So, FirstApple, or Thucy or someone... Can we get a summary of where we are at. Weekends aren't mine right now (I'm moving throughtout the month of September) and I haven't been able to keep up.

My understanding is that we have a scientist who is going back in time to try to speed up the development of humanity in order to have the know-how of saving the earth from an asteroid or something like that. In doing so, he unknowingly takes several people with him into the past. Then a monk gets the machine and decides to use it for 'God's work' thus taking off with it and stranding the party in the past while they go about trying to adjust the human development of science. Is that about right?

So, we can build time machines, but can alter the course of an asteroid? We have the capacity to turn this world we live in to a cidner many times over now. I think we could probably turn an asteroid into space dust if we had to. But OK...

*can't alter the course...

Well, I knew it was a bit awkward when I wrote it but that's why I put it out there so we could address that issue now.

Any thoughts from you Draugnar about how we can make this work better?

FA - if you don't mind: I agree that an Asteroid is a bit untenable. Two ideas - A) The catastrophe is more on the quantum black-hole level (it's just a bit more sciency)... or B) the catastrophe was caused by the Monk and the group was investigating clues that led to this time period... this could also explain how they got the only working time machine (the Monk brought it to them from the past). Just some initial thoughts.

Hi guys - just back from holiday and saw this thread - is it too late to join?

I like the idea of going back in time but not so keen on the blood fued crazy scientist bit. I would like to imagine five or six guys at an elite university sat around drinking beer and deciding to build a time machine, for a laugh and it actually working. They then seek to change the course of history by altering tiny bits of history to set up butterfly events = perhaps they bet one another who can alter things the most by changing things the least. Or maybe they do something that can't change history but is their little signature - like being the driver in front of Diana's car when it crashed. Just throwing out some ideas - no a problem if I'm too late for this party.

Well, we have eliminated the present/future crazy/evil character by putting the bad guy in the past, right? Hmmm...

I agree with Kalel that the disaster needs to be something more sciency and avertable even with today's standards. It depends on how serious versus comic we want to get. The diea of the drunk students screwing up has merit if we want some comic aspects in it (think Office Space and the decimal point screw up by Michael).

It's up to FirstApple, but we haven't started actually writing the story, so I don't have a problem with a couple of newcomers (except King Asshole of course). Anyone else have any issues?

I'm okay with new people, but I think we should stick with the direction we're going, so I would say no to the drunk students idea, but yes to more authors.

Yeah no Maniac and FA and all I think you are not up to date with what we discussed.

There need be no future-land disaster, it is, as I admitted (it was my idea at first) a bit hard to believe and unnecessary that theyd go to Middle Ages.

This is what happens instead - some scientists invent the thing and go back in time just to "poke around" with no interest in changing history.

Chalk it up to curiosity, stupidity, or some "experiment" to see if they like die from the machine, or whatever. Doesn't matter, just have to get them there.

Then they see a guy, and try to explain themselves, or whatever, basically one thing leads to another and a pious guy finds them and makes them tell him what the thing does, that or the scientists tell him on accident or something along those lines. The alternative is that they stupidly tell someone about it or are followed stealthily.

Regardless, the lone wolf kills one and jacks the machine, but doesnt it use it right, maybe doesnt allow it to "charge up" or some bullshit.

This takes our other scientist with him. He lands in various time periods by mistake and accidentally grabs other people, then finally gets where he means to go - he wants to change history for God and Country.

However the scientist knows (or theorizes) that this will eliminate the universe, so he tells the other bystanders - hey guys we need to stop this mofo... don't know what he is doing or why but we need to stop him.

They agree and thus begins the story.

Voila.

I'm definitely all for the newcomers. Welcome aboard guys.

Thucy - I do like what you've described here. Thanks for getting me up to date. I was really getting confused but now I've got it.

So if he's going to be mucking around in a few time periods before he gets where he wants to go, I think we should limit it. After all, it wouldn't be reasonable that he would pick up someone from EVERY period that he messed up going to. Probably the failure to recharge would 'grab' the other people I guess.

So let's recap. Which periods do we want to use?

Modern
Victorian
What else?

Caveman? hehehe - No, I wasn't being serious. Although it could make for interesting stop along the way (ala Bill and Ted).

I can see the pious but stupid one having a brief period learning how the controls work and landing in a variety of periods as he masters the controls...

At least one person from before the Middle Ages who thinks of himself as "in the future" in our story.

At least one or two modern people, maybe a Victorian character as well plus our original future person.

That sounds like a good mix. Future person (male scientist), modern person (perhaps a black male to add flavor in Medieval Europe), Victorian (female) and someone from after the fall of Rome (Charlemagne period ish - female slave or peasant) That's four people in the party, not too large to work with, not too small to lack interest. Lots of possibilities!

ah you see i think we should grab a real roman, maybe not from rome, but from before the fall of rome, just for the whole "holy shit it becomes THIS?" moment.

i also think, if you guys want, it would be cool to have two modern people, male and female, and then have the roman be a male, because women in that time frame wouldnt have much to say about their own times/we know not much about them

Okay, I'll go with your 'holy-shit-it-becomes-this' male character. I guess that would be pretty fun to work with.

The "holy shit it becomes this" person should be a warrior or a politician (or possibly a philosopher). I think either a Roman politician or a Spartan warrior would be great, but a Greek philosopher (say a student of one of the famous ones) would also work well.

I was thinking Roman gladiator or legionaire type. A philosopher is going to have his head so lost in the clouds that he'll be difficult to really work with and could drag the story down. We want someone with a little more umfff to him (besides, there needs to be a 'strongman' in the group)

Hmmm... What about a Roman politician, but a modern day soldier? Make the soldier be a female (think GI Jane type) who embarasses the hell out of all the dudes by being able to kick their collective asses.

yeah i think the "strongman" should be a roman soldier - that would be pretty bad ass and fun lol.

i think the modern woman should be the smart one, this can juxtapose all the past people's sexism.

and then we can have byron if you guys want to make that fun, or if you think its too much work we can replace him. but i think it would be fun.

and then spoiled julianna and the future scientist/apprentice.

and voila

I think it would be easier to write the Roman as being a soldier. And to add to additional prejudicial conflict, our modern intelligent woman could be South American, or Polish. (I like Polish personally because of Poloch Jokes.)

why south american or polish lol i dont see what those have in common

I don't think those would work well Warden. Our cast of is thus

Future Scientist guy
Scientist's sidekick apprentice
Byron as the modern guy
Some modern super smart woman
Julianna the spoiled victorian girl
The roman legionnaire
And the monk who steals the time machine to go do God's work.

Is that a correct list as you guys see it?

Julianna as a name didn't break into the top 1000 girls names in the US until 1960s so surprised that we have chosen it for a Victorian character?

Maniac - that's not her 'real' name. It's just the character that I had created in the beginning but when we decided we were going to make a Victorian character, we'd change her slightly to fit that mold and then change her name to something else. For now, that is how I'm just 'referring' to that character that I made in the beginning, nothing else.

maniac did you know that off the top of your head or what lol