Dice Doctor Who: The Clockwise Prolixity - OOC

Purr PM sent!

Arynne PM sent!

Kaerri PM sent!

basicallyaMarshWiggle PM sent!

Silanon PM sent!

Subject 019283747592 I appreciate your enthusiasm and interest! Bear in mind, this is a dice game using Cubicle 7's rather delightful Doctor Who: The Roleplaying Game rules for play. If you're interested in playing a game with rules, rolls, and the like, shoot me a PM and we can talk through the particulars (especially if you don't have a copy of the book).

Esbilon Go ahead and post up your lady (for a given value of 'lady') in the Characters thread, please, so I have sheets in one place (and so others can see what you've done and get ideas/plan around/avoid niche stomping) accordingly.

Amerikia1126 Are you still interested in playing this game? If so, shoot me a PM and let's talk through character concept (particularly if you don't have a copy of the book).

Now, for those who've built their characters, virtually everyone has indicated the points available didn't meet their desired end. And by and large, the wishlists are less "I want to be more skilled/awesome" and more "I'd like a few more traits to really sell the character concept". As such, if you the players agree, I'm inclined to give you an additional 8 points you can use for anything you'd like to round out your character with. Use it to round your character out, pick up those good traits you yearned for, or buy off a few bad traits you only picked up because you 'had to'.

Also, bear in mind this is a new ruleset for me as it is for you. As such, I'm going to ask you guys to watch out for your sheets, your traits and poke me if you think something you have should apply/affect any dice rolls I send your way. I'll do my best to keep everyone's traits in mind, for example, but I'm still in the "I have to look each of these up" stage of knowing the game and when writing a story post, I can't promise I'll always remember what everyone has. So keep me honest by speaking up here.

Assuming all goes well, I'm hopeful at getting the In-Character posting going sometime next week depending on how the last of the sheets fall into place.

Hold on, everyone. It's going to be a wild ride!

Don't think I'd ever say no to more character points - there were a few traits that didn't make sense to be picked up later, but seemed too costy for now. Also, I'd certainly appreciate the chance to improve a skill or two to be a bit mor versitaile than right now.

I don't know about how everyone else is coping with their characters, but I felt like I had not-quite-enough points to build my character - which is the way it should be! Still, if you want to add another 8 Character Points, I'll gladly take them.

However, may I offer another option for consideration? That we are rewarded very quickly before this first 'adventure' is even concluded - maybe halfway, or even earlier than that if we must.

Just something to consider

Good point - I just went over my character sheet to spend the extra points, and ended up with a few too many - which, honestly, felt kind of weird. Since that's the version I have right now, I'll post the sheet with the 8 extra points regardless in a few moments, but I think I'd prefer to remove them for now and get them back over time. Other thoughts?

Here are mine, Silanon. =)

Holy moly! Eight extra points? That will fill up the cracks with a few extra to spare. I could do it with four, so eight is generous. If we do start with bonus points I request four, please.

On another note, Everyone, I have a humble request of you. Please play what you have created, especially if we are being provided extra points at launch? Put another way, could we stay away from min/maxing?

I don't mean to criticise. Perhaps some of you feel similarly. I find it difficult to immerse myself towards any character who is role played like some brilliant genius but has an Ingenuity Attribute of 1 because the player wanted thunderous dice rolls elsewhere.

I just don't want to come into the game and see somebody with all sixes in some Attributes and ones and twos in other Attributes just for the sake of success during dice rolling. That's all. =)

Hey, basicallyaMarshWiggl (wow, my phone will not allow me to type out your entire name; it's too long)? Do you have a nickname you prefer to be called?

While I like your idea, it springboards me to another - perhaps we can take these extra points now and instead of being rewarded later put them towards this bonus pool? Get the points in advance but, you know, pay them off?

This RPG is the first I've seen that doesn't actually award experience points. Instead, traits, abilities are raised when the GM thinks they should be.

If folks want to go that direction, that's fine with me too. For that matter, any unspent points could basically be "banked" and raised by you during play at a moment you think is earned or dramatically appropriate.

