Doctor Who RPG?

[Epiphany]

I've purchased the excellent Doctor Who RPG from Humble Bundle and am interested in running a game with it. I'm still reading through the rules, digesting them and formulating a plot. In the meantime, I wanted to see if anyone was (A) interested in playing a Doctor Who play by post and (B) if so, give them time to buy the books. The humble bundle is only good for another couple of days (I think it concludes Tuesday the 1st or so) and it's an amazing deal!

For those less dice-savvy, I'm contemplating doing most/all of the actual rolling myself (mostly for the sake of saving time/speeding up gameplay) so don't let a ruleset be a barrier for you.

 

[Esbilon]

I'm tentatively interested. Just what would the PCs be doing in such a game? I imagine none of us will actually be the Doctor, correct?

 

[Epiphany]

I just bought the rpg a couple of days ago and have read enough to love it. I'll put together a more formal interest check/pitch once I've had a chance to finish reading more of the rules and, well, write something up. This initial post was really to serve a two fold purpose; find people interested in the setting itself and then alert them to a really good deal on the books if they are so inclined.

Right now, the pitch I'm leaning towards is "Everyone wakes up in a room together with no idea who these strangers are or how you got here, and you'll have to work together to find out what happened and how to get home." Characters are welcome from across the entire universe and from pretty much any time period. The Doctor will not be making an appearance, though if someone wants to play a young Time Lord (preferably from before the Time War) that's cool with me. The initial adventure will not be especially timey wimey but, if the group is good, subsequent adventures definitely will be.

The list below are folks I've gamed with before who I think are awesome and/or may be into trying this RPG. I'll only ping you the once, just to get your attention.
Sherwood Purr Kaerri Lord-Leafar Vaneheart Psychie Silanon Captain Hesperus FeMChara Arynne

 

[Kaerri]

My RP plate is really full right now, but thank you for the tag! I think you're a pretty awesome person too

 

[Silanon]

First of all, thanks for the tag! Honored to be on that list of awesome people Unfortunately, I don't really have the time to jump into another rp right now - good luck with the rp, though!

 

[Purr]

Heya Pips!

I could squeeze in one more game, especially one with quality RPers like yourself running the show, but there are a few things I should mention.

1. I know very little about Doctor Who. It's a long-time running British television series with British humor (humour?), the Doctor is the good guy, I think he rides around time in an old-style British phone booth (is that the Tardis?), but I don't know why he does it. He's rather eccentric? The latest Doctor Who is a woman. Some fans are flipping their lids over it but that just tells me that the Doctor is open to being whatever he or she wants to be.
2. I've seen the Humble deal - you can't ask for better! But which of these books counts as the "Player Guide"? Which of these books (if any) should I ignore if I throw my hat in?
3. What kind of characters are you looking for in your game? We're not the bad guys, are we? I'm not into playing games where my character has to be the evil or self-serving jerk who screws others for a dollar. Bad enough I have to get inside the heads of my own evil-doers in my own games...
4. What else should someone like me know about all this?

 

[Epiphany]

Questions are fine! I'll do my best.

1. I know very little about Doctor Who. It's a long-time running British television series with British humor (humour?), the Doctor is the good guy, I think he rides around time in an old-style British phone booth (is that the Tardis?), but I don't know why he does it. He's rather eccentric? The latest Doctor Who is a woman. Some fans are flipping their lids over it but that just tells me that the Doctor is open to being whatever he or she wants to be.

Basically yes. Actual knowledge of the the show, episode by episode, is optional. I'm not planning to have the Doctor in this story; he's just out there somewhere. The key takeaway for you is that your character could be from anywhere or anywhen. You can make use of show elements or come up with your own. Play an alien from ten thousand years ago. Play a human from the year 27,902 or 1992 or 502. All of these are possibilities. And it's easy enough to play someone from somewhere or somewhen that doesn't know much about the rest of the show's cosmology, so it should work well for new players as well as old fans of the show.

2. I've seen the Humble deal - you can't ask for better! But which of these books counts as the "Player Guide"? Which of these books (if any) should I ignore if I throw my hat in?

