Catsmate
13th Incarnation
I Ate'nt Dead.
Posts: 3,859 
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on May 16, 2024 11:11:44 GMT
A rough outline for a scenario.
The Festival.
Background.
While generally portrayed, not least by themselves, as a monolithic, united, society (well....1) there are several factions and sub-groups within the Zygon race and an occasional lack of unity within the clans.
During their long war with the Xaranti one clan began meddling with the Zygon’s ability to modify their own morphogenic field by body print duplication. Instead of requiring a ‘donor’ who remained alive and ‘coupled’ with the Zygon duplicate, via crude quantum entanglement, this allows ‘body prints’ to be stored in a crystalline matrix.
It also requires a ‘destructive scan’ of the host, causing their death.
One such group arrived on Earth a few months ago, not far from the [fictional] Scottish town of Loch Coningsby.
The Town.
Normally the town of Loch Coningsby is a quiet spot whose population barely reaches 3,000, mainly locals plus a few hikers, artists, tourists and anglers who’ve heard stories about the (actually fairly mediocre) fishing2. And the small local distillery of course, big in its claims.
But at the end of May each year the population booms for the Festival, a celebration of local art, culture, and food. Perhaps fifteen thousand people flock in from across Scotland, the UK and even further afield, filling local hotels, guesthouses and campgrounds.
The Plot.
After landing eight months ago the Zygons secured their ship in the waters of the loch and started building a nest under the shore. They contacted their kin living, more-or-less, peacefully on Earth but wanted no part of them, just as the mainstream Zygons were generally opposed to the newcomers heretical modification of the body print technology3.
For the past three months the Zygons have been slowly killing and replacing members of the local community. The Nest has plans to use the Festival as a tool to spread their members across the northern UK.
Recent Events.
A week before the PCs arrive, an ambulance crew member, paramedic trained, found her elderly neighbor dead in his home, there was no sign of foul play, accident or diseas and it appeared to be merely old age. The body was taken to the morgue at the hospital about thorty kilometres away and the house was locked up until the Procurator Fiscal’s office finished the paperwork.
A day later the paramedic, Aila MacNeill, was walking and saw the elderly man at home watching television with a black Labrador. She reported the incident to Police Scotland, but was stonewalled; the local station was busy preparing for the festival
In her frustration Alia did what people to in the 2020s, she took to the web and complained about how her neighbor “returned from the dead”. This was found by a UNIT sniffer programme, triggering a response.
After the usually circulation within the UNIT bureaucracy, the case arrive don the desk of Captain Esme Sanford
The story begins on 21MAY, with the arrival of the PCs. The Festival begins in three days (and runs 24-27th).
The Scenario.
The PCs get a very brief briefing; the UNIT AI has pattern matched some phrases on a message forum, posted by a paramedic in Scotland and there might be something happening.
Off they go.
Meanwhile more research will be done. This will find, after a few hours, that an ambulance did visit the home of Lachlan McDougall on 14MAY but, despite the ambulance service having a record of transporting a body to the hospital, the hospital has no records of such corpse.
The latest posts from Ms MacNeill have references to weird noises from her neighbour's house, inability to sleep and a suspicion that there have been attempted break-ins to her house. The overall tone shows signs of intense paranoia.
She's called in sick to work.
When the PCs arrive they'll probably want to talk to MacNeill.
When they arrive at her house they'll notice her trying to peek through the curtains without being noticed. She does notice the arrival of the team and glances towards her neighbour’s house.
If the characters acknowledge her she'll open the door for them.
At the door she ushers them in, frantically, and seems to be trying to keep herself out of the doorway as much as possible.
Aila MacNeill looks rough; dark skin under her eyes suggest she hasn’t slept much. Overall she looks. There is a double-barrel shotgun on a coffee table with several rows of cartridges.
MacNeill will cooperate with the team, though with obvious apprehension.
- Her neighbour, old Mr. McDougall, died a few days ago, now he’s back. She has copies of the ambulance logbook entries for the pickup on her phone. Including the sign-off from the hospital for his body. She can supply the names of the crew who picked the body up.
- She has no idea how or why he returned.
- McDougall never had a dog, his cat died more than a year ago.
- She is kept up at night by loud rattling outside her house.
She is convinced someone or something is trying to hurt her or keep her silent. She found tracks outside her house a day or so ago.
- Examining the tracks show they're three toed and unshod. They are not human.
- Someone familiar with Zygons will be reasonably sure they're responsible.
MacNeill is obviously exhausted, not surprisingly, from days of fear and paranoia.
Her immediate suggestion is that Aliens have taken over the town and the Festival should be stopped. This isn't actually true, there are only a handful of Zygons in place as yet. And cancelling the Festival will cause conspiratorial speculations online.
Visiting the neighbour.
Lachlan McDougall appears to be a man of around 75, showing no signs of ill-health or indeed being dead. When the team ring his bell he opens the door and returns to an armchair and watching a Take The High Road repeat.
The dog sites quietly on the floor.
He assures the team that he wasn't taken to hospital, and implies drug use by MacNeill. If asked about his dog he'll tell them, after a noticeable pause, that he log him from the locak animal rescue place. Asking the dogs name also garners an awkward pause.
After a couple of minutes he asks the investigators to leave, saying he's feeling tired.
Hopefully the PCs comply and don't immediately shoot him.
If they do they'll find him rougher than they expect; he can use his stingers in human form and will attempt to use an organic looking energy weapon under a cushion. If killed his body will revert to that of a Zygon.
If they do a little covert investigation the Mobsters will find:
- Neither McDougall nor the lab move from the chair for the entire day.
- There is no food, human or canine, in the house. Nor any sign of eating, or excretion, by either.
- If they check with local shops they'll be told that old mister McDougall hasn't been in recently, not has anyone called for him.
One thing that an observant Mobster might notice is that McDougall doesn't blink very often.
The Animal Shelter.
The Zygons are experimenting with replacing animals, rather than humans. Three of teh shelter staff have been replaced, along with one spouse.
- The local vet is becoming concerned at changes in the shelter.
For anyone with experience of animals, vets or zoos4, the blocky building housing the animal control shelter will be quiet, even eerily so, without barking dogs or rattling cages. There's a girl in her late teens, Kacey Sutherland, sitting behind a desk on her phone.
She greets them
- "Hallo! Welcome to the shelter. Are you in town for the Festival?"
If asked she says she's just the receptionist, and the staff are off on a call but should be back shortly. The town has no shortage of stray dogs and they’re trying to gather them up before the Festival starts.
Kacey s speaking strangely, even more awkwardly than the usual teenager.
- "Do you want to look at the cages. They are so quiet recently."
If the team, or some of them, take her up on this they'll find a row of cages, some empty but most occupied by a wide range of dogs. An alert, or paranoid, Mobster will notice that two of the cages are not locked.
The cages that are occupied have almost silent.; The dogs are barely moving and little of the food has been touched.
- The dogs are under a form of neural control.
While the team are distracted a man in his late thirties appears, carrying an odd object resembling a limpet encrusted piece of driftwood.
- Though if the PCs started a fight in McDougall's house it's obviously a similar weapon to his.
The man introduces himself as Caleb McLeod and the shelter manager. Behind him, Kacey appears in the doorway and two dogs exist their cages and growl.
There sis a moment of uncertainty as the dogs shift to Zygon form and attack.
And you're on your own. 
1. Except when this happen to disturb their equilibrium.
2. Mostly due to a couple of oft-quoted guidebooks written in the 1950s. The town does have a few year-round angler/artists who usually get the best of both worlds.
3. That's not to say that some of the more militant groups weren't interested.
4. Or who watched Paul O'Grady.
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Post by thewarchief on May 16, 2024 17:22:44 GMT
I have a problem with the plot on this one.
If the new Zygons wnt nothing to do with the other living peacefully on Earth, why contact them in the first place? And why land anywhere near them?
