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'''''The Iytean Menace''''' was the first of the seven standalone fiction modules released as books by [[FASA]] as tie-ins to ''[[The Doctor Who Role Playing Game]]''. The book included a basic Plot Synopsis, as well as more detailed breakdowns of various stages of the adventure (including a prologue and epilogue written in full narrative prose, and scene breakdowns in "The Adventure" and "Gamemaster's Notes"), and background on the various characters and other worldbuilding elements. | '''''The Iytean Menace''''' was the first of the seven standalone fiction modules released as books by [[FASA]] as tie-ins to ''[[The Doctor Who Role Playing Game]]''. The book included a basic Plot Synopsis, as well as more detailed breakdowns of various stages of the adventure (including a prologue and epilogue written in full narrative prose, and scene breakdowns in "The Adventure" and "Gamemaster's Notes"), and background on the various characters and other worldbuilding elements. | ||
The story was a riff on ''[[The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde]]'', with it being suggested that [[Henry Jellicoe]] was the inspiration behind [[Robert Louis Stevenson]]'s fictionalised [[Henry Jekyll]]. His villainous alter-ego was here not an alternative personality split off from his own conscience, but actually a malevolent alien [[symbiont]] trying to fully take possession of his body — the titular [[Iytean]] "Menace", who used the alias of "[[Ned Hines]]" instead of "[[Edward Hyde]]". | The story was a riff on ''[[The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde]]'', with it being suggested that [[Henry Jellicoe]] was the inspiration behind [[Robert Louis Stevenson]]'s fictionalised [[Henry Jekyll]]. His villainous alter-ego was here not an alternative personality split off from his own conscience, but actually a malevolent alien [[symbiont]] trying to fully take possession of his body — the titular [[Iytean]] "Menace", who used the alias of "[[Ned Hines]]" instead of "[[Edward Hyde]]". | ||
== Publisher's summary == | == Publisher's summary == | ||
Danger stalked the street… | Danger stalked the street… | ||
Out in the fog-shrouded night of [[Victorian era|Victorian]] [[London]], an evil force was lurking, waiting to strike. A senseless murder over a strange artifact, was only the very beginning of the terror of The [[Iytean]] Menace. What was the ancient evil, and how had it been awakened? Where would it strike next? | Out in the fog-shrouded night of [[Victorian era|Victorian]] [[London]], an evil force was lurking, waiting to strike. A senseless murder over a strange artifact, was only the very beginning of the terror of The [[Iytean]] Menace. What was the ancient evil, and how had it been awakened? Where would it strike next? | ||
The [[Time Lord]] and his [[Companion]] had been sent to the capital of [[King of England|Queen]] [[Victoria]]'s [[United Kingdom|realm]] to learn the source of a strange weapon that should never have been on [[Earth]] at all. What they found was a web of mystery and deception that led them, step by step, to a confrontation with The Ytean menace. | The [[Time Lord]] and his [[Companion]] had been sent to the capital of [[King of England|Queen]] [[Victoria]]'s [[United Kingdom|realm]] to learn the source of a strange weapon that should never have been on [[Earth]] at all. What they found was a web of mystery and deception that led them, step by step, to a confrontation with The Ytean menace. | ||
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=== Encounter with Fraser === | === Encounter with Fraser === | ||
Making their way into [[Malcolm Fraser|Colonel Fraser]]'s house — either through the front door or surreptitiously — they find themselves confronted with the Colonel himself, who, it transpires, believes the four energy weapons he bought from [[Jack Bannister|a shifty man named Bannister]] to be [[Atlantis|Atlantean]] in origin. He discloses that Bannister was introduced to him by his old friend and fellow collector of the strange, the politician [[Sir]] [[Reginald Carruthers]], with whom he has not spoken in some time; they fell out after a few artefacts went missing from Carruthers's collection and he accused Fraser of having stolen them. Determined to speak with Carruthers to get a hold of Bannister, the