ScottishFox

It's been a fun campaign so far.  Currently the crew is taking a Dungeon Crawl break from the mass setting absorption in the classic In Search of the Unknown.  I believe it's the first adventure published by TSR for Dungeons and Dragons.
 
It's so old nobody at my table (besides me) knew what it was. 
I slightly predate D&D, electricity, pyramids, fire and other modern novelties...
 
One other aspect of the setting that was a big change from convention is that there are no known Gods.  Almost everyone worships The Light and fears The Dark.  Much smaller numbers of people worship (secretly) spheres of influence rather than specific named deities such as The Harvest, The Wind, The Sea, The Hearth, etc.
Shepherd Flynn worships The Storm (Tempest Cleric template) and his access to unconventional spells has lead to some suspicion from his fellow Shepherd.
 
In one episode Shepherd Flynn heard the name Varkuul in the rolling thunder of a lightning strike and upon inspecting the impact point - found a spiraling image of lightning burned into a tree stump.  He carefully cut away the wooden disk and carries it hidden on his person.
 
A plot point that won't get exposed to the players until very late in the campaign is that the old Gods are as sheltered / imprisoned by The Hold as the humans are.

It's been a fun campaign so far.  Currently the crew is taking a Dungeon Crawl break from the mass setting absorption in the classic In Search of the Unknown.  I believe it's the first adventure published by TSR for Dungeons and Dragons.
 
It's so old nobody at my table (besides me) knew what it was. 
I slightly predate D&D, electricity, pyramids, fire and other modern novelties...
 
One other aspect of the setting that was a big change from convention is that there are no known Gods.  Almost everyone worships The Light and fears The Dark.  Much smaller numbers of people worship (secretly) spheres of influence rather than specific named deities such as The Harvest, The Wind, The Sea, The Hearth, etc.
Shepherd Flynn worships The Storm (Tempest Cleric template) and his access to unconventional spells has lead to some suspicion from his fellow Shepherd.
 
In one episode Shepherd Flynn heard the name Varkuul in the rolling thunder of a lightning strike and upon inspecting the impact point - found a spiraling image of lightning burned into a tree stump.  He carefully cut away the wooden disk and carries it hidden on his person.
 
A plot point that won't get exposed to the players until very late in the campaign is that the old Gods are as sheltered / imprisoned by The Hold as the humans are.

I expect Trump to win the in-person voting by a large enough margin for him to declare victory.
 
Then mail-in ballots will roll in over the next several days reversing that outcome.
 
Then cries of foul play and a legal kerfuffle the likes of which we have never seen.  I don't think either side will accept the election outcome regardless of who wins.

We're only a few weeks in, but so far here are some of the background elements.
 
When the story begins there are only two known races.  The Humans of the Hold and the Shepherds - who escaped the shadow realms and have been the desperately needed protectors of mankind for a thousand years.
Humans of the Hold share a powerful affinity for the light of day and have the following traits:
* Humans who spend most of the day exposed to the light heal BOD at the rate of their REC/day instead of REC/month.
* They are a strong and vigorous people and during the day recover from exhaustion (LTE loss) with a single hour of rest.
* They find inspiration in the light and have advantage (5e term) on all skill checks and attack rolls while in direct sunlight.  The conversion of this is to roll 4d6 and take the best 3 dice.
* Humans of the Hold are terrified by the night.  They have disadvantage on skill checks and attack rolls after darkness falls.  Roll 4d6 and take the worst 3 dice.
 
Shepherds
* Are strongest at night and weakened by sunlight.  They have the opposite advantage/disadvantage traits as the Humans do.
* Can see in the dark
* Do not eat, drink nor sleep
* Can generate areas of consecration where the evil creatures of the night cannot enter without burning to ash (1d6 to 3d6 NND damage - does body - per phase) based on how close they get to the Shepherd.  Shepherds working in tandem can cover much larger areas.
* Shepherds cannot gain the benefit of resting unless they watch over 1 or more Humans during the night.  Shepherds who have no one to protect begin to starve to death.
* Shepherds are not born, but made by way of a process known only to the Keepers (the lords of the Shepherds possessed of strange and terrifying powers).
 
The daily cycle of night and day is interrupted by two hours of The Gloom which falls over the hold during Dawn and Dusk.  During this time a swirling gray hangs in the air and visions of times past or futures yet to come will fade in and out of sight.  The inhabitants of the Hold know not to look at an apparition for any length of time or the images will seem to become more real and often try to lure them away from safe areas or, when close to nightfall, try to distract them long enough that they cannot reach the common gathering grounds of the Shepherds.  One cosmetic aspect of the world is that color is absent at night.  A torch or lantern will only more brightly reveal the black and white reality of night time.  Sunrise returns color to the world as soon as it is brightly lit enough to see.
 
