End Of Days is a roleplaying setting designed to deal with the sunsetting of CoX, and its consequences. Basically, the story is that the world is going to end, and there's nothing anyone can do to stop it. What remains is the decision of heroes and villains alike of how to face this. Note that this is just a draft, and finetuning will happen. I just wanted to hold the general concept down for use. Feel free to use it as you wish.

City of Heroes has given me so many great RP moments over the last years, and I think it's only fitting to end the game in a breathtaking, awesome RP arc.

Background

Starting with Portal Corps, many groups have been punching holes in reality, weakening the links between reality. Time and Space have been warped and bent by the meddling of time travellers. The death of beings with godlike might, a dimensional traveling species destroying the wells of power that maintained dimensional stability.

These occurances, and many others, have led to the structure of reality, as we know it, have stressed the multivese to the point of breaking, and that is exactly what is happening.

Synopsis

Time, space and the dimensional barrier have no meaning any more. Beings and organisations with means of monitoring any of these will notice something awry, and as time passes, it becomes obvious that known realities (Hamidon infested Praetoria, Rikti Earth, the Shadow Shard, etc.) are meshing with our reality. Time seems to be crashing together as well, with Cimerorans doing battle with killbots from the far future, and highly evolved superhumans from other alternate realities.

The heroes and villains might research, while creatures with strong connections to nature, such as elementals, slip into confusion and sometimes insanity, reflecting what is happening to the element they are linked to, as the laws of nature are slowly unraveling.

Even heaven and hell are affected, as the spuernatural realms tied to earth prime are meshing with the mundane. A shining city appears over Scandinavia, and the mountains rumble, as the Aesir, Vanir, and all the other Norse entities walk Midgard once again. The afterlife unleashes the dead, with angels and demons from christian mythology settling their aeon old war once and for all. The same is happening all over the world, Japan's Seven Hells appear, and so on.

As research slowly goes on, it becomes evident that additionally to all the chaos happening, a wave of entropy is destroying time and space, and it will reach primal earth, and all connected realities. It will reach earth on Nov. 30, 2012. For all the research, and all the power, the heroes and villains bring to the table, the events unfolding aren't able to be prevented, the world will end, unless a miracle happens *prays to the gods of NC*.

Thanks to the realities colliding, any and all events in game, that aren't usually there, can be credited to reality breaking down. Also, interacting with people not participating in the setting could result in the characters realizing that the people they are talking to belong to a different reality, with a different grasp of what is happening.

Setting: Timeline

This will be the official timeline, counting down events til "The End". It will be counting backwards, in days. While no distinct "plots" will be tied in directly, I will point out plots that would make sense at this point of the story line. Feel free to add your own plot ideas, AE arcs, stories, character logs, etc. If all turns out well, this might develop into a sort of IC-chronicle of the end of the world.

I know Armageddon, and similiar settings would make sense to tie in, but I'll be busy enough maintaining End of Days. If anyone is up to the task, feel free to add a timeline to the discussion page, I'll work it in to the time line. Also, if you have any questions or comments regarding research or other things your characters might be up to, feel free to leave a note in the discussion page, or send me a message in game (@DeS Tructive)

The story will be starting slow, but don't fret. We'll get to the "fun" soon enough.

T Minus 88-81 days (Sept. 3 to Sept. 9 - Week 1/12)

The world seems almost normal, blissfully unaware of what is unfolding at the ends of time, and in the depths of space. Sprace occurances are happening, though. Heroes and Villains alike wonder about people disappearing from sight, or acting widely differently than what they used to do. Apex and Penny Yin seem to be hanging out in Pocket D for no good reason, and Ice Mistral and Barracuda have been spotted there too. Dancing?

A strange aura of sadness and insanity is in the air. Seers and Time Travelers looking farther than 90 days into the future have the feeling everything is normal, but for some reason, their senses seem warped. Strangely, many superpowered beings seem to just... give up on the business. Some seem to be losing their mind, stating that the end is near, even though there's no proof to it.

Some minor time/space disturbances have been noticed, but nothing far out of the ordinary. Nonetheless, people with strong connection to Time, Space or the Well have that unusual feeling of something out of place, some wrongness that they just can't name.

Ragnarök

Chracters with ties to Norse mythology find themselves sleeping badly. They twist and turn, seemingly fighting, and shout things in a scandinavian tongue. Waking up, they can't remember the dream, but have phantom pains for a few hours.

