User:Shai Halud/Projected Storyline: Projected Storyline
Now, The Divine Gambit put the five races between a rock and a hard place. Inevitably, there must be war between the gods and the dragons. For now, the dragons do not directly harm the five races out of fear of divine retribution and the gods do not attack the dragons because they fear for the safety of mankind. The truth is, as things stand, the gods could probably win if they attacked now, but the dragons would probably wipe us all out before the gods could have a chance to stop them. So, the question is, “How do we protect ourselves against the dragons while the gods finish them off?”
Our first objective should be to defeat all of our weaker enemies and those who ally themselves with the dragons so that, when the time comes, we’ll be able to focus all of our resources on fending off the dragons’ assault. Don’t be surprised if all of our enemies at the beginning of the game have made Faustian Pacts with the dragons. Likely enemies in the game could include the dragon forces, various dark gods such as Duuhm and Menzies, the Canthan Empire, Palawa Joko and his Mordant Crescent, the Mursaat, and various supporters and disparate factions from among the five races (the White Mantel, Gold Legion, the Dredge, the Princes of Vabbi, the Istani Navy…).
Of all these enemies, the first ones we’ll have to take out are the disparate factions and traditional enemies of each race. Every region will have missions which will send you against these enemies as you attempt to foil their plans. Each group will have its strongholds and bases which will act as their spawning points (see Spawning System). Smaller camps and forts can be destroyed, but they will eventually reappear somewhere else. However, larger strongholds will be instanced areas where cooperative missions will be held to lay siege to the enemy. After the mission has been completed enough times, or when Anet decides it should happen, the enemy strongholds will change drastically. They will either become towns or outposts, or they will become abandoned, decaying versions of their former selves, home to new monsters and various treasures left by the old enemy. You will still be able to participate in the old missions through a nearby historian, but the instanced areas will remain forever changed.
As one faction’s most important strongholds fall, it will grow less powerful and eventually be completely overthrown. The smaller camps which enemy soldiers spawn from will never completely disappear, but after their faction is defeated, they will become less numerous. All of the missions will be re-playable through historians, though, so no one will have to miss out.
Soon after all of the factions have been defeated, the five races will likely have to deal with something that threatens them more directly. Lets say it’s the Seers. Having nearly been wiped out by the Mursaat in centuries past, the Seers, with the support of the dragons, have decided to take their revenge by erasing every trace of their hated enemy from the face of the planet. As the White mantel has collaborated with their enemy, the Seers have decided also to destroy humanity and all who would affiliate themselves with humans. Seeing all the world as corrupted by the touch of the Mursaat, they sweep down from the South Shiverpeaks and lay siege to the outposts of all five races.
Groups of Seers and their minions will lay siege to various outposts. If they enter the outpost, they will start destroying buildings and will knock out the local Asura gate if they can. If this happens, Players will not be able to teleport to that area until a mission is carried out to repair the gate. These attacks will continue until a method is found of defeating the Seers. Let’s say the Mursaat agree to let us in on how the nearly wiped out the Seers so long ago, and, in return, we grant them safe passage out of Tyria to find themselves a new homeland. After a certain point, Mursaat NPCs may begin to help guarding outposts where the Seer armies are attacking. We can then begin offensive attacks against the Seers’ fortresses and outposts. They will have built formidable lines of defense in the Shiverpeaks which will slowly be overrun be player attacks as was done with the other threats. At their final stronghold, we may have to face a major boss (maybe some sort of Dragon-Twisted Seer) but, once the final fortress falls, Seers will just be an uncommon enemy encountered in the South Shiverpeaks.
By this point, the story should have informed the players of the Divine Gambit. Players should be warned not to attack any of the great dragons in fear of their dire retribution. However, as so many of the dragons’ allies in Tyria have now been defeated, they will likely respond by increasing the numbers of their minions and sending massive hoards of monsters into the lands of all five races. After this carries on for a bit, the five races will eventually respond by declaring their intent to slay one of the dragons. Let’s say, it is the Orrian dragon of Arah. Players will have to board massive fleets to sail from Lion’s arch to the Orrian Peninsula. On the way, they may have to fend off monsters and minions of the dragon as part of a cooperative mission. Once they land, They’ll have to take outposts and forts as they did with other enemies until you reach the city of Arah and a cooperative mission frees it from the dragon’s claws.
Now, after this, we can expect retribution from Primordus himself. Massive earthquakes will wrack all of Tyria. Fissures will open and new and terrible monsters will be unleashed. The earth quakes could even knock out several Asura gates at a time before they’re over. Soon, though, a Canthan invasion fleet shows up. The larger armada will be visible from shore and will cruise up and down the coastline. At scheduled points, it will send landing parties ashore to march on coastal towns and outposts. It well be up to the players to defend these areas from attack. It will start with several attacks per week and then scale itself down gradually to one attack per week. Otherwise, it will be similar to the Seer offensive.
