Someplace in Time 6

 

Mission Log: The Seventh Sun

Timeline: New Angeles, 2050 | Current Objective: Neutralize Swizzilizzti

🎸 A Symphony of Science and Shotguns

The cosmic ritual reaches its fever pitch, but our agents launch a masterfully synchronized multi-phase counter-offensive. Moving with theatrical precision, Lucy sprints toward the soundboard scaffolding. With a brilliant smirk, she uses her knowledge of cult electronics to override the audio matrix, instantly jamming the stadium's volume-11 amplifiers. A staggering, high-frequency sonic feedback screech tears through the loudspeakers, shattering the Mi-Go's hypnotic chant and causing the alien lobster to clutch its carapace in agony.

With the creature's telepathic frequency broken and its minions dazed, Dr. Stella Pfennig executes the ultimate scientific intervention. Sneaking directly up to the stage's heavy industrial fog machines, she empties her pocket chemistry kit into the liquid reservoirs. Within seconds, a massive, luminescent neuro-chemical vapor floods the stage. The localized gas neutralizes the lingering cosmic radiation, lifting the trance from the dancers and severely slowing the metabolic reflexes of both the Mi-Go and the rampaging dire bear.

Now that the stage is set and the enemy thoroughly weakened, Corporal Morgan Osprey delivers the grand finale. Igniting his modified retro jet pack, he blasts high into the stadium air, tracing a spectacular arc of white fire against the darkening sky. He crashes down onto the stage center-stage like a meteor, the physical shockwave scattering the chrome dancers. Dropping to one knee, Osprey instantly fires a heavy, concussive blast from his 12-gauge shotgun, blowing the wireless microphone clean off the fungus creature's body and pinning the disoriented disco-wigged bear to the floorboards.

🎲 SYSTEM MECHANICS: MUTED MESSENGER

The party combines a high-volume sonic disruption, an engineered neuro-chemical fog, and a spectacular airborne heavy combat entry to completely overwhelm the Mi-Go ritual.

Challenge Difficulty: CR 40 (Very Hard)

Lead Character: Dr. Pfennig

Calculation: Mental (2) + Scientist (1) + Chemistry Kit (2) = +5 Bonus

Assisted By: Lucy (Audio Jam: +1), Cpl. Osprey (Jetpack Entry: +1), Dr. Stevens (+1)

Total Party Bonus: +8

GM Secret Target: 31

Success Span: 23 to 39

Player's Estimate: 32 (Critical Success!!!)

Result: Critical Success! By guessing exactly one away from the secret number, the party achieves absolute triumph. The hypnotic broadcast is permanently severed, the cosmic portal collapses harmlessly back into the upper atmosphere, and the entire stadium erupts into thunderous cheers, completely convinced this spectacular display was part of the opening ceremony's special effects.

🏺 Future Contained

As the stunned pink-and-blue creature slumps over the sound equipment, Lucy wastes no time. She aims the orange molecular compressor pistol and squeezes the trigger, instantly shrinking the five-foot fungoid lobster down into a harmless, pocket-sized specimen. Corporal Osprey snaps the lid of our second stasis jar shut, sealing Swizzilizzti away next to Maynard Rollins.

The hypnotized musicians collapse in sheer exhaustion, while the massive prehistoric bear, completely cured of its alien influence, simply lumbers over to the side of the stage to feast on the abandoned catering tables. The ceasefire holds, and the catastrophic, immediate destruction of the world has been successfully averted.

Dr. Stevens raises the silver cavalry sword high into the air. Instantly, all of our spatiotemporal extrapolator wristbands flash with a blinding green text matrix, reading out our next temporal destination.

"The wristbands read: 'Venice, 1348, Deep One, jewelry.' We tap the green 'GO' icon... our knees turn to water, the neon skyline of New Angeles dissolves into a swirling grey void, and the irresistible pull of the space-time continuum sweeps us backward into the distant past..."