And if the pre-existing Zygons want no part of the newcomers plans, why would they let then continue with their plans or at least alert te humans to them, as, in the long run, the peaceful Zygons will end up suffering for it, when the humans find out about it?
I think this scenario would make a lot more sense if either:
A) The New Zygons have kept themselves hidden from the peaceful Zygons, who are unaware of the situation, or
B) The Peaceful Zygons have been working to stop the new Zygons, but it's all been done in secret to avoid panicking the humans, or
C) The New Zygons aren't really Zygons at all, but are faking being Zygons to avoid the scrutiny of the real Zygons (who could otherwise out them). This would stiff assume that the Zygon impersonators have landed on Earth secretly, under the guise of refugees, and might have reveled themselves to the Zygons (who might have detected their ship landing), but have concealed their true species and thier plans from the Zygons.
Assuming A, then the pre-existing Zygons have no awareness of the New Zygons, and this could be a big reveal if you have any friendly Zygons interacting with the PCs (members of UNIT, etc.)
Assuming B, one dead body the PCs could encounter would be that of a dead friendly (possibly UNIT) Zygon, who was trying to put a stop to things but was killed by some of the more radical New Zygons.
Assuming C, everything can still work as planned, only there won't be any blowback on the Zygons.
As to the Zygons taking animal form? Why? They would need to gain something from it to want to take the form of a lesser species with no authority (or opposable thumbs). Basically why be a Scottish Terrier when you could be a Scotsman? There would have to be some logical reason to do so. It might make sense as a way to sneak into a secure facility (no one suspects the puppy/kitten/goldfish of being an spy/saboteur/alien invader), but since the Zygons can just impersonate someone with security access it doesn't make much sense - unless humans now have the technology to detect Zygon impersonators. Then coming in disguised as a gerbil or something would make sense.
P.S. Another possibly for this scenario could be "what if something went wrong with the new body imprint technology?" I'm thinking of something alone the lines of a mutated Zygon with a story somewhat reminiscent of "Who Goes There?/The Thing." where the tech goes out of control and it start to infect and copy multiple creatures. Then it taking over all sorts of diverse beings makes sense. But then it would also be a lot harder to stop...unless it has limits. Maybe one Zygon mind can only control so many bodies/so much mass at once? Say it has to divide it's attention/IQ among all the forms it currently controls. So if it takes over a beehive the bees aren't all that much smarter.
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Post by grinch on May 17, 2024 3:29:22 GMT
I wonder if this group of Zygons have a Skarasen under their control? I could see the group having one in stasis if only to feed off its lactic fluid. But, when the Misfit Mob or other groups of investigators start causing trouble they wake it up and send it after them.
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
I Ate'nt Dead.
Posts: 3,859
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on May 17, 2024 15:13:56 GMT
I have a problem with the plot on this one. If the new Zygons wnt nothing to do with the other living peacefully on Earth, why contact them in the first place? And why land anywhere near them? And if the pre-existing Zygons want no part of the newcomers plans, why would they let then continue with their plans or at least alert te humans to them, as, in the long run, the peaceful Zygons will end up suffering for it, when the humans find out about it? I think this scenario would make a lot more sense if either: A) The New Zygons have kept themselves hidden from the peaceful Zygons, who are unaware of the situation, or B) The Peaceful Zygons have been working to stop the new Zygons, but it's all been done in secret to avoid panicking the humans, or C) The New Zygons aren't really Zygons at all, but are faking being Zygons to avoid the scrutiny of the real Zygons (who could otherwise out them). This would stiff assume that the Zygon impersonators have landed on Earth secretly, under the guise of refugees, and might have reveled themselves to the Zygons (who might have detected their ship landing), but have concealed their true species and thier plans from the Zygons.
My rationale for the two factions being in contact was (potentially) for UNIT to get assistance from the 'friendly Zygons if necessary. And of course to all for a sequel.
I like your option B, it allows for a more complex plot with two Zygon factions in play. Three if one of the 'friendly Zygons' is a traitor.
Option C has potential, what if the whole thing is a Xaranti plot?
Assuming A, then the pre-existing Zygons have no awareness of the New Zygons, and this could be a big reveal if you have any friendly Zygons interacting with the PCs (members of UNIT, etc.) Assuming B, one dead body the PCs could encounter would be that of a dead friendly (possibly UNIT) Zygon, who was trying to put a stop to things but was killed by some of the more radical New Zygons.
Assuming C, everything can still work as planned, only there won't be any blowback on the Zygons. As to the Zygons taking animal form? Why? They would need to gain something from it to want to take the form of a lesser species with no authority (or opposable thumbs). Basically why be a Scottish Terrier when you could be a Scotsman? There would have to be some logical reason to do so. It might make sense as a way to sneak into a secure facility (no one suspects the puppy/kitten/goldfish of being an spy/saboteur/alien invader), but since the Zygons can just impersonate someone with security access it doesn't make much sense - unless humans now have the technology to detect Zygon impersonators. Then coming in disguised as a gerbil or something would make sense. 
The Zygons in one of the EU novels posed as cows.
Maybe the animals are a temporary measure to aid in infiltrating human society?
P.S. Another possibly for this scenario could be "what if something went wrong with the new body imprint technology?" I'm thinking of something alone the lines of a mutated Zygon with a story somewhat reminiscent of "Who Goes There?/The Thing." where the tech goes out of control and it start to infect and copy multiple creatures. Then it taking over all sorts of diverse beings makes sense. But then it would also be a lot harder to stop...unless it has limits. Maybe one Zygon mind can only control so many bodies/so much mass at once? Say it has to divide it's attention/IQ among all the forms it currently controls. So if it takes over a beehive the bees aren't all that much smarter.
Thanks thewarchief.
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
I Ate'nt Dead.
Posts: 3,859
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on May 17, 2024 15:15:55 GMT
I wonder if this group of Zygons have a Skarasen under their control? I could see the group having one in stasis if only to feed off its lactic fluid. But, when the Misfit Mob or other groups of investigators start causing trouble they wake it up and send it after them. |
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Post by thewarchief on May 17, 2024 18:48:29 GMT
Sorry, I'm big on internally consistent plots. I really need a name for the 'New Zygons'...... You need some sort of faction name, yes. They could be tradionalists, hard-liners, or some such, depending on how you want to portray the split between the two viewpoints.
My rationale for the two factions being in contact was (potentially) for UNIT to get assistance from the 'friendly Zygons if necessary. And of course to all for a sequel.
I like your option B, it allows for a more complex plot with two Zygon factions in play. Three if one of the 'friendly Zygons' is a traitor. Option B is my favorite take on it too. You could also get three factions (or even four) if one of the "tradionalist" comes around to the new way of thinking. My initial take on your scenario is that the New Zygons want to conquer the Earth and wipe out the humans (their original plan), while the ones who are here have made a deal and don't want to see the New Zygons rock the boat and wreck things. It would be very good if in the adventure you show how the cooperation between Zygons and Humans has paid off and is becoming more of a symbiotic relationship, so there is something for everyone to lose.
Option C has potential, what if the whole thing is a Xaranti plot?
