Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on May 25, 2021 9:13:53 GMT
A few more.
Stop The World. Far, far, ago I started a thread on Mondas. I'm going to go with the basis for Mondas developed in that thread, i.e. it was a deliberately created duplicate of Earth equipped with an Osiran planetary engine (the GodEngine) that the inhabitants meddled with. The PCs arrive in a cave1, which rather surprises them as they'd expected to be somewhere entirely different2. And they find they can't depart, there's an effect blocking access to the Vortex. They explore and gradually find out that they're on a 'loose planet' drifting through interstellar space. It's a couple of years into the journey, so the surface is pretty much uninhabitable due to freezing and loss of atmosphere. Most (>99.9%) of the population are dead3, some millions have been cryogenically frozen4 and the rest are frantically trying to preserve civilisation, and themselves.
Recently a stranger came and offered them hope; she claimed to understand the GodEngine and to know how to steer it. She suggested they could move the planet to a suitable star system and start again.
Of course this would massively alter history and the Prime Reality, probably short-circuiting the rise of the Cybermen.
RAF 1810 RAF 1810 wasn't actually an RAF aircraft, despite the paperwork, markings and other measures. It was the prototype of the fourth generation of Bracewell's Specials5, aircraft modified and enhanced with recovered, traded or copied alien technology, one of the new 'Dark Lightnings' based on the F-35D6 airframe but fitted with contragravity, a force-field generator, a fusion air-ram engine, mimetic polycarbon skin over bonded crystalline composite armour, a phased-array combined sensor/laser weapon system and other items useful in planetary defense. It was on a test mission, ironing out some of the numerous flaws, problems and quirks, with a flight to low-Earth-orbit. That's where it disappeared.
What happened? Was it a technical malfunction? Where has it gone? Was it destroyed, or captured, by passing aliens, or worse, ETs actively monitoring Earth without UNIT noticing?
Ideas? Suggestions? Comments?
1. Modify as needed for their transport
2. The GodEngine is buggering up the fabric of space-time and having effects into the Vortex.
3. By violence or environmental damage mainly, though there were an awful lot of suicides. This has stabilised, most of those who were likely to kill themselves have done so, the remainder are grimly determined to survive.
4. Not particularly well, many will die and others need significant......reconstruction, when the are thawed.
5. See The Black Archive.
6. A two seat version that has been proposed but never built.
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on May 26, 2021 13:03:19 GMT
how about ABBA or Elton John and the Beatles? OK, I'm going to start on the Beatles next.
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on May 27, 2021 13:50:19 GMT
The Beatles - part 1
A few quickies to start, anyone with ideas feel free to jump in.
Back in the U.S.S.R. Hmm, I'm getting a "fall of the Soviet Union" vibe here, probably involving a UNIT team sent in in (say) '90 to ensure certain alien tech that the USSR was holding on to (in violation of their agreements with the UN) are suitable secured. Naturally problems ensue. Possibly enough for a mini-campaign.
- Making sure alien weapons currently in storage.
- Dealing with stranded aliens that have been locked up for decades and negotiating their safe return.
- Dealing with the aliens annoyed by the imprisonment of their citizens and wanting revenge/apologies/compensation.
- What to do with the alien wwho's been working for the Fourteenth Directorate and is now out of a job.
- Negotiating with the newly not-at-all-part-of-the-USSR successor states and their caches.
- Integrating the squadron of heavily modified Tu-44M 'heavy air defense' aircraft that the Soviets have developed with alien technology.
- Preventing the release of certain biological superweapons.
- Solving various mysteries that have been annoying their superiors.
- Recruiting suitable personnel for the new UNIT teams.
- Funding all this.
Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey Definitely one for the Misfit Mob. There's a new "recruit" for the team. A young man in his twenties. Someone with some quirks.
- He's a short ranged, mostly receptive, telepath.
- He really lacks the social judgement to keep secrets.
- He has an invisible monkey friend. Who's probably a figment of his imagination
- He's dying from the brain tumour that triggered his powers.
I'm sure he'll fit in just fine.
Comments? Ideas? Suggestions?
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Post by grinch on Jul 9, 2021 21:36:03 GMT
Land of Unhappy Endings.
A title which is a play on words with a quite frankly excellent Eighth Doctor comic strip ‘Land of Happy Endings.’ For this one, for some reason I’m imagining it’s set in Tinseltown at the height of the Golden Age of Hollywood and would act as an examination of the numerous tragedies and crushed dreams of stardom that such a place produces. Maybe it could even be a historical adventure starring Peg Entwistle? Either set before her famous suicide where she leaped off the Hollywood sign or even exploring an alternate timeline where she never took that horrifying leap?
If anyone has any ideas on expanding this idea, then please do speak up.
