So in my (relatively) upcoming campaign the players will be angels on Earth, combatting threats to mortals like vampires and demons. The work is secret and mortals (aside from a select few) are totally unaware. I suppose it's quite a common trope, like the Mist in the Percy Jackson series, altering mortals' perception of events.
Has anyone done something like this in one of their campaigns? I need a reason whythis world is kept secret, how it's kept secret and to think up a system the angels and unearthly defenders have developed to explain away devastation caused by mass demonic attacks and the like.
Looking forward to hearing the board's suggestions, you've never let me down yet! :D
Hi. I have never run something like this before (my group is very sword and sorcery style), but here are my thoughts.
For the reason why it's kept secret could be something as simple as it would shatter modern religion/science/world as we know it. It could also be because humans are in no position to combat the threat and have to rely on their guardian angels (sorry, couldn't resist).
As to how it's kept secret, it could be some ancient divine mandate (i.e Pact Primeval with forming the Nine Hells) that stops humans from seeing this world. Or it could be like Percy Jackson series, where everything is flavored over by mortal subconscious.
Having the battles take place in sanctioned war-zones would also make sense, if a bit cheesy/unrealistic.
If you think about the modern world, your typical mortal is an NPC class, and even your most highly trained are 3-5th level and probably Fighters and Rogues and the like, at best. In absolutely no shape to fight off demonic threats at all. That is enough reason to keep it secret from humanity. It is not, yet, their fight.
As for how, it could be what the modern world sees as "natural disasters". Volcanoes, Earthquakes, Floods, all of these could be the doings of powerful magic and/or simply powerful beings. There are probably those who know, but also know that the rest of the world shouldn't, and help to keep the rest of us in the dark. Look to World of Darkness for ideas as to how this happens.
Absolutely fantastic, great stuff, thanks guys!
The Pact Primeval has given me so much lore inspiration, that's awesome. I'm turning that into a big part of the story; the demonic forces accepted the Pact so they could harvest evil souls, and a clause would be that the celestial and fiendish actions would remain hidden.
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Absolutely fantastic, great stuff, thanks guys!
The Pact Primeval has given me so much lore inspiration, that's awesome. I'm turning that into a big part of the story; the demonic forces accepted the Pact so they could harvest evil souls, and a clause would be that the celestial and fiendish actions would remain hidden.
I'm glad you enjoyed reading the Pact of my mast-, I mean that fictional document I mentioned earlier. >:D
World of Darkness is modern horror, but the setting is all about a hidden world unaware by humans. Now, I'm not a huge fan of WoD but it is very intricate. You might get some ideas from there.
The Bureau 13 series of books use Hollywood to explain everything. Those Godzilla movies? First was a real monster, later was just keeping up appearances. Besides, magic in not real, so what you saw was special effects or hallucinations.
As to keeping it a secret, both sides have an interest in keeping the number of players down. Besides, it is not yet time for Armageddon / Ragnarok to arrive. Then, the gloves come off.
To explain the mass destruction and death, say some terrorist group claims responsibility. They do horrible things already, why not set off a pocket nuke, or poison gas, or mutant virus? Some in the media and government will be in on it, and may even have an agreement with BOTH sides for spinning the story in return for immunity from attacks.
/cevah
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I remember reading a manga (X 1999 or just X) where two factions kept fighting each other. Before duking out the damage though the good guys always set up an area (Bannkreis in German...banishing circle would be the direct translation, though it's not perfect) the combatants could not leave. This circle (though the form varied depending on who cast it - a sphere, a cube, a tetraeder...) entrapped the combatants, but here's the thing - nobody except them was inside. So if they fought in the middle of the city they made one of these things (let's say a few houseblocks in size) and shifted everyone inside to a parallel dimension. They could only leave the area if the initial caster chose to drop the spell or he got killed - though in that case all damage done to their surroundings would be applied to the real world as well.
(I'm a bit hazy on some of the rules, but the rules were something like this).
So that could be a thing in your world: angels chosing to shift their battles with demons to alternate dimensions (kinda). The real world could still be affected on occasion, but not all the time.
Alternative: The evil guys want to keep it a secret because while they are strong, they would get into real trouble if humanity woke up from their slumber and chose to battle them head-on. They would lose.
The good guys want to keep it a secret because if humanity chose to battle the evil head-on, lots and lots of people would die.
Or maybe both sides are unsure who would win the fight and they are not willing to take any chances. Until (INSERT PLOT DEVICE HERE) and every major NPC murmurs "Someone has changed the rules/There is a darkness coming/That's impossible, they would not risk such a thing! Unless.../The seal has been broken!".
Earl: hahahahaha haha... Hah... Please don't kill me. ;_;
Haha, anyway, thanks for keeping the ideas coming, everyone!
That trope link has given me lots of good ideas, and I do like the idea of shifting the battles to another dimension, I think I could do a lot with that! I really like the point that if the spell goes wrong, all damage will be done to the area. Also allows some fun use of environmental obstacles. :D
Do you think the caster of the spell would have to concentrate to keep it stable, or would they be able to do other things like attack and cast other spells? Perhaps it could be a special rod or staff each agent receives. (Seriously warming to this whole idea.)
My original idea was that the angels and Satan agreed, as part of the Lex Infernus (Pact Primeval ripoff ;D) the mortals should be unable to see their war. They then used their magics together to weave a mist on the mortal world.
But! Satan didn't agree to this for nothing, and to keep the ickle mortals' sanity he expected something in return. A plot point was going to be that this "something in return" was so shocking and /wrong/ for the angels to give, it would break the societal structure of the Heavens and all mortal faith if it was found out what.
I would really love some advice too on this dark secret of Heaven, and whether the mortals staying blissfully ignorant is worth the unforgivable act of sacrificing this... Thing, or I should write that the angels demand something bigger. Hmm.
World of Darkness definitely hits the nail on the head for this type of story. Why don't humans know?
They don't want to. Science and rationality has driven away the old beliefs in magic, werewolves and vampires.
They can't handle it. A magical aura emitted by a shape-shifting creature triggers the primal center of the human brain, panicking them at an instinctual level. They panic, flee, disbelieve and sometimes literally go insane trying to process what they've seen.
They fear it. Humans will always fear and fight what is known before focusing on what isn't. Humanity is really good at preoccupying itself with war and disease and death that it doesn't matter what is lurking in the dark. Nothing could be worse than humanity... right?
Look to Hellblazer/Constantine, Sleepy Hollow and a handful of other TV shows and comics for more examples of this style of story.