This is a story with one ending. The Arch-Fiend Goliath has been slain, his plans for conquest are over. Nothing you do will change this outcome.
But Goliath never was a true threat.
Humanity’s power surpassed that of hell a long time ago. The Great Sages learned of Goliath’s plans long ago. For the past ten years, they have prepared a magic ritual unlike anything ever heard of before, that will rain destruction across the entire landscape that Goliath and his fiendish allies will arrive on, incinerating them all. The battle is already won.
There is an unfortunate casualty. This place, where Goliath will appear, is a populated province called Hasar. It is full of villages, farmland and castles. The rich and those able have already left, but thousands of poor with no way to start a new life elsewhere and stubborn families refusing to leave their ancestral homes still live here.
Ninety days from now is the day when Goliath’s many-year journey from the depths of the underworld to the surface of the earth will be complete. With great glee, thousands of fiends rush ahead of him, hoping to find their own sadistic desires fulfilled on earth. The Arch-Fiend has no friendship with them, nor they with he. But his power is like a bridge, allowing them to reach the world above with ease, and Goliath has no reason to stop them from following.
Hellish beasts reach the surface and roam Hasar. The more intelligent ones have learned of the plan of the Great Sages, but it is too late to go back, and a tight military border has been set up around Hasar, trapping them inside. No fiend may leave Hasar now that the border has been set, and no human, either. With Goliath’s death assured, the greatest threat to humanity are the remaining Arch-Fiends, the weaker cousins of Goliath. Possessing magic as strong as a Sage, many are capable of changing their shape to a poor refugee. Just a single Arch-Fiend allowed to roam the earth freely would mean the destruction of uncountable unprepared, undefended provinces.
So now, Hasar is condemned to death, so that those outside of it may live.
But there is one hope. All fiends, great and small, could be defeated through careful planning and sweeping of the land by the Great Sages and the various armies who collaborate to guard the border. Although it would take many years and much work, all parties believe that this would be a better solution, as it would result in less loss of human life. But Goliath is stronger than anything that has ever existed on earth. He is larger than anything that has existed on earth. His magic is only surpassed by each of the Great Sages combined. If this apocalyptic spell is not cast upon Goliath, there is no guarantee he will ever be defeated.
But if Goliath COULD be defeated? If it is possible that the combined might of every person brave or foolish enough to remain in, or enter this doomed province, could kill him, then it is worth the chance. The Sages are in agreement. They will not cast their spell until Goliath comes within view of the sentries bordering the province. If, somehow, by any method, Goliath can killed before that time, then they will forgo their ritual. Instead, they will spend whatever time and magic is needed to purge every fiend within Hasar by another method, in order to save the human life within.
Goliath must Die. But must Hasar?
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Background and Rules:
Storium is a wonderful website that lets everyone to combine their own ideas into one story. I would love for everyone to make up their own villages, locations, and use their own ideas to make this story unique and interesting. But for the sake of me as the narrator/GM not stepping on people’s toes and vice versa, I just want to make a few clarifications that will keep the lore coherent and make sure that everything flows together.
Setting:
This world is filled with humans. Other races you might find in fantasy, like elves or dwarves, don’t exist. The magic for this setting is medium fantasy. If you have no idea what that means, it means that magic exists, but is less-than-common. For the life of a commoner, fiends and monsters are a rarity. For an adventurer, you’ve probably seen a handful, but not a lot. Your average joe/average jane will probably have seen magic if they’ve been to a very large city, but won’t really know how it works. Most adventurers know the basics of magic, and some can cast minor spells. A few adventurers are expert spellcasters, but that usually means they aren’t as good in other areas. Fantasy elements are a little less common than in dungeons and dragons, but a lot more common than something like King Arthur folklore.
Controlling NPCs:
You’re free to control any NPCs you feel you need to in your post. If you want to have guards arrest you because you failed a challenge, you can write the details of the exchange. If you want to cut off some enemy’s arm when you play your strength card, feel free! You used a strength card, so you deserve it.
I do want to make one exception, however, which I find useful for Storium games. I’m just going to call it the PLOT VITAL rule. The more plot vital an NPC is, the less you should control them. If an NPC is just called “The guard” for example, they probably aren’t very important, and you can have them do whatever is appropriate. If an NPC has an actual name, a job, and a backstory, that generally means that they’re going to be an important, possibly recurring character, and you should let me do MOST of their actions myself, because they have specific motivations and traits that you, as a player, won’t know about. And of course, if an NPC is extremely important, you shouldn’t write any actions that they take, only what you do to them, and how you do it. (It wouldn’t be a very interesting game if you decided when and how Goliath appears and what he does.)
Other than that junk, you’re free to do anything you want, just as long as ‘anything you want’ is mutually exclusive from ‘being an asshole.’ Thanks for reading!
Hosted and narrated by:
Gosts
Started 06/10/14.
Scenes played: 3
License: Community License