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on Jul 10, 2021 19:29:01 GMT
Land of Unhappy Endings. A title which is a play on words with a quite frankly excellent Eighth Doctor comic strip ‘Land of Happy Endings.’ For this one, for some reason I’m imagining it’s set in Tinseltown at the height of the Golden Age of Hollywood and would act as an examination of the numerous tragedies and crushed dreams of stardom that such a place produces. Maybe it could even be a historical adventure starring Peg Entwistle? Either set before her famous suicide where she leaped off the Hollywood sign or even exploring an alternate timeline where she never took that horrifying leap? If anyone has any ideas on expanding this idea, then please do speak up. Hmm, my first thought is the (rather mediocre) Netflix mini-series Hollywood which used a film of Entwistle’s life as it’s background premise. It's set in the '40s, the same period as Dying in the Sun.It's not a great series, seemingly unable to decide between a darker and more realistic take on the Hollywood legend and tying everyone's life up happily. You could use it as a prequel setting; perhaps the PCs find multiple, contradictory accounts of Entwistle's life and death. She may be simultaneously alive (and still performing in her thirties, or retired), dead (having killed herself, been murdered or died of a drug overdose in '32) and missing. What's going on? Are events in a state of temporal flux, or are multiple timelines intersecting? Why? And what part has a minor actress to play in this temporal weirdness? Naturally as time starts to unravel around them, the PCs (possibly with a few aspiring actors along),must travel back to 1924 to fix things. Maybe with a Reaper in tow?
My second thought is ‘Electrical’ Entwistle the Last of the Summer Wine character played by Burt Kwouk. Might Peg have a relative who's come to look her up, all the way from Wales (or Yorkshire)? A wizard with anything electrical and a bit of a fortune-teller who's also a surprisingly good driver and mechanic, and not a bad actor either. Just the sort of person the PCs need to help their investigations, and help fix their transport.
So, in 1923 the PCs meet Peg and try and find out what's going on. Is she the focus of some sort of temporal weirdness? Why?
- There are several other bits of history to drop in; the arrival of the Hayes Code, the trials of 'Fatty' Arbuckle, the death of Wallace Reid and (though it happened after Entwistle's death) the mysterious death of Thomas Ince aboard William Randolph Hearst's yacht.
- There's also the option of having a time-travelling Red Herring; someone has travelled back to obtain prints of some of the lost films of the era.
Also there is a third option between letting Entwistle die and saving her (and altering history); the body could be faked and she could be relocated elsewhen.
Hope this helps.
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Post by grinch on Jul 16, 2021 20:03:50 GMT
Land of Unhappy Endings. A title which is a play on words with a quite frankly excellent Eighth Doctor comic strip ‘Land of Happy Endings.’ For this one, for some reason I’m imagining it’s set in Tinseltown at the height of the Golden Age of Hollywood and would act as an examination of the numerous tragedies and crushed dreams of stardom that such a place produces. Maybe it could even be a historical adventure starring Peg Entwistle? Either set before her famous suicide where she leaped off the Hollywood sign or even exploring an alternate timeline where she never took that horrifying leap? If anyone has any ideas on expanding this idea, then please do speak up. Hmm, my first thought is the (rather mediocre) Netflix mini-series Hollywood which used a film of Entwistle’s life as it’s background premise. It's set in the '40s, the same period as Dying in the Sun.It's not a great series, seemingly unable to decide between a darker and more realistic take on the Hollywood legend and tying everyone's life up happily. You could use it as a prequel setting; perhaps the PCs find multiple, contradictory accounts of Entwistle's life and death. She may be simultaneously alive (and still performing in her thirties, or retired), dead (having killed herself, been murdered or died of a drug overdose in '32) and missing. What's going on? Are events in a state of temporal flux, or are multiple timelines intersecting? Why? And what part has a minor actress to play in this temporal weirdness? Naturally as time starts to unravel around them, the PCs (possibly with a few aspiring actors along),must travel back to 1924 to fix things. Maybe with a Reaper in tow?
My second thought is ‘Electrical’ Entwistle the Last of the Summer Wine character played by Burt Kwouk. Might Peg have a relative who's come to look her up, all the way from Wales (or Yorkshire)? A wizard with anything electrical and a bit of a fortune-teller who's also a surprisingly good driver and mechanic, and not a bad actor either. Just the sort of person the PCs need to help their investigations, and help fix their transport.
So, in 1923 the PCs meet Peg and try and find out what's going on. Is she the focus of some sort of temporal weirdness? Why?
- There are several other bits of history to drop in; the arrival of the Hayes Code, the trials of 'Fatty' Arbuckle, the death of Wallace Reid and (though it happened after Entwistle's death) the mysterious death of Thomas Ince aboard William Randolph Hearst's yacht.