Or a Rutan plot, Slitheen plot, whatever. The list is endless. Personally I'd be interesting in the Silurian take on things. As the other sentient resident species, just what would they think of the Humans arrangement with the Zygons. Would they be angry with the dumb monkeys for giving away "their" planet (and try to stop the deal) or would they consider Zygons an improvbment and want to wor with them to get rid of the apes. OR maybe all three could work something out? The situation can get very complicated, if you want it to. I think B plot is the better way to go here, and maybe bring the Silurians and Sea Devils in on a future adventure (like maybe the Zygons disturb a Sea Devil enclave somewhere and the two factions go to war with each other, with plesiosaurs and Skarasen(s? ii?) battling in the Lochs, and both sides trying to enlist the humans to their side. Someone working behind the scenes, without officially involving UNIT perhaps? Exaclty. If the humans were to discover that "the Zygons" were plotting to wipe them out and take over, even if were just some new arrivals that snuck onto the planet and not the resident Zygons, it would probably bring an end to the peace deal. THe hUmans would never be able to trust the Zygons again, since they didn't tell them about the new arrivals. That's why I think it plays better if the resident Zygons are not contacted at all, but get an inkling of what is going on before UNIT does and desperately try to end the invasion before the Humans find out about it and get (justifiably) paranoid. You could even had the dead Zygon be some Zygon bigwig who tried to "talk sense" to the Newcommers, failed, and was on his way to UNIT thinking that it was better if he told the Humans that if they found out about it on their own, later. BTW that would also help to preserve the peace deal for when the PCs discover the plot, since if Bigwig was on his way to warn them, the resident Zygons and still be trusted. Another possibility would be if the Militant Zygon faction already existed on Earth, but have become more actively hostil in recent months and secretly brough in more Zygons who think like they do. Then this becomes something of a potential Zygon Civil War. THat works great with the C Plot, too.
Well the dogs were basically lifted from a horror movie I vaguely remember...
The Zygons in one of the EU novels posed as cows.
Maybe the animals are a temporary measure to aid in infiltrating human society?
I think I remember the same movie. But there it made a lot more sense, since the creature could infect people by licking them, and humans are much more tolerant of a strange dog licking them than a strang erA Zygon in the series posed as a horse. But logically I can only see a few reasons to impersonate an animal. It can get them access to someone who otherwise would be hard to get to (it's easy to see the king as his pet hunting dog), it gives them a way to hide (guards to suspect the housecat of being the assassin), and the form might have abilities that Zygon lack (a bird could fly away from the scene very quickly, and a fly on the wall...). So you kind of need the reason why they go animal. Unless, of course, it wasn't by design. I'm sure you've seen another horror movie where a Fly in the wrong place really mixed things up and caused someone to lose their head. Yeah, Robert Louis Stevenson meets H.G. Wells. You have soem Zygon scientists working on animal transformation for some reason and something goes wrong and he goes sort of Jekyll & Hyde/Wolfman/Antiman. Imagine if he were a militant Zygon who was trying to get a bio-imprint of some extinct predator (what says dragons weren't real?) so that they could attack in that form, but something went horribly wrong. Or the initial idea might have been more peaceful but the bio-imprint got corrupted and drove the Zygon(s) crazy. It would be nice if the Zygons were trying to cure cancer or something as a gesture of appreciation, by looking an an extinct species that was immune to it, and something went wrong which caused the militant faction in the first place. But that's just a thought. |
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Post by thewarchief on May 17, 2024 18:52:44 GMT
I wonder if this group of Zygons have a Skarasen under their control? I could see the group having one in stasis if only to feed off its lactic fluid. But, when the Misfit Mob or other groups of investigators start causing trouble they wake it up and send it after them. It would be cool if the Zygons wanted to eliminate some NPC who was a threat to them, and has th Skaresen take out the ship he was on, with the ships mysterious disappearance (it sank on a calm night, with no warning except for a crazed distress call about sea monsters) being what bring the UNIT team here. Then, while they are invetiating the lost ship they get word of the "missing body". And it all somehow realted. |
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
I Ate'nt Dead.
Posts: 3,859
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on May 19, 2024 16:32:31 GMT
Sorry, I'm big on internally consistent plots. I really need a name for the 'New Zygons'...... You need some sort of faction name, yes. They could be tradionalists, hard-liners, or some such, depending on how you want to portray the split between the two viewpoints.
My rationale for the two factions being in contact was (potentially) for UNIT to get assistance from the 'friendly Zygons if necessary. And of course to all for a sequel.
I like your option B, it allows for a more complex plot with two Zygon factions in play. Three if one of the 'friendly Zygons' is a traitor. Option B is my favorite take on it too. You could also get three factions (or even four) if one of the "tradionalist" comes around to the new way of thinking. My initial take on your scenario is that the New Zygons want to conquer the Earth and wipe out the humans (their original plan), while the ones who are here have made a deal and don't want to see the New Zygons rock the boat and wreck things. It would be very good if in the adventure you show how the cooperation between Zygons and Humans has paid off and is becoming more of a symbiotic relationship, so there is something for everyone to lose.
Option C has potential, what if the whole thing is a Xaranti plot?
Or a Rutan plot, Slitheen plot, whatever. The list is endless. Personally I'd be interesting in the Silurian take on things. As the other sentient resident species, just what would they think of the Humans arrangement with the Zygons. Would they be angry with the dumb monkeys for giving away "their" planet (and try to stop the deal) or would they consider Zygons an improvbment and want to wor with them to get rid of the apes. OR maybe all three could work something out? The situation can get very complicated, if you want it to. I think B plot is the better way to go here, and maybe bring the Silurians and Sea Devils in on a future adventure (like maybe the Zygons disturb a Sea Devil enclave somewhere and the two factions go to war with each other, with plesiosaurs and Skarasen(s? ii?) battling in the Lochs, and both sides trying to enlist the humans to their side.
Probably the last place anyone wants the Misfit Mob is where there are delicate negotiations.
Someone working behind the scenes, without officially involving UNIT perhaps? Exaclty. If the humans were to discover that "the Zygons" were plotting to wipe them out and take over, even if were just some new arrivals that snuck onto the planet and not the resident Zygons, it would probably bring an end to the peace deal. THe hUmans would never be able to trust the Zygons again, since they didn't tell them about the new arrivals. That's why I think it plays better if the resident Zygons are not contacted at all, but get an inkling of what is going on before UNIT does and desperately try to end the invasion before the Humans find out about it and get (justifiably) paranoid. You could even had the dead Zygon be some Zygon bigwig who tried to "talk sense" to the Newcommers, failed, and was on his way to UNIT thinking that it was better if he told the Humans that if they found out about it on their own, later. BTW that would also help to preserve the peace deal for when the PCs discover the plot, since if Bigwig was on his way to warn them, the resident Zygons and still be trusted. Another possibility would be if the Militant Zygon faction already existed on Earth, but have become more actively hostil in recent months and secretly brough in more Zygons who think like they do. Then this becomes something of a potential Zygon Civil War. THat works great with the C Plot, too.
Well the dogs were basically lifted from a horror movie I vaguely remember...
The Zygons in one of the EU novels posed as cows.
Maybe the animals are a temporary measure to aid in infiltrating human society?
I think I remember the same movie. But there it made a lot more sense, since the creature could infect people by licking them, and humans are much more tolerant of a strange dog licking them than a strang erA Zygon in the series posed as a horse. But logically I can only see a few reasons to impersonate an animal. It can get them access to someone who otherwise would be hard to get to (it's easy to see the king as his pet hunting dog), it gives them a way to hide (guards to suspect the housecat of being the assassin), and the form might have abilities that Zygon lack (a bird could fly away from the scene very quickly, and a fly on the wall...). So you kind of need the reason why they go animal. Unless, of course, it wasn't by design. I'm sure you've seen another horror movie where a Fly in the wrong place really mixed things up and caused someone to lose their head. Yeah, Robert Louis Stevenson meets H.G. Wells. You have soem Zygon scientists working on animal transformation for some reason and something goes wrong and he goes sort of Jekyll & Hyde/Wolfman/Antiman. Imagine if he were a militant Zygon who was trying to get a bio-imprint of some extinct predator (what says dragons weren't real?) so that they could attack in that form, but something went horribly wrong. Or the initial idea might have been more peaceful but the bio-imprint got corrupted and drove the Zygon(s) crazy. It would be nice if the Zygons were trying to cure cancer or something as a gesture of appreciation, by looking an an extinct species that was immune to it, and something went wrong which caused the militant faction in the first place. But that's just a thought.