time-travellers leave the Fraser household, unaware that they are being followed back to [[Rollo's TARDIS|their TARDIS]] by the Colonel's teenaged granddaughter [[Julia Fraser|Julia]]. | Making their way into [[Malcolm Fraser|Colonel Fraser]]'s house — either through the front door or surreptitiously — they find themselves confronted with the Colonel himself, who, it transpires, believes the four energy weapons he bought from [[Jack Bannister|a shifty man named Bannister]] to be [[Atlantis|Atlantean]] in origin. He discloses that Bannister was introduced to him by his old friend and fellow collector of the strange, the politician [[Sir]] [[Reginald Carruthers]], with whom he has not spoken in some time; they fell out after a few artefacts went missing from Carruthers's collection and he accused Fraser of having stolen them. Determined to speak with Carruthers to get a hold of Bannister, the time-travellers leave the Fraser household, unaware that they are being followed back to [[Rollo's TARDIS|their TARDIS]] by the Colonel's teenaged granddaughter [[Julia Fraser|Julia]]. | ||
=== The Colonel's Granddaughter === | === The Colonel's Granddaughter === | ||
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=== Doctor Jellicoe === | === Doctor Jellicoe === | ||
One of the primary persons of interest, [[Henry Jellicoe]] inevitably becomes central to the time-travellers' investigations. Though enjoying a good reputation as a brilliant and compassionate chemist and psychiatrist, he has become more reclusive of late, and should the adventurers force their way into his home on [[Wimpole Street]], even his incredibly loyal staff, led by butler [[Reynolds (The Iytean Menace)|Reynolds]], will have no clue as to his whereabouts. Often seen prowling around Jellicoe's laboratory — a building distinct from the main house, usually kept locked — is a mysterious, short, slightly-hunchbacked man named [[Ned Hines]] who has a "bestial" temper and refuses to talk with anyone. Though the [[Time Lord]]s in the party are unaffected, [[human]]s feel a sense of innate revulsion in his presence, akin to a groundless conviction that Hines is utterly [[evil]]. He never seems to spend more than seven or eight hours away from the building, and is impossible to tail usefully, seeming to always know when he is being followed and leading would-be pursuers on pointless journeys through the seedier parts of town. | One of the primary persons of interest, [[Henry Jellicoe]] inevitably becomes central to the time-travellers' investigations. Though enjoying a good reputation as a brilliant and compassionate chemist and psychiatrist, he has become more reclusive of late, and should the adventurers force their way into his home on [[Wimpole Street]], even his incredibly loyal staff, led by butler [[Reynolds (The Iytean Menace)|Reynolds]], will have no clue as to his whereabouts. Often seen prowling around Jellicoe's laboratory — a building distinct from the main house, usually kept locked — is a mysterious, short, slightly-hunchbacked man named [[Ned Hines]] who has a "bestial" temper and refuses to talk with anyone. Though the [[Time Lord]]s in the party are unaffected, [[human]]s feel a sense of innate revulsion in his presence, akin to a groundless conviction that Hines is utterly [[evil]]. He never seems to spend more than seven or eight hours away from the building, and is impossible to tail usefully, seeming to always know when he is being followed and leading would-be pursuers on pointless journeys through the seedier parts of town. | ||
=== A Visit From Bannister and Jenkins === | === A Visit From Bannister and Jenkins === | ||
Eventually, [[Jack Bannister]] and [[Bert Jenkins]] reemerge and visit [[Malcolm Fraser]], who discusses matters with them in the basement of his house. This becomes known to the time-travellers, either through their own observation of the house or through [[Julia Fraser]], who eavesdropped on the conversation and, after the villains left the house, followed them all the way to their lair (a small dockside warehouse). | Eventually, [[Jack Bannister]] and [[Bert Jenkins]] reemerge and visit [[Malcolm Fraser]], who discusses matters with them in the basement of his house. This becomes known to the time-travellers, either through their own observation of the house or through [[Julia Fraser]], who eavesdropped on the conversation and, after the villains left the house, followed them all the way to their lair (a small dockside warehouse). | ||