Scene 2 Completed! The future has been preserved. Next stop: the canals of plague-ridden Venice!

COORDINATES LOCKED: VENICE, 1348

⏳ Ready to Alter the Fabric of History?

Enjoying the reality-bending exploits of our ORUS agents? You can jump into the timeline yourself! Gear up with your own spatiotemporal extrapolator, hunt down CthulWho's escaped anomalies, and protect the space-time continuum in this standalone Timepunk adventure.

If you're interested in playing this RPG, you can find it here.

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Someplace in Time 5

 

Mission Log: Beneath the Concrete Sky

Timeline: New Angeles, 2050 | Current Objective: Navigate the Maintenance Tunnels

tunneling through the dark

With helidrone missiles raining down on the stadium field and the Mi-Go's hypnotic chant echoing from the main stage, the open ground is a death trap. Thinking ahead, Corporal Morgan Osprey makes a bold executive decision. Before the team dives into the maintenance stairs near the food court, he grabs a pair of experimental rocket boots and a twin set of 1984 jet packs from the upper pavilion's flying display. "We aren't just walking through these tunnels," Osprey grins, strapping the heavy fuel tanks over his security gear. "We're bypassing the maze entirely."

The team plunges down the broad flight of concrete stairs, escaping the flashing strobe lights into the vast, dark concrete underbelly of the stadium. Ahead of them lies a complex network of maintenance tunnels and high-clearance sewage mains that crisscross the stadium infrastructure. The air down here is heavy, thick with the smell of old rust and subterranean dampness.

Dr. Stella Pfennig steps up as the vanguard. Utilizing her keen scientific mind, she quickly examines the high-tech mechanisms of the salvaged jet packs and rocket boots. Using a few tools from her medical kit, she recalibrates the fuel-to-air ratio of the 1984 thrusters, transforming them from unpredictable retro displays into highly stable, high-velocity propulsion units. "Keep your heads low," she warns, clicking her own rocket boots into place. "The ceiling clearance in these drainage corridors is incredibly narrow."

With Osprey coordinating the flight formation and Dr. Pfennig perfectly stabilizing the thrusters, the team ignites the flying apparatus. Brilliant plumes of blue and white fire light up the dark concrete walls as the agents launch horizontally down the tunnel system, flying at breakneck speeds directly beneath the feet of eighty thousand oblivious spectators above.

🎲 SYSTEM MECHANICS: SUBTERRANEAN JETPACK NAVIGATION

The party navigates the underground tunnels, and incorporates the flying apparatus to turn the grueling trek into a spectacular high-speed flight challenge.

Challenge Difficulty: CR 30 (Moderate Avoidance)

Lead Character: Cpl. Osprey

Calculation: Physical (3) + Security Officer (1) + Flying Apparatus Boon (+1) = +5 Bonus

Assisted By: Dr. Pfennig (Scientist/Calibration: +2), Lucy (+1), Dr. Stevens (+1)

Total Party Bonus: +10

GM Secret Target: 17

Success Span: 7 to 27

Player's Estimate: 18 (Near Critical Success!!!)

Result: Near Critical Success! Thanks to Dr. Pfennig's impeccable engine tuning and Corporal Osprey's expert flight leadership, the team expertly weaves through the low-hanging pipes and tight turns of the concrete maze. They navigate the entire distance in record time without hitting a single obstacle or falling into the foul sewage lines below. They cross the stadium underbelly completely unscathed!

🎤 Breaking the Frequency

The thrusters cut out with a synchronized hiss as the agents touch down flawlessly at the far end of the northern utility corridor. Just ahead, a flight of steel service stairs leads directly upward. Pushing the heavy access door open, the team emerges onto the rear scaffolding of the massive central stage. The deafening, bass-heavy vibrations of the "Untamed Stallions" thump through the floorboards beneath our boots.

