ICON rules for Doctor Who

I recall that someone tried to convert the Doctor Who Roleplaying Game by FASA to the ICON rules ... what happened to that?

That was me. The results of that effort are at http://bancroft.tripod.com/DWintro.htm

I have full stats for the Doctor, the Master, Rani and War Chief. Writeups for Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans and Ogrons. A smattering of equipment and rules for time-lord specific advantages for character generation.

Please let me know what you think. And I would be very interested in hearing how things went if you ran a Doctor-Who or Who-ish game.

Good luck,

I think that the ICON System is a nice little system for converting old TV shows to roleplaying games.

I was going to do my own version of Doctor Who ICON Roleplaying Game. I've only just started developing it.

How did you incorporate the TARDIS into the ICON System?

How did you layout your episodes and series?

How have your Series gone?

Do you players like the ICON rules?

Have you received a lot of feedback about it?

I agree completely that the ICON system lends itself to recreating old TV shows.

How did I incorporate the TARDIS? The same way that FASA did- it's a plot device. It would be silly to, for example, use Spacedock to create Starship stats for it. Instead, it's temporally invulnerable, with certain exceptions. It gets you to the adventure, and out of there when it's over.

You can have a lot of fun with the Tardis systems, however. For example, in our campaign, the characters do NOT have an old, broken down Tardis... they have a brand new, experimental Tardis! But that has even more adventure ideas. For example, I allowed them to use the architechtural system to confligure the internal rooms of the Tardis... BUT when they tried to create complex new things, they had to make a Temporal Vehicle skill check, and failure resulting in an interesting breakdown. Another exapmle: when landing on a planet, the Tardis's camoflauge sstem did NOT break down like the Doctor's Tardis, but rather was TOO effective- it blended in so well, the companions couln't find it when they needed to!

The best source I found for Tardis systems was the FASA sourcebook. But here's a quick rundown off of the top of my head:

Temporal invulerability: Being transdimensional, it is impossible for mundane forces to damage the Tardis. However, certain effects which are transdimensional in nature can transmit across the Real World Interface, such as cyberbombs, gravitic bubbles, or the technobabble of the week.

Other defences: The Tardis has a backup system of conventional force fields, and if threatened by something can dematerialize (that is to say, retract the Real World Interface into the Vortex) to avoid danger.

Architectural system: The Tardis's interal configuration can be altered though the main computer. This is partly because in some ways the Tardis can be viewed as a Block Matrix Computation mathematical construct. But in any case, rooms can be deleted, added, and corridors can link up in new ways. For example, the 4th Doctor at one point reconfigures the Tardis so that the Real World Interface opens onto the auxiliary control room. This proceedure takes hours to do, unless you want to do something super-risky, like the 5th doctor did when he deleted half of the Tardis's internal volume, not knowing if they would be in the half deleted!

Zero Room: Helps healing post-regeneration by blocking out all outside influences and background radiation, including psychic.

"A state of Temporal Grace." A force field can be turned on that inhibits beam weaponry and prevents explosives from going off inside the Tardis. The Doctor used this to convince an enemy that violence was impossible in the Tardis, but he was making a fast talk roll- the enemy could still have simply punched him.

My series is well into it's second year and doing well. Some of the adventures they've had are listed on the web page.

Here's how I laid out the epiodes and series. The most important thing to remember is to keep in the mood and theme of the Doctor Who universe. If I were writing a Narrator's Toolkit, here's what I might expland upon:

* Complex plots * There's lots of science fiction shows out there, but one of the main ways Doctor Who distinguished itself was that the stories were more than simply, "A plot, B subplot." Doctor Who stories have a lot going on. An ideal to shoot for is to have three separate conflicts unfolding.
For example, there is one episode the 3rd Doctor is on a colony planet where the colonists are in conflict with a mining corporation that wants to drive them out (conflict #1). Also there is a monster terrorizing the place, but that turns out to be a plant from the corporation, which is a mystery to be unveiled (Conflict #2). Then the adjudicator from Earth sent to settle the case turns out to be the Master who is seeking to take control of a Doomsday device, and is using the conflict to cover his actions (Conflict #3).

* Violence is not always the answer * This could be taken right out of the Star Trek Narrator's toolkit. Sometimes the big ugly monster from the pit is a peaceful alien diplomat who was imprissoned there by the queen because the alien's offer to trade metal would upset her monopoly. Sometimes the older and wiser heads among the Silurans would like to make peace and share their technology if only both sides could get over their prejudices.

