Idea Gods, Demons, Magic and The End of The World

[haleighlujah]

Based on the premise that in ancient human history mythology was real. The Gods existed, reigned over life, controlled the material realm. Terrifying, repulsive monsters roamed the countryside, demons meddled in mortal affairs. Yet, as time moved forward, the control of magic over the human world slowly faded. Few ethereal beings accepted their demise with grace - most panicked and fought back. They attempted to destroy the world we live in, and they might have succeeded, given their chosen weapon: an all-consuming dark force, seeded in the center of the universe where the humans would never reach. An insatiable monster, growing larger and impossible to defeat, began to tear apart all matter and space, consume and destroy it so that it could never threaten the magical world again.

But there is a way for the material world to defeat this enemy, to destroy the weapon and the humans aren't the only ones who will try. A party of mortal and immortal beings together will make their way to the center of the universe, in the midst of an epic war, to destroy the weapon and allow the universe to live on.

I think this would be a fun dice quest, but I really wanted to see if anyone else was interested in this idea or if they had any thoughts. I think it would be a lot of fun; a lot of different characters and abilities are possible in this setting, and anything can happen. More details can be developed for the world. A lot of magic/mythos inspiration.

Anywho, what do you think?

 

[Idea]

The initial premise seems pretty standard fair, though the spin of it being effectively a race to the center of the universe, thus making this effectively science fantasy (the presence of supernatural elements squares this in the realm of fantasy in my books) is definitely an unusual spin.

It's definitely not my cup of tea, but I would say there is definitely an audience for it if you can make the character's interesting enough. I wouldn't bank on your world or plot premise to make this work, because the world is kind of a jumbled mess trying to shove everything under the Sun into itself (and over the Sun too) so unless someone is specifically looking for that, which I don't think many are, they probably would find that it can't really bring out their favorite flavor, and the plot is in the end of the day pretty plain with "end of all creation" not being very conductive for modern readers to really care...

I know I'm being harsh, but yeah, I think this working or not (as a quest) will be heavily reliant on your ability to make really compelling characters whose personalities and dynamics with each other can keep people invested long enough for them to become more familiar with your setting and plot and thus invested in those too.


I notice now though that you said "dice quest" which makes me think that you mean a "dice roleplay" and not a "quest roleplay with dice", which on RPN would be two very different things...

As a dice roleplay, I think this would have more potential, because people having the freedom to add what they like, which the setting effectively seems to allow them to do, is something very appealing among simple-casual players on the detail scale.

Anyways, hope this helps, best of luck and happy roleplaying!

 

[haleighlujah]

I know I'm being harsh, but yeah, I think this working or not (as a quest) will be heavily reliant on your ability to make really compelling characters whose personalities and dynamics with each other can keep people invested long enough for them to become more familiar with your setting and plot and thus invested in those too.

Not harsh at all, this is invaluable criticism. I'm actually trying to improve my storytelling. So to make the world a bit more compelling I should simplify, yes? Anything glaring that you think is better cut out?
I'm greatly inspired by Aztec mythology and pantheon, and the way in which they incorporated their knowledge of astronomy, but it's inspired, and not directly representative. You are right: at this point I have a lot of ideas and I don't quite see how all of them connect yet.

My goal for this is to have a setting that is more fantastical than scientific - so players could get really creative with their characters and storylines, if they wish - but I realize the need for consistent, basic rules that support the universe in order for it to be engaging. I should rethink the stakes, maybe some plot elements need to be done over, too.

 

[Idea]

So to make the world a bit more compelling I should simplify, yes? Anything glaring that you think is better cut out?

Yes and no. I think you're on the right path but missing the mark by a bit.
I'm not saying you're spreading yourself too thin or being overly complex. Complexity is fine, and I think you are at a manageable level, but you are mixing things together without any discernible line that says "this doesn't fit".

You have, presumably:
-> scifi elements
-> mythological elements
-> paranormal elements
-> fantasy elements

Try to appeal to everyone, and you end up appealing to no one. Personally, I don't think cutting off anything from the overall idea would work, since any that you do you're fundamentally not telling the same story. Instead, you need an origin point, something to ground what can or not be included in your universe.

For example, one way I see done a lot is "everything is actually explained by this". So maybe, all the magic comes from the gods, and the things that allow the tech of your world to work are based on some manner of divine technology. Doing that, you tied everything to a source, it's not just random, and whatever limitations your gods have are now applicable to the rest of your setting. From that, you created a theme, a direction, order from chaos.

Since this stems from Aztech mythology, I definitely think that's a route you could go with.

My goal for this is to have a setting that is more fantastical than scientific - so players could get really creative with their characters and storylines, if they wish - but I realize the need for consistent, basic rules that support the universe in order for it to be engaging. I should rethink the stakes, maybe some plot elements need to be done over, too.

I wouldn't say you need to rethink the stakes but you definitely shouldn't bank on them. Since you're doing this as a dice roleplay not a quest roleplay, your players have the freedom to make their own characters, so I recommend making sure you get your setting well grounded in your head as a basic concept, and allowing players to make characters within those bounds, then seek out what stakes are personal to the characters. This is not the kind of idea that lives or dies on a plot, it's the kind of idea that lives or dies on the characters, and the best way you as a GM can engage the characters is by making sure that you have a setting in which they cohesively exist and a plot responsive to those characters as individuals and not as replaceable tokens.