Stepping out from behind the curtain, the scene is terrifyingly surreal. Above us, the violet-streaked cosmic vortex is spinning violently in the sky, caught in a tug-of-war with the high-powered neon blimp. On stage, the hypnotized dancers in chrome bodystockings execute sharp, robotic kicks while the two lead guitarists continue their monotonous, trance-like chant.

Right in the center stands the Mi-Go, Swizzilizzti. Its glistening, pink-and-blue lobster claws clack in rhythm with the music, and the wireless microphone taped to its outer carapace amplifies its maddening, extraterrestrial buzzing directly into the ears of eighty thousand mesmerized fans. Beside it, the massive, twelve-foot cloned short-nosed dire bear—sporting a wild, multi-colored disco wig—rears up on its hind legs, ready to crush any threat to its alien master. The time to strike is now.

📋 The Final Challenge: Stopping the Seventh Sun

We are right on the stage, face-to-face with the anomaly and its massive prehistoric guardian. We must disrupt the broadcast and secure the creature.

⏳ Ready to Alter the Fabric of History?

Enjoying the reality-bending exploits of our ORUS agents? You can jump into the timeline yourself! Gear up with your own spatiotemporal extrapolator, hunt down CthulWho's escaped anomalies, and protect the space-time continuum in this standalone Timepunk adventure.

If you're interested in playing this RPG, you can find it here.

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Someplace in Time 4

 

Mission Log: Passing the Torch

Timeline: New Angeles, 29 July 2050 | Anomalous Target: Swizzilizzti (The Mi-Go)

🌐 Drop Zone: The Ruins of the World Unity Games

Our vision clears, and the crisp autumn air of nineteenth-century Crimea is instantly replaced by the stale, smog-choked warmth of a late summer sunset. The horizon tells a grim story: the submerged skyscrapers of what used to be downtown Los Angeles poke out of a greasy, yellow-green inland sea like jagged glass headstones. Beyond the toxic water, the garish neon lights of Hollywood cast an eerie glow against the Santa Monica mountains.

We are standing outside the towering World Unity Games Memorial Stadium. A massive, hand-painted banner over the entry archway proudly proclaims the event to be the "Inaugural World Unity Games," flanked by colorful, triangular star flags. The entire perimeter is sealed tight by a ten-foot steel mesh security fence humming with high-voltage electricity and topped with glinting razor wire.

Near the main gate, attendees are queuing under the watchful eyes of Reformed California Republic security guards armed with heavy shotguns. The crowd is a stark reflection of this fractured future—civilians, heavily armed mercenaries, and mutants sporting everything from glowing eyes and oversized ears to extra limbs. A nearby sign loudly proclaims: "Have your ticket ready – no concealed weapons – no zombies."

Speaking of which, standing about fifty feet from the line is a sentient, rather slick-looking zombie, openly scalping legitimate entry passes to the highest bidder. Meanwhile, our wristband trackers vibrate aggressively. The crimson arrow completely ignores the crowd and points dead-ahead, deep inside the stadium's western pavilions. The next time token is close.

🎲 SYSTEM MECHANICS: PASSING SECURITY

The party needs to secure legitimate entry tickets from the zombie scalper to pass through the heavily armed security gate and scanner without raising an alarm.

Challenge Difficulty: CR 30 (Moderate)

Lead Character: Lucy

Calculation: Mental (2) + Social Savvy (1) = +3 Bonus

Assisted By: Cpl. Osprey (+1), Dr. Pfennig (+1)

Total Party Bonus: +5

GM Secret Target: 14

Success Span: 9 to 19

Player's Estimate: 13 (Normal Success!)

Result: Normal Success. Lucy uses a combination of smooth talking and a minor trade of spare parts to easily acquire a full set of tickets from the zombie. Despite some nearby spectators muttering indignantly about "zombie rights," the team smoothly walks past the gate scanners and climbs the concrete stairs into the stadium interior.

