To Stop a Clock OOC
Hello everyone, and welcome to the storybook! This OOC is for more information, signups, discussion, and some other useful stuff like character banners.
~ World Information ~
The Archive has three main goals: protect the timeline from outside influence, document all of human history from erased timelines as well as the real one, and stop the apocalypse. Currently, no matter what the Archive seems to do to change it, the world ends in 2506. The reason why it ends changes with each attempt to change the past, from nuclear war to global pandemics to the collapse of ecosystems, but the outcome is always the same: the year 2506 is a wasteland. The Archive is led by Delta, who vows to ensure a safe future for humanity, and to stop the mission of the Disjunction. Not much is known about the Disjunction, except that it is everything the Archive stands against. Some agents believe this wholeheartedly; not everyone is convinced that it's as evil as they're told.
Time travel can often be complicated; this version follows a few rules/conventions to keep it simpler, and we can make our own. It's possible to travel to any time and space (even to visit yourself), and time can be looped repeatedly in a given space with the right technology, although it is thought that it cannot be stopped entirely. Time paradoxes happen, and the Archive will take immediate action on them, but they're harder to cause than you'd think. For example, an agent going back in time to erase an event they learned about so that it never becomes history doesn't create a paradox. The Archive exists somewhat out of time and tracks history that "never was" from destroyed timelines, and that distinction lets them operate without everything they do being an impossibility.
You might be wondering, "Hey, uh... what's with that mole you mentioned in the intro?" Currently, our thinking is that the traitor is one of the team members— their future self, that is, with their present self none the wiser. It makes most sense to determine who it is once all the characters are in, and although we could keep it a secret among writers, murder-mystery style, we think it'll lead to more interesting plans and outcomes if we all know! So, stay tuned for that.
Speaking of characters, they can be from pretty much any time and place! If they're from the future (2026-2506), that gives you free reign to decide what their corner of the world looks like there and then. Go crazy! Thanks to the Archive, there aren't parallel universes or timelines, so with the exception of the Anomaly, they should all be from this timeline.
~ Storybook Information ~
We hope for this to be a faster-paced Storybook. Ideally, we build some good momentum during RPMo and carry it forward, but what's more important to us is that we all enjoy the story and have a good time!
Here's a quick summary of the six roles:
- The Historian- Familiar with history and cultural context wherever they go, the Historian's job is to predict the consequences of outside actions on the timeline. A key strategist, they avoid catastrophic butterfly events on missions and determine how to fix corrupted timelines.
- The Engineer- An expert in tech from all eras, the Engineer programs time machines and navigates space-time, making them indispensable to the team. Leave them for two hours in the eleventh century and they'll have reinvented Wi-Fi by the time you come back.
- The Anomaly- As a survivor of an erased timeline, the Anomaly shouldn't even exist. However, being a living time paradox has its advantages; they have a mysterious, instinctual connection to time that makes them sensitive to potential timeline disturbances— and sometimes even "remember" things that haven't happened yet.
- The Enforcer- Every dream team needs a fighter: not everyone is friendly to the Archive, and some missions get dirty. Whether it's with a laser-pulse gun, an ancient sword, or hand-to-hand combat, the Enforcer knows how to keep their team safe in their environment.
- The Smuggler- No matter where or when they are, the Smuggler always "knows a guy" who can help them out. They keep an extensive network of temporal contacts to manage the delivery of gear swaps, era-appropriate supplies, and even messages from their future self.
- The Infiltrator- Fluent in many languages, as tactful as a spy, and trained to blend in no matter where they are, the Infiltrator is the main agent of the team's plans. Time is delicate, and it takes someone able to belong seamlessly in any setting to make the changes you want— and avoid the ones you don't.
As expected for a team in a time travel story, the web of relationships, connections and secrets between characters will often be non-linear, spanning past, present and future versions of themselves. There will be plenty of opportunities to plot these dynamics and histories!
And of course, remember to have fun!
~ Banners and Dividers ~
Timeskip Divider:
- Code
[center][fimg=100,111]https://i.imgur.com/I797S7H.png[/fimg][/center]
Character Banners: These are post specific, due to the mission/setting being in a header. We'll create them as needed: here's a sample of what to expect!
