My current writters block issue

[Androxine Vortex]

I am stuck here and I hate asking for help or ideas because sometimes it feels like I am asking for someone else to write the story for me, but this has stumped me for awhile now.

Basically my group of characters find an old ruined shrine. The shrine was dedicated to the demonic forces of old, and all shrines and temples of the demonic lords lay in ruins or are fully destroyed. But they find this one and make pacts with the dark forces. With their newfound powers, they plan to wreak havok upon the armies and lands of the Gods that they hate.

Here's the problem : I want to make them a serious threat to the many kingdoms in my world but I am not sure how to make them an actual threat. Yes they can use dark magic and all that good stuff but they are only a small group. They have no armies, no fortress, and plus they will be fighting other armies that are blessed by the Gods. I really don't want to be lazy and just say "100 years later, they are now a serious threat."

Any ideas?

Perhaps I can have them summon a host of demonic spirits? I was also thinking they could go to villages or towns and take hostages and then force demons into the bodies and they would be possesed ina way, but I'm not sure.

 

[Chilari]

Making them physically larger will do something to reduce the disadvantage of small numbers. They become a greater threat both in reality and symbolically/psycologically. Alternatively, unless you can't do this for later plot points, you could make them invulnerable.

I guess you need to think about what kind of threat they are - and I don't mean demonic, magic, I mean in what way will they attempt to defeat the gods they hate, what tactics and strategies will they use, how does their vendetta against the gods affect humans, etc? Perhaps you should also go back to the reason for their hatred, and look at creating symbolic links between those reasons and their current plans and approaches. And also think about how they get their new powers and what the rules behind that are.

I hope this helps.

 

[JCFarnham]

Hmmm, well, making pacts with demonic forces always seems to go hand in hand with cultist activity. Maybe in the mean time they have been "tainting" people to their way, Wormtongue style?

If they're fighting armies (and you can't change that) then they either have to be really rather powerful, tactical geniuses with every bit of good luck they could stumble across working out for them in the heat of the moment, or have ways of defeating the God-blessed (hehe) without facing them in a full-on battle. Another association I always get from the phrase "dark forces" is sneaky, or manipulative.

It seems to me that you might want to think about conceding on the facing up against armies. If they're not strong enough to do it then its not going to work too well for them (unless of course the whole point is for them to kick the bucket), the only other choice open for them is to try something a bit more subtle right?

If in doubt try a rewrite. It's a trick that seems like a giant waste of time, going over the same thing again and such ... but sometimes it helps to write stuff in different ways perhaps, or you might find you'll get a different perspective on the whole thing.

Above all else don't give up, even if you have to let the idea sit for a month or two.

 

[Codey Amprim]

You've got quite a request there.

I'm going to base my ideas on not knowing the lore of your realms, and what I think would fit best to even the odds.
Gods vs. Gods... sounds like what I'm doing, so hopefully I can give you a few good ideas.

Since the "good" side of the story is the faction that the characters are to destroy, and they are so powerful, you need a leveler. Either you are going to have to bring down the "good" side's power to a level that the characters can achieve dominance over without it getting too crazy, or you're going to have to give them some leverage.

It seems that the demon-god side of the story is nearly destroyed and for the most part forgotten. This would mean that many people would not even know of this, save for a special bunch (probably higher-ups like kings and paladins and whatnot). One way to turn the tide in their favor would be to bring about a reign of terror amongst the civilian population. This could be done through the fell deeds that your company goes about doing, as word of their horrifying power spreads across the land. This would open opportunities for your characters to establish their name across the world. This fear might turn soldiers of the good army into their hands, for whatever reasons they chose to leave (power-hungry, scared, etc.). As this fear spreads, they gain power enough to worry the leaders of the "good" side, and then war erupts.

