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The Wages of Joy
115 Plays1 year ago
The Fixer and his companions are off to Joybilant, the Happiest Place in the Galaxy! A planet-sized theme park awaits where nothing is what it seems. Plenty of surprises lie in store in part one of The Wages of Joy!
Enjoy thrills, chills, and laughs galore with Brand Osorio, Cate MacCoyne, and Pandora Beatrix, along with GM Casey Jones. Stick around afterward for interviews with the players. You’re in for a fantastic time!
Music by Tabletop Audio
Theme by RJ Pirchinello
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And if you'd like to run a game of Doctor Who of your very own, find Casey on StartPlaying!
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Transcript
00:00:04
Speaker
Time
Introduction to the Podcast
00:00:05
Speaker
travel, sci-fi adventures, and risky rolls of the dice lie ahead. Hello and welcome to Anywhere But Now, a Doctor Who actual play podcast. I'm
Meet the Crew of the TARDIS
00:00:15
Speaker
your host and GM, Casey Jones. The next hour or so holds a thrilling adventure in time and space, so let's dive in. With me is the daring crew of our time-traveling machine. Playing the Fixer is the wonderful Bran DeSorio. Hello, Bran. Hello.
00:00:33
Speaker
And joining him is Maeve Sullivan, played by the ebullient Kate McCoyn. Welcome, Kate. Hi there. Hi. Last but not least, finishing the TARDIS team is Pandora Beatrix as Calamity Hap. Hi. Hi. Hi. It's nice to see you. Yes, good to be here. Yay.
00:00:55
Speaker
I hope you feel
Game Mechanics and Bonuses
00:00:56
Speaker
that energy, because hiding somewhere in this game is a fun surprise. And you're not going to know what it is until you find it. We play with the second edition of Cubicle Seven's Doctor Who rule books. That means the dice are magic. Ruling double sixes bring extra bonuses, while rolling snake eyes spells disaster. House rules mean our players usually begin the game with five, count them five, story points each, so they're not empty handed, but don't have an embarrassment of riches either.
00:01:25
Speaker
However, because all three of our daring PCs have recently completed their short-term goals, they are going to start today's episode with an extra story point, bringing them to a total of a bubbly six. Get ready for a collaborative, immersive storytelling experience. The name of the game is Doctor Who, but our show is anywhere but now for a reason.
00:01:48
Speaker
Instead of a legendary hero who's defeated the Daleks and Cybermen hundreds of times, our intrepid fixer is still in his first incarnation, traveling the cosmos as a senior member in the doctoral program. Roles, rules, and other tantalizing tidbits will be explained as we go.
00:02:06
Speaker
This fine TARDIS crew have no idea what they're heading into. For today's adventure, they have not been told so much as the title of the mod. A bigger on the inside thank you to our listeners. Time is truly a gift, or it wouldn't be the present. We thank you for spending yours with us. If you like what you hear, follow us on Twitter at anywhere but now underscore at the end. Links to everything in the doobly-doo.
00:02:32
Speaker
Stick around after the game for interviews with the players. Brought to you wherever you're listening in time and space. This is anywhere but now.
00:03:17
Speaker
The TARDIS jostles
TARDIS Description and Setting the Scene
00:03:18
Speaker
along through everything that is or ever was. The console wheezing up and down the eddies of time. Where once was pristine order and spotless plexiglass piping is now spotted with post-it notes, the odd boot, and an open steamer trunk of knickknacks collected from adventures various. In his own little corner and a few stairs above the main platform sits the auditor, making notes and filing paperwork.
00:03:43
Speaker
The espresso maker hisses while one hand clatters away typing as the other cracks walnuts. Like a banking clerk in a flow state, he stamps the missive, drops it in a cylinder, and it into a pneumatic time tube off and away to Gallifrey. Calamity, you've had time to personalize your own room and make a corner of the console room yours. What does it look like?
00:04:07
Speaker
It's basically just like a minor explosion of junk like there are just random bits of like fabric and pieces of paper and and Interesting rocks and interesting does not mean pretty necessarily It just means that it was interesting to calamity in the exact moment that she picked it up You know, there's random macrame there's also
00:04:36
Speaker
a fair amount of, like, you know, burned things and blood-stained things. Yeah, Calamity's had a life. How does it feel to have accomplished your first short-term goal of finding a Time Lord? Well, great, really. I mean, honestly, that happened incredibly fast. So, obviously, you know, I'm doing things right.
00:05:05
Speaker
Obviously you are. Maeve, you've filed a handful of stories for the new Space Toledo Chronicle. The TARDIS printed a USB jack to charge and upload data from your pocket reporter. Your handy dandy device records and transmits data. How does it feel to have accomplished your first short-term goal and your dreams of reporting a front-page story?
00:05:28
Speaker
Well, Maeve looks like the cat that ate the canary. She is just absolutely beaming with joy almost at all times and usually working on another story to publish. Also, did you know that when you upload something to this internet, people can respond to it and they all seem to really like me.
00:05:49
Speaker
So far. That's true. The comments have been overwhelmingly positive so far. There may be comment filters in place. Who knows? I was gonna say that seems quite unusual but...
00:06:05
Speaker
I don't know what a comment filter is. Maeve, you are also at a plus one to resolve for the start of this adventure. Recently, you have never slept better. Fixer, over the past few weeks, you've explored the time stream, saved some lives, had some close calls. How does it feel to be hitting your stride in your semester abroad? It feels frankly wonderful. I get to spend time with these amazing, just incredible people. And we have traveled and seen so much.
00:06:35
Speaker
Maeve, as you are puttering around the TARDIS console room, double-checking orientation of the post-it notes, your pocket reporter gives you an update.
Plot Twist: Destruction and Colonization
00:06:46
Speaker
You are getting the latest headlines from the new Space Toledo Chronicle, uploaded by other reporters. Item, planet Kepsis and its inhabited moons have been utterly destroyed.
00:06:58
Speaker
In intergalactic news, the controversial Chula nanogenes have been deemed critically unsafe. Following a mandate from the Shadow Proclamation, the Chula race has agreed to recall and destroy all nanogene stockpiles. And lastly, following several disastrous attempts at armistice with the native humans of Earth, the Zygon race has established a colony on a class M planet in the Arcilios Array. When negotiations broke down for the eighth time, it was agreed the races could not safely cohabitate.
00:07:28
Speaker
And that's all the news, that's fit to print. Fixer, have you seen these headlines? Ooooh! Now, news is always happening, and I've always found it a struggle to pierce the veil on which of the news is the most important news. When you look at a page like this, what is the thing that jumps out to you? Mainly the thing about zygons and humans, since that's, you know, where I'm from. Ah, self-interest! Yes, that makes sense. Okay.
00:07:58
Speaker
Ah, self-interest!
00:08:00
Speaker
That's beautiful. Maeve and Fixer both add a story point for the first laugh out loud chuckle of the day.
Turbulence Challenge and Landing
00:08:08
Speaker
As you say, ah, self-interest. The TARDIS console, and in fact, the entire ship begins to shake and buckle. You were riding coasting smoothly in the time vortex, but you have hit some chuff. So brace yourselves. Give me a coordination roll off the bat to make sure everyone stays on their feet.
00:08:30
Speaker
this is going to be coordination and athletics if you got it um versus a 14 please that's a three and a four for a nine for me okay unassisted mave is going to slide across the console room floor
00:08:48
Speaker
Bump into the steamer trunk. Miss half. Calamity, what did you roll? A five on the dice. Coordination and athletics are three total, so that's eight.
00:09:01
Speaker
Afraid Calamity goes tumbling tail over tea kettle down a ramp into one of the lower sections of the TARDIS console and will need a step to get back up to the console itself. Fixer, what did you happen to roll with your coordination? Well, I got a 6 and a 5 on the dice, plus 3 for the skill, and a total of 14.
