A new thread for general side discussion.

Skellieton.
Skullyton.
Skelliebones.

I like our duelling Kang slang. :)

Warning: I'm having rather inconsistent weather from being hot (though not incredibly hot compared to some areas...), to sudden thunderstorms. This means if I'm at home and there's no thunderstorms, I'm focusing on my GM posts. NPC as needed.

Incidentally, it was about this time that I realized that Zet was being played by Tommy Lee Jones. :D

Summer is Coming.


Oh no, not the Allosaurus!
http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/408.html

At least it's not winter that's coming..

Trav could act as his spokesalien. She does speak dinosaur.

Traveller, you could always let yourself get captured and win story points for it.

Maybe I should. Maybe later.

Hey GM, how much about Daleks -does- Sereth know?

Specifically: Does he know about the robo-zombies from Dalek Invasion of Earth? From what I recall, they haven't really been mentioned since, but it seems possible he might think of them at this point; if he'd heard of them. (The 26th century in the classic series is like the 51st century in the modern - everything seems to happen then.)

Robo-men seem to have become the Dalek-ized slaves in Asylum of the Daleks and later stories. Which implies those guys with Dalek eyestalks on their helmets in Resurrection of the Daleks were related.

Hm.  If you want, you can roll Ingenuity + Knowledge to get your general level of Dalek lore.  This robotization schtick seems to be a thing they come up with occasional variations on (way more often than DIoE if you roll in the vague amalgamation of non-TV media) and is probably no more obscure than what Tricky would give you.

And in fact since you brought it up I'll give you that bit as a freebie, but the roll would still be handy for other things.

... like much of Season 7a; I've blocked Asylum of the Daleks from my memory.

I didn't really dislike the Amy/Rory years; but I was pretty horrified by their write-out.

I skipped 7a, but Asylum was repeated recently. I mainly watched it for Clara.

People turning into Daleks, corpses turning into Cybermen... I really wish they would stop this thing of nanites spontaneously turning people into metal-clad monsters. They're not Borg! And where do they get all the metal from?

The Borg -wish- they were Cybermen. At least old-style Cybermen; new series ones haven't scared me.

(slow clap)

I've been distracted with my upcoming move, but I will give later an indepth analysis at why I am so *pissed* at Season 8 of Doctor Who, and why I think Clara Oswald was literally thrown under the bus in such a way as to be Moffat's kicking girl for the entire female fandom in Who, the one that Davies explicitly went after when the show rebooted. I especially despised at how Moffat wrote Clara betraying the Doctor, just to bring someone she loved back to life, as if implying that Clara's only character feature was destroying her relationship with The Doctor just for Danny Pink. It was entirely out of character for the Impossible Girl, and was a betrayal of the character, just like Moffat betrayed the entire 9-10-11 Time War arc with the whole "BAD WOLF ENTITY DOES BACKSIES ON THE TIME WAR" BS.

I also find it despicable that the Doctor would trick his companion into a bullshit test, something none of the other Doctors (not even 1!) would have ever done. It's despicable.

I am so glad Moffat is gone from the show.

On Capaldi - I love him as the Doctor, despite how despicably unlikeable and awful he's been written as one of my favorite characters. I'm actually excited to see what he does free of Moffat's showrunning.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:27, Tue 23 Dec 2014.

QFT. Tomb of the Cybermen!

An imaginary drabble. The Traveller and the Doctor sit on the steps of the TARDIS console room.

The Doctor: "Traveller. Am I a good man?"
The Traveller: "I can't say that, as I'm not qualified to judge considering what I've done, boobie. But I will say that I've known most of the Doctors." Pause. "You're an awful one."

*Stands, gets up, heads for the door*

The Traveller: "Don't you dare do to me, or any of my people, what you did to poor Clara. That was despicable. You always push the best ones away from you - like Sarah Jane, like Rose Tyler. Like Clara. Like me."

SLAM.

... you do realise Moffatt has confirmed he's on for all Season 9 right?

...I'm just not touching any of that.

In reply to The Traveller (msg # 18):

I'm not ashamed to admit that I was in my mid-20s early-30s when I first saw Tomb of the Cybermen - and I still looked for the sofa to hide behind. Unfortunatley, our sofa is back against the wall.

UGH.

I may end up leaving the show.

Didn't they announce the opposite?

Must research further. Thanks for the news.

Edit: Moffat is writing the Season 9 opener. He has not been confirmed as showrunner. The web article is flat out misleading and clickbait.

http://screenrant.com/doctor-w...n-moffat-missy-dead/

However, if I were a betting man, I wouldn't be surprised if stays. Probably what is happening is negotiations - Dr Who ratings (as per the article) are flat (which means no growth), and they want a showrunner who will grow the show, but he's probably saying, "I'll leave Sherlock too, if you kick me from Who."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:12, Wed 24 Dec 2014.

Nup. He's been talking about his plans for Season 9 even.

I disagree about Day of the Doctor; as to me it never made sense that Daleks kept popping up but yet Timelords didn't. I hated the way RTD made Daleks into gods, effectively. I have issues with both new series showrunners, but slightly prefer Moffatt.

However, we are going to continue having these issues until they stop casting fanboys as Showrunners. Gatiss is likely next in line, and I shudder to think what he might do.

Merry Christmas all. Won't be around til December 29 at the earliest; possibly not till the new year.

Umm, the BBC -love- Moffatt. As to ratings... I don't know what that article's talking about. Take this link for example:

http://www.doctorwhotv.co.uk/d...ccumulator-66394.htm

In Australia, and overseas stats are considered, it is one of the few ABC shows that stack up to the commercial stations for viewing figures.

The supposed ratings 'failure' since Moffatt took over is one of the most misleading bits of garbage people love to trot out.

There are, undeniably, some fans who hate the Moffatt years. Some have even quit; some may quit in the future. But the BBC, honestly, don't care about the hardcore fans. They care about the casual viewer; and the viewing figures for the casual viewer are very good. As is audience appreciation.

Done ranting.

It seemed a reasonable thing for Clara to do in the circumstances: she's been learning to be Doctorish, she's seen death isn't the end, and she tries to control the people and situations around her. Not in a bad way, it's entirely natural for a teacher. In a moment of grief and weakness, she went too far, and the Doctor understood that and forgave her.

Retconning the Time War was the perfect, fitting end for the Time War, really. How else would you win a Time War? The series just couldn't maintain the angst, and someone's going to bring Gallifrey back eventually.

Moffat's finally doing it right for me with Seasons 7b and 8. No melodrama, no kitchen-sink over-complicated plots. Just straightforward quality storytelling and clever ideas. Not always great, of course, but never actually terrible.

I dunno, I'm surprised at how much I like this now after hating the new series all these years. I defend it where once I would have attacked it, and it's other fans who are complaining. But that's Doctor Who for you: it's been so many things to so many different people over such a long time, and every couple of years it completely regenerates. I waited eight years until it became something I enjoyed. By the same token, other fans won't be satisfied with it.

Mark Gatiss, ugh. We're going to see a whole lot of arguments if he did take over. His first Who novel treated us to a kitten being tortured to death, which just sets the whole tone of his work, really.

No, it wasn't. It was fake, a cheat, and entirely robbed the entire emotional impact of 9's entire arc. I want Moffat off of the show for that reason. He's breaking faith. The Time War made the show something to be taken seriously - if Julie and RTD didn't want to use something like the Time War, then they shouldn't have used it to begin with and have kept the Time Lords in the show. No backsies. No cheating. I was robbed. It isn't an issue of Old Who vs New Who, it's just plain cheaty awful writing. The Time Lords are dead, they should have stayed dead. Now, the show can't be taken seriously, since the Bad Wolf entity literally makes any action that the Doctor or anyone else takes meaningless. There's literally no free will in the setting of the show. 9 and 10's entire arc are now meaningless, since it was all simply them thinking they had killed the Time Lords.

In regards to Clara and the Doctor - that was handled clumsily. It wasn't as awful as the whole 50th thing (which has me in a seething rage, because it ruined 9) - it just ruined Clara and 11's entire arc and struck me as cynical, pissy and a commentary on how Moffat feels about women in general and female Who fans in particular. Essentially, Moffat tells us that the Clara/11 and 12 relationship was created by The Master and poison from the start, as opposed to the one between 11 and Amy which was the "good" relationship (Amy being obedient, passive, and who essentially fades into the background once River shows up and becomes a wacko female Doctor analogue). His attempt at making the Doctor seem flawed just makes him seem being despicable and unlikeable. Smith's Doctor was sympathetic and charming but had rough spots. I'm willing to give 12 a season or two more, because it always takes time for an actor and the writers to find the voice of a new Doctor, but I am not encouraged. I think Moffat needs to focus on the show where his real passion lies - Sherlock.

I can't fault you if you don't want Buffy style romance drama. But between River Song (who is an awful, misogynistic character, even though her actress Alex Kingston is a delight) and the cheap, cynical, lazy writing of Moffat, especially in regards to how he treated Clara and the entire relationship between her and 12, I'm almost done. He needs to be off the show.

I can't speak to Gatiss, as I don't know him except for the episodes he's written for the show, but if you say he stinks, I'll take your word for it since I respect your opinion, despite our differences.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:22, Wed 24 Dec 2014.

River's interesting. As in - many people state she's a misogynistic character. But the few female friends I have who watch the show; don't think she's that bad. My partner has more issues with the return of Rose Tyler in series 4 than anything to do with River Song. My sister dislikes River; but not for those reasons.

I don't dislike buffy-style romance - just not for the Doctor himself.

Gatiss would be divisive; just like MOffatt. It's worth to note that he's pretty much MOffatt's right-hand man, the same way MOffatt was for RTD.

As Smoke says, Gallifrey was always going to come back somehow, somewhen. It's too associated with the show, especially by casual viewers. And it doesn't lessen their journey. At all. Just changes it.

When Moffatt leaves; the BBC should not just appoint the person Moffatt wants to replace him. THey should make an open advertisement for it; seeing if they can get someone who might take the show in very different directions. Gah.

EDIT: Actually, I lost interest in the Doctor killed his people storyline during End of Time. Changing it from "I had to kill everyone, there was no other way" into "The timelords were getting too greedy, too powerful. They were no better" has me thinking "So why all the angst about killing them? It was a very deliberate choice you made; not unavoidable as you've made it seem." The End of Time did just as much to make Eccleston's story meaningless.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:38, Wed 24 Dec 2014.

RTD made the show the way he wanted it, changing the Doctor's personality, relationship with the companion, his reasons for travel, gave him angst rather than curiosity. Some liked it and some didn't. Little of what he did respected or maintained the previous 15 or 42 years. That's why we had the Time War, twice. Moffat did the same, but at least tried to maintain the RTD-era atuff.

As I said, we'll always have different tastes. I can understand where you're coming from, but it just feels a bit of an extreme interpretation. I guess Traveller feels the same way I did in 2005. :)

It's only been with the Fifth, Tenth and Eleventh Doctors that the character has been treated as an all-round nice, friendly guy. All the rest have been, in one way or another, a little bit patronising, manipulative, pompous, or bad-tempered.

