[Twilight Time] Prophecies Amuck!

[Heather Grove]

January 20, 2003 - Prophecies Amuck!
Volume 4, Issue 1

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Good morning!

It's way too cold here. We actually have a weather advisory for wind 
chill in effect this morning. So it's a good morning to stay inside 
and send out the zine! I'm sorry it's a day late, but we had a holiday 
here yesterday.

Happy new year, and welcome back for 2003. Since several people were 
asking whether there was any way to support the site and the zine 
other than the few affiliate links here and there on the site, we put 
in a PayPal donation button (on the main page, the writers' and 
roleplayers' resources pages, and the zine info page). Anything that 
anyone cares to donate will help to defray web hosting and similar 
expenses. Obviously this is voluntary--you'll keep getting the zine 
whether or not you feel like donating! We greatly appreciate the 
interest in helping out.

We hope the new year finds you healthy and happy, and we hope you have 
a fantastic 2003!

Have a great afternoon,
Heather

PS--I apologize if I've been a little slow with replying to anyone's 
email. It's been a hectic month!


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Prophecies Amuck!

There's more to the prophecy plot than high-epic "the Player 
Characters (PCs) must save the planet" deals. Those are fun of course, 
but sometimes something a little more unusual is called for. In that 
vein, here are some thoughts on possible prophecy plot variations. 
Turn them around even further, or just adapt them to your game, and 
give your players a surprise!


#1. The prophesied messiah goes bad.

According to prophecy, only one person can stop the villains. So what 
happens when that person goes over to the wrong side? What happens 
when she decides she doesn't want to save or help anyone? That she'd 
much rather kill people, rob people, make a fast buck, or just plain 
go on vacation?

It's up to the PCs to answer this question, and they'd better answer 
it fast. The prophecy was told for a reason and there's work to be 
done. Maybe they need to convince the prophesied messiah to change 
sides again. Maybe they need to hold someone she loves hostage until 
she does what is necessary. Or maybe they need to find a way to get 
things done without her. Perhaps it's time for them to find another 
prophecy...


#2. The prophecies are true, but useless or inconsequential.

Everyone expects a prophecy to be the key to something amazing. 
Prophets are frequently pictured as madmen (or they're at least 
touched with lunacy)--it isn't easy to see the future, particularly in 
the modern world where few people believe in such things. The word 
"prophecy" holds connotations of power and world-changing events, but 
with that much insanity running around, who's to say that every 
prophecy hits the mark?

The prophecy of course is couched in verse and analogy. The PCs must 
try to figure out what it means and presumably do something about it. 
But what if it's just a cryptic menu for the next holiday feast, or a 
recipe for cinnamon rolls? What if it's a note that on April the 
sixteenth, an oil truck will run over someone's pet? If the prophecy 
has lines in it that could be misinterpreted, the PCs could end up in 
quite the comedy of errors. They might find themselves getting 
involved in random events that have no relation to the prophecy, or 
which are completely unimportant.

WARNING: Only try this if your players don't mind a bit of 
misdirection and pointless silliness! It's the sort of plot that works 
for some groups and games, and definitely not for others. Another 
alternative is to turn the seemingly pointless prophecy around again. 
So it's a recipe for cinnamon rolls--what if it's a recipe that 
someone desperately wants? Or it's a prediction about the death of 
someone's pet--what if saving the pet will put a very powerful person 
into the party's debt?


#3. Someone prophesies doom and destruction for the PCs.

Most prophecy-plots require the PCs to fulfill the prophecies. They 
must find the item, destroy the villain, or work the pivotal magic. 
The PCs will not, however, want to fulfill this particular sort of 
prophecy!

The PCs hear a prophecy that spells their doom. They have reason to 
believe the source of the prophecy--they know from past experience or 
by reputation that it's reliable, or the prophecy involves small signs 
that they can verify. The point of the plot is for them to find some 
way to avoid the prophecy.

Sometimes this means averting a number of the smaller parts of the 
prophecy, with the assumption that once those have been averted, the 
party has changed the entire future of the prophecy. Sometimes the 
prophecy must be dealt with head-on. Sometimes the PCs must go through 
several iterations of believing they've dealt with their dark fate 
before they find the true key.

WARNING: When this variation on the prophecy-plot appears in 
literature and on TV, it usually centers around the idea of free will: 
do the PCs have free will? Can they change the future, or are they 
doomed to repeat it? Because of this, it's important that you allow 
them to have their free will--otherwise you defeat the whole theme of 
the plot. Don't decide ahead of time exactly how the plot will come 
out and then push the party into that end-point. Figure out what's 
likely, what's possible, and how, and then set your party loose. (If 
you need more information on the free will issue, there's a whole 
series of articles on our RPG resources page.)


#4. Non-player characters (NPCs) are the focus of the prophecies.

We've all heard of "the PC glow," I'm sure (or some variant on it). 
It's that invisible aura that results in the PCs being the focus of 
every plot out there. It's the reason why everyone pulls them into 
their schemes. (Okay, so a lot of game masters (GMs) have found good, 
logical reasons why the plots center around the PCs. But not everyone 
has.)

What if, for once, the PCs didn't have that glow? What if the 
prophecies centered around someone else for a change? Perhaps the PCs 
need to protect an important person who is prophesied to die. Perhaps 
they must stop a villain prophesied to take over the world. (For once 
it isn't the good guys who are prophesied to win!) Maybe a prophecy 
states that a young man will lead his people to freedom, and the PCs 
must help him learn what he needs to know to be a good leader. Or 
perhaps they must help him overcome his enemies.