- There's also the option of having a time-travelling Red Herring; someone has travelled back to obtain prints of some of the lost films of the era.
Also there is a third option between letting Entwistle die and saving her (and altering history); the body could be faked and she could be relocated elsewhen.
Hope this helps.
Some excellent ideas here and a lot that could be done with the setting. I actually have ideas for a few characters that could be used for a spin off set in the period but that’s a discussion for another time. (That and they’re just in note form at the moment.) For some reason, considering how powerful the major studios were at the time I’m imagining that perhaps the heads of said studios have gained access to time technology, enabling them to look into the future and discover which films will make a profit and which will fail. Altering the present by using the future if you will. This reckless use of time technology has caused some temporal distortions with Peg Enwistle for some reason acting as the centre point of it. Hence why the PCs will have conflicting knowledge and memories of her fate. Timelines are bleeding into one another. So, who gave the studio heads the technology? Perhaps a certain Meddling Monk or even Dr Knox? For the latter I could see him giving said technology to every studio head (unbeknownst to them), playing them off against one another in order to make a profit. And just why is poor Peg the focus of said distortions? Can they discover why and possibly help her avert her fate? Or is her doomed fate destined to happen?
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Post by grinch on Jul 16, 2021 20:05:56 GMT
As If By Magic....
In 1971, Torchwood or the group of PCs detect strange energy signatures emanating from No. 52 Festive Road in Putney and which lead to a mysterious costume shop....
Alright, maybe I’ve been watching way too much Mr Benn in my spare time. But I don’t know, I think you could probably do something fun with it.
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on Jul 16, 2021 22:26:27 GMT
Hmm, my first thought is the (rather mediocre) Netflix mini-series Hollywood which used a film of Entwistle’s life as it’s background premise. It's set in the '40s, the same period as Dying in the Sun.It's not a great series, seemingly unable to decide between a darker and more realistic take on the Hollywood legend and tying everyone's life up happily. You could use it as a prequel setting; perhaps the PCs find multiple, contradictory accounts of Entwistle's life and death. She may be simultaneously alive (and still performing in her thirties, or retired), dead (having killed herself, been murdered or died of a drug overdose in '32) and missing. What's going on? Are events in a state of temporal flux, or are multiple timelines intersecting? Why? And what part has a minor actress to play in this temporal weirdness? Naturally as time starts to unravel around them, the PCs (possibly with a few aspiring actors along),must travel back to 1924 to fix things. Maybe with a Reaper in tow?
My second thought is ‘Electrical’ Entwistle the Last of the Summer Wine character played by Burt Kwouk. Might Peg have a relative who's come to look her up, all the way from Wales (or Yorkshire)? A wizard with anything electrical and a bit of a fortune-teller who's also a surprisingly good driver and mechanic, and not a bad actor either. Just the sort of person the PCs need to help their investigations, and help fix their transport.
So, in 1923 the PCs meet Peg and try and find out what's going on. Is she the focus of some sort of temporal weirdness? Why?
- There are several other bits of history to drop in; the arrival of the Hayes Code, the trials of 'Fatty' Arbuckle, the death of Wallace Reid and (though it happened after Entwistle's death) the mysterious death of Thomas Ince aboard William Randolph Hearst's yacht.
- There's also the option of having a time-travelling Red Herring; someone has travelled back to obtain prints of some of the lost films of the era.
Also there is a third option between letting Entwistle die and saving her (and altering history); the body could be faked and she could be relocated elsewhen.
Hope this helps.
Some excellent ideas here and a lot that could be done with the setting. I actually have ideas for a few characters that could be used for a spin off set in the period but that’s a discussion for another time. (That and they’re just in note form at the moment.) For some reason, considering how powerful the major studios were at the time I’m imagining that perhaps the heads of said studios have gained access to time technology, enabling them to look into the future and discover which films will make a profit and which will fail. Altering the present by using the future if you will. This reckless use of time technology has caused some temporal distortions with Peg Enwistle for some reason acting as the centre point of it. Hence why the PCs will have conflicting knowledge and memories of her fate. Timelines are bleeding into one another. So, who gave the studio heads the technology? Perhaps a certain Meddling Monk or even Dr Knox? For the latter I could see him giving said technology to every studio head (unbeknownst to them), playing them off against one another in order to make a profit. And just why is poor Peg the focus of said distortions? Can they discover why and possibly help her avert her fate? Or is her doomed fate destined to happen? I like it. Yes, someone messing with time travel is a good way to introduce/explain/justify the temporal weirdness (I'm having a flashback to Harry Harrison's The Technicolor Time Machine). Perhaps sound and/or colour are introduced 'early'?
