Villain Help - Birth of New Gods campaign

[Captain Dwur]

I am toying with a Main Villain for a new campaign.  My initial concept of the campaign is that the world is at a turning point between eras.  The World-birther created the world and all the existing gods.  Now, there are major rifts in the world as various divine energies are re-aligning.  So far they just cause unexpected supernatural phenomena, but ultimately they are indicators of the creation of a new pantheon of gods.  I would like the players to follow clues found at the sites of these disturbances which point them eventually to the Villain and his experiments.  

My villain is (everyone say it with me) a wizard.  He is an arrogant bastard who thinks he has unlocked the secrets of the universe and will create a new god in his image.  His experiments are either causing or worsening the rifts in the world.  The villain is forced to hire himself out as a magic-man to warlords in order to finance his experiments.  He views less intelligent people (everyone) as sub-human and will put them in their place when he makes his god and starts the new order of things.  He is frustrated because he believes that he undersdtands the workings of the universe, but has not yet been able to use the knowledge to achieve power.  He resents the fact that his mighty intellect is still subject to petty physical rulers and their armies.

I really liked this idea when I had it, but now I'm feeling a little dissatisfied and at a loss for inspiration to improve upon what I have.

Food for thought:
Is Villain actually capable of creating a god?  Is he barking up the wrong tree?  Is he barking mad?
Where did he gain his understanding of the world?  Is he being manipulated by some un-, sub-, para-, or supernatural force to raise them as a god in this world?
What happens when the new god is created?  
Maybe his understanding of the world is flawed and his experiments are causing these rifts, but are not bringing him closer to raising a god, and are simply tearing apart the world.


I'd appreciate any reactions you fine folks may have.  I still like the idea, but now it feels more like a skeleton of an idea, but there isn't anything to sink your teeth into.  Is it too cliche?  Am I overthinking the whole thing?

Thanks again.

[Tybalt]

I dunno if it's too cliche. Let's work on it a little.

First of all, there are many such stories around, and most of them involve the heroes preventing this kind of action. There are also others (The Dunwich Horror comes to mind) in which the heroes discover the connection after the fact, and realize it can get worse.

This may be an odd twist but this is what I'm thinking--that the wizard is not at all an obvious villain, in fact appears to be a neutral verging on benevolent figure. I'm picturing a rather remote and austere person who would seem to have nothing to do with the creation of the kind of chaos you are talking about. Furthermore the god in question is not readily visible or accessible but rather is more felt like a kind of great influence too large at first to be perceived. The rifts themselves should give you ample distractions, subplots and trails that will gradually lead to the god's birth and the wizard's acts of creation.

I hope these are some helpful thoughts. I'll consider the matter a little more.

[Captain Dwur]

Idea 1: being arrogant, this wizard WANTS to be discovered (so he can show off) by anyone smart enough to figure out what he's doing, so does nothing to cover his tracks at the sites of his experiments.  It's like a test to see who is smart enough to be let in on his secret.

Idea 2: The God isn't finished yet, so he doesn't want to out and out declare victory because he is still afraid of the military powers that could be set against him.

Idea 3: The God Baby is held captive by the wizard, and has yet to fully develop.  Each act of the wizard helps to mold the new god into its desired shape, but at game start, it is only about 5% mature, and still largely unformed.

Idea 4: Destroying the God, or preventing the creation of the God are not possible... the wizard has started a ball rolling that he hopes to steer, but cannot stop (he may not know this, and assume that he can kill the God if things start to go sour)

Idea 5: Victory for the PCs will be freeing the new god from the wizard's control, or if they decide to be more self-centered, wresting control of the God from the wizard. (this removes one of my concerns - that I didn't want the players to be able to defeat a god)

I originally wanted to make a villain that the PCs really love to hate for obvious reasons, but if he is generally thought to be benevolent there will be social pressures preventing them from assaulting him unless they have irrefutable proof.  If they decide to attack him based on their suspicions, they will lose the support of the people.

They may even know him as an ally or advisor.  I really like this for the Master Villain, now I just need to add a love-to-hate-him style minion.  The PCs could face the minion, who they thought was the ultimate villain only to uncover the twist that he was working for the Master Villain, a former ally.

Thanks for the thoughts, Tybalt.  It really got my brain going.

[Gilladian]

I like the idea that the wizard is both being used by and making use of some otherplanar being. Perhaps the other being believes it will become a god by the wizard's acts; but the wizard believes that HE will rule the god, by right of creation.  Therefore they are working together but each intends to reap the advantage at the end (either by betraying the other or simply through the successful result of their plans).

This gives you two villains who may compete at times, and cooperate at other times. Perhaps the PCs work for one or both of them at various times, carrying out tasks whose point they don't know at the time, but later will help them realize what is really going on.