The Night is dark and full of terrors.  Not having a Shepherd around at night is extremely dangerous - almost suicidal.  The creatures that emerge are drawn to the living and scour the wilds and cities alike for unprotected prey.
If you need to travel you have to join a caravan with a Shepherd in it.  Taking to the roads for a multi-day trip without protection is certain death.
 
So far, in terms of party development:
Shepherd Flynn has become increasingly concerned that the Keepers and Shepherds aren't the benevolent protectors of mankind that everyone believes they are.  Flynn seeks to protect his people above all and lies with the truth like an Aes Sedai to keep them out of trouble.
Shepherd Gim ( later arriving player also wanted to play a Shepherd ) is a strictly by the book type of Shepherd and is growing increasingly concerned that Shepherd Flynn has strayed from the faith - perhaps heretically so.  He reports to Keeper Grim secretly to voice his concerns when he can.
Blue is a lazy ne'er-do-well whose primary goal is getting enough money for eat and drink without doing anything resembling honest work.  He's only along for the ride to avoid well earned jail time and to pique his interest in the strictly forbidden arcane arts.
Arietty is thick-skinned barbarian who is hoping they can find a cure for whatever malady that has been afflicting her since the eclipse (she's playing a half-orc and her racial traits are now visible in a world that is 99.99999% human).  When the visions appear in The Gloom they portray seductive scenes of great violence, avarice and cruelty.  Civilization was made for the weak - the strong take what they want when they want.
Blue and Arietty are both convinced the Shepherds are parasites of some sort, but neither wants to die when the sun goes down so aside from giving Flynn a hard time they don't give it much thought.
Occasionally my wife's fire witch joins in and my daughter will play with her beast master (Lorelei and her pet stag - Venison).
 
All of the characters - since the eclipse event - have retained their color at night.  This draws a lot of unwanted attention if they aren't careful (think chanting and levitating during the Salem witch trials).
They are changing and for now only Shepherd Flynn's vigilance has kept them from serious - potentially fatal - trouble with the authorities.

Yes, converting their 5e characters as we go.  My previous Pathfinder campaign gave me some ideas which I refined during the Pillars of Eternity test run campaign.
 
D&D spells are converted to rough equivalents using a points per level basis.  (Cantrips start at 30pts, 1st level 45 pts, 2nd level 52 pts, 3rd level 60 pts, etc.).
 
D&D Armor converts exactly as is to rPD/rED.  Plate armor is +8 Armor class in D&D and 8 rPD/rED in Fantasy HERO.
 
The players continue to level up their characters using 5e templates/applications.  And I convert the abilities over to HERO equivalents between sessions.
 
So far the only part that has required some GM work is converting spells.  But I had worked out Active Points per D&D spell level in a previous campaign.

"This is the Way"
 

Fantastic thanks Scottish Fox

Faces poking out of the wall they climb down, contorted in expressions of agony or terror. Some might open their eyes or move their mouths if touched. Faces screaming or begging for help are optional -- sometimes it's more horrifying if they move like they're screaming or talking, but no sound comes out.
 
If the PCs hammer pitons into the wall to attach ropes to, the wall bleeds.
 
Clouds of flies constantly swarm around them. If looked at up close, they have human heads.
 
Toward the end of their descent, one of their ropes turns into a live snake (non-venomous, unless you want that complication).

I expect Trump to win the in-person voting by a large enough margin for him to declare victory.
 
Then mail-in ballots will roll in over the next several days reversing that outcome.
 
Then cries of foul play and a legal kerfuffle the likes of which we have never seen.  I don't think either side will accept the election outcome regardless of who wins.

Wow I would love to hear more about your campaign setting and details, details details.

Fox, just from the bit of background you mentioned, that sounds like an incredible campaign.

Grabbed three new converts by eliminating some of the world building overhead by keeping ALL of the 5e character creation and class rules and simply using HERO to play the game.
 
Kicked off the new Dark Hold campaign where all of the known world was conquered by an invading horde of life eating horrors from the shadow realms.  All that remains of humanity is the Dark Hold.  A circle of onyx mountains closing off the last villages and cities of mankind.
 
Even there, when the light of day fails, night terrors stalk the lands for human souls.  Only the presence of the Shepherds keeps them at bay (think dark elf + slender man).
 
Our band of intrepid heroes start off as a group of problem solvers working under the guidance of Shepherd Flynn.
 
Things are going well until the day of the eclipse when strange things begin to change for the heroes - and others throughout the land...
 
30+ Years of Fantasy HERO and I still love it.  Best system ever.

