So long story short, I have a player who is playing a literal demigod in a futuristic cyberpunk w/supers campaign.
What challenges can I give him? What obstacles can I have him deal with? What are some good plot hooks, enemies, or struggles for a demigod?
>>47231607
if Greek Myth is to be believed, marital problems
Character details follow:
He was a powerful First Circle warlock back when he was still human, in another universe. He accidentally blew up/rewrote/imploded that universe upon failing a spell to win a particularly grievous planet-wide war (this actually happened in a prior campaign run years ago).
After that he was thrown into the cosmos, and was saved from an eternity of madness and nothingness by a "true" god, who took him under his wing as one of only four orphans remaining from that universe.
In any case, once he achieved it his godhood didn't last long. He blew it on self-interested nonsense, and more-or-less partied away his mote of power; this left the "true" gods with the choice of whether to keep paying off his divine debt for him, or exile him.
They exiled him, bound him to mortal form, and chucked him into this fledgeling universe.
He still has terrifying magical power, and though he is mortal he still has some of his divine essence remaining. He has powerful telekinesis, he can absorb energy (radiation, electricity, fire etc.), he can transform into any creature given the time and willpower.
He also has an alternate form, that of a massive oriental-style gold dragon; it's basically the last vestige of his godly mantle, and when he "powers up" he literally burns off the power of creation from himself, wreaking unintentional havoc on the environment around him (he can only maintain this for a few minutes).
Cultists find out about him, worship him, do everything wrong. Maybe they are aliens so he can't communicate with them so good.
The new world he's in is fairly cyberpunk-inspired, but with manufactured "super powers" instead of merely all-pervasive tech (although that exists in certain forms, too). Corporate reign over the working proletariat, civil disorder, only the wealthy having access to 'superhuman' abilities and "lazarus vials" to unnaturally extend their lifespan; Human Purity Initiative, a grassroots movement to excise supers and transhumans from the city and go back to humanocentric prosperity.
Any thoughts? Suggestions? Ideas?
>>47231629
The universe treats him like a virus; a foreign entity.
So the universe equivalent of white blood cells and whatnot come out to hound him whenever he uses his powers (excessively, or otherwise).
Also give him some sort of penalty when it comes to interacting with shiny tech stuff. Like, "why would I need a thumbprint to open a goddamn window?!?" kind of problems.
>>47231621
That's not bad, although this player has the habit of not forming relationships with other characters, romantically speaking.
>>47231645
Cultists are a cool idea, actually.
>>47231621
>>47231629
>>47231647
To expand on this and be less sarcastic, classical demigods are usually foiled by their own flawed natures, or by challenges that cannot be overcome by planning or physical power. Often this was exemplified in the relationships the characters had but failed to nurture or properly respect, in part due to hubris, or due to ignorance. All of that power breeds contempt and carelessness, which is evident in this characters backstory already.
Obvious enemies for him include the Corporate powers who want to cut him open and stick his organs into a vita-juicer to suck out all that delicious nascent godhead, ancient conspiracies that plan to use his corpse to propel their own leader to godhood or to escape the universe, Environmentalists who see him as a danger to the very life of the planet and an alien threat to be exterminated. Basically everyone and everything should be against this guy - the world, it's people, and the fabric of the universe itself. He is ALIEN. He is UNWANTED. Everything about him is a disruption to the way things are SUPPOSED to be
>>47231664
this desu senpai
>>47231664
That's all definitely stuff that's going to happen. Specifically, one of his character's 'troubles' is literally "Stranded in a new and hostile universe". I plan to laugh it up as he struggles to start a car, people look at him funny for smelling bad due to not bathing or brushing his teeth/hair, etc.
The universe itself is not designed for his presence whatsoever; it's kind of a 'depositing chemical waste at the city dump' scenario. So certainly, anachronistic circumstances are likely to occur.
I'm thinking technology itself may work "wonky" around him; lightbulbs burst, circuits short out, cars stall, etc. Not all of the time, but at annoying and unlucky moments.
>>47231711
Don't forget the local god equivalent of the playground bully coming around from time to time to try to get him to piss off.
>Or steal his god mojo
>>47231672
Maybe for one session, you could have the cultists go back to worshiping a previously worshiped entity, and he has to fight it if he wants to reclaim them.
The nature of the previous entity could also explain their bad habits.
Maybe they thought it was dead and abandoned them, but really it was just the once per millennium shoggoth mating season.
>>47231684
Thanks for expanding on that. These are good ideas, and give me a lot of food for thought in regards to how to conduct the campaign.
Excellent point on the corporate development studios, who WOULDN'T want to crack open that melon and see what's inside? I could even see a mob boss finding out about it, and going into open war in the streets with the corps just to keep the character out of their hands (so he can reap the rewards himself).
Love the environmentalists angle as well. I'll probably need to come up with some kind of an "anti-cult" that is specifically against him as an entity.
I'm also now thinking that local (corporate-controlled) government may even deny him human rights, as something that is very evidently not even remotely human, or even merely unnatural; could be used as justification for government hit-squads, or even military intervention if collateral damage occurs on a large enough scale.
FAA ain't got no time to deal with fucking dragons in their airspace, either.
>>47231730
Good call. Since he's one of FOUR survivors from his prior universe, I could see that becoming a plot thread at some point, too; how mad are the other 3 for him blowing up their entire universe? Mad enough to, say, follow him into this crappy new world merely to exact revenge?
Seems like a good "oh crap" moment to drop in midway through the campaign.
>>47231751
Good stuff. Perhaps his appearance has confirmed the beliefs of one underground sect, while completely invalidating another's; his mere arrival sparks an underground cult war, and given the widespread presence of at least one of the cults it can culminate in seemingly-unrelated (but definitely related) events. The murder of a high-profile CEO who happened to be a true believer, for example, a pentagram painted in blood on the window of his office; a train exploded in the sub-layer below the streets, killing a little-known cultist prophet in the process; a parade used as a diversion while cultists burn down a disused warehouse, a secret meeting place for the rival cult; could provide a good investigation angle.
