stockingfeats | Forbidden Planet Faux TDM

welcome... to the Forbidden Planet

You wake up on the surface of Prospero, a barren planet. You know why you are here... a vision of the Prosperans lingers in your mind's eye, a cacophony of voices. People of all sizes, all types, but all apparently denizens of utopia, far more advanced than what you know. Among the throng you can distinguish a few--imploring you to save them. Imploring you to come and save them, to free them. Imploring you to record their history. Yet under it all, panicked voices, desperate... stay away. stay away.

Your eyes open.

► I. A strange new world

You can tell you're on an alien world. The sky is blue shading to black and strange moons hang in the sky above jagged, narrow mountains. Scattered trees display foliage in maroon and purple. Although it's rather quiet, you can begin to perceive that animal life exists here as well. Birdlike flying creatures twitter in the foliage, smaller buzzing things hum about if you listen carefully. Life exists, it just all seems rather... muted.

Whatever you had on you in your last clear memory before arrival is what you carry with you into this strange new world, and you can only hope that it's sufficient to deal with it. The planet isn't actively hostile, but that doesn't mean it's safe either. The birdlike creatures may be chicken-sized, but their attitude towards trespassers shows that they are likewise descendants of whatever was equivalent to "dinosaurs" here, there are unexpected little cliffs, and one or two quagmires, too. Watch your step.

A quick survey of the alien landscape shows that you aren't the only one who's been transported out of your old life. There are plenty of rocks to hide behind if you aren't feeling sure of strangers, or you could just approach and say hello.

► II. There are no Material Safety Data Sheets

Little is left of the Prosperan civilization above the surface, but a short time of exploration finds a doorway into the ground. A brief exploration reveals that this is some sort of control hub: there are consoles, dormitories for the technicians, some freeze-dried matter that is, if not appetizing, adequately nutritious.

The only difficulty is language. Although you can understand your fellow explorers perfectly well, the Prosperan written language remains stubbornly untranslated no matter how you squint at it. A few things are intuitive--hit the wrong thing and the lights go out, hit the right one and they come back. You can manually turn on the alarm! That should be fun. Unfortunately, the equipment is less intuitive. What does this box with dials and glass chambers do? Well, there's a protocol sheet next to it, and it's written in an alien language. You could get a fun mystery gas that makes you resistant to gravity! Or you could create combustion and find out there's a sprinkler system. Who knows!

Sadly, your vision of the Prosperans remains a vision only; none are turning up to help you operate this place. At the far end you find a door leading not back outside, but deeper into the planet's crust.

► III. Beneath the surface

Twenty miles in one direction, twenty miles in the other is the vast machinery of the planet. Its purpose is a mystery. You arrive there via tram, shooting through a tunnel of light to a series of platforms above what looks like an infinite number of levels... and a railing that looks inadequately high for safety for the average human along the catwalks.

Still, it is an impressive sight. And it begs the question, what is it all for?

As you traverse the complex, you can begin to make an educated guess or two. The commissary is empty of anything except long tables, but when you turn away a moment, there is a plate with whatever food you have been craving of late.

There's more, and it may seem familiar. What do you think an advanced civilization looks like? Strangely, that's what you begin to see as you traverse the abandoned complex. Maybe it's the lush colors of the Renaissance and magnificent works of art, or maybe it's silver jumpsuits and glass statues of abstract forms. The aesthetics may not line up with what the person next to you sees, but the form beneath is at least a match. It's an opportune juncture to try and get this place back into full working order. Reactivate the shuttles to the distant outreaches of the complex, open the doors leading deeper into the earth. There you discover platforms that can replicate matter. Degrading barriers before further vaults provide a surmountable challenge. Once through, you can find levers and dials to control strange machines. Try one or two, and the glow that earths in your scalp lights up something. Suddenly you can move objects with your mind--or perceive the feelings of those around you. It could be something else, powers over the air in the room or the water outside, what most would call magic.

It's only temporary. Maybe it's because the machines are so old, but your newfound abilities fade over the course of a few hours. Still, a world of new possibilities has opened to you.

► IV. Hell is empty, and all the devils are here

All is not well.

What is your greatest fear? What drives you? What do you doubt about yourself, deep within, that keeps you awake at three in the morning? It is there, taken form, and it is coming.

The nature of the monster is not readily apparent. It might not even be after you at first, but you wake up to find your room pulled about, or your creations from the day before ripped apart, or remade in a way that still feels like you--but not the part of you that you want others to see.

At night, it gets worse. The alarms are blaring. A monster is out there. Or perhaps it's worse than that, the monster is in here. At first, it can only be heard as an inhuman roar, and then you see it--a transparent form outlined in hellish light.

Is it after you, or has it set its sights on your companion? The monster could be an indiscriminate force of attack. It could have a voice, which may be worse, giving vent to your impulses, desires, fears, grievance. Time to confront your issues. Literally.

► OOC

► Treat this as you would a regular TDM: pick some prompts, write some toplevels for people to tag into, and tag around to others!

► This TDM is loosely based on the 1956 science fiction film Forbidden Planet, which is itself loosely based on The Tempest by William Shakespeare. For the purposes of adaptation to a DWRP game, I've stirred them together a bit and made up some things of my own.