=== The Meeting === | === The Meeting === | ||
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=== The Attack === | === The Attack === | ||
The following night, the Fraser house is attacked by [[Ned Hines]], who takes one of [[Malcolm Fraser|the Colonel]]'s three "useless" guns (which are actually stunners which work only on living beings, hence his lack of success in training them on inanimate objects) and threatens him with it, demanding to know the whereabouts of [[Jack Bannister|Bannister]] and [[Bert Jenkins|Jenkins]]. The time-travellers, who were watching the house either on their own initiative or at [[Julia Fraser]]'s request, step in and break up the assault, forcing Hines to flee into the fogbound night, though not before shooting the Colonel with the gun; though sturdier humans might have survived, the Colonel is heavily weakened by the experience, and, knowing he is done for, he repents of his world-conquering ambitions and allows the time-travellers to take possession of the remaining guns. Bannister and Jenkins just so happened to be about to visit Fraser; they turn around when hearing the commotion, but are followed back to their base by the time-travellers. | The following night, the Fraser house is attacked by [[Ned Hines]], who takes one of [[Malcolm Fraser|the Colonel]]'s three "useless" guns (which are actually stunners which work only on living beings, hence his lack of success in training them on inanimate objects) and threatens him with it, demanding to know the whereabouts of [[Jack Bannister|Bannister]] and [[Bert Jenkins|Jenkins]]. The time-travellers, who were watching the house either on their own initiative or at [[Julia Fraser]]'s request, step in and break up the assault, forcing Hines to flee into the fogbound night, though not before shooting the Colonel with the gun; though sturdier humans might have survived, the Colonel is heavily weakened by the experience, and, knowing he is done for, he repents of his world-conquering ambitions and allows the time-travellers to take possession of the remaining guns. Bannister and Jenkins just so happened to be about to visit Fraser; they turn around when hearing the commotion, but are followed back to their base by the time-travellers. | ||
=== Tracing the Criminals === | === Tracing the Criminals === | ||
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=== Solving the Mystery === | === Solving the Mystery === | ||
Eventually, either following [[Jack Bannister|Bannister]] and [[Bert Jenkins|Jenkins]] or confronting them at their lair and forcing them to reveal its location, the time-travellers find the buried [[Iytean starship]]. Using information on the history and biology of the [[Iytean]]s from the computer banks in [[Rollo's TARDIS]], they piece together its history as a police-ship belonging to the Iyteans' peacekeeping force, the [[Monitor (The Iytean Menace)| | Eventually, either following [[Jack Bannister|Bannister]] and [[Bert Jenkins|Jenkins]] or confronting them at their lair and forcing them to reveal its location, the time-travellers find the buried [[Iytean starship]]. Using information on the history and biology of the [[Iytean]]s from the computer banks in [[Rollo's TARDIS]], they piece together its history as a police-ship belonging to the Iyteans' peacekeeping force, the [[Monitor (The Iytean Menace)|Monitors]]. It becomes clear that after he was possessed by the [[Ned Hines|escaped Iytean]], Jenkins, who resisted its control, was seen by Bannister as having developed some kind of spasm or shell-shock, and was taken to the notoriously charitable [[Henry Jellicoe]]'s practice — where the creature took advantage of the physician's ministrations to leave the inferior host behind and possess him instead, leaving Jenkins with no memory of the incident. | ||
