Been away a while. A LONG while.

[Northern Ranger]

But I'm back!

My group recently decided to take a break from Epic Quest (the game I created with their help) and are going back to Palladium Fantasy. It's good to be back in my old stomping grounds. Lots of new faces here lately... some old ones too I hope. Looking for some ideas for my new campaign I'm thinking of running with the group. The premise is that a powerful psychic has received a vision, sort of an "End of Times" thing about a series of natural cataclysms. Thing is, there's reason so suspect that they're not naturally occurring. She puts together a party of adventurers to investigate this thing and they wind up on quite the world hopping extravaganza as her visions take them from one corner of the world to the next. What I need is ideas for said cataclysms. Obviously there are earthquakes, volcanoes, typhoons and the like. I intend to use those, but I want some really... unorthodox ideas. Things that the average person isn't likely to even think of as a natural disaster till they really take the time to consider it. Anyone? Anyone?

[Killer Cyborg]

The premise is that a powerful psychic has received a vision, sort of an "End of Times" thing about a series of natural cataclysms. Thing is, there's reason so suspect that they're not naturally occurring. She puts together a party of adventurers to investigate this thing and they wind up on quite the world hopping extravaganza as her visions take them from one corner of the world to the next. What I need is ideas for said cataclysms. Obviously there are earthquakes, volcanoes, typhoons and the like. I intend to use those, but I want some really... unorthodox ideas. Things that the average person isn't likely to even think of as a natural disaster till they really take the time to consider it. Anyone? Anyone?

In no particular order, and without being entirely certain what you're looking for...

1. A plague of some kind.
Not necessarily disease, but creatures, like a plague of locusts.
In Palladium, you could use those little floating rodents that eat crops, for example.

2. Comet or meteors.
Not sure how this would work with the Palladium world--there might not be standard celestial bodies and such.

3. War.
Humans (as well as orcs, elves, and other beings, especially ogres) are a part of nature, and therefore their actions are very much a part of nature, especially in large groups. If an over-abundance of locusts attacking crops for food is a natural disaster, so would be a large population of humans (etc.) attacking other large populations.

4. Rampaging Elementals.
Technically "supernatural" creatures, but Palladium has made it clear that the so-called supernatural is really just another aspect of nature, and elementals are even moreso than other supernatural critters.
(There ARE ley lines on Palladium now, right? I think I remember that happening in 2nd Edition, but maybe I'm wrong.
If there aren't ley lines, there IS something that regulates the levels of magic--it's changed since the Elf/Dwarf war, IIRC)

5. Ley Line storms/Cataclysms
The apocalypse in Rifts was essentially a natural disaster: ley lines are natural, therefore disasters they cause are natural.

6. Geo-Disk Axial Tilt
IIRC, Palladium is a flat world, and it might therefore have unique problems. Flat worlds are based on the idea that gravity exists independent of the world itself, and that the world exists something like a table-top: it is possible to fall off if you go over the edge .
The world of Palladium, IIRC, has a wall at the edges to keep people from traveling beyond the boundaries, but regardless, the disc that comprises the world of Palladium might for some reason lose stability, and start to tilt.
This would result in part of the world being higher than the others, and stuff would start sliding/rolling/pouring down-slope.
Needless to say, this could cause all sorts of problems.

7. Geo-Disk Super-Sinkhole
What's supporting the bottom of the Palladium world? If it's just rock and Earth, the underside might eventually give/wear away, or be sabotaged, causing a sinkhole that could threaten the entire world.

[Northern Ranger]

Thanks KC! Those are all pretty good. I actually wouldn't have thought of the aspect of a war between races being seen as a natural disaster. I think I can run with that!

[kiralon]

If you check the great northern wilderness book there is the spirit of the land which does just that with I think far hunter.

Large groups/towns of people suddenly turning murderous and killing everything.
Literal stars dropping out of the sky and hitting palladium.
Lakes and seas appearing were there were none.
Plagued animals going crazy
Ceratus Dominus.
Many ancient places reopening to the world from earthquakes.
All animals/faeries/insects or the like disappearing from locations.
Trade and communication disruptions from weather
Incursions FROM the land of the damned into ophids, or maybe even western empire.
Xicitix
Ley storms -> Groups of strange men from different worlds on recon.

[Whiskeyjack]

If you want to do a bit of a different plague, you can always do a plague of monsters.
You could use and different creature for different areas.
Some examples are zavor, vampires (in Western Empire), winter storm ice demons (rampaging in Northern Wilderness), devil diggers in the Eastern Territory, spectres in Timro etc.

[Glistam]

Wild overgrowth of nature/plants choking out civilized settlements. Not even those who live in "harmony" with nature are spared. The vegetation resists magical control and is deadly aggressive.

