[Scenario/Campaign Idea] The Auton Invasion That Wasn't
May 19, 2016 17:47:50 GMT
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Post by starkllr on May 19, 2016 17:47:50 GMT
Inspired by a great discussion in the Write Ups forum about the Nestene Consciousness...
It was posited in that thread that the Nestene consciousness and its Auton servants could be used to far more terrifying effect than the show ever managed, in large part due to the fact that plastic is absolutely everywhere around us. Which put me in mind of an old Twilight Zone episode ("The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" where the aliens sow fear and panic in a human town and sit back while that panic ends up destroying the town without the aliens ever firing a shot).
My thought was that the Nestene Consciousness could do the same thing. If the idea that any plastic item could suddenly become a weapon that might kill everyone in the room got out into the public, imagine the paranoia that would take hold. The Nestene Consciousness could bring down human society with minimal effort.
But here's a more interesting idea for a scenario (or even possibly a whole campaign) that would challenge the players in a very different way. What if the threat of the Autons isn't real?
This scenario does require an assumption - that the events of the Pertwee-era Auton stories (and the Eccleston story, too) did actually happen. The Autons DO exist, but they've been defeated every time they showed up, and the events were cleaned up as thoroughly as possible. UNIT knows about them, Torchwood likely does, but the general public (including most government and military officials) doesn't.
The villain: could be anyone. A rogue government, an Evil Genius(tm), an Anonymous-esque anarchist group, a small alien force intent on conquering Earth but without the resources to mount a proper invasion, or a malevolent alien individual (the Master? the War Lord? Davros, at one of the points when he's on the outs with the Daleks?). Whatever suits the GM's fancy, really.
The plot: the villain hacks into UNIT archives (or whatever else would fit your version of the Whoniverse) and steals everything on the previous Auton attacks. Video evidence, military after-action reports, medical records, you name it. In whatever way is most fitting for them, they release this information to the public. It's done in a way that is hard to contradict, and the news both unnerves the public and lowers confidence in government and the military (they lied about an alien invasion and covered up X number of deaths...what ELSE are they lying about?).
Then the villain feeds stories of freak accidents and incidents that look like they could be Auton-related, and the media and people's imaginations will do the job of chalking up other incidents to possible Auton activity, too. Paranoia starts to build, all across the world. Consumers demand less plastic in their products, and movements grow to live a completely plastic-free lifestyle (which will be difficult if not impossible).
Then comes the final stroke. During a worldwide live event (the World Cup final, the opening ceremony of the Olympics, the Academy Awards, whatever), there is a seemingly undeniable Auton attack on camera. A host is strangled by a microphone cord that suddenly comes to life. A plastic clipboard deforms, flies up and smothers a news anchor. Whatever it is, it's spectacular and horrifying, and it is seen by a billion people at the same time. The result is predictable: total chaos. People try to get rid of everything around them that has plastic in it (which is most of the products in their homes and workplaces). Cell phones and computers are smashed and burned in great bonfires. The police and military have trouble maintaining any semblance of order (in part because they're just as afraid of their own equipment as everyone else is).
The most advanced countries collapse in short order as their power grids fail and their logistic chains disintegrate. Electrical power is unreliable, food is scarce, and everyone is on edge out of fear that every object all around them might murder them at any moment.
So where do the players come in?
1. It could be at the start of the plot. Maybe they see the first planted stories that look like Auton activity and investigate. They won't find anything, because either the incidents are totally faked, grossly exaggerated or reported inaccurately. But this is a case where player who don't know their Who history as well will be at an advantage, because they'll be quicker to wonder if something else isn't going on; while players who are more familiar with the Autons will likely not let go of the idea until the GM beats them over the head with enough clues to get them on the right track.
Either way, once they figure out it isn't Autons, they'll have to make a connection between the various incidents, and trace it back to its source. Players with strong investigation skills, and/or a background in computer hacking will have an advantage here. The scenario then becomes a race against time - can the players connect the dots and trace them back to the source before the next stage of the plot is unleashed?
2. It could be when the hack is discovered. The players learn about it from their UNIT contact (or whatever makes more sense in your campaign) and are asked to investigate. They will probably fear initially that the hack was by Auton agents trying to delete all prior records of their activities, or, worse yet, someone trying to find the Autons to use them for their own nefarious purposes. It will require clear thinking and probably plenty of story points for them to guess what's really going on and find the hackers before the information is released to the public.
3. It could be after the big public revelation. In this case, job one is to track down the hackers and figure out what they're doing before the next phase of the plan begins.
4. It could be after the World Cup Incident, in the midst of a full-blown societal collapse. In this case, the first job of the players will probably be to survive as their location is besieged by rioters, then they'll have to try and restore order to the community they're in, then they have to figure out that there aren't actually any Autons, and then stop the worldwide panic somehow. Only then can they discover and confront the true villain. And while all that's going on, who knows what other evil forces might try to take advantage of the chaos? They'll have to be stopped, too! This option could become a full campaign, especially for an Earth-based game with a team of UNIT/Torchwood/etc operatives.
