Re: [HoE] A request for aid with my campaign

[Matthew Steflik <grifflik@stny.rr.com>]

Ralph Dula wrote:

> I ran the adventure from the back of The Last Crusaders, and the
> actions of
> my players have sent my campaign spiraling far from the "offical" HOE
> campaign.  To make a long story short (and it is long; I didn't want
> to
> bore the list with all the details) Boise got overrun by the
> Destroyer,
> Simon, Biletnikoff, every Templar in town at the time and just about
> every
> civilian was killed.  Now I'm happy with this plot twist, but it
> raises a
> few questions that have to be answered, and I'd appreciate opinions on
> what
> the answers might be.

Whoa!  "LAST Crusaders is right!  My posse has messed with my plot lines
before (they revel in it in fact), but Jeez!  What did they do...HELP
the Destroyer do it or something?  Drop a nuke on him and miss really
badly?  I know...I know...don't want to get into it on the list. "Happy
with this plot twist"? Damn, Ralph...

phelan replied:

> Well Ralph, I'm of the opinion that unless you really want to
> completely rework
> your world everytime a new source book comes out, then subscribe to my
> theory
> of events in any game world with an "established" story. Yes Simon is
> killed
> but someone WILL rise up and take the mantle and continue the
> templars.

I'm with phelan on this.  Simon's dead, Boise falls...sure.  But the
organization wouldn't fall completely apart with surviving Templars
scattered throughout the West.  Someone else would (probably
reluctantly) step forward to take the reigns and attempt at reorganizing
(probably in another location).  Jo actually isn't a bad choice due to
her history with the organization and the background information
available on her in the source books.  Would some of the rationale and
belief of the Templar change? Sure, its possible.  Happens in any
organization when there's a big change in the hierarchy, and I don't
think there are many Templars out there quite as "fervent" in the way
things should be done as Simon himself.  If it were me, I might have
them laying low for a while but I wouldn't have them change much as far
as new Templars joining, etc. - maybe they become even more of a
"guerilla" operation than they already were. What your posse has already
wrought is bad enough (still can't get over the magnitude of what
happened...man!) Like phalen says, why put yourself through that much
work to try and compensate for the Templar's absence? Yee-uck!

Doug also replied (regarding raising fear levels in Boise...):

> It should go right back up to at least six. News of this will
> perculate slowly
> across the West, but there are still templers out there.  There should
> be no
> mass fear-levl raising, but as teh number of templers drops over time
> there
> will be less people lowering the fear caused by other abominations.

(...and other organizations gaining power):

> If one power group was being held back by the templers only, then now
> is their
> chance.  I dont think this is too likely, since (IIRC) the templers
> fight all
> the bad guys pretty evenly.  What is likely is that the purple doomies
> will try
> to move to take over part of the responsability of the templers,
> healing the
> sick and fighting off abominations in an attempt to increase the
> publics
> perception of them, to get aid in the fight against the evil doomies.

This sounds pretty reasonable, Doug.  I don't think ANYONE is going to
want to go around Boise any time soon.  I can't see any one "evil"
organization taking advantage any more than another - but rest assured,
all would take any advantage they could from it.   It does show that the
Destroyer is a major force to be reckoned with (or perhaps its the
horrible posse that's to blame..."Run! It's the 'good guys'!")...but I
seriously doubt the other baddies are going to come forward and try to
make nice with him and his cronies.  Joan is likely to do some checking
into what happened, and perhaps one might even see a temporary loose
alliance formed between the Templars and purple robes.  I don't know
that the purple robes will consciously take up "part of the
responsibility", though.  Probably just business as usual, more or less.
At least that's my perspective. Good luck regardless (I think you'll
need it!), and keep us posted as to how things turn out.

Matt Steflik
Master of Wahoo
Gimme Shelter - http://www.geocities.com/grifflik/