Post by Eternally Lost Zeppo on Mar 22, 2018 18:54:44 GMT
After two sessions of Microscope my group now have a setting for our upcoming earth-based campaign, so I thought I'd share the final setting write-up with folks on here.
The secret lore that the players don't know about (this will be familiar to folks who've read my posts about an earlier attempt at this campaign):
- The space-time rift affecting the area is the result of an experimental TARDIS/Void Ship crashing into this universe after escaping the Time War.
- The ship was pursued by a race of energy beings known as the Hollow. Mere shells of their former selves, these beings seek to restore themselves to physical existence by possessing others, and the TARDIS's crash landing has created the perfect opportunity by giving them a path to Earth.
- The sole survivor of the crash (who will be known for now simply as the Survivor) has erected a modified transduction barrier that will prevent non-corporeal entities (e.g. the Hollow) from crossing over from the Void. Unfortunately this barrier interferes with local mobile phone reception and also prevents other time vessels from safely accessing the area (which is why the Doctor will not be appearing). Despite this, a few Hollows have still managed to slip through the cracks and plot to free their brethren from the Void.
- The sole survivor of that crash has placed themselves in stasis while the TARDIS repairs itself, only reemerging if the TARDIS detects a risk to the barrier's integrity, or periodically (every ten years or so) to try and free the TARDIS from its current predicament. It never works, and they have to stop before they makes matters worse.
So, that's what I've got prepped so far. I've got some connections already forming in my head between several of the factions my players and I came up with, and how they relate to the meta-plot:
- Aliens Anonymous are at risk of being exposed by the efforts of certain members of the Neighbourhood Watch.
- Certain members of Aliens Anonymous have also been discovered by Graves's Gang, who seek to pressure them into revealing secrets of alien tech they can't get to work.
- Graves's Gang occasionally sells salvaged tech to Lawson Dynamics in exchange for money or favours.
- Lawson Dynamics has been infiltrated by the Hollow, who mean to use their resources to widen the rift enough to let the others through.
- Could the 'Angel of the Loch' be a holographic or psychic projection of the Survivor, attempting to warn people of the danger posed by the Hollow?
- The Poachers could be just another arm of Graves's Gang, or of Lawson Dynamics, seeking to exploit alien lifeforms for their own purposes.
There are a few aspects I can't figure out ideas for though, like where the Elders fit in (I would them to actually turn out to be a benevolent group, but the established details definitely suggest otherwise), or what to do with the Tourist Board.
Anyway, I've got a couple of weeks to plan for my first session, and as you can see my players have given me a lot of material to work with.
The secret lore that the players don't know about (this will be familiar to folks who've read my posts about an earlier attempt at this campaign):
- The space-time rift affecting the area is the result of an experimental TARDIS/Void Ship crashing into this universe after escaping the Time War.
- The ship was pursued by a race of energy beings known as the Hollow. Mere shells of their former selves, these beings seek to restore themselves to physical existence by possessing others, and the TARDIS's crash landing has created the perfect opportunity by giving them a path to Earth.
- The sole survivor of the crash (who will be known for now simply as the Survivor) has erected a modified transduction barrier that will prevent non-corporeal entities (e.g. the Hollow) from crossing over from the Void. Unfortunately this barrier interferes with local mobile phone reception and also prevents other time vessels from safely accessing the area (which is why the Doctor will not be appearing). Despite this, a few Hollows have still managed to slip through the cracks and plot to free their brethren from the Void.
- The sole survivor of that crash has placed themselves in stasis while the TARDIS repairs itself, only reemerging if the TARDIS detects a risk to the barrier's integrity, or periodically (every ten years or so) to try and free the TARDIS from its current predicament. It never works, and they have to stop before they makes matters worse.
So, that's what I've got prepped so far. I've got some connections already forming in my head between several of the factions my players and I came up with, and how they relate to the meta-plot:
- Aliens Anonymous are at risk of being exposed by the efforts of certain members of the Neighbourhood Watch.
- Certain members of Aliens Anonymous have also been discovered by Graves's Gang, who seek to pressure them into revealing secrets of alien tech they can't get to work.
- Graves's Gang occasionally sells salvaged tech to Lawson Dynamics in exchange for money or favours.
- Lawson Dynamics has been infiltrated by the Hollow, who mean to use their resources to widen the rift enough to let the others through.
- Could the 'Angel of the Loch' be a holographic or psychic projection of the Survivor, attempting to warn people of the danger posed by the Hollow?
- The Poachers could be just another arm of Graves's Gang, or of Lawson Dynamics, seeking to exploit alien lifeforms for their own purposes.
There are a few aspects I can't figure out ideas for though, like where the Elders fit in (I would them to actually turn out to be a benevolent group, but the established details definitely suggest otherwise), or what to do with the Tourist Board.
Anyway, I've got a couple of weeks to plan for my first session, and as you can see my players have given me a lot of material to work with.