00:09:20
Speaker
You have successfully managed to grab onto the console safety bar just as it hit chop and have actually started to get your vortex sea legs. It's uncanny. The auditor did not do so well despite being seated in his chair and flew through the air with a crash against the bookshelf in the far corner and is also a step or two short of reaching the console.
00:09:49
Speaker
You are in flight, and the best thing for the TARDIS right now would be to get out of the vortex and dematerialize. This is going to be a piloting check for ingenuity and transportation. Throw on two for your Time Lord training. Remember, you can spend story points to increase the successes. As people have done in the last game, you can also spend story points to just flatly achieve the thing that you are trying to achieve.
00:10:19
Speaker
Give me the roll, if you please, Fixer. Absolutely. Roll to five and a six. With the skill and the attribute and the bonus you mentioned, it's a plus eight for a total of 19. Beautiful. The difficulty of flying in some turbulence is 18. So you did quite nicely. And with the six on the dice, you actually neatly land the TARDIS with pinpoint location. It is your first, like,
00:10:49
Speaker
landing from turbulence so somewhere from a small hill of shelves the fixer sits up and just dusts off the waste coat well bravo did you feel that wave calamity that was wonderful did you feel that calamity comes back up the ramp she's like did you did you know I have a gym
00:11:15
Speaker
Story point for Calamity, yes, she has just stepped out of the gym. Accessible from the TARDIS down ramp. We really should get some like furniture dollies or something so that when there's turbulence we can just sort of sit on them and then just roll around you know naturally and we'll cover a lot more ground that way exploring wise. The auditor's ratings up his chair with a funk and says excellent point.
00:11:38
Speaker
Maeve kind of peels herself off the ground, but wouldn't it just run us over? Things went poorly? Maybe. We could always add bumpers to them. That could be fun, actually. The TARDIS makes a little annoyed whine sound, like, if you've ever gone bowling and the kid who is eight or eight and a half no longer wants to bowl with the safety bumpers, that is the tone of like, oh,
00:12:09
Speaker
No, it's fine. We trust you. Okay, you have landed safely. The ground beneath your feet has settled. What are you all doing? First, I'd like to check on Maeve and check on the auditor and make sure both of them are okay. Yes, since neither of us had any ones on the dice, we were not actually injured in the fall. Our pride may have taken a scuff.
00:12:33
Speaker
Well, help write them both upright and give a big smile and say, well, now that we've landed, I think we should go explore. Capital idea, where are we? Oh, good question. Yes, I was going to make my question too, so... Head over to the console and see what information we can ascertain. Maeve, give me an ingenuity and awareness role.
00:12:56
Speaker
It's a 3 and a 4 for a 15. A 15. Excellent. Okay. You have ID'ed the location as Joybellant, the funnest place in the galaxy. It is universally known as a beloved attraction, typically expensive as heck. Fixer. Those were the records. What do you find on the scanner? Same rolly rolls, ingenuity, and technology. And throw on two because you're a Time Lord tuned to this TARDIS.
00:13:21
Speaker
Two and a three
Arrival at Joybellant Theme Park
00:13:22
Speaker
on the dice, so that will bring us up to a 13. So you are indeed inside a theme park, planet. It appears to be three in the afternoon, mid-35th century, weather, sunny. We may have arrived at the most fun place in the entire, mm, 200 years forward, 200 years backwards. Just that amount of time. Well, I mean, that's still really, really fun.
00:13:48
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, 400 years is a pretty long time and it looks amazing. A little pricey. Oh, don't worry about that. I got this.
00:13:57
Speaker
As the citizen of the universe that is Calamity Hap, she has heard of Joy the Land. It is as popular and well known as a place like Disney World, only this is an entire world, an attraction. So this is definitely something that has been heard of. It may have lost its place in the wonders of the galaxy, but it was at one point on the list.
00:14:19
Speaker
immediately grab out whatever the appropriate currency is, whether that's a money form or tokens, and distribute enough to Maeve and Calamity so that way they can have fun and be generous and have a good time. I'll give it to you. The dispatch, the doctoral program device that usually grants your assignments in this case
00:14:43
Speaker
gracefully spits out four laminated day passes to Joyblend rides. And they all just shoot feet out of the machine. Hand them out with a look of absolute glee. You guys step out of the TARDIS and pass through the doors of the shed-sized watch repair shop. Welcome to Main Street in Joyblend.
00:15:06
Speaker
A theme park of the future, attractions and rides of all shapes and sizes, tease the horizon every which way you look. Happy families and couples mill through the park, pointing to attractions or in line at a vendor or waiting to play a game. The air is rich with the smell of cotton candy and popcorn. It's a brilliant, warm, sunny day with a scarcely a cloud in the sky. Your TARDIS is parked just on Main Street. Overhead looms a 10-foot tall hologram of the legend himself, Wiz Dalton.
00:15:37
Speaker
Welcome all! Welcome to the land where your dreams come true!
00:15:44
Speaker
All around you, mulling around the park, beloved characters from the Forgotten Forest, fan favorite Whiz Dalton cartoons are here as mascots. They are just wandering the park. Some are stations taking pictures with smiling guests, peopling the place with joy. You guys step out onto the open veranda, the open walkway of this place, the smell of garlicky popcorn in the air,
00:16:12
Speaker
black tarmac shimmering underneath your feet. When out of the sky, a helper bot descends. It is basically a torso with appendages that are held to either side with room on the back for various attachments. The helper bot turns to you, scans the four of us to position itself and says, welcome to Jordan. Hi there.
00:16:38
Speaker
Hello! How can I help you today? Um, where is the tallest place in the park? The eyes on this screen that are all pixels. The face makes a... I'm thinking for a second... face. I find in a place like this it's best to start at the top and work your way down, which is very inefficient if you have to walk on the ground, but it means that you see a lot of random things along the way. First, give me a presence roll, calamity please, and convince, why not? Uh, so that's 17 with a 6.
00:17:09
Speaker
You have really impressed this helper bot. What an amazing question. When he says amazing, his head spins around in the neck joint via maglev. The tippiest, toppiest points of this island on Joyblance would be the ghoster, ghoster, coaster.
00:17:26
Speaker
He does a little pivot and the sun glints off of his finger pointing towards a roller coaster that is not too far off. He puffs up his chest with pride and a map of the park materializes and prints right out.
00:17:44
Speaker
This oval is your TARDIS, close to the box office. These wide, tall, green hedges divide up wedges of the park. You're not distracted by the other attractions, but you can still see everything from any other vantage point of the park. From where you're standing, you can see the coaster coaster.
00:18:07
Speaker
The Helperbot tilts its head and shoots you a wink and holds out a hand. A little circle
Exploring Joybellant
00:18:13
Speaker
irises open and a little beeper materialize. If you have any questions or need any help, just get me a beep. All right, thank you. Does this work when I'm on other planets? The voice immediately deadpens. Range of the Helperbot Helper is limited to Joybullet Incorporated. Florentini Void wants you to leave this planet. Oh, all right, thank you. He is such a helpful fellow.
00:18:35
Speaker
You have asked about the tallest point and have routes to get there. It looks like candy and gifts are on the way so we can pick up some like snacks and memorabilia because I need a shirt that's appropriate. What is an appropriate shirt? Oh something with with the media on it. Merch.
00:18:55
Speaker
The park is fairly packed. Crowds are milling around, families are milling around, couples in their 20s are walking around hand in hand. Without having to push or anything, you're able to go counterclockwise around the map to
00:19:12
Speaker
The gift shop and the candy store. A brightly colored snack shop tucked away. There are no doors, just a vertical sliding shutter that's currently wide open for business. Inside a shop key bot floats behind the counter wearing a little red and gold apron and an emoji mustache.