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Post by thewarchief on May 20, 2024 5:30:34 GMT
Not at all, so am I. But this is Who.... Yeah, but good Who stories usually have internally consistent logic- at least within said story. Maybe not so much outside of said story. A bit more on this later. My first thought was Zhodani, or some variant LOL! How Traveller of you. Yeah, the classic 'quiet infiltration' plot from so any fifties films, and Who episodes. Not exactly as this time there is some dead good guy who was trying to do the right thing. You don't get that so much in fiftes films. You do get it in some Classic Who episodes. But part of my approach to this is that Doctor Who appears to regularly retcon things subtly to restore them to something of a status quo, which is basically modern day (whatever modern day happens to be the year the story is made). So in Who any story should eventually resolve itself back to the status quo. Some stories might lead to future stories but even then we ususally wind up with a Earth very similar to what we have in the real world. I think this over-arcing concept can somewhat cover the UNIT dating controversy too. Back in the Classic Series they did a few "near future" stories (they were a big thing in Sci-Fi the 60s and 70s) set a few decades into the future, without any real worry about what life would be like when said furture arrived, since they never though the programme would still be on the air then. But, since the seris did late into the 80s (and beyond), they quietly retconned most of those events. So when plotting out your scenario seed, I gravitated towards the option that seemed to give the best outcome for modern day Earth continuity. You need to go far future or off-world for more extreme plotlines to be viable. Basically we can't just let aliens destroy the Earth (and let it stay destroyed), since then we couldn't have any more stories or companions from modern day Earth. IMO, modern day adventures are actually more restrictive than historical adventures, they just don't seem so. A GM can probably explain away the destruction of London in 124 AD, and minimize the effects on history, much easier than the destruction of London in 2024 AD.
Probably the last place anyone wants the Misfit Mob is where there are delicate negotiations.
Which probably means that is exactly where they end up. It's good story-wise too, assuming they don't screw it up, or that you have a way to fix it if they do. Excellent. Plenty of complications from a 'simple little job'. Perhaps it's time to start an actual Misfit Mob campaign after the current Bay Area one comes to and end. Though I've an idea for a prequel, set during the 'Summer of Hate' to finish off that campaign. Depends on what you want (as GM) and also on the capabilities of your players. Difficult complicated plots only really work out well if your players are capable of handling them. You can't really make it more complicated that what your players can (or will) handle.
What was the film? All I (vaguely) remember is big digs (GSDs) in cages and the doors opening. A little like the finale of The Boys From Brazil but that wasn't it.Assuming you're serious here and not being mildly sarcastic for comical effect (sorry, hard to pick up on inflection in text, as there isn't any), the film with the dog that I was referring to was The Thing. where the alien flees one artic base and infiltrates another in the form of a dog. Since the personnel of said base have no idea what they are dealing with, and no reason to suspect the "dog", the alien can infect humans and dogs rather easily as no one views being licked by a dog as strange or dangerous.
My first though when I read this was the EU novel Evolution and the Rutan healing gel, and all the possibilities therein.
I haven't read that novel, but I have to say the author sounds very clever and inventive.  Seriously though, it comes down to what sort of adventure you want. Then pick the elements that support the direction you want to go in, and drop all (or most) of the others. Oh, one interesting thing is what sort of people the Militant Zygons target at the festival? Are they trying to concentrate on a particular region? Go after officials of some sort, or maybe even target someone in particular? For instance, what if some big official(s) in Scotland are going to attend the festival and they Zygons plan to replace them? They they plan to push for Scottish Independence so as to have more autonomy so as to have less scrutiny (an independent Scotland could restrict UNIT or even kick them out of Scotland) which could allow the Zygons more easily advance their plans. Or maybe they need particular resources or location (say a bigger loch to grown an army of Skarasen) for their plans. Again it comes down to what sort of adventure you want and what sort of tasks you want your PCs to be doing, or preventing. |
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
I Ate'nt Dead.
Posts: 3,859
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on May 20, 2024 9:24:57 GMT
Not at all, so am I. But this is Who.... Yeah, but good Who stories usually have internally consistent logic- at least within said story. Maybe not so much outside of said story. A bit more on this later. My first thought was Zhodani, or some variant LOL! How Traveller of you.
I really must dig out the notes for out GURPS Traveller Ivor the Engine meets Sleepy Hollow game and convert them.
Yeah, the classic 'quiet infiltration' plot from so any fifties films, and Who episodes. Not exactly as this time there is some dead good guy who was trying to do the right thing. You don't get that so much in fiftes films. You do get it in some Classic Who episodes. But part of my approach to this is that Doctor Who appears to regularly retcon things subtly to restore them to something of a status quo, which is basically modern day (whatever modern day happens to be the year the story is made). So in Who any story should eventually resolve itself back to the status quo. Some stories might lead to future stories but even then we ususally wind up with a Earth very similar to what we have in the real world. I think this over-arcing concept can somewhat cover the UNIT dating controversy too. Back in the Classic Series they did a few "near future" stories (they were a big thing in Sci-Fi the 60s and 70s) set a few decades into the future, without any real worry about what life would be like when said furture arrived, since they never though the programme would still be on the air then. But, since the seris did late into the 80s (and beyond), they quietly retconned most of those events. So when plotting out your scenario seed, I gravitated towards the option that seemed to give the best outcome for modern day Earth continuity. You need to go far future or off-world for more extreme plotlines to be viable. Basically we can't just let aliens destroy the Earth (and let it stay destroyed), since then we couldn't have any more stories or companions from modern day Earth. IMO, modern day adventures are actually more restrictive than historical adventures, they just don't seem so. A GM can probably explain away the destruction of London in 124 AD, and minimize the effects on history, much easier than the destruction of London in 2024 AD.
Probably the last place anyone wants the Misfit Mob is where there are delicate negotiations.
Which probably means that is exactly where they end up. It's good story-wise too, assuming they don't screw it up, or that you have a way to fix it if they do. Excellent. Plenty of complications from a 'simple little job'. Perhaps it's time to start an actual Misfit Mob campaign after the current Bay Area one comes to and end. Though I've an idea for a prequel, set during the 'Summer of Hate' to finish off that campaign. Depends on what you want (as GM) and also on the capabilities of your players. Difficult complicated plots only really work out well if your players are capable of handling them. You can't really make it more complicated that what your players can (or will) handle.
What was the film? All I (vaguely) remember is big digs (GSDs) in cages and the doors opening. A little like the finale of The Boys From Brazil but that wasn't it.Assuming you're serious here and not being mildly sarcastic for comical effect (sorry, hard to pick up on inflection in text, as there isn't any), the film with the dog that I was referring to was The Thing. where the alien flees one artic base and infiltrates another in the form of a dog. Since the personnel of said base have no idea what they are dealing with, and no reason to suspect the "dog", the alien can infect humans and dogs rather easily as no one views being licked by a dog as strange or dangerous.
My first though when I read this was the EU novel Evolution and the Rutan healing gel, and all the possibilities therein.
I haven't read that novel, but I have to say the author sounds very clever and inventive. Seriously though, it comes down to what sort of adventure you want. Then pick the elements that support the direction you want to go in, and drop all (or most) of the others. Oh, one interesting thing is what sort of people the Militant Zygons target at the festival? Are they trying to concentrate on a particular region? Go after officials of some sort, or maybe even target someone in particular? For instance, what if some big official(s) in Scotland are going to attend the festival and they Zygons plan to replace them? They they plan to push for Scottish Independence so as to have more autonomy so as to have less scrutiny (an independent Scotland could restrict UNIT or even kick them out of Scotland) which could allow the Zygons more easily advance their plans. Or maybe they need particular resources or location (say a bigger loch to grown an army of Skarasen) for their plans. Again it comes down to what sort of adventure you want and what sort of tasks you want your PCs to be doing, or preventing.