Combining the situation with the TARDIS's information on Iytean history and biology, the truth becomes clear: the criminal Iytean is a scientist who had been experimenting with the unethical possession of intelligent life-forms, and had learned how to make it easier by sapping the will of the humanoid host with a drug, the green chemical in the ampoules. Carrying its experiments further, the criminal also perfect the [[Iytean Change]], a method for temporarily reshaping the host body to better fit the symbiont's needs. Jellicoe, who does not remember originally being possessed any more than Jenkins does, believes he simply invented a drug which allows him to shapeshift into an immoral but more enjoyable persona, "[[Ned Hines]]"; he has grown addicted to the feeling, little realising that with every time he transforms, the Iytean comes closer to being able to maintain control permanently. However, it would need complete, unmitigated control before it could afford to "bud", creating a hundred spores capable of growing into lesser duplicates of itself sharing its memories and goals, who would serve as its advance guard for a full takeover of [[London]] and, ultimately, the [[Earth]] itself. Thus, "Ned Hines" has been frantically trying to get the rest of the chemical stored in the starship so that it can finish overwhelming Jellicoe and move forward with this next stage of its plans. | Combining the situation with the TARDIS's information on Iytean history and biology, the truth becomes clear: the criminal Iytean is a scientist who had been experimenting with the unethical possession of intelligent life-forms, and had learned how to make it easier by sapping the will of the humanoid host with a drug, the green chemical in the ampoules. Carrying its experiments further, the criminal also perfect the [[Iytean Change]], a method for temporarily reshaping the host body to better fit the symbiont's needs. Jellicoe, who does not remember originally being possessed any more than Jenkins does, believes he simply invented a drug which allows him to shapeshift into an immoral but more enjoyable persona, "[[Ned Hines]]"; he has grown addicted to the feeling, little realising that with every time he transforms, the Iytean comes closer to being able to maintain control permanently. However, it would need complete, unmitigated control before it could afford to "bud", creating a hundred spores capable of growing into lesser duplicates of itself sharing its memories and goals, who would serve as its advance guard for a full takeover of [[London]] and, ultimately, the [[Earth]] itself. Thus, "Ned Hines" has been frantically trying to get the rest of the chemical stored in the starship so that it can finish overwhelming Jellicoe and move forward with this next stage of its plans. | ||
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=== Tying Up Loose Ends === | === Tying Up Loose Ends === | ||
At any rate, once the thread of [[Ned Hines]] is ended, there remains for the time-travellers to ensure the destruction or banishment of the starship if it has not been done so already. The gun which originally drew the [[Celestial Intervention Agency]]'s attention in the [[1980s]] must also be left behind; this might be intentional on their part to maintain the causal loop, or an accident, with the gun either being an additional purchase of Fraser's which had been left behind at a summer home, or being stolen at the last moment as a keepsake by [[Julia Fraser]], in memory of her dying, or dead, grandfather's madness and repentance. | At any rate, once the thread of [[Ned Hines]] is ended, there remains for the time-travellers to ensure the destruction or banishment of the starship if it has not been done so already. The gun which originally drew the [[Celestial Intervention Agency]]'s attention in the [[1980s]] must also be left behind; this might be intentional on their part to maintain the causal loop, or an accident, with the gun either being an additional purchase of Fraser's which had been left behind at a summer home, or being stolen at the last moment as a keepsake by [[Julia Fraser]], in memory of her dying, or dead, grandfather's madness and repentance. | ||
As the time-travellers prepare to leave [[1885]], either or both of [[Julia Fraser]] and [[Thomas Carruthers]] may stay on as additional [[companion]]s to [[Rollo]] — potentially, in Julia's case, stowing away without his consent. Another possibility, however, is that they simply run away together to get married, and move out of [[England]], which would also account for Fraser family history losing track of Julia. | As the time-travellers prepare to leave [[1885]], either or both of [[Julia Fraser]] and [[Thomas Carruthers]] may stay on as additional [[companion]]s to [[Rollo]] — potentially, in Julia's case, stowing away without his consent. Another possibility, however, is that they simply run away together to get married, and move out of [[England]], which would also account for Fraser family history losing track of Julia. | ||
