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Here's a little bit of fun:
Prophecy is always dodgy in a game, right? But I can't help messing with it. I have some vague apocalyptic ideas for my current campaign - the party is 12th level now, so it's time for things to get start getting world-shattering.
There's already one vaguely disturbing apocalyptic prophecy floating around my campaign, but sadly the player that it was attached to has left the game, so some of the urgency of it was lost. Time to throw some new cryptic information into the mix.
I was inspired, and wrote some verse - it's not very good verse, and some of the lines are plagiarized, but it's not meant to be art. I wanted to share it, but I thought of a twist: I'll give you the verse, and then whoever feels like it can offer an in-character interpretation. You can just assume an earth-like generic medium-fantasy world vaguely similar to Golarion or Mystara or the Realms as the setting, and you're a scholar who has stumbled across this bit of bad poetry inscribed on an ancient artifact in a dead language. Just write what you think it means, and then I can use your "notes" as handouts for my players.
Or if you want, you can critique the poetry and offer better suggestions. I'm open. Anyway, here's your cryptic prophecy for the day.
Know the balance brokered here
Set aside all hopes and fears
A truce to last ten thousand years
A single turning of the spheres
Down the mountain from the sun
Holy fire and Archons run
Up from pits of darkness come
The endless hordes of jibbering ones
Order and disorder bent
Upon destruction, all intent
To slaughter all their minions sent
'Til weapons blunt and armor rent
Endless war the spheres did shake
Devastation in its wake
Such it seemed that it would make
The fabric of the cosmos break
By decree the Lords of Fate
Shut the door and barred the gate
Armies held in check and wait
A day to rest their endless hate
A jewel strung upon the night
A clever clasp to hold it tight
Until the time the stars are right
And all resume the ancient fight
The sands of fate will soon have run
The day of Arioch will come
The bridge repaired, the clasp undone
By mortal hand, or else by none
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Having searched for some time for ancient text of note, I found myself initially elated at this discovery. Finally, a chance to put my translating skills to the test! A chance at prestige, or at least vindication for the years spent learning all these dead languages.
It has, however, proven a massive disappointment. The 'prophecy' reads as if the 'jibbering ones' referenced were the ones to write it!
Though I know not what a 'turning of the spheres' refers to--some cosmological term, perhaps?--it seems to me that this mess refers to a truce forced between the fiends and the celestials. Perhaps between the proteans and the axiomites. Or perhaps all four groups. Was it a war between law and chaos, or good and law? The latter is implied, but one can hardly rely upon the vague quirks of verse found here.
It is possible that 'the spheres' are the planes of chaos, law, good and evil. Or perhaps the spheres are separate forces which merely initiated or otherwise engineered the conflict.
It is clear to me that the 'Lords of Fate' are the aeons. The poem indicates they created some sort of device to prevent the conflict, possibly by separating these 'spheres' (it occurs to me; is there any sort of relation to magnetic poles involved with the spheres? Science is hardly my forte, but I must look into it). Of course, while the poem implies an amulet, it is likely a metaphor. For what? An entity? A place? Some sort of seal preventing the war. What is the clasp?
The 'sands of fate'...this implies that there is some sort of countdown involved. That it is in the cards for the clasp to eventually be undone/broken. And a mortal must do it? Obviously, those involved in the conflict would not be permitted. I wonder if the 'or else by none' is literal, or if the poem simply does not take into account the existence of fey and undead?
It matters little, of course. This 'prophecy' is clearly nonsense. But I can't help but wonder who or what Arioch is. Is it from a language I don't know? This, too, I should look into.
There's been peace for 1000 years (at least) preventing holy and unholy armies from clashing in an apocalypse upon the world. A particular constellation or star's position marks when the safeguards preventing the apocalypse will open, or can be opened by ritual. I'd start guessing Arioch was a BBEG, or a god or religion that was keen on the apocalypse.
It's a fine poem and prophesy, but I wish there was something in it that gave hints or suggested options. As it is it seems to me (without mulling over it long) that it's (situation, doom doom doom, doom doom doom - doom doom doom doom, a guy who's probably bad's involved, but heroes may have the ultimate last call as to whether this turd hits the pinwheel."
I'd weave more into it that suggested where they might have to go or one or more things that people must do in accordance with doing or stopping the prophesy. Even if they don't understand completely, going to a place might put them in contact or communication with other folks there to act on the prophesy for better or worse, and be enlightened by what those folks know, or do right by preventing the bad guys from succeeding there. It might be cool if the party could succeed by thwarting bad guys at some step, and only learn waaaay later exactly how what they did was of any use.
Ie:
Some shall peal the sky of ceiling's wax,
one dozen score, East of Cheliax.