It was posited in that thread that the Nestene consciousness and its Auton servants could be used to far more terrifying effect than the show ever managed, in large part due to the fact that plastic is absolutely everywhere around us. Which put me in mind of an old Twilight Zone episode ("The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" where the aliens sow fear and panic in a human town and sit back while that panic ends up destroying the town without the aliens ever firing a shot).
My thought was that the Nestene Consciousness could do the same thing. If the idea that any plastic item could suddenly become a weapon that might kill everyone in the room got out into the public, imagine the paranoia that would take hold. The Nestene Consciousness could bring down human society with minimal effort.
But here's a more interesting idea for a scenario (or even possibly a whole campaign) that would challenge the players in a very different way. What if the threat of the Autons isn't real?
This scenario does require an assumption - that the events of the Pertwee-era Auton stories (and the Eccleston story, too) did actually happen. The Autons DO exist, but they've been defeated every time they showed up, and the events were cleaned up as thoroughly as possible. UNIT knows about them, Torchwood likely does, but the general public (including most government and military officials) doesn't.
The villain: could be anyone. A rogue government, an Evil Genius(tm), an Anonymous-esque anarchist group, a small alien force intent on conquering Earth but without the resources to mount a proper invasion, or a malevolent alien individual (the Master? the War Lord? Davros, at one of the points when he's on the outs with the Daleks?). Whatever suits the GM's fancy, really.
The plot: the villain hacks into UNIT archives (or whatever else would fit your version of the Whoniverse) and steals everything on the previous Auton attacks. Video evidence, military after-action reports, medical records, you name it. In whatever way is most fitting for them, they release this information to the public. It's done in a way that is hard to contradict, and the news both unnerves the public and lowers confidence in government and the military (they lied about an alien invasion and covered up X number of deaths...what ELSE are they lying about?).
Then the villain feeds stories of freak accidents and incidents that look like they could be Auton-related, and the media and people's imaginations will do the job of chalking up other incidents to possible Auton activity, too. Paranoia starts to build, all across the world. Consumers demand less plastic in their products, and movements grow to live a completely plastic-free lifestyle (which will be difficult if not impossible).
Then comes the final stroke. During a worldwide live event (the World Cup final, the opening ceremony of the Olympics, the Academy Awards, whatever), there is a seemingly undeniable Auton attack on camera. A host is strangled by a microphone cord that suddenly comes to life. A plastic clipboard deforms, flies up and smothers a news anchor. Whatever it is, it's spectacular and horrifying, and it is seen by a billion people at the same time. The result is predictable: total chaos. People try to get rid of everything around them that has plastic in it (which is most of the products in their homes and workplaces). Cell phones and computers are smashed and burned in great bonfires. The police and military have trouble maintaining any semblance of order (in part because they're just as afraid of their own equipment as everyone else is).
The most advanced countries collapse in short order as their power grids fail and their logistic chains disintegrate. Electrical power is unreliable, food is scarce, and everyone is on edge out of fear that every object all around them might murder them at any moment.
So where do the players come in?
1. It could be at the start of the plot. Maybe they see the first planted stories that look like Auton activity and investigate. They won't find anything, because either the incidents are totally faked, grossly exaggerated or reported inaccurately. But this is a case where player who don't know their Who history as well will be at an advantage, because they'll be quicker to wonder if something else isn't going on; while players who are more familiar with the Autons will likely not let go of the idea until the GM beats them over the head with enough clues to get them on the right track.
Either way, once they figure out it isn't Autons, they'll have to make a connection between the various incidents, and trace it back to its source. Players with strong investigation skills, and/or a background in computer hacking will have an advantage here. The scenario then becomes a race against time - can the players connect the dots and trace them back to the source before the next stage of the plot is unleashed?
2. It could be when the hack is discovered. The players learn about it from their UNIT contact (or whatever makes more sense in your campaign) and are asked to investigate. They will probably fear initially that the hack was by Auton agents trying to delete all prior records of their activities, or, worse yet, someone trying to find the Autons to use them for their own nefarious purposes. It will require clear thinking and probably plenty of story points for them to guess what's really going on and find the hackers before the information is released to the public.
3. It could be after the big public revelation. In this case, job one is to track down the hackers and figure out what they're doing before the next phase of the plan begins.
4. It could be after the World Cup Incident, in the midst of a full-blown societal collapse. In this case, the first job of the players will probably be to survive as their location is besieged by rioters, then they'll have to try and restore order to the community they're in, then they have to figure out that there aren't actually any Autons, and then stop the worldwide panic somehow. Only then can they discover and confront the true villain. And while all that's going on, who knows what other evil forces might try to take advantage of the chaos? They'll have to be stopped, too! This option could become a full campaign, especially for an Earth-based game with a team of UNIT/Torchwood/etc operatives.