Forums of the Megaverse®

I had a nice little space opera going. I stranded everyone on an alternate Earth. Struggling for a campaign idea, I started the buildup to Dark Day. My players, as a group, said "We like this! We're not going to have our characters go back into space. Make it dark and gloomy!"

I have no idea, even after reading the main book, what I've gotten myself into.

Can someone provide baby steps for a GM that's only done funny, light-hearted games up to now?

One idea is to start with the villain, in this case, a Nightlord. Make him/her the big boss and come up with a plan for him/her, typically world domination. Then, I'd go about thinking of how he/she would do it. Have a few Avatars and a Night Prince for some variety, and use a low-level avatar for the first adventure. For a beginning, I'd go with obtaining power on a local scale, like the first Avatar running for Mayor or Sheriff, and the Avatar uses the Hounds and their abilities to sway the vote, with only the Nightbane PCs to stop him/her. There are even several solutions to stopping him/her, whether it's by beating the Avatar in combat (unlikely, but possible) or if the Avatar could be exposed in a compromising situation (extramarital or otherwise, but more likely). Yes, it's a basic adventure, but it is a fun one, at least in my opinion. As an afterthought, if the PCs in your current campaign really want to stick around, they just MAY become Nightbane, too. This IS the Megaverse, after all, and the PCs could be kept busy trying to deal with their new forms and abilities. Something to think about.

You may know this already, but for the long haul, you may want the PCs in your campaign to belong to a Faction, both for structure and adventure ops. Both have their ups and downs, but for beginning PCs, I'd go with the Underground Railroad for the first choice and the Resistance for the second, and if they're experienced enough, maybe the Nocturnes. The Railroad would be best for beginners, IMO, and there are always Nightbane to be rescued. Detailed, I know, but that's how we GMs think, true? Hope this helps.