Potential Plots for this week

Investigate the madness by speaking to the people acting strangely.
Use Ouroborous to check if the rumours of yet another End of the World threat are true.
Try to calm the ones who are panicking.

Journal Entries, Log Snippets, Story Arcs

"With all the talk of doom and gloom lately, it's kind of nice to see that War Witch and Apex have finally reunited. I hope they get some quality time in before they go back to their duties."
-Professor Christine Fawcett, remarked during a lecture in PPU

"Major Matsuda had this theory, that the wave of odd behaviour running through the metahuman community had something to do with global threat to humanity. Kinda like what happens when animals go crazy before an earthquake. She asked me to jump to the future and look around. I jumped to new years eve, and found something really odd. While this (the most likely) future seemed to be stable, there was something else there, too. All the time, I had the feeling as if that future wasn't real, that it shouldn't exist.
After a while, I found myself drawn into nothing. Nothing is the wrong word, it was less that nothing. It was a place where there was no time, no space and no matter. I felt it actively draining the power from me, it was even dragging my present self into it.
I fear, this super-nothing is what the people are sensing, and it seems to be becoming likelier with every day."
-Tim-Daniel Fawcett, senior student of the Phoenix Institute For Gifted Youngsters, in a post-mission report

"My recent trips into the astral have left me with a growing tension. A sense of unease, as if something isn't quite right. Will observe and investigate further, as per usual."
-The Journal of Professor Solomon Lancaster

T Minus 80-73 days (Sept. 10 to Sept. 16 - Week 2/12)

The rumourmill has led some metahumans to investigate, and realize something is not in order. Seers and time travellers have noted a second reality meshing with a potential future, a reality where there is nothing. Strangely, they can not connect this future to any event leading up to it, but they have been able to pinpoint when this future would come about, at the earliest. The 30th of November 2012.
Current theories think it likely that all metahumans can sense this, in some manner, and are reacting in the way animals have been seen acting before impeding earthquakes.

A massive time/space disturbance in Atlas Park revealed thousands of heroes holding a torch vigil, most of them never seen before. Some metas have memories of attending it, without having been there. The disturbance is so great that it actually stops life in Atlas for almost a day, as the area winks in and out of existence. Some of the attendees seem frozen in time there, standing there for days, flickering in and out of existence.
Aside from that, smaller wormholes seem to be appearing all over Paragon and the Isles, sometimes depositing confused or dangerous entities before disappearing again. The wormhole frequency happens more often, with larger fallout, as the week continues.

Ragnarök

Ragnarök characters experience whatever was influencing their dreams slipping into reality, as well. Their exhausted, sleep deprived minds lead them to hear shouting, the clash of weapons, horns, and other sounds of battle repeatedly. But as soon as they look for the source, their hearts pounding, it is gone.

Potential Plots for this week

Find out more about the future threat
Protect your turf from the threats emerging from the wormholes
Try to get some useful information out of the people attending the vigil

Journal Entries, Log Snippets, Story Arcs

Arc is being written

"It was scary. They were just standing there. Not saying a word. Their faces a mixture of sadness and grim determination. And each time I went back to AP to speak to my contacts, there were other people standing there. I even caught glimpses of people I know, but... it wasn't them. I could actually feel the world buckling under the weight of what was happening there. So many questions are in my mind. Why were they there? What was going on? Who were these strangers? What brought them there? It keeps me up at night."
-Ken-Po Tengu, King's Row Vigilante

T Minus 72-65 days (Sept. 17 to Sept. 23 - Week 3/12)

While the disturbances around the world continue and intensify, a new threat makes itself known. A being calling itself the Cosmic Warden claims it is the one responsible for what is happening. It issues an ultimatum: It demands that all groups with temporal and dimensional capacities be destroyed, any and all temporal and dimensional experiments should cease, or the world will be destroyed by bending timespace until it breaks.

Ragnarök

Norse characters are at their lowest. Whenever their mind comes to rest, they experience visions of gigantic battles. They see the Aesir and their companions fighting their age old foes. Clearly, they are experiencing visions of Ragnarök, the dawn of the gods. But what does it mean? They find it hard to discern between dream and reality, but their connection to Asgard remains silent, insisting all is well in the city of the gods.

Potential Plots for this week

Encounter the Warden during a disturbance, and hear his warning.
Help fight back the threats.
Ragnarök: Investigate the source of the visions.

