Primeval: Tales of the Anomalies, Players Wanted

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Feb 9, 2015 4:21 pm
Hullo, folks,

This is a recruitment thread for the PRIMEVAL: Tales of the Anomalies PbP game that I am going to run here on Gamers' Plane. :)

This game will be run and played using the game mechanics and rules from the Primeval RPG published by Cubicle 7 in association with Impossible Pictures. I am looking to run the game with a maximum of 10 players, and the group of players may or may not be involved in the same "adventure" per se, although there may be ties and connections across some of the plots and the like. The Primeval RPG uses a relatively light game system called Vortex, in a more realistic variant, which was first used in the Doctor Who: Adventure in Time and Space] RPG also published by C7, and has since been used in a couple of other game systems out there as well. As mentioned, the Primeval RPG uses a very light set of rules, and so the rulebook is not really needed. I will guide folks through character generation as needed, and encourage folks who might want to try a new game system (with dinosaurs!) to perhaps give this PbP game a try. :)

What Is Primeval?

Primeval is a modern-day science fiction rpg that is based on the successful Primeval UK tv series, in which temporal portals (called "Anomalies") are opening from the past and future into the present day. The player characters job is to contain the creatures and possibly people emerging from the Anomalies, while keeping the Anomalies and knowledge of them secret from the public. In the default setting, the player characters work for the Anomaly Research Centre (ARC), and is set in the U.K., though the game could also be run in a different country as well, such as the U.S. and/or Canada. Oh, and needless to say, this game has lots and lots of dinosaurs!

The Background

This game will be set during the course of the PRIMEVAL UK tv series, during the period of the second series when the Anomaly Research Centre (ARC) was first introduced, thus allowing players to play Anomaly Research Centre (ARC) personnel if that is what they wish, and will feature original characters created by you, the players.

The Characters

There will effectively be three potential "types" of characters - members of the ARC, characters who are not ARC personnel, and members of the Chronos Society. I'll talk more about the Chronos Society in the game threads about the game on the actual forum for the game, but suffice it to say, any type of player character can be played for this game with the approval of the Game Moderator, as long as the character fits within the PRIMEVAL tv series conception. Player characters, no matter what type they are, will not know that much about the Chronos Society, if anything at all.

Note that in order to play in this game, all players must have access to the Primeval Roleplaying Game rulebook, but this is not a necessity. The game system and the mechanics of character generation for Primeval are quite simple, and all player characters will be created in association with the Moderator. While player characters may or may not do a lot of travelling through Anomalies, player characters may be from any time period/background, as long as the player can justify their reasons for traveling through an Anomaly to the present time during the game.

Questions, comments, thoughts and the like are welcome. Further information on the game and other aspects of the background are available upon request.

So, in the words of scientist Nick Cutter:

"Some... force out there ripped the boundaries of space and time to shreds. Maybe it's happened before, in which case every single thing we thought we knew about the universe is wrong. Or, this is the first time, in which case what changed? What happens next? Believe me, it's very, very far from over."

And here? We're just getting started! :)
Last edited February 9, 2015 4:22 pm
Feb 9, 2015 4:40 pm
I am sure I will regret jumping into something else but since my game is running at a rather manageable pace and the one game I am in is currently dead, I think I can manage this. I am most likely in!
Feb 9, 2015 4:52 pm
Hullo, Azzorak,
Azzorak says:
I am sure I will regret jumping into something else but since my game is running at a rather manageable pace and the one game I am in is currently dead, I think I can manage this. I am most likely in!
That would be extremely cool, and most kind of you. :)

