Season 9, Episode 9-10

It's been more than three months since our last update - but it's now time to resume the ongoing story of the ninth season of Lady Penelope's Odyssey, with a two-parter set in an alternate 17th century which our Time Lady hadn't visited since season four...

Episode 9: Should Old Acquaintance be Forgot

The Time Lady decides to catch up with her dear friends Christopher Marlowe and Louise-Athénée, whom she has not seen in ages - three regenerations, actually. With a nostalgic Lord Ulysses at her side, Penelope returns to the alternate timeline of Reconquista and Lord of Misrule. A tale of absent friends and old acquaintances.  To be continued, of course.

Episode 10: The Banquet of Ashes
1606, Marlowe's alternate timeline. Penelope and her companions prepare to enter the secret vaults of the Vatican where their friend Louise-Athénée is imprisoned. Who is the mysterious Red Monk? Why is the heretic Giordano Bruno still alive? What sinister force manipulates the mind of Pope Victor IV?  A tale of secrets and lies, of old friends and old foes.

Like season eight, season nine will be given a title in restrospect (cannot think of one yet) - but can already be broken down into three distinct tiers of variable length:

First Tier: Travels with Trevark

Lady Penelope travels through space and time accompanied by the Neo-Time Lord-in-training Trevark, to help him complete his apprenticeship. 

9.01: City of Sighs
9.02: Tinker, Time Lord, Soldier, Spy
9.03: Days of Empire
9.04: "I am a Gallifreyan"
9.05: Last of the Mentors
9.06: Interesting Times

Second Tier: Returns & Reunions

Each of the following episode features the return of (or a reunion with) former companions of either the Doctor or Lady Penelope herself.

9.07: Stolen Pasts
9.08: Saving Zoe
9.09: Should Old Acquaintance be Forgot
9.10: The Banquet of Ashes


The third and final tier will be called (spoilers!) Lords of E-Space. See you soon on the other side of a CVE!

Bureau des Affaires Extraordinaires (2)

I will soon have the pleasure of launching the second season of my other DWAITAS campaign, Le Bureau des Affaires Extraordinaires, set in 1900 Paris (see this previous post for more details about the main characters and the historical background). 

Since we don’t get to play as often as with the one-on-one Lady Penelope’s Odyssey, I’ve decided that each season of the Bureau will comprise four episodes – think of it as a returning mini-series J. So here are the blurbs for the first season.

Season 1: Fin de Siècle

Le Bal des Ardents: All over Paris, people are going out in flames!  The agents of the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs investigate these mysterious spontaneous combustions – and end up uncovering a psychic alien infestation which could threaten the whole planet. Paris brûle-t-il?

Le Fantôme de l’Opéra: Mysterious phenomena are disrupting the rehearsals and performances at the glorious Opéra de Paris. Could there be a resident Phantom – just like in the famous-but-yet-unwritten novel?  Our heroes are sent to investigate, pour l’amour de l’art.

The Praetorians: Investigating Aunt Cordelia’s mysterious disappearance, our heroes uncover the mad schemes of the Baron d’Arcier, armaments magnate and personal enemy of Philippine – and face his invincible praetorian guard of Cybermen! Légion étrangère, indeed.

History In Motion: While the Parisian Universal Exhibition of 1900 is going in full swing, our heroes are trying to track down the partially cyber-converted Baron d’Arcier, now known as the Baron d’Acier. And they must act quickly, for History itself is hanging in the balance…

At the conclusion of this first season, the historical background of the campaign gave way to a full-blown continuum divergence, resulting in the following uchronia: after the Président de la République succumbed to a cardiac arrest, French government fell into the hands of Général de la Hire, after what was essentially a legal military coup and the Universal Exhibition came to an abrupt (and very symbolic) end. France now prepares itself to enter the new century under the auspices of war and steel. 

As for the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs (a government-sanctioned organization à la Torchwood), our heroes were first tempted to “go rogue” – but finally decided to stay on. Whatever the 20^th century holds in store, someone has to protect Paris (and the planet) from the unknown menaces of the Rift…  Not to mention the fact that Aunt Cordelia, their mentor from the future, has disappeared. Could she (and her whole timeline) have been erased from existence by the temporal divergence?

As they say in Torchwood: Everything Changes…

Season 9, Episode 8

Episode 8: Saving Zoe

Whatever happened to Zoe Heriot? Did she stay on Space Station W3? Did she survive Earth’s war against the Cybermen? Did she recover her stolen memories, like Jamie did?  Has her life been changed forever by the echoes of the Time War and the vicissitudes of History? Of course, the answers are never quite the ones you expect…

The ninth season of Lady Penelope's Odyssey is now taking a short break, before the final 4-5 episodes run... See you in a few weeks!

Season 9, Episodes 5-7

Lady Penelope's Odyssey goes on...