Knox is an excellent idea as the source of problems. I'd thought about the Hotel Cortez but that could be tied in as a consequence of his meddling.
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Post by grinch on Jul 19, 2021 17:11:02 GMT
Scream of the Angels
When the PCs discover the shattered and most shockingly the dead remains of a Weeping Angel, they fear they may have stumbled upon the impossible. A species which serves as the natural predator of the Lonely Assassins...
Basically, this gives GMs carte blance to use their imagination to craft the most monstrous creatures they can think of. After all, has this predatory species really developed naturally or is it merely the work of some mad scientist trying to play God?
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on Jul 20, 2021 8:20:00 GMT
Scream of the Angels When the PCs discover the shattered and most shockingly the dead remains of a Weeping Angel, they fear they may have stumbled upon the impossible. A species which serves as the natural predator of the Lonely Assassins... Basically, this gives GMs carte blance to use their imagination to craft the most monstrous creatures they can think of. After all, has this predatory species really developed naturally or is it merely the work of some mad scientist trying to play God? Yes, I like this. It looks like the set-up for an "ally with the unthinkable" scenario but it's something different. Have Reapers evolved to beat the Angels' 'quantum lock'? Have they annoyed a Chronovore, or a renegade Time Lord? Is it a cannibalistic faction of Angels? Has a Mad Scientist found a way to tap the powers of the Angels' and drain them? For what (presumably horrible) purpose? Or is it something even stranger? A thing left over from the prior universe?
Lots of possibilities....
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Post by grinch on Jul 20, 2021 10:36:09 GMT
Scream of the Angels When the PCs discover the shattered and most shockingly the dead remains of a Weeping Angel, they fear they may have stumbled upon the impossible. A species which serves as the natural predator of the Lonely Assassins... Basically, this gives GMs carte blance to use their imagination to craft the most monstrous creatures they can think of. After all, has this predatory species really developed naturally or is it merely the work of some mad scientist trying to play God? Yes, I like this. It looks like the set-up for an "ally with the unthinkable" scenario but it's something different. Have Reapers evolved to beat the Angels' 'quantum lock'? Have they annoyed a Chronovore, or a renegade Time Lord? Is it a cannibalistic faction of Angels? Has a Mad Scientist found a way to tap the powers of the Angels' and drain them? For what (presumably horrible) purpose? Or is it something even stranger? A thing left over from the prior universe?
Lots of possibilities....
Oh most definitely. The Angels aren’t exactly team players at the best of times. In fact, I rather like the image of the PCs being cornered by a group of Angels and then as soon as they blink the Angels flee in completely the opposite direction. Running scared if you will. The PCs would have to merely avoid being caught in the middle of the hunt while trying to find a way to return to their ship or get off planet. However, I’m sure a few voracious Angels would still pursue them. Fascinating thread you posted by the way. The creature in said Vampire Star could be a Lesser Elder God desperately trying to achieve enough power to rebuild its form and return to be reunited with its Eldritch brethren. Or even a Chronovore as you suggested.
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on Jul 20, 2021 12:47:23 GMT
Yes, I like this. It looks like the set-up for an "ally with the unthinkable" scenario but it's something different. Have Reapers evolved to beat the Angels' 'quantum lock'? Have they annoyed a Chronovore, or a renegade Time Lord? Is it a cannibalistic faction of Angels? Has a Mad Scientist found a way to tap the powers of the Angels' and drain them? For what (presumably horrible) purpose? Or is it something even stranger? A thing left over from the prior universe?
Lots of possibilities....
Oh most definitely. The Angels aren’t exactly team players at the best of times. Oh yes, if they entice the PCs into helping them a betrayal of some sort would be expected. So get your double-cross in first....In fact, I rather like the image of the PCs being cornered by a group of Angels and then as soon as they blink the Angels flee in completely the opposite direction. Running scared if you will. Maybe the Angels see the echo of their future destruction and try to avoid it? So later the PCs find their crumbling carcasses and wonder...The PCs would have to merely avoid being caught in the middle of the hunt while trying to find a way to return to their ship or get off planet. However, I’m sure a few voracious Angels would still pursue them. Avoiding something that hunts Weeping Angels sounds like fun....Fascinating thread you posted by the way. The creature in said Vampire Star could be a Lesser Elder God desperately trying to achieve enough power to rebuild its form and return to be reunited with its Eldritch brethren. Or even a Chronovore as you suggested. Thanks, it's not my creation, the idea has been used in sci-fi but appears to be possible according to our current knowledge of the universe.... An excellent place to re-stage The Impossible Planet.