If you have any questions you'd like me to address here, I would be most willing to comply. :)
Feb 9, 2015 9:55 pm
Applied, looking forward to seeing what you put us up against.
Feb 9, 2015 11:39 pm
JohnK says:
While player characters may or may not do a lot of travelling through Anomalies, player characters may be from any time period/background, as long as the player can justify their reasons for traveling through an Anomaly to the present time during the game.
I thought I had my character concept all prepared till I saw this. Now my mind is in chaos as I try to think of semi-historical characters to build. Thanks to that, I'm grappling with almost 5 concepts...
Feb 10, 2015 12:24 am
Yes, so many choices. I've got a few concepts that intrigue me, as well. 1) a daring-doo from the past who doesn't want to go back (thinking either a Soloman Kane/musketeer type, or a Patagonian giant - a 7+ footer from South America circa 1700), 2) a modern day ex-cop looking to make a difference, or 3) a semi-insane refugee from the last days of the horrific future, desperate to shut down the anomalies before the extinction of humanity.
Feb 10, 2015 12:58 am
I found your blog post from 4 years ago regarding character creation: http://jkahane.livejournal.com/600252.html
Last edited February 10, 2015 12:58 am
Feb 10, 2015 1:53 am
Some of my concepts, in no particular order...

- A modern-day big game hunter, eager to hunt the most unique big game ever.
- A legendary/semi-historical figure accidentally yanked into the future, like one of Robin Hood's merry men or a knight of the round table.
- A Russian diplomatic attaché in 1917 London escapes an assassination attempt by a German spy during the February Revolution which ended the Tsarist regime.
- A physicist assigned to the Manhattan project who vanishes during a strange accident.

And I've probably got more percolating in my mind somewhere. Time travel sure makes things more complicated for character creation. ;)
Feb 10, 2015 1:53 am
Hullo, RustInPieces,
RustInPieces says:
JohnK says:

While player characters may or may not do a lot of travelling through Anomalies, player characters may be from any time period/background, as long as the player can justify their reasons for traveling through an Anomaly to the present time during the game.
I thought I had my character concept all prepared till I saw this. Now my mind is in chaos as I try to think of semi-historical characters to build. Thanks to that, I'm grappling with almost 5 concepts...
I've just posted up a slightly more detailed version of the Premise of the Game in the PbP game forums section. And yes, I thought folks would be faced with a sudden...dilemma :)...when they would see that particular line. Needless to say, it opens all manner of possibilities. :)

Just 5 concepts, huh? :)
Last edited February 10, 2015 1:53 am
Feb 10, 2015 1:55 am
Hullo, Qralloq,
Qralloq says:

Yes, so many choices.
Another one of the great things about the game. :)
Qralloq says:

I've got a few concepts that intrigue me, as well. 1) a daring-doo from the past who doesn't want to go back (thinking either a Soloman Kane/musketeer type, or a Patagonian giant - a 7+ footer from South America circa 1700), 2) a modern day ex-cop looking to make a difference, or 3) a semi-insane refugee from the last days of the horrific future, desperate to shut down the anomalies before the extinction of humanity.
I'm rather fond of #1, and #3. The other two characters are more difficult to pull off. As for #4, which extinction of Humanity in the PRIMEVALverse? ::grin::
Feb 10, 2015 1:56 am
JohnK says:
I've just posted up a slightly more detailed version of the Premise of the Game in the PbP game forums section. And yes, I thought folks would be faced with a sudden...dilemma :)...when they would see that particular line. Needless to say, it opens all manner of possibilities. :)

Just 5 concepts, huh? :)
Well yeah, I only post the good ones that are mostly formed. Just don't tell me I can pull from alternate universes and I should be okay.
Last edited February 10, 2015 1:56 am
Feb 10, 2015 1:57 am
Hullo, Qralloq,
Qralloq says:
I found your blog post from 4 years ago regarding character creation: http://jkahane.livejournal.com/600252.html
I was wondering if someone around here might actually check out my LiveJournal for that. :) I've actually posted up the character into the Character Library here without the detailed stuff about character generation, but that LJ entry will make for a good guideline to creating the characters for the game.
Feb 10, 2015 2:00 am
Hullo, RustInPieces,
RustInPieces says:
Some of my concepts, in no particular order...