* Thinking is important * The Doctor is not an action hero, gunning down bad guys and having swashbuckling exploits. Instead, he solves the problem by apllying thought- figuiring out the mystery, fixing the underlying cause of the problem, or outwits his enemies, causing them to make an exploitable mistake. This is the frame of mind you should encourage in your characters.

* Individual initiative trumps autority * This is very similar to the importance of the theme of individual initiative in Star Trek. It is also addressed in the FASA GM's book. They companions have to succede on their own, but their actions do make a difference and are important in the grand scheme of things. Milirary organizations, beurocrats, and the like don't have the flexibility of mind to deal with the supremely wierd, but your companions do. While the Brigadeer futiley brings in bigger guns, the players have the idea to use the scientist's metal-eating virus against the Robot.

* do the occasional historical episode * Doing historical episodes is hard, but very worthwhile. Even though a relatively small number of the adventures are historical pieces, they take up the most work to ready the adventure. But it's educational for both you and your players, and it's excellent for getting into the Doctor Who feel. I'm particularly proud of the adventure in Boston 1775 where they end up on Lexington Green and accidentally cause the "Shot heard round the world."

Yes, they like the ICON rules. Except for the experience point system. Oh, and here are a few house rules that might be a big help:

Ignore the renown system in Doctor Who. While it is perfectly appropriate for Star Trek (where it seemed each visiting guest star had links to several cast members!), you would have to track it entirely separately for each era! Saving the Bolarians from invasion in 2854 won't affect your reputation during the French invasion of the Dutch, 1672!

Use advanced character generation. You wouldn't believe how much trouble it will save you, the GM... and it's still tremendously simpler than GURPS.

Encourage a high companion:Time Lord ratio, to fit the feel of the series better. The point cost of the required Time Lord advantages (for which I have stats on my web page) can help. In our campaign, everyone got 150 DP to build their characters. So the Time Lord character ended up being an apprentice, who was just starting out in Time Lord society... which was actually very good for the campaign.

Thanks Don, I'll keep an eye out for it!

Man, you guys have me jazzed for some Dr. Who now!

Strangely, last night on the IRC channel, the topic of FASA-Who came up. I was able to successfully run a few Dr. Who campaigns back in the 80s with FASA-Who. Never used the newer Timelord game, however.

I do have something you might find interesting: The Dr. Who Technical Manual. This is an excellent book! If you can find it, get it. Lots of great diagrams and close up pics. Perfect for use in an RPG.

Nice to hear that Dr. Who is still going strong.


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Don
trekrpg@trekrpg.net
http://www.trekrpg.net/Board/ubb/sig_don.gif

Good to see that Doctor Who isn't dead! My friend and me are taking a (short) break from our Star Trek: Section 31 campaign to run a little Doctor Who. I’ve got all the FASA stuff and the Timelord game for source material, but were using GURPS for the system. Anyone looking for in depth info on the planet Gallifrey and the Time Lords could check my site at http://www.geocities.com/willbswift/ (I’m so humble!) http://www.trekrpg.net/Board/ubb/smile.gif

Remember me to Gallifrey!

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Just remember, even though it’s a vacuum,
In space no one can hear you Clean.
-J.T.

That's a lot of info, JT! Well thought out too. I never would have considered integrating all of the novelization info, because it would be too much work for me. Glad someone has!

No Problem! (Actually that website is the product of 4 years of love).

I hope (eventually) that it to becomes the ultimate guide to Gallifrey (for both RPGs and writers).

Any questions about it don’t hesitate to ask- willbswift@hotmail.com


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Just remember, even though it’s a vacuum,
In space no one can hear you Clean.
-J.T.

Interesting typo on your page, Diamond...

"This is a fan created site. Nothing here is official. I do not challenge the copyrights of Lost Unicorn Games, Paramount, FASA, the BBC, or anyone else."

Intended? http://www.trekrpg.net/Board/ubb/smile.gif

It's great to hear that your group is so successful. I have had two attempts in the past at running a Doctor Who game, both failed. My players aren't overly into it. However, there has been some interest expressed recently.

I have visited your site and I'm glad that there is a site out there about Doctor Who-Icon. However, I feel that it needs a little more content. How often do you add new things to it? Do you also accept submissions?

Have you encountered any problems converting Doctor Who to the ICON rules? What about the various aliens and other bad guys?

