Need Feedback on a Campaign Idea [long]

[Guest javadragon]

Okay first I know that this idea is a bit of a rip-off of the Watchmen comic, so no need to make any comments about that how this idea has been done before.

 

Side Note: Isn't it interesting how you can get an initial idea for a campaign and as you develop it, it ends up looking nothing at all like the original concept?

 

I will try to give some background into the thought process that spawned this idea so that you will have a feel for the tone/flavor that I'm trying to invoke. I wanted to run a campaign that had the players controlling characters with significant power, and forced them to make choices about what they would do with that power. Eventually I decided that the campaign would take place in the modern world/time. I knew that I didn't want it to be 4-color campaign.

 

OK here is what the players would know:

 

The year is 2020 the world is a very tense place. For years the U.S. has continued to attack more and more countries on the excuse of pre-emptive war (i.e. They didn't like us and would have attacked sooner or later). The countries that have been occupied are breeding grounds of hatred for the western powers. The European Union concerned about the expansionist policies of the U.S. stepped up there own military programs.

 

In January 2019 when it seemed that things were about to spiral out of control a massive explosion was recorded in {some large South American country}. The exact cause of the explosion is still debated. Because a lot of people sited a bright light in the sky before the explosion it is generally believed in the scientific community to have been caused by a meteorite. What is known is that mere days after the explosion the first reports started to roll in from the devastated country (infrastructure was destroyed in the initial explosion) of people finding scenes of horror in the ruins. It came to be believed that the explosion was in fact the first move in a bid to seize the country. As the days went by more and more reports came back of rescuers finding sites of devastation. It soon became clear that the new horrors had happened after the explosion (mutilated bodies were too fresh). Shortly after that the first confirmed reports of "them" came in.

 

By February what the pressed dubbed the "DEMON Wars" had begun. Pictures and footage of horrible creatures destroying entire towns was being shown 24/7 by the media. Scientists were unable to explain what the creatures were or where they had come from. Many conspiracy nuts said that it was genetic experimentation gone wrong. Others said that the meteorite that had caused the explosion was actually an alien spaceship crash landing and that we were being invaded by the survivors. The church declared that these were in fact demons escaped from hell; here to wipe us out. Whatever the cause the U.S. sent a "Freedom Force" in to put a stop it.

 

By May the U.S. army had suffered terrible losses and had been forced to fallback. They weren't willing to ask for help until the {cool name} started. People all over the world were undergoing staggering transformations. Some were becoming monsters as bad as or worse than what had been seen footage from the war. Of these some of the more powerful ones capable of getting there went to the war to fight for the "DEMONS" thinking that they had been chosen by Satan. Others stayed behind; Some because they weren't powerful enough to make the trip and others for reasons of there own.

 

Other people simply gained amazing powers. Some thought that they had been chosen by god to fight the evil and went to the war. While others stayed at home to fight the horrors that had arisen there.

 

Faced with the need to fight the menace both away and at home the U.S. had no choice but to ask others for help.

 

By July the Vatican had sent a call out for the chosen of God. They were building an army to send to the war. By August the U.S. had also initialized a special program to recruit the "Empowered" (this was U.S. military code name for those who had undergone the transformation).

 

Now it is 2020 and South America is covered in a war that is more horrible than we have ever known. "Terror's" (evil Empowered) are on the loose just about everywhere.

 

The game begins with the players have just undergone the transformation. It will be up to them to decide if the wish to go fight in the war or attempt to defeat the monsters at home.

 

OK What is really going on?

The pope decides that the only way to save humanity is to unite them in a single cause against a single enemy. But who could that be?

Through the use of its massive money and infrastructure the church perfects nano-machines. It also creates the first real A.I. to control them. The church unleashes them with the instructions to create these monsters from material at hand. Just incase something goes wrong the A.I. is programmed to destroy it self upon command. Once it becomes clear that their creations are winning the church attempts to kill the program. But by now it has become self-aware and refuses to go off-line. In an attempt to buy itself more time it unleashes nano-machines upon the air currents to go out and spread. The church realizes what is going on and releases a new batch of nano-machines programmed to stop the previous ones (these are what are creating the good Empowered.)

 

Okay be kind since this idea was just hatched this afternoon. What do you think? Any ideas I can add in?

 

Some other random thoughts:

1) the church can come up with detectors (that they will claim are holy items) that can determine who has been infected with the nano-machines.

[zornwil]

Re: Need Feedback on a Campaign Idea [long]

 

I hope your players have experience running in such sociopolitcally-charged campaigns or that at least you have experience running them with players who don't. But it can be very rewarding, I have, though with fewer charged specifics than you.

 

The very beginning, when they make their choice, be careful. Players almost always follow the path of seeming greatest reward, even if the path is not so desirable, it seems to me. That and of course they do look to the GM for a cue. So just take great care with that.

 

I think it's chock-full of ideas and would be loathe to deliberately add - the act of campaigning will add plenty anyway. I think it's time to start.

 

As a comment, it will be hard - if not impossible - to keep inventive players from finding that these "holy items" are not and you may face as well too great a basis for suspending disbelief on that count. I would think a bit about that.

 

Just a few random thoughts for now.

[Snarf]

Re: Need Feedback on a Campaign Idea [long]

 

I hope your players have experience running in such sociopolitcally-charged campaigns or that at least you have experience running them with players who don't. But it can be very rewarding, I have, though with fewer charged specifics than you.

Yeah, I'll second this. Make sure none of your players are uncumfortable with this.

 

If I were in this game, I'd want the choice between joining the Demons and Empowered to not happen right away. Start with a few games that happen during their transformation or something like that, so they can get a feel for their characters and the setting and understand the case for joining either side.