at least for the moment. Some of these "supers" join the government, some become independent heroes, and some become villains. None realize that they represent the first generation of a new species that will ultimately give birth to the Sheloth and, shortly thereafter, their own extinction.
At the same time, the Onjina have begun to awaken the Vasloi spirits, and some of these are joining with humans to pass on information and assistance in defeating the Sheloth. In the background, a few remaining Surd, who have been hiding beneath the earth, have plans of their own. Some still follow the Sheloth master plan, as zealots; others recognize the suicidal nature of that plan and are trying to oppose it. Then there is a wildcard group: the Gunda, nomadic tech thieves. A few centuries back, humans accidentally triggered an ancient Vasloi homing beacon. It didn't attract any Vasloi, but Gunda scavengers caught wind of it and have appeared on Earth three times, eventually setting up a small base on the moon.
Enter the Player Characters. They begin as normal people in what seems to be a normal world. In fact, they are paranormals, and, in the first few chapters of the story, they will begin to develop their powers. I plan to keep them separate for a little while, with each one entering the fray from a different angle, i.e. one working for the government, one getting recruited by an old mystic society, one stumbling over ancient ruins, etc. From there, they will have to work together to discover the true history of the world and their place in it, all the while trying to avoid the many organizations and individuals who want to use them. The terrible truth is that, despite their best intentions, the PCs represent the first wave of a new species that may ultimately doom mankind, if they do not find a way to throw off the Sheloth yoke.
They will soon find that they have inherited many strange enemies and even stranger allies. The Sheloth feel nothing but contempt for mankind but are prone to assist their paranormal "servants", and the same can be said of the Surd still working for them. On the other hand, the Surd who are opposed to the Sheloth -- and, thus, are on the same side as the heroes, over the long run -- are prone to kill paranormals on sight, since they recognize the threat these mutant humans represent. The Vasloi, who are, mentally, a little like the Vorlons, from Babylon 5 want "what's best for everyone" but have no problem ruining the lives of individuals to save the world, as a whole. To make matters worse, the few that are left are growing paranoid and may decide that another mass extinction is the only way to deal with the problem (making a potential ally into the worst possible sort of enemy). The Onjina are allied with the Vasloi but have some sort of strange agenda of their own that involves the spiritual enlightenment of at least some humans. Because they are immortal and have been hanging around conscious more often than the other aliens, they have a clearer view of the big picture; however, their mental set is more bizarre than any of the others, so who knows what they will do? And, finally, the Gunda are a sort of neutral group, interested only in profit, some of whom may become enemies and some of whom may become reluctant allies.
Now, mix in a number of human secret societies -- some magic-based, some tech-based -- that have evolved over the centuries to rationalize, profit from, and otherwise deal with the alien presence, and you have a very busy world, indeed -- at least for adventurers who are suddenly forced to look behind the curtain. Once the veil has been lifted for them, the PCs are in for a very bumpy ride...
That, in a nutshell, is the basis for the Dark Ascension campaign -- although this is really only the tip of the iceberg and doesn't touch on all of the many twists and turns I have planned. Tone- and atmosphere-wise, it is kind of an unholy mix of Unbreakable, X-Files, Babylon 5, X-Men, and, of course, Lovecraft's universe, with a dash of pulp adventure, a la The Mummy Returns, thrown in, for the "lighter" moments. I would classify it as modern science-fantasy, with a horror overtone. I think it is going to be a lot of fun.
DA on the Blog
Over the next while, I will post a bunch of my notes on this site, in case anyone else wants to try out this peculiar flavor of Paragon in their own campaign or is just curious about how far the system can be pushed. There are a few things to keep in mind, during the days ahead...
1. I have decided to go with more of a diary-style blog while doing this -- i.e. one entry per page, rather than several -- and mark off the DA ones in some manner to make it easier for my players to avoid them. Actually, given the size that some of these entries will probably reach, that might be a good idea, anyway.
2. Keep in mind that these posts will be coming directly from my own notes, so they may be a little open-ended and/or disorganized, at times. Some areas will be left deliberately vague to give me room to maneuver -- which means that you will have room to maneuver, as well. If you have any specific questions, feel free to drop me a line and ask -- but be willing to accept "I haven't figured that out, yet" as a possible answer. ;-)
3. Another result of #2: Given that this is a weblog, I cannot retain all of the fancy physical formatting that shows up in my own notes. You will get all the information, but please understand that it might have the same visual appeal as, say, the Paragon book, itself.
4. Yet another result of #2: This also means that I cannot include everything from my own notes here. In particular, I have grabbed artwork from all over the net to use for props for my players, and I will not, under any circumstances, publish other peoples' stuff here, without their permission. What I will do, whenever possible, is give you a link to the artist's own site, so that you can see what I had in mind when I wrote a particular description.
5. As usual, I'm trying to make sure that you can run this with just Paragon and the PHB. I'm afraid I'll have to add in one more book for the aliens, though: the Psionics Handbook. I want the aliens' psi powers to feel and work differently from the paranormals' super powers, and this seems like the best way to do it. Also, this allows me to jot them up in the standard Monster Manual format, making them usable in other genres, as well. I may or may not post a conversion at some point that would allow you to replace psionics with Paragon Powers. We'll just have to wait and see about that one (if you think this would be useful to you, tell me -- the odds of me taking the time to do it will be substantially greater if it seems like it will actually be of use to someone).
6. I probably don't have to say this, but I guess I had better: please observe the copyright notice at the bottom of this page. You are free to use this information in your own game -- that's the whole reason I'm putting it here. You are definitely not free to post or publish it elsewhere or claim it as your own. Please don't abuse this freebie, or it will disappear. 'Nuff said, I hope.
P.S. If you are diving into this in the middle and feeling puzzled, make sure that you click on the Older button to check out the very first introductory post. The Paragon rules and Vancouver: 2020 primer can be found at RPG Hoard. If you want to comment on this page, just click here, or press the Contact Cwylric button, to the left, to send me an email. Remember that the kermode.net address listed in older versions of Paragon and Vancouver: 2020 is no longer active, so please use one of these two methods to get in touch with me, instead.
