Running the Day of Chaos Storyline

[alex_greene]

Everyone here following the current Judge Dredd storyline, what do you think of their current Day of Chaos story?

If you haven't, basically the last vestige of the old East-Meg One, a man called Borisenko, known b the codename Galaxy, caught a glimpse of East-Meg One's obliteration by one of its own TADs at the end of the Apocalypse War, thirty years ago. Blinded by the light from the blast, Galaxy has worked for the last thirty years to bring Mega-City One down; and he has now activated his plans.

They include:-

- Activation of cells of the terrorist groups Total War, Rage Against The Megs and an organisation called Tox, to launch terrorist attacks across the Meg;

- Attacks against the Grand Hall and the Statue of Judgment, home of the PSU, to blind Justice Department and cut its head off (the PSU attack succeeded when the Statue of Judgment fell; the Grand Hall still stands, albeit damaged);

- Activation of sleeper agents among the Judge force, hypnotised or Psi-controlled Manchurian candidates, and androids in Judge uniforms, to kill key personnel that could stem the tide.

But the piece de resistance has got to be the Chaos Plague.

Forget the Meat Virus from the Inferno storyline - another epic, by the way, from the past unjustly forgotten - the Chaos Plague is a thousand times worse.

The Chaos Plague is a gene spliced strain of Toxoplasma gondii, a parasitic microorganism engineered to create symptoms of confusion and aggression in humans, accompanied by reddening of the eyes, bruising and bleeding from the area surrounding the eyes, and maximising its contamination by being airborne, spread by coughs, sneezes, contact with bodily fluids and physical contact with skin, clothing and any solid surface.

So far, in the official storyline, half the city's already on fire now that the PSU's gone down, and the Chaos Plague has not even started to make itself felt yet.

You think you could play or run that setting? And for that matter, any other mega-epic settings such as The Day The Law Died, Judgment Day, the Apocalypse War, Inferno or the Nero Narcos storyline where the gang leader took over the city?

 

[ned-kogar]

I think a campaign based on Days of Chaos could work well - it has a nice build to the chaos. Once the storyline's done, it would be easy to break it down into episodes suitable for combat scenarios... perhaps with success of one side determining how dire the situation is for the judges in the next scenario.

Well worth giving some more thought to...

Ned

 

[alex_greene]

I think a campaign based on Days of Chaos could work well - it has a nice build to the chaos. Once the storyline's done, it would be easy to break it down into episodes suitable for combat scenarios... perhaps with success of one side determining how dire the situation is for the judges in the next scenario.

Well worth giving some more thought to...

Especially if you see each week's new developments. Seen the latest prog? Next week, the proverbial fan's going to get well stommed - on. This week, one Judge makes a crucial misjudgment, gets slapped down by the CJ ... but the information gets leaked out to the press that Justice Department are now euthing healthy cits by the hundreds just for being in the same room as a chaos bug carrier.

I think the word "BOOM" might fit nicely here ...

 

[numanti]

It's getting worse each week! And is so well written that it feels like a sort of update of Block Mania, but much more in depth. Today's prog keeps the stomm flying straight into the fan - in fact it is being thrown ever harder

I wish I had an RPG campaign going on at the moment as the last time I tied my campaign in with an ongoing storyline was, I think, when the Judgement Day storyline was going on, and it was great being able to throw bits of that in (zombie attacks mainly)

 

[alex_greene]

By Grud, yes, those hits just keep on coming, don't they?

Wait till someone leaks that their beloved "Mayor Ambrose" had, in fact, been P J Maybe all along, and that far from dying, he escaped Justice Department and he's at large in the city somewhere.

 

[alex_greene]

Hint to anyone planning on playing in a game set in the Day of Chaos: If they offer a position in the PSU, politely decline.

 

[numanti]

By Grud, yes, those hits just keep on coming, don't they?

Wait till someone leaks that their beloved "Mayor Ambrose" had, in fact, been P J Maybe all along, and that far from dying, he escaped Justice Department and he's at large in the city somewhere.

I think PJ has a part to play in saving the City, myself. Boy is a genius in the Chemistry lab, remember

 

[Klaetch]

I think PJ has a part to play in saving the City, myself. Boy is a genius in the Chemistry lab, remember

That's an interesting idea, I hope they go with that.

