This Modern Death

Part 2
By: William Patrick

The Prophecy
We have our prophet, now we need our prophecy. The defining factor of the prophecy you as a GM have to decide is this: Is the prophecy true? Is the prophecy the divine (or demonic) revelation of the future, or is it a drug or insanity induced hallucination. Even better, is the prophecy a planned hoax to get the prophet something he wants, be it war, women, money, or fame and the prophet accidentally says something that turns out to be true. The validity of the prophecy decides the direct the players will take.

Where is the prophecy from? She might be reading it from an ancient text, hearing it in her head, or are ghosts telling her? This will help you form your prophecy. The words you choose will be different depending on where the prophecy is coming from and it will affect how the players gauge it. Roger the street preacher bellows, “Our savoir will come and kill Lord Samson.” That is different from: “Our most holy savoir will cometh forth from molten ground and with a mighty sweep of his sword he will execute the vile Lord Samson.”
Language makes the prophecy; Roger hears the word of the holiest messengers from the Lord of Earth’s Sons, and he makes it sound like that. Do some research and use some older language if the prophecy is found in a book. Heck, your prophet might be the magic talking book.

Next Time: Sample Prophecies