[Seed/Group] WeirdX

[Catsmate]

WeirdX
An idea of mine, for a possible Who campaign or an antagonist group to drop into one.

WeirdX is a popular YouTube channel, with tentacles in other social media, that makes videos of "weird stuff": alleged alien landings, weird temporal effects, out-of-place artefacts, mysterious disappearances and similar. Most of it is nonsense but sometimes they get close to actual events, so much so that UNIT (or other groups) becomes concerned and intervenes.
They also accept submitted videos from others and have an active, and well moderated, forum for discussions.

The channel started as an ego stroking, exercise by it's founder one Christine Xavier (think spoiled rich kid) but is now self-funding. In fact it's money making ability is good enough that it can subsidise, or even pay entirely for, investigations, as well as hring videography teams. It has a very small staff, three permanent and a few part timers.


Game Uses.
WeirdX can be used to feed ideas to the players, or initiate investigtions when someone in UNIT decides that one of their stories seems worthwhile of investigation.

Alternatively the channel can become the protagonists of  'low level' campaign, somewhat in the  X Files vein, chasing weird happenings and running into UNIT.


To Do .
[Idea and contributions are welcome]
Flesh out the details of the staff and some of the contributors.
Ideas for investigtions.

[soultaker666212]

I think you could take a look at the Parawatch group of interest from the SCP universe for some inspiration at least. But I am also willing to work upon this as well as it does sound cool!

[Catsmate]

Thanks soultaker666212 , it's a bit of an impulse posting. The idea has been in my notes for a while and I recently came up with a couple of scenario ideas that'd work well with such a group. Rather like the Misfit Mob but on the 'other side'. And there is the possibility of the two groups interacting...

[soultaker666212]

Aug 29, 2023 14:11:14 GMT Catsmate said:

Thanks soultaker666212 , it's a bit of an impulse posting. The idea has been in my notes for a while and I recently came up with a couple of scenario ideas that'd work well with such a group. Rather like the Misfit Mob but on the 'other side'. And there is the possibility of the two groups interacting...

You are welcome there. I know in the Black Archive sourcebook it does list Conspiracy Theorists as potential "threats" so it might be good to give that a read as well. To me I feel WeirdX is not necessarily a bad thing no just misguided or misinformed about stuff. They actively are not hostile at all but still sometimes cannot be trusted depending on the individual involved. I know also Donna references that she went on conspiracy websites in Partners in Crime to try and find out more about well aliens and the doctor so maybe if we assume she is canon and such WeirdX is on of those websites? 

[grinch]

Aug 29, 2023 14:11:14 GMT Catsmate said:

Thanks soultaker666212 , it's a bit of an impulse posting. The idea has been in my notes for a while and I recently came up with a couple of scenario ideas that'd work well with such a group. Rather like the Misfit Mob but on the 'other side'. And there is the possibility of the two groups interacting...

It’s entirely possible that WeirdX through their investigations could make things worse. 

Say The Misfit Mob are finally investigating why the village of Tenby is constantly being plagued by the mysterious entity known as The Crooked Man.

scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-783

Only to find out that the attacks have become more frequent and the dimensional incursions from the Crooked Man’s dimension have become more obvious. To the point where UNIT is struggling to keep it under wraps.

Thanks to some deductive reasoning on the part of the Mob they discover that WeirdX have already started investigating the phenomenon (and in fact are still within the village boundaries) and for some reason, their actions have exacerbated the entity.

The Mob soon have to become involved with WeirdX when they discover that the latter is planning a trip into the mysterious other dimension and desperately try to stop them.

[Catsmate]

Aug 29, 2023 15:14:09 GMT soultaker666212 said:

Aug 29, 2023 14:11:14 GMT Catsmate said:

Thanks soultaker666212 , it's a bit of an impulse posting. The idea has been in my notes for a while and I recently came up with a couple of scenario ideas that'd work well with such a group. Rather like the Misfit Mob but on the 'other side'. And there is the possibility of the two groups interacting...

