[WoW] the path of destiny
black... fades to red... you wake... in agony. buzzard picking at your shoulder. searing pain where the hellfire bolt pierced your chest plate. the chanting pounds in your head as the dark beast starts his incantation. it's intelligible... but then you hear 'HELLHOUND'. fear grips your mind as you feel the ache start within your very bones. he is summoning a hell beast to drag your immortal soul to hell.
panic starts to set in. you cannot move. you cannot cry out. you smell his evil stench as he drives a hell stake into your arm for the blood sacrifice. you see the ground in front of you start to boil molten red as the beast approaches the surface. you are going to hell... and there is nothing you can do... but pray.
and you pray... like never before. like your very soul depends on it, because it does. you cry out from your soul... shrieking for salvation. then you see it... the hell beast. vile. unclean. molten claws and fiery fangs... black fire for eyes. you feel your bones giving way... you cry out once more... SAVE ME!!
a blinding flash of light... a howl... the beast thrown aside, comes up fast and lunges...struck down in mid flight. cut in two by a holy sword of righteousness. your bindings fall away and you slump to the ground. you look up to see the angel. beautiful. glowing purity. she turns as the dark beast cleaves with its great axe. must help. she didn't have time to heal you. you reach for your potion... but before you can drink... the dark angel blasts you with its unholy fury...
"if i cannot have him, neither will you"
you fall.. all goes black. the pain fades... and all is grey.
you see the celestial forms battling before you. gloriously awe inspiring... the angel suffers a poisionous blow just as it delivers a killing strike to the beast. the ground opens and the dark beast is sucked back to the pit, screaming in agony and flame, then its gone. all is silent. you look to your savior. you can see the rot on her soul, inflicted by that demon. she is dying. she reaches out to you... the warmth... the glory... resurrecting you, bringing you back with her last breath. you catch her as she slumps. the life draining from her body. "thank you", you say... feeling unworthy. she smiles, her eyes closing.. and sighs her final sigh. light from above bathes you both... energizing her body... lifting it. and then she is gone.
you say a silent prayer, gather what is left of your wits and start back to the crossroads.
==
my suggestion would be to create a different type of wow expansion, taking the levels from 85 to 90. something that would take the game in a new direction while leveraging the existing player base. like all things wow, i approached this with a ying and yang mind set. if i provide it for one side, the other should have something similar.
i originally thought of this as a 'world of diablo' expansion, but that wouldn't imply the duality of what would be created.
i would create two paths. a path of redemption and a path of damnation. each path would be available to all characters of all factions.
to join a path, a player must:
- have the expansion
- be level 20 or higher
- enter a church for the given path and complete 3 quests
- every significant town will have both churches... at opposite sides of the town
- upon finishing the third quest, the player will become a believer
- upon becoming a believer, a spiritual marking will appear on the players armor (glowing)
doing more quests on your path will advance your rank within the path.
ie:
heaven:
- believer
- follower
- devotee
- messenger
- angel
- arch angel
hell:
- believer
- follower
- devotee
- minion
- beast
- dread beast
to become a minion or messenger, the player must be level 85 or higher. once a player attains minion/messenger status, they will login or resurrect in the inner sanctum for their order (one located in the kingdom of heaven.. the other in the pits of hell).
both paths will lead their followers to the kingdoms of the opposing force, forcing confrontation. angels will try to save souls from hell and beasts will try to send souls to hell.
when a player is sent to heaven/hell.. they land in a radius around the gates of heaven/hell. they would have a choice. either beg forgiveness at the gates, thereby wiping out any xp on your previous path...