Journal Entries, Log Snippets, Story Arcs

Arc: @Blaze Moon has published a slightly wacky arc about an encounter with the Warden (Arc #554175: EoD Week 3: Denial, Part I)

"You can't stop it. Don't you see? We are everywhere. Time and space do not matter. If you don't cease meddling with the essential building blocks of the universe, it will be torn down and ripped to shreds. You have one week."
-The Cosmic Warden

T Minus 64-57 days (Sept. 24 to Sept. 30 - Week 4/12)

Cosmic destruction reaches a new height while heroes and villains alike hunt for the Cosmic Warden. He seems to be able to escape capture in a similiar manner as other time and dimensional travellers, leaving only a timespace echo in the enemies hands.
Elementals, cosmic entities and other beings in touch with the universe are driven to the brink of insanity, or over it. Igneous, Hamidion, and even the Croatoa Witches and the Huntsman have been seen behaving erratically. While Ouroborous is detached from the timestream, and should be safe, it seems that even the creatures residing there are being effected, to a lesser degree.
Various arcane and super-tech groups are reaching breakthroughs in creating rituals and devices that create areas of dimensional stability. While the power demands are insane, the safe area is only large enough to cover a small city block, and the stabilizers are highly unreliable, a first hope for calming the chaos is rising.

Ragnarök

A permanent rainbow is rumoured to have appeared near the danish coast leading of the north sea. Any norse character hearing this news will instantly know that it is Bifrost, the bridge connecting Asgard to Midgard. This also means Asgard has left it's realm and entered the earth. While their visions have lessened, the threat of Ragnarök, their final battle, suddenly seems very present.

Potential Plots for this week

Find the "real" Cosmic Warden and take him down.
Calm down the elementals, or take them out.
Acquire a dimensional stabilizer and establish a safe zone.
Ragnarök: Visit Asgard to find out what is happening.

Journal Entries, Log Snippets, Story Arcs

Arc is being written

"The Minotaur Independent Research Facility proudly presents the Spacetime Stabilisation Shield Generator (3SG), Mark One. Due to time constraints, the prototype is not up to our usual, high standard. Nonetheless, we have begun production and you may order the device via your usual contacts within the facility. The highly experimental matter of the prototype means that you, dear customers, can benefit from our special offer. Each 3SG1 will be sold for only one million dollars. Please see your contacts for technical specifications and bulk order details."
- M.I.R.F. press release

Professor Lancaster: Safe Haven

Plots

While there are numerous plots possible, I'll outline some that make sense, in the general context of things. Feel free to add your own plots and plot ideas for others to run.

The search for salvation: Universal scenario

The most obvious plot choice. Groups or Individuals search for a technology, artifact or entity that might save them. In the end, they either realize that their miracle cure won't save them, or test it, with no results.

The great escape: Group scenario

Some artifact or technology has the ability to let a person escape from reality altogether. It could grant a reincarnation, it could project their soul to an unknown dimension to be reborn, or bring them to a dimension unaffected by the entropic wave. Some might survive the trip, while some might not. This scenario is designed for groups that are going to wander to another game, it leaves the option of their characters "reincarnating" into another body, but still sensing the connection to each other from a "past life".

Mending and reconciliation: Personal scenario, most likely villainous

Learning of the world's end, a character decides to come to terms with people he had issues with. Villainous characters might want to make amends for their wrongdoings, while other characters might just want to apologize for mistakes they did. This might be caused be meeting the returned soul of a former ally or enemy, but meeting a deceased one might also be the goal of it all.

Shattered Ideals: Personal scenario: Incarnates/Demi-gods/Gods/etc.

The universe is going to be destroyed, and for all their power, the beings that thought themselves to be the pinnacle of power are unable to do anything to stop it. How will they cope with this?

The last stand: Heroic group scenario

With the universe ending, and the world in disarray, the heroes make the choice to create a safe haven for as many people as possible. Facing unsurmontable odds, they have the opportunity of becoming legends.

Groups running End of Days

The Minotaur Independent Research Facilities (Super-science/corporate VG)
The Eon Initiative (Arcane mercenary VG)
The Graziano Family (Mafia VG)
Appetite For Destruction (Arcane Corporate VG)

Individuals running End of Days

Arbiter Pocyk (Redside)
Cecilie (Blueside)
Destiny Guardian [ Bluside ]
Professor Solomon Lancaster

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