I don't know what's meant by Buffy-style romance. Buffy & Angel? It's teenage girl and her immortal, magical boyfriend, which was distilled into Twilight. I don't think that's a good thing for Who to do, or at least, not a good thing to do again and again. It's unhealthy and a little bit sexist: the guy always gets the girl. Television is rife with it, but Doctor Who is in a good position to show that men and women don't always have to have a romantic relationship, that there are other ways to relate, as friends, as mentor and student, as the Doctor and companion did in the past and in Season 8.

Gatiss gets along okay, but all his Who stories are pastiches on old genres or old eras of Who, or he goes to grotesque stuff like League of Gentlemen. He's not going to give us anything new. I read the other day that of all his televised Who, only one important female character he's created has actually survived. Between that and his LoG attitudes, the misogyny accusations will probably rise.

Yeah, someone from outside the old Fitzroy Tavern gang would be nice. From the early 90s until the new series, all the writers for the Who novels and audios met and gathered there, talked plots and argued. And there was so much drama. Some are now big names of the new series and novels, and of British television. Maybe it produced some good stuff, but it seems rather cliquey if they keep passing the show around to old drinking buddies.

Buffy-style romance is basically that romance plays a central part. RTD has stated Whedon was one of his inspirations for how to do Who now. HOwever, I actually believe he was talking more along the lines of season arcs and witty dialogue than the romance angle.

I'm not sure about the others; but I kinda get the impression with tastes that we're drawn from the (basically..) three eras: Smoke Alarm is the Wilderness Years/Books. Traveller is the new series; I'm more a classic kind of guy. Which probably explains our differing view on whether the show's going right or wrong.

And that effort by Capaldi is nothing compared to some of the games McCoy did to Ace; even during the TV run. Add the books in there and well...

THe good news for branching out is that none of the others have quite the same resume to present the BBC as Moffatt and RTD did.

I think our unique blend makes for a kind of unique Doctor Who experience we should all be proud of. I love gaming with you guys. Gary especially, you should be proud of balancing so many competing views and needs - we're all hard core Who fans here.

What's really interesting is how Gary and I met - the 1st Trav he dealt with was the was the 2nd Traveller, who was far less angsty and far more like a fusion between 2, 4 and 5, but recognizably a classic Who character.

Finally, one thing I've always tried very hard to do is to make Trav in all of her incarnations two things - American, and unique while still being a Time Lord, but not the Doctor in a skirt. I also wanted to make her character to shine through, no matter her gender (but her being a woman heavily informing her experience.) Yes, I have considered what she might be like if she regenerated as a man, and she wouldn't be terribly different (looking down - "oh, so that's how that works! Hee!") A male Traveller would probably be a pretty masculine kick ass Indiana jones adventurer type, but who would have some amazing transgender perspectives ("actually, yes, I have given birth.")

So, thank you all for amazing gaming. Build high for happiness, and happy holidays!
This message was last edited by the player at 04:55, Thu 25 Dec 2014.

Thanks for that.  I think I don't see as many divisions and distinctions between styles as some fans are wont to do -- there's a very strong core running through all of it even when superficial elements emphasize one thing or another.

I continue to have a lot of fun being surprised by what you all come up with for a group of really strongly drawn characters.

Yep, I'm a Wilderness Years fan. I started in 1992, started with novelisations, New & Missing Adventures, then the comics and EDAs/PDAs. It was a long time before I saw a complete TV serial, and that was through libraries. Until about 1997, I picked everything up at random, so I don't really have an era, more that I pick out my favourites of every era. (I never did follow the Big Finish audios, because they were hard to get and I don't really follow audio very well. Even on TV, I prefer subtitles even though I hear well enough.)

Yeah, we all have different perspectives. As I said, Who has been so many different things, there are fans of all these different aspects of it. For me, I've seen the Time War, twice; I've seen the Doctor destroy Gallifrey to end it with a big red button, twice; I've seen it all retconned and undone, twice. I've been pissed off enough to quit following it all, twice. I think going through all the eras and changes, having all that fannish experience, makes a veteran fan, someone who can be ambivalent and inured to changes they don't like. Maybe in a couple of years I'll give the first seven seasons of the new series another go and like it, accepting it for what it was and not what I wanted it to be.

In the early Hartnell years, the Doctor was essentially the antagonist, and he's come back to that at times: the Sixth in a very poor way, the Seventh and Twelfth in a much better way. Some efforts to pain a "Dark Doctor" tend to ring rather false, but I've seen the concept go as far as it can (the Doctor as Jack the Ripper was probably too far...). Season 8 was an exercise in "good is not nice" or needing to be manipulative and aloof to save the day isn't a good thing to be.


Hey, Trav, speaking of which, that reminds me of a webcomic today:
http://interrobangstudios.com/...ay.php?strip_id=1673
The female Doctor there seems more like the Traveller. :)

One day, if the chance comes up, I'll mess around with Kang genders. Fire Escape said "What are boys?" but where did they go? Separate all-boy gangs in another tower? Or maybe they're Kangs too, with long dyed hair and the rest? Maybe they don't have genders. I wonder what kind of society children could build without any negative adult influence.


It's true, this is the best and most successful DWAITAS game on RPoL. Good posters, a stable group, long-lasting. I really want to start my own DWAITAS game again, now I understand the system and game-play better. Last time, I had a problem of player apathy (they just got slower and less interested until I finally closed) and always removing ex-PCs and inserting new ones, which gets tricky when you're in different times and worlds. So, what do you all think is necessary for a successful DWAITAS game?


I hope everyone had a good Christmas, or whatever. Who-wise, I got A History of the Universe, 3rd edition (I've read the first, and was unprepared for the sheer size of this one); the Engines of War novel with the War Doctor; the Dead Romance reprint; and a Mr Potato Head Dalek. :)
This message was last edited by the player at 13:17, Fri 26 Dec 2014.

In reply to Smoke Alarm (msg # 34):

Smoke, that was adorable! Although I CALL HAX. The character could be wearing a fedora, carrying pistols and her hair could be a little longer and it *is* Trav.

"Boobie, Kirk fell for it. Sleep with him? No way, he's a creeper. Now, pay me."

I just saw Last Xmas. I really want to see two things - St Nick to kick the crap out of the Dream Lord (because he is just that awesome) and for a holiday themed ATTT episode, although it has to be 4th of July and Patriotic (because Trav's schtick is being an American. The New Galveston election was the 1st 4th of July episode. I also assume in my own headcanon that there are more episodes of ATTT than what we write about, but they're one shots - we write about all the story arch and "important" eps. And lets not forget the NEW TRAVELLER ADVENTURES novels, the IDW comics, the Smoke Alarm manga and the "Young Sereth - Draconian Warrior" series as well as the STANLEY NEWTON MYSTERY PHYSICIAN audiobooks ;) )

Also in head canon - the Drabble was the Doctor musing to himself - but why did she appear as the 5th Traveller? And this resulted in the Doctor's reconciliation with Clara in Last Christmas. But hey! It *is* Trav fan fiction ;)

Clearly, the mission to rescue Colonel Rayburn of UNIT Dallas involves a daring journey into a looped continuum where it's ALWAYS the Fourth of July. :p

I'll be back to some proper updates in a day or two.  Been dealing alternately with some holiday bug and some unexpected RL gaming.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:59, Sun 28 Dec 2014.

Personally, I want the Valeyard to teach the Dreamlord all about what being a darker side of the Doctor really is.

Though Toby Jones is an awesome actor.

You go enjoy yourself man! You've earned it.

And Colonel Rayburn! I almost forgot about him! Yes, we will rescue him.

The Valeyard is real threat that would make Trav panic. He's not some dream construct, he's almost-real.

A bit late perhaps, but "Merry Christmas" everyone!

Apologies for not posting, the Christmas period is always a hectic time and on top of the usual family obligations I suddenly got the opportunity to play in a couple of IRL games.



What game(s) did you play, if you don't mind me asking?

My long-standing local group had broken up / gone on hiatus during the summer, after a few incidents of people getting on each others' nerves too much.  One of the guys got us all together on Saturday just to catch up and play some board games (King of Tokyo, Empire Builder, Thunderstone) and successfully pitched us on getting back into a RP campaign, so on Sunday we started up with his D&D 5E game.

Sorry Stanley.

I know you're right; but it would have felt the very definition of min-maxing, to have taken the points for having a code of honor and ignored such a blatant call-out to it.

Yay! Let us how that 5E game of yours goes!

Trav, like me, is BIG into Glorantha. Don't get her going on it. Of course she gamed with Gygax.

That's our man Sereth, always bring honor into every situation ;)

Should I wait for Renn to reply to me or can I phone up the rest of the team?

I was unavoidably detained from the posting I meant to do last night.  At this time I would like to short the time differential and declare that the two (three!) groups are operating semi-contemporaneously instead of Sereth & Stanley being a couple of weeks ahead of the others, because you guys have phones and at this point letting Trav & Smoke's stuff play out would probably put revelations in the other team's hands that would greatly inform a bunch of stuff they've already done.

So (wave, wave) I'm going to claim that Trav and Smoke have spent considerably more time hunting around the keep than was previously thought -- on the order of a week -- and Sereth and Stanley were sped up to match.  Unless anyone greatly objects.

(Hey, it's Doctor Who; indifferent attention to internal continuity is a feature, not a bug. :D)
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:44, Tue 06 Jan 2015.

... what we don't of course realise, is that the Silurians mastered time travel; and those boats we were on were their timeships!

A week? We'd probably seem a little less weird to the Silurians than we have been. :)

Hey, sorry for the spam, but I started an interest check for a DWAITAS game to help me settle on a campaign set-up:
link to a message in another game
Chip in your thoughts if you're interested.

Does Smoke's phone also ring?

It must be some kind of conference call.

I have this image of Traveller and Rell-Va-Tenn hearing this distant ringing...

My post initially had some comment about how Traveller's timing couldn't be worse. Ironic for a timelord. Though then again, look at the Doctor...

I was hoping for an (in)opportune time for it to do so.  If you want to come up with that yourself, feel free.  Your partial success downgraded the possible ALARM! ALARM! to a "WTF was that?"

So, my interest check didn't go far. Is anyone here interested in playing another DWAITAS game, one run by me? After my first effort, what I most want is some good, dedicated, long-term PCs to base the campaign around, and you've all proved your worth here. :) Please PM or rMail me if you're interested and have a specific character concept in mind.

I'm considering a companion PC that would do your game justice.

Okay.

I want to do something special for my game, but have too many ideas. A quest to discover Gallifrey maybe? :)

I've been dismayed that I never got to do much with the character I made for Coridan's game, the Time Lord with different psychic / precog abilities from being sort of unstuck in time.

Sorry, I don't think I have time for another game.

I'm considering playing the one, good Dalek. A Dalek who actually developed on it's own conscience, morality, and has decided to be good and kind, because *it* chose to.

