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    Canonfire :: View topic - what if they held a war and no one showed?
    Canonfire Forum Index -> Greyhawk- AD&D 2nd Edition
    what if they held a war and no one showed?
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    Apprentice Greytalker

    Joined: Jan 18, 2006
    Posts: 20


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    Mon Jul 17, 2006 11:48 am  
    what if they held a war and no one showed?

    Hi, in my campagin it's CY576 and a certian greyhawkwars are looming, since i was never a fan of the wars and aftermath i've been trying to come up with a way to do away with the whole war deal, other then saying they never happend cop out, so a star trek eposide gave me an idea using the city on the edge of forever showed me the way, the players met up with an npc paladin from the future and he talks them in helping him on a quest unkown to the players the quest will stop the summoning of IUZ from the modules five shall be one the paladin will take them to the guardian and stop the whole war from ever starting changing the whole timeline, the only thing i'm stuck on who could have made such a device? so does anyone have a suggestion or comment on my plans? thanks HAL
    CF Admin

    Joined: Jul 28, 2001
    Posts: 630
    From: on the way to Bellport

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    Wed Jul 19, 2006 6:54 pm  

    Seems like a job for Cyndor or Lendor. Maybe Vatun (if he ever existed) contacted his grandfather?
    Novice

    Joined: Sep 27, 2004
    Posts: 4
    From: MI

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    Thu Jul 27, 2006 2:22 pm  

    The whole time thing can be fun in an original way, other then "using an episode of Star Trek". Use the Chronomancer(s). Instead of a paladin it’s a chronomancer from the future. He tells the pc’s that they need to help him set the time line right (true or false??). Chronomancer are very powerful characters. I don’t recommend them for player characters, but as an npc they are the whip. Then you don’t have to explain the whole guardian thing. A chronomancer can just take them with a time travel spell.

    If you need more info on chronmancer just e-mail me.
    Adept Greytalker

    Joined: Aug 14, 2006
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    Mon Aug 14, 2006 3:17 pm  

    The way they're written, you're going to need to do a lot more than just suppress Iuz to prevent the Wars and their aftermath. While they're conflated into a single thing, the Wars are really three separate conflicts that happen to have occurred at the same time.

    In addition to Iuz taking over the North and decimating the Shield Lands, you've got the Scarlett Brotherhood taking over the Sea Princes and threatening Keoland (and other states besides) and the Great Kingdom pretty much falling apart.

    Personally, I'm just about to launch a CY 576 campaign myself (I was going to do it using C&C, but settled on AD&D 1E instead), and I'm planning on using the history of the Wars and so forth to set a "grand tableau" of background events that will hopefully get across the impression that there's a lot going on in the wide world that doesn't revolve around the PC's.

    Thulcondar
    Black Hand of Oblivion

    Joined: Feb 16, 2003
    Posts: 3835
    From: So. Cal

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    Tue Aug 15, 2006 11:58 am  

    In a campaign I played in, the character Martek from the Desert of Desolation series was used by the dm as a powerful Chronomancer who was able to warn the pc's of some terrible events. Martek was able to traverse time himself, but also could every once in a while send people back or forward in time. It only happened twice though during the same adventure series, the message being that screwing around with time can have consequences.

    The dm kept the time travelling very simple: go here, accomplish this, and leave immediately without disrupting anything else you don't have to.
    Novice

    Joined: Sep 27, 2004
    Posts: 4
    From: MI

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    Tue Aug 15, 2006 4:22 pm  

    Cebrion wrote:

    The dm kept the time travelling very simple: go here, accomplish this, and leave immediately without disrupting anything else you don't have to.


    I know first hand how a chronomancer can disrupt play for a Dm. I played one at Gencon "96". Majority of the party was killed off till I sent a message back in time to prevent there deaths. I went to the second playing of the same game and the Dm took the chronomancer out because the class was to powerful. The simpler the better. There are many other ways to do time travel in Greyhawk also.
    Black Hand of Oblivion

    Joined: Feb 16, 2003
    Posts: 3835
    From: So. Cal

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    Wed Aug 16, 2006 1:01 pm  

    After some thought, here is an alternative to the time-travel thing:

    Instead of time-traveling, you could also always have your npc paladin be from the current time(dropping the worm-hole/corn-hole Star Trek solution to everything) and simply have received a prophetic warning from their deity. Shocked

    Gods do stuff like this ya know.

