Adventure Outline: Timestorm

As this is our first adventure, we’ll start with the classic Dr Who base-under-siege plotline. You know the one. Everyone arrives at an isolated location that is suffering some form of emergency, and normally with a hostile presence aboard, and the travellers are suspected of being the cause. Eventually the travellers help out and are at least semi-trusted. Then there is the rush to solve the emergency while the side characters get picked off one by one.

The main difference is how everyone arrives. Rather than the usual landing in the TARDIS, instead the time experiments being conducted at the base are create random Time Storms at different points in space and time. Those who are caught in them, i.e. the player character, will find themselves transported to the research base. It’ll be a bumpy ride, at best.

The Gamma Sigma research outpost is conducting experiments in Time manipulation. Not true time travel as such. However, so far their experiments have either failed or had unintended consequences. Sometimes Time flows slightly differently in different part of the base. At other time the inhabitants are catching glimpses of their pasts, or futures. What they don’t realise is that there experiments have had further reaching consequences, drawing individuals through time to the base, as well as a hungry predator. The predator has already munched down a few of the engineers. If the experiments continue in this state, they could damage the fabric of Time itself.

The base is located on a small planetoid. Most of it, the multiple labs and the reactor, are in a warren of passages under the surface. On the surface are a number of domes connected by tunnels, which contain the Command centre, living quarters, a maintenance garage and a launch pad. The launch pad is some distance away from the rest of the base.

The important base personnel are below. There is also as many redshirts as the story requires.

Gail Williams - She is in charge of the project, but is more of a bureaucrat than a scientist. Wants to keep the project running at all costs.

Greg Wilson - The lead scientist of the project. Wants to shut the project down, even though the failure may ruin his career, but safely, so that there will be no further time distortions.

David Smith - The stations Doctor. The recent spate of killings, as well as the odd time effects, are driving him slowly round the bend. He is coming to believe the deaths are a god’s revenge for the Time experiments.

Harry Kemble - The head of security. A good man, but stressed with the recent event. Will suspect the arrivals of being behind the deaths and possible sabotage. Once given proof they are on the same side, is willing to help.

Samantha Roberts - Another scientist on the project. She wishes to keep the experiments running and thinks she can correct the problems. Can be persuaded otherwise with evidence.

Fred Holden - An engineer who saw the rest of his group killed. He just wants off the base as quickly as possible, and may cause problems doing it.

The predator, currently I’m not sure what it is (I haven’t found a decent looking picture) but for now it will be only glimpsed in the shadows.

As for the plot, for now it’s everyone arriving on the base, bumping into each other, some of the bases personnel, maybe being chased by something fast, hungry and with teeth. In short, getting into trouble. I haven’t provided the usual 1, 2, 3 point list for the outline, as until everyone is ‘settled’ on the base the story is a bit too fluid to structure in that form.

Comments and suggestions are welcome.

I think we are pretty close to being ready to begin.

If anyone who wants to play doesn't have a charrie by the time the game starts, or wants to have a later enterence, they can arrive by another convenient 'Time Storm' at any part in the story.

And that's Dr Who started, YAY!

To start off with, i think Jamie and the Doctor are going to have a frank exchange of ideas, while Nikki is going to have a closeish encounter with the monster, leg it, and bump into the two above. At which point they all get captured.

The first post for Sara can be a flashback to waking up on the base. I don't know whether you want to still be out and just wake up, or wether you've been awake for a few days and are helping out on the base?

These are just sugestions, feel free to post others.

Now that we’ve started the story, and some of the charrie have met, I think there is enough to go on to create a more cohesive outline. This is what I’ve come up with so far, let me know what you think, and if there is anything you need to change.

Jamie, Nikki and The Doctor will get captured by Kemble (the security chief), and taken to Williams (the lass in charge) and Greg (head science boy), who are currently arguing about shutting down the experiments. Gerg will believe the groups story about time travel, as will Kemble (hey, they’re doing time experiment), but Kemble still believes they could be behind the murders, and doesn’t quite believe the tale of a monster, as scans aren’t picking up anything. Williams thinks it’s all rot.

Meanwhile, in the main lab, Sara will be helping out while Smith (resident doctor and soon to be resident nutter) is there keeping an eye on her as she still has amnesia. Roberts (another scientist) is there running another experiment. This is were, if they wish to join the game, Sissi and the Bachelor could arrive, into the middle of the lab. Roberts will be delighted that her experiment produced results (albeit not the right ones), however, things will go wrong when a experiment malfunctions, and a redshirt scientist is aged to death.

This means Jamie, Nikki and The Doctor have been filled in on the deaths, while Sara Sissi and the Bachelor have found out about the malfunctioning time experiments. With the plots established, the Doctor’s group are being led to some cells, past the lab, when they are attacked by the monster.

Cue a struggle, and at some point someone will save Kemble’s life, so with that, and catching a glimpse of the monster, he is on their side. Everyone gathers for a meeting, where it is suggested the experiments are shut down, as they could cause widespread damage. Williams is furious, and Roberts will need to be convinced.

Meanwhile, our last npc: Holden, will be trying to escape the base in the space ship. However it goes wrong and the spaceship is on the verge of exploding, possibly taking the base with it. While everyone rushes to solve the problem, William decides to put the base into lockdown, sealing many of the doors, so no on else can escape with Holden.

This is a major problem for some of the group, who are locked in with the beasty and Smith, who is trying to seek out the beast believing it to be a punishment for the experiments.