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Post by grinch on Jul 26, 2021 20:28:25 GMT
Tales of Terror
The Doctor and Co (or your group’s PCs) accidentally interrupt the recording of a popular radio horror anthology series. One that has been going on since at least just before the war. The PCs will have to deal with the newly appointed host who is anxious about taking on the mantle and discover just what lurks in the darkness of the recording studio....
This one was inspired by remembering how I used to enjoy listening to The Man in Black starring Mark Gatiss when I was a nipper. Personally, I’d draw on his rather good (not great) A Ghost Story for Christmas entry The Dead Room for inspiration.
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Post by grinch on Jul 27, 2021 16:40:43 GMT
Tales of Terror The Doctor and Co (or your group’s PCs) accidentally interrupt the recording of a popular radio horror anthology series. One that has been going on since at least just before the war. The PCs will have to deal with the newly appointed host who is anxious about taking on the mantle and discover just what lurks in the darkness of the recording studio.... This one was inspired by remembering how I used to enjoy listening to The Man in Black starring Mark Gatiss when I was a nipper. Personally, I’d draw on his rather good (not great) A Ghost Story for Christmas entry The Dead Room for inspiration. Had a thought. Maybe the entity which is lurking the halls of the recording studio is in fact, the bog standard ethereal creature from another realm/another plane of existence but in a change of pace is not in fact malevolent. It’s species/race are actually great admirers of the radio programme and wish it to continue and are attempting (in a roundabout way) to encourage/motivate the newly appointed Horror Narrator to stick at it. Only problem with this idea though is it does remove a certain amount of agency on the part of the PCs so it does need some work.
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on Jul 27, 2021 17:47:33 GMT
Tales of Terror The Doctor and Co (or your group’s PCs) accidentally interrupt the recording of a popular radio horror anthology series. One that has been going on since at least just before the war. The PCs will have to deal with the newly appointed host who is anxious about taking on the mantle and discover just what lurks in the darkness of the recording studio.... This one was inspired by remembering how I used to enjoy listening to The Man in Black starring Mark Gatiss when I was a nipper. Personally, I’d draw on his rather good (not great) A Ghost Story for Christmas entry The Dead Room for inspiration. Had a thought. Maybe the entity which is lurking the halls of the recording studio is in fact, the bog standard ethereal creature from another realm/another plane of existence but in a change of pace is not in fact malevolent. It’s species/race are actually great admirers of the radio programme and wish it to continue and are attempting (in a roundabout way) to encourage/motivate the newly appointed Horror Narrator to stick at it. Only problem with this idea though is it does remove a certain amount of agency on the part of the PCs so it does need some work. Sorry I'll leave now.
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Post by grinch on Jul 28, 2021 14:07:07 GMT
Had a thought. Maybe the entity which is lurking the halls of the recording studio is in fact, the bog standard ethereal creature from another realm/another plane of existence but in a change of pace is not in fact malevolent. It’s species/race are actually great admirers of the radio programme and wish it to continue and are attempting (in a roundabout way) to encourage/motivate the newly appointed Horror Narrator to stick at it. Only problem with this idea though is it does remove a certain amount of agency on the part of the PCs so it does need some work. Sorry I'll leave now. Bravo, bravo.... You know, I thought it sounded familiar when I wrote it. Idea definitely needs some work I’ll agree. 😅
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Post by grinch on Jul 28, 2021 14:09:22 GMT
The Phantom Manor
The Doctor and co land in an apparently haunted house. But not just any bog standard haunted house. The ORIGINAL Haunted House!
That’s all I’ve got for this one.
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on Jul 30, 2021 14:03:50 GMT
Some ideas from The Twilight Zone The original 1959 series that is. Carious bits that can be borrowed for scenarios.
Massive Spoilers follow.
The Rip Van Winkle Caper The plot has four men steal a large (for 1961, it's be worth ~55$M today) and go into suspended animation for years until things cool off. Naturally the plan goes awry; one dies in a rockfall and the others fall out after they 'wake up' in 2061. All end up dead before the locals mention casually that gold is worthless. Wiki. Now this could work. Perhaps the criminals didn't plan to sleep so long. They could wake up to find the authorities waiting, tipped off by someone who found their hideout in the meantime. Of course they could wake up during the Dalek Invasion, other other such occurrence,
A Hundred Yards Over the Rim A group of US settlers are travelling from Ohio to California in 1847, but facing death from illness. Until one passes through a time-slip and emerges in the 'modern day' (of sixty year ago) and acquires some penicillin. Wiki. A classic time-slip story, with the necessity of the displaced person returning to the past to avoid altering his future. Perfect for the Misfit Mob ("We've a weirdo in the cells, claims to be from a hundred years ago!") who now have to fix things. Of course perhaps the person was displaced into the future (2135?) a brings back a few trinkets, that have to dealt with.
