The end of days in near. The heroes have literally commandeered a storm giant king’s sky fortress, a castle riding upon an electrified expanse of roiling storm clouds.
The destination? The Frozen Death. A place so cold, so dark, that only one thing could survive there – a primordial.
The heroes have learned that the lava, magma and heat of the world has been not only drained, but stolen into the depths of the Frozen Death itself. Why? The Storm King has a primordial to thaw and unleash upon the world!
So much for the simple tribal life for our heroes, right?
World destruction is wonderful campaign theme, perfect for wrapping up the epic tier of play. It’s one of my favorites and once we hit 30th level – it shouldn’t be just the world that’s in trouble. Epic scope – go!
Travel the World Before Its Destruction
The key here is that throughout the levels and tiers of play, the PCs get to know the world, see its natural beauty and landmarks, meets its many people. Because the party knows it well and experiences the world in all its many shades , they care about it. They grew up there, they fought orcs at this bridge, and saved the people of that village. They met with the lord of that tower and the sensei of that mountain temple. They’ve become heroes and saviors, friends and legends of their land.
Now they are the world’s rock stars – the world is theirs, and they don’t want it nor their rabid fans destroyed!
Destroy More than Just the World
30th level play means truly epic scope. That means more than just the the nation, continent or world is at stake. Other planes, other worlds, and even other times under under assault. The problem, the scourge is cosmic. That’s 30th level play to me! So as the party discovers their home is threatened, reveal clues as you approach the end of the tier that the threat is greater than they ever thought possible. It should be clear to them at one point that the threat is beyond anything they’ve experienced.
Evoke – at least once – that uncomfortable feeling in the party, that perhaps even they might not be able to stop this.
Multi-Layered Final Showdown
When the great threat or evil is confronted, make sure it has many layers or moving parts. Don’t go with one big last monster or supervillain, standing toe to toe with the party. You all deserve better than that! One critical escape (see my Great Escapes article!) is the perfect spice as the campaign (and world’s) end draws near.
Span the battles across a few truly fantastic locations, and make sure the mission involved in each of the fights in the last adventure have more going on than just monsters and the party. Fantastic terrain, multi-level or 3D battles, unique spells, rituals or traps to counter, and other mission priorities besides slogging it out.
And don’t forget a twist or suprise when the world is about to end! An old friend or enemy showing up, adding either a surprise complication or boost of confidence is a great trick.
Your Stories of Destruction
What world destruction stories and advice do you have to share? What’s the number one tip you’d give any DM when crafting and running a world destruction campaign?
Kilsek
I actually divide my game into three phases at this point: Phase One, save the village/locals and become their heroes; Phase Two, save the nation/world and become its heroes; Phase Three, save the gods and their realms and become their heroes. However, I want more. I want a pregame for “save yourself and become a hero.” I also want a postgame where the heroes of all build a new multiverse.
Dusty Johnson recently posted..Take ten… and ten more!
Dusty, those are great ideas for before and after 1st and 30th level. I know there’s some recent 4e 0th level character rules on the D&D site by The Chatty DM (Critical Hits) that I really liked. You could also go novel-style on the party’s backstory and denouement. An RP-rich couple of game session opportunities at the very least!