Temple was inspired by Looney Toons to a degree (as I was a avid reader and re-reader of the Walk at the time before university pulled me away), in that they're both career soldiers in a paranormal military force with a love-hate relationship with their powers and dedication to their profession and friends - and they share a penchant for occasional bursts of schadenfreude relating to those they teach and serve with, but Temple (Or Alexander Hamish Telwyn as his name was) lacks some of Doug's more flamboyant mannerisms and particular trigger points (whilst having his own unique ones, of course).
Temple is much happier being a behind-the-scenes training officer and getting the job done not only efficiently (like Doug) but as subtly as possible (less like Doug). He does not like frivolity on the battlefield in any context, meaning Doug's Looney persona would grate him to no end. He's also a bit of an old soul/pessimist, having considered himself a gruff old relic of a soldier in his own mind since long before he got his powers. They'd probably get on in civilian/non-combat situations (he'd respect Doug's technical skill and dedication, and appreciates a sense of humor and cooking ability), but in combat I think they would not gel well at all, and might even come to blows (Alex is the powerhouse of his team and service branch in general, and not above pulling a 'screw this, I'm taking over before you get us all killed' if he feels the situation deserves it. He's powerful, decorated and well-liked enough that he's gotten away with it the few times it's happened, but not scott free - there's a reason he's not on the front lines as much as the rest of his team.) Also his knowledge of music begins and ends with Blur, which might cause some friction ;-).
The campaign would have focused on the Pendragon Squadron as the first-response team to magical and paranormal threats in a world where Magic had rapidly seeped back into the world in the year 2001, with wild powers and Cryptids popping up all over the world – the UK would be worst hit, but also quickest to adapt due to a large family of minor Aristocracy all gaining divination-based powers that allowed them to find, classify and organize the response to the situation relatively quickly – it's easier to respond when someone can tell you exactly what a person or creature is capable of and how best to counter or contain them (plus they had the ear of a few of the Windsors in the armed forces, meaning they made all the right connections and were taken seriously very quickly).
Things would have returned to relative normality by the 2010s, magic and monsters would be 'just one of those things' since so few people would have been directly affected. The situation in China and Africa would have been far more unstable then our time-line, but the worldwide response would have been drifting towards cautious optimism in the new possibilities that magic might bring, before the arrival of a giant, Cthulhu-esq monstrosity attacking ships in the sea and heading towards land (somewhere in Africa). Any/all mundane military forces sent to attack or study the thing would have either been destroyed, driven mad or pulled into its thrall and mind controlled to protect it.
As the world watched in horror and the country pleaded for help, the Pendragons would have arrived on the scene, and through ritual combing their powers, summoned a mystical version of Britannia (as in the personification of Britain) to fight the creature, and end up wiping it out with devastating force. Picture Ghostbusters 2, where they fought the monster using the statue of Liberty, only bigger, wielding a trident and shield made of golden light, and with vast hydrokinetic powers.
Whilst the team would have been lauded as heroes, the event would have kicked off a new Cold War as nations began to realize what a huge advantage the UK had in magical affairs, and scramble to either ally with them, subvert/weaken them, form their own equivalent forces for deterrence, or some ugly mixture of them all. Not to mention the political fallout from the UK having a mystical super-weapon in the form of a literal personification of the Empire (and all it's colonial baggage and sins along with it).
The idea was that in-between 'monster of the week' style sessions and investigations, there would have been a big slice of international intrigue and espionage as the team were repeatedly called overseas for investigations, ingratiating/training of allied forces and deployment in other nations, with undercurrents of secret societies, corporations and hidden factions all vying for influence and control. Like a weird genre mash of the Bourne Identity, Sharpe, Buffy and The West Wing, with a huge amount of police procedural and scifi adventure – the initial tag/premise was 'The life and times of a magical swat team in a world out to get them.'
But alas, it doesn't matter how cool something is in theory if you can't balance it for shit. Still hope to do something with it one day.
Temple is much happier being a behind-the-scenes training officer and getting the job done not only efficiently (like Doug) but as subtly as possible (less like Doug). He does not like frivolity on the battlefield in any context, meaning Doug's Looney persona would grate him to no end. He's also a bit of an old soul/pessimist, having considered himself a gruff old relic of a soldier in his own mind since long before he got his powers. They'd probably get on in civilian/non-combat situations (he'd respect Doug's technical skill and dedication, and appreciates a sense of humor and cooking ability), but in combat I think they would not gel well at all, and might even come to blows (Alex is the powerhouse of his team and service branch in general, and not above pulling a 'screw this, I'm taking over before you get us all killed' if he feels the situation deserves it. He's powerful, decorated and well-liked enough that he's gotten away with it the few times it's happened, but not scott free - there's a reason he's not on the front lines as much as the rest of his team.) Also his knowledge of music begins and ends with Blur, which might cause some friction ;-).
The campaign would have focused on the Pendragon Squadron as the first-response team to magical and paranormal threats in a world where Magic had rapidly seeped back into the world in the year 2001, with wild powers and Cryptids popping up all over the world – the UK would be worst hit, but also quickest to adapt due to a large family of minor Aristocracy all gaining divination-based powers that allowed them to find, classify and organize the response to the situation relatively quickly – it's easier to respond when someone can tell you exactly what a person or creature is capable of and how best to counter or contain them (plus they had the ear of a few of the Windsors in the armed forces, meaning they made all the right connections and were taken seriously very quickly).
Things would have returned to relative normality by the 2010s, magic and monsters would be 'just one of those things' since so few people would have been directly affected. The situation in China and Africa would have been far more unstable then our time-line, but the worldwide response would have been drifting towards cautious optimism in the new possibilities that magic might bring, before the arrival of a giant, Cthulhu-esq monstrosity attacking ships in the sea and heading towards land (somewhere in Africa). Any/all mundane military forces sent to attack or study the thing would have either been destroyed, driven mad or pulled into its thrall and mind controlled to protect it.
As the world watched in horror and the country pleaded for help, the Pendragons would have arrived on the scene, and through ritual combing their powers, summoned a mystical version of Britannia (as in the personification of Britain) to fight the creature, and end up wiping it out with devastating force. Picture Ghostbusters 2, where they fought the monster using the statue of Liberty, only bigger, wielding a trident and shield made of golden light, and with vast hydrokinetic powers.
Whilst the team would have been lauded as heroes, the event would have kicked off a new Cold War as nations began to realize what a huge advantage the UK had in magical affairs, and scramble to either ally with them, subvert/weaken them, form their own equivalent forces for deterrence, or some ugly mixture of them all. Not to mention the political fallout from the UK having a mystical super-weapon in the form of a literal personification of the Empire (and all it's colonial baggage and sins along with it).
The idea was that in-between 'monster of the week' style sessions and investigations, there would have been a big slice of international intrigue and espionage as the team were repeatedly called overseas for investigations, ingratiating/training of allied forces and deployment in other nations, with undercurrents of secret societies, corporations and hidden factions all vying for influence and control. Like a weird genre mash of the Bourne Identity, Sharpe, Buffy and The West Wing, with a huge amount of police procedural and scifi adventure – the initial tag/premise was 'The life and times of a magical swat team in a world out to get them.'
But alas, it doesn't matter how cool something is in theory if you can't balance it for shit. Still hope to do something with it one day.
WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE - God (Douglas Adams)