Past the initial pool, I plan on character increases being handled normally per the rules.

Ah! That's a fine solution! How does everyone else feel about it?

Here is some fine character creation music for anyone who might like some. =)

Epiphany said:

...any unspent points could basically be "banked" and raised by you during play at a moment you think is earned or dramatically appropriate.

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Brilliant! I agree.

Purr Well this is actually a new name, so I'm not sure what people will actually end up calling me. I think I like Marsh, but if you're feeling especially formal I guess you could call me Mr Wiggle

Thanks, Marsh! =)

basicallyaMarshWiggle said:

Brilliant! I agree.

Purr Well this is actually a new name, so I'm not sure what people will actually end up calling me. I think I like Marsh, but if you're feeling especially formal I guess you could call me Mr Wiggle

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Marshwiggle as in Puddleglum?

Kaerri said:

Marshwiggle as in Puddleglum?

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Yeah, I watched the old BBC series with my wife a few weeks ago. Apparently Puddleglum could have been my spirit animal
In any case, I quite like a lot of C. S. Lewis' works.

Just to make sure I'm clear: Epiphany , we'll have 8 bonus points to spend as we choose during character creation, but we can "save" unspent points to use later?

Would these points be spent at character-creation values or as gameplay values? If we spent them later in the game, I mean. Some things cost 1 point now, but more later.

Marsh, your S.A.B. seems to be a neat character. I can't wait to interact with it! Also, I love the picture; it's a cute little 'bot. I can't help but wonder who it's looking for. =)

Subject, I'm still having a little trouble grasping your character concept. Exactly what are you playing? Would you mind providing more details, especially in the Attributes category? Do you have a picture or piece of artwork we could see? I'm interested to see what you'd like to play. =)

Silanon, you mentioned...

Silanon said:

If you happen to have played Oblivion and Mass Effect: Imagine a crossbreed between an argonian and a krogan, and you might be quite close to what I have in mind.

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Would you post a couple of pictures, preferably one argonian and one krogan, that if merged would look most like your character? I'd like to see a little closer to what you have in your mind's eye. =)

Also, are the Zil'Thanei a creation of yours or is it taken from a story you can refer us to? Finally, if it's your character's goal to return to his people and continue the fight, are you then deciding you'd like to take the rest of our group here to wherever this fight is going on? Does it involve us at all or what do you have in mind?

Kaerri said:

Just to make sure I'm clear: Epiphany , we'll have 8 bonus points to spend as we choose during character creation, but we can "save" unspent points to use later?

Would these points be spent at character-creation values or as gameplay values? If we spent them later in the game, I mean. Some things cost 1 point now, but more later.

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For your first sentence, absolutely.

For your second, I'm puzzled. Did I miss a section of the book where the price of things increases once a game is underway? My memory of the text is that increasing traits is basically at GM's discretion, with the rules suggesting a little on how often something can be raised but nothing about cost. In the absence of knowing about the latter, I'm inclined to treat any banked points as having the same 'purchasing power' in-game as they did during character creation.

I haven't actually read through in-game character advancement yet, but this system seems very like World of Darkness in which many things are cheaper at creation than they are later. More specifically to this game, this is in a sidebar under Skills, and is what prompted my question:

When you have a skill at level 3 or above, you can opt to select an Area of Expertise where you excel in this skill. At character creation this just costs you a single Skill Point.

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Being in the character creation section, it doesn't say how much it costs later.

Ahhhh, excellent.

If someone happens to spot an experience advancement chart I missed, hook us all up. If there is no such thing, just assume everything costs what it costs during character creation.

As for experience, I can follow the rules and suggest 'upgrading' traits, attributes, etc. when they seem warranted (or if your character has downtime and uses it to deliberately improve themselves). Or I can look to awarding an improvised experience award on a per adventure basis so you guys can just spend, upgrade or buy off whatever you want. I have no particular preference. If anyone else does, speak up!