The Scottish setting was just an impulse on my part, I could have dropped it into (say) Cornwall or Norfolk, one of those slightly out of the way parts of Britain.
There was no real strategy to the Zygons' plan, they didn't know enough to get that far (and I hadn't thought that far ahead ).
The potential for an independent Scotland is interesting. I think they'd probably me more pro-UN, unless (as you suggest) there's an ulterior alien motive. Which ads some excellent possibilities for political consequences for UNIT intervention.
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Post by thewarchief on May 20, 2024 17:29:57 GMT
Yes, true mostly. And that holds for more than just Doctor WHo. Most series and long stories have something that doesn't quite make sense. Short stories are usually exempt, but not always. For example The Cold Equations works off of the premise that the tolerances for spacecraft as so tight that a stowaway could jeopardize a ship (true with modern spacecraft), yet throwing the stowaway out the airlock will fix things (not true, it's fait accompli - the stowaway has already altered put the mass and acceleration of the vehicle, so the mission is already in danger). Long time player, I have the LBBs.
I really must dig out the notes for out GURPS Traveller Ivor the Engine meets Sleepy Hollow game and convert them.
That would be...surreal. Oooh, what about a Doctor Who adventure set in the Orkneys, based off of the concept of a damaged (alien) robot patterned on the myth of the Nukelavee? It was a survey robot sent to scout of the planet, but crashed on/near the Orkneys and it's outer covering was burned off. It now perodically resurveys the island (it can't get to anywhere else), and leaks something that causes crops to wither and such. Maybe certian bits of technology are worth reporting on and cuases it to come out and patrol? There is a Doctor WHo adventure in there somewhere.
True, an ongoing series generally avoids world-changing events. Especially if that series is set in modern day Earth, since that would causes the series setting to be different from the real world setting the writers wanted. So ti really ties your hands more that other settings. It's why none of the invasion stories from the UNIT era could have been even remotely successful. But aliens worlds and different time periods, are a whole another thing. You can destroy Mondas, or even Gallifrey and the series can continue with little change. Destroy the Earth and you have a setting and companion problem from then on, that you probably don't want. So you probably don't write yourself into that corner, and don't want to go there all that often to keep it from becoming a parody. The more often you deal with the same sort of situation the less of a threat it becomes. It why the Doctor often loses something/someone in Dalek stories as it keep them dangerous despite their multiple defeats. LOL! Always good to remind the players of the stakes, too. It can make a little simple encounter become something they worrry about ("How does that Silurian Tea Cereony go again? We pour across the circle? Before or after the biscuits?") Well they've had about five years of AITAS now, an ensemble group of players in the Tech industry, they're pretty good. And a group like the Mob would suit, allowing for players to miss sessions. Good. Most groups I've seen don't handle complex plots all that well, for multiple reasons. For instance, most of the groups I've gamed with have the tendency to come up with theories (good) and then somehow accept those theories as facts (very, very, bad) that they somehow attribute to originated from the GM (oh, so bad). So four hours later, when the PCs are on trial for treason I have to try and explain to the players that I never told them that the Prime Minster was an alien, that was Bob's idea, and then spend 20 minutes correcting them on it. Okay, it was just that the thing is the obvious example here, so I thought you had already thought of it when you did your original post.
I remember The Thing and that fits. Who Goes There? was an excellent story.Yes it does, and yes it was. The big problem with both of them though is that it is almost impossible to stop the alien from assimilating all of humanity. Unless someone like the Doctor shows up. But The Thing is a perfect example of when a Zygon might want to take the form of an animal rather than a human. Evolution is one of my favourite novels, it even had a proto-Torchwood. Well if you like it then it's a good source for you to use. I haven't read Evolution yet, but jusing from the cover, it's a Fourth Doctor & Sarah story, and that is my favorite era of the series, and John Peel is competent, so maybe I'll look into it.
The Scottish setting was just an impulse on my part, I could have dropped it into (say) Cornwall or Norfolk, one of those slightly out of the way parts of Britain. It works though since Terror of the Zygons was set in Scotland, so you can draw on the original story, which is usually a good thing. TotZ was dripping with mood & creepy atmosphere too. Not quite Hammer (maybe more Amicus), but definitely British horror. Might as well use that as a counterpoint to the carefree and fun concept of a festival. Speaking of which you probably want some sort of special event to take place at the festival itself, to tie it all in better. Like say the Zygons set up a fun house or tunnel or love where they can abduct people unnoticed and swap in a Zygon. Personally a tunnel of love ride of some sort, in a boat, would be my choice, as the Zygons could ambush isolated pairs of victims in the dark, but springing up out of the water. Great cliffhanger scene. A Tunnel Of Love would also let them swap out the spouse at the same time, which would be very helpful in maintaining the false identity and in conducting activities at the replaced official's home. You could even have a nice clue where a couple that hated each other and were about to break up before the ride, stops fighting and are more united afterwards, which confuses some of their staff, especially if the official had been having an affair with his secretary which unexpectedly ends afterwards ("it's as if he's forgotten all about me.")
There was no real strategy to the Zygons' plan, they didn't know enough to get that far (and I hadn't thought that far ahead ).Which is why it is a scenario seed rather than a scenario, it's not finished. I'd have loved for it to be a plot to replace Kate Stewart (the Brig had Scottish ancestry) and take over UNIT as it fits perfectly, but but since they did that already in the 50th anniversary it would lose all the dramatic effect to just do a rehash - unless this adventure isn't a reshash, but in 2011-12 with the idea/possibility of the Zygons succeeding. But that is very tough for a GM to control, so better they go after someone else.
The potential for an independent Scotland is interesting. I think they'd probably me more pro-UN, unless (as you suggest) there's an ulterior alien motive. Which ads some excellent possibilities for political consequences for UNIT intervention.
Yes, they probably would be, but that might interfere with the Zygons invasion plans -- unless the Zygons were targeting the UN. Imagine if they could park a ship underwater, off the coast of New York City, and replace all of the Ambassadors to the United Nations in one go! Or maybe instead of NYC, in the lake at Geneva. Then they could expand their replacement strategy out from there. Control of the UN would mean indirect control over UNIT, at least until replace their leaders again, but the Zygons might be cautious around UNIT as involving UNIT has lead to the Doctor showing up and wrecking all their carefully laid plans within a matter of hours, so say the Zygons play it cagey and mostly avoid UNIT and the Doctor. Better for the Zygons if UNIT doesn't know what's going on until it is too late. Just think how scary and powerful the United Nations could be if the ambassadors and delegates were actually united (because they are all Zygon replacements). |
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
I Ate'nt Dead.
Posts: 3,859
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on May 20, 2024 20:30:43 GMT
Yes, true mostly. And that holds for more than just Doctor WHo. Most series and long stories have something that doesn't quite make sense. Short stories are usually exempt, but not always. For example The Cold Equations works off of the premise that the tolerances for spacecraft as so tight that a stowaway could jeopardize a ship (true with modern spacecraft), yet throwing the stowaway out the airlock will fix things (not true, it's fait accompli - the stowaway has already altered put the mass and acceleration of the vehicle, so the mission is already in danger). Long time player, I have the LBBs.
I really must dig out the notes for out GURPS Traveller Ivor the Engine meets Sleepy Hollow game and convert them.
That would be...surreal.
All set in Space!Wales which was heavily into mining and power generation.Oooh, what about a Doctor Who adventure set in the Orkneys, based off of the concept of a damaged (alien) robot patterned on the myth of the Nukelavee? It was a survey robot sent to scout of the planet, but crashed on/near the Orkneys and it's outer covering was burned off. It now perodically resurveys the island (it can't get to anywhere else), and leaks something that causes crops to wither and such. Maybe certian bits of technology are worth reporting on and cuases it to come out and patrol? There is a Doctor WHo adventure in there somewhere.