Have you been brave enough to tackle starship combat rules for Doctor Who?

Pope: Thanks for bringing that to my attention, I'll try and remember to fix that next update. Considering that I wrote that in May, it wasn't a freudian slip but it might have been a prophetic insight!

Bytus:
I agree that the site could use more content. I've written up a lot more stuff for the various adventures, but I only posted stuff to the web site that was part of established Doctor Who cannon. The other stuff I intend to link to the Adventures section if I feel like doing the work. This feedback is giving me a big boost to do so! Actually, I imagine the stats and adventures I made up for many of the adventure of the week would be easily adaptable for Star Trek games.

As for submissions, I did not initially set up for that because I did not think there would be enough interest. But I want the ICON system to expand to be a fully generic core system, and I'm willing to do my part to make that happen. And frankly, I'd love to see what other narrators have put together. I definetly want to promote Doctor Who gaming. Ok, you talked me into it: If the interest is out there, and people have submissions, I'll set up my site to support it! Let's unleash the richness and complexity of the Doctor Who universe together!

I did not have much diffuclty adopting source materiel to the ICON rules. Converting stuff from the FASA sourcebooks was easy except for one thing: when brining skills over, there would sometimes be two skills that were appropriate. For example, the FASA skill negotiation/diplomacy relates to the ICON skills Diplomacy and Pursuasion. When up against that, I just had to make a judgement call, sometimes giving the character both ICON skills.

The aliens and bad guys were actually much easier than converting the Time Lords like the master. The biggest tricky point there was deciding on the armor values. Daleks and Cybermen, for example, are virtually immune to bullets (with certain exceptions), and highly resistant to all but the most advanced energy weapons. So I made a judgement call, converted notes from the FASA materiel regarding vulnerable points with an appropriate target modifier. I'm happy with how they came out, and they have all appeared in adventures in my campaign and they playtested well. In my game, the stats made them act pretty much like they appeared on the show.

I had to return the FASA materiel I was borrowing, however. I'll get it again later, as I need it for my upcoming planned adventure with the Silurians/Sea Devils. Plus I think Davros deserves representation.

Nope, I have not been brave enough to look into Starship combat rules. I'm not planning to, but if some else contributed stats for Doctor Who starships in the ICON system I'll post them. Here's why I'm not planning to make any myself: Even more so than in Star Trek, starship combat is definetly in the background of Doctor Who stories. You don't see it on screen both because it is an expensive special effect, and because it doesn't interact well with the typical Doctor Who characters.

For example, when Daleks attack the Federation's space prison to free Davros, there is dialog saying that fighters have been launched to stop the Daleks, but they are quickly defeated and not shown on screen. Because what would be the point to the story of gaming that out? The important thing is that the Daleks reach the station, and the adventure goes on from there. Or another example, the Atrios fleet is attacking another fleet and the end of a long war, all you see on screen is a few radar "blips" winking out as they are destroyed. Because what is important to the story is that the Atrios military is desperate and willing to use any nasty weapon to turn things around...

I can't think of any Doctor Who companion which would be in the thick of space combat, and it's not genre appropriate to dwell on it. Just describe things in dramatic terms. Don't game out several rounds of starship combat when the Sontaran Destroyers attack the research station, have the dangerously augmented Androgun sabotage the space defences.

I’d love to help out (time permitting).

I’ve already got several pieces that I created for my own RPG. These include a detailed history of UNIT (based off the time line at Gallifrey1), and a selection of notes concerning the CIA (the one on Gallifrey, not the US version).

A list of “modifications” that need to be made to FASA Doctor Who (to bring it more in line with the cannon of the novels) could also be whipped up easily.

Where do I sign up! http://www.trekrpg.net/Board/ubb/smile.gif


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Just remember, even though it’s a vacuum,
In space no one can hear you Clean.
-J.T.

Add me to the list boys! An ICON Dr. Who game would rock.

Here's what resources I bring to the table...

Dr. Who RPG (FASA)
A number of adventures I can borrow from a friend

Timelords (British Dr. Who RPG)
DUNE RPG (More refined ICON system)

So what do we do and how do we start? http://www.trekrpg.net/Board/ubb/biggrin.gif

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Aslan Collas
=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Star Trek:Strange New Worlds;
http://www.geocities.com/aslan_collas/
=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Ferengi Rule Of Acquisition #76: Every once in a while, declare peace. It confuses the hell out of your enemies.