=== The Hunters Home From the Hill === | === The Hunters Home From the Hill === | ||
[[Rollo]]'s companions, ready to leave [[1885]], are waiting in his [[TARDIS control room]] for him to return from one last outing in the city. [[Julia Fraser]], who has joined the TARDIS crew at the insistence of [[Verika]], is sitting in "the archaic armchair in one corner of the control room", still grieving for her [[Malcolm Fraser|grandfather]], the very reason why Verika thought it would do her good to leave home and find a new life in time and space. | [[Rollo]]'s companions, ready to leave [[1885]], are waiting in his [[TARDIS control room]] for him to return from one last outing in the city. [[Julia Fraser]], who has joined the TARDIS crew at the insistence of [[Verika]], is sitting in "the archaic armchair in one corner of the control room", still grieving for her [[Malcolm Fraser|grandfather]], the very reason why Verika thought it would do her good to leave home and find a new life in time and space. | ||
Eventually, Rollo returns, discarding his Victorian garments (a black cape and top hat) onto the suit of armour by the TARDIS door. He explains that he ran into a "very nice fellow", a [[writer]], and was talked into having lunch with him, obliviously discussing the adventure he'd just got done with. When he recalls that his name was [[Robert Louis Stevenson|Stevenson]], and wonders aloud what sorts of thing the man might write, an amused Verika who's realised what just happened pulls out a copy of ''[[The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde]]'', quipping: "Let's just say that truth is still stranger than fiction after all". | Eventually, Rollo returns, discarding his Victorian garments (a black cape and top hat) onto the suit of armour by the TARDIS door. He explains that he ran into a "very nice fellow", a [[writer]], and was talked into having lunch with him, obliviously discussing the adventure he'd just got done with. When he recalls that his name was [[Robert Louis Stevenson|Stevenson]], and wonders aloud what sorts of thing the man might write, an amused Verika who's realised what just happened pulls out a copy of ''[[The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde]]'', quipping: "Let's just say that truth is still stranger than fiction after all". | ||
=== Other Adventures === | === Other Adventures === | ||
Some time after these events, it is possible for the time-travellers to be compelled to return to [[Victorian era|Victorian]] [[London]] to follow through on loose ends not tied up by prior events. They might discover that [[Jack the Ripper]], active between [[1888]] and [[1891]], is actually an innocent human vessel for another escaped Iytean criminal. | Some time after these events, it is possible for the time-travellers to be compelled to return to [[Victorian era|Victorian]] [[London]] to follow through on loose ends not tied up by prior events. They might discover that [[Jack the Ripper]], active between [[1888]] and [[1891]], is actually an innocent human vessel for another escaped Iytean criminal. | ||
Another possibility is that they might encounter other Iyteans who survived the destruction of the [[Prime World]] and the breaking of their federation by the [[Anar]] and the [[Isari]], "if only in isolated groups" who might be willing to resort to possession not out of megalomania, but simply as a means to survive. They might even be found in other time-periods on [[Earth]]. | Another possibility is that they might encounter other Iyteans who survived the destruction of the [[Prime World]] and the breaking of their federation by the [[Anar]] and the [[Isari]], "if only in isolated groups" who might be willing to resort to possession not out of megalomania, but simply as a means to survive. They might even be found in other time-periods on [[Earth]]. | ||
== Characters == | == Characters == | ||
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* [[Worth (The Iytean Menace)|Mrs Worth]] | * [[Worth (The Iytean Menace)|Mrs Worth]] | ||
== | == Worldbuilding == | ||
