Nym:
I did already have a bit of a chat via PM about the Doctor Who RPG and described an idea for a character. And yeah, of course I'm gonna be some weird alien thingy if it's something the rules permit :D.
If we have another DnD game, though, I have like three characters from previous games (one on RPOL, two at tabletop) that realyl didn't last very long and I'd like to play them. Two have well-developed backstories while one is a little more undefined. And they're all different kinds of character, personality-wise and everything.
I liked that character idea :) Definitely non-standard.
Also, got me wondering. Nym is a powerful being who is now stuck in a mortal body and can't remember who they were? She doesn't own a pocket watch, does she? ;)
And yeah, I imagine my Time Lord character as being MUCH less well-travelled than the Doctor. In fact she spent her years after leaving the Time Lord Academy working in a TARDIS repair/growth facility on Gallifrey (where she helped grow and build the TARDIS she's now bonded with, so she has a definite almost-maternal feel for it). During the Time War was the only time she left the planet, and now (due to potentially-spoilery backstory reasons) she's stuck on a rather odd planet even she doesn't know the name of. (Definitely not going with Earth as the starting point, had a better idea!)
So anyway, long story short, she doesn't have the same attachment to humans and Earth that the Doctor does. In fact she's never even met a human yet, though she knows of them.
Also, I'd envisioned this alternate universe as being a bit of a darker place. The temporal fallout from the Time War caused more damage to various timelines and histories, forcing many otherwise peaceful species to either toughen up or die. And I figured that humanity could have evolved along a path closer to the "Inferno Earth" parallel world from the Third Doctor era. Everything that happened up to the Eighth Doctor's appearance on Earth still happened here with a few differences, such as the Master never appeared on Earth, so UNIT has no record of him. Because the Tenth Doctor episode with the werewolf never happened, Torchwood was never founded, and a division of UNIT has taken over their function, less secrecy more resources kind of thing.
Long story short (too late!) humanity's Time War corrupted descendants who venture out into the stars are more militaristic in nature. In this new tougher universe, they're hungry for resources and planets to settle on and with thousands of years' worth of reverse-engineered alien tech behind them, they're more advanced and potentially dangerous, and also more 'practical' with regard to how they go about things.
So, the Time Lord in this one could end up forming more of a protective attachment to conquered or victimised alien species instead of humans.
People are all different though, so there are always room for more compassionate ones who refuse to take part in the empire-building and settle apart from Earth and its colonies, sometimes these groups band together and combine resources to make more approachable colonies. So there is still plenty of space for good humans of all kinds who might also make good companions.
As for the Night to Forget styled game, it's pretty much like a sandbox. I'm trying to allow it to adapt to any kind of character (even evil characters who might want to kill everyone and take over, though that could easily descend into a PvP situation if the other players aren't the same. And they'd still have the Big Bad to deal with, so will almost certainly need extra help).
The setting is basically (spoiler-free version): A vast desert area, that I haven't come up with a name for yet, in the middle of a massive continent, which I also haven't come up with a name for yet! Think something about maybe half the size of the Sahara (though that might change as my ideas do!)
In the middle of this desert region is a massive chasm running roughly north-to-south for a few miles in either direction. Think Grand Canyon size, but a little wider in the middle. A river runs along the bottom of it, and around halfway along, at the widest point, it flows around a huge mountainous rock formation in the middle of the chasm, like an island, made of harder rock that the river can't seem to wear away as easily as the surrounding rock.
There are two large kingdoms in the area, one to the west of the chasm, the other to the east. I also haven't come up with names for them yet! (
*pauses to facepalm!*)
On the central island, reached by a bridge built over the chasm on either side of it, is a small fort established long ago by the western kingdom, which, due to expansion to the north and south around the chasm, is now pretty much isolated and no longer tactically significant, its military presence just there to watch the back door, so to speak (in fact, some military officers tend to use it as a sort of 'dumping ground' for insubordinate or unskilled troops, as well as those on a punishment detail).
Also on the island, is an abandoned mining village, which has now been taken over by a bunch of squatters and refugees from occasional wars between the two kingdoms, banded together and led by a retired Cleric of Erathis. They've established themselves as a sort of politically-neutral town, who make a living by trading items with passing merchants and providing services to the fort and travellers using the crossing.
Also (in the nod to "A Night to Forget"), an infamous warlock has been captured in the eastern kingdom by a local adventurer leading a small mercenary group (who are now a bit smaller after the fight to subdue their prisoner!) They intend to escort him to the fort (the nearest extension of the western kingdom) to exchange him for a bounty they have advertised for his capture for trial.
So, players could easily be someone already living there in the village or a soldier posted to the fort, or one of the mercenary group, or the prisoner, or just a traveller passing through for their own reasons.
Either way, it's kind of a one-shot adventure I created as a kind of DM-ing test for myself, so not everyone will survive it, and the good guys don't necessarily have to win.
Depending on the origins of the player characters, they might know more information about the area on starting. (For example, a history skill trained character will know more of the two kingdoms and possibly other aspects of the region, depending on their focus from their work or past research. A soldier at the fort will know more of the history of the area, but in a more skewed 'propaganda-based' way, due to past conflicts in the region. Other characters might know more).
The politics of the situation between the two kingdoms does come into it, but mostly as backstory stuff that explains how the adventure location came to be the way it is. Though it's also a driving force behind the actions and intentions of some of the NPCs, so handy to keep it in mind as it could easily become a significant side-issue (ranging from occasional arguments to a dagger in the back!) depending on how things play out.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:37, Fri 19 Apr 2019.