I was waiting for the Coronavirus numbers to flip after the schools opened and it looks like we might be seeing the beginning of the case explosion:
 
The single day new cases is the highest ever.  Hospitalizations and deaths are at the lowest numbers in a couple of months, but I wonder if they'll stay that way after the new cases flow through the system.
 
Yikes.
 

Yes, converting their 5e characters as we go.  My previous Pathfinder campaign gave me some ideas which I refined during the Pillars of Eternity test run campaign.
 
D&D spells are converted to rough equivalents using a points per level basis.  (Cantrips start at 30pts, 1st level 45 pts, 2nd level 52 pts, 3rd level 60 pts, etc.).
 
D&D Armor converts exactly as is to rPD/rED.  Plate armor is +8 Armor class in D&D and 8 rPD/rED in Fantasy HERO.
 
The players continue to level up their characters using 5e templates/applications.  And I convert the abilities over to HERO equivalents between sessions.
 
So far the only part that has required some GM work is converting spells.  But I had worked out Active Points per D&D spell level in a previous campaign.

Yes, converting their 5e characters as we go.  My previous Pathfinder campaign gave me some ideas which I refined during the Pillars of Eternity test run campaign.
 
D&D spells are converted to rough equivalents using a points per level basis.  (Cantrips start at 30pts, 1st level 45 pts, 2nd level 52 pts, 3rd level 60 pts, etc.).
 
D&D Armor converts exactly as is to rPD/rED.  Plate armor is +8 Armor class in D&D and 8 rPD/rED in Fantasy HERO.
 
The players continue to level up their characters using 5e templates/applications.  And I convert the abilities over to HERO equivalents between sessions.
 
So far the only part that has required some GM work is converting spells.  But I had worked out Active Points per D&D spell level in a previous campaign.

Yes, converting their 5e characters as we go.  My previous Pathfinder campaign gave me some ideas which I refined during the Pillars of Eternity test run campaign.
 
D&D spells are converted to rough equivalents using a points per level basis.  (Cantrips start at 30pts, 1st level 45 pts, 2nd level 52 pts, 3rd level 60 pts, etc.).
 
D&D Armor converts exactly as is to rPD/rED.  Plate armor is +8 Armor class in D&D and 8 rPD/rED in Fantasy HERO.
 
The players continue to level up their characters using 5e templates/applications.  And I convert the abilities over to HERO equivalents between sessions.
 
So far the only part that has required some GM work is converting spells.  But I had worked out Active Points per D&D spell level in a previous campaign.

OK, seriously how did you pull this off?  Are you "converting" 5e characters?
 

I think the key to this might be to detail out the ritual, not just saying 12 cultists are going to form a circle at "x" time and "y" location and 20 minutes later "bad thing" happens. 
 
I'd make it so that the ritual is a major spell that maybe has a -X (I'll use 20 in this example) to the roll to succeed and the Lead Cultist has the ritual spell at a 13- base chance for success. Then make a list of a bunch of things the cultists need to do before the ritual in order to give +'s to the ritual roll in order for the Cult leader to succeed. So bunch of the cultists are out and about for 30 days before the ritual doing a bunch of things that will make the ritual work.
 
For example, maybe there are  3 magical blades involved in the ritual. Each blade can add +1 to the ritual's success in performing for each "innocent" the blade kills, up to +5 each blade. So the PC's need to find these cultists and stop them from completing their killings and hopefully recover all 3 blades. But they might not. They might recover 1 blade, and prevent another from only killing 2 victims, and fail in hindering the third all together. So they have managed to limit the bonuses to the ritual to +7, rather then +15 that the cultist would have gotten if they hand't been stopped. 
 
At the same time there might be 4 scared locations that the spell could be preformed at that would give the cultists +5 to the roll, so another thing the PC might need to do before the ritual is find these locations and make them unusable to the cultists for the ritual by either making the ground Holy, or flooding it or something else that would make these areas unusable to the bad guys. 
 
There could also be special ingredients that give +'s to the ritual that the PC could try and find and either keep or destroy before the cultists get their hands on them. For example, special berries that only grow in a magical grove in the woods. The Players need to get to that grove and burn the bushes growing the berries before the cultists can gather them.
 
Maybe they can find an order of "good" priests/clerics and convince them to do a counter ritual at the same time the bad guys ritual is happening which will give the bad guys -10 to their chance to succeed, or something similar. 
 
And so on. 
 
It basically becomes a battle to limit the chance (Spell roll) for the ritual to succeed. Every success the PC's have reduces the bonuses the Cultists get, every failure give the cultists some bonus. And the Players don't know what the totals are. 
 
So when it does come time for the ritual to happen, no one might know (except the GM) if the Bad Guys might have a chance to succeed. 
 