Dannigan said:

Silanon, you mentioned...
Would you post a couple of pictures, preferably one argonian and one krogan, that if merged would look most like your character? I'd like to see a little closer to what you have in your mind's eye. =)

Also, are the Zil'Thanei a creation of yours or is it taken from a story you can refer us to? Finally, if it's your character's goal to return to his people and continue the fight, are you then deciding you'd like to take the rest of our group here to wherever this fight is going on? Does it involve us at all or what do you have in mind?

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There's actually a picture of an argonian that kind of inspired my character idea, so I'll certainly post that one here:


Of course, that's not futuristic, but it's kind of the idea I had in mind for the head. However, the body is rather slender - for my intentions of a warrior, I'd prefer a bulkier appearance, that's why I referred to the krogans. I'll see if I can find a proper picture tomorrow, just so you can imagine how Thoc is supposed to look.

As for the Zil'Thanei in general, they are a creation of my own - at least, as far as I'm aware of that. They are certainly inspired by a few different other ideas out there, but I can't really name one that truly fits my intentions. The Eldar of the Warhammer 40k-universe kind of were the starting point, but they don't really have much in common with what I'm imagining. Maybe I can come up with a good comparison tomorrow, I'll certainly think about one.

The war itself is supposed to be on the homeworld of the Zil'Thanei - and at this point, it's mostly meant to be an explanation for his past rather than a future travel destination for the group. Maybe, the opportunity will arise later on - but it's nothing I'd be planning ahead right now. The way I'm imagining the character to play out, he will not try to convince anyone to join the fight; it's simply not the task of the warrior caste to make alliances, and that alone will stop him from attempting anything like that. That doesn't mean he wouldn't appreciate any help - it's mostly his lawfulness saying that it's not his role to make such decisions. So the conflict itself will, at least for now, not influence the group directly - however, it will influence you indirectly as it is both Thoc's motivation to solve the unknown situation ahead in the most efficient way he can, and the reason for many of the quirks he might end up having. This probably doesn't answer the question at all, does it? I'll do my best to explain things better tomorrow, I'm damn tired right now.

I have my character up in the Characters thread now as well. Her main strengths are being blessed with a strong connection to the gods, at least that's how she interprets her telepathic abilities, and being able to convince pretty much anyone of pretty much anything. Her main weakness is being a terrible fighter and being from a society that's still proud of inventing writing.

Silanon said:

I'll do my best to explain things better tomorrow, I'm damn tired right now.

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Then I hope at least for your sake that you are retiring for the night as I write this. =) It's a fine explanation that opens my eyes a little further into your character's ambitions.

See, being absolutely new to Doctor Who, I am trying to figure out the feel of the game. I have the impression that we are meant to be a group of people who get along, hopefully cooperate, and do good things for others. Regardless of everyone's abilities, if our characters are on different moral grounds, our characters are likely not to get along. Power alone does not a successful team make. Cooperation and caring about each other does. I am seeing these personal goals and wondering if the other characters (including mine) would indeed work toward those ends.

I guess I am just wondering where every character will fit (or not fit) along those grounds. It is my only worry. Everything else looks like tremendous fun!

EDIT: In case I'm unclear, I am only bringing this up because I want us all to have fun. That is only going to happen if our characters get along, or at the minimum, tolerate one another. I just think it is more fun when our characters get along! =)

Laudable, and a goal I share. I don't want players to force friendliness but that's the reason I disallowed certain Traits that were automatic "this is probably going to create unnecessary conflict in the group" scenarios. I don't expect everyone to cooperate all the time and I'm all for awkward, even tense first impressions. But I imagine the scenario is going to lend to some natural cooperation (or is it?) that'll move things along.

So, given the state of sheets and player readiness, I'm aiming to kick this game off by this Friday 8/25. Hopefully, those interested in playing who don't have sheets in yet will do so between now and then (and again, if you need help, PM me and I'm happy to work with you). The sooner I have a complete set of sheets, the easier (and better) the game will be as it'll give me opportunity to brew the plot into something that both provides opportunities to shine as well as personal relevance where possible.

