What my avatar says in this comic is accurate. I had an idea for a storyline in which I had characters who would sort of fit into it, but would have them doing out of character things while assuming roles they wouldn't normally be in.

Which is fine. There's no reason we can't have a storyline in which people step into different roles. We did that in Nanase Craft, for example, with no need for an intro like this.

The difference there, however, was that it was really obvious what was going on, and we didn't really need an explanation. This storyline, however, is not an obvious parody of anything, so that immediate clarity isn't there.

Basically, there was potentially a sort of "uncanny valley"  situation. When the comic's parodying adventure archeologists, it's obvious and fine. When what's happening is less obvious, it's weird and confusing.

Solution? Make it obvious.

Sidenote: YAAAAAAAY KITTY