My second idea would be another type of legion-army deal. This would require the summoning and commanding of an army of evil spirits and dark forces against the kingdoms of good. Through their deeds the dark gods would reward the company with more power, until they earn the ability to command the very forces through which they made a pact with, essentially becoming a sort of dread-lord with the ability to manifest dark powers and controlling demons and whatnot. Also, the undefined evil forces could be the dormant entities that were forgotten after the destruction and desecration of the dark-gods' temples and unholy sites. I would think them to be very angry for being locked away for so long. As your company would go about freeing these minions of the dark-gods, they would earn their favor at the same time.
Another way for the evil legion idea to work would be for the company to somehow open a rift into the dark-gods' domain, bringing forth a terrible power into the waking realm. (This is starting to sound like my stuff, so I'm going to let you work out the details)

Third, and my last idea, would be for the company to somehow obtain a great power for which they would usurp the good. This great power could be a terrible weapon of some sorts. This one is pretty bland, in my opinion, but could be the best, depending on how it is executed.

Let me know what you think. Hope I helped!

 

[Androxine Vortex]

You've got quite a request there.

I'm going to base my ideas on not knowing the lore of your realms, and what I think would fit best to even the odds.
Gods vs. Gods... sounds like what I'm doing, so hopefully I can give you a few good ideas.

Since the "good" side of the story is the faction that the characters are to destroy, and they are so powerful, you need a leveler. Either you are going to have to bring down the "good" side's power to a level that the characters can achieve dominance over without it getting too crazy, or you're going to have to give them some leverage.

It seems that the demon-god side of the story is nearly destroyed and for the most part forgotten. This would mean that many people would not even know of this, save for a special bunch (probably higher-ups like kings and paladins and whatnot). One way to turn the tide in their favor would be to bring about a reign of terror amongst the civilian population. This could be done through the fell deeds that your company goes about doing, as word of their horrifying power spreads across the land. This would open opportunities for your characters to establish their name across the world. This fear might turn soldiers of the good army into their hands, for whatever reasons they chose to leave (power-hungry, scared, etc.). As this fear spreads, they gain power enough to worry the leaders of the "good" side, and then war erupts.

My second idea would be another type of legion-army deal. This would require the summoning and commanding of an army of evil spirits and dark forces against the kingdoms of good. Through their deeds the dark gods would reward the company with more power, until they earn the ability to command the very forces through which they made a pact with, essentially becoming a sort of dread-lord with the ability to manifest dark powers and controlling demons and whatnot. Also, the undefined evil forces could be the dormant entities that were forgotten after the destruction and desecration of the dark-gods' temples and unholy sites. I would think them to be very angry for being locked away for so long. As your company would go about freeing these minions of the dark-gods, they would earn their favor at the same time.
Another way for the evil legion idea to work would be for the company to somehow open a rift into the dark-gods' domain, bringing forth a terrible power into the waking realm. (This is starting to sound like my stuff, so I'm going to let you work out the details)

Third, and my last idea, would be for the company to somehow obtain a great power for which they would usurp the good. This great power could be a terrible weapon of some sorts. This one is pretty bland, in my opinion, but could be the best, depending on how it is executed.

Let me know what you think. Hope I helped!

I did have an idea similar to yours concerning the "your company would go about freeing these minions of the dark-gods" idea. First let me explain this background info: When the dark god realized that his temples were falling and the Lords of Heaven commanded thier armies and marched across the Earth, destroying his forces and shrines, he feared that he would lose all of his mortal followers and would slip away into myth. So he gathered all of his forces to his Northern fortress and froze his great city in the ice (the Northern Fortress was in a land encased in ice and snow)

So I was thinking that when the party finds the shrine that somehow they would be able to reopen the mountains made of ice and snow and open the gates to the dark city. Inside perhaps there would contain knowledge of spells to summon hordes of demons or reawaken those who swore fealty towards him all those years ago. After all, it is the preserved city of the dark lord himself.

I just don't want it to be like, "Ok we found this shrine. Abra Kadabra! Now we have an entire army with us! Epic win!" I don't want them to seem that Over Powered in such a small amount of time.

As for your idea on having the "good guy" soldiers come side with them, I have an idea for this: There exist in the my version of Hell, the Demon Lords of Influence. basically they have the power to whisper into the hearts and minds of mortals. Some tempt them with promise of forbidden magic and knowledge, others tempt you with promises of lust and selfish indulgences. But when the Dark God sealed off his forces, he cut off all contact with the material world. Meaning in exchange for his safety, he had to seal off himmself from thw world, so all this time he has been waiting for someone to one day stumble upon his ruins and have them reawaken his powers.So perhaps by performing some kind of spell, the demons will be able to spread thier lies and influence once more.