The Odyssey of Flight 33. Another time slip story, this time a 'modern' airliner (heading to Idlewild!) is caught in a vortex and displaced to the past to encounter dinosaurs from the air (no pterodactyls, the budget couldn't stretch) and then to the New York of 1939. They don't land and the episode ends on a cliffhanger. Wiki. Shades of Time Flight and Out of Time. Who's on the airliner? What mysterious object caused the displacement? What do they do?
To me this suggests another case for the Misfit Mob. They're on board shadowing someone (no-one too important or they wouldn't have been assigned the job) and complaining because most of them team are stuck in cattle class while the target, and a couple of the Mob, are in First.
- Lady Christina de Souza perhaps, with a stolen set of jewels that are also chronos crystals? And with a few heavies in pursuit.
Then all hell brakes loose. Turbulence, psychic visions, weird electrical effects, loss of communications et cetera. They identify themselves and argue with the pic about who's running things. They descend and see, well something suitably stereotyped from the past. Has the plane sufficient fuel for another trip? Can they get home?
Maybe 'Global 33' ends up in a forced landing in some past (or future) era not far from Sky Gypsy? Can they help Diane Holmes get her plane operational? Is there enough fuel for it to get back to the present?
- Given the difference in engines this actually wouldn't work. Sorry but IC engines don't burn kerosene.
Or do they use the artefact they've been pursuing to signal to the future for help? Have they supplies? Shelter? Problems with disease? Are there hostile locals?
'Spy-fi' of the era often featured international air travel and mysterious occurrences associated with it. Department S had two, and it only lasted one season (plane arrives six days late and plane arrives without passengers or crew). The Freewheelers had a 'liner landing on an ice floe (with Wendy Padbury as an air hostess; alas she wasn't tied up that time). And Stephen King had The Langoliers which used this very idea.
Comments? Ideas? Suggestions?
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Post by grinch on Aug 22, 2021 23:11:58 GMT
One Last Christmas
A bit of a maudlin one I’ve had knocking about in the archives for sometime now.
The PCs in their TARDIS land in a church hall in which a Christmas party is being held. But they soon discover that strange occurrences are afoot. The guests all appear to be from different time periods and are obvious unrelated and unknown to one another. And the PCs soon find themselves unable to leave as their TARDIS is changed into another bauble to adorn the large Christmas Tree currently taking pride of place in the middle of the hall.
What’s worse is that various guests who have arrived before have mysteriously vanished only to be found transformed into various Christmas ornaments.
As it transpires, it appears that one of the guests is in fact an extremely powerful psychic who after having a truly wretched childhood has attempted to create the perfect Christmas party that he never had by pulling people from various time periods to act as their guests. (Their abilities not surfacing until late middle age)
Now, your PCs must solve the mystery and attempt to reason with a being who can warp reality to their hearts content!
NOTE: Personally I think this could make for a rather sombre festive special. With the PCs having to deal with a tragic figure who is desperately trying to recreate the childhood they never had. Maybe if they’re feeling particularly sympathetic, the PCs can change their personal history to get them a new start in life or even make them the guest of honour at their very own Christmas do. To further add to the mystery and theme of lost childhood, I’d have it that where the powerful psychic has changed their form to resemble what they did in childhood. The transformed guests being ones who threaten to shatter his illusion or who they felt was too disruptive.
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Post by grinch on Aug 26, 2021 21:49:26 GMT
Couldn’t figure out where to put this so I put it here...
Currently watching the excellent ‘Crooked House’ from 2008. Written by Mark Gatiss who would later revive the tradition of A Ghost Story for Christmas a few years later. With rather mixed results in my opinion. But, I digress.
The miniseries revolves around ghostly stories all set within the now torn down Geap Manor. A house which much like Hill House before it carries with it an aura which “draws all manner of evil to it like a sponge draws water.”
The stories featured are solid in their own right but they also mention other stories set within the house which I feel could make for good inspiration for other separate adventures.
* The curious incident of a buried skull of a Roundhead. Curious in that it refused to stay buried. * A surgeon who brought home a relic from the Napoleonic War and ultimately met his Waterloo... * A Victorian collector who found something unexpected hiding his menagerie...
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on Aug 27, 2021 7:49:09 GMT
Couldn’t figure out where to put this so I put it here... Currently watching the excellent ‘Crooked House’ from 2008. Written by Mark Gatiss who would later revive the tradition of A Ghost Story for Christmas a few years later. With rather mixed results in my opinion. But, I digress. The miniseries revolves around ghostly stories all set within the now torn down Geap Manor. A house which much like Hill House before it carries with it an aura which “draws all manner of evil to it like a sponge draws water.” The stories featured are solid in their own right but they also mention other stories set within the house which I feel could make for good inspiration for other separate adventures. * The curious incident of a buried skull of a Roundhead. Curious in that it refused to stay buried. * A surgeon who brought home a relic from the Napoleonic War and ultimately met his Waterloo... * A Victorian collector who found something unexpected hiding his menagerie... Interesting, I haven't seen the series yet but I'll check it out. There seems to be enough material in the series for a campaign, or a set of linked adventures over different periods, perhaps out of chronological order.