WARNING: Make sure you've left room for the PCs to have an effect on 
this plot! Just because the plot *centers* on someone else doesn't 
mean that the PCs can't determine how the plot comes out. You don't 
want the party to turn into observers; they should still drive the 
events of the story.


#5. NPCs invent a prophecy to hoodwink the PCs.

A group of NPCs produces a prophecy and makes a big deal out of it. 
They use it as "proof" that the PCs are destined to help them out of 
their miserable situation. But the prophecy is false! The NPCs made it 
up to convince the PCs to help them.

Is the cause a good one, one that the PCs might be glad they've helped 
out with even once they find out they've been tricked? Or do the PCs 
realize they've been working for the wrong side? Does everything work 
out, or do the PCs need to find a way to right the wrongs they've 
perpetrated in the name of fate?

What about NPCs who use a bit of psychology? They arrange for the PCs 
to hear a prophecy of their own doom and destruction (we're combining 
#3 and #5 here). This prophecy is false, however. The NPCs hope that 
the prophecy will send the PCs off on a wild goose chase, send them 
into hiding, or make them so nervous that they hesitate or screw up. 
The NPCs might even arrange for a few "signs" to convince the PCs of 
the validity of the prophecy. If the NPCs are feeling particularly 
motivated, they might even try to bring about the circumstances of the 
prophecy, hoping to use the PCs' fear to destroy them.

CAVEAT: There must always be a way for the PCs to figure out that 
they're being fooled, otherwise the players are likely to feel used 
and frustrated!


#6. The PCs could use prophecy for fun and prophet--err, profit.

Who says the PCs themselves can't have a little prophecy fun? Perhaps 
an NPC friend suggests that he could dress himself up as a mad 
prophet. This man arrives in a town a couple of days before the rest 
of the party and, with a little shrewd timing (or perhaps a little 
magical help of one kind or another) establishes a reputation as a 
true prophet with a knack for helping people. Just before the PCs 
arrive, he produces a prophecy about great heroes who are destined to 
help the town against an unknown enemy.

Then the "prophet" can give himself a makeover and rejoin the party, 
or stick around in his disguise. The PCs could probably live off of 
the town's generosity for at least a week before anyone became too 
suspicious. If they were particularly clever and arranged for an 
"unknown enemy" for them to fight (or found one), they might be able 
to fool the town for even longer. If they had an enemy already in the 
area, they could use this gambit to get the town to support them in 
their fight.

But what's in it for the friend? He must have had some reason for 
setting all this up. Perhaps he has his own reasons for wanting to 
establish a reputation as a skilled prophet. Or perhaps he isn't such 
a good friend after all, and he thinks he can fleece the townspeople 
while he's there, leaving the party to take the blame. Or perhaps 
there's someone in the town he wants to hurt, and he's going to set 
that person up as the "unknown enemy" once his reputation has been 
established.


#7. Prophecies have highly interpretable signs.

The verse or analogy in which many prophecies are written just screams 
for misinterpretation. What if a prophecy means one thing, but could 
be read as meaning something entirely different?

The GM could write up some "prophecies" ahead of time. He tries to 
write them so that the PCs will misinterpret them in a certain way; 
this is difficult, but possible. Better yet, the GM can listen to the 
players as they try to interpret the verse themselves. If they come up 
with interesting ideas, he can turn some of them into false leads.

WARNING: Don't push the players too far in the wrong direction. Use 
contextual clues to cause them to steer *themselves* in the wrong 
direction. As always, make sure there's a way for them to figure out 
what's really going on. And, of course, this has the usual "not every 
group of players will be happy with this kind of plot" caveat. Know 
your players and their preferences before trying out a plot that 
involves misleading them.


#8. Different versions of a prophecy exist.

The PCs get their hands on an old prophecy about a coming catastrophe. 
It details the signs that will lead up to the disaster, how it will 
come about, and how it may be stopped. The PCs set off to do their 
duty. On the way they get their hands on another prophecy about the 
same event. This one also details the preceding signs, the 
catastrophe, and how to stop it. Too bad the verses are wildly different!

Most likely, a little bit of each verse is correct. Each prophet had 
some idea of what was to come, but he didn't want to say that he just 
didn't know the rest so he made it up. Or perhaps one prophet heard 
that another had prophesied this horrible thing, and he figured his 
reputation would be ruined if he didn't also produce a prophecy. Maybe 
someone spread false versions to distract people from the correct one. 
At any rate, the PCs must figure out what's really happening, and deal 
with it, before it's too late.

As always, make sure the PCs have a way to figure out the truth of the 
matter!


Many of these ideas can be mixed and matched to good end. The multiple 
prophecies in #8 could all be highly interpretable as in #7. Just 
remember that prophecy-plots don't have to be straightforward and 
normal. They can be as twisted and confusing as any other plot!


What's Your Opinion?:

Comments on this issue's topic? Suggestions? Tips? Special topic 
requests? Drop me a line at (heather at burningvoid.com). If I pass any 
of your suggestions on (either through the newsletter or the RPG 
resources page), I'll attribute them to you. Be sure to tell me if you 
don't want me to use your name and/or comments!

The next issue is coming in just a few weeks--early February.

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SITE UPDATE:

Burning Void Roleplaying Resources:
http://www.burningvoid.com/users/heather/roleplaying/resources.html

http://www.burningvoid.com/users/heather/writing/ms/essay/style1.html
Heather's Roleplaying Game Writer's Style Guide - Part I. General 
stuff, attitudes, style and voice, structure, the basics, and abstract 
elements.

http://www.burningvoid.com/users/heather/writing/ms/essay/style2.html
Part II: Adventure-Writing!

Burning Void Writers' Resources:
http://www.burningvoid.com/users/heather/writing/resources.html


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