So these are my ideas but I just don't want my plot to seem rushed and make my characters ridiculosly over powered in such a short amount of time.


I kind of feel embarrased for asking for plot advice but this has been bugging me for over a week now and I haven't made any progress anytime I try and change it. I don't think it makes me a bad writter though. I have 95% of the idea but can't figure the other 5% out.

 

[Leif GS Notae]

When in doubt, mind map it out. Take the scenario you propose and think of all the strands of plot that can spring from that one moment. Follow those things out and see what becomes of them. Sometimes you can find more than you bargained for (A good thing, certainly).

As far as what I would do in the scenario presented, I would highlight and accentuate the "sin" in their heart. A rogue who tempts people and steals their goods would be so beautiful they would throw money at them. A fighter with greed in their heart would be cast in gold (or other precious metal) and made nearly invincible. You have many opportunities here if you know where to look and what flaw to exploit to give them a sympathetic edge.

Our "sins" is that edge.

Hope that helps.

 

[Epaminondas]

Well, if you're set on the clash of armies I assume you mean for your dark forces to have an army too just don't know how they could get one?
If that's the case then the most likely way for them to get one would be to co-opt one that already existed. Perhaps one of their dark powers is the ability to whither crops and starve the populous thus forcing the terrified leaders of a kingdom to swear vassalage to them.
Something to strike enough fear into some local populous that they join out of fear of being wiped out.

Not sure if that's what you're going for but I hope it helps.

 

[Voldermort]

I am stuck here and I hate asking for help or ideas because sometimes it feels like I am asking for someone else to write the story for me, but this has stumped me for awhile now.

Basically my group of characters find an old ruined shrine. The shrine was dedicated to the demonic forces of old, and all shrines and temples of the demonic lords lay in ruins or are fully destroyed. But they find this one and make pacts with the dark forces. With their newfound powers, they plan to wreak havok upon the armies and lands of the Gods that they hate.

Here's the problem : I want to make them a serious threat to the many kingdoms in my world but I am not sure how to make them an actual threat. Yes they can use dark magic and all that good stuff but they are only a small group. They have no armies, no fortress, and plus they will be fighting other armies that are blessed by the Gods. I really don't want to be lazy and just say "100 years later, they are now a serious threat."

Any ideas?

Perhaps I can have them summon a host of demonic spirits? I was also thinking they could go to villages or towns and take hostages and then force demons into the bodies and they would be possesed ina way, but I'm not sure.

Simple as Simon:

Use what I call the THOR METHOD. You can also call it the LOTR METHOD.

In the classics, some physical representation of dominance exists and it allows you to destroy or neutralize the other side. In LOTR it's the ring. In Astro Boy it's blue energy. In Thor, it's blue energy crystals.

If you possess it, you gain control. And when the baddies possess it, they'll want to use it to destroy the Gods.

Your demons are a threat because they possess it.

But somehow cannot use it just yet.

A bit like the Death Star, which is a threat, but is not fully operational. And when it is, they don't know the location of the rebel bases.

When the demons are ready to use it, well that triggers the mother of all battles.

In the "happy ending," the Gods get it back. And give the demons a slap on the wrist and make them stand in a corner (in Thor, the Frost Giants are banished to their own planet).

See what I mean.

 

[sashamerideth]

I have just a quick idea. Assuming the frozen forces in the north are active but hiding, those who have discovered the dark arts use the magics to install themselves in positions of authority over armies or the like. They use the influence to make sure the dark army has a safe corridor to the heart of a kingdom.

 

[grahamguitarman]

An Army of the dead? when enemies fall in battle they could turn them to their side (or to be more precise force them to fight for them)

 

[Aidan of the tavern]

I don't know whether this has been suggested already, but how about giving them the ability to control others and make doubles of themselves? I also like Voldermort's idea.

 

[Androxine Vortex]

Everyone thank you for your support! I think I have an idea set up but don't want to say what it is. It's kind of one of those ideas you get where you know (or at least hope) people will love it, so you don't want to say it to ruin it. But that being said, your comments and advice helped me a lot and want to thank you again!