🏛️ The Pentathlon Display

Entering the upper western pavilion, we find ourselves surrounded by hundreds of museum-goers exploring a broad exhibition on the history of sports. Intricate displays are cordoned off by velvet ropes, each watched over by an individual shotgun-wielding guard. We pass a pair of malfunctioning table-tennis robots and a row of vintage bicycles before our tracking matrices lock completely onto a central display.

There, posed grandly atop a skeletal horse, sits the mummified remains of Lord Cardigan. He is perfectly preserved, wearing the iconic blue cardigan vest we just saw him lose in 1854, and his desiccated hand tightly grips a gleaming, silver cavalry sword. Our wristbands flash: the sword is our next time token.

🎲 CHALLENGE 2: FINDERS SEEKERS

The team must retrieve the silver sword time token from the protected display without triggering a hostile response from the armed pavilion guards.

Challenge Difficulty: CR 25 (Easy)

Lead Character: Dr. Steven Stevens

Calculation: Mental (3) + Xenoarchaeologist (1) = +4 Bonus

Assisted By: Lucy (+1), Cpl. Osprey (+1)

Total Party Bonus: +6

GM Secret Target: 9

Success Span: 4 to 14

Player's Estimate: 8 (Normal Success!)

Result: Normal Success. Dr. Stevens confidently steps past the velvet rope, flashing a falsified ORUS academic clearance badge. He flawlessly convinces the guard that he is conducting an authorized temporal-integrity inspection of the artifact. The guard steps back with a respectful nod, allowing Dr. Stevens to lift the silver sword cleanly from the mummy's grip. The wristbands instantly reprogram: "Venice, 1348, Deep One, jewelry."

🏟️ Sky-High Sabotage

As the silver sword is secured, the team moves toward the eastern stairs overlooking the main field—a massive arena flooded with the overlapping scents of exhaust fumes, stadium grease, and sweat. Night completely falls, and seven colossal strobe lights bathe the arena in stark illumination as hundreds of international athletes march out, flags waving. The deafening roar of eighty thousand cheering fans drowns out the stadium announcers.

Down by the food trucks, a blockade of heavy tanks and armored vehicles separates the civilian concourse from the main field. At the far end, a massive stage stands where a heavy metal band called the "Untamed Stallions" is jamming at maximum volume, flanked by chrome-clad dancers and a stubby, blinking security robot named Rolla.

Suddenly, the celebration turns terrifying. A giant, neon pink-and-blue blimp hovering over the field releases a shimmering cloud of miniature helidrones. The three-foot autonomous helicopters begin firing unguided micro-missiles indiscriminately into the arena. Simultaneously, a horrific, subharmonic buzzing noise overrides the stadium's sound system. The metal band stops playing their song and begins to chant in a hollow, mechanical unison: "The mighty messenger approaches as the seven suns shine bright." Beside them, a cloned short-nosed dire bear goes wild, mauling the band's drummer.

Through the smoke, a gray-haired woman armed with a high-powered laser rifle leaps over the security blockade. It's Paula Trent, the Director of Ceremonies. She sprints onto the field entirely alone, systematically shooting helidrones out of the sky with unmatched athletic precision. But looking up at the stage, we see the real threat: a giant, five-foot-tall pink and blue fungoid monstrosity resembling an alien lobster with vestigial wings has dropped from the blimp. It is the Mi-Go, Swizzilizzti, and a wireless microphone is taped directly to its buzzing carapace as it prepares to open a cosmic gateway.

📋 Tactical Options for Crossing the Field:

The arena is absolute bedlam, and the tracking arrow points directly to the Mi-Go on the central stage. We need to cross the field immediately to stop the ritual.

⏳ Ready to Alter the Fabric of History?

Enjoying the reality-bending exploits of our ORUS agents? You can jump into the timeline yourself! Gear up with your own spatiotemporal extrapolator, hunt down CthulWho's escaped anomalies, and protect the space-time continuum in this standalone Timepunk adventure.

If you're interested in playing this RPG, you can find it here.

Keep Reading