I think the first thing we need to do, is establish a baseline to work from. That's right ... we need Doctor Who "cannon" details.

I suggest we start (like with Star Trek) only with the television series and the movie.

Am I correct that they streamlined the ICON system for the Dune roleplaying game?

If so, we should look at streamlining the ICON system for Doctor Who.

Resources I have in my own home:
Doctor Who - Monsters (a sometimes useful book)
Doctor Who - Cybermen (the DEFINITIVE analysis of the Cybermen)
All the 8th Doctor Novels
Almost all the 7th Doctor “New Adventures”
All but 7 of the episode novelizations done by Target.
All of the Doctor Who FASA stuff (except for “The Cybermen” which is in the mail)
The Doctor Who - Time Lord RPG
A Sonic Screwdriver prop replica (not sure how it helps, but I like to brag about it)
Doctor Who - The Gallifrey Chronicles (a good overview of the Time Lords)
Doctor Who – A History of the Universe (all the TV episodes and half the novels in one big chronology)

Regarding “Cannon” details I’d arrange the following hierarchy:

Class A Source: The Doctor Who TV Series and the TV Movie
Class B Source: The novelizations of the TV episodes and the Audio Dramas made by Big Finish.
Class C Source: The Doctor Who Novels by Virgin and BBC
Class D Source: FASA, Time Lord and other licensed sources.

If there’s any discrepancy then we use the higher-ranking source. That way we get maximum info with minimum effort. This isn’t written in stone however, I’m open to suggestions.


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Just remember, even though it’s a vacuum,
In space no one can hear you Clean.
-J.T.

I have Dune, and Dune did not streamline the ICON system. In fact, the combat system is more complex. But for Dune, that's a good thing. They made the mechanics fit the system. Dune NEEDS the somewhat more tactical combat to reflect the "plans within plans" machiavellian thinking that was shown in the Dune books. Also, the Dune RPG tweaked the point cost for attributes and skills, and changed the way specializations appeared. This seemed to be an attempt to fix some of the problems we're familiar with adding together skill levels gained at various points in character creation.

Few people have the Dune book. The more tactical combat is not a required feature for Doctor Who. This reflects the genre as depicted in the show: heck, the third Doctor's venusian Akido seemed to only have one move that they showed over and over!

Revamping or streamlining the ICON system is a very contenious task, that other treads have found little agreement on. Let's instead provide quality ICON statistics that people can use with whatever house rules float their boat.

I think I've been inspired to write up combat maneuvers for Venusian Akido. Come to think of it, there is another move I remember him doing. Let's help each other out by pooling our knowledge. Let me demonstrate:

Venusian Akido:
Of course we all can recall the third Doctor throwing his assailant over his shoulder... time and time again, the exact same way. Sometimes several times in immediate succession. I also remember in "Invasion of the Dinosars" the Doctor "escaped" from the unresisting Benton by a karate-like chop to the neck. Can anyone remember and post any other instances of V.Akido in action?

Mental combat: Several times in the show, psionic combat is represented by the doctor and the bad guy fighting hand to hand in a void. This could be represented by having a martial arts combat with attacks using the Projective Telepathy or Mind Control skills (with the real-life results depending on what skill was used), and the defencive rolls (blocks, dodges etc) using the Mind Shield skill. And your "mental" resistance and hit points would be determined by your presence+will (modified by the strong will advantage) instead of strength+vitality.

In addition to using the FASA sourcebooks for converting stuff, allow me to reccomend the Holodeck Adventure book as it gives the briefest of info for ICON system in few other time periods. For example, I used the (an excellent ICON link, downloadable for free from trusty www.trekrpg.net) medieval adventure holodeck material extensively for one planet. My personal additions of new weapons, armor, and shields can be found in the Fantasy ICON thread. And I found the pirate adventure very useful in three of my Doctor Who adventures... one in Boston 1775, a pirate island also in 1775, and during the French invasion of the Dutch republic in 1672 (the PCs helped William of Orange take power and prevented Amsterdam from being overrun by opening the dikes and flodding the area around the city).

One thing that would be of critical help to Doctor Who narrators would be ICON stats for various time periods. Hrm, we may need to expand on the ICON tech levels of 0-6, but for sentimental reasons I'd rather not change to a new scale, but rather break that down further. For example, Star Trek's old series Federation might be tech level 6.0, but the TNG-era Federation might be 6.4. No, on second thoughts that doesn't add much useful and bogs things down. In any case, let's get a body of equipment stats together for whatever eras we individually feel most comfortable with.