Once those crisis are resolved, there is very little time left before the experiments rupture time apart, so there is a dash to shut down the experiments, while other go hunting down the creature. Of course, both group will be successful, and get to show off their skills. During this the Doctor will be forced to enter a chamber at the heart of the Time manipulation experiments, which he expects will trigger a regeneration. It doesn’t, but that’s the cause of his regen-slipping later. But once the experiments are shut down, while the universe is saved, the base isn’t, so mad dash to the Tardis and away.

Cue a struggle, and at some point someone will save Kemble’s life, so with that, and catching a glimpse of the monster, he is on their side.

Can I dibs this? Jamie is good at saving lives!

I think that would be apt.

that sounds like a good place for me to enter--unless you have passed it already?

Nope we haven't passed it, still in the 'being captured' satge.

However, i don't think Sissi will be joining us this adventure.

that's fine, me and Sara (Caity's charrie, right?) can cause plenty of mischief on our own

That’s one big post that, really, doesn’t get us anywhere! Though it does introduce us to some of the characters. It’s also more Dr heavy than I would like, but that will hopefully decrease as the game goes on. Apologies to Maeglin, there are more than a few places that I’m sure Jamie would have piped up, but I don’t know the character well enough to put them in. Feel free to change the post to include them, or let me know what to say and I’ll put it in.

Oh, and that wasn’t meant to be a pun.

The other side of the plot, experiments with Time Manipulation that aren’t working correctly, is currently in the hands of the Bachelor and Sara, as well as introducing the side characters we haven’t met yet. Once that’s been established we can have the two groups meet up.

Caitydid and beeayy, do you want to put the scientists explaining the experminets, then one going wrong and ageing someone to death, in your own posts, or do you want me to put it in a NPC post?

Also, as the Bachalor cannot really age, he could be caught in the same malphucntion but emerge unscathed?

that sounds good! I'll work on it

Since Bethy's working on it, unless she needs help or wants help, I'll let her do that!

hows about i post the intro of the doctors, and you post the description of the accident?

Fine by me!

Ok, things are moving on. Now that the exposition is mostly out of the way, we can move towards getting both groups to meet up.

This will happen when the group under guard (The Doctor, Jamie and Nikki) are escorted past the lab (where the Bachelor and Sara are) and then come under attack from the beastie.

They won’t get a good look at it (so certain members of the base can still deny it), but Kemble will be almost killed and saved by Jamie. Also, Nikki will probably have to be pulled out of danger given her combat paralysis.

A couple of other notes:

Seeing someone aged to death is probably the point when Dr Smith goes crazy and starts claiming the deaths are punishment for meddling in time.

The reason for the problems is, ironically, the success of the experiments. The original experiments went better than expected and produced tones of useful data. Unfortunately, on the base of that, the government was pushing for more results, without giving the scientists time to fully analyse said data. Roberts thought she could manage without the complete data, Greg thought it dangerous. Roberts was actually correct to start off with, but now things have gone so far, that when she looses control, it goes very, very wrong.

If I can make one more post before we meet up, I can try to address some of the craziness that is starting to show in Smith, plus some other stuff.

Okay, if someone who's more creative when it comes to building and describing miscellaneous beasties wants to start off the fight, Jamie's spidey sense is tingling. I like fight scenes, though, so once it's there... !

Well, although we won't get a good look at it this fight, i kinda had in mind something like this maybe?

Y'all realize that with the token Scottish character, I get to monopolize the use of the word "beastie" right?

Erm, as the token scottish member of the fourm i get to use 'beastie' in all OOC contexts right?

haha yes I guess that's fair

That there's the freaky bat-beast from Primeval! I 100% approve of using monsters from one BBC series to describe ones in an RP based on another.

Huh, I though Primeval was ITV for some reason. *shrugs* Either way I’ve never seen it, but saw the beastie on a making of program and filed it for later.

So where now? Well there is going to be a little conference involving the Doctor, the companions, the scientist NPC’s, also Kemble and the mad doc. The following points will be covered (mostly by the doctor at this stage).

1) The creature can be tracked with motion detectors. Of course, that only helps when it is actually moving, so it remains undetected until needed.

2) The time experiments have affected the creature, in effect massively speeding up its metabolism. Hence, it can heal faster, but is also constantly hungry. The Doctor knows what the beastie is (whoever posts this bit feel free to come up with an apt name), and normally it can’t regenerate, nor is its hunger.

3) Dr smith is going round the bend.

4) The time experiments are damaging the Fabric of Time(tm) and need to be shut down quickly.

However, when point four is raised (and maybe after convincing Roberts shutting down is a good idea) Williams will storm in, still beleaving the Doctor and friends are responsible for the problems and not listening to reason.

To further complicated matters, Holden will try and escape in the rocket at this point. But he damaged the docking clamps, meaning they can’t be disengaged and the rocket now threatens to blow up the whole station.

Two things need to be done. A) Shut down the rocket which Holden refuses to do, so people need to go themselves
B) Manually open the docking clamps so if A fails the rocket can still take off, and also to allow the rocket to leave later.

But as people make their way Williams is convinced that everyone on is trying to escape in the rocket and seals the security doors. This doesn’t affect group A, but group B will be trapped with an ever more insane Dr Smith. Oh, and the beastie for good measure.

Wait, we're not split up anymore, right? Into Team A and Team B? So what's the new shakedown? Jamie wants to do something manual and requiring little intelligence.

Unfortunately, he can't hit a girl, so taking down Williams isn't an option. (Though someone else should! )