I've only started reading the core book myself but I suspect it's all you really need, if you're wanting to get the $1 option. Most of the other sourcebooks are basically if you want to play something or someone from one of the episodes. The $15 or more tier also includes UNIT (for playing soldiers from a military organization with a long time presence in the show) and the Time Traveler's Companion which looks ideal if you want to play a Time Lord yourself. But the rest of that looks pretty optional. Just the "Doctor Who Roleplaying Game" is all you really need.

3. What kind of characters are you looking for in your game? We're not the bad guys, are we? I'm not into playing games where my character has to be the evil or self-serving jerk who screws others for a dollar. Bad enough I have to get inside the heads of my own evil-doers in my own games...

No, not the bad guys. Quite the opposite. Even more than most rpgs, Doctor Who runs best when you've got a group of characters capable of cooperation. There's a few different rules that allow you to boost the results of others so even the mechanics back the principle. My hope is that any characters submitted would be reasonably moral characters, each of whom is likely to have their own agenda and goals in life, but all of whom find themselves in the same circumstance; waking up in a room with strangers, trying to figure out how you got here and how you get home.

4. What else should someone like me know about all this?

I had some conversation with Esbilon that I'll just copy/paste into here.

9:21 AM E<•Esbilon> is (space) magic a thing?
9:20 AM M<Maia> The metaplot elements I'm using from the series are inspired by a few of the Big Finish audios, which I'm 99% sure no one else who plays will be familiar with either, so there will be mystery and surprise for everyone.
9:20 AM Only in the Arthur C Clarke sense, if you know what I mean.
9:21 AM E<•Esbilon> advanced technology
9:21 AM M<Maia> You got it.
9:21 AM E<•Esbilon> which also implies gizmos that people won't wake up with?
9:22 AM M<Maia> Hmmm, that's a good question. I'd intended the setting of the adventure to supply the materials needed for people to put their own gizmos together, for those who are so inclined.
9:22 AM I'll have to give some thought to what extent personal possessions carry over/into.
9:22 AM Doctor Who as a show traditionally doesn't usually involve people coming aboard carrying a bunch of stuff and I'd intended to emulate that.
9:22 AM E<•Esbilon> *nodnod*
9:22 AM M<Maia> More like, you make what you want or pick up and keep what you want along the way.
9:23 AM If you like technobabble, this will be the game for you.
9:24 AM I mean technobabble in the sense of "I'm going to unlock this door by accessing its circuits and reversing the polarity of the neutron flow."
9:25 AM Not in the sense of "This whole situation is caused because the Inverse Warp Induction Generator misfired and produced brief temporal copies and that's how you found your own body in the closet!"

Although in hindsight, that's totally a situation that could happen in Doctor Who...​

9:27 AM Ideally, the game itself has room for people who shoot guns, people who negotiate the fastest deal in town, pilots, scientists and investigators alike.

9:50 AM M<Maia> I'm interested in running an adventure set in one time period with a cast from multiple time periods, in the Doctor Who universe, using a few of the Doctor who show elements. But the Doctor won't be appearing. And any time travel the PCs end up doing will be on their merits alone and it will likely not be with a Tardis.
9:50 AM E<•Esbilon> *nodnod*
9:51 AM are language barriers something to consider?
9:54 AM M<Maia> Generally no. And for the purpose of this adventure, not so much. Traditionally, the Tardis establishes a psychic link with its passengers and it translates languages for travelers. For the sake of this adventure, there will be access to language translation technology immediately. In part because it's a convenience for play. But in part, because the premise that put everyone where they are includes having them
9:54 AM able to talk to each other.
9:54 AM E<•Esbilon> *nodnod*
10:26 AM M<Maia> Character Creation may have a few more points than default char gen, I think. I want to allow someone to play a young Timelord if they wish, for example, and that's expensive enough right there, I intend to baseline that and break down what it'd cost to build one and then make that the number of points people have to work with.

10:29 AM M<Maia> I'm probably a week or two out from getting something going. What with work and all that.
10:32 AM I really like the way the rules set the order of who goes first. First talkers, than movers, than doers and only then fighters.
10:32 AM The rpg feels like it does a reasonable job of mechanically representing the Doctor Who universe; a setting where violence and awful things happen but there's always a non-violent way through if you try to find it.
10:33 AM I"m going to have to think hard about Story Points with play by post in mind. Most rpgs played with dice on play by post, GM compresses the rolling and just reports the result but this game assumes more player involvement with results. The game's ideal for letting players suggest story alterations that are routinely approved by the GM and used to steer and keep the story on course (and non-fatal, usually).[/QUOTE]

 

[Purr]

So, it's basically sci-fi with "technobabble." A thinker's game with some compassion thrown in. Not a place for lone wolves really. A game with lots of who-knows-what-is-going-to-happen next and socializing?