I'm afraid a Dalek would be almost unplayable. Even in alien-friendly future settings, a Dalek would always be seen as something to destroy or flee from immediately, or be suspected that it's up to something or trying to kill everyone. It can't be disguised or explained away either. It's worse than the good drow problem of D&D. The sourcebooks themselves are hard against it.

I suspect a friendly Dalek would be mostly restricted to the base or ship of a specific sort of setting, and rolled out only against certain foes.

I say that as someone who thinks Kroton the Cyberman with a soul was an awesome companion:
http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/K...oul_of_a_Cyberman%29


I'm strongly leaning towards a Time War campaign, starting off by running a modified version of "The Doom of the Daleks" campaign from the Eighth Doctor Sourcebook. I've already thought up two story arcs to follow, set during the war and the aftermath on Gallifrey (turns out the Doctor didn't save it so good after all...)

The other idea I'm attracted to is a Farscape/Guardians of the Galaxy-inspired starship campaign set around the year 2590, where the weird aliens are things like Alpha Centauri and Ice Warriors. Derivative, but it could be fun. But I don't have any specific ideas yet, and need to invent more stuff from whole cloth (I like to use adventure modules and existing settings as starting points to build my own adventures.)

... I'd be all over a Time War campaign; just saying.

I'd be up for the starship campaign too; but might take a bit longer to figure out a character.

... once upon a time, Cybermen weakness to gold was quite specifically gold dust getting into their ventilation systems.

Then we got Ace making light of them with gold-plated coins, and it's never been the same.

I wonder if the gold coins were specially enhanced like Ace's baseball bat in Remembrance. Or were coated in poison like Peinforte and Richard's arrows; the coins came from the same place after all.

Of course, the key factor in all these incidents is Ace. :) Give Smoke Alarm a slingshot and a bag of gold coins and we'd see same the comeout. :D


The starship game concept needs a cool ship to really work.

We hijack a cybership. Problem solved!

For bonus points, the ship's integrated Cyber-controller remains intact, but disconnected from all ship control systems, so it can do nothing but kibitz.

... I like the way he thinks!

And periodically try to take over the ship and convert everybody?

Though whatever it is, there will be a Red Kang ship's mechanic named Power Point. :)

We kinda did that in this game. That Cybercontroller may never have been picked up ;)

Its helpful problem-solving suggestions would certainly tend to run along predictable lines.

"The present ionizing radiation hazard could be survived with 96% certainty, after radical surgery to upgrade your humanoid nervous systems to shielded circuitry--"

"WE KNOW!"

You're making it so hard to choose. :)

Though I have like a zillion ideas for a Time War campaign, and I'm left wanting for more after the last one. So I'll probably go for that. But I'm really over-thinking it at this point.

I'm pretty much fully set on the Time War game now. I have some mad temporal shenanigans in mind, and expect to exploit the play-by-post format to its limit. I'll start putting it together, however slowly. You four get first consideration. :)

I tried to do it, but it broke me. The problem with me is that Trav's narrative is so overwhelming and I want to do her story so much that anyone else in the Dr Who millieu is hard for me.

Makes me feel selfish.

That said, I may do a UNIT person caught up in the madness. I need a bit of time to come up with a pitch.

Hey Gary, thank you for the kind words. That kind of just came, and I was worried it would be more Trav blab-spam.

Ingenuity+Tech+Sonic to modify Trav's left pistol for the network block function?

Sure.  If that issue comes up, then the total that you get here can be the target for the Dalek's networking being better than your code.

Neeargh! Now I'm chickening out. So many ideas, so little time. I wrote a whole bunch of stuff, then watched Futurama and Andromeda (only watching it for the first time) and remembered how much I like space adventure. I want a fun game, but the Time War doesn't exactly scream fun, just screams. I got ideas for time loops and retcon missions and predestination paradoxes, and I know I can work some jokes in. I got Destrii as a drill sergeant / spec ops.

Awesome or fun? Time or space? I should have just gone TARDIS again.

I should let this sit and simmer until I know my schedule for this year. If I start a game in the next few weeks, shoot Smoke Alarm. :o

Until then, feel free to have a look here, see what you think:
link to another game
You might even like my explanation of Looms. ;)
This message was last edited by the player at 00:37, Tue 20 Jan 2015.

There's a reason going TARDIS is a tried and true formula.

... Time War can be fun; but I think it requires a lot better players than a more standard game does.

Are we going straight in, or waiting for Traveller to gadget up our weapons?

I'll be busy each day through this game's busy period (which usually starts about now) for the next three days (starting today) and probably won't be able to post promptly. So feel free to NPC me as needed. Smoke will take point and scout ahead as Traveller suggested.

Smoke will use a can of spray paint to blind any spy-eyes she comes across, like the Dalek eyestalks found in the Mailman's lair, and the Dalek's eyestalk itself.

I assumed the weapons had been gadgeted up.

Confirmed: Trav's story point was sufficient to stun-ify the weapons, no roll needed.

Although lovingly detailed description of the modifications is always welcome. :)

... pessimistic?

You just haven't seen him before he knows battle cannot be avoided before. All the other battles have kind of crept up on him.

It brings bad luck to say things like "no dishonour in death" and how Draconians can't be defeated, only killed. Thinking about what could go wrong and worst case scenarios is sensible, but once the operation starts you should trust the plan. Maybe it is because this time they are facing a particularly dangerous foe, but talking about and accepting a possible bad outcome is making Stanley a bit nervous.

Incidentally and just for the sake of argument, I'll note that I'll always let a story point de-fatalize an "L" hit, PC or NPC.  It would take the person out of action in any case, but the person spending it can just narrate how they spring into action and turn it into a less-than-direct hit.

Of course, if someone wants to go out in a blaze of glory, feel free. :)

And this stuff with Stanley and Sereth getting all philosophical is cool on its own merits. :)
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:13, Mon 26 Jan 2015.

I am certain there is now a small but firey Stanley/Sereth bromance shipping faction in Travfandom :)

... there wasn't already?

I don't intend to go out in a blaze of glory, but if we ever get hideously outgunned, if his death buys time for the others to escape...

Also, Trav, I get that Traveller doesn't want to see anyone else die for her. But she needs to understand he wouldn't be dying for her...

I find Sereth's context for these events kind of wonderful, the more I think about it.

Unlike Trav, and unlike the others, owing to the Time War I imagine him knowing about Daleks as these almost mythical figures that he never expected to actually come across, and here he is with the opportunity to face one in battle?  It's like Draconian Christmas. :)

Heh. Also with the 'Frontier in Space' story probably being myth; the one myth that has the Daleks involved with Draconians? They were trying to set them up to destroy the Draconian empire (and human, but who cares about that?) and slot into their power vacuum.

In the time I have Smoke Alarm from, the late 26th century, after Frontier, humans won the Dalek Wars. So they're a tough yet familiar and beatable enemy. Smoke missed a lot of the tough bits being a wartime evacuee marooned in Paradise Towers, only learning about them after.
http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Second_Dalek_War

Travcontext - Relnax was the planet where 2nd Trav and her that batch of companions were caught by the Daleks. She got to see them captured and tortured to death before being subjected to the hell which turned her into the Marshall. It's something you'd never see on an actual episode of Dr Who.

Yes, super super dark. But Trav doesn't want to experience Relnax a second time. On the flip side, this is a much more capable, post Time War Traveller and under much different circumstances. Also, I as a player enjoy a certain degree of angsting.

Also, I don't have a hand in a jar to buy my way out of a regeneration like 10 did! :)

Never been happier to see a retcon, in all my years of reading/watching stuff which got retconned. That hand in the jar was a stupid, nonsensical plot device.

I think the ball is in the PCs' court at this point?  We have Smoke Alarm in/at the cave mouth with at least three Robo-Silurians lurking, a fourth ambling down the slope toward the place where the rest of the group is at, and Trav having put a request for proposals on the table. :)

You've got a bit of time before that last Silurian has a shot at seeing anybody, but probably not enough for a protracted debate, once you get to planning.

Well, if they're linked I think we're screwed. I just do not see a way to get Trav in and past the force screen -without- taking out at least that one.

I'm just waiting for instructions from the rest of the gang. If Smoke Alarm gets impatient (which would be soon) she'll venture into the cave herself.

Take out the Silurian outside, use one of our Silurian allies to impersonate that one and call the other three outside, take them out by attacking from both inside and outside the cave (Smoke Alarm and the group). We will still be discovered but we will have taken out four of the RoboSilurians and if we properly isolate them from the network, the Dalek won't know exactly what happened.

It's taking out that first Silurian. If there is that network; we can't isolate it before the Dalek realises what's going on. Trav, from what I understand, has to be -inside- the force screen to isolate it. She can't do that without taking out at least that one.

There is the question of how paranoid to be of course. But Sereth doesn't want to take the chance with Smoke and in particular Stanley's lives at risk. Even Trav to a certain extent; as she's pointed out, repeatedly, she is not the warrior.

Or we could metagame and just let Smoke get bored and kick things off that way...

In reply to Sereth (msg # 94):



If I read this correctly, we can isolate the one outside from the network using the adjusted turbopistol. The network will still suddenly lose a node, but the RoboSilurians and the Dalek won't know why.

So:
Surprise the RoboSilurian, isolate it using the pistol and disable it.
The rest of the network/three Silurians in the cave get worried, because they suddenly lost contact with the one outside.
One of our own Silurians shouts something like "I need assistance, I am damaged by some falling rocks" in a RoboSilurian voice.
The three RoboSilurians exit the cave to help and we also disable them.

Four in one go is the best we can do, before we get discovered. The Dalek will notice it if four get taken out one by one, even if we isolate them.

Sounds brilliant to me. Classic mob pull from an MMO ;)

I'd say that would take a Coordination + Marksman from Stanley, and an Ingenuity + Technology from Trav assuming he hits.  I wouldn't get too worried about the Silurian having a great defense roll, but IIRC the turbo pistols are a gadget with a stored story point per adventure.  (Has Trav used that already?)

Incidentally, I always find it kind of amusing how Stanley keeps getting stuck with being the one to shoot firearms, nonlethal modifications or not.

Speaking of which... ;)

... oh ye gods. Sereth's a Paladin.

For over 20 years I've avoided playing Paladins in 1st, 2nd, 3.x, PF. And I somehow end up playing one in a system where 'paladin' doesn't actually -mean- anything.

Hey, if Gary will let us, we can travel to the RIFTS setting and we can get you a Paladin character class and magic powers! Trav even had a cache of magic items on board back in the old RIFTS game. Maybe there's an old Holy Avenger down amidst the junk for you to use.

It happens when you're in a system that separates you from anything you might not like about a class or concept in the original system.

I'm playing a Ranger in Star Wars Saga Edition.

I don't know what Smoke Alarm is. Some kind of Rogue/Monk multi-class mayhaps.

It's actually something I like about skill-based, as opposed to class/level-based games.

Hey, I saw Curse of Fenric and there is no way you can tell me that Sereth with his family sword would not have vampires running for the hills.

Actually the way those vampires worked based on faith rather than inherent power in the item; so I think his ancestral blade would do fine against them!