A good setting for ripping off deriving from Island of Terror or the old Doomwatch film.
True, an ongoing series generally avoids world-changing events. Especially if that series is set in modern day Earth, since that would causes the series setting to be different from the real world setting the writers wanted. So ti really ties your hands more that other settings. It's why none of the invasion stories from the UNIT era could have been even remotely successful. But aliens worlds and different time periods, are a whole another thing. You can destroy Mondas, or even Gallifrey and the series can continue with little change. Destroy the Earth and you have a setting and companion problem from then on, that you probably don't want. So you probably don't write yourself into that corner, and don't want to go there all that often to keep it from becoming a parody. The more often you deal with the same sort of situation the less of a threat it becomes. It why the Doctor often loses something/someone in Dalek stories as it keep them dangerous despite their multiple defeats. LOL! Always good to remind the players of the stakes, too. It can make a little simple encounter become something they worrry about ("How does that Silurian Tea Cereony go again? We pour across the circle? Before or after the biscuits?") Well they've had about five years of AITAS now, an ensemble group of players in the Tech industry, they're pretty good. And a group like the Mob would suit, allowing for players to miss sessions. Good. Most groups I've seen don't handle complex plots all that well, for multiple reasons. For instance, most of the groups I've gamed with have the tendency to come up with theories (good) and then somehow accept those theories as facts (very, very, bad) that they somehow attribute to originated from the GM (oh, so bad). So four hours later, when the PCs are on trial for treason I have to try and explain to the players that I never told them that the Prime Minster was an alien, that was Bob's idea, and then spend 20 minutes correcting them on it.
IIRR this is why GURPS had the Common Sense advantage, so the GM to drop a hint.
Okay, it was just that the thing is the obvious example here, so I thought you had already thought of it when you did your original post.
I remember The Thing and that fits. Who Goes There? was an excellent story.Yes it does, and yes it was. The big problem with both of them though is that it is almost impossible to stop the alien from assimilating all of humanity. Unless someone like the Doctor shows up. But The Thing is a perfect example of when a Zygon might want to take the form of an animal rather than a human. Evolution is one of my favourite novels, it even had a proto-Torchwood. Well if you like it then it's a good source for you to use. I haven't read Evolution yet, but jusing from the cover, it's a Fourth Doctor & Sarah story, and that is my favorite era of the series, and John Peel is competent, so maybe I'll look into it.
The Scottish setting was just an impulse on my part, I could have dropped it into (say) Cornwall or Norfolk, one of those slightly out of the way parts of Britain. It works though since Terror of the Zygons was set in Scotland, so you can draw on the original story, which is usually a good thing. TotZ was dripping with mood & creepy atmosphere too. Not quite Hammer (maybe more Amicus), but definitely British horror. Might as well use that as a counterpoint to the carefree and fun concept of a festival. Speaking of which you probably want some sort of special event to take place at the festival itself, to tie it all in better. Like say the Zygons set up a fun house or tunnel or love where they can abduct people unnoticed and swap in a Zygon. Personally a tunnel of love ride of some sort, in a boat, would be my choice, as the Zygons could ambush isolated pairs of victims in the dark, but springing up out of the water. Great cliffhanger scene. A Tunnel Of Love would also let them swap out the spouse at the same time, which would be very helpful in maintaining the false identity and in conducting activities at the replaced official's home. You could even have a nice clue where a couple that hated each other and were about to break up before the ride, stops fighting and are more united afterwards, which confuses some of their staff, especially if the official had been having an affair with his secretary which unexpectedly ends afterwards ("it's as if he's forgotten all about me.")
There was no real strategy to the Zygons' plan, they didn't know enough to get that far (and I hadn't thought that far ahead ).Which is why it is a scenario seed rather than a scenario, it's not finished. I'd have loved for it to be a plot to replace Kate Stewart (the Brig had Scottish ancestry) and take over UNIT as it fits perfectly, but but since they did that already in the 50th anniversary it would lose all the dramatic effect to just do a rehash - unless this adventure isn't a reshash, but in 2011-12 with the idea/possibility of the Zygons succeeding. But that is very tough for a GM to control, so better they go after someone else.
The potential for an independent Scotland is interesting. I think they'd probably me more pro-UN, unless (as you suggest) there's an ulterior alien motive. Which ads some excellent possibilities for political consequences for UNIT intervention.
Yes, they probably would be, but that might interfere with the Zygons invasion plans -- unless the Zygons were targeting the UN. Imagine if they could park a ship underwater, off the coast of New York City, and replace all of the Ambassadors to the United Nations in one go! Or maybe instead of NYC, in the lake at Geneva. Then they could expand their replacement strategy out from there. Control of the UN would mean indirect control over UNIT, at least until replace their leaders again, but the Zygons might be cautious around UNIT as involving UNIT has lead to the Doctor showing up and wrecking all their carefully laid plans within a matter of hours, so say the Zygons play it cagey and mostly avoid UNIT and the Doctor. Better for the Zygons if UNIT doesn't know what's going on until it is too late. Just think how scary and powerful the United Nations could be if the ambassadors and delegates were actually united (because they are all Zygon replacements). |
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Post by thewarchief on May 20, 2024 23:45:27 GMT
IIRR someone asked the question, how much did the chair weigh, or something like that. Yeah, but there would be air breathed already and so forth. The story works from a logical fallacy because John W. Campbell (author of Who Goes There?, which is why it came to mind) pushed for the darker ending where the girl stowaway had to be thrown out of the airlock. In the real world you do have some reserve air and fuel, in case of unforeseen problems, plus other stuff you could toss out, so one 50-60 kg teenage girl wouldn't doom the ship (and if she did then removing her mid trip wouldn't solve the problem). Plus if the girl is so ingorant of how spacecraft and their procedures, how was she able to get past the security, get aboard the ship and find a hiding place where she wouldn't be detected until after they were too far out to come back? Any spacecraft where 60 kg is going to matter doesn't have any good paces to hide. Not a lot of room in an Apollo capsule and 65 kg wouldn't make all that much difference for that. But when the editor forces a particular outcome to a story, then that outcome overrides everything else. It was fun. An intelligent, nuclear-powered [fission] steam train, possessed by Ancient driftware would haul into sight when the PCs needed it. And Dinwiddie was a former Scout who'd found a small Ancient base with a matter transmuter. I can't remember much of the rest.
All set in Space!Wales which was heavily into mining and power generation. Sounds like a Sci FI version of Alice in Wonderland, and that could work as an RPG.
I don't know enough about Orkneian legends and folklore, I must take a look. Please do, I think it would work out pretty well for a Docotr Who adventure. Just take the bits from the lenged and give them a scientific basis, like say the robot is nuclear powered and is leaking a little radiation. Not (usually) enough to be all that dangerous, but enough to explain crop failures and such.
A good setting for ripping off deriving from Island of Terror or the old Doomwatch film.
Doomwatch keeps popping up. I'll have to watch a episode or two. Indeed, that's why I explicitly set my Whoniverse in a different world, with small alternate details until the 1950s. Then I had Megaroc carried out and a rapid technological pace, based on the Third Doctor background, with missions to Jupiter and Saturn by 1980, orbital and L5 stations and a number of lunar bases. The first asteroid deflection was in 2011. All that is great if/when GM want to/is willing to have their own setting, but when the setting is supposed to be modern day, you are under restrictions. You can only warp stuff so much before it isn't recognizable as modern day.
IIRR this is why GURPS had the Common Sense advantage, so the GM to drop a hint.
But there is no advantage that makes players take the hint, no matter how hard you drop it on them. I'm convinced there was a scene, somewhere, that involved two people walking past a row of large dog cages, only for two of them to pop open after they'd passed. In The Thing, or some other movie?
