(Scenario Seed) Return to the Hundred-Acre Woods

[grinch]

Info: Recuperating from the events of a previous adventure and while in the New York of the modern day, your Time Lord and PCs are greeted by some rather strange visitors.

Pooh Bear, Piglet and the other stuffed inhabitants of the Hundred-Acre Woods who appear to have wandered off from their station in the New York Public Library to enlist the time travellers with that most important of tasks. To find Christopher Robin.

What’s a Time Lord and Companions to do? Especially when the stuffed animals find themselves the target of a sinister collector....

NOTE: Inspired by a recent viewing of “Christopher Robin” Obviously this can act as a chance for a lighter adventure equivalent to a Short Trip. Maybe even a Christmas Special as well? And it goes without saying that the alien collector would resemble a Heffalump and Woozle.

Adventure Seeds
* What exactly brought the stuffed animals to life? Dimensional energy leaking from the Land of Fiction? Maybe something for the PCs to investigate further.

[Catsmate]

Hmm, I must admit my first reaction was the rather darker version of the anthropomorphic animals in the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, the creations of Dr. Moreau. Given his version of Rupert I shudder to think what Piglet and companions would be like...


On a rather lighter note there are the anthropomorphic animals of the Short Trip audio The Mistpuddle Murders (TVT), basically Beatrix Potter meets Midsomer. A slightly weird story but I liked it¹...
So, what if someone later visited Midpuddle and transported a few of the late Dr.Wood's other creations to The Big Apple?  
Hmm, might 'Dr' Marshall Manor Meyer be in town?


And, as a third alternative, perhaps Pooh and companions aren't actual animals but androids (of a sort) created as a set of toys for someone? Abandoned by their original recipient they're now searching for Christopher Robin.





1. No amateur psychoanalysis please, I have a professional for that.

[markrand]

I like the androids version.

[spydalek]

Androids could be cool. Doesn't even have to be made as toys for a specific person, they could be part of a Westworld-esque theme park that is aimed at kids. That then shut down because it wasn't doing so well, but the android versions of Pooh and friends got turned back on somehow and found their way to the "real world" looking for Christopher Robin.

It feels like a very low-stakes type story, you just have to stop the androids from walking into traffic and stuff.

[Catsmate]

Nov 20, 2022 7:55:33 GMT spydalek said:

Androids could be cool. Doesn't even have to be made as toys for a specific person, they could be part of a Westworld-esque theme park that is aimed at kids. That then shut down because it wasn't doing so well, but the android versions of Pooh and friends got turned back on somehow and found their way to the "real world" looking for Christopher Robin.

It feels like a very low-stakes type story, you just have to stop the androids from walking into traffic and stuff.

Shades of the Festival of Ghana haunted house in The Chase perhaps?

[grinch]

Nov 20, 2022 7:55:33 GMT spydalek said:

Androids could be cool. Doesn't even have to be made as toys for a specific person, they could be part of a Westworld-esque theme park that is aimed at kids. That then shut down because it wasn't doing so well, but the android versions of Pooh and friends got turned back on somehow and found their way to the "real world" looking for Christopher Robin.

It feels like a very low-stakes type story, you just have to stop the androids from walking into traffic and stuff.

I agree, it would be more appropriate for a Shorts Trip style adventure. Something light and breezy possibly after a very dark story arc.

[timthetimelord]

What mainly gives me inspiration here is the recently released Horror adaptation 'Blood and Honey'. I would love the idea of a story where the Timelord is confronted with this alternate universe and realizes that someone, maybe the Master, The Rani, or another evil person, has been exploiting children's imagination against them, creating nightmare-ish versions of beloved characters.

[grinch]

Mar 18, 2023 11:15:57 GMT timthetimelord said:

What mainly gives me inspiration here is the recently released Horror adaptation 'Blood and Honey'. I would love the idea of a story where the Timelord is confronted with this alternate universe and realizes that someone, maybe the Master, The Rani, or another evil person, has been exploiting children's imagination against them, creating nightmare-ish versions of beloved characters.

That’s an interesting idea.

Maybe the Master Brain of the Land of Fiction attempted to find a new controller but inadvertently chose someone who was inherently disturbed. 

With their warped and twisted mind now in control, a great many Fictional characters (especially the ones originating from children’s fiction) have been mutated and changed into monstrous forms.

It has also had a knock on effect with regards to the Real World with these texts changing to match these new alterations. Of course, with your PCs being the only one to notice said changes due to their travels through Time and Space. 

I could also see maybe a few of the more Villainous characters (at least the ones who aren’t so keen to revel in their own villainy) lending a hand to assist in stopping this corruption spreading further.

[timthetimelord]

And then, if you like, you could go even further. What if these mutations manage to escape The Land of Fiction and escape in our world?

I'm certainly entertained by the idea of UNIT or Torchwood chasing down an axe wielding Winnie the Pooh.

[grinch]

Mar 18, 2023 18:34:36 GMT timthetimelord said:

And then, if you like, you could go even further. What if these mutations manage to escape The Land of Fiction and escape in our world?

I'm certainly entertained by the idea of UNIT or Torchwood chasing down an axe wielding Winnie the Pooh.

That could also be another means of introducing the adventure. With UNIT having to put down the axe wielding Winnie the Pooh as you say. The funny thing is, although such a sight is horrific the UNIT agents are not surprised. It looks exactly as if he stepped off the pages. 

But. Hold on. That's not how the story usually goes. 

[timthetimelord]

Mar 18, 2023 19:27:46 GMT grinch said:

Mar 18, 2023 18:34:36 GMT timthetimelord said:

And then, if you like, you could go even further. What if these mutations manage to escape The Land of Fiction and escape in our world?

I'm certainly entertained by the idea of UNIT or Torchwood chasing down an axe wielding Winnie the Pooh.

That could also be another means of introducing the adventure. With UNIT having to put down the axe wielding Winnie the Pooh as you say. The funny thing is, although such a sight is horrific the UNIT agents are not surprised. It looks exactly as if he stepped off the pages. 

But. Hold on. That's not how the story usually goes. 

Exactly. The perfect start for an adventure already.