* [[Jack Bannister]] learned about the concept of [[spacecraft]] from the [[science fiction]] of "that [[France|French]] fellow, (…) [[Jules Verne|Verne]]", who apparently wrote stories about "ships that could go to [[the Moon]] and back" as well as "balloons" and "boats that went underwater". | * [[Jack Bannister]] learned about the concept of [[spacecraft]] from the [[science fiction]] of "that [[France|French]] fellow, (…) [[Jules Verne|Verne]]", who apparently wrote stories about "ships that could go to [[the Moon]] and back" as well as "balloons" and "boats that went underwater". | ||
* Between assignments, the semi-[[renegade Time Lord]]s employed by the [[Celestial Intervention Agency]] are free to "roam the [[Winds of Time]] in their highjacked [[TARDIS unit]]s". | * Between assignments, the semi-[[renegade Time Lord]]s employed by the [[Celestial Intervention Agency]] are free to "roam the [[Winds of Time]] in their highjacked [[TARDIS unit]]s". | ||
* [[Rowellanuraven]] is the [[Celestial Intervention Agency]]'s foremost expert on [[Earth]], her knowledge of its history "second only to that of the peripatetic [[The Doctor|Doctor]] himself". | * [[Rowellanuraven]] is the [[Celestial Intervention Agency]]'s foremost expert on [[Earth]], her knowledge of its history "second only to that of the peripatetic [[The Doctor|Doctor]] himself". | ||
* [[Malcolm Fraser]]'s beliefs about [[Atlantis]] were influenced by writings by the American [[Ignatius Donnelly]], published between [[1882]] and [[1883]]. | * [[Malcolm Fraser]]'s beliefs about [[Atlantis]] were influenced by writings by the American [[Ignatius Donnelly]], published between [[1882]] and [[1883]]. | ||
* [[Rollonovaradnavashir]] got his nickname of "[[Rollo]]" from [[William the Conqueror]] and claims that [[Mohandas Gandhi|Gandhi]] "learned [pacifism] from him". He is currently in his fifth [[incarnation]], and was "one of the original founders of the [[Celestial Intervention Agency]]", having been a lifelong opponent of the [[non-interventionist policy]]. | * [[Rollonovaradnavashir]] got his nickname of "[[Rollo]]" from [[William the Conqueror]] and claims that [[Mohandas Gandhi|Gandhi]] "learned [pacifism] from him". He is currently in his fifth [[incarnation]], and was "one of the original founders of the [[Celestial Intervention Agency]]", having been a lifelong opponent of the [[non-interventionist policy]]. | ||
* [[Verika]] was recruited into the C.I.A. by her "[[mentor]] in the study of [[Temporal Science]]", the Lord [[Bregos]]. She once encountered [[the Doctor]], who described her as "a bundle of nerves waiting for the right impulse". | * [[Verika]] was recruited into the C.I.A. by her "[[mentor]] in the study of [[Temporal Science]]", the Lord [[Bregos]]. She once encountered [[the Doctor]], who described her as "a bundle of nerves waiting for the right impulse". | ||
* Born in [[1956]], [[Jim Waters]] encountered Rollo when he accidentally hid inside [[Rollo's TARDIS]] as the rest of his biker gang was wiped out by [[the Master]], who was engaged in some plot in [[Chicago]] which Rollo ended up foiling with Street's help, taking him on as a [[companion]] thereafter. | * Born in [[1956]], [[Jim Waters]] encountered Rollo when he accidentally hid inside [[Rollo's TARDIS]] as the rest of his biker gang was wiped out by [[the Master]], who was engaged in some plot in [[Chicago]] which Rollo ended up foiling with Street's help, taking him on as a [[companion]] thereafter. | ||
* Born in [[1951]], [[Michael Duncan]] was originally a resident physician and surgeon at an [[Edinburgh]] hospital, before being shanghaied by Rollo to help heal another, injured companion of his. After a few false starts at getting him home, Duncan found that he'd grown t like the TARDIS life and decided to stay of his own free will. | * Born in [[1951]], [[Michael Duncan]] was originally a resident physician and surgeon at an [[Edinburgh]] hospital, before being shanghaied by Rollo to help heal another, injured companion of his. After a few false starts at getting him home, Duncan found that he'd grown t like the TARDIS life and decided to stay of his own free will. | ||