I could probably write up a decent list of gadgets for the Time Lords. (What tech level are they anyway?)

Some are already done, like the Sonic Screwdriver, but there’s the rest of the items in the TARDIS Toolkit to cover. I could also do Stasers, The various Keys, a conversion of the FASA stuff about the TARDIS, and maybe the stats for K-9.

Somebody should also do jelly babies, string, yo-yos, etc…

Venusian Akido (what I can remember)
Over the shoulder throws,
The chest paralyzing maneuver
The Venusian nerve pinch (done like spock’s only on both sides of the neck at the same time)
Some sort of tumble and come up standing maneuver.


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Just remember, even though it’s a vacuum,
In space no one can hear you Clean.
-J.T.

What is everyone's opinion on statistical changes of aliens in different time periods?

For example, FASA created a different model type of Cyberman to represent the different costume changes. However, if you look at the chronological list of Cybermen stories, there are some discrepancies.

What is everyone's opinion on Timelord regeneration?

FASA had two methods. The simple method was to change appearance and personality. The complex method was to also change the attributes and skills.

FASA also described Timelord characters with just one set of statistics and different descriptions for each regeneration. The Time Lord game actually had different attributes and skills for each regeneration.

Some of the Doctor's past regenerations focused on certain skills, the Third Doctor's Unarmed Combat (Venusian Aikido), the Fifth Doctor's Athletics (Cricket), for example. Other skills, Personal Equipment (Sonic Screwdriver) carried over through several regenerations. This has led me to think that Timelord regeneration is not so unalike from a Trill Symbiont.

For each past Trill host, the Symbiont gains three Symbiont Skills at level 0. These skills are also a little cheaper to purchase and improve and can be used at anytime, even at a 0 rating.

Following this train of thought, each incarnation of a Timelord could select three Regeneration Skills. After creating a Timelord character, the player determines which three skills this particular regeneration will focus on. This should also help to identify and roleplay the personality of the Timelord. Regeneration Skills are not kept from one incarnation to another. A Timelord can only have three Regeneration Skills at any one time. Only skills that are already known by the Timelord can be Regeneration Skills. If the Timelord character has some Experience Points remaining after a regeneration, he may be able to purchase new Skills to use as Regeneration Skills. Regeneration Skills must, of course, be determined at the time of creation or regeneration.

A Regeneration Skill, like the Symbiont Skills, gain a +1 bonus to both skill and specialization and are one Experience Point cheaper to improve.

Regeneration Skills help to explain the Doctor and his skill changes by incarnation. They also should help in roleplaying by giving a newly regenerated (or created) Timelord some kind of focus to help base a personality on.

The Trill don't have to pay any Development Point costs for their symbionts. It's a racial ability. Perhaps regeneration should also be a free racial ability, or a Regeneration +3 Advantage.

Realistically the further in the future you go the more advanced the monsters (and the good guys should be). On the other hand the BBC never really worried about it too much.

Some Dalek examples would be.
Genesis of the Daleks: the Daleks do not have FTL drive.
The Dalek Invasion of Earth: The Daleks do have FTL drive.
The Day of the Daleks: the Daleks have primitive time travel abilities.
The Chase: the Daleks have time machines that can do everything a TARDIS can.

John Peel and Terry Nations book “Doctor Who The Daleks” has a pretty good chronology. And Terry Nations invented and wrote almost all of the Dalek stories so it’s pretty close to Cannon. Lance Parkin’s has another, slightly different version of their history in “Doctor Who A History of the Universe”

Some Cybermen examples:
The Invasion & The Tenth Planet: the Cybermen appear to have no FTL drive.
Iceberg: They Cybermen are vulnerable to radiation but not to Gold.
Revenge of the Cybermen: The Cybermen are vulnerable to Gold.
Earthshock: The Cybermen appear to have FTL drive.
Attack of the Cybermen: The Cybermen have stolen a Time Machine from another race.

David Banks’s book “Doctor Who: The Cybermen” is absolutely superb and gives a very detailed history of the Cybermen. It also offers alternate dates for several stories. Once again Lance disagrees with a few dates in “DW A History of the Universe.”

So how detailed should this go? Should each variation of Cybermen have different states? If FASA has already done the work for us (i.e. all we have to do is convert their stats) then I say use the different Cybermen. The scene in Iceberg where the Doctor discovers Gold doesn’t hurt early Cybermen is wonderful. http://www.trekrpg.net/Board/ubb/smile.gif

On the other hand the Dalek’s exterior appearance hardly changes at all (and FASA only changes their guns).

