"We're getting into some pretty dark territory with the latest story," you say.
I agree. "Yes, but it's important to say that this is a fantasy setting we're talking about. It bears no relation to, and it is not intended to bear any relation to, the real physical world."
"Okay," you say. "I agree it's important to get that out of the way. I particularly liked the fact that this one is a dialogue that takes place almost exclusively between the three players. You - the DM - has, what, three short lines in total?"
"Yes, I've written these characters such that they have basic fundamental disagreements in their respective world views," I say. "So it was really inevitable that they get into a big argument like this. I'm going to say that Carl here is only mostly right about the disposition of souls after they die in this particular fantasy setting."
"Oh?" you ask. "In what way?"
"Carl has little or no knowledge about the Good gods. He's mostly speculating, and letting his bias towards evil colour his opinion of them. Essentially he treats the Good deities with contempt, and considers them unimportant."
"Is that going to come back on him in some way?" you ask.
"Maybe," I reply. "I'm pretty deep into the tale at this point. I'm going to need to bring it to a climax of some kind soon, or it'll seem like it's just being strung out for the sake of being made longer. It doesn't help that I started the whole thing with a world-ending apocalypse, so it's hard to go up from there, without getting into Buffy territory."
"Apocalypse after apocalypse after apocalypse?"
"Yes. An apocalypse should be a unique event. They're not something that happens routinely. Too many of them devalues the idea of the end of the world."
"Perhaps you could base Season 2 on Carl's agenda to destroy existing power structures and bring his dark god into the material world to rule in fire and destruction," you suggest.
"Now there's an idea," I say.