The rifts anything from mildly unsettling changes in weather/climate/geography to entire re-writes of events/timelines that somehow only the PCs perceive.

I don't think you CAN be too cliche'd with an rpg scenario. You depend on certain tropes to give the players a grounding of familiarity. Straying too far from cliches often leaves the PCs not knowing what to do...

[Captain Dwur]

I don't think you CAN be too cliche'd with an rpg scenario. You depend on certain tropes to give the players a grounding of familiarity. Straying too far from cliches often leaves the PCs not knowing what to do...

Sometimes I forget this as a DM.  I always think of the story as if I were writing a book.  But when I think back on my favorite gaming moments, they were ALL cliches.  

 

I like the idea that the wizard is both being used by and making use of some otherplanar being. Perhaps the other being believes it will become a god by the wizard's acts; but the wizard believes that HE will rule the god, by right of creation. Therefore they are working together but each intends to reap the advantage at the end (either by betraying the other or simply through the successful result of their plans).

Maybe a deceased God that wants to be brought back to life?  Or a powerful Demon (dragon?) than wants to be lifted to God status?

[Tybalt]

He's quite right. In theory for example the 'rescuing the loved one' idea is cliched. However I did it in a game and the pc in question was almost unable to keep in her seat, she absolutely loved it.

Have you ever read "War of the Flowers" by Tad Williams? Very interesting in that it has a sinister baby in it like in your plot. The baby's existence is only gradually revealed, and it is very disturbing when discovered. You might find it an interesting source of inspiration.

[samwise7]

I've debated bringing a new pantheon into my marth setting http://marth.bravehost.com because it has a lack of divinity.  That's probably why I thought this thread looked interesting.

1) How does the villain gain this knowledge?  Is there some book, or series of books that have given him this knowledge?  Perhaps the non-deity that wants to be a god is filling his head with the correct information?

2) I like the idea that the villain thinks it's a new god, but it is actually the wannabe deity in disguise, and it is using the villain for it's own goals.

3) Rifts could have all kinds of fun effects.  You could have souls of the dead/damned pouring out of it.  You could have the dead rise up.  You could have day and night hold no meaning there as either it is day or night all the time.  Weather changes, animal populations die or mutate, all kinds of fun things to mess with your setting. :)

3) Come up with another name for the new god other than God Baby.  :)  Or maybe keep it, if your GM style is a little silly and off the cuff.

4) The Old Gods are going to be pissed when a mortal decides to mess with the order of things, and bring a being of divinity to take some of their power away.  Don't rule out the Old Gods having a say in the matter, or trying to thwart this villain.  The PCs might get some little "tips" from the Old Gods about what is really going on.

5) It's probably good to think this thing through before you start it, as later you won't be cursing yourself for saying the wrong thing, or confusing the players by changing your ideas later.

Good luck. :)

[Captain Dwur]

1/2. I'm now backing away from the idea that some outside force is pressuring the Wizard into these actions.  It makes for a decent story, but I would like to keep it a little simpler.

I think that he discovered the method through his own research, though it is mostly an experiment still.  He has studied ancient religious texts about the formation of the gods and performed his own experiments on the nature of matter, and combined the knowledge he gained.

3. The most interesting thing to me about this idea is that the force opposing the heroes is primarily one of creation and change instead of death and destruction.  I like the weather and mutation effects you mentioned.  I hadn't thought at all about weird time effects, but that could be a very cool encounter if they get a glimpse of the distant past or future.

The current gods will certainly have a say, but as none of the PCs is a cleric, or in any way religious, I don't want to make the current gods or their priests be too active- they would just steal the spotlight from the PCs.  If a religious character joins up or the PCs get on good terms working with a church, I would be more inclined to play up that aspect.

[LordVreeg]

I would probably, were the choice mine, have one or 2 of the older gods that are ancient and perhaps tired and nihilistic actually be secretly pushing along an agenda to end their time.  Perhaps aiding this Wizard without his direct knowledge to end their time.  A tragic god, perhaps the God of feelings: or a God of conflict that has seen enough endless war...

[Captain Dwur]

[blockquote LordVreeg]I would probably, were the choice mine, have one or 2 of the older gods that are ancient and perhaps tired and nihilistic actually be secretly pushing along an agenda to end their time. Perhaps aiding this Wizard without his direct knowledge to end their time. A tragic god, perhaps the God of feelings: or a God of conflict that has seen enough endless war...[/blockquote]

That's an interesting idea.  I do have a particularly ancient god, who is mostly withdrawn from the world.  Perhaps she knew the ambitions of this wizard and is helping him to craft her replacement without his knowing it.  Perhaps she feels dissatisfied about how the mortals treat the world she created for them, and wants to see how they fare under a god of their own creation.

That definitely has its merits.