I'm a big fan of PJ Maybe, and I loved that he actually did a good job as mayor. It's that sort of character depth that makes 2000AD stand out.

 

[numanti]

The new prog - 1779 - holy drokk! Highly recommend this storyline.

 

[Kardak_Legaius]

Which prog does this storyline start in? I'm still reading through some progs from the 80's but this sounds interesting.

 

[numanti]

It's the longest epic ever (and probably the best) - started in Prog 1743 (we are on 1779 now so it is already at 36 episodes) but to get the most from it you'd also need The Further Dasterdly Deeds of P.J. Maybe (Progs 1740 - 1742) and the knowledge that PJ Maybe, serial killer, had killed a guy named Byron Ambrose, took over his identity and had spent a good amount of time as Mayor of Mega City 1 until he had been caught.

It is only running in 2000AD, so you won't need any Judge Dredd Megazines - and if your only experience of Dredd is from the 80's then you may be a little shocked at how much it has matured - some say the golden age was back in the early 80's, but Dredd has been on a second golden age since about 1998 - but this storyline is in a league of its own.

 

[alex_greene]

It's been bringing together elements from a number of other stories - the Total War one with the nukes and Vienna Dredd; Origins, particularly the closing scenes; and the ongoing storyline which had led to the Tour of Duty epic and the consequences following therefrom.

Also Rage Against The Megs debuted for the first time in that Megazine story where an entire sector just exploded in rioting overnight - a trial run for this current storyline perchance?

Lastly ... the Chaos Plague is not just confined to MC-1. I wondered if there'd be an outbreak of it in Prague, and I was right. Which means that it could spread worldwide before it can be stopped.

 

[numanti]

I was trying to recommend an affordable way to read it

But I would most certainly recommend getting Origins and the Tour of Duty trades, but you don't need them need them need them to follow what's going on.

 

[Kardak_Legaius]

Thanks for being so helpful. Can I order back issues directly from the publisher?

 

[numanti]

You can order them from http://shop.2000adonline.com/ as either physical or digital copies (in PDF or CBR), or from http://www.clickwheel.net/ in digital only - clickwheel is curently slightly cheaper, but doesn't appear to be secure...

 

[Judge Ed]

Where can I find/read the "Day of Chaos," online I hope? :idea:

 

[Shokker]

Where can I find/read the "Day of Chaos," online I hope? :idea:

Day of Chaos is still ongoing and looks like it's going to get even more exciting with the imminent release of the Dark Judges but you can purchase digital back issues through the link below. The story starts in prog 1740 and we're currently up to prog 1779!

http://shop.2000adonline.com/categories/comics

 

[Judge Ed]

Where can I find/read the "Day of Chaos," online I hope? :idea:

Day of Chaos is still ongoing and looks like it's going to get even more exciting with the imminent release of the Dark Judges but you can purchase digital back issues through the link below. The story starts in prog 1740 and we're currently up to prog 1779!

http://shop.2000adonline.com/categories/comics

Do you need all the programs?
Or just those noted as "Judge Dredd" to get the whole story?

Thanks Heaps Shokker Mate,

 

[Shokker]

Do you need all the programs?
Or just those noted as "Judge Dredd" to get the whole story?

Only the Judge Dredd stories are relevant. Well worth a read!

Thanks Heaps Shokker Mate,

Always a pleasure to help out a fellow Dreadhead in distress!

 

[alex_greene]

Yes, to confirm:-

Day of Chaos is the main Dredd storyline and current continuity event. It began last year in Prog 1743. No crossovers.

The story does, however, reference several prior events in Dredd's history:-

- The Apocalypse War;

- Events in the PJ Maybe storyline where, after escaping justice once again he usurped the identity of Byron Ambrose and became Mayor of MC-1;

- Ciudad Barranquilla, and the Regime Change storyline;

- The Total War storyline (with Vienna Dredd and the failed Dredd clone with the superior senses);

- the other regime change, where Dan Francisco replaced Hershey as Chief Judge leading to the Tour of Duty storyline;

- the Sector 95 short story in the Judge Dredd Megazine, which introduced the terrorist cell Rage Against The Megs;

- and, of course, as Judge Beeny is involved, continuing echoes of the legendary Dredd epic America.

And now, it would seem, the city is about to come under an even greater threat - the Dark Judges' imminent release. That is, unless Dredd can get to them first ...

Oh dear. I just sneezed ...