PS I used to use the TimeLord RPG states for modern Daleks and the FASA states for older Daleks.


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Just remember, even though it’s a vacuum,
In space no one can hear you Clean.
-J.T.

I like your 3 “regeneration skills” idea in principle. I’m a little fuzzy on execution. Would you choose regeneration skill when you create the character or would you do it when the character regenerates.

Would the actual skills change with each regeneration or would just the level change?

Regeneration (and the other Time Lord special abilities) should definitely be listed as advantages and have development point values assigned to them. I could make up a list of all the Time Lord advantages (and disadvantage) fairly easily. (I just did it for GURPS yesterday). Is anyone interested?


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Just remember, even though it’s a vacuum,
In space no one can hear you Clean.
-J.T.

I'd love to see your take on the time lord special ablities, JT. They should definetly be the advantages trait with point values assigned. You can see my attempt at http://bancroft.tripod.com/DWconversions.htm

I working out the point cost for regenerations was particularly tricky. But what do you think of the alternate method I thought of: having regerations cost nothing if another PLAYER gets to play that character after he/she regenerates? This very elegantly solves the way of represting the changed personality, while keeping one person from hogging the time lord spotlight.

I also found it better for game play to lump a lot of time lord advantages together. Stuff that comes up EXTREMELY rarely individually, but semi-frequently when taken together. Symbiotic neuclui, resistance to certain types of radiation, awareness of certain time phenomenon.

This stuff is very story-specific. It gives the GM a plot device to help out the players, and it saves space on a character sheet.

Yes, FASA worked up stats for all the Cyberman models that have appeared on screen for the Cyberman suppliment. I just have to borrow my friend's copy again later.

I agree that monster's technologies advance, but it seems to me this rarely effects their game stats. Sure, early Daleks got their power supply from statc electricity from the floor of their cities. Later, during the Dalek invasion of Earth, they had recievers on the back of their casings which collected beamed power from a central location. Later in the third doctor era, most of the Dalek's power (but not the weapon power) was from psychic power-powered by their hatred! But even that had disadvantages, as a Dalek consumed with dispair would explode in an overload of it's own energies "I have failed, I have failed!". Later, Daleks seem to rely on much more reliable portable energy sources.

Regeneration Skills.

Each incarnation of a Time Lord has three Regeneration Skills. For example, the First Doctor would have started with three Regeneration Skills. These three Skills each would have received a +1 bonus to them.

When the Doctor regenerated, the Skills would have been reset. The First Doctor's three Regeneration Skills are still there, they just no longer have the +1 bonus to them.

Three Skills are then selected for the Second Doctor. These Skills should already be Skills that the Doctor already knows, or if the Doctor had enough Experience Points, could be purchased new. These new Regeneration Skills then gain the +1 bonus.

Each of the current Regeneration Skills must be different, you cannot select a Skill twice to get a +2 bonus. However, a Skill may be selected for the current regeneration even if it was also selected for a past regeneration, as in the case of the Skill Personal Equipment (Sonic Screwdriver).

Has anyone begun writing ICON rules for Doctor Who equipment, the TARDIS toolbox, the sonic screwdriver, cyberbombs, etc.?

So what are we going to do with all the ideas and material that we come up with here?

Are we going to put it all on a site?

Ok Diamond, I’ll try to have a rough draft of Gallifreyan (and Time Lord) special abilities posted here by the end of the week. (I might even get to it today). I’ll try to make them fairly compatible with yours.

The player switching idea sounds cool but I’d make it and “Optional” rule. The guys I game with would never consent to play someone else’s character (even if they got to chose a new personality)

Not necessarily true. The novel “Taking of Planet Five” reveals that the Rassilon Imprimatur allows Time Lords to easily guide and control their TARDISes. The reason the Doctor can never get where he’s going is because he partially disabled this system. Normally the Rassilon Imprimatur FORCES the TARDIS to go where the Time Lord wants. The First Doctor didn’t like this philosophy of TARDIS control and modified his TARDIS so it was more of an “equal partnership.” Basically the novel reveals that the TARDIS’s erratic navigation are the result of running things democratically.
My point is that for all other TARDISes and Time Lords the Rassilon Imprimatur makes navigating through the Space-Time Vortex MUCH easier. It is a significant advantage that could be used in every adventure.