Quite.  At least in D&D editions I subscribe to, a holy avenger is nothing much special as magic swords go.  Unless a paladin's holding it. :)

Holy Avengers are always -better- in the hands of a Paladin. Just older editions had it that they were just really nothing special beyond maybe +1 -unless- wielded by a Paladin. Like a lot of the older editions, something I prefer to what it became.

Sorry, don't know what to post right now.

You're all up close to Smoke Alarm by the mouth of the cave.  As yet there hasn't been any reaction that impinges directly on the PCs; Smoke Alarm knows there are several more Silurians and a suspicious device between you and the area blocked off by the force field.  If anyone wants to invent any reasonable geographical features in the cave to make use of, feel free.

Holy Avengers are normally plain old +2 magic swords in anyone else's hands.

In Palladium, Trav had a Scrupulous alignment (solidly "good" but not Holier Than Thou.) The 1st and 2nd Travellers were Principled, while the Marshall was certainly Aberrant.

Just letting you know that next week is going to be incredibly busy for me.

I added back in the post for the scan roll. I was in a particularly weird frame of mind and I had no idea why I deleted that post.

As we're at an action-packed bit, I'm going to give Stanley a chance to chip in before starting to resolve more actions at this point.  I kind of know how the things the other PCs are doing is going to interact with the bad guys.

If you don't have time to do an elaborate post but know what you'd like to do to help, you can just give a brief idea here and I can expand on it.  Or we can wait, your choice.

I think I am going to advance through this next set of actions now, to let everyone chew on where things stand.  When Stanley's player gets back, he'll have some extra leeway to do multiple things, as I imagine he was primarily intending to be backup as far as the fighting goes.

The scaffolding and the bomb is giving me Genesis vibes. Still one of my favourite Dalek stories. (Given I haven't like any of the Dalek stories of the new series except the very first one, that might not mean much...)

There are other Dalek stories in the new series that I've liked, but I'm still pretty sad that they've nerfed the Daleks so much after Dalek.  That thing could have mopped up this entire Silurian civilization in the time it had to play with since it crashed, if fully functional.

As it is I've had fun figuring out ways for the Dalek to work towards its goals by being inventive rather than overpowering, in ways that (I hope) were setting up mysteries for you to work through.

The nerfing is how I feel about the Cybermen. There is no way that classic series cybermen would have been wiped out so thoroughly by 4 Daleks; special Daleks or not. (Though I accept those were the parallel earth versions, and since the reappearance of the Telosian/Mondasian Cybermen, they don't seem quite so nerfed.)

However, Smoke Alarm wouldn't fall off any scaffolding. :D



Also against the series of nuclear bombs it's going to set off. :)

I love the idea that the Dalek is using nuclear pulse propulsion. Daleks should be all about this kind of Cold War–era pro-nukes madness.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_pulse_propulsion
They probably use nukes to excavate too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P...ul_nuclear_explosion

Daleks I imagine use nukes for everything. Daleks are all about turning wherever they live into radiation blasted wastelands.

I'd like to thank the Dalek, for leaving behind the tool. And I'd like to thank Smoke Alarm for reminding us all about being -brave- and true. But above all, I'd like to thank the diceroller. Thank you one and all.

-sticks tongue out at the Dalek mutant-

Dice rolls in for pistol shots, hope 19s are good enough. Expended SPs from pistols.

I'm not really sure what to do next round.

Trav and Smoke seem to have the Dalek dealt with; don't have a ranged weapon for the globes, and the Silurians seem to have the Robo-SIlurians under control.

I guess I could maybe taunt the Dalek into diverting some of it's fire at me, but as stated, I can't do alot against those globes unless they get within sword strike range.

Us dealing with the Dalek is far from certain.  :)

There are also all those atomic bombs to deal with.  They could be a small problem.  ;)

Well, there is also the small complication of there being several layers and a great expanse of Dalekanium between Sereth and the Dalek to deal with.

Not making it easier!

I'm not really game to touch the bombs. I figure Trav can do something about them assuming they dispose of the dalek.

Graah.

Actually, with the situation it occurs to me that Smoke Alarm is now stuck inside the force globe with a) a perturbed Dalek mutant, b) a cockpit full of controls she only vaguely understands, and c) a telephone capable of contacting her tech-savvy friend the Leg-it. :D

Oh crud.

Do I -see- Smoke's stuck in the force globe? If I do, it makes it a lot easier. Dalekanium or not, he's gonna try to get there.

Well, about a dozen posts ago you heard her tell you she was going there and then vanish into a bomb conduit, before you started on your present task.  From where you are you've probably heard some miscellaneous banging that at least suggests she has made progress, tho I don't think you're precisely aware of her whereabouts.  You are aware that the force globe was up the last time you saw the top of the ship.

Oh dear.

What do I have that can cut/get through Dalekanium?

There's still the forcescreen to deal with, as I'm a lot bigger than Smoke, but I can figure that out later.

The sword of your ancestors and faith that your cause is true. :D

More seriously: the cutting torch will likely get through (and bypass the force field) but it will take time.  That's the same as your last roll, and I'd say you have two more of those Hard layers to cut through from underneath -- there does have to be a fair amount of armor to absorb the bomb blasts in flight.  If you started and got a Fantastic result (that's a 27!) I'd say you found a structural gap that would get you through in one turn.

If you just wanted to get up on top of the ship, ignoring the force field for the moment, moving would probably be about as quick.  Going down, then up from the assortment of gear that Smoke Alarm jumped from, would take you a couple of turns and a Tricky Strength + Athletics roll.  Or if you can make a Hard Strength + Athletics, you could go off the scaffolding and climb down the underside of the ship, then up over the rim in one turn.

... well I always said I haven't been using story points enough.

Athletics isn't really my forte; so that makes the decision a fairly easy one.

Be inspired by Kangs, brave and bold. :)

And now a message from my neice:

5srgjjsu  b b bws3sophie1q 23rfgb

Tfdfgnrgh7ooopp9p


Can Smoke act, or are we still on the last round? What does Smoke see in the cockpit?

Sereth is a little ahead of the game, that's all -- not a problem, but Trav needs to avoid getting shot by the sensor globes before the next turn properly starts.  I'll put up a post describing Smoke Alarm's surroundings in a while, though.

That's because I can see into the future....

Or because I know the current lull at work won't last. Take your pick.

My trick - always find a way to substitute Technology and Science for other skills. It's what the Doctor does. Like what he did with the Angel robots in Voyage of the Damned.

I think the same goes for any skill in this game. Reframe the situation as something you can do. Smoke Alarm does the same with Athletics. :)


I can just see this Dalek saucer taking off and flying away with Smoke Alarm trapped inside, hands and face pressed to the window. :)

We'd rush to come and save you, I promise!

Well we wouldn't rush. Because if we rushed in we'd get shot and you'd be carted away anyway.

But we -would- save you.

Thanks.


I still don't quite have the hang of handling multiple actions in a round, so let me know if I get something wrong.


How is the Brave trait handled? The trait description only applies it to Resolve checks, but in #553, Guardian gave it to Sereth's sabotage roll. Does going hand to tentacle against a Kaled mutant inside the cockpit of an atom-bomb-powered saucer about to take off count as Brave? Or Impulsive? :)

Ironically, it seems the braver you play your character, the less you need to show courage, so the Brave trait doesn't come into play. I wish these sourcebooks gave more examples of the use of traits and the acquisition of story points.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:23, Fri 06 Mar 2015.

Your stuff for the current round looks right.  The one real wrinkle to adding a -2 for every extra action is defense rolls: you don't add a -2 for defending against additional attackers after the first.


Well, I've just been using it as a sort of equivalent to a random bonus for acting heroically since I rarely (if ever) am asking people to make fear checks.  Not even when being accosted by a tentacled mutant.  Some of those situations could just call for giving a story point, too.

This is where the differences lie in a good GM, and a possible great one, honestly.

A good one knows the rules well, can judge most things fine, and makes balancing and interesting stories.

A great one, is like ours here - they can take what the rules say, and extrapolate from there. I've had a few like that, mostly in 3.5.

Smoke Alarm is in a fist fight with a Dalek mutant in a flying saucer.

I love this game.

Me too. :)

It's going to be one of those RPG moments I'm always going to remember. Though most of them are already from Smoke Alarm. :D Also potentially Destrii rodeo-riding the spirit of a croc-headed, lion- and hippo-bodied Ancient Egyptian monster on top of a speeding, driver-less coach in Victorian London. :D

A great game should lead to such madcap action scenes and stunts. That's becoming my gripe against rules-dense systems like D&D and d20 in general; it's too hard, complicated, and dangerous to just be awesome. And I'm finding I much prefer awesome to realistic.

I agree on that, Sereth.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:19, Sat 07 Mar 2015.

Problem with D20 is it's not awesome -or- realistic, I don't find. I've recaptured a love for older editions, which whilst perhaps not quite as awesome as games like this, aren't quite so hard to be awesome as 3.x and beyond.

Funnily enough, some of my RP moments to be remember are from 3.5 and PF; though with an exceptionally skilled group of RPers. (With a DM who uses Rule of Cool liberally as well). Not sure Sereth has done anything that memorable yet.

I think that Neratra and Lerssek will be able to deal with the remaining Silurian. No need for Stanley to interfere and I am too tired to think of something.

I find the problem with d20 games is getting the right roll at the right time, to be awesome on cue. Story Points in DWAITAS are so generous that, for a cost, you can do just that. Action Points in d20 systems are too few, rarely replenished, and unreliable. To take a huge risk, you're still very reliant on being lucky with dice. So coasting along at about the average of what you're capable of is standard. Then again, a lot depends on having a GM who'll set up opportunities for stunts, interesting scenes, and big confrontations. Some do, some will coast along at average.


Anyway, I've finally settled and will start my DWAITAS game! I chickened out of running a Time War; I wanted the opportunity to step outside that, and the war is already over. A regular Who game gives the flexibility to do that and anything else. And I think I want something less bleak. Here's the link:
link to another game
You lot can have first look. Let me know who you play if you RTJ.

Aaah. By awesome I meant from an RP point of view.

Though kill-stealing the Pirate Captain from the pain in the behind barbarian as a rogue was fun.

I'm avoiding spending SPs to defeat the Dalek or focusing on killing it, just to prolong the fight and the climactic moment. :) More to enable doing what seems Smoke-worthy, like dropping a load of balls on it.

Not that I won't staple another tentacle to the wall in the fighters' phase. :)

The one thing that I struggle with as GM is how to manage contested rolls like the current situation, when you have a choice of giving the NPCs story points to use -- the Dalek writeup in the rulebook says it gets 5-8 story points, which ultimately would just get used up to cancel out PCs' story points and prolong the action -- or not give them any, which essentially does let PCs use a WIN button.

(Well, unless it's Sereth trying to get a decent roll out of RPoL. :D)

I suspect I'd be more likely to use them in a live game where dragging out the action is not such a big deal.  In this case, for instance, I feel like you folks have worked through a mystery, gone up against superior if improvised technology, and what really matters at the moment is the drama of what happens with the Dalek now.