Episode 5: Last of the Mentors

The Myriad of Aldebaran: a bustling, cosmopolitan alliance of worlds, hundreds of intelligent species, a culture of ethno-diversity, fascinating business ethics… and no humans in sight for 900 years or so. Or at least this is how it should be… Can the Time Lady put history back on track and save the Myriad from the machinations of the Last Mentors?

Episode 6: Interesting Times

China, October 1901. In the wake of the Boxer Rebellion, Lady Penelope and Trev come to Peking to deliver a very important letter from Professor George Litefoot to a mysterious woman. A purely historical episode – with a lot of drama, some difficult decisions and a bit of danger too. A tale of troubled times, family affairs and unexpected futures.

Episode 7: Stolen Pasts

Her quest for time sensitives takes Penelope to the Scottish Highlands, twenty-one years after the Battle of Culloden. As secret plans are being hatched and old debts are about to be repaid, tragedy looms on the horizon for the last highlanders… A tale of changing times and erased memories, featuring the return of a very different Jamie McCrimmon.

Season 9, Episodes 1-4

I'm talking, of course, about the ninth season of Lady Penelope's Odyssey (what else?). No season title, yet - we'll see this once the season is over. If all goes according to plan, this season should be structured into three arcs of 4-5 episodes each. We've played episode 4 yesterday evening, completing the first arc. The common underlying theme of these episodes was continuity: dealing with memories, facing the consequences of past events and making new choices. One last note: the basic plot of episode 3 was inspired by the Torchwood audioplay Golden Age (but with different characters and consequences).

Episode 1: City of Sighs

Venice, July 1825 – a city of sighs and shadows, of bygone dreams and Byronic nostalgia… Who knows what terrible vision lurks beneath the dark waters of Venice? It is now time to look below the surface and behind the masks. A tale of two cities, of white masks and black stars, featuring the return of Lady Penelope’s oldest arch-enemies, the Porphyrs of Carcosa.

Episode 2: Tinker, Time Lord, Soldier, Spy

As Torchwood and UNIT are locked in a major crisis, Penelope crosses the path of Professor Andrea Millington, 22 years after their last, dramatic encounter – and the former pawn of Fenric is now following her own hidden agenda. A tale of loyalty, suspicion and cooperation. Featuring the third death and final sacrifice of Torchwood agent Yvonne Hartman.

Episode 3: Days of Empire

Her search for a time sensitive takes Lady Penelope to the city of New Delhi, where she soon discovers that the golden days of the colonial Raj have left some very living ghosts behind them. More than 90 years after its official demise, Torchwood India is still here – or is it?  For some, the empire never fell –and the present must pay the price for the past.

Episode 4: “I am a Gallifreyan”

Back on Avalon, Lady Penelope must deal with the consequences of the New Delhi Incident – including the traumatic regeneration (or is this a retro-generation?) of her current travelling companion, the Time-Lord-in-training known as Trevor. A tale about identity, empathy and change - oh, did I forget to mention the TARDIS’ ultimate secret?

Season 8 Finale

So we've finally wrapped up the eighth (and longest) season of Lady Penelope's Odyssey, with a couple of extra episodes. Pieces have finally fallen into place, questions have been answered, loose ends have been tied - and I've already been gathering ideas for season 9. See you soon - for some new adventures in space and time!

Episode 14: Farewell, Alexandria

One year ago, the Book of the Gods vanished from Alexandria, taken away by the mysterious stranger calling herself the Time Lady. One year ago, destiny took a turn and history was put back on track – or was it?  One year ago, Penelope had a different face. A tale of unfinished business, unfulfilled dreams and unwritten history - an epilogue and a new beginning.

Episode 15: Reichenbach

Season finale. Bad news bring Lady Penelope back to Avalon. There is something wrong with the Doctor. But WHAT exactly is that “something”? A shadow from the past?  A ghost from the future?  A dark reflection of everything he has ever been?  The Book is the Key, the Book has always been the Key and Time will soon come full circle, from Gallifrey to Reichenbach…

The Temporal Toybox 2.0

The revised, updated and augmented version of THE TEMPORAL TOYBOX, my collection of house rules for the wonderful Doctor Who: Adventures In Time And Space RPG is now available online. Just click HERE (or on the image below or on the link in the left column) to download the PDF.

The Temporal Toybox is an exclusively non-profit, unofficial, fan-made supplement, written by a DWAITAS gamemaster for the enjoyment of other GMs and players. Most of the contents are taken from the pages of this blog, but some of it has been revised and expanded for the occasion. So, speaking of contents, what do the 16 pages of the Toybox PDF actually contain?

- Optional rules, new skills and profound thoughts about technology, science and knowledge.

- Variant rules for perception, feats of strength and (of course) something on Story points.

- Variant combat rules – no, don’t run! We are talking quicker and simpler fight scenes here!

- Alternate fear rules – you know, scary monsters, hiding behind the sofa and all that…

- Variant rules and various thoughts on NPCs in the DWAITAS game system.

Allons-y!