- A modern-day big game hunter, eager to hunt the most unique big game ever.
- A legendary/semi-historical figure accidentally yanked into the future, like one of Robin Hood's merry men or a knight of the round table.
- A Russian diplomatic attaché in 1917 London escapes an assassination attempt by a German spy during the February Revolution which ended the Tsarist regime.
- A physicist assigned to the Manhattan project who vanishes during a strange accident.
Definitely some interesting character concepts there. :) All I can tell you is, look at each character concept you've got here, and realise how that character could change the timeline. :) Temporal Damage in the game can be seriously nasty. (If you've seen the tv series, think Claudia Brown, as just one simple example of that.) ::grin::
RustInPieces says:

And I've probably got more percolating in my mind somewhere. Time travel sure makes things more complicated for character creation. ;)
Indeed it does. And it has all kinds of other ramifications and consequences. Especially when time travel is handled in a semi-realistic manner (if such a term can be used). :)
Last edited February 10, 2015 2:01 am
Feb 10, 2015 2:02 am
RustInPieces says:
JohnK says:

Just 5 concepts, huh? :)
Well yeah, I only post the good ones that are mostly formed. Just don't tell me I can pull from alternate universes and I should be okay.
Only if you want to have timelines collide and weird history and... But that's not really what PRIMEVAL was all about. :)
Feb 10, 2015 2:47 am
JohnK says:
All I can tell you is, look at each character concept you've got here, and realise how that character could change the timeline. :) Temporal Damage in the game can be seriously nasty. (If you've seen the tv series, think Claudia Brown, as just one simple example of that.) ::grin::
RustInPieces says:

And I've probably got more percolating in my mind somewhere. Time travel sure makes things more complicated for character creation. ;)
Indeed it does. And it has all kinds of other ramifications and consequences. Especially when time travel is handled in a semi-realistic manner (if such a term can be used). :)
I have only seen a couple of episodes from season 1, so I know practically nothing about the plot and temporal damage. Regardless, I'm more interested in a character pulled from the past. Some of those ideas I listed I've had, quite literally, for over a decade. And when a chance like this comes up... I'm loathe to pass it by. :D
Feb 10, 2015 3:32 pm
As I feel characters torn from time should be the exception not the rule, I will be playing something fairly mundane.

From Cardiff, not sure why she is wherever this takes place yet.
Former Professional Photographer
Outdoorsy Hobbies
Need to decide if I want her to be currently employed by ARC to photograph specimens or if I would rather haver her get mixed up in something she does not understand. Leaning toward the latter.
Last edited February 10, 2015 3:33 pm
Feb 10, 2015 3:43 pm
Hullo, RustInPieces,
RustInPieces says:

I have only seen a couple of episodes from season 1, so I know practically nothing about the plot and temporal damage.
In some ways, that will be advantageous, not knowing about the overall plot and the temporal damage stuff and all. We'll see how that works out. :)
RustInPieces says:

Regardless, I'm more interested in a character pulled from the past. Some of those ideas I listed I've had, quite literally, for over a decade. And when a chance like this comes up... I'm loathe to pass it by. :D
Characters in the game won't be "pulled from the past", as that isn't the way Anomalies tend to work. But that's something we can talk about in the forums when I set up the Character Discussion area and a couple of others.
Feb 10, 2015 3:45 pm
Hullo, Azzorak,
Azzorak says:

As I feel characters torn from time should be the exception not the rule, I will be playing something fairly mundane.
I feel pretty much the same about characters torn from time, which they aren't really in the series or in the game. That's a subject for another forum, perhaps the OOC Discussion area that I set up.

As for the character concept, we won't discuss that here, as that's stuff that we'll do in the proper forum in the game section once I set up another thread or three. :)
Feb 10, 2015 6:01 pm
Looking forward to getting started with character creation and game discussion. Also I didn't literally mean torn from time rather than just from elsewhere in time. I have a tendency to be dramatic.
Feb 10, 2015 7:25 pm
Hullo, Azzorak,
Azzorak says:

Looking forward to getting started with character creation and game discussion.
Same here. I wasn't expecting to get more than 1/2 of the player slots filled so quickly. :)
Azzorak says:

Also I didn't literally mean torn from time rather than just from elsewhere in time. I have a tendency to be dramatic.
Oh, I figured you didn't mean it literally, though that would be...interesting. ::evil g::

And you'll like the game for sure, then. There should be lots of dramatic moments in this game! :)
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