"I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years."
— Revelation 20:4-6
So Heaven has won Armageddon, the wrong failed, the right prevailed. Now time for the ultimate happily-ever-after, right? Well, yeah, but there's still plenty to keep an angel busy. Here are ideas, not so much for adventures, as for settings and campaigns.
Roleplaying seed: First Resurrection
There's a new government to set up. Christ rules in Jerusalem over the whole Earth. Ruling under him are the Saints, each with different talents. (The rest of the blessed souls remain in Heaven.) Then come the mortal survivors.
Angelic and Saintly PCs will be given a task and a place to go — possibly by Christ, less overwhelmingly by the Metatron, an Archangel, an angel, or a senior Saint. The number of possible tasks is vast. Many are not glitzy, but they could be good roleplaying fodder from their human interest. Possibilities include:
- Lots of angels will be sent as assistants to Saints.
- Food, medicine, and shelter and urgently needed all over the world. It has to be delivered. Heck, it has to be created.
- As with any mundane government, lines of communication and supply, and centers of authority, need to be set up. This time, it's all over the world. Fortunately, the population is relatively small, historically speaking, and all on your side ... theoretically.
- The ecology is devastated. Everything that mortal science and conservation efforts can do, must be done. On top of that, nature itself has to be guided along. At least, no one has to worry about Disturbance any more. How many of those ark space stations did Jordi get built?
- Lots and lots of people are either heavily traumatized, or expecting instant paradise, or both. The new, improved, but still not paradisal, reality needs to be explained. Sometimes, it needs to be explained to the violently disappointed.
Roleplaying seed: Return of the Raptured
What about the Raptured? Do they come back now? Do they get a choice? Do they come back in the bodies they left, or in vessels? They might be able to help a lot. They might be pressured by the remaining mortals to pass information back and forth between Heaven and Earth. They might be very different, after more than three years in Heaven, to the possible consternation of people who knew them before. This could be very striking with children.
Roleplaying seed: Divided. Conquered?
Satan was locked up in Hell, but it doesn't follow that all the Demon Princes were. You can continue the War at a less cataclysmic level by supposing that some subset of the Princes are still loose. With Lucifer gone, they're probably not cooperating with each other much.
They might be trying to establish their own realms in the remote Ethereal Plane, in the astral gap between Heaven and Hell, or in remote parts of the Corporeal Plane, like other planets.
The surviving Princes may have given up the idea of conquest, but they're cut off from their Essence-farms of damned souls, now, so the urge to predation will always be struggling with their sense of caution.
And some Princes — Saminga, for instance, and Vapula — are probably nutty enough to go on fighting. Baal would go on fighting even if he thought it was totally hopeless. So might Asmodeus.
At the other extreem, some Princes might be trying to cut a peace deal with Heaven.
Roleplaying seed: Refugees, Renegades, and Outcasts
Some demons are locked in Hell. Some are still following their Princes, outside Hell. But the number of new Renegades must be huge, especially if you include the involuntarily abandoneed.
Life for a Renegade must be very different, now. They don't have to worry (or not nearly so much) about the Game getting them. They are much likelier to get pressure to Redeem. (Should Novalis set up a Purgatory in which to incarcerate them while she tries to convert them?) They are also likely to get caught by the Tsayadim or some other branch of Heaven and thrown into Hell after Lucifer (whole or in pieces). Should they seek out one of the remaining Princes, or just run, run, run?
Roleplaying seed: Mortal Resistance
Heaven rules, but not all mortals are necessarily happy about that. All the actual hellsworn were killed at Armageddon, but there are some people who just want to be left alone — if the universe isn't indifferent, they wish it would become so. Not all these people are necessarily evil, either. They may be clinging to goals that have no place in the Millenial world, or they may be the victims of the less adroit members of the Heavenly hierarchy. The result can be situations that require careful spiritual/diplomatic handling.
Roleplaying seed: Shut-Ins and Visiting Hours
Speaking of purgation, what's going on in Hell? Suppose that Apollyon can let select spirits in and out. There could be regular patrols of warden angels, keeping an eye on things. They could escort "missionaries" trying to redeem human and celestial spirits. There could be attempted prison breaks.
What's life in Hell like, cut off from Earth, minus several Princes, but not minus Lucifer?
What's Lucifer up to? Is he consumed with sheer spite, planning to do his worst at the end, just for the satisfaction of hurting God as much as possible? Is he contemplating an apology, in the hopes that someone else will take over the position of the dragon that gets thrown into the Lake of Fire? Is he scheming to survive in the Lake somehow?
Roleplaying seed: The Wheel
Some people have been out of the loop during Armageddon — the ones due for reincarnation. As the population starts to climb again, they'll start showing up. Will the angels of Death and Destiny be more accessible now? Will people be given the options of remembering past lives?
For that matter, how about all the human souls in the Marches, the ones who went to pagan afterlives? Does Heaven want them on Earth now? Or in Heaven? Or can they stay put? Are Blandine and Uriel going to have another tiff about all this?
Roleplaying seed: Old Words
Shall we have a new Archangel of Light? or Laughter? or Valor? Or at least angels with those Words? Anyone want to try for one of these?
Roleplaying seed: Utopian Fantasies
The goal of the Millenium is not just to recover from Armageddon, but to spread the paradisal conditions of Eden all over the Earth.
If you, the GM, have a pet political or social theory, this might be the time to showcase it and see if you can convince your players. Is Christ a communist? a libertarian? a monarchist?
Or is Heaven going to cultivate a unique glory in each land? Make America the Land of the Free and China the holder of the Mandate of Heave and France the home of the Divine Reason, etc.
Will Jean now open his files to humanity? Will Jordi and Novalis play lovely games with evolution and ecology? What's life like on paradisal Earth?
Part 15: Armageddon ,
Closing Remarks
Return to "And I Feel Fine" Introduction
Return to In Nomine Introduction
Return to Wind Off the Hilltop
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