(Although Smoke Alarm's roll on the force field was a particularly good result, I admit.  An average roll with a SP would have given the Dalek a fighting chance, just with its normal Ingenuity + Technology.)
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:30, Sun 08 Mar 2015.

I have two SP left to spare. Whoever needs one, let me know.

Edit - that's a big problem with narrative based games in general. There are conflicting impulses. We want to win all the time in RPGs, but we want to feel like we won against legitimate circumstances instead of just saying "we won!" That's the big tension of sim vs narr. Narr is more honest, I think.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:25, Sun 08 Mar 2015.

Actually, I usually don't mind my characters dying even; especially if it means everyone else wins out. Though I usually have hundreds of character concepts.

On another site where the GM rolls for you (no inbuilt diceroller), I have one GM who will never, ever let my combat-cleric of Cuthbert hit. Well, his dice won't. I missed a fiendish rat on a smite.

I'm not sure what Traveller's buying Smoke time for?


I've still got 7 Story Points. :) I guess there's two approaches: save them, suffer a bit and rely on your own skills, then nova them at the end; or use them up to win your way through, then struggle at the end and suffer a cost.

I imagine a GM would use NPC Story Points to engineer aspects of the story, scenes or events they want to need to happen. Say you want to the Dalek to get away, so it spends SPs to escape. Or you need to railroad a scene to make a story run a certain way, so spend SPs to force an outcome. Or you think a scene needs more drama, or turned out a bit of damp squib, so you spend SPs to make the enemy tougher. I do that a bit as a D&D DM, fudging a bit where a villain should be more of a threat than the dice let them. So, SPs are a legitimate way of fudging, I suppose.

I rarely use story points.

If it had come down to an actual proper fight with the Dalek I probably would have; but I've rarely come across times I really need them - whilst Traveller, who doesn't have many to start with, is usually the one who needs the really high rolls.

As a GM I'd use story points if I wanted the PCs to face a challenge. If I absolutely -had- to have the NPC escape; I'd most likely fudge and possibly award story points for railroading.

Well, it is all about what a particular game is meant to be looking at -- ATTT! is very much not about tactical challenges and more about the cool and dramatic ways characters come up with to deal with problems.  Success or failure on individual rolls is more of an indication of who, among the PCs, shines (or runs into amusing problems) in a particular scene.

To be honest, I rarely worry too much about justifying the additional twists and complications that PCs have to deal with in a situation: I usually have a pretty fluid idea of the scenario and tend to dial in the details as they come up, to give the PCs interesting things to deal with.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:02, Mon 09 Mar 2015.

I carefully ration my 6 story points. I usually try to use them to shore up Trav at really dramatic moments, especially in social rolls. I also lately have been exposing her to use of her flaws to get more SPs.

Silly of me, but I found myself crying a little when Trav looked down at that poor, pathetic Dalek. Mind you, this is over course of 7 years of gaming, since 2008. In it's own way, for me at least, this was as powerful as the Chris Eccleston episode Dalek.

EDIT - I hope no one minds my taking over a narrative piece of that scene. Please continue and add your own stuff, but Trav has completed an arc years in the making.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:07, Tue 10 Mar 2015.

Yes, I would imagine that as an ongoing montage.

The PCs can get the control units taken off the Silurians or neutralized given time, I wouldn't say there needs to be a roll for that.

Among the things the Dalek built, probably the most significant would be the several dozen atomic bombs, and the local ocean contamination.  Figuring out what to do about those might be something to think about.

Zhethvaton is going to want to honor the PCs, and whether / what to do about Rell-Va-Tenn would also be an open question.

It's also probably not too early to start thinking about if you want to continue playing (I certainly am in running the game) and where it would be interesting to see the TARDIS end up next.

Erk.

Here goes nothing.

I'm enjoying the game; and from a RP aspect, Sereth works.

He doesn't really work, in this particular group, mechanically though. He was built primarily as a social machine who yes, could fight when needed. But not alone is Traveller improving the social aspect for her a lot; whenever she really needs a good diplomacy, she just uses story points. She uses story points on that more than anything else - Sereth's theoretical +12 if he can get everything lined up for him doesn't really mean a lot given that.

This is not a complaint, exactly; but it changes Sereth from a diplomat who can fight when forced to; into a warrior who could actually negotiate. Which is not only not how I built him, it goes against pretty much every single time he's talked at any length.

So, uh, I dunno.

Traveller, I hoped you didn't mind Smoke's attempted kill-steal. I thought it would be worthwhile to save Traveller from completing the genocide of the Daleks, from killing in anger, from having to fight the War again, and perhaps bringing back a shade of the Marshall.


Hmm, that cave with its spraypainted cave-art, fossil Dalek, and broken spaceship parts are going to be a real head-scratcher for archaeologists 55 million years from now. :)


I definitely want to keep playing. I loved this adventure, there was more investigation and layers to it.

Where to next? We had the other locations of the Mailman's signal to investigate, didn't we? Or are they eliminated because we found the Dalek here? Visiting feudal Japan might be a bit samey after feudal Siluria. Otherwise, I'm up for anything. I have an interest in setting Smoke Alarm loose in some era of Earth history or the 21st century, maybe seeing her become the next Banksy or introducing Kang hiphop. :)


Maybe we should put Sereth forward as the face more often?

Yeah, I had in mind doing a "hidden Dalek" plot to finish off the Mailman sequence, and just gave out several locations to give you a choice.

But that's becoming Traveller's schtick. ANd it's fairly clear that's how the player sees her through various OOC comments. You can have a lot of overlap of roles; but two faces really only works in a very powerfully social adventure, and then Smoke and Stanley (especially Stanley) are left on the sidelines.

If I'd known how social the Traveller was seen as being, I probably would have gone a different route.

I'm not trying to be difficult; I just have to think.

I can step back a bit if you want, or we can become partners, let;s work together. Trav actually has kinda suck social stats and usually relies on ballsiness (tittiness?) and SPs to pull stuff off.

In fact, Sereth may notice this. This can actually be an IC thing, because Trav has always been to a degree socially inept, even as the Marshall (when she was cold and terrifying). She's better, but she's still impulsive and while a leader she's not necessarily a diplomat. I can easily see Sereth being a wise elder councilor to her (which is indeed how she regards him - she actually has mad respect for the Draconian as an ethical voice.)

In fact, let's switch RP to the TARDIS thread, because Trav wants to discuss some plans? Also, as a break in narrative. I have some Trav musings, and she wants to discuss some things with Sereth.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:27, Tue 10 Mar 2015.

I don't mind Stanley being in the background. Due to RL stuff, I have less time and energy than I used to and that looks to be the case for quite some time. I am really sorry. To be honest I even considered quitting because of that.

But I also realise that we have something special here. Most PbP games die relatively quickly, but this game has been going for almost two years. Longest running campaign I've ever been in.

IT's not so much the length but lack of any kind of hiatus that surprises me.

Also, though I don't really need to play it out onscreen; Sereth would want to arrange for Gilso to be looked after. I'm not sure I was getting his age equivalent right, but I was thinking he was either very high teens (17-18) or even a young adult.

As such, he'd also want to see about offering him a job within his office when he was old enough. I get that Sereth might need to return briefly to Draconia to do that; and if people want to mess around with Draconia fine.

If Stanley were to leave ATTT (and actual Doctor Who companions usually leave the show after two IRL years) that would be a big, huge thing. Please, don't leave, Stanley!

Taking a less active role and letting Sereth and Smoke step to the fore is fine with me. I'd be super sad to see you go. You've been with me since the beginning back at RPG.net! #dontgostan #dontleavetrav (currently trending hashtags on Twitter in response to Stanley Newton's character rumored to be leaving the show)

I think for our next step I'd like to follow up somewhat on the mystery of Fortuna/Evers, this goes back all the way to the rpg.net days. I can either do this on my own in a seperate thread with Gary if he is willing or I can drag the rest of you along. Trav has his wallet and his Montana driver's license whichw as thoughtfully left for him by Fortuna (who presumably got into Sweet Boy with her old TARDIS key from when she was Phillipe.)

Then there's also the New Gehenna Army, which is up around the 195th century, if memory serves, the last out of the 3 bad guy factions that were mentioned by the Chamber of Unwrought Time.

We can also track down the other two locations that we got from the Mailman and check them out for more Dalek trouble.

Then, there's the Parliament of Time and organizing that, but I'm not sure how interesting space politics would be too everyone. Sereth would be in his element, I think.

Finally, there's the good old Wheel of Wonder, which I can randomly spin for a wacky adventure, or whatever else Gary has in mind.

For extra credit, remember the legacy of the Corsair? Corsi wouldn't have left a regenerative sample with Trav unless (s)he has a reason. What might that reason be? The Witches of Karn mentioned that she made a bet against eternity and won. What was that bet?

I await your thoughts.

I think part of whatever we do should include Trav dropping off folks for a rest/regroup with the loved ones - I'm sure Sereth wants to debrief the Draconian Emperor (and I'd love more excuses for us to become involved with the Draconians), Trav would love to set up a ranch at Falcon's rest, like she had back on Rift's Earth. And maybe Smoke would live and engage in tribal rituals with The Us, or maybe want to see out other Kangs?

TBH, I've been afraid Smoke Alarm takes over too much. Obviously, she has the skill and initiative and excels in some areas, less so in others. I held off on trying to finish off the Dalek, so Traveller and Sereth could get involved first.

Visiting Paradise Towers and the Kangs would be fun. Dozens of Kangs! I'd have to work with Guardian to get all my ideas out. But I'd like to see a proper adventure made out of it, not just a visit. And I'd have to work out why Smoke Alarm would ever leave again. It feels like she'd choose to stay at her home-sweet-home (and a Red Kang named Power Point would stow away on the TARDIS...), but I'm not ready to say goodbye.

Well, one thing that might be worth exploring is the idea of Kang Kulture. What would happen if Kangs got spaceships?

I have no comments IC at this point; but I'd like to say I'd like to put off finishing off the New Gehenna plotline for as long as we can.

Just hear me out first.

Sereth is here under orders. Unlike STanley and Smoke, he's not here because he -wants- to be. Sure, he may like travelling with Traveller; but he's not going to put it ahead of loyalty to the Empire. (.... that sounds too much like Star Wars.) But regardless, we finish that plotline and he has no further reason to stay.

We could possibly use the Parliament of Time as a way to keep him on board; but that feels kinda... umm. Well, Sereth dominates, as a PC. Traveller can probably do something. Stanley sits in the background; Smoke gets bored and causes problems. Again, that kinda feels like a way to transfer SEreth to NPC status. Or mainly NPC, and if something really needs to be done with the Parliament of Time; I play him for a bit.

Just my 5c (as 2c doesn't exist.)

Note: I don't actually mind retiring Sereth; if it fits the story.

I've honestly got no great preference on what comes next, except that I probably don't want to do another story with iconic Who monsters real soon.  I could go to back to some of the Warlock plotlines easily enough although I suspect that some of you are a little lukewarm on them.

So, yes, sort of fishing for inspiration.