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Post by grinch on Aug 28, 2021 21:03:01 GMT
Couldn’t figure out where to put this so I put it here... Currently watching the excellent ‘Crooked House’ from 2008. Written by Mark Gatiss who would later revive the tradition of A Ghost Story for Christmas a few years later. With rather mixed results in my opinion. But, I digress. The miniseries revolves around ghostly stories all set within the now torn down Geap Manor. A house which much like Hill House before it carries with it an aura which “draws all manner of evil to it like a sponge draws water.” The stories featured are solid in their own right but they also mention other stories set within the house which I feel could make for good inspiration for other separate adventures. * The curious incident of a buried skull of a Roundhead. Curious in that it refused to stay buried. * A surgeon who brought home a relic from the Napoleonic War and ultimately met his Waterloo... * A Victorian collector who found something unexpected hiding his menagerie... Interesting, I haven't seen the series yet but I'll check it out. There seems to be enough material in the series for a campaign, or a set of linked adventures over different periods, perhaps out of chronological order. Oh most definitely. It’s worth a watch I think. And yes, I do like that idea for a campaign. Visiting one house over a period of years each acting as its own ghost story or strange tale. And by the end of it maybe your PCs will be able to figure out just why the house seems to attract so much evil to it. If this was a television episode, I’d imagine it would be something along the lines of that it is in fact the PCs constantly travelling through time in this one area which has upset local temporal geography and changed the house at a subatomic level. Giving it, it’s ghostly aura.
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Post by grinch on Aug 28, 2021 21:06:57 GMT
That Which is Dead...
In a post Time War universe, the PCs land on a planet which they discover is in fact home to a theme park which is modelled after the now destroyed Gallifrey and the Time Lords. As your PCs team up with a supposedly deranged theme park worker who claims to be a newly regenerated Master, they’ll discover the dark secrets behind the parks creation. If there is one.
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on Aug 29, 2021 10:21:36 GMT
Interesting, I haven't seen the series yet but I'll check it out. There seems to be enough material in the series for a campaign, or a set of linked adventures over different periods, perhaps out of chronological order. Oh most definitely. It’s worth a watch I think. And yes, I do like that idea for a campaign. Visiting one house over a period of years each acting as its own ghost story or strange tale. And by the end of it maybe your PCs will be able to figure out just why the house seems to attract so much evil to it. If this was a television episode, I’d imagine it would be something along the lines of that it is in fact the PCs constantly travelling through time in this one area which has upset local temporal geography and changed the house at a subatomic level. Giving it, it’s ghostly aura. I like it, the action of so much time travel (to investigate the mystery) causing the wear that started the whole thing. The idea of a recurring site that draws the travellers back again and again is appealing, something like The Centenarian, or an episodes of Sapphire and Steel, with a somewhat familiar location. And the ability to leave clues and assistance for themselves.
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Post by grinch on Aug 31, 2021 11:29:41 GMT
"Encore"
While on a seemingly abandoned spaceship out and adrift in deep space, the Doctor and Co (or the resident Time Lord PC) encounter none other than Glenn Miller! Just how did he get there and why was he taken in the first place?
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on Aug 31, 2021 11:53:24 GMT
"Encore" While on a seemingly abandoned spaceship out and adrift in deep space, the Doctor and Co (or the resident Time Lord PC) encounter none other than Glenn Miller! Just how did he get there and why was he taken in the first place? Excellent! I suggest using the various conspiracy theories around his disappearance for ideas. I rather like the one about the bombers jettisoning bombs causing the crash so maybe Miller's plane was effected by some military experiment, or the Lancaster that Reg Arwell flew through the Time Vortex was involved?
BTW that same day, 15DEC1944, Doctor8, Fitz and Sam were involved in the events of Autumn Mist. So perhaps Oberon and the Sidhe were involved?
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Post by grinch on Sept 1, 2021 16:28:29 GMT
"Encore" While on a seemingly abandoned spaceship out and adrift in deep space, the Doctor and Co (or the resident Time Lord PC) encounter none other than Glenn Miller! Just how did he get there and why was he taken in the first place? Excellent! I suggest using the various conspiracy theories around his disappearance for ideas. I rather like the one about the bombers jettisoning bombs causing the crash so maybe Miller's plane was effected by some military experiment, or the Lancaster that Reg Arwell flew through the Time Vortex was involved?
