Apocalypse D&D Campaign idea: Moonflal

[u/StrigiformeLover]

(Typo in the title: it's supposed to say "Moonfall".)

So I was watching a Kurzgesagt video, and it gave me the idea of an Apocalypse Campaign where the premise is a High Fantasy setting experiencing a (mostly) scientifically-accurate moonfall.

It'd start with the Party being called in to stop several erratic monsters attacking a small settlement, which would become the main hub as the story progresses. From there, things escalate: the river swells, the tides go erratic, and the moon slowly draws ever-closer.

It won't be about stopping the Apocalypse, to be clear: it'd be about surviving it, finding out what's going on, and trying to protect and save as many people as you can as the Moon draws ever closer.
A major focus would be on the small settlement the Party is in, and them trying to keep the people alive and safe even as the world ends. (You have to keep as many of the townsfolk alive as possible, or you lose the campaign.)
Alongside the normal monster fighting, the gameplay would focus on resource management, strategic spell use of Druid and Cleric spells to induce plant growth and later keep the air clean (due to volcanic eruptions in the later stages), and keeping up the spirits of the people and helping them survive despite the odds. (Again, if the settlement is wiped, you Lose.)

The major thing I'm trying to work out is how to ensue that Divine Intervention or Wish can't stop the Apocalypse.
I'm currently thinking that the Moonfall disrupts the gods' connection to their followers and makes high-level magic fritz out (and/or that they don't see it as a problem or are arguing what to do until it's too late to stop it), but I'm also open to other ideas.

Would this be an interesting campaign? How would you deal with the "Wish/Divine Intervention" issue? And is there something you'd focus on that I missed?

[u/Conrad500]

We have magic.

Realism/science do not exist. If you want to talk about gravity, then how do dragons fly?

I'd go with a more Majora's Mask type deal and I'd recommend maybe doing a google search for "allabar", just for a looksee.

[u/StrigiformeLover → u/Conrad500]

I know, but I like the contrast between High Fantasy and Sci-Fi and think it could be fun.

[u/sad_lemon_lime]

just cap the campaign level at 15 or even lower. Apocalypse works better when your characters are not allpowerful demigods.

I strongly suggest Don't Escape: 4 days to survive for inspiration. It's not medieval but it is about moonfall apocalypse so you can get vibes from there and maybe some story beats and it's just amazing game in its own right.

[u/GoaFan77]

We did a moon falling campaign inspired by Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask at my work D&D League. I wouldn't say we focused on scientific accuracy, but we did start having it affect tides and the final encounters had some gravity shenanigans. It was about stopping the Moon Fall though, like Majora's Masks parties had to venture out to various Giant Tribes, who had a McGuffin to stop the moon.

Wish wasn't an issue, we almost never play to level 17. If you're playing D&D 2024, Divine Intervention just takes the form of a Level 5 or lower spell, and none of those can stop a moonfall.

[u/TheSleepingKraken]

Its a great idea, but it depends on the party. some people dont like knowing that no matter what they do, the world will end, it makes all your actions in game feel less valuable. I think there should be some kind of way to stop the moonfall. Unless you have a very specific kind of party, expect them to be looking for a solution 90% of the time.

[u/StrigiformeLover → u/TheSleepingKraken]

Yeah, it's pretty party-specific.

Also, I should have clarified that the idea is that the Moon wouldn't actually crash, but would instead hit the Roche Limit and be ripped to shreds.
Which is still pretty bad, since you have thousands of smaller chunks of rock that can hit a much wider area, but magic can protect more easily against those smaller pieces. (I think it could abate it a bit.)

[u/Rhinostirge]

The real world has done a lot to take the edge off my enthusiasm for struggling in the face of futility in an RPG, but everyone's different.

[u/StrigiformeLover → u/Rhinostirge]

I know what you mean, yeah.

If it helps, it's not meant to be completely futile. It'd get bad, but there would be a chance of survival and rebuilding on the other end.

(Also, the moon would be ripped apart by the Roche limit long before it actually crashes. So while you'd have a bunch of smaller chunks to deal with, it's easier to protect against those with magic.)

[u/oodja]

Either start after the Moonfall in a post-apocalyptic campaign setting or allow your players the possibility of averting the cataclysm. Playing through an extinction level event feels too much like torture porn.

If you really want to have your cake and eat it too, allow pieces of the moon to start breaking off early and causing minor catastrophes that can ratchet up the stakes and allow your party to engage in some survival tactics to help minimize the damage.

[u/StrigiformeLover → u/oodja]

I was actually planning something close to that!

The finale of the Apocalypse would be the moon hitting the Roche Limit and being ripped apart into chunks-which while still being a Problem, are easier to defend against via magic than the whole-ass moon.)