-or-
fight your way out. the beasts in 'limbo', the section outside of the gates but not on the 'wow plane', would only be aggressive if they were the players level or up to 5 levels lower. hearth stones would not work. the player could pray... which may be answered by an angel/beast... at which point you could get a ride out from the angel/beast.
once you are at least a minion/messenger... you would receive 'prayers'. a very general list with a general location. kind of like a player created, repeatable quest. once accepted, the mount of the minion/messenger would be 50% faster, allowing the player to respond quickly.
as the forces of both sides mature, they will naturally want to attack the enemy fortress. as they do so, natural automatic defenses would repel all solo attackers. a group with concentrated fire could penetrate the defenses... and push to the inner sanctum. as angels (or beasts) die defending their kingdom, they will res in the inner sanctum, providing a last line of defensive against the enemy
upon breaching the inner sanctum, the 'host' will be release. there would be a dramatic explosion of light/fire... as the spiritual being flees from the attackers.
once the host is gone... the attackers have taken the fortress (various high-path quests will require this in order to be completed).
if heaven was taken by the hordes of hell, the beasts of hell will reign on the 'wow plane'. this will mean beasts from hell will be loosed upon mortals. (similar aggression rules apply as when fighting out of hell/heaven).
during this time... the host will locate a suitable vessel. the vessel would be a player who is a believer on the path and located anywhere on the wow plane. upon accepting the grace of being the vessel for the host, the player (who would be level 20) would immediately be transformed into a level 93 demi god (physically 25% larger as well). all armor will immediately turn into 'host armor' (purple for level 93). the host would also arrive with a blast of light/fire that would destroy all potential enemies within 50 yards, and delivering 50% damage out to 75 yards. (very dramatic for all involved)
at that point, the vessel has 15 minutes to get into the company of angels/beasts, thereby satisfying the host that the vessel is worthy and capable to complete the quest before them... returning the host to the inner sanctum. if the vessel does not enter the company of angels/beasts within the time frame, the host will move on, leaving the vessel in their original form.
as a vessel, the player would get a 'vessel mount'.. very cool, very dramatic, and 25% faster then all other mounts (ground based... walks on water).
the vessel would run to the nearest church. upon arriving, he would start to pray for guidance on his quest (the host clock would also get an extra 5 minutes). all messenger/minion players (or above) would see the prayer as a high priority prayer on their prayer list. upon accepting the prayer, the messenger/minion would be given a door of light/fire to walk through... which would open at the alter in the church allowing the messenger/minion to portal to the vessel.
when they are ready, they would set out to return to the gates of heaven/hell as a counter attacking force. if they can retake the city, and the vessel enters the inner sanctum, then all enemies within 50 years would be destroyed. all others would be 'pushed' to the wow plane (should be a very cool, very fast, explosive thrust out of the kingdom)
the vessel would be 93 due to them being the main target of the enemy. if the vessel is killed, the player will return to the closest church fully res'd, and the host will find another vessel.
if the kingdom is not retaken within a time frame (1 or 2 weeks)... all the while the beasts from hell roaming the wow plane... either god or diablo would appear and force the attackers out. resetting the cycle.
other goodies:
- once on the path, all believers would receive a buff related to their path-xp. if their side is under siege, the buff would increase as the host is threatened
- one quest would be for minions to find a suitable follower of light (level 85 or higher) and send their soul to hell. to do this, they would have to defeat the follower and with the final blow, bind the follower in a sacrifice circle. this would immobilize the target while the minion starts his ritual to summon the hell beast. (the process should take sufficiently long to allow an angel a chance at rescue)
- if the soul is lost, the ground would open up, fire, smoke, noise... and the player would be dragged into hell (very dramatic.. a fun ride). (there would be something similar for angels to redeem/enlighten their targets... sending them to the gates of heaven)
- the entrance to heaven/hell would move after every reset
- the automated defenses would also include immobilization traps. not deadly on their own, but combined with the auto defenses, would make short work of any solo player.
- players lower then 85 can help their side by completing repeatable quests or making offerings/sacrifices. this will help beef up the buffs received by the messengers/minions (or higher) and improve the automated defenses
- if a player is being redeemed/sent-to-hell, they will only have one option... prayer. (logging out will not stop the ritual)
- a prayer at your church could result in a blessing (buff or temporary enchantment)
this is what i've got so far. please avoid throwing rotten fruit.