You are welcome there. I know in the Black Archive sourcebook it does list Conspiracy Theorists as potential "threats" so it might be good to give that a read as well. To me I feel WeirdX is not necessarily a bad thing no just misguided or misinformed about stuff. They actively are not hostile at all but still sometimes cannot be trusted depending on the individual involved. I know also Donna references that she went on conspiracy websites in Partners in Crime to try and find out more about well aliens and the doctor so maybe if we assume she is canon and such WeirdX is on of those websites? 

Personally I see WeirdX as a mix of motivations, based on the personalities and inclinations of the staff and contributors.
The founder/boss doesn't really believe, certainly not in alien invasions and international conspiracies. She's in it for the adulation and ego-stroking.

Some of the 'upper echelons' have varying degrees of belief, from 'there might be something' to 'we're through the looking glass'. And, of course, some believe in aspects, like ghosts or aliens or psionics, but find other elements laughable.
Some treat it like a job, some are in it for themselves. One or two are looking for something personal; someone that disappeared, victims, a cure for a terminal condition, wealth or power.

Most of the True Believers are amongst the contributors; the people who camp out looking for evidence of their obsession. Like Charlotte Sadler in The Shining Man.

[Catsmate]

Aug 29, 2023 19:50:08 GMT grinch said:

Aug 29, 2023 14:11:14 GMT Catsmate said:

Thanks soultaker666212 , it's a bit of an impulse posting. The idea has been in my notes for a while and I recently came up with a couple of scenario ideas that'd work well with such a group. Rather like the Misfit Mob but on the 'other side'. And there is the possibility of the two groups interacting...

It’s entirely possible that WeirdX through their investigations could make things worse. 

Say The Misfit Mob are finally investigating why the village of Tenby is constantly being plagued by the mysterious entity known as The Crooked Man.

scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-783

Only to find out that the attacks have become more frequent and the dimensional incursions from the Crooked Man’s dimension have become more obvious. To the point where UNIT is struggling to keep it under wraps.

Thanks to some deductive reasoning on the part of the Mob they discover that WeirdX have already started investigating the phenomenon (and in fact are still within the village boundaries) and for some reason, their actions have exacerbated the entity.

The Mob soon have to become involved with WeirdX when they discover that the latter is planning a trip into the mysterious other dimension and desperately try to stop them.

The scenario I'm working on ('The Field') has the Mob being dispatched to investigate, undercover¹, why several WeirdX video teams have mysteriously disappeared. Naturally it does badly wrong and they end up in a bit of a mess....




1. For certain values of 'undercover' anyway.

[soultaker666212]

Aug 30, 2023 10:20:07 GMT Catsmate said:

Aug 29, 2023 15:14:09 GMT soultaker666212 said:

You are welcome there. I know in the Black Archive sourcebook it does list Conspiracy Theorists as potential "threats" so it might be good to give that a read as well. To me I feel WeirdX is not necessarily a bad thing no just misguided or misinformed about stuff. They actively are not hostile at all but still sometimes cannot be trusted depending on the individual involved. I know also Donna references that she went on conspiracy websites in Partners in Crime to try and find out more about well aliens and the doctor so maybe if we assume she is canon and such WeirdX is on of those websites? 

Personally I see WeirdX as a mix of motivations, based on the personalities and inclinations of the staff and contributors.
The founder/boss doesn't really believe, certainly not in alien invasions and international conspiracies. She's in it for the adulation and ego-stroking.

Some of the 'upper echelons' have varying degrees of belief, from 'there might be something' to 'we're through the looking glass'. And, of course, some believe in aspects, like ghosts or aliens or psionics, but find other elements laughable.
Some treat it like a job, some are in it for themselves. One or two are looking for something personal; someone that disappeared, victims, a cure for a terminal condition, wealth or power.

Most of the True Believers are amongst the contributors; the people who camp out looking for evidence of their obsession. Like Charlotte Sadler in The Shining Man.

That does make a lot of sense however with the veil of secrecy on aliens breaking in the early/late 2000s because of various incidents, I do believe its reasonable for most members of the site to fully believe that some events are alien at least. Even the upper members of the site might believe it as well due to confirmed alien activity on Earth for example.