The story's denouement had the Thing transform into a specific 'fighting creature', so maybe a Zygon warrior has such in reserve? It could. A Zygon in the 50th anniversary episode was able to disguise itself as a horse and Queen Elizabeth I, so it looks like they can have more than one bio-imprint available at one time. Might be worth tucking away a Grizzly Bear for when things turn sour on you. But then what were the other Zygons doing in 450 years between 1562 and 2013? As far as invasions go, well, they weren't in much of a hurry were they? It's a damn good story, with Kipling. Well, you're a better man that I am Gunga Din. I'll give it a read.
I like the tunnel idea, that's one to consider.Hey I try. Just stay clear of River Song's kissing booth. Only now you have to come up with "somebody else". Could be a real person, could be your own creation. Say someone who is big on Scottish independence so taking them over won't cause an obvious shift in their actions. It will be when their opponents start changing sides that people will start to wonder. Presumably UNIT has some check for alien replacements or mind control? Of course, and presumably it was improved in 2013 after they Zygons somehow got past it during Day of the Doctor. But someone administers those tests, and/or maintains the equipment that does the screening or some such. So guess who the first logical targets would be? Not the commanding officers but instead the technicians (or maybe the Misfit Mob?). And since we know there is at least one Zygon still working at UNIT (an Osgood), it's possible that the new Zygons get inside help (willing or coerced). You could even have one of the Osgoods be the dead body in the beginning that that the PCs investigate (surprise recognition by the PCs?). I mean they already replaced at least one Osgood with a Zygon, so you could do it again. BTW, on a somewhat related note, black when I was at school for electronics, one of my teachers told us that back when he was at school the state police used to come to his school to get their radar guns calibrated...and that show how they were all calibrated to read about 5 mph slower that the cars were actually going. |
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
I Ate'nt Dead.
Posts: 3,859
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on May 21, 2024 12:43:45 GMT
IIRR someone asked the question, how much did the chair weigh, or something like that. Yeah, but there would be air breathed already and so forth. The story works from a logical fallacy because John W. Campbell (author of Who Goes There?, which is why it came to mind) pushed for the darker ending where the girl stowaway had to be thrown out of the airlock. In the real world you do have some reserve air and fuel, in case of unforeseen problems, plus other stuff you could toss out, so one 50-60 kg teenage girl wouldn't doom the ship (and if she did then removing her mid trip wouldn't solve the problem). Plus if the girl is so ingorant of how spacecraft and their procedures, how was she able to get past the security, get aboard the ship and find a hiding place where she wouldn't be detected until after they were too far out to come back? Any spacecraft where 60 kg is going to matter doesn't have any good paces to hide. Not a lot of room in an Apollo capsule and 65 kg wouldn't make all that much difference for that. But when the editor forces a particular outcome to a story, then that outcome overrides everything else. It was fun. An intelligent, nuclear-powered [fission] steam train, possessed by Ancient driftware would haul into sight when the PCs needed it. And Dinwiddie was a former Scout who'd found a small Ancient base with a matter transmuter. I can't remember much of the rest.
All set in Space!Wales which was heavily into mining and power generation. Sounds like a Sci FI version of Alice in Wonderland, and that could work as an RPG.
I don't know enough about Orkneian legends and folklore, I must take a look. Please do, I think it would work out pretty well for a Docotr Who adventure. Just take the bits from the lenged and give them a scientific basis, like say the robot is nuclear powered and is leaking a little radiation. Not (usually) enough to be all that dangerous, but enough to explain crop failures and such.
A good setting for ripping off deriving from Island of Terror or the old Doomwatch film.
Doomwatch keeps popping up. I'll have to watch a episode or two.
Many of the themes, accelerated evolution, chemical contamination, artificial intelligent, genetic engineering, medical ethics, remain topical.
It's well worth a watch.Indeed, that's why I explicitly set my Whoniverse in a different world, with small alternate details until the 1950s. Then I had Megaroc carried out and a rapid technological pace, based on the Third Doctor background, with missions to Jupiter and Saturn by 1980, orbital and L5 stations and a number of lunar bases. The first asteroid deflection was in 2011. All that is great if/when GM want to/is willing to have their own setting, but when the setting is supposed to be modern day, you are under restrictions. You can only warp stuff so much before it isn't recognizable as modern day.
IIRR this is why GURPS had the Common Sense advantage, so the GM to drop a hint.
But there is no advantage that makes players take the hint, no matter how hard you drop it on them. I'm convinced there was a scene, somewhere, that involved two people walking past a row of large dog cages, only for two of them to pop open after they'd passed. In The Thing, or some other movie?
It's bugging me.
The story's denouement had the Thing transform into a specific 'fighting creature', so maybe a Zygon warrior has such in reserve? It could. A Zygon in the 50th anniversary episode was able to disguise itself as a horse and Queen Elizabeth I, so it looks like they can have more than one bio-imprint available at one time. Might be worth tucking away a Grizzly Bear for when things turn sour on you. But then what were the other Zygons doing in 450 years between 1562 and 2013? As far as invasions go, well, they weren't in much of a hurry were they? It's a damn good story, with Kipling. Well, you're a better man that I am Gunga Din. I'll give it a read.
I like the tunnel idea, that's one to consider.Hey I try. Just stay clear of River Song's kissing booth. Only now you have to come up with "somebody else". Could be a real person, could be your own creation. Say someone who is big on Scottish independence so taking them over won't cause an obvious shift in their actions. It will be when their opponents start changing sides that people will start to wonder. Presumably UNIT has some check for alien replacements or mind control? Of course, and presumably it was improved in 2013 after they Zygons somehow got past it during Day of the Doctor. But someone administers those tests, and/or maintains the equipment that does the screening or some such. So guess who the first logical targets would be? Not the commanding officers but instead the technicians (or maybe the Misfit Mob?). And since we know there is at least one Zygon still working at UNIT (an Osgood), it's possible that the new Zygons get inside help (willing or coerced). You could even have one of the Osgoods be the dead body in the beginning that that the PCs investigate (surprise recognition by the PCs?). I mean they already replaced at least one Osgood with a Zygon, so you could do it again. BTW, on a somewhat related note, black when I was at school for electronics, one of my teachers told us that back when he was at school the state police used to come to his school to get their radar guns calibrated...and that show how they were all calibrated to read about 5 mph slower that the cars were actually going. |
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Post by thewarchief on May 21, 2024 15:03:14 GMT
I'm probably a bit more sensitive to such things due to RPGs where railroading is more of a issue. So maybe a bit of a pet peeve. I was a change of pace scenario. I don't doubt it, but I think it something that's a bit hard to find in RPGs these days -it is unique . No one's done Sci-Fi Alice in Wonderland yet, so it could be a groundbreaking setting. It does sound like a neglected source of weirdness. And island are handy locations. Celtic mythology is mostly overlooked in RPGs -which is odd considering how British medieval kingdoms are in most RPGs. A lot of it would work in Doctor Who and/or a Sci Fi setting. Portal to the otherworld, caudrons that bring people back to life, tall glass structures, kingdoms beneath the sea, places where time passes at a different rate, a host of humanoid and inhuman beings. Various waves of invasions, shapeshifting creatures that asumme human form and replace pleople - yeah Celtic Myths work well in Doctor Who. Its just that most people aren't all that familiar with them as they don't get the same attention in school that Greco-Roman or Nordic Myths. It was, like much sci-fi of the period, rather varied in quality. It has a distinct Whovian flavour, having been created by Pedler and Davis, and could easily be mixed in to such a campaign. Like Who several episodes are lost.
Many of the themes, accelerated evolution, chemical contamination, artificial intelligent, genetic engineering, medical ethics, remain topical.
