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TimeWatch RPG Playtest Story Hour (Updated 9-2-14)
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<blockquote data-quote="Ladybird" data-source="post: 6284525" data-attributes="member: 10689"><p><strong>Episode 2, Part 2: Familiar Patterns</strong></p><p></p><p>Sorry for the long time between posts! Real Life got away from me, and unfortunately I couldn't hop backwards in time to post something more punctually <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> But now, on with the show!</p><p></p><p>--</p><p></p><p>Henry double-takes at the reaction, and Edward sighs, explaining, "We've had some unfortunate experiences with radiation anomalies."</p><p></p><p>"Yes," agrees Dame Agatha. "That's why we're calling your team. You'll be relieved to know that for the most part, these spikes do not match what you saw before - except for last two. The ones in Mecca and Medina, around 634, come close. Not to the same degree as the ones you found in your timeline in 1938, but closer to that than the others."</p><p></p><p>Henry mulls this over. "So, not an actual nuclear explosion. A dirty bomb, perhaps?"</p><p></p><p>"Possibly," Dame Agatha says. "Certainly not the same magnitude as the bombs that hit London." Edward winces at that.</p><p></p><p>"What do the different colors on the map signify?" Yves asks.</p><p></p><p>"The difference in magnitude," Dame Agatha explains. "The ones in red are very small - we wouldn't ordinarily have noticed them at all, except that they begin in 50 CE, when we aren't expecting any radiation at all. They all fade out, but periodically return over the next 500 years or so." That the radiation levels would decrease makes sense to Mace - his knowledge of Science! tells him that that pattern is consistent with a radioactive substance being created and then fading out over its half-life. </p><p></p><p>Rules Sidebar</p><p>[sblock]Yes, there is a skill called Science! and yes, it has the exclamation point on it. If your PC knows about any kind of science, then you know about all kinds of science, past, present, and future. TimeWatch is not a hard crunchy sci-fi kind of game; it's a hand-wavey make-it-happen-for-the-sake-of-a-good-story kind of game.</p><p></p><p>Plus, it's fun to say "Science!" in an excited exclamation-point tone <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" />[/sblock] </p><p></p><p>Mace is less certain why they would return, though. </p><p></p><p>"The black pin in Rome in 113 CE represents a quite significant level of radiation," Dame Agatha continues, "but it fades out around 200 CE. Then there are two more spikes in Istanbul and Alexandria around 550. And, as I said, the largest ones are in Mecca and Medina in 634."</p><p></p><p>"Mecca and Medina?" Edward echoes, already unhappy about where this is going.</p><p></p><p>"Yes," Dame Agatha agrees. "Just after Muhammad's death."</p><p></p><p>"Forgive me," Yves says, "but why is Hypatia not with us? This is her home time, her home city, even!"</p><p></p><p>"Unfortunately, Hypatia is already on another mission," Dame Agatha explains. "Someone is selling scrolls purporting to be from the Library of Alexandria in 1920s Berlin. Her expertise is needed there, and she cannot be called back from the other mission."</p><p></p><p>[sblock]Also, obviously, her player is GMing <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> [/sblock]</p><p></p><p>We turn our attention back to the map, trying to find patterns. "All the sites marked in red - are those major Parthian sites?" Henry wonders.</p><p></p><p>"A few Parthian," says Dame Agatha, "but mostly Roman."</p><p></p><p>"There aren't many Jewish or Christian religious sites," Edward notes. "There's Rome and Ephesus, but not Jerusalem."</p><p></p><p>"And Ephesus is a major Roman pagan site," Henry adds.</p><p></p><p>Edward tries a different angle: "Of those red sites, which one was the very first?" It's Kemerhisar, which showed its first radiation spike in 50 CE. It had a different name then, though - it was called Tyana. "Are there any notable people from Tyana?" Edward wonders. "Especially philosophers, or natural philosophers?" </p><p></p><p>As it turns out, there was one: a man named Apollonius, who lived from 3 BCE-98 CE, precisely the same time that that first radiation anomaly happened. He was a philosopher, and also a magician.