    "Yea, did I travel in the wastelands of the arctic north. And Lo! In my hour of certain death, with not but my faith to sustain me, my god spoke to me, granting me a vision of terrible times to come. The shining presence of my god was as a beacon to the local tribesmen who came to my aid, and so my life was saved so that I can be here, speaking to you now."

    The paladin need not describe exact visions of things- vague descriptions will suffice. You might choose to include some hints through the use of overriding images, such as "an evilly laughing skull spattered with dripping blood" to represent Iuz or "frozen wastelands/wildlands" to represent the north. You might also give vague descriptions of actual Greyhawk Wars events, such as "undead arising to rule a powerful nation" or the sight of "demons walking the lands, preying on innocents"- real apocalyptic sounding stuff.

    That ought to be a better hook than "Dude! I'm from the future! Things are gonna get real bad if you don't help me!", but maybe that is just me.

    There are some ideas at least. Hope the campaign goes well.
    Novice

    Joined: Sep 27, 2004
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    From: MI

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    Wed Aug 16, 2006 2:26 pm  

    There have been some pretty good starter ideas we have given. But don’t forget about the other powers. Like Our Lady of Fate she might not want the future change. If some message was sent back in time or a prophecy predicted, she might send priest to stop the profit/time traveler/messenger. There are unlimited possibilities. Other examples Iuz was never born, the Scarlet Brotherhood was not ready to take over the Sea Princes, or the Great Kingdom didn’t fall. You can still use part of the war, all of the war or none of the war. The rules are meant to be guide lines.

    Whatever YOU decide just remember to have fun with it.
    Apprentice Greytalker

    Joined: Mar 03, 2002
    Posts: 41
    From: Whitehorse

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    Wed Sep 13, 2006 2:13 am  

    Hiya.

    Glad I caught this thread! I've just started a new Greyhawk campaign (having last DM'ed one years and years ago), using Hackmaster/1e as a rules set. They players have been poking their 1st level heads into various Caves of Chaos, set near a Little Keep on the Borderlands of the Yeomanry and the Jotens... ;)

    The year I've chosen is 576 C.Y. Right now, the PC's world pretty much revolves around Rowan's (human bakluni female paladin of Hieroneous) charge of investigating if the rumors of a Demogorgan cult is hold up in the caves, as well as Tanaius (human bakluni male battlemage) quest for at least some decent treasure and magic from those deadly caves, mines and dungeons! So, I have a bit of time to figure out how to start giving them little tastes of the "bigger world" out there. None of the players have really played in a "real" Greyhawk campaign. I use the term 'real' because, while 3e may pay lipservice to Greyhawk, the rules and adventures I've experienced have most definitly not felt like Greyhawk in any way.

    I'm rambling. Sorry, I do that sometimes. :) I also don't really like the Greyhawk Wars...to me, it felt like TSR was just trying to "kill" Greyhawk so that the could focus on just FR. It's hard to explain, but it just felt "wrong". So, I'm going to try and come up with some kind of "epic, Greyhawkian quest" to more or less stop/reduce the all-encompasing aspect of the GHW's. Right now, I'm leaning towards collecting together 'parts' of some artifact/relic...maybe the Orb's of Dragonkind or the Rod of Seven Parts. I know there was a 'super-box-module' for the Rod. Ayone have any thoughts on it?

    As for the original thread question regarding time travel...I could see it. I like the idea of the "prophetic vision" more than someone traveling back in time. How I might have the "prophetic vision" occur, however, is set up an encounter for the PC's that involves fighting a Time Elemental (1e or 2e monster, can't remember). Take each player aside, and relate a 'vison of the probably future'...and make it real nasty, and directly affecting the PC in some bad way (family/loved ones eaten alive by demons, for example). Have the end of the vision hint at how to go about preventing this. Now, you have as many "sub-plots", each related directly to each PC. This way, each player gets the chance to really shine and feel like they have personally helped save the world. I plan on using this or something like it, for my campaign. :)
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