For blood to rain the world around,
If silver orb cannot be found.
(Translation:)
"the ceiling's wax" is a full moon in the sky, a growing moon waxes, a shrinking moon wanes.
The "Peal" is a homonym with "peel" which could be a distractor if they only HEAR the poem or don't study it carefully, but "Peal" (as in Peal of thunder) could be a hint to the massive storm that the evil faction worshippers will be using to block out the uncommonly bright and full moon while a particular ritual is performed in a certain spot. The blood rain is the by-product of the demon storm that blots out the moon, and the moon breaking through the storm (or not being obscured) would be the condition for that stanza to be won by good. You could have the ritual performed IN cheliax, or just the bad guys are FROM Cheliax, or add east (or any other direction) to give a hint to a particular spot or reference point that would suggest where the ritual is taking place, or from what perspective the moon would be obscured (or you could just have the storm be big enough to block it from anywhere, it IS the apocalypse, but clues are clues!)
The dozen score of Cheliax could be an enemy faction -- 240 priests or cultists that either all together (or most are support and retainers for a few vital actors) who will perform this massive storm ritual to block out the moon in this phase of the prophesy. Maybe various stanzas all relate to different events in the skies or heavens, and if the good folks win the majority, the "clasp" holds, or if the bad guys win it doesn't... or even more diabolical the number of wins only translate to advantage when the final conflict is joined, and the party realizes it may actually have to DEFEND or ACHIEVE the bad guys objectives because (say there are six stanzas) the only way the war is NOT happening is if the score at the end of the prophesy is TIED, 3/3. Of course there will be various schools of thought on interpreting the prophesy, and negotiating with zealous paladins and inquisitors CONVINCED that the bad guys winning any objectives as necessary will be a REALLY hard sell... perhaps a uniquely difficult "bad guy" is a GOOD GUY (and I mean, beloved by the people and sincerely good) who KNOWS the world will end if he succeeds, but still wants to bring about 'revelations' with a solid score of 6/0 celestials.
If you dig the above stanza, I'll give you another one:
In Tumults eye, on seas below,
A ring of peace in rings of woe,
Great ships will fly whence once they sail,
Reaching for burning spears in fists of mail.
I am referring of course to the eye of Abendego, That huge ever-present storm by the sodden lands. If world-ending catastrophes are an excuse for anything, it's sight-seeing, and if your party hasn't been inside an omni-present hurricane, this is their chance. The particular cosmic event taking place here (which when it begins, or even weeks or months beforehand will spread word like wildfire) will be a slow but increasingly dense and concentrated meteor shower directly over the super-storm, the rocks that don't burn up fall into the peaceful eye of the storm and throw gas, ejecta, fire, all manner of stuff around the storm. at it's apex the hurricane could be a burning storm of fiery rock and steaming rain -- which is a great environment for heroes to have a final battle. Not only would this look awesome from miles away, it would be awe and piss inspiring within it. Perhaps the meteors striking the bottom of the ocean here are weakening a seal on the ocean floor that is holding back the infernal army, or empowering it. The point is, the more of these "falling stars" that hit the storm, the s*#~tier that is for the good-end of the prophesy. Preventing the larger rocks from falling into the water within the eye however cranks down the power of the fire-storm, and if done successfully enough will actually interrupt it completely (which could cause a 'for good' win on this stanza.) -- the main means the good guys and bad guys are using are specially created celestial and abyssal designed/styled/enchanted SHIPS -- the Abyssal ship (make it a huge dreadnaught or fleet of frigates) are coursing around IN THE HURRICANE (sailing first then as the storm gains power and magic FLYING around in it) vs. Celestial powered/aided/designed Ships that are trying to interdict the falling rocks (in silver nets, or giant "Metal hand" catapults, or trying to knock the falling stars free of the storm with their own projectiles. The party could officially or unofficially get aboard these ships and in helping the arial/naval battle for one side, win the stanza for that faction, or you could make it be a more diplomatic-style adventure on the elemental plane of air, Where the party must appeal to the Elder Air elementals to manipulate the storm for the objective they want, or you could make it an underwater adventure where they have to disrupt the storm or move the seal or some other objective before the "celestial" or good-motivated fleet is destroyed.
Hope this is useful or at least inspiring. I could try to come up with more or critique other stuff if circumstances are right and welcome. All of this is not to say that your apocalypse poem isn't great and more than sufficient... but if it was telling me where to go, I didn't figure that out.
Perhaps you can have BOTH your old poem and a new poem... call them "The veils of Osiripannishad" or something, with the first poem saying something really could happen (the outer veil) and a second poem that lists what in fact will happen with it open to interpretation how good or evil will turn the event (the inner veil)...
Just my two plats,
V