00:19:32
Speaker
Between this shop and the gift shop next door is a popcorn machine in cherry red and glass case and a helper bot has a scoop in one appendage and red and white paper bags in the other.
00:19:44
Speaker
I think we'd better go get some merch. You guys head next door to The Gift Shop, the perfect little stop to find a little piece of joy to take with you. There's all sorts of toys and mementos, swimsuits, funny hats, plush cartoon characters, a bit of everything. Inside, a shopkeep helper bot floats behind the counter wearing a little straw hat. Oh, hello. Nearby outside the store is Pick a Flower Pete handing out flowers.
00:20:11
Speaker
Oh, Maeve is going to stop with Pick a Flower Pete and get a couple of flowers for myself. OK. Pick a Flower Pete is a dapper gent in canary carnation yellow jacket and a big plastic head with a big straw hat on it. And he holds out plastic white daisies and says, pretty flower or a pretty lady? Oh, thank you so much. This is lovely.
00:20:38
Speaker
And I take the flowers and I took one behind my ear. Great. Has the helper bot, has it headed away or is it nearby? Once you set off towards the snack and gift shops, its work was done, so it floated off to do other chores. Do I see them helping other people? Not helping anybody at present, but they are floating around rather benignly just keeping an eye on things. Excellent. Pull out Sonic Stylus and turn to Maeve and say, would you like a quick picture? I would absolutely love a picture.
00:21:09
Speaker
Okay, pick a flower, Pete holds out an arm, and that is how that goes. Give me a resolve roll, please, Maeve. That is a five and a two for a 12. Five and a two for a 12. Okay, great. You get your photo with the gentleman. Give me another resolve roll, please, a strength and resolve roll. That is a four and a two for a 14.
00:21:39
Speaker
Okay, great. Calamity, you have wandered into the gift shop to take a closer look around. Give me, please, an awareness roll with intuition. So I have an 11 and one of them is a one. Okay, you do not notice anything out of the ordinary as you look around. And with the one on the dice, you're walking just slow enough to be mistaken for possible shoplifter, so.
00:22:07
Speaker
The helper bot is watching you from behind the counter. Okay, so it's probably extra suspicious that I am trying on multiple hats at the same time. See if I can find a hat that fits underneath another hat. The shopkeeper's head just tilts to one side. Would you like assistance with your hats, plural?
00:22:29
Speaker
Oh yes, do you want so? I'm trying to find I want to have a hat that I can wear underneath another hat so in case the first hat gets blown off, I still have a hat. The Dickey decoy double hat chapeau is currently out of stock. Huh, well I'm fine to go off label. Story point for calamity, I'm fine to go off label. Give me a presence and convince role. Does charm work on robots? It might.
00:22:59
Speaker
Ooh, wow, that's terrible. So I got a 12 with a one on the die. Unfortunately, when you say that, the screen of the shopkeeper bought tints a slightly redder hue. Joyblend Incorporated is not truck with un-franchised copies of our merchandise. Oh, come on now, Shopkeep. Did you want to make a sale or not? I mean, it seems very clear to me that if you were to sell that hat and then one hat a couple of sizes bigger, that would fit on top of that hat. Clearly, that would be a good sale for your company.
00:23:27
Speaker
It does make sense. The Helperbot very slowly shrugs. If you would like to purchase two hats for the price of two hats, you are more than free to do so. Honestly, that sounds like a fair bargain around here. Fixer, give me an awareness and intuition roll as you're perusing through the gift shops you would play. Got a 13 with a four and a four on the dice.
00:23:52
Speaker
You look around the gift shop, away from the open air of the park, you are getting a sense of dirty laundry.
00:24:00
Speaker
Oh, I'm going to follow my nose. Beyond the tchotchkes and the snow globes, most of the plush hoots, the owls and Percy pocket pants. Juno, the dogs. Plushes that you walk past. You eventually get to a couple of racks of shirts with slogans on them that have been rifled through. Below them are a tattered pile of ratty, dirty laundry. Huh. Hey, Maeve.
00:24:28
Speaker
Yeah. Maeve looks up from where she's found, uh, Percy Pocket Pants pants, but she's currently holding up to see if they fit. Percy Pocket Pants brand pants. We heard you like Percy pockets, so we put pockets in your pants. Have you noticed how many pockets these pants have? It is really marvelous. Story point for Maeve.
00:24:54
Speaker
Look at the pants, look at her, truly a revelation. Look down at the pile next to us and say, anything look out of place to you.
00:25:04
Speaker
I didn't think that a store would have a pile of dirty laundry. Normally, you buy the laundry before you have to wash it. Well, I mean, when I pick out a shut, I was just going to leave my old shut clean. So, isn't that just what people do? Is that what people do? The robot does another slow, articulated shrug. Whatever happens
Mystery of the Missing Information
00:25:23
Speaker
in Jordan is recorded permanently by tournament.
00:25:27
Speaker
You pick through the clothes and it is just a ratty pile of sweaty t-shirts and the occasional discarded pair of cargo shorts. Most of the t-shirts read Thompson-Jompson reunion tour. What is that Thompson-Jompson? Well, considering it has the word reunion attached to it, either it's some sort of band or it could be a fam. Does this sweat look fresh? Good question. The laundry is not fresh. It looks like the pile has been there for at least a couple of days.
00:25:57
Speaker
And no, Calamity in her indie band faves has never heard of the Thompson-Johnson's. It's kind of a mouthful, honestly. That's very true. So, so, that's not something other people do normally leave old clothing here? No, generally one doesn't leave clothing in the store. Maybe the helper bot knows, could we ask? We have that beeper, right, Calamity? Mm-hmm. Oh yes, is it like a communicator? It's a little beeper, it's a summoner.
00:26:23
Speaker
Okay, I'll just click the button then. About five seconds later, a helper bot that may or may not be the identical one is part of a line gracefully dovetails down and says, Hello, how can I help, help, help, help you? Hi, is there a place here that we can burn things down to the molecules? The incineratormatic is currently down for repairs. Would you be able to help us find the Thompson Jumpson reunion tour?
00:26:52
Speaker
We have their pants. Yes. The eyes quickly spit through a calendar of events. The Tops and Johnsons are not currently on our arena schedule. Then it continues to go cycly-cycly and says, guest information is not available to guests. Oh, is there a place we can apply for jobs?
00:27:12
Speaker
The Helperbot does a 360 of delight, eventually stops and says, we're just mad about re-recruitment. On its chest screen becomes a form that it is going to ask you questions as you go. This is a job application, cool interview now.
00:27:31
Speaker
I mean, Calamity's never had one, so she's new to it. Okay. Name. Sure. Welcome. Sure. What is your residence? Is this it? Is it a secret? Am I allowed to say that? We just came from the wave. Residence. Is it a secret? Am I allowed to say that? The wave.
00:27:50
Speaker
job applying for what kind of jobs are there here currently hiring for custodian currently hiring for ride maintenance none of those sound fun how about something else can we be like management management is not available I guess custodian picking things up is I mean I was doing going to do that anyway so it does look like they need them if people are just leaving their laundry around they could probably use some janitors
00:28:20
Speaker
a salient point. Give me a presence and convince role, Calamity. You know what, roll at advantage. So that's three dice and keep the best of two, because you've got your hype team to your immediate right and or left. Yep, so I have a 20 with a six. The robot rolled snake eyes and with your 20, and it says, welcome to the Twilight team. Thank you. Where were the Thompson-Johnson family people, guests?