BTW that same day, 15DEC1944, Doctor8, Fitz and Sam were involved in the events of Autumn Mist. So perhaps Oberon and the Sidhe were involved?
Love the idea of Miller being inadvertently involved with some military experiment. Maybe the Allies had stumbled on wormhole technology which they planned to use to effectively bomb Axis controlled cities with no risk of military casualties. Think a 1940s version of a tactical and guided missile but with a science fiction twist. Unfortunately, this meant Miller ended up on the other side of the universe. And of course, other aliens might take notice of this wormhole technology Earth is developing before its time and seek to intervene leading to another adventure. With maybe Miller’s talent for swing music helping to calm both sides down and stop hostilities?
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Post by grinch on Sept 1, 2021 16:34:13 GMT
“Science Leads”
One for a UNIT campaign. An accident causes your UNIT operatives to end up in the far future. A future where due to unknown reasons Torchwood, The Forge and UNIT have merged together into one entity and using the advanced alien technology at their disposal have created a veritable utopia. A world where all manner of diseases have been eradicated and hunger is a thing of the past, the human lifespan has increased significantly and Earth has an expansive Empire across the a galaxy and has even begun negotiations to ally itself with other alien worlds. It’s perfect. Perhaps a little too perfect.
Your UNIT operatives will have to investigate just who is in charge of this new government/scientific entity and what creating this utopia has cost humanity. And just what caused these very separate organisations to merge together in the first place?
Bit of a cliche when it comes to stories but I think it could be fun if your UNIT operatives in a way are left contemplating the legacy they leave behind for the future of UNIT and humanity.
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on Sept 3, 2021 8:04:32 GMT
“Science Leads” One for a UNIT campaign. An accident causes your UNIT operatives to end up in the far future. A future where due to unknown reasons Torchwood, The Forge and UNIT have merged together into one entity and using the advanced alien technology at their disposal have created a veritable utopia. A world where all manner of diseases have been eradicated and hunger is a thing of the past, the human lifespan has increased significantly and Earth has an expansive Empire across the a galaxy and has even begun negotiations to ally itself with other alien worlds. It’s perfect. Perhaps a little too perfect. Your UNIT operatives will have to investigate just who is in charge of this new government/scientific entity and what creating this utopia has cost humanity. And just what caused these very separate organisations to merge together in the first place? Bit of a cliche when it comes to stories but I think it could be fun if your UNIT operatives in a way are left contemplating the legacy they leave behind for the future of UNIT and humanity. Hmm, my first thought is they see a monument.
An octagonal obelisk bearing a plaque: with their names underneath.
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on Sept 3, 2021 8:26:16 GMT
Excellent! I suggest using the various conspiracy theories around his disappearance for ideas. I rather like the one about the bombers jettisoning bombs causing the crash so maybe Miller's plane was effected by some military experiment, or the Lancaster that Reg Arwell flew through the Time Vortex was involved?
BTW that same day, 15DEC1944, Doctor8, Fitz and Sam were involved in the events of Autumn Mist. So perhaps Oberon and the Sidhe were involved?
Love the idea of Miller being inadvertently involved with some military experiment. Maybe the Allies had stumbled on wormhole technology which they planned to use to effectively bomb Axis controlled cities with no risk of military casualties. Think a 1940s version of a tactical and guided missile but with a science fiction twist. Unfortunately, this meant Miller ended up on the other side of the universe. And of course, other aliens might take notice of this wormhole technology Earth is developing before its time and seek to intervene leading to another adventure. With maybe Miller’s talent for swing music helping to calm both sides down and stop hostilities? Let's say that Reg Arwell or his crew tell RAF Intelligence what happened to them. The remains of the Lancaster are taken to RAF Medmenham and the crew questioned. But they don't actually know much (unless Madge talks about the Doctor's involvement). Maybe Goddard gets involved (officially he'd been moved from deputy director of intelligence at the Air Ministry when the war started).
Now this can, I think, go two ways. Either the Lancaster is repaired and used for experiments. Maybe the RAF wanted to use the Vortex energy with which it was saturated but didn't succeed, much. Or perhaps it's scrapped and parts reused for other aircraft. Either way in 1944 either an RAF experiment or the chronon saturated parts are triggered by something, likeevents in the Ardennes (the coincidence of dates intrigues me). A wormhole is opened and Miller's Norseman is catapulted..........somewhere. The Norseman was a bush plane, and could land on rough ground, so they have a good chance
- I wonder if Sky Gypsy ends up in the same place?
In fact they could end up dragged in by the meddler's experiment in my recent thread. Or senko's Sargasso station.
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