Ley line shifts - all the ley lines of the world begin moving perceptively, all across the planet. They lengthen or shrink as they move, and neither end moves at the same pace. Whenever two intersect for the first time there's a massive magical surge which makes Ley Line Storms look like a gentle shower. Only certain powerful nexuses, such as those which have Millennium Trees, are unaffected by this.

Freshwater lakes and rivers become poisoned, and any water source which comes in contact with the poisoned water is similarly poisoned. Magical purification doesn't work to reverse the effect.

Pick a series of annoying spell magic effects (Blinding Flash, Increase Weight, Weightlessness, Thunderclap, Heavy Breathing, Carpet of Adhesion, etc). They start happening at random times in random places/areas.

Non-psionics begin spontaneously developing psychic powers, but these powers are random and manifest uncontrollably.

[Northern Ranger]

Love them all! Thanks

[Killer Cyborg]

Pick a series of annoying spell magic effects (Blinding Flash, Increase Weight, Weightlessness, Thunderclap, Heavy Breathing, Carpet of Adhesion, etc). They start happening at random times in random places/areas.

Hm.
There's a Nightbane book that discusses magic spells possibly becoming permanent, or coming to life.
That could make for an interesting natural disaster.

[kiralon]

Everybody in a highly religious church of light and dark area gaining master psionics is a cool plot idea*steals and runs off with it*

[Jimbo]

Ritter 13 has an article called "The Thirteen Deadly Magics", spells that when cast in the correct order bring about the end of the world. IIRC, they need not be cast by the same magic user. Perhaps a jumping off point...

[ShadowLogan]

"Fast Moving" Glaciers.
-either advancing or retreating. Mean speed is 1m/3ft per day (per Wikipedia), so you'd want something faster

Icebergs (or just ice forming) blocking/restricting sea travel in areas that don't normally see this type of phenomena or at that particular time of year.

Unpredicted solar/lunar eclipses, time of the (high/low) tides has changed, day seems to be shorter/longer than it should be.

Crop Circles.
-highly complex crop circles that are destroying a large percentage of the crop yield. Hidden message in the "crop circles"?. On the surface one isn't going to see them as a disaster, but come harvest time if enough fields take a major hit there could be high prices for food or even no food.

Losing my voice.
-musicians all over the world have suddenly lost their voice (might be specific music branches that escape) and no one can sing (even badly). That means no Pub songs!
-OR some other group of people have lost the ability to speak
-OR people lose the ability to speak or they speak but in gobbly gook no one can understand (even others). They can only communicate via sign-language or text (neither common skills)

"Sink Holes"
-Giant ants (or some other tunnelling type of creature) is digging so many undergound tunnels with the potential to cause sink holes destroying large sections of cities (or other "important" land)

[Whiskeyjack]

The Rising Dead.
All the dead from the past 10 years rise from the grave. However, this isn't a zombie apocalypse. All the dead want to do is continue on with their interrupted lives. It can be a bit awkward when grandpas corpse shows up and wants his old room back and "what do you mean you started dealing in crystal? I told you silk is where the market is!"

[Killer Cyborg]

The Rising Dead.
All the dead from the past 10 years rise from the grave. However, this isn't a zombie apocalypse. All the dead want to do is continue on with their interrupted lives. It can be a bit awkward when grandpas corpse shows up and wants his old room back and "what do you mean you started dealing in crystal? I told you silk is where the market is!"

There was a Tales From The Darkside kind of like that.
Grandpa died, then showed up for breakfast the next morning.

[The Dark Elf]

Lista has the Entities of the deep that are lurking below waters

Spread of evil - I had the black pond (eastern territory) make anyone n the vicinity be evil

Anti-magic realm - magic doesnt work-the defenses dont work, lighting, calling help, all summoned creatures are freed etc.

The ocean sinking, the black wall moves closer in (Island at the edge of the world)

The darkest heart curses become contagious

Deific metamorphosis-people are stuck down by changing into demons (in body only)

Blights such as famine and pestilence.

First borns die

Weather patterns shift (Baalgor freezes) the GNW heats and begins to flood

Islands MOVE!

Animals migrate in their thousands to an unknown location in the Old kingdom (and peoples food supplies diminish)

The stars DISAPPEAR!

Natural disasters occur in reverse! Marshlands dry up as water returns to the ocean. The lava flows of Mnt Nimro climb upwards into the volcano....

ALignemnt and dispositions reversals in entire kingdoms - faeries become helpful, Demons become pleasant angels become harbingers of death - and the players heroes?.....

Time and space displacement

[Prysus]

Greetings and Salutations. This is an idea I once had for a kind of side quest, but I kind of stopped writing and running many games before I did anything with it. The idea is that the power level of ley lines is starting to fluctuate. Some are starting to dwindle and nearly disappear, while others are surging to massive levels. Since we're talking natural disasters and end of times here, ley lines are a natural part of the universe and the planet. So if the planet is seeing the end of times, this may result in oddities in ley lines themselves. There are a few things I had wanted to do with this (you can use all, some, or none, as you see fit) ...