00:28:48
Speaker
It takes a full five to 10 seconds to compile the logic that you have snaked through of guest information is not available to guests. You are now an employee. Brava! Calamity, take another story point. No one has ever done this before. People have made the robot cry. No one has ever gotten a job interview. Cut to five minutes later, standing outside the door.
00:29:14
Speaker
shop. Calamity has been handed one janitor's jumpsuit, one self-rinsing mop, and one grabby bar for a go bag of incineration. You now have a job on Joyblend. Congratulations. This is great. I needed a new jumpsuit.
00:29:32
Speaker
Your jumpsuit is a basic janitorial blue with a chrome stripe down both arms and legs. Nice. And you've got a shiny badge emblazoned inside of a little plastic sleeve. The helper bot looks at you and points to your smart paper map. Starts putting cherry spots to mop up around the park. You are currently outside the Snack Shop Coom gift shop.
00:30:00
Speaker
Calamity, have you had your 15-minute break yet? I don't think so. We should probably make our way over to the roller coaster. I wonder if employees get to skip lines. Just tell them you're here to clean it. And then don't. It depends on what they have in there. Well, I mean, if we find something really interesting, of course we could pick it up. Yeah, well that's what I mean for a particularly interesting discolored drink container.
00:30:21
Speaker
From outside, the Ghoster Coaster looks like the ultimate thrill ride. The line of visitors waiting on the shimmering black tarmac is long but fast moving. Entertaining guests nearby is Mark the Mouse. Oh boy, you're friends! Right now there's a bit of a line in front of you guys, twos and threes shuffling their way up the ramp to the entrance to the Ghoster Coaster.
00:30:46
Speaker
May I tap the shoulder of the family in front of us?
Hologram Revelation
00:30:49
Speaker
You tap the shoulder of the person in front of you. Give me an awareness role, please. Can I also use a story point for this? Sure, if you want.
00:31:01
Speaker
I got a 2 and a 4, with my plus 3, that brings it up to a 9. The story point brings you up to, yes, but. Yes, you tap the person on the shoulder, but they turn, don't recognize you, and go back to conversation. And what are they conversating about? They're not saying anything. They're just saying like, walla walla, walla, walla walla, walla walla,
00:31:29
Speaker
Fixer, isn't the, uh... It's hard as supposed to translate those for us. Is it one of those languages where most of the meaning is in, like, the inflections? It's like, voila! I'm immediately going to look at both of them, look around, do a complete, like, 360 spin, looking at every single family here. How different are they from each other? There's a fair range of diversity in the people milling around.
00:31:57
Speaker
Give me an ingenuity, an intuition role, please. Meanwhile, Maeve, that is an absolutely excellent question. Shouldn't the TARDIS be translating? The auditor, very deadpan, replies, yes, yes it is, and looks around with the same sudden tint of paranoia as up the chain, the families and couples like Walla Walla. Walla Walla.
00:32:21
Speaker
Now that I'm listening, can I hear any background noise that I do understand that isn't coming from something that works here as a robot here? Give me an ingenuity and intuition check and throw on two points for being a reporter and make this an advantage role since you're doing the snooping.
00:32:36
Speaker
So I rolled a 5 and a 3 on the dice. I get to add a 6 to it with a total of 14. You don't see anything out of the ordinary. You do catch a whiff of eye-watering body odor though. Underneath the cotton candy and garlicky popcorn. Going straight for that scent again. Give me a coordination roll. Maeve, you said you were looking around and trying to listen for extra focus.
00:32:58
Speaker
Yes, so I got a 4 and a 3, 4, a 16. The laughter of kids in the distance you can hear the from of the roller coaster. What you have not heard, now that you're looking around though, you have not heard the roller coaster come to a stop. How do people get on the roller coaster if it never stops?
00:33:19
Speaker
The line of people continues to move up the gangplank. You guys start pushing your way around the people and they shimmer. As you're trying to edge past the people who do not feel like getting out of your way, when you brush near them, there's the slight distortion pixelation. You get to the front of the coaster coaster, the roller coaster,
00:33:44
Speaker
runs through, does not stop, people materialize on the far side looking like they've just had a great time as the next group of people get on to the tracks and disappear. As they're getting on, I walk up to one of them and I shove my hand directly through it.
00:34:03
Speaker
You put your hand on something very firm behind them, like it gives you resistance. As they get into position on the track, it evaporates. You have just had your first contact with a hard light hologram. Give me an ingenuity role and technology. I want to know exactly how much of this mave is able to grasp as a denizen of the late 1800s.
00:34:29
Speaker
Cool, technology is zero. So you're going to be at a minus one to this since you have no... It's a three and a one, four and eight. You have no idea what this is. A person just got all blurry and vanished in front of you.
00:34:45
Speaker
Maeve jumps back five feet and goes, I think there are ghosts here. I'm like pretty sure, I know it's called the Ghoster Coaster, but I'm pretty sure all of the people getting on are ghosts. I was gonna say that's very thematic, honestly, if maybe it's just sort of an art thing. I thought it was like a tour, like we were going to see them, but it turns out that they're already here.
00:35:08
Speaker
I was so hoping to pull out the Sonic and just do a quick scan. So yeah, you were following the eye watering BO through the crowd. And because you decided to pounce on it, give me an ingenuity and technology role as you're scanning around, moving after this person.
00:35:27
Speaker
And let's use two story points for this. So with two story points, you successfully get a bead on the person. You throw out your sonic stylus and wave it across in a wide arc in front of you. A handful of people turn transparent and you can see right through them. Your sonic signal is disrupting the hologram of the people in the crowd.
00:35:51
Speaker
And in that window, you see an absolutely filthy man in a sweat-caked t-shirt and cargo shorts. And he turns and he cheeses it. So you have successfully found him. I'm going to say that the auditor probably stayed put for Maeve and Calamity to return to when Fixer dashed off into the crowd to go chasing a stink.
00:36:17
Speaker
I'm gonna run back to the auditor and be like, did you know that there are ghosts here? They're all the people in line. That's what the ghosts are of the ghoster coaster. As I see her approach, wave her down using the sonic stylus to get both of their attention so they can see where I am in the crowd. Ghosts, really? Tell me more. I decided to see if they were real because I couldn't understand anything they were saying and I put my hand straight through one and then it disappeared. If that's not a ghost, I don't know what is.
00:36:47
Speaker
Maeve, give me a resolve and strength roll, please. Uh, that's a 2 and a 5 for a 15. 15. Okay, bully. I mean, they could be holograms of dead people, then it's just semantics, really. I would like to do a quick scan. Because you spent the two story points on the sonicking and the looking around, the hologram people are so generically
00:37:11
Speaker
normal-looking, almost no discernible features. These are background extras that have literally faded into the distance and around that small bubble of where you've been sonicking. They re-materialize unperturbed and go on their ways. Walla Walla. Walla Walla. Chirping that background noise nonsense. Oh, my editor is going to love this.
00:37:37
Speaker
Calamity, have you ever heard this specific pattern of sound before? I don't think so. So there's nothing other than just giving the impression of speech. Interesting. The Walla Walla is literally just background noise. Sometimes extras, if they're allowed to speak at all, it'll be just like Walla Walla. Oh no, that's perfect. Turn to both Maeve and Calamity in that moment. If it was supposed to be part of the Ghost or Coaster ride, why are they everywhere?
00:38:03
Speaker
Oh, that's a good point. That's less thematic. That's concerning. I did see someone who was clearly not that. I guess a member of the unwashed masses, which there only appears to be a few of them here. Well, maybe that's why we're here. To fix all of the boring holograms so that they look more interesting.
00:38:21
Speaker
Calamity, that is brilliant. We will definitely have to access the computers here and diversify and upgrade their systems so that way they can at least sound like people. I feel like that is the less urgent thing than the person who looked like they might very well be starving. Oh. Give me a awareness roll with intuition, please.