Maybe the PC's have done really well and the Cultists have only managed to get +15 to the ritual, so the Main cultist's chance of success is now only 8- when he performs the spell. Or maybe they did poorly and the cultists now have +22 to performing the ritual and the main Cultist now has a 15- chance of succeeding. 
 
Then have the final battle while the ritual is going on. If the players do manage to kill all the cultists before the ritual is finished, then noone will ever know how close to success the bad guys got. If they don't stop the ritual in time, then make the cult leaders Spell roll at whatever it now is, and see what happens. If his roll is 8- and you roll a 12 then the ritual fails and maybe the cult leader dies screaming in agony and the forces of the spell rips him apart or as he is dragged into hell for his failure. Yay, the Players won by making the spell to difficult to cast. 
 
Or maybe the cultists did a better job and the spell roll was 14- and you roll at 12, so the ritual succeeds, then maybe the players have a few moments to try and stop it from "going off" by some of them sacrificing themselves, or maybe they do fail and the spell happens and they now have to live/fight against the consequences, knowing they failed, and that spins off into the next adventures but the knowledge they gained on the cultist's workings will help the next time. 
 
But by making the ritual dynamic and fluid with ever changing odds of success based on how well the players or the cultists do, leading up to the ritual itself, makes it more exciting and unpredictable for everyone involved. 

Grabbed three new converts by eliminating some of the world building overhead by keeping ALL of the 5e character creation and class rules and simply using HERO to play the game.
 
Kicked off the new Dark Hold campaign where all of the known world was conquered by an invading horde of life eating horrors from the shadow realms.  All that remains of humanity is the Dark Hold.  A circle of onyx mountains closing off the last villages and cities of mankind.
 
Even there, when the light of day fails, night terrors stalk the lands for human souls.  Only the presence of the Shepherds keeps them at bay (think dark elf + slender man).
 
Our band of intrepid heroes start off as a group of problem solvers working under the guidance of Shepherd Flynn.
 
Things are going well until the day of the eclipse when strange things begin to change for the heroes - and others throughout the land...
 
30+ Years of Fantasy HERO and I still love it.  Best system ever.

Grabbed three new converts by eliminating some of the world building overhead by keeping ALL of the 5e character creation and class rules and simply using HERO to play the game.
 
Kicked off the new Dark Hold campaign where all of the known world was conquered by an invading horde of life eating horrors from the shadow realms.  All that remains of humanity is the Dark Hold.  A circle of onyx mountains closing off the last villages and cities of mankind.
 
Even there, when the light of day fails, night terrors stalk the lands for human souls.  Only the presence of the Shepherds keeps them at bay (think dark elf + slender man).
 
Our band of intrepid heroes start off as a group of problem solvers working under the guidance of Shepherd Flynn.
 
Things are going well until the day of the eclipse when strange things begin to change for the heroes - and others throughout the land...
 
30+ Years of Fantasy HERO and I still love it.  Best system ever.

I doubt if Joe can stand for 4 hours, much less keep his thoughts straight for 4 straight hours. I know I couldn't do either.
 
Trump doesn't mind slumping over a podium and using it to support himself, he does that at most of his rallies. And he doesn't have to worry about trying to make sense: everyone expects him to make stuff up and lie continuously.
 
====
 
Personally, I'd rather have multiple long-format debates with both candidates sitting.
 
No advance warning about what topics would be brought up.
 
The question would be asking the candidate to start off explaining the nuances of some public policy issue. Then explain how his philosophy of governance would generally deal with that and similar matters. Then ask him to come up with a policy proposal to be incorporated into his campaign and be a promise to the voters that he would work to enact if elected.
 
And none of the questions would be based on things which are part of the candidate's stump speech, campaign website, or legislation he had already proposed at some point.

Yeah, that's my impression as well. 
 
“While on routine patrol, I observed a female exercising inside Waipio Neighborhood Park,” one officer wrote. “Female was stopped and cited for park closure.” - well, the parks were closed to everyone from Aug 6 - Sep 10th.
 
"Officers have issued citations to individuals walking alone outside and to homeless people who live outdoors." - those don't appear to be legit if that's exactly what happened.
 
"Officers have issued citations to parents at the beach with their own children" - The beaches were closed to everyone from Aug6 - Sep 10th. At this point, the rules still say, "Group activities are NOT allowed with any number of people regardless of household."
 
@ScottishFox Thanks for that link. It's often very difficult to get local news of an area which is published on sites which I don't know even exist.
 

My brain translated this into Housing Preservation and Development & Mind Control, but that's probably just too much Paranoia.

Your feet
 are considered area affect attacks against worms