I will say that if & when you go back to Sereth's home time zone, you have GOT to take Smoke Alarm to Draconia. :D
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:38, Wed 11 Mar 2015.

Well, I've been wanting to get to the bottom of the Phillipe thing for literally years. As for Sereth, there's an easy way to deal with that - "Sereth, I command you to accompany the last Time Lord and represrnt the interests of the Throne." Trav has the Wanted Renegade bad quality, so I can see the Draconian throne as wanting one of its most trusted servants right next to the Lasy Time Lord, even after the entire New Gehenna Army arc gets resolved.

As for the Parliament of Time, that may already be resolving or have resolved itself. Remember, these are time travellers. We may find the TARDIS materializing in a grand senate chamber attended by a Parliament that has been seated for millenia and now is united but needs our help. We can do this in any number of ways. I can handle the Phillipe and Parliament storylines in a seperate thread from whatever our main story is, as the Doctor would handle business on his own from time to time.

Finally, Im great with old monsters! This last episode with a Dalek and Silurians was delightful. Maybe a historical episode?
This message was last edited by the player at 00:57, Thu 12 Mar 2015.

In reply to The Traveller (msg # 173):

I don't really agree it's that easy. Doing something which directly impacts the Draconian throne? Yeah, sending Sereth off to do that for a while makes sense. But once that's done, I don't really see the Draconian Throne wanting him off acting like her guardian full stop.

Actualy, I'm more into new monsters. I've had enough classic monsters for a while, I'm having the same problem with the show at times. Too many returning monsters.

Well, there'd be Red Kangs, and Blue Kangs, and the revived Yellow Kangs... So basically it would be Star Trek. :D

In the novelisation, Paradise Towers is mentioned to be an artificial planetoid or satellite, mayhaps a space station. So it could well be flown...

It might be fun if someone finds Prof. Samanthra Pak-McIntyre's book Running With Kangs in the TARDIS library. Then I could post more technical ideas, forgotten history, or translate what Smoke bangs on about. :)

Like what happened to the boys? "What are boys?" The Inbetweens couldn't have only evacuated girls and kept boys for the army (though it is implied in Pex). I had thought they formed separate boys-only gangs in another tower, but haven't developed that idea, and it seems like it would be a bad idea. Mayhaps the boys are Kangs too? Mayhaps Kangs don't have gender, only colour.




Maybe another mission from the Emperor, though it would be odd doing that too many times. Maybe Sereth is disgraced (not necessarily through any fault of his own, and perhaps as a sacrifice on his part) and has to go into exile, and hence TARDIS travel.



At least not in Australia any more, but we still have some 2c pieces in our loose change jar.


Iconic monsters: Take a crappy old monster that never worked out. Bring it back as an anti-climax. But redevelop it, make it awesome and terrifying. :o There was a novel that did that; after everyone expected Daleks, a Kroton showed up.




Yeah! Honestly, she's not going to take any crap about being female. What is fee-mail anyway? :p


Between adventures, we could have some RP time in the TARDIS for bonding, training, etc.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:19, Thu 12 Mar 2015.

The TARDIS is a great place to simply hang out. Especially Trav's, which is much more like Pee Wee's play house than the Doctor's boring old crib.

A TARDIS episode, involving the Us, is not out of the question!

... I like the Doctor's TARDIS. Especially the 8ths.

TRAV: I won't do it. Whatever it is, I refuse.
TIMELORD: Kangs.
TRAV: Kangs? Tell me more.
TIMELORD: We foresee a time when they will have assimilated all other societies and become the dominant culture in the universe.

That may be a good way to follow up on the wallet, at least: there are certainly ways I've considered that which don't involve a full-on adventure.  What end of that string do you think you'll be pulling on?
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:15, Thu 12 Mar 2015.

Okay yes, that would be fine. I just want a break from Silurians, Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans etc...


If we take a monster from the show; make it one that either only turned up once; or just has never really inspired the way some of those have.

Coming Soon on Always Time To Travel! :

EMPIRE OF THE BANDRILS

... I actually had to look up Bandrils!

I will keep mum about Trav's reaction to these guys, and whether or not they would be a Trav monster. They are certainly 1st or 2nd Trav canon, if they ever appeared at all in her media.

I think Smoke's right, hate to say it. Sereth probably needs to be in disgrace; of some sort.

Hmm. HEre's a thought - Trav deals with Warlock in her own thread (maybe with Stanley?); Smoke is to be taken by Sereth to avoid her getting up in Warlock's face about the wrongs he did. Whilst on Draconia, Smoke does something which will reflect badly on Sereth, as what she does affects his honor, given she's a) female and b) non-Draconian, under his watch. In order to protect his family's honor, and to safeguard Gilso; he voluntarily exiles himself, until such time as the Emperor decides he has done his penance.

In reference to maybe we've already done the Parliament of Time? Could we please not go overboard with 'timey-wimey, wibbly-wobbly'? I don't mind the occasional thing; but I don't want it to feel, like it did for a while in the series, that everything has already been done before.

It was just my idea to deal with stuff that would be interesting to me but boring to everyone else in my own thread. No need to bend the narrative around. I'd actually prefer to play through the Parliament of Time and if you're also on board with that then it's cool!
This message was last edited by the player at 05:02, Thu 12 Mar 2015.

Pfft. The Bandrils are clearly just puppets for another power...


Smoke Alarm has her feelings, but I don't mind the Warlock and Parliament of Time, etc., storylines. They're before my time, so I don't really know what they're about and they don't mean much to me. But they are the prevailing story arc, so I'm happy to see them seen through.


Smoke Alarm would be sad to get Sereth into trouble, and I wouldn't want to start trouble, but it seems a natural result of bringing a Kang (with Impulsive and Insatiable Curiosity...) to Draconia. But, I can cause trouble as you need.


I had an idea that Smoke Alarm's parents and other Inbetweens might have survived the Dalek Wars in the 26th century, maybe as slaves. Rescued and reunited, Smoke has a hard time accepting these strangers, and they what their daughter has become. Maybe a story for much later down the track, with the return of historical Daleks and the revelation of Smoke Alarm's real name (which I've never thought of).

Anyone mind if I take the TARDIS to Montana, then, to follow up on the Phillipe mystery? ICly, Trav *is* impulsive - she'd first drop off whoever wants to take a break, and then throw down the lever. But this is a game and I have a responsibility to make sure that my fellow players are having as much fun as I am.

You should really check out the old RPGnet threads. Those were super fun for me to write/play and can give a lot of insight into the backstory of ATTT. I like to think of it as ATTT Season 1.

http://forum.rpg.net/showthrea...lways-Time-To-Travel!

You'll need to join rpg.net (membership is free) to see the PBP forum.

Hey Gary, do you have the rpg.net thread of the game where we first met, where I briefly played 2nd Trav and you played Zu Rheng?

I'm also finding a need to travel and visit the Chamber of Unwrought Time. I can either handle this similar to the Karn thread or bring along whoever wants to come, but it's gonna be kind of esoteric and Time-Parliamentary stuff. I may ask Sereth specifically to come along.

I think Stanley will join Trav if she is going to investigate Phillipe/Warlock. Stanley did meet Phillipe back then and was there when he disappeared.

Can you give me a day or two to think about that Trav? SEreth was the one who talked Warlock down; and so he feels a sense of responsibility to make sure he wasn't hoodwinked; as well as to make sure if Warlock is genuine, he is given every chance to make amends.

Well played. :D

http://forum.rpg.net/showthrea...Turn-of-the-Universe

I'd be happy to have you along, although a Draconian in 1990s Montana will be good for all sorts of laughs. ;)

Yes, Smoke, you can come too ;)

The 90s is arguably the easiest time, because of all the alien 'hoaxes'.

Yay!

And the 90s were the best decade. :)

I don't mind wherever we go. Smoke Alarm can always find something to do... ;)


I got an account at rpg.net and skimmed the old game threads, but haven't had time to read them.


I've started receiving RTJs for my DWAITAS game, so if you want to apply, give me a message. I'd love to have an ATtT player in, especially because I know you're all reliable, long-termers.

"He's a Reptoid, and part of the Illuminati!"

I've been thinking about it.  I'm kind of stuck for a character idea.

I'm having the same problem.

To be fair, you had like two months notice. :p

And I gave my reasons. Trav is exceedingly jealous of my Dr Who brainjuice. :)

Just checking, but you were planning to head back to investigate Phillipe's background from around his birthdate?

(His ID says it's November 23, 1993. :p)

November 23 1993 huh? Seems awfully conspicuous.

I am sure it is just a coincidence :).

Okay, go for it. It's part of the initial problem, so he couldn't go back to Draconia just yet; till he finds out what's happening.

I promise you that I'm not proposing to reenact Dimensions in Time.  :D

Aww dammit!

Actually, for the thirtieth, an Unearthly Child was shown in repeats for the week. I remember even people that didn't really like Doctor Who watched it for that one week.

We could complete The Dark Dimension!

Now you're talking!

The scary part is that this player group actually includes the players of two separate and disjoint, yet complete Travcanonical TARDIS crews.

The only thing preventing The Two Travellers from happening is a collective sense of judicious restraint. :)

Soooooo anyway, if no one has anything further in-character they want to do on prehistoric Earth, I would suggest that you repair to the "In The TARDIS" thread to make your next move.  Depending on what you actually try to do, there may be some important events that happen in transit, so I don't want to start a thread at a new destination just yet.

Is it safe to swim in the Great Pool in the Ground (i.e., the sea)? Or would one risk radiation poisoning?

Though a spot of Kang skinny-dipping may derail the game a bit, so I'm fine with moving on. ;)



I remember that! Well, I remember the first episode on the Monday. Then somehow I got to Friday with no memory of the intervening days, because I'm sure I would have watched the other episodes but had no recollection of doing so. I presume 11-year-old me wasn't abducted by aliens and remained at home and went to school and all that. (I have the least interesting amnesia background.)


You know, old Tom Baker turning up at the end of "The Day of the Doctor" always reminds me horribly of "The Dark Dimension".

Bad, bad idea.  At least right where you're at.  You don't want to be the first Glow-In-The-Dark Kang.

By the way: with the Dalek adventure over, everyone's story points reset to full.

... so we get to have a I believe 7-foot-tall reptilioid in 1993, Earth.

That's not going to be conspicuous!

Get Smoke Alarm to make a disguise for you.  It'll be fine. :D

Good luck getting Sereth to wear it!

I have some ideas for tech based shenanigans. No worries.

If it was later, you could just claim it was cosplay. :)

As it is, you could still claim to be a Star Trek alien. There's anecdotes about the actors having to go out in make-up and getting odd looks.

These days, I think aliens would often pass with notice but little concern.

You mean... Lie???

Eh, just tell the truth. People will just figure you for an SF fan in costume and in character. Trekkies dressed as Vulcans and Klingons have already paved the way for alien visitation. :)

... point.

Though my favorite one is from Invisible Enemy.

Birthplace: Gallifrey
That somewhere in Ireland?
Leela: Probably.