00:38:42
Speaker
That's double sixes for a 19. Maeve did not spend a ton of time in the gift shop, but why didn't you see any food there?
00:38:52
Speaker
There was a popcorn machine outside, wasn't there? Mm-hmm. There was a popcorn machine outside. When you were in the gift shop looking around, you did not see any snacks whatsoever. No food, no bottled water, nothing. There were no snacks in that gift shop. Shouldn't merch include something to consume as well? Like, wouldn't people get hungry wandering around a place like this all day?
00:39:13
Speaker
Absolutely. The snack shop was right next door. You guys didn't poke around there too much. But because of the double sixes, yeah, whoever filthy guy is, he's not living on popcorn. Can we still see the unwashed gentleman and his escape route? He is dashing for it. If you can either go after him like right now or you're going to lose him.
00:39:34
Speaker
What direction does it look like he's running towards? He is heading north. I'd like to at least at minimum point him out to May event Calamity. It's been a minute or so since the people had the effect. So give me another ingenuity and tech roll and you're at an advantage because you've already done this once on purpose. So roll three dice and give me the best of two.
00:39:54
Speaker
Okay, we got a six and a five on the dice and a six from the skills and attributes for a total of 17. You fine tune the focus of the sonic distributor on your stylus and tunnel a path through the hologram people. And sure enough, this guy is looking over his shoulder as he is trying to smooth his way past people.
00:40:19
Speaker
as quickly as he can. And even under the garlicky popcorn and the cotton candy in the air, you can practically smell him from here. This is a person that has not bathed in weeks, making his way as quickly as he can. We could just go ask him. I think we'll have to catch him though. Let's catch him.
00:40:36
Speaker
As we're running Calamity will be just yelling, Hey, do you want a wet nap? I have wet naps. Everybody please give me a strength roll with athletics. If you have it, your strength is the speed at which you can travel. Our malnourished gentleman is down.
00:40:53
Speaker
minus one in his own attempt to cheese it quickly. I'm gonna spend a story point because Calamity is really, you know, she's really determined about the wet maps. So I got a 12. He also got a 12, nothing special on the dice. You do keep up with him and because you spend a story point, I'm gonna say you get closer. Believe it or not, I got another set of double sixes. Nice.
00:41:21
Speaker
So you're like, oh, him? That guy? Yeah, sure. And takes off after him actually might overtake Calamity. This is actually pursuing a lead. Well done.
00:41:36
Speaker
Fixer, what did you get on the dice? Only an 11 with a 4 and a 3. You are a step behind the other two in terms of keeping up through the crowd. And the auditor is trailing behind like, dude, wait for me, I'll catch up. Pardon me. Yes, I know you're artificial. Excuse me.
00:41:54
Speaker
So yeah, you guys are racing along the outer ring, trying to catch up to this smelly, smelly man. Everybody give me an ingenuity roll to keep eyes on him as he dashes ahead of you. Nave, since you're closest and since Calamity spent a story point, you are both at an advantage. Fixer, since you're a step behind, you are just rolling two dice. Give me ingenuity, please. That's a four and a five for a 13 for me. Two and a five for an 11 for me.
00:42:21
Speaker
Well, I have double sixes now, so 14. All three of you managed to keep eyes on him as he slips past the fountain proper. A wide, big Las Vegas style fountain that is just shooting water up gallons per second in lovely little floral arrangements. A beautiful wide fountain a quarter the size of an Olympic swimming pool with water misting the air. It does funny things to the sunlight.
00:42:48
Speaker
You get rainbows and waterfalls. Here you get pixels. You can smell the popcorn even here under the chlorine of the fountain water. Beyond the
Chase and Mascot Encounter
00:42:58
Speaker
fountain appears to be a large supply shed. Juno the dog, a man in a mascot costume, is mopping near the fountain on the black shimmering tarmac. Filthy Guy makes a circuit the other way. He veers around Juno the dog past
00:43:15
Speaker
the fountain you are still catching up to him but you did not lose sight of him he definitely responded physically very differently to juno the dog than he did to the holographic people the holographic people have thinned out they do not circulate around the fountain because the water misting the air it interferes with the holograms so they're not as effective and convincing out here he limping lee cheeses it counterclockwise around the fountain
00:43:42
Speaker
Let's check out Juno the Dog using the stylus. I want to see if it's not a hologram. Is it some sort of robot? Give me ingenuity and two for your Sonic. You are going to be at a disadvantage. Maeve and Calamity, what are you two doing? Well, I'm still chasing, but I was going to yell to Juno the Dog.
00:44:00
Speaker
Hey, that guy needs cleaning. It's the custodian's code, I assume. That's just marvelous. You shout to Juno the Dog waving my mop. Like, hey, that guy needs help. Two things happen immediately. Juno the Dog turns to you and then follows your point of view to the man on the far side of the fountain.
00:44:25
Speaker
Even over the light roar of the fountain, ahead of you, the guy stumbles and falls against the maintenance shit wall in front of him. He's like, what are you doing? No! As Juno the dog punches his back, he puffs out his chest and goes, ho, ho, ho!
00:44:47
Speaker
The baying echoes across the park as a hush falls, as the holographic people just come to a pause, and they're still standing where they are in various spots around the park, and then they take two steps to the right, and there are pathways cleared from everywhere in the park to everywhere else in the park, and the mascots all turn facing the fountain.
00:45:16
Speaker
Oh good, this is a perfect time for me to find out what that mascot is. I did something! Got a 6 and a 3 with a total of 15. 15, okay. Because there was a 6, you're going to get some information but not the whole schmear. The person that is close enough to Sonic, that is not just a man in a mascot costume.
00:45:39
Speaker
Something is going on. Your Sonic is seeing him as technology, not a person. And that technology just sent a command of, come and get him. Olly olly oxen free. That is what you're able to get off of your Sonic abyss. What? Like, that's not a dog and you just rang the dinner bell.
00:46:03
Speaker
And that's clearly not a robot. It's not a robot. No, it's like it's covered in fur and it's moving with, I mean, it's stiff, but not like mechanically stiff. The straggling man gets to his feet and races past where you can see him. It's through the water, but he's heading towards the far end of the maintenance ship.
00:46:24
Speaker
I would like to continue the pursuit. I want to catch the sky. That is going to be a strength and coordination role to close the distance.
Meet the Survivors
00:46:33
Speaker
Calamity, you tried to do something helpful and he immediately said, what are you doing? No. What is your reaction to this confusing news? What is going on in your head?
00:46:42
Speaker
Oh well I am definitely confused but that's fine honestly because I expecting maybe the the other custodian to help me chase this guy and it has caused a huge thing to happen in the whole park and that's amazing. It's not great that the guy's upset about it so I'm still curious about that so I was going to keep chasing him. Give me a strength and coordination roll please. I got snake eyes on mine.
00:47:08
Speaker
Yeah, between everything that's going on, you're running, your friend is shouting, you slip. Unfortunately, Maeve, you roll an ankle and will be at a minus one to movement related things for the coming hour. And you will need to get back up. When you are down, you are down. The water missing and landing on the tarmac, even here, away from the whole park, the smell of the garlicky popcorn is everywhere.
00:47:36
Speaker
like you just biffed it into the tarmac and on top of the the smell of like you know the industrialized solidified chemicals is that buttery garlicky smell you biff it calamity continues chasing what was your total calamity
00:47:52
Speaker
I have a 15 with a 6 on one of the dice. You definitely catch up to him as he is pounding on the door of the maintenance shed. You catch up. We are going to need to start a presence role in the immediate future to parlay with this gentleman. Fixer, you have just gotten very confusing information. Give me an awareness role. How far away am I from the dog?
