[Scenario Seed] Water

[Catsmate]

Inspired by this BBC article.
A few Doctor Who stories have included the problems of a shortage of water but it's becoming a problem today, at least regarding potable water.
There are shortages in India, California is experiencing a drought and Australia is looking at permanent ecological damage to Murray-Darling basin at the possible abandonment of Perth. Elsewhere water is often contaminated and unfit for human consumption.

Gaming uses.
1. While visiting somewhere/somewhen, anyone from the ancient past to the dystopian future, a PC or NPC drinks water containing a pathogen. Now the party has another problem to deal with.
2. Ghost metropolis of Perth. Arriving in the mid-twenty first century the party finds themselves in the decaying ruins of what was once Australia's fourth city, now abandoned by (almost) everyone. A perfect place for a secret base.
3. Arriving somewhere that's experiencing an acute shortage of water, the party has to try and formulate an agreement between local groups before things get really ugly.


Comments? Ideas? Suggestions?

[starkllr]

Other possibilities:

The water shortage is a result of (or is the primary means of) terraforming efforts by an alien species to make the Earth more hospitable to them. Who's doing it? How can it be stopped?

The water shortage is an unintentional result of some other activity, either of alien or human origin, either beneficial (a vast new experimental program to tap geothermal energy, say), or malevolent. Again, who's doing it? And why?

The water shortage is deliberate, being caused by a government or other human entity to gain power (wasn't that the plot of the Janes Bond movie "Quantum of Solace" ?). Again, who's doing it? How? From where? Can they be stopped without starting World War 3?

[Catsmate]

May 4, 2016 15:17:23 GMT starkllr said:

Other possibilities:

The water shortage is a result of (or is the primary means of) terraforming efforts by an alien species to make the Earth more hospitable to them. Who's doing it? How can it be stopped?

Good idea. Maybe the aliens are stealing the water (hey, they used the idea in V even if it was rather silly). Or maybe the water is being effected by sentient water (as in The Waters of Mars, Pitter-Patter and The Genocide Machine)

May 4, 2016 15:17:23 GMT starkllr said:

The water shortage is an unintentional result of some other activity, either of alien or human origin, either beneficial (a vast new experimental program to tap geothermal energy, say), or malevolent. Again, who's doing it? And why?

A classic Who plot. The film Sahara based loosely on Cussler's novel had a facility contaminating the local water supply, and an attempted cover-up of this. Easily re-used in a Who game.

May 4, 2016 15:17:23 GMT starkllr said:

The water shortage is deliberate, being caused by a government or other human entity to gain power (wasn't that the plot of the Janes Bond movie "Quantum of Solace" ?). Again, who's doing it? How? From where? Can they be stopped without starting World War 3?

Interestingly topical. The plot of Quantum of Solace was based on the World Bank mandated privatisation of water supply in Bolivia (which failed). Very suitable for a present day/near future scenario, as well as a colony planet (perhaps with added conflict with the natives over water).


Nice work starkllr.