 

[Epiphany]

All of those are elements, yes. There tends to be mystery, exploration, discovery. There also tends to be a great deal of running, both into and away from danger. While this adventure will largely be a sci-fi setting, many adventures take place in the past. Some are survival themed. Others are war stories (though Doctor Who never glamorizes violence).

If you have the time and inclination, you really ought to watch a few episodes. The best two I can think of to kick things off would be "The Eleventh Hour" followed by "The Beast Below". They're newer than the start of the series, are aimed at capturing new viewers, and the Beast Below in particular is good for setting up the kind of story this adventure will be. An hour and forty minutes well worth your time.

The more I try to find "Doctor Who is like this" comparisons, the more I realize how unique of a show it is. There's really not a lot out there like it. And arguably there's a great many shows that are like Doctor Who and/or inspired by it because it's been around for ages.

 

[Epiphany]

It occurs to me though that what I'd like to run may be more like...I don't know, Pandorum or Dark Matter or any show where people wake up in a science fiction setting and aren't sure what's going on. There will definitely be puzzles and clues and things to solve. But there will also be action, possible battle, traps and impending destruction.

 

[Purr]

And if I get involved, more than one post of...

Spoiler: Music!

"Doctorin' the Tardis" by KLF and the Timelords =) This is the kind of music that's good to travel to - it has imagination and stamina. =)

 

[Purr]

Pips, this looks too good to pass up. I've ordered the PDFs. Sign me up.

Let's see what this Tardis thing is all about... =)

Honor and fun,
Dann =)

 

[Purr]

Who else is joining us for this? =)

 

[Amerikia1126]

I like the look of this so far. Consider me interested

 

[Epiphany]

Excellent. That's at least two, with three more maybes.

Hope those so inclined were able to snag the book while it was a buck. For those without, I will see what I can work out.

 

[Lord-Leafar]

Thanks for the shout out, I'm a bit swamped with real life stuff atm, so I wouldn't be able to try it out, but best of luck with the game!

 

[Purr]

Thank you! And good luck getting "un-swamped" with Real Life! =)

 

[Arynne]

Well, boo. I didn't get this notification before today.

 

[Esbilon]

Plenty of time to act on it now, Arynne

 

[Arynne]

...aaand I didn't realize you'd replied to my post. I miss the old website...

Color me interested too, if I can snare a copy of the rules for cheap.

 

[Epiphany]

I have two business trips in a row for the next two weeks. And the first one starts tomorrow. I plan to read through as much of the books as I can on the flight there (and on the flight back). In the meantime, I'll see if I can put together a more formal Interest Check that'll better establish the pitch. Hopefully by next Friday or so. There's a few house rules I can already see a need for so I'll post those too. Mind you, I'm not one of those gamers that feels a compulsive need to tinker with a rules engine, it's just some traits don't make sense (and won't give you any value) due to the setting of at least the initial adventure.

I appreciate the interest so far. If others read this thread and are interested in joining up, please express interest.

The tentative launch date for this game will probably be the 18th or 25th of August or so.

 

[Purr]

Woop-woop! Kennedy, we have a go for launch! =)

Pips, I have a strong character concept but I have not yet looked into the rules to see what they are like. Should I send the concept to you in Conversation?

I have been reading up on the world of Doctor Who and the more I read the more I like what I see. Now I want to watch those two episodes Pips thoughtfully provided... =)

 

[Epiphany]

Dannigan (and anyone else), by all means feel free to PM me your concept and talk shop with me.

The setting for this adventure will be in the future but characters from the past work just fine. Aliens are totally fine, whether canonical or your own invention.
I'm on the fence on how much to front load vs. let you guys enjoy discovering. It will start out in a setting none of you are native to, though.

If you guys are comfortable making characters "in a void", let me know. If the majority of you would prefer more upfront OOC info on the adventure and it's setting, I'll oblige.

 

[Kaerri]

I left this thread as "watched" too long. Temptation wins! Can I change my mind and sign up after all?

 

[Epiphany]

Absolutely!