00:48:15
Speaker
Juno is roughly where the cross is moving. You guys were running up here. The fallen gentleman is here. I would say Calamity is here and you biffed it right about here next to the fountain. Okay. You are no more than I'd say eight feet from Juno at the moment and he is staggering in your direction. Fixer, what did you get on the awareness roll please?
00:48:38
Speaker
Oh, this was terrible. This was a one and a two for a total of six. With everything going on around you, you don't notice anything. You're completely focused on the dog.
00:48:49
Speaker
Could I instead be distracted by the fact that Maeve faceplanted and I'm more worried about her having hurt herself? Absolutely. Do you want to move to help her up? Yes, please. We are now in a action round, which means we have talkers, followed by movers, followed by doers, followed by fighters who are intending to attack. I believe Calamity is trying to talk to the gentleman pounding on the door of the maintenance shed.
00:49:15
Speaker
Let me in! Let me in! Before I talked, I was actually thinking of just using my employee badge to maybe open the maintenance door for him since he clearly really wants to go in there and then maybe we could talk in there.
00:49:29
Speaker
he is in the way he's kind of like blocking you oh okay all right talk talking it is then okay what are you trying to say and give me a presence and convince role please hey did you want to go in there i can maybe let you in but there's a fountain with a bunch of cleaning chemicals in it neither mop if you just need to wash up just a little bit that's 18 with nothing special on the dice
00:49:52
Speaker
This gentleman rolled a three with a two and a one on the dice. He has heard you and he believes that you are sincere. However, that does not assuage his panic because he is still pounding on the doors. It's great that you think you're helping, but you're making it so much worse!
00:50:11
Speaker
Cut 2 points various around the park as the dutiful hologram people taking a step to the right, clearing a path. We have Percy Pocket Pants marching adroitly down one of the walkways towards the shed.
00:50:27
Speaker
Another vantage point coming up from the gift shop is the mouse, like, oh boy, new friends. As from the carousel, a big blue mascot of an owl named Hoops spreads his wings wide from the carousel, shouts, hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo
00:50:56
Speaker
What you know is a dog and he's staggering towards me. I don't know if you remember from the first game we played, but my father kept dogs growing up. So I'm going to see if I can reason with this puppy. So Maeve kind of like trying to get up and not being able to put a lot of weight on her ankles goes, down boy, sit. Presence and convince. That is a four to three for 13.
00:51:21
Speaker
Yeah, you've bought yourself some time. It hasn't made him stop and get down on all fours, but you have definitely messed with his head. And he tilts his head like, but I want to get closer. I want, and like he brings this out. Like I want to help. I want to be your friend. You have successfully stopped him in his tracks. Fixer. You are moving. You are helping Maeve rise to their feet. Yes. That is what I would love to do. Give me a strength roll, please.
00:51:50
Speaker
Oh god no, please no. Then gingerly with coordination, health pull her to her feet. Leverage. Leverage. And you know what, let's please use the story point for this as well.
00:52:04
Speaker
Okay, we're looking at a three and a five on the dice for a total of 13. The story point buys you literally an extra hand from the auditor to smoothly get all three of us on our feet and ready to move. And because you put a story point in there, if you're willing to be a crutch for Maeve, you can only half hinder her reduced speed with your own.
00:52:28
Speaker
I will happily do so. Turn to the auditor and say, I believe we may need to do this with a bit of teamwork. Put one hand behind Maeve. Motion for him to put his hand on the other side of Maeve so we can literally try to walk as fast as possible over to where Calamity is. Four-legged race. I love it. Let's do.
00:52:46
Speaker
We just sort of like, and we're walking, we're walking. We've got five working legs between us, so we should be able to make it. I love it. That is the movers, and no one is fighting at this round. You do hear locks turning on the maintenance shed as you guys are getting closer. From this vantage point, you can also see
00:53:11
Speaker
Creeping your way from a building that is somehow suave tonight right now. Mascot versions of Frankenstein's monster and the Wolfman. Joybellant, brand, spooky mascots. Frankenstein's monster's eyes are glowing as the wolfman gets closer.
00:53:36
Speaker
making their progress as Hootz the Owl is creepily approaching with Percy Pocket Pants heading your way from the roller coaster. Can we get that door open? Yes, I was going to ask, did the locks seem to be turning in a positive way or in the locking more way? The unlocking way.
00:53:57
Speaker
The gentleman in front of you who's been patting on the door, he is the one currently standing directly in front of the doorway, and it unlocks from the inside. A waft of BO hits from the maintenance shed. As the door opens, someone drags like another sweaty, grotty, hasn't washed in weeks, reaches out, grabs him by the t-shirt, and pulls him in. And I'm going to roll to make sure they don't just drop him or accidentally punch him in the face.
00:54:23
Speaker
That is not a snake eyes. So they successfully pulled him into the shed and start to push it shut on the three of, on the four of you. Well, it's going to be sort of half talking, half moving. So that's fine. People can ambulate and talk at the same time. The idea was I was just going to sort of, you know, half step into the doorway to follow him and say, Hey guys, come on. This smells really bad in here. You got to check this out. Presence and convince, convince role at a disadvantage.
00:54:55
Speaker
Well, that's still a 19, because the two lowest were fives. I rolled pretty well with a 10 on the dice for Monsieur Thompson-Jompson, but not a 19. They have not shut the door in your face. It is a jar. And they're like, what? Who said that? Are there actual people out there? And now you can hear other voices behind you. Maeve, are you doing any talking, any moving in this round?
00:55:20
Speaker
Yeah, Maeve calls Thompson Johnson. We just wanted to talk to you about something. It's really important. And also I'm hurt and I would really like to be in there. You raise your voice to try and shout. I need a resolve and strength roll from you, please. That's a one and a six for a 15.
00:55:40
Speaker
You are down one point of resolve starting now. You are feeling weak, and it has nothing to do with your busted ankle. You're just like, what is, why am I out of shape? As you try to raise your voice, like, yeah, no, please let us in. What were you trying to shout when a level of exhaustion hit?
00:56:02
Speaker
I was trying to see if Thompson jumps in with lettuce in the door. Yeah, they're all shouting at each other and are not quite hearing you over the roar of the fountain as well, especially with the
00:56:16
Speaker
Fixer, you are also helping Maeve get closer to the door. Is it clear from Maeve's interaction with them that it is the family reunion version of Reunion and not the band reunion door version of Reunion? There are no rock gods in there. There are no indie rock gods in there. There are no soft rock gods in there.
00:56:37
Speaker
Family Thompson Johnson, we are here to help save you, if you let us in. Prison's unconvinced. Disadvantaged because of the things going on. Oh no. Okay, so it's lowest two, then it's gonna be a two and a two for a total of nine. We're gonna roll a consensus for the Thompson-Johnson's. Nine is not great, but they might roll an eight, so you never know.
00:57:00
Speaker
They did not roll an 8, they rolled a 7, plus their resolve is going to mean they do not listen to you. They shut the door just as Calamity reaches it. So I'm not halfway in the door anymore. They just shut it in front of me? Yes. Rude. Have they locked it yet? No. Like you can hear them locking it, but you look down and you realize you have your own key card.
00:57:26
Speaker
Yeah, I was gonna say, like, the locking part I should be able to deal with, but I'm really not very strong if they're holding the door shut. It doesn't sound like they're trying to bar it just yet. Give me a coordination roll and don't drop the card. Just checking on the mascots. I got a two and a five, which is, you know, a nine, but it's not two ones.
00:57:48
Speaker
But you also have a plus two for the key card, which neatly opens up the maintenance shed. The door swings open again before they can lock it. You can enter while they are stunned.