To quote River Song:



"You might want to find something to hang onto!"

Epiphany said:

Laudable, and a goal I share. I don't want players to force friendliness but that's the reason I disallowed certain Traits that were automatic "this is probably going to create unnecessary conflict in the group" scenarios. I don't expect everyone to cooperate all the time and I'm all for awkward, even tense first impressions. But I imagine the scenario is going to lend to some natural cooperation (or is it?) that'll move things along.

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This! 8D

Epiphany said:

So, given the state of sheets and player readiness, I'm aiming to kick this game off by this Friday 8/25. Hopefully, those interested in playing who don't have sheets in yet will do so between now and then (and again, if you need help, PM me and I'm happy to work with you). The sooner I have a complete set of sheets, the easier (and better) the game will be as it'll give me opportunity to brew the plot into something that both provides opportunities to shine as well as personal relevance where possible.

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Terrific! Who else is hyped up? =)

Pips, having read up on Gadgets (with a capital G!), I think I have to add traits to the Singularity Wand while pulling from Chauncey's Story Point pool in order to make the device? I'll shoot you a draft sometime today. Love the .gif! =)

Looking forward to get started!

Purr Went to bed right after the post, and I'm feeling a bit more alive right now. I know those kind of questions, since I'm usually one of those who ask them - really appreciate your thoughts. I've seen good rps break apart because everyone did their own thing, and I'm in a few that got carried by a few awesome characters that somehow found similarities despite being totally different. And while the scenario will provide a reason to work together (or at least it looks like that), that won't suffice if the characters don't fit together well.

If you read my character sheet, you might notice that it's more or less completely focused on skills that a well-trained soldier might have - that does not mean that I'm about to tear the whole place apart, rather the opposite. In fact, the moral code Thoc is following was mostly written to protect the opponents of the Zil'Thanei, even though it might not be obvious. Far away from his orders, he'll be inclined to avoid fatal mistakes wherever things are unclear - so as long as the rest of the group isn't planning to tear everything apart (which it won't if I read the character sheets correctly), we'll hopefully find common ground, at least after a few moments of awkwardness.


As you can see, the have a very bulky appearance - it doesn't take too much imagination to know that they're both strong and resilient. I want a bit of that for the Zil'Thanei, but with some parts of the Argonian agility mixed in there as well. See, the Argonians are, in some sense, streamlined, where the krogans are just one big pile of muscles. Imagine you take a krogan, replace the head by the one of the Argonians, take away most of the fat reserves of the Krogan around the neck (the head should still point forward, not be on top, see the middle one) and thin down the whole apperance to find a middle ground between the slender appearance of Argonians and this one - then you pretty much got what I have in mind. Unforuntately, I'm not a good drawer, or I'd try to give you a better impression. Then imagine the whole body to be covered by thick scales (big ones - maybe hand-sized, and of course smaller around the joints) that are mostly black, but turn dark blue on the edges - so that it looks a bit as if there was a net of blue lines on top of the black scales, denser around the joints.

Hope this helps with your imagination - if not, let me know and I'll give it another try

That's fantastic, Silanon! Now I have a complete image of your character. Thanks for taking the time! =)

As for your character sheet, from what I've been reading in the Core Book, he's as bad as a warrior as he can be and he puts his people first (much like the krogan do, or at least krogan like Wrex and Grunt). I can see my character getting along with yours after the initial shock wears off. Heh! I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes! =)

Silanon said:

I've seen good rps break apart because everyone did their own thing...

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Yeah, I think you've hit upon the heart of my worry. When I sign up for a game or create one, I am in it for the long haul. I'll post for years if it's a good game and this one has every bit the foundation of being one. I'm also a big believer in people. If you get a group of like-minded individuals together, you can play any game indefinitely! But if even one person feels left out, then my heart tends to go out to them. I'm not having fun unless everyone is. =)

I guess that's why I'm promoting team-oriented characters now instead of later. I want this game, and our fun and memories, to last. =)