I can't remember if it was the present cast or back when it was just Trav, Stanley, and the NPC catwoman Amanda, but at one point I was thinking of doing an adventure set wholly in contemporary Hollywood to let the alien character pass unremarked.

I had Destrii go to Comic-Con as herself, a fish-like mutant. In a Starfleet costume.

I got something funny cooked up, ready for Gary to mess with.

I designed a Gadget for Destrii's holo-disguise pendant that could also serve as the Shimmers from "The End of Time". Maybe it would suit for the device Traveller made?

Gadget: Holographic disguise pendant
Type: Minor
Traits: Minor Good: Shapeshift
Story Points: 1
Description: A round golden pendant with three circular buttons that makes a "zreep" sound when activated or deactivated. It projects a holographic envelope around the body of the wearer or holder, but does not affect clothing or voice. It is similar in fuction to the wristwatch-based Shimmer. Though it only holds a single disguise, it might be adjusted to project other forms.

I remember that. Still gives me giggles.

That sounds great. Would I have to spend from my own SP to get that for Sereth?

As SPs are really for players not the characters... can we use one from SEreth's? He has more to spend; and I never run out.

You don't know how grateful I am for that. SPs are to me like water is for someone dying of thirst.

Sereth could always wear a big hat, scarf, and coat. Has Traveller got any of the Doctor's old clothes laying around?
http://vignette4.wikia.nocooki...st?cb=20140425105843

Trav was dating the Doctor back in his 5th Incarnation. In Travcanon, the relationship was entirely chaste. However, she did have a physical relationship with the Corsair and Al Capone, so we can dress Sereth up as either a mobster or a pirate.

.... I think Sereth would revolt at either of those options.

Have no fear.  I know how the gadget will disguise Sereth once he turns it on.  I think it will be appropriately dignified.

Sereth brings dignity to whatever he wears. Even if he was dressed as a Kang.

Which he may discover when he next looks inside his wardrobe.

We need to see a Kang makeover show.

I'm sure that at TravCon Trav Fans are cosplaying their favorite characters as Kang Gangs. Like all 5 of the Travellers as Kangs, the current characters as Kangs, the Doctors as Kangs, etc.

That's why Trav created the device instead. It'll be Sereth's actor, without makeup, in a business suit or whatever else would make him look class - or at least that's the idea.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:09, Fri 20 Mar 2015.

Of course, Sereth's actor requested this to give him a break from the make-up, half-mask, and prosthetics he usually has to wear. Fans will think he's handsome and it's a good opportunity to show off his acting and facial expressions. The device will probably return in later episodes.


(I kind of want to cosplay as a Kang...)

That was absolutely my (the player's) idea and meta explanation. At Cons Amanda's actor playfully complains about it, because she had to be in full cat person make up during desert shooting.

.... you mean I have to figure out who plays Sereth now?

That reminds me of the filming of the Doctor Who story Survival. The weather was incredibly hot, 38 °C (100 °F), which was murder on those dressed as Cheetah People. One of the extras had enough, removed her costume, and stormed off set, despite wearing almost nothing underneath...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S...or_Who%29#Production


You can pick a portrait at last, Sereth!

I keep meaning to submit a portrait; but I've been getting distracted by possibly having to do that for either Ace or Jamie as well.

You can only do one a month anyway. I only recently put in one for Destrii, and that one was made up by one of the players at Invasion of Armageddon.

I still haven't found anything better for Smoke Alarm than Amy Acker as the demon lord Illyria from Angel.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:36, Fri 20 Mar 2015.

Exactly. So I keep wavering about which one I prioritise.

I knew I'd seen her picture before; just couldn't figure out where.

You could have submitted a dozen in that time. :p

I foresee a rapid end to anybody's dignity, whatsoever.

I thought briefly about morphing Sereth's sword, too, but for the record I will say that the projector allows you to conceal it inside the coat, Highlander style.  Yes, this sort of wouldn't work well in real life, but it is a magical sci-fi disguise projector, after all.

I fear the biggest problem with the projector is that now Smoke Alarm will want one just for fun. :)

... at least it's not morphing into a purple light-sabre.

Now why would Smoke want one? I mean really....

I'll admit, I came quite close when I saw they had an image for him, to using an image of Teal'c. Sereth's more of a talker than Teal'c; but otherwise they're almost carbon copies of each other.

Samuel L. M. F. Jackson! Now we know Sereth's bad-ass.

Jason Momoa would also have been pretty cool.


Smoke's got her Kang colours and that's all she needs. Though a 20th century makeover would be interesting...

Smoke Alarm's got a crossbow, I should remind you all.

That was my thoughts on it too. Clearly Always Time to Travel has a much bigger budget than Doctor Who though; or he's secretly a fan.

Though it -does- explain how he held them to ransom about getting to appear out of the Draconian prosthetics...

Seriously, they have Samuel L. Jackson and they put him in a mask? They really blew that opportunity for actor recognition.

Though it's nice he does Always Time to Travel full time, while Agents of SHIELD only gets cameos while filming a Marvel movie.


I've now got a short-list of Ksenia Solo (Kenzi in Lost Girl), Bex Taylor-Klaus (Sin in Arrow), and Saoirse Ronan (Hanna in Hanna) for Smoke Alarm.

Why do you think they've been talking about this hologram projector ever since Sereth first appeared?

I only Bex Taylor-Klaus of those; she'd make a pretty neat Smoke actually.

Indeed. :D

Of course; to truly create the necessary impact; we've been having him use an alias when playing Sereth; and it had become an open secret that it was an alias. Ever since announcing of the fact there was a holographic item to be used in an upcoming episode; fandom has been rife with ideas of who Sereth was really played by. There was even a vocal minority which suggested that the rumored return of John Barrowman to the Whoniverse related to that, not the return of Captain Jack, who's story seemed to have been told. When the pre-credits sequence showed Samuel L Jackson as Sereth, the fanforums went into meltdown. It certainly explained why he was the only one of the current cast not to have appeared at any conventions or fan meet and greets; given his other filming commitments.

4000th post!

Great, now I keep hearing SLJ's voice when I read Sereth.

And now all the world wants to hear him say those immortal words "I have had it with these motherfuckin' Daleks on this motherfuckin' TARDIS."

And of course now the Marvel-Whoniverse links are stronger, and that Trav used Fury's image as a joke.

Also, the SHIELD helicarrier was obviously based on the Valiant's more advanced design.

There is a hardcore pillar of fans who now claim that ATTT has made the Whoniverse explicitly part of Marvel canon (or, more to the point, Marvel is now a section of the larger Whoniverse), and SHIELD is a subsidiary agency of UNIT, with Nick reporting directly to Kate Stewart!

UNIT Dallas Colonel: "Colonel Fury says that his 6 operatives can handle this Ultron trouble. You orders, Ma'am?"

Stewart: "The Doctor and the Traveller are dealing with more important concerns. They're not needed to deal with a lovesick Cyberman. Still, engage them for the standby option."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:30, Mon 23 Mar 2015.

He's obviously been a fan of Blake Lively's Traveller since she was in the RIFTs series, and arranged to be on the show when ATTT first started, note the Executive Producer credit. He's obviously doing it pro bono. He may even be investing in the show and taking a cut.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:27, Mon 23 Mar 2015.

There is even a group of die-hard fans who claim that Nick Fury -is- Sereth; in his earthling disguise. After all, who but a Draconian Noble would have any patience with Stark?

... now I do too.

PAULSON AS COMPANION FOR SEASON 4 ATTT

And we know who's behind Hydra!



Edit - image cropped and resized.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:54, Tue 24 Mar 2015.

Aieee.  Can we not do that with the Wall-O-GIF, please?

The argument of course against Sereth being Fury; is he's too much of a diplomat to let the enemy build something under his VERY NOSE.

... though, it makes he hankering to want the Mara to return. Talking about snakes and Hydra... on a plane.

-eyes Trav and Smoke- You guys are asking for it.

Come on, if anyone, in all the universe, can throw a snowball at the Draconian ambassador, and get away with it, it's Smoke Alarm. :)

Mechanically speaking, Smoke Alarm is an amazing snowball-fighting machine.  Extremely good at "run and gun".

To save people looking it up, I'll remind Stanley & Trav's players that Phillipe's surname, from Way Back When, was Collinswood.  That could be helpful....

... I have a sudden urge to say

"But does she know who's messing with?"

But I'll refrain.

Also for Trav: you can just use a TARDIS SP for the car.  As long as it only moves on the ground. :)

You might want to consider the merits or the incongruity of a convertible in freezing temperatures, however.  It is indeed cool.  In more than one sense.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:04, Tue 24 Mar 2015.

Consider the top to be up.

Really, doughies in the main street? And I thought Smoke Alarm would be the one to get us in trouble with the law.

You haven't driven for 100 years, have a red mustang and can tear down main street, what would you do?

... not let Traveller drive.

Speaking of electronic music, I imagine Smoke Alarm in Castrovalva would go a little something like the first half of this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAD0BtEv6-Q
(I love Lindsey Stirling's music.)

Kangs must be like one of those cultures where children are named after the first thing they see.



No, let Smoke Alarm drive. ;)

It just occurred to me - Stanley might be the Master in disguise, with his propensity for hypnosis.

Yeah, I'd thought that. And what better way to hide; than right under the Traveller's very nose?!?!?!

Also, Delgado-Master used to love his disguises.

So did the Ainley Master, really.



What with the Distinctive trait and the sounds of breakage and chaos. :D

And you just replace 'St' with 'Ai'... and you get something about as creative as most of his aliases.

Already the fan art of kindley Stanley and the fobwatch. "Take it, you fool. Take it and assume my glory!"

Oh, that would so break Trav's hearts. "STANLEY, PLEASE, NO,"

... don't forget the fan videos with audio of the previous Masters echoing in the background of Stanley's friendship with the team.

Is there a mole on the TARDIS? Who better to manipulate things between the Fists and Traveller, than the only timelord to have ever given the Doctor even a partial defeat?

Can Traveller do what the Doctor has constantly failed to - defeat the Master once and for all?

I'll be good now.

And it looks like the Moff and the staff at the home office are upping their game, considering how ATTT is outpacing the home franchise in popularity. A new companion is coming! #travvsboobie

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/doc...b5-9765-137ecd727f86

Don't forget the edited voice overs of Missy "Oh, don't worry my dears, it's all been planned!" And cut and edited shots of Trav firing her turbopistols (old footage from RIFTS) with Capaldi leaping for cover from Dalek fire.

Arya Stark & Smoke Alarm! They'd be unstoppable.


The Master can't get involved, as he wouldn't stand a chance against Smoke Alarm. :)


I presume Smoke Alarm overheard the name Phillipe Collinswood when Trav whispered it to her iPad.




That question... could have had a very different answer. ;)

...but is Stanley the past or future Regeneration of the Master? The fandom is going insane! Stanley's actor - "This speculation is just rubbish. I could never do as good a job playing Missy as Michelle Gomez - I'd look awful in a skirt. Look at these legs!"

An evil part of me wants that scene of an evil, mad looking Stanley doing a Derek Jacobi doing a "...the MASTER, REBORN!" and then exploding into Regeneration into a new Time Lord villain.