00:58:02
Speaker
Look, we just want to talk. I admit it's going to be hard, but... So I'm just going in and sort of, again, you know, holding the door open for everyone else so I can shut it when they're here. Okay. The fixer, the auditor help gets Maeve into the shed behind Calamity as a handful of panicking Thompson-Johnson's shut the door behind you and they start locking the locks again. It does not smell good in this particular vicinity.
00:58:32
Speaker
First things first, I'd like to check Maeve's leg and see if it's okay. Give me an ingenuity and medicine roll. Not doing well. A three and a one for a total of ten. No, you can't tell anything specific. She rolled her ankle. It appears to be a bad sprain, but at least it didn't break. Keep pressure off of it, but you are not able to pick up anything else.
00:58:54
Speaker
As... as they are doing that, uh... Fixer, for all the running we've been doing the past few weeks, I... feel... awful. What do you mean awful? Like... tummy ache? Like exhausted. Well, I mean, you were doing a lot of running. Right. We've done more. Painfully nondescript from the outside. The maintenance shed is designed to blend in.
00:59:21
Speaker
Inside it has been turned into a triage shelter. No clear sign how many survivors have been living in here for at least the past three weeks, but the smell is strong. They are low on supplies and untainted food and water. They all wear matching soiled t-shirts or replacements taken from the gift shop.
00:59:39
Speaker
You currently are in a room that is roughly the size of a two car or possibly three car garage. There are more mops here. There is more self cleaning brooms here. There are
00:59:54
Speaker
cabinets and Snackums posters of all things on the walls and on the ground are half a dozen or more exhausted malnourished Thompson-Jompson's ages ranging from late 20s to early 70s. Bradley, Barbara, Brillbo, Brenba, Braxper, Bob, and Branma are all here.
01:00:19
Speaker
So, yes, they are all hugely shocked that you were able to just diddly-deed open the door after they slammed it in your face. They are surprised, number two, that you are people. And, yeah, a lot is going on, but they do slam the door behind you and start turning locks. Maeve was talking to the Fixer about feeling poorly
01:00:42
Speaker
Yeah, I just, I don't know what happened. I was, I mean my ankle hurt and then all of a sudden I just felt terrible.
01:00:49
Speaker
It's deeply concerning, Maeve. You know, we've done a lot of traveling at this point, and I've never heard you complain of any physical ailments. You seem really affected. The community of Thompson-Jompsons, one that appears to be not in the 20s, but like the assumed leader of the group, Brillbo Thompson-Jompson, the scraggly guy you followed here, how bad is she feeling exactly? You eat anything?
01:01:16
Speaker
I haven't eaten anything here, no, what's wrong with the food? He slowly
Dangerous Flowers and the Mascot Infection
01:01:22
Speaker
raises a finger. Where did you get that flower in your hair? Oh, it was given to me, what was his name, Pete? Pick a flower, Pete! The entire group gasps in unison and backs up one step from you as ailing Brandt Ma.
01:01:45
Speaker
rolls over under the blanket on the floor they'll get her out of here get her out of here she's not safe we can't be around her get away from her get her out of here as you hear the
01:02:00
Speaker
of a mascot gloved hand trying to wrap on the closed and shut door. Maeve, you tug at the trio of plastic flowers and they are not only caught in your hair, but trying to pull them away hurts. Ow! Fixer, don't make me go out there. I don't want to leave.
01:02:27
Speaker
Take out my stylus, give a quick scan of the flower where it's attached to her head. Do any of the readings make sense? Do they seem familiar? Have we scanned them anywhere else here before? Give me an ingenuity and a technology role with plus two for Sonic and throw another two for Time Lord training. How many story points do you have right now?
01:02:49
Speaker
I currently still have two left. This is going to be a knowledge roll. So it's ingenuity, Time Lord training for two, and knowledge, and throw two on for the Sonic. So you've got loads of bonuses here. Wow, the dice are not nice right now. Wow, that is really harsh.
01:03:07
Speaker
It is. So that's a one and a two for a total of 13. The 13 is enough to get basic information, but with the one on the dice it is going to be an issue. You get your Sonic close enough to the flowers in her hair to get a decent scan.
01:03:29
Speaker
But one of the flower petals snares out and taps against the edge of your Sonic and there's a spark. The scan reads Chula nanogenes just before the Sonic reports. It's identified them, but it can't do anything. My dear auditor, we have a serious, serious problem. Maeve has been infected with the Chula nanogenes. And I suspect she's not the only one. But it's gonna be okay, right? Like, it's gonna be fine.
01:03:59
Speaker
I will do everything in my power to fix this.
01:04:22
Speaker
going off on this tirade about the Thompson-Johnson family reunion tour and how they've been stuck here for almost a month. They got here, everything was okay, everything was fine, and then they started to notice that half the rides didn't work, despite the fact that they look like they're working.
01:04:42
Speaker
and they couldn't get a straight answer out of the helper bot. One by one, their group has been worn down by mascots. People have taken photos with them and disappeared. People have eaten cotton candy and later died.
01:04:59
Speaker
They know touching the mascots is the problem. They don't have, they didn't have the language for it. Yeah, chula nanogenes are nasty, nasty business. They rewrite their host. And in this case, into mascots. They tell you their version of events, like the disaster they've been running through. One of them holds up a fifth full of empty snackums.
01:05:23
Speaker
candy bar wrappers that they've ransacked everywhere they can get access to, like the snack shop, the gift shop, to get more food because they learned the hard way, the popcorn's no good for you, you can't bathe in the fountain because that'll kill you. Maeve, what is your knowledge base like? My knowledge, I have a three in it. Give me an ingenuity and knowledge roll. The three and a five for a 15.
01:05:48
Speaker
Arsenic has been used in the past to treat certain materials as they are proofed, as they are hardened, et cetera. You have in New Key from time to time spoken to people in that line of work and the buttery smell. Now that you're actually like, it's in your nose, like you knew you've smelled it before, that's arsenic. That's not popcorn we've been smelling. The butter is arsenic.
01:06:17
Speaker
Wow, this park is really great. Well, it's a really great trap. I would suspect that its goal was to neither trap us nor the Thompson-Jomsons, so it may still be a trap waiting to spring. Maeve, look at me for a second. You are currently infected with these chulananagines.
01:06:37
Speaker
They are going to rewrite you slowly. We are going to do everything we can to fix this, but that will mean finding some way to not just rewrite the nanogenes in you, but those that are in the other victims across this park. Well, all of you, except for Fixer, have the worst bedside manner I have ever heard!
01:07:00
Speaker
No, it's fine. Just, if you can steer, try to be the pants guy. Because you like the pants, right? I liked the pockets. When Maeve says you guys have the worst bedside manner of all time, that's enough to snap the auditor out of it. Maeve's right. Shulanana genes have been unwritten before. It's a matter of historical record. It's just incredibly difficult.
01:07:24
Speaker
The pawing at the door has not stopped. Auditor, how were they rewritten before? He opens his mouth to answer when there's just this little wet pop from the floor and a couple of the Thompson-Jompsons are on their hands and knees without touching her trying to comfort Brandma Thompson-Jompson, who at this point looks very waxy and very wan and very thin.
01:07:52
Speaker
All of a sudden her cheeks start to inflate. It's not the blush of youth returning to her cheeks, but a waxy expansion as she goes rigid underneath the blanket on the floor.
01:08:08
Speaker
as yellow fabric stretches out across her and a little straw hat materializes out of her crown as she sits up from the floor as a pick a flower peat. She just holds out a hand and little wax flowers emerge from her fist as she says, pretty flower
Cliffhanger Ending with Mascot Threat
01:08:32
Speaker
or pretty baby?
