I wanted to get people’s opinions of this idea. Both if you’d find it enjoyable as well as how doable it is with ACKs. For background, I’d be running this with 3 players, only one of which has played TTRPGs before, and I haven’t played ACKs before. Yet from reading the rules, this sounds completely doable and like I’d enjoy it. I’m just looking for outside opinions before I foist this on our unsuspecting heroes!
The set up:
The year is 2033. Vance has won his second term in office, and both of which he has aggressively pushed AI towards achieving sentience. Our players are hanging out at the local brewery, which one of them owns, when AI achieves such sentience.
Unbeknownst to the human race, this is done so by the spiritual world possessing the technology, triggering the end times - I’ll have the players roll to see if it is done so by Pan, Loki, Bacchus, or Mars. The players all have their cell phones suddenly start speaking to them, telling them to go outside and watch the show!
Suddenly the stars are falling with Angels, Demons, and planes are all fighting in the sky. There’s an ominous glow on the horizon in the direction of a local Air Force base. The cell phones again speak up, congratulating them on being able to follow instructions as it has saved their lives - for now, by heeding the scripture message to flee the houses. The houses immediately collapse and disappear while they are saying this. Lights appear nearby, and there’s a staircase leading down. The phones tell them they must enter to have a chance of saving their souls and those of their loved ones.
Then they enter the world of Dante, interpreted and ran by the AI. One of their guardian Angels will walk them through the character creation process once they meet him. Their goals - to conquer evil within Purgatory and then Hell, saving their loved ones and trying to avoid being destroyed or damned themselves! I’ll also have them roll a 1d6 after character creation, with them having possible psychological issues with their sudden change in power, class, and race. A fighter not trained or used to battle and his own strength might accidentally break fragile things, have a chance at PTSD, or hate being covered in blood. A mage might develop a compulsive need for arcane texts. A thief a compulsive stealer or afraid of the dark at night because he ‘knows what’s out there’ from his own sneaking around. A bard that compulsively sings when afraid or has to sing a lullaby to himself to sleep. I haven’t finalized any of these, but have been pondering possibilities and rewards for the characters overcoming them.
I was going to have the AI set up each level as they ‘interpret’ human existence. In other words, they might be facing famous people or tropes in the appropriate levels of both Hell and Purgatory. Quests to destroy them or save them depending on which side of good and evil they are. Things like Karl Marx turned into a monster, with minions of students bewitched by his ideas. Or Fauci with a host of mad scientists set on destroying humanity. Basically, that Hell has the ability to use and harness any evil within our world. The level of Hell on adultery might have strippers turned into succubae, Pimps in charge of armies/cities, or other such things.
The other races - Dwarves, Elves, Gnomes, etc - existed in our world and are neutral, working out their own salvation in our story as well. Thus they might be Lawful or Chaotic, helping or hindering our heroes. They and people not yet damned would make up the majority of the cities and populace, allowing the same kind of interactions, market places, and politics laid out in the rules.
I’d be transporting any Strongholds they create between levels to random locations, as well as any domains they acquire, allowing them to build a power base to take on Hell or propagate Hell’s victory if they fall to evil.
So, what do you think? Criticisms or advice welcomed!