1: Random monsters. While random rifts opening up is a threat with ley line surges, that's not my main focus. I had wanted to have the ley lines transform/mutate various Creatures of Magic. Not all of them, and not necessarily even all in range. This could create a kind of random monster hunting quest. Things like a unicorn has been transformed (and driven mad) by the the transformation. It now has a bunch of special new powers and is extremely aggressive, terrorizing a local town. Or something like the Goblin King. Goblins are said to once have been Faerie Folk, well this surge activated the long dormant magic of one and transformed into a hulking monster (think closer to a Troll in power level). Yes, the Goblin King isn't too powerful to be taken down by a group if alone, but there's a reason he's called "king." Because of his size and power, all the goblins in the area have flocked to his banner. Basically, taking random magical creatures (most are naturally dangerous, but a few normally peaceful) and then transform them, give them some extra power, and then have a good reason for them being hunted down. Players can ignore these missions, but it usually means someone else will suffer as a result. I also wanted to include some type of benefactor, like an alchemist who wants to study the remains in the hopes of figuring out what's going on.

2: If the ley lines are surging and there's a magic user in the group, allowing M.D. in range of a ley line could be interesting. Sure, at first it seems game breaking. But these are characters not used to M.D. Oops! That Fireball not only burned that orc to a crisp, but kept on going and burned down half the town! Massive collateral damage and chaos in a world that's suddenly like a cardboard box. Keep in mind, this would only be in range of a surging ley line, and the surge can go away at any time.

3: Corrupt ley lines. This could tie into #1 above, or separate, though my initial intent had been unrelated. My idea had been sparked by a topic on these forums regarding ley lines and Anti-Magic Cloud. I don't see the two having a great conflict naturally, but I gave it more thought. I figure ley line storms are kind of like a natural release of built up energies. Rifts has this far more often due to the extra power, but happens from time to time on the Palladium World as well. While the ley line itself is natural P.P.E., the storm itself is closer to cast magic (more chaotic, but similar principle has the storm releases the built up P.P.E.), and a Anti-Magic Cloud cast during the storm might stop the storm, but would prevent the necessary release of energy. Think of it like a relief valve, and if not allowed to do its job the ley line can have suffer. This results in a normal ley line changing into a corrupt ley line. For the purposes of the above natural cataclysm, this could always be the result of some other type of natural instability or something.

These corrupt lines act similar to a Dim Mak for magic users. If attempting to draw from it (or a Creature of Magic stays near one too long) it can poison their P.P.E. While no immediate affect, the character will not be able to recuperate P.P.E. under any circumstances unless the poison can be cured (and like the Dim Mak, this won't be easy). This means a corrupted magic user would need to be very careful, because once they use their P.P.E. they're not getting it back! Of course, they can still draw on P.P.E. from outside sources (such as uncorrupted ley lines or people) to cast a spell immediately (but it cannot replenish the character's internal reserves!). For a Creature of Magic, as I figure they need magic to survive, would also be unable to heal (which makes it much closer to the Dim Mak). Note: In general, player characters should get some type of warning that something isn't right with the ley line before they draw from it, kind of like someone might smell spoiled milk before they drink it. If the player characters attempt to draw from it anyways, well, at least they had some warning.

Anyways, just a few ideas. Maybe one day I'll start writing again and flesh them out more, but until then I hope the rough ideas help. Farewell and safe journeys for now.

[Dustin Fireblade]

In the Western Empire, the "Slayer of Mountains" description talks about something similar. His visions are suppose to group him, the Western Empire emperor, and some adventurer's against whatever was coming. Might make for an interesting plot hook if the players have to face the "Slayer" who was fighting the same enemy as the players.

[Northern Ranger]

Love all this!

[Dustin Fireblade]

I don't recall the specifics, but in Baalgor Wastelands the history of how the wastelands came to be was described as either some sort of ultra-powerful rune weapon or maybe it was just a spell of legend that caused the destruction. I want to say it was "Absolute Element Control" or some such.

Maybe someone is playing around with some lost magic?

[Torval]

I haven't read all the submissions so sorry if this is a duplication but how about something like the beginning of an ice age? The climate all over the world would change and places which were once considered habitable would then be too cold to permanently inhabit. A side effect could possibly be a famine, caused by a worldwide drought. Massive die off events, migrations (causing wars), etc.

[Hendrik]

But I'm back!

Welcome back, Northern Ranger! You were missed!

[RockJock]

Large scale crop failures. They lead to famine, but usually also to war on a massive scale. On Palladium this might also force mages into trying to magically supplement limited resources, changing the balance of power in another way.