01:08:57
Speaker
And that's where we're gonna stop things today on Anywhere But Now. You have mascots pounding on the door. You are locked inside with at least two people that are infected with mana genes. And I am one of them! And you're one of them! That's just a treat. That is just a treat for me. You guys are in some really hot water. Oh yeah. This is gonna be a hard one. It's just a flower. It's just a flower. It's just a flower.
01:09:32
Speaker
One of my favorite things about these games, and I'm not the first person to get here, but like anytime a Whovian monster can turn something that like isn't necessarily the most horrifying thing ever and then turn it into the creepiest thing ever is just jam on sourdough toast to me.
01:09:52
Speaker
I do think they're my favorites. I've described my favorite Doctor Who monsters as the curtains are going to kill you today. I'm so glad. You appear to be having fun still despite the mortal terror, the mortal peril. That's great. That just makes it interesting. I mean, Calamity's having fun in character. Good. She thinks that you got the VIP passes and this is just fantastic.
01:10:19
Speaker
Maeve is straight up not having a good time today, but I'm having a great time. Sometimes people get funed out. I absolutely love that there are like a handful of different spots where a cliffhanger can happen and you can get like, oh, we're in a spot now. And this is this is one of them. And it's it's it's never the same twice. And it's always just
01:10:47
Speaker
At the midway point, I am going to give you all a story point on top of the other story points you've received so far. I have a lot of story points and now I'm really happy I'm sitting on a mountain of like nine story points because I think I'm gonna really need them. You're gonna need them.
01:11:05
Speaker
Everybody gets a story point, everybody gets an experience point for reaching this point of the story. The story point is available immediately, the experience point is not. I would like to go around the room at this midway point and get impressions from our players. Calamity, you had a job interview today, you lucky so-and-so.
01:11:26
Speaker
Yeah, it was great. Like, I feel like that I can really be a productive part of the team here because there's a lot of things to do. There are a lot of things to do. Part of the challenge for me as the GM is to make sure that all of the PCs have things to do. One of the beautiful challenges is calamity's spontaneity.
01:11:51
Speaker
Even with background and improv and everything and the yes and is like job interview. Yes. Yes, we are. We are doing it. The robot is excited about it. Let's, let's go fully cognizant that this just might end up with a plot coupon in your hand to get you into spaces down the road. No, I'm dead serious. No one has ever applied for a job with the robot before the territory. It's very exciting. That was brilliant.
01:12:15
Speaker
It was a great moment. Well, thank you. Maeve, you are a reporter. You are uncovering things. And honestly, one of my personal favorite moments from this whole thing was a hologram just evaporated in front of someone from 1890 who has no idea what that is.
01:12:33
Speaker
go. Yeah, I mean, I just thought about what it might be attributed to. And ghost was the first thing to pop into my head. I honestly was not thinking that when I named the coaster, I just wanted it to rhyme and pop and be fun because we're on joy balance. But yeah,
01:12:55
Speaker
I don't think Maeve has ever seen a roller coaster and it's supposed to be like a haunted place, right? So it's probably going to take us to like ghosts, right? And look, they're right here. I found the ride. I thought it was there, but that thing just keeps moving.
01:13:12
Speaker
Just beautiful. And Fixer, I gotta say, being easygoing with low roles is making for some really interesting outcomes. Sometimes the dice aren't on our side, but I feel like leaning into it just ends up with better stories and better character arcs. He's trying so hard. He's trying so hard, you guys!
01:13:33
Speaker
right he really wants to help he really does what is the only person in the room who isn't scaring the crap out of me right now so yeah um see it's interesting to me because the character of the auditor as a GM PC strictly therefore support
01:13:51
Speaker
He knows what I know about the Whovian universe, so he knows exactly how bad the Chulan nanogenes can be. He's a time war survivor, so he's dealing with his own amounts of PTSD and had a little moment there of like, oh god, oh dear god, and it wasn't until Maeve actually said, you people are terrible, snap out of it, you got a job to do, adds that little pepper to the dynamic, you know? It's good stuff.
01:14:19
Speaker
It was, it was really great. What would we have learned in the doctoral program about chula nanogenes? Given that the...
01:14:29
Speaker
The information roll you got was not great, but enough to like, oh shit. Chula nanogenes are an extremely small, extremely nasty medical machine. They're nanogenes and they just fix what they're told to fix. The problem is, much like the Sorcerer's Apprentice, the broom that just keeps delivering water long after the job is over, they just keep fixing.
01:14:56
Speaker
And if they come up against any kind of a challenge, they're like, oh, I know what to do. And then they just go on fixing. So they're a tool used by other intelligences, not an intelligence sentence in and of itself. Correct. They are. They are a device. They are the genie out of the bottle, you know, but they have no actual intelligence. It's not like they can be reasoned with or spoken to. They are basically just sophisticated programming that can do its own thing.
01:15:22
Speaker
Oh, that's good because I was going to try to talk down her, uh, the Nanite center, but that, yeah, that wouldn't work at all. So any kind of like, no, you're right. We'll try harder. So don't do that. People are frowning. That means there's a problem.
01:15:44
Speaker
Accurate, accurate. Unfortunately, Percy Pocket Pants and Pick a Flower Pete have just the biggest smiles on their faces. So everything's fine. I don't understand why people are screaming and running away. What's going on? It's Percy Pocket Pants.
01:15:58
Speaker
Personally, Calamity wants to be the owl. Hoots, you could get your chance. You could get your chance. If we're just doomed, she's gonna have to make a run for the owl. Oh no, now I'm gonna be pick a flower pea. Oh God. Ooh.
01:16:17
Speaker
That is a dope, that is a dope owl. Thank you. We may have to get you one of the mascot uniforms, whether or not, you know, we are defeating it. It's the best by life altering nano genes. You are not doomed. I promise you, you are not doomed. Oh, it'll be fine. You could just send me a blank character sheet. I assume we're not doomed, but Calamity is prepared for pretty much anything. They are called Die for a reason.
01:16:43
Speaker
They are indeed called dive for a reason. Maeve has tripped over our first use of poison mechanics. When she took the flowers, that's what the strength and resolve rolls were for at the time. And every half hour, because of the way our games go, rather than the hour, I've been asking her to reroll with additional difficulties as we go. It's like, this other's running around, really takes it out of you, huh?
01:17:11
Speaker
You've done it so subtly, too. I always thought it was because of something else I was doing, and I was like, yeah, sure. I was squinting at that. It's like, wow, roll for shouting. I mean, okay. It's weird that no one else is making these rolls, but sure, I'll roll to shout. I don't mind. Why am I so tired?
01:17:35
Speaker
This has been a delight. We will pick up midstream in The Wages of Joy as you try and survive your trip to Joyvalent. A lot of the mods you've tackled so far, like the Knowledge one that was our zero session and the Mirum, those were made up for you guys. These were brand new minted mods with
01:17:59
Speaker
new challenges and new characters and new maps and everything, but the wages of joy, which you are now hip deep in, has been a real treat to come back to and rework with these new challenges like, well, I need to have stuff for Maeve to do and I need to have stuff for Calamity to do and I need to have stuff for Fixer to futz with and just tailor it that little bit. It's candy, non-poisoned candy. Non-poisoned candy. To the extent that any candy is not poison.
01:18:30
Speaker
A brilliant story points to each of you, a brilliant experience points to each of you. You guys are a delight. I'm having so much fun. And finally, to our listeners, another big thank you for sharing your precious time with us. If you feel it's been well spent, please share anywhere but now with your friends who are looking to enjoy themselves. Feel free to leave a like or a comment, and you can find us on Twitter at anywhere but now with an underscore at the end and wherever you get your podcasts.
01:18:56
Speaker
For all of us, I'm Casey Jones. Thanks so much and have a great day.