A Cold War in D&DLand

[Prak]

That's why I made this thread-

But other than two super powers, and one or two kinds of WMD that threaten mutually assured destruction, is there anything out of the ordinary that I specifically need for such a setting?

So, things I need apparently include "no resurrection magic" and "no cause clerics," and that's good to know. I also apparently might want to rethink holy symbols in general to support the intrigue gameplay I want.

If I want "three chords and the truth of our Cold War, but right now you're at two chords and a vague idea," then what's the chord I'm missing, and what do I need to refine my vague idea?

[nockermensch]

Missing for your pitch:

What will the PCs do?

Once you answer that and come with some actual adventure ideas, it'll become clear what kind of abilities the PCs should have. This in turn will give you a list of classes/feats/features you need to incentivise or cut out.


As for weapons of mass destruction:

A) Empire A has developed a system of lengthy ritual magic that turns feet to miles on Evocation's descriptions. So if provoked they simply launch fireballs at their enemies, but they do it from across the sea and the balls set whole metropolises and the surrounding fields on fire.

Advantages: Once you have the enough people trained, they can basically fire at will.

Disadvantages: Training enough people for the rituals (they should be like 8th level and belonging to an otherwise bad Prestige Class). The casters have like 8d4+16 hp and go down rather quickly if caught by elite forces. Rituals last for days and require "line of effect" to the target (quotes are because as the planet curves, there's not actually a straight line between the casters and what needs to be exploded, but the magic stilll actually travels between the two points, so it can be countered by stuff like "walls"). Weapon damage itself is kind of meh and won't kill serious opposition.


B) Empire B has a caste of semi-divine people who can choose to live their whole lives under some strict vows. After many years of these severe devotions, the faithful can be rewarded with "arrows of the gods", which are one shot missiles that fall down from the sky and anihilate a large area. It's unfair, but the Mahabharata works like this.

Advantages: The arrows are kind of a big deal (actual effect to be determined, but it's like a CL 30 meteor swarm/earthquake combination in a huge area), and come from the sky straight down, so they're harder to ignore/block.

Disadvantages: Each weapon is fired by a saintly person, who must be close enough to the target (say, long range). Not many people can get saintly like that, and the boon can only be gained once. Since it takes years of a special kind of person subjecting to difficult devotions for an arrow of the gods to be granted, they won't be reposed suddenly if the war goes hot. Saints themselves vary in personal capacity from weak to badass.


C) Empire C's alchemists transmutate millions of GP into infernal devices that explode with imense force when detonated

Advantages: Best in terms of pure damage, and the non-magical explosion ignores SR. Don't require spellcasters. Several kinds of fuses allow for remote detonations. Can be stockpilled.

Disadvantages: It takes a team of several alchemists about one month to make an infernal device. Huge literal gold drain, both to build and to keep: Gold is turned into the device's components, so those GP simply leave the economy. The device decays and must be constantly restored. Large unwieldly devices (about the size of a wagon) must be transported somehow to the targets and can be stolen / mishandled or sabotaged.

[Prak]

Ok, yeah, I can work with/on that. I think I need to stop looking for more cold war movies, and watch the particular ones that inspired this more times.

[Pariah Dog]

If we're talking about people with black shiny buttons being able to call down the wrath of gods, raise the dead, desecrate the land, or really do anything a Cleric of 5th level or higher can do, then you're goddamned right those people are getting sent to the gulag for the good of the state.

You're looking at a world that hides apocalyptic secrets and also a world where people can cast Charm Person, Alter Self, Speak With Dead/Animate Dead, Detect Thoughts, Suggestion, Clairaudience/Clairvoyance and a bunch of other spells I'm probably forgetting that would ramp up Cold War paranoia to Paranoia levels. The balance of power that is hard to mobilize, in the hands of a very few, and legitimately MAD is not a thing in D&D land. Every caster above a certain level is a near infinitely moblie weapon of mass subversion, if not outright destruction.

This means your either kill/gulag/putting a very tight lease around anyone with spellcasting abilities. And now you are playing a low magic game and Pelor smites a kitten. Or limiting spell casters to buffs, magical blasting and a handful of non fuck the world utility spells. Otherwise you're one potential low to mid level caster from a place where the super powers are proxy warring deciding the whole world loses.