It's well worth a watch. I'll have to try and hunt down an episode or two somewhere, if only to follow the conversation. From what's I've seen so far it looks a bit like Quatermass meets the X-Files, which could be good. Obsessive world-building is my thing.... Well you came to the right game for it. In Doctor Who you can build a new world for every adventure if you want to. Or you could alter Earth to something completely unrecognizable, multiple times. True if they ignore "Your Common Sense tells you that is a bad idea", then, well, it's on them. LOL! I should get that for their T-Shirts. Let me give you an example of what I'm talking about. In a FRPG one of the PCs, a cleric, set of a magical trap and was killed. He got divine intervention (a thing in that game) and was raised by his God, who told him to leave the thing alone, as it was magically trapped and would kill him if he messed with it. Player's response "What the *&^% does he know?" followed by another death by the magical trap. So when a PC doesn't listen to his own deity, right after said deity just brought him back to life, what chance does a GM hint from "Common Sense" have? Now to their credit, that was an extreme case, and the rest of the players were staring at the guy in total disbelief. The GM just shook his head, shrugged, picked up his dice and flash fried the PC a second time. But it was far from a unique experience. No, somewhere else. Young couple, American, probably late 70s/80s, might not have been sci-fi.
It's bugging me. Can you give me anymore to go on? What type of dogs? Was it an artic setting? Something sounds strangely familiar about it. MAybe TV series, not a movie? Maybe the Jared Martin War of the Worlds series from the late 1980s ?Apparently that's the official story, but why? It seems to mean that they would have had a easier time conquering humanity in the 16th century than in the 21st. The Zygons can't handle sailing ships, and blackpowder weapons so they go into stasis for five centuries when the humans have tanks, aircraft, lasers, and atomic weapons. Not very good strategists are they? We need a better excuse that that, don't we? Umm, how about the Skarasen they had with them wasn't old enough to provide lactic fluid to sustain the Zygons so when thier supplies ran out, then went into stasis for 450 years in order to allow it to mature? They just wanted to take over the UK throne to get Elisabeth to do something that would aid the Zygons (timing is perfect for Mary Queen of Scots and the Scottish Reformation, so maybe the wanted to have Elisabeth abdicate in favor of Mary? BTW that would fit into the Festival adventure). Real world wise, it was something like the D plot in the episode, so it got bumped by the other plots. It took me a few seconds to get Torchwood reference. Time to dig out my Logan MacRae books for ideas. I dunno, now that I brought up the Elizabethan Zygons I think there is another adventure in there. What is Sir Walter Raleigh was a Zygon? Ah, who watches the watchers. Maybe UNIT has an AI for that? The Guarding Dark perhaps. Yeah, obviously UNIT would put in what safeguards they could, but also obviously, there is a way to circumvent any safeguard, especially if you have a significant technological advantage. Today we could probably crack the code from an enigma machine with a iPhone in under an hour. A Dalek could do it in real time. So who knows what the Zygons or other aliens trying to infiltrate UNIT could do? So basically, storywise, UNIT is as secure from Zygon (or other) infiltration as the GM wants it to be. Thus is it totally secure until you got a good story that requires otherwise. So nothing new there. |
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
I Ate'nt Dead.
Posts: 3,859
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on May 22, 2024 9:23:47 GMT
I'm probably a bit more sensitive to such things due to RPGs where railroading is more of a issue. So maybe a bit of a pet peeve.
I was a change of pace scenario. I don't doubt it, but I think it something that's a bit hard to find in RPGs these days -it is unique . No one's done Sci-Fi Alice in Wonderland yet, so it could be a groundbreaking setting. It does sound like a neglected source of weirdness. And island are handy locations. Celtic mythology is mostly overlooked in RPGs -which is odd considering how British medieval kingdoms are in most RPGs. A lot of it would work in Doctor Who and/or a Sci Fi setting. Portal to the otherworld, caudrons that bring people back to life, tall glass structures, kingdoms beneath the sea, places where time passes at a different rate, a host of humanoid and inhuman beings. Various waves of invasions, shapeshifting creatures that asumme human form and replace pleople - yeah Celtic Myths work well in Doctor Who. Its just that most people aren't all that familiar with them as they don't get the same attention in school that Greco-Roman or Nordic Myths.
Celtic myth has a lot of possibilities (and a GURPS sourcebook) for gaming, even in the modern day (e.g. Cooper's the Dark Is Rising sequence).
It was, like much sci-fi of the period, rather varied in quality. It has a distinct Whovian flavour, having been created by Pedler and Davis, and could easily be mixed in to such a campaign. Like Who several episodes are lost.
Many of the themes, accelerated evolution, chemical contamination, artificial intelligent, genetic engineering, medical ethics, remain topical.
It's well worth a watch. I'll have to try and hunt down an episode or two somewhere, if only to follow the conversation. From what's I've seen so far it looks a bit like Quatermass meets the X-Files, which could be good.
Obsessive world-building is my thing.... Well you came to the right game for it. In Doctor Who you can build a new world for every adventure if you want to. Or you could alter Earth to something completely unrecognizable, multiple times. True if they ignore "Your Common Sense tells you that is a bad idea", then, well, it's on them. LOL! I should get that for their T-Shirts. Let me give you an example of what I'm talking about. In a FRPG one of the PCs, a cleric, set of a magical trap and was killed. He got divine intervention (a thing in that game) and was raised by his God, who told him to leave the thing alone, as it was magically trapped and would kill him if he messed with it. Player's response "What the *&^% does he know?" followed by another death by the magical trap. So when a PC doesn't listen to his own deity, right after said deity just brought him back to life, what chance does a GM hint from "Common Sense" have? Now to their credit, that was an extreme case, and the rest of the players were staring at the guy in total disbelief. The GM just shook his head, shrugged, picked up his dice and flash fried the PC a second time. But it was far from a unique experience.  No, somewhere else. Young couple, American, probably late 70s/80s, might not have been sci-fi.
It's bugging me. Can you give me anymore to go on? What type of dogs? Was it an artic setting? Something sounds strangely familiar about it. MAybe TV series, not a movie? Maybe the Jared Martin War of the Worlds series from the late 1980s ?Apparently that's the official story, but why? It seems to mean that they would have had a easier time conquering humanity in the 16th century than in the 21st. The Zygons can't handle sailing ships, and blackpowder weapons so they go into stasis for five centuries when the humans have tanks, aircraft, lasers, and atomic weapons. Not very good strategists are they? We need a better excuse that that, don't we? Umm, how about the Skarasen they had with them wasn't old enough to provide lactic fluid to sustain the Zygons so when thier supplies ran out, then went into stasis for 450 years in order to allow it to mature? They just wanted to take over the UK throne to get Elisabeth to do something that would aid the Zygons (timing is perfect for Mary Queen of Scots and the Scottish Reformation, so maybe the wanted to have Elisabeth abdicate in favor of Mary? BTW that would fit into the Festival adventure). Real world wise, it was something like the D plot in the episode, so it got bumped by the other plots. It took me a few seconds to get Torchwood reference. Time to dig out my Logan MacRae books for ideas. I dunno, now that I brought up the Elizabethan Zygons I think there is another adventure in there. What is Sir Walter Raleigh was a Zygon?
- Timemaster's Sea Dogs of England didn't count
Ah, who watches the watchers. Maybe UNIT has an AI for that? The Guarding Dark perhaps. Yeah, obviously UNIT would put in what safeguards they could, but also obviously, there is a way to circumvent any safeguard, especially if you have a significant technological advantage. Today we could probably crack the code from an enigma machine with a iPhone in under an hour. A Dalek could do it in real time. So who knows what the Zygons or other aliens trying to infiltrate UNIT could do? So basically, storywise, UNIT is as secure from Zygon (or other) infiltration as the GM wants it to be. Thus is it totally secure until you got a good story that requires otherwise. So nothing new there.
Exactly, infiltration is a plot device.
BTW, I was thinking on the morphic/morphogenetic field idea, which has appeared in a couple of EU books, that I cobbled together as an explanation of the Zygons shapeshifting. I rather like the idea and might run with it, adding in a 'quantum' of technobabble....
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