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* [[Earth]] [[legend]]s about "[[werewolf|werewolves]] or other [[lycanthrope]]s of folklore" are suggested to be memories of the [[Iytean Change]], resulting from other Iytean incrusions on Earth in various times and places. It is also suggested that the [[Jack the Ripper]] murders between [[1888]] and [[1891]] may have been the work of a surviving Iytean from the same ship, "manipulating the mind of some weak-willed individual". | * [[Earth]] [[legend]]s about "[[werewolf|werewolves]] or other [[lycanthrope]]s of folklore" are suggested to be memories of the [[Iytean Change]], resulting from other Iytean incrusions on Earth in various times and places. It is also suggested that the [[Jack the Ripper]] murders between [[1888]] and [[1891]] may have been the work of a surviving Iytean from the same ship, "manipulating the mind of some weak-willed individual". | ||
* [[Rollo]] once travelled to the [[South Seas]] in the company of [[James Cook|Captain Cook]]. | * [[Rollo]] once travelled to the [[South Seas]] in the company of [[James Cook|Captain Cook]]. | ||
* [[Rollo's TARDIS]] is a [[Model 51]]. The Model 51 TARDISes were an experiment in creating TARDISes with fully sentient, anthropomorphic personalities capable of acting as genuine co-pilots, being fitted with a [[Cybernetic Personality Matrix]]. However, "insufficent shielding or some other basic design flaw" caused the Model 51s to prove unreliable because, at the slightest damage or disruption, their personality would become unbalanced, shifting rapidly through various emotional personals ranging from helpful to mischievous to hostile to haughty, with no underlying consistency. | * [[Rollo's TARDIS]] is a [[Model 51]]. The Model 51 TARDISes were an experiment in creating TARDISes with fully sentient, anthropomorphic personalities capable of acting as genuine co-pilots, being fitted with a [[Cybernetic Personality Matrix]]. However, "insufficent shielding or some other basic design flaw" caused the Model 51s to prove unreliable because, at the slightest damage or disruption, their personality would become unbalanced, shifting rapidly through various emotional personals ranging from helpful to mischievous to hostile to haughty, with no underlying consistency. | ||
* [[Baritsu]] is "a [[Japan]]ese martial arts technique" which is "chiefly notable as having been practiced by the fictional [[Sherlock Holmes]]". It emphasises use of the hands. | * [[Baritsu]] is "a [[Japan]]ese martial arts technique" which is "chiefly notable as having been practiced by the fictional [[Sherlock Holmes]]". It emphasises use of the hands. | ||
* [[Martian zlynzyx]] is an "obscure" martial arts discipline created by the [[Ice Warrior]]s. | * [[Martian zlynzyx]] is an "obscure" martial arts discipline created by the [[Ice Warrior]]s. | ||
* [[Four-dimensional chess]] is a popular [[Time Lord]] variant of [[Earth]] [[chess]] which involves "multiple levels", "the ability to [[dematerialisation|dematerialise]] pieces from the board and have them materialise elsewhere on later turns of the game", and [[time travel|time-travelling]] pieces. | * [[Four-dimensional chess]] is a popular [[Time Lord]] variant of [[Earth]] [[chess]] which involves "multiple levels", "the ability to [[dematerialisation|dematerialise]] pieces from the board and have them materialise elsewhere on later turns of the game", and [[time travel|time-travelling]] pieces. | ||
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[[File:Caillebotte Who.jpg|thumb|right|A comparison between the original Caillebotte painting and the doctored ''Doctor Who'' version repurposed as cover art.]] | [[File:Caillebotte Who.jpg|thumb|right|A comparison between the original Caillebotte painting and the doctored ''Doctor Who'' version repurposed as cover art.]] | ||
* The back and front cover art of the book are a repurposed version of [[Gustave Caillebotte]]'s [[1877]] painting {{wi|Paris Street; Rainy Day}} (which, as its name implied, originally depicted a scene in [[Paris]], not [[London]]). Caillebotte himself was duly credited for "cover art", with no clear disclaimer that this was actually a preexisting public-domain artpiece being repurposed. The front cover reproduces the right half of the painting, with no major changes besides colour saturation, while on the back cover, a young, bearded man carrying an umbrella is painted over to become the elderly, beardless [[Rollo]], while [[Jim Waters]] and [[Erin Grant]] were inserted outright. These three additional figures were painted by [[J. Andrew Keith]], also the book's writer, though the "concept" of