This Modern Death

Part 1
By: William Patrick

We have all heard of the game where the players are thrust with the responsibility to save the world. Prophecies have been used in fantasy, fiction, and reality. All have been used for different effects. Whether it has been the too well known prophesy at the beginning of Lord Of The Rings or the end of the world has been told many times by many different religious mediums and scientific theories, prophecies are in our everyday lives. Therefore, prophecies are great for games because of the powerful plot hooks they can be. There are different ways for both players and game masters to use prophecies in games, and I’ll go over just a few of the ways that they can be used and more than a few questions to ask yourself.

The Prophet
First and foremost, who is the prophet? What does he do for a living? Is she a soothsayer or a preacher that yells at people as they walk by him on the street or is she an unsuspecting academic who succumbs to a holy (unholy?) vision in their university? The type of prophet and how they come about their prophecy is very important to how the world and your players see the prophet. If the players are supposed to believe the prophet, then the prophet should be believable in your setting. In the Holy Land of a Crusades style game, street preachers line the inside walls and shout the words of god, they will be ignored by most. If you are in a heavy religions game where anyone who is anyone is in the Church of Rezzek, then having someone who is not of this church prophesy will make the prophet laughed at or deemed a blasphemer. You are the best judge to who your characters will listen to, believe, or ignore and go running back to later.

For the prophet that the players need to listen to, make the prophet involved with the players and the characters. If you make the setting with your players (like you should be) then make the prophet someone their characters have a good relationship with. Making the prophet with the players could be the best thing for the prophecy. Making Roger the street preacher who has a nervous tick, yet a voice that captures attentions that used to be a swordsman in the mercenary group the players crusaded with makes the players want their characters to listen to Roger. In comparison, making a prophet that the characters are supposed to ignore is also fun to do with the players. Ask them what traits a prophet would have that would make them leave him alone and just walk by without a glance. The other players in the game are the greatest influence for the prophet. They may make prophets themselves.

Next Time: The Prophecy