Difference between revisions of "1.10 Locate the Letter"

Revision as of 10:41, 5 January 2012

Order

1.08

Status

::Allen::

Location Status

GC Point of Contact

Allen

Location Notes

?

Type

Mandatory Puzzle

Plot Setup

With the players' help, Doctor When has been sent to his high school right before the 1986science fair. Neither Prof. Chronus nor the players know why he chose this time and place.

Doctor When explains over the View-O-Scope that he lost an envelope with "technical information vital for restoring the timeline" during his turbulent travels through time. He asks the players to find the "instructions" and have it sent to him back in time.

Props

Reuses the disk with the View-O-Scope Computer Remote Access Program.

Plot Point to Convey

Doctor When wants to alter the timeline in 1986
He lost an envelope that is somehow key to accomplishing that

Short Description

Players must study the video of the Doctor's journey through time to figure out where he lost the envelope.

Detailed Description

Careful study of the video log from the View-O-Scope reveals that Doctor When had the envelope in all scenes up until Vertigo, during which he lost it. The View-O-Scope message log will also display "mass loss detected."

Puzzle Answer

Ft. Point in San Francisco around 1958.

Puzzle Solution

Budget

Credits

Manager

Hints

Review the View-O-Scope log
Carefully observe which scenes Doctor When has the envelope and which ones he doesn't.
Review the View-O-Scope's message window.

Response to Correct Answer

Over the phone lab assistant says words to the effect of,

Yes! We've noticed some tachyon disturbances near Ft. Point. Let's hope that by some miracle it's still there.

Please go there now. You'll probably want to park near _______.

If you find it, give it to one of the other lab assistants at that location to rush back to Prof. Chronos. Now go!

To Do

Other Notes

.

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 ==Status==
-  ::UNCLAIMED::
+  ::Allen::
 ==Location Status==
-Scouting
 ==GC Point of Contact==
@@ Line 12: / Line 11: @@
 ==Location Notes==
-Somewhere near "Vertigo" spot at Ft. Point. Erik & Sean need to scout to determine our needs before we can negotiate with Park Service.
+?
 ==Type==
@@ Line 18: / Line 17: @@
 ==Plot Setup==
-With the players' help, Doctor When has been sent to the right time & place: his high school right before the science fair. Neither Prof. Chronus nor the players know why he chose this time and place.
+With the players' help, Doctor When has been sent to his high school right before the 1986science fair. Neither Prof. Chronus nor the players know why he chose this time and place.
-Somehow the Doctor communicates that he lost "vital instructions" during his turbulent travels through time (see notes to previous puzzle). He asks the players to find the "instructions" and have it sent to him back in time.
+Doctor When explains over the View-O-Scope that he lost an envelope with "technical information vital for restoring the timeline" during his turbulent travels through time. He asks the players to find the "instructions" and have it sent to him back in time.
 ==Props==
-The "vital instructions" will turn out to be an ancient newspaper clipping--page 1 of the the school paper from the day after the science fair (timeline 1). The headline is "Wesley When Makes Splash At Sciene Fair." The picture shows Wesley covered in slime and all the kids, including Buffy, laughing at him (Catherine looks sympathetic in the background). A hand-written note on it says, "At precisely 3:02 PM step two feet to the right and you'll win the girl of your dreams! If you don't, THIS will happen to you!"
+Reuses the disk with the View-O-Scope Computer Remote Access Program.
-Additionally we'll need two videos: The first will show the present-day Doctor When waiting in the empty school hallway, the recovered letter materializing in front of him, and then him slipping it into the young Doctor When's locker.
+==Plot Point to Convey==
+* Doctor When wants to alter the timeline in 1986
+* He lost an envelope that is somehow key to accomplishing that
-The second will show the second timeline of the Science Fair Incident (although we may never have to film the first timeline). In it, we see the young When standing in front of his science fair exhibit, reading the newspaper clipping (and Catherine noticing him doing so), intently looking at his watch, suddenly taking a measured step to the right, the stream of slime shooting towards his former position (and thus missing him). [It might be fun if there was a way we could choreograph it so that as he steps out of slime's way he accidentally knocks over Buffy. She's mad at first, but then realizes that he saved her from slime, and thus is grateful...paving the way for their improbable romance.]
-==Plot Point to Convey==
-When the players retrieve the "vital instructions" they should somehow be able to read them. Perhaps the envelop is torn or someone else framed the article.
 ==Short Description==
-Doctor When lost it in time. Study video or computer report to find where it is now.
+Players must study the video of the Doctor's journey through time to figure out where he lost the envelope.
 ==Detailed Description==
-TBD. As mentioned in the notes to the previous puzzle, the time machine's video might have indicated that there was a "loss of mass" and spit out some garbled data that gives the time/place where the letter was lost. Instead, the solution might tell players to look closely at the Calibration movie and find the exact spot where the letter gets lost (which is a scene from a movie in SF - maybe Vertigo?)
+Careful study of the video log from the View-O-Scope reveals that Doctor When had the envelope in all scenes up until Vertigo, during which he lost it. The View-O-Scope message log will also display "mass loss detected."
 ==Puzzle Answer==
-The time & location of the letter - or a reference to look at the Calibration movie, if we use that option above.
+Ft. Point in San Francisco around 1958.
 ==Puzzle Solution==
@@ Line 54: / Line 51: @@
 ==Hints==
+* Review the View-O-Scope log
+* Carefully observe which scenes Doctor When has the envelope and which ones he doesn't.
+* Review the View-O-Scope's message window.
+==Response to Correct Answer==
+Over the phone lab assistant says words to the effect of,
-==Response to Correct Answer==
+Yes!  We've noticed some tachyon disturbances near Ft. Point.  Let's hope that by some miracle it's still there.
+Please go there now. You'll probably want to park near _______.
+If you find it, give it to one of the other lab assistants at that location to rush back to Prof. Chronos.  Now go!
-?
 ==To Do==
@@ Line 64: / Line 69: @@
 ==Other Notes==
-Do the players get the physical letter or merely find the time/place where it was lost? It might be more dramatic to postpone the actual finding of the _physical_ letter until Act III. If that's the case, then we _might_ make the time/place answer a little less transparent - e.g., the place is described by abstract coordinates, but in Act III they discover that the place is actually a Bay Area location. ALSO: this puzzle could be a series of puzzles that's shorter for teams that are behind; there's a puzzle for each "bounce" the letter takes through time.
+.
 [[Category:Events]]
 [[Category:Act1]]