I'll stop now.

Trav has been to worlds with real magic and dragons. The setting of game of thrones would be no thang.

And Arya would be welcome aboard the TARDIS. "Baby, this place is a shithole. I can give you the stars."

Remember what I wrote previously in Travcanon. 1st Traveller and Delgado Master had a thing going, and occasionally sword fought. 2nd Trav usually got tied up (there's a small fandom of Delgado/2nd Trav kinksmut fan art and fic). The Marshall and the Master loathed and despised each other, especially since when the Master fled Gallifrey, the Marshall stayed and was handed commanded of all the armies of Gallifrey. In Trav Fandom, there's a shipping war between 1st Trav/DelgadoMaster and 1st Trav/AlCapone (who in some episodes tries very hard to gun down the DelGado Master, and actually punches him out a few times. DelGado Master calls him a "scurrilous thug who is not worthy of you, Traveller.")

5th Trav and Missy -so- have to have a swordfight and lesbian flirting.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:24, Mon 30 Mar 2015.

:D Stanley is not The Master :P

To be honest I sometimes forget that Stanley is a hypnotist, but this was just too good an opportunity. Only one target and no one about to interfere.

I would so explode with joy if this happened.

But that's exactly what the Master would claim! 8-o

Fortunately (?) there's already one ZOMG SECRET TIME LORD kicking around in this continuity.  A second one would just get the showrunner run out of town on a rail....

A shame though; I would have loved for some old-fashioned vengeance on the Master.

On the other hand; I'm a fan of not-overdone villains, and the Master is almost as overdone as Daleks.

Smoke Alarm is such bad influence on children. :) I imagine there'll be a few complaints after this episode. So, leaving it there in case someone wants to intervene.

Smoke Alarm merchandise can be a very, very difficult path for BBC Worldwide to navigate.  (Although the action figure with bonus Us is very popular.)

.... She's doing -what- now?

Though Smoke Alarm's Arrowgun, licensed to Nerf, is very popular.



Or bringing them to cons.

AIIIEEE

The fandom melts down with the new hashtag -

#stanleythemasterREDEEMED

If you've been the Master THIS WHOLE TIME STAN I WILL REACH THROUGH MY COMPUTER AND BEAT YOUR ASS THEN HUG YOU

So would I!

Of course, there would be this huge #stanleymaster/Trav ship, and how his journeys with Trav has now redeemed him.

Tell me about it. It's always been a problem with the franchise though, considering the long line of Traveller Turbpistols that fire nerf darts and have sound effects.

In this episode, Blake Lively actually carries a pair of the red/green officially licensed BBC ATTT Turbpopistols.

Just one? And they're all hiding from me!

FROM THE HOME OFFICE IN LIVINGSTON, NEBRASKA

1) THE DOCTOR. We have confirmation from dialogue that Matt Smith's Doctor is known to UNIT and Dorium Maldovar, and both of these worthies have been keeping his existence discretely hidden from The Traveller (or at least, not bringing him up.) Kate Stewart has probably issued a memo not to bring up the subject of the Doctor in the presence of the Traveller without clearance.

2) THE MASTER. If ATTT takes place in canon Series 8-9 Who, then Missy is also out there, and her existence and the entire Valiant affair/Saxon thing has not been mentioned to Trav either. Thanks, Kate.

3) THE CORSAIR. Trav has that Skin Sample. Obviously, The Corsair set up a scheme to survive the Time War. Perhaps (s)he knew was was coming and what the Marshall had planned with the Time Lock, and did not want to get caught in it. The Sisterhood of Karn made mention of "a bet against destiny, and won." Where is the payoff? Trav suspects Shenanigans.

And then there's the whole Phillipe-Warlock-Fortuna-Evers business.

So, yeah, last Time Lord, right.

Pardon me while I eat my Fedora.

While I expect the NPC Tom to go ballistic over Smoke Alarm's actions, I am holding my response to see if Trav wants to step in, since she was setting out in search of Smoke Alarm already.

-muttermuttermutter- Leaving Traveller to watch Smoke Alarm is liking giving the inmates the key to the asylum....

Absolutely.  After all, we can see how effective Sereth is at curbing questionable actions by his teammates, when he's standing right there. ;-P

Yes, well me and young Master Newton will be having words later about the importance of free will.

I'm not sure that you've left the realm of Series 7b yet.  ATTT definitely starts out in sync with The Bells of St. John.  Though I'd say there was a real-time gap between ATTT: The Splintered Sisters and ATTT: The Tomb of Apep.

(And to be fair to UNIT, Major Weber pretty well told Trav straight out that the Doctor was alive and kicking in the latter episode, and she got all huffy and called him a liar and a jerk.)

... as if the spin-off would let the 50th go without a special episode. We clearly are still in Series 7b.

That's because she remembers watching him supposedly die and telling her to live a fantastic life as the newly regenerated Nine. What does he know? People see past versions of the Doctor all the time (for example, Trav canonically meets Kate Stewart back in DWAITAS:Turn of the Universe at RPG.net (where she also first meets Zu Rheng), which is pre-Time War and 2nd Trav for her but is probably in Series 5 or 6 for of Doctor Who for Kate with 11 running around.)

I would adore you if Series 8 were not canon and if 11 were to never go to Trenzalore.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:22, Wed 01 Apr 2015.

On the other hand; I liked series 8, and I think the potential for what happened is simply glorious.

I hate the fact that The Doctor's choices were rendered null and void by a literal act of Billy Piper as god. Choices must have meaning and consequences, overriding our desires for things to be nice for the characters is the height of dramatic theft. The Doctor killed the Time Lords, until 50th - this decision must stand or else he has no free will. If something like that happened to Trav ("Oh, the Marshall portion of your life never really happened, the Traveller really isn't a killer"), I'd never play her again. It's really not Season 8, it's 50th I have an issue with.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:58, Wed 01 Apr 2015.

-shrug- Me, you and Smoke Alarm have been over this a few times; and I'm not really looking to retread old ground.

And I will continue to object to 50th as a cheat and a theft. I'll make as little reference to it as possible as I can.

I am going to say though, let's not pick and choose canon to use. Whilst I disagree with your thoughts on the 50th, I'd prefer everything from the end of 7b was not canon; than get into disagreements about which adds to the lore; and which takes it away. That, and it's hard enough keeping Doctor Who straight in my head without worrying about which bits of canon are valid in this world and which aren't. It's easy to remember "Anything beyond Name of the Doctor isn't valid"; it gets harder when you get "Everything's valid, except for Day of the Doctor." Because what if it's decided some other episode damages what someone else feels is important. I personally hate the fact that timelords can change gender now. I don't think that quite jibes with regeneration personally; and in particular with Missy/the Master seemed to be pandering.

Eh, first he chose to and did it, then he chose not to and didn't do it. I don't think it invalidates anything. More, time travel requires a different concept of morality, ethics, and reaction to trauma. It was only the Doctor who committed the deed, who lived with the guilt and was able to accept it and move past it, who was able to find another way. The Doctor couldn't have saved Gallifrey if he hadn't already destroyed it (twice...). The Billie Piper / Moment had nothing to do with it; it was all the Doctor.

It was a better fix than if the Time Lords had come out of hiding, having simply survived in secret and tricked the Doctor.

To me it's all canon or none of it is, even the bits I don't like, even if I would quietly overlook them. And I don't have a problem with the gender swapping.


But, more importantly, we're waiting on Traveller to come rescue Smoke Alarm from herself. :) Though, given the American love of guns and giving them to children, a crossbow shouldn't be that bad, right? Right? ;)

First: Two years! The rpg.net thread started on 04-01-2013, so this game is two years old today. :)

About the game: Do we know what day it is? I don't think it has been mentioned and the thread title says ca. 1993.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 20:13, Wed 01 Apr 2015.

It's November 21st -- I will assume that whatever tinkering Trav has done to calibrate your phones to communicate will adjust them to tell you the local time, if it's relevant in some meaningful dating system and there are no extraordinary shenanigans going on.

And if you're after day... that's a Sunday.

Well, I mean to preserve a certain ambiguity, just to keep the peace here.  I am not going to promise that everything Trav thinks is true is actually true.

I think that it's pretty canon that what Trav thinks is true is often patently false. What her player thinks is true? That's irrelevant. ;)

I don't really care either way; but I don't think there's any more we can say about it. You don't like it; I do. Maybe we should just agree to disagree, and not really mention it. There's certainly stuff I've despised in the modern series, that I've avoided mentioning.

"I leave you alone for five minutes..."

You'd think Sereth would know better than to leave Smoke alone for five -seconds- by now...

I am amused to the point of MAD CACKLING by Smoke Alarm's latest post, for reasons.

And I realize that I should have been for some time now....

I'll post later. I've got some work issues.

It's like a Kang Kylie Mole, or for the British, that character from Little Britain. :p

I've been giggling since the gurney ride. :)

Though now I'm giggling because in a D&D game I've got a trickster god running rings around a PC who fancied herself the arch-trickster, and they keep trying to one-up each other with lies and magic. It'll be Warner Bros. next... ;)
This message was last edited by the player at 06:08, Tue 07 Apr 2015.

See it? What, exactly, did you have in mind? :o

Just you wait. Phillipe's mom has yet to give birth!

I'm having issues at work (longer post later about it); but Smoke's last post just made me cack!

Should Smoke Alarm follow the others inside the house, or keep exploring the barn and talking to the cat?

Talk to the cat! WHo knows, the cat might be the key to the whole thing...

In all honesty; I don't expect Smoke to follow. You could probably justify it; but spending time in the barn seems to make more IC sense.

This is Doctor Who, it's not uncommon. :)

Smoke doesn't have much to contribute at the moment, of course, though the incongruity/mischief of putting her in the house might be fun. Plus there's seeing the baby. The Collinswoods might be more sympathetic if they think Traveller's caring for this crazy girl.

And, of course, does Sereth really want to leave Smoke Alarm alone in a barn after what happened at the hospital? ;) There's probably a tractor or a cow in there or something...

... right now; Sereth doesn't think he can let -any- of them alone; but he's more worried about the problems she could cause in the house. He's not thinking of how her... oddness, could be used in their favor, though he'd probably think of it if she did follow.

Ultimately; I think you could have more fun in the barn, but I have real objections either way.

Smoke Alarm not sneaking off to be in the barn chasing cats? The fandom would object if Smoke didn't commune with the local wildlife.

The Insatiable Curiosity trait could also be known as Discover Plot. :)

Hey, whatever happens next – not my fault. :)

In reply to Smoke Alarm (msg # 334):



The rats are already forming a sort of circle, almost a rat-king.  (Rat-kings https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_king_%28folklore%29)
This message was last edited by the player at 19:49, Wed 15 Apr 2015.

"And that is the story of how Smoke Alarm was devoured by an unconvincing Colour Separation Overlay effect and never heard from again." ;)

This is going to be like the Giant Rat in The Talons of Weng-Chiang, isn't it?

... ye gods, I hope not. That gave me nightmares; and we don't have Leela to protect us.