More Steampunky Brew
In this week's Throwback Thursday post, we stick around with the Clockwork Campaign that I ran for Savage Worlds. Actually we had thirteen sessions of this game, so I've got enough material to run right into 2015 with these write-ups! So in this session I tried setting the groundwork for steampunk time-travel, which was supposed to be an underlying theme for the campaign. Heck, the name of the campaign SCREAMS for some Stampunk Temporal Dynamism! Unfortunately, we never were able to dig into it as much as I would've liked, but trying to explain how it all worked was pretty cool!
Even though he didn't join the campaign, I have to tip my hat to my pal Brett. When I was trying to brainstorm how time travel would work, Brett and I had an hour long conversation, discussing how Chronological and Kairological were different, and temporal ubiquity. I kept most of the notes from our chat and they ended up here.
So maybe Brett himself is the inspiration for the "Weird Doctor Kell!"
Session 2 - The Confounding Lectures of the Weird Doctor Kell
Journal Date
December 2nd, 1897
Cast
- Lady Selene Eva Thana - Eternal Noble - played by Melinda
- Inspector Robinson Gray - Idiot Savant Investigator - played by Randy
- Nigel Loring - Hunter/Adventurer/Explorer - played by Craig
- Fangzhi - Wudang Initiate - played by Frank
Notable NPC’s
Dr. Henry Kell, Dr. Stephen Addison
Plot Summary:
Once at Ravenswood College, a place of higher learning for mostly rich misfits, the characters were introduced to the South Wing of the school, where the real education was occurring. Theoretical physics was Dr. Henry Kell’s specialty, but also taught at the school were classes about the occult, weird science, fringe theory, and other outside concepts. The party fit right in. Dr. Kell was discussing the “Tri-Natured Temporal Dynamism” theory that he had put together, in particular the state of “Temporal Ubiquity”. You see, in Dr. Kell’s estimation, time could be manipulated in one of three ways. The first nature, Kairological Mechanics, is based upon tethers between two points of time. Chronological Mechanics was the theory (untested and unexperienced to date) of pure time travel through devices, akin to some popular fiction. Temporal Ubiquity was the third nature, and it had to do with powerful beings that could perceive all of time at once.
After being introduced to the party, Dr. Kell saw the slate and demanded that they experiment and research the object at once. Everyone in the party joined in! After a full day of testing, research in the library, manipulation of the object by a wudang master, and Lady Selene pulling information from every other professor in the college, the group was able to deduce the meaning of the device. The Jeweled Slate of Corvo was an ancient “punch card” that could amazingly be placed in a modern day analytical engine to display coordinates based on the angle of the north pole during it’s millennia long rotation cycle. Well, Dr. Kell had to take the slate to London at once!
Although he did not want them to tag along, Dr. Kell was convinced by the party to let them come, but vile darkness would strike while the party prepared for their trip. Almost to the carriage, Robinson noticed that something was “amiss” but could not put his finger on the situation. An assassin, from the shadowy organization known as Obscura, was waiting for the party by hanging below the carriage. Two more assassins, one with an air powered silent rifle and another an observer masquerading as a student, were also waiting. Dr. Kell was dropped by the air rifle, which silently blasted his right shoulder just before he could enter the carriage with the Lady Thana. Frantically, Fang and Nigel got the doctor out of the line of fire and into the carriage while Nigel tried to get a bead on the shooter. Before Robinson could react, he realized that the assassin under the carriage had manacled his foot to the cart, and was waiting with a shot gun to give him what for. Well Robinson wasn’t going to have that, so he dropped to a prone position and fired off three rounds, wounding the assassin but also spooking the horses. Luckily, Lady Selene was able to get the horses under control. Nigel was able to blast the shooter’s brains out, and the stealth assassin killed herself with a cyanide capsule. The last assassin, an observer, ran off.
After being healed by his friend, Dr. Addison, Dr. Kell insisted on continuing the trip to London. Amongst the dim lights of the smoggy city, Dr. Kell’s analysis with the analytical engine proved incredible! Not only could he calculate points of Karological Tethers, rifts in space-time connecting two time periods, he found that one existed right smack dab in the middle of Epping!
Interludes:
Lady Selene: When Selene met her first husband and was married into nobility. He went against his family to marry her. That was a short courtship. Luckily he introduced her to Lord Gordon Thana before passing. That courtship took a bit longer.
Quotes:
“He’s deceased!” - Melinda
“Hey shnookums... I think it is in both of our best interests for you to untie me.” - Robinson Grey to the third Obscura woman.
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