the cover was credited to [[Jordan K. Weisman]]. As regards the front cover, the woman seems to have been used as a reference for the illustration of [[Julia Fraser]] within the book, but there is some difficulty in identifying the moustache-sporting man at her side; as he is walking arm-in-arm with Julia and sports a drooping moustache, the intent may be that readers should interpret him as [[Malcolm Fraser]], but his hair and moustache are clearly brown instead of white. Alternatively, if interpreted as a paramour to the woman, he might be interpreted as [[Thomas Carruthers]], Julia's only love interest in the plot, but although the fashion fits, Carruthers is depicted and described as clean-shaven. | * The back and front cover art of the book are a repurposed version of [[Gustave Caillebotte]]'s [[1877]] painting {{wi|Paris Street; Rainy Day}} (which, as its name implied, originally depicted a scene in [[Paris]], not [[London]]). Caillebotte himself was duly credited for "cover art", with no clear disclaimer that this was actually a preexisting public-domain artpiece being repurposed. The front cover reproduces the right half of the painting, with no major changes besides colour saturation, while on the back cover, a young, bearded man carrying an umbrella is painted over to become the elderly, beardless [[Rollo]], while [[Jim Waters]] and [[Erin Grant]] were inserted outright. These three additional figures were painted by [[J. Andrew Keith]], also the book's writer, though the "concept" of the cover was credited to [[Jordan K. Weisman]]. As regards the front cover, the woman seems to have been used as a reference for the illustration of [[Julia Fraser]] within the book, but there is some difficulty in identifying the moustache-sporting man at her side; as he is walking arm-in-arm with Julia and sports a drooping moustache, the intent may be that readers should interpret him as [[Malcolm Fraser]], but his hair and moustache are clearly brown instead of white. Alternatively, if interpreted as a paramour to the woman, he might be interpreted as [[Thomas Carruthers]], Julia's only love interest in the plot, but although the fashion fits, Carruthers is depicted and described as clean-shaven. | ||
* Although eight possible [[companion]]s for [[Rollo]] are provided, it is specified that players are not required to account for all of them in a given playthrough, with a TARDIS crew of four or five being considered more advisable. To leave possibilities as open as possible, most of the text of "the Adventure" and the Plot Synopsis refers only to plural "companions" or "adventurers" without specifying. The prose epilogue ''The Hunters Home from the Hill'', however, definitively commits to the presence of [[Erin Grant]] and [[Verika]] onboard the TARDIS, and is narrated in the first person by an unidentified non-Time-Lord companion distinct from either. It additionally sees [[Julia Fraser]] joining the TARDIS crew after the adventure, although she is not intended as a player character in this game itself. The book's back-cover illustration depicts Rollo, Erin and [[Jim Waters]] in London. | * Although eight possible [[companion]]s for [[Rollo]] are provided, it is specified that players are not required to account for all of them in a given playthrough, with a TARDIS crew of four or five being considered more advisable. To leave possibilities as open as possible, most of the text of "the Adventure" and the Plot Synopsis refers only to plural "companions" or "adventurers" without specifying. The prose epilogue ''The Hunters Home from the Hill'', however, definitively commits to the presence of [[Erin Grant]] and [[Verika]] onboard the TARDIS, and is narrated in the first person by an unidentified non-Time-Lord companion distinct from either. It additionally sees [[Julia Fraser]] joining the TARDIS crew after the adventure, although she is not intended as a player character in this game itself. The book's back-cover illustration depicts Rollo, Erin and [[Jim Waters]] in London. | ||
* This story users the name of "the [[Mutters Spiral]]" for [[the Galaxy]], in contrast to the usual rendition of this name as "[[Mutter's Spiral]]" (''sans'' "the"). | * This story users the name of "the [[Mutters Spiral]]" for [[the Galaxy]], in contrast to the usual rendition of this name as "[[Mutter's Spiral]]" (''sans'' "the"). | ||