</p><p></p><p>"A magician?" Edward asks skeptically. "So…someone with unexplained skills? Mysterious knowledge?" We can all tell where this is going.</p><p></p><p>"Who wishes to bet that Apollonius is a time traveler?" Yves asks.</p><p></p><p>Nobody's taking that bet.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ladybird, post: 6284525, member: 10689"] [b]Episode 2, Part 2: Familiar Patterns[/b] Sorry for the long time between posts! Real Life got away from me, and unfortunately I couldn't hop backwards in time to post something more punctually :) But now, on with the show! -- Henry double-takes at the reaction, and Edward sighs, explaining, "We've had some unfortunate experiences with radiation anomalies." "Yes," agrees Dame Agatha. "That's why we're calling your team. You'll be relieved to know that for the most part, these spikes do not match what you saw before - except for last two. The ones in Mecca and Medina, around 634, come close. Not to the same degree as the ones you found in your timeline in 1938, but closer to that than the others." Henry mulls this over. "So, not an actual nuclear explosion. A dirty bomb, perhaps?" "Possibly," Dame Agatha says. "Certainly not the same magnitude as the bombs that hit London." Edward winces at that. "What do the different colors on the map signify?" Yves asks. "The difference in magnitude," Dame Agatha explains. "The ones in red are very small - we wouldn't ordinarily have noticed them at all, except that they begin in 50 CE, when we aren't expecting any radiation at all. They all fade out, but periodically return over the next 500 years or so." That the radiation levels would decrease makes sense to Mace - his knowledge of Science! tells him that that pattern is consistent with a radioactive substance being created and then fading out over its half-life. Rules Sidebar [sblock]Yes, there is a skill called Science! and yes, it has the exclamation point on it. If your PC knows about any kind of science, then you know about all kinds of science, past, present, and future. TimeWatch is not a hard crunchy sci-fi kind of game; it's a hand-wavey make-it-happen-for-the-sake-of-a-good-story kind of game. Plus, it's fun to say "Science!" in an excited exclamation-point tone :)[/sblock] Mace is less certain why they would return, though. "The black pin in Rome in 113 CE represents a quite significant level of radiation," Dame Agatha continues, "but it fades out around 200 CE. Then there are two more spikes in Istanbul and Alexandria around 550. And, as I said, the largest ones are in Mecca and Medina in 634." "Mecca and Medina?" Edward echoes, already unhappy about where this is going. "Yes," Dame Agatha agrees. "Just after Muhammad's death." "Forgive me," Yves says, "but why is Hypatia not with us? This is her home time, her home city, even!" "Unfortunately, Hypatia is already on another mission," Dame Agatha explains. "Someone is selling scrolls purporting to be from the Library of Alexandria in 1920s Berlin. Her expertise is needed there, and she cannot be called back from the other mission." [sblock]Also, obviously, her player is GMing :) [/sblock] We turn our attention back to the map, trying to find patterns. "All the sites marked in red - are those major Parthian sites?" Henry wonders. "A few Parthian," says Dame Agatha, "but mostly Roman." "There aren't many Jewish or Christian religious sites," Edward notes. "There's Rome and Ephesus, but not Jerusalem." "And Ephesus is a major Roman pagan site," Henry adds. Edward tries a different angle: "Of those red sites, which one was the very first?" It's Kemerhisar, which showed its first radiation spike in 50 CE. It had a different name then, though - it was called Tyana. "Are there any notable people from Tyana?" Edward wonders. "Especially philosophers, or natural philosophers?" As it turns out, there was one: a man named Apollonius, who lived from 3 BCE-98 CE, precisely the same time that that first radiation anomaly happened. He was a philosopher, and also a magician. "A magician?" Edward asks skeptically. "So…someone with unexplained skills? Mysterious knowledge?" We can all tell where this is going. "Who wishes to bet that Apollonius is a time traveler?" Yves asks. Nobody's taking that bet. [/QUOTE]
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