I do agree that some of the advantages should be lumped together. For example I’d put the rapid healing thing under the Regeneration thing. Many fans believe that there’s a connection between the two.

Regarding the advancement of the monsters I’d agree that their SKILLS shouldn’t change. A Dalek in the 1990s should be about as good at shooting people as one in 4000 AD. I do think that the technology should change. For cyborg races this will result in some changes of stats. I suspect that cyber-armor in the far future is much better then cyber-armor or 1986.


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Just remember, even though it’s a vacuum,
In space no one can hear you Clean.
-J.T.

Thanks Bytus! http://www.trekrpg.net/Board/ubb/smile.gif

Your “Regeneration Rules” sound excellent. You might be interested in knowing that the New Adventures of Doctor Who novel TimeWyrm: Genesys actually confirms that the 3rd Doctor is better at operating the TARDIS then the 7th.
Can I put your “Regeneration Rules” into my list of Time Lord advantages (with credit of course)?

I’d be willing to write up stats for the Time Lord equipment. Someone else will have to write up stuff for the other races (though I can offer advice). I’ll try to get a rough draft (with all the important gadgets) posted soon.


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Just remember, even though it’s a vacuum,
In space no one can hear you Clean.
-J.T.

Diamond wrote: “...But even that had disadvantages, as a Dalek consumed with dispair would explode in an overload of it's own energies "I have failed, I have failed!”...”

That brilliant! Finally an explanation for those suicidal Daleks in “Death to the Daleks,” and “Remembrance of the Daleks.” http://www.trekrpg.net/Board/ubb/smile.gif


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Just remember, even though it’s a vacuum,
In space no one can hear you Clean.
-J.T.

Well here it is guys - the Gallifreyan Template! (with advantages for both Gallifreyans and Time Lords). The Bypass Respiratory advantage is Diamond’s. The Regeneration rules use material from both Diamond and Bytus (no offense guys?)

GALLIFREYAN TEMPLATE

ATTRIBUTES

Fitness 2 [5]
Coordination 2 [5]
Intellect 2 [6]
Presence 2 [6]
Psi 1 [5]

SKILLS

Computer (choose Spec) 1 (2)
Culture (Gallifrey) 2 (3)
History (Gallifrey) 1 (2)
Language
Gallifreyan 2
Science, Any (choose Spec) 1 (2)
Science, Any (choose Spec) 1 (2)
World Knowledge (Gallifrey) 1 (2)

TYPICAL GALLIFREYAN ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGE

Bypass Respiratory System [+2]
Excellent Hearing [+2]
Excellent Sight [+2]
Excellent Chemoreception [+1]
Immortality Virus [+ 15 + 3(Unused regenerations)]
Organ Redundancy [+2]
Vacuum Seals [+1]
Medical Problem (can be poisoned by Aspirin) [-2]
Collar-bone nerve bundle [-2]
Code of Honor (Respect for Life) [-5]
Phobia (Agoraphobia) [-4]

TYPICAL TIME LORD ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
(These are in addition to the typical Gallifreyan list)

Political Rank [+2 to +6]
Rassilon Imprimatur [+6]
Code of Honor (Word of a Prydonian) [-2]

NEW ADVANTAGES:

Bypass Respiratory System [+2]
A Gallifreyan can operate in thin or reduced oxygen atmospheres for longer than a human can. They need only 25% of the oxygen normally needed by a human. This means a Gallifreyan can hold his breath for 20 rounds per point of Fitness+Vitality instead of the normal 5 (see Drowning). In addition, they can put themselves in a trance so as to avoid needing to breathe for (Fitness + Vitality) X 5 minutes.

Immortality Virus [+ 15 + 3(Unused regenerations)]
This is the advantage of the nano-bots that exist inside all Gallifreyans. These nano-bots give several different advantages. These include
Rapid Healing (see normal rule books)
Self-Induced Cataleptic State: While in the death like coma (brain function, respiration and heart rate drop to virtually nothing) a Gallifrey may make healing rolls 3 times as often as normal. (This is in addition to the benefits of Rapid Healing).
Temperature Tolerance: Allows a character to ignore temperatures between -60 to 165 degrees F.
Immunity to Disease: Immune to almost all viruses, fungus, and disease.
Regeneration: A Gallifreyan can sometimes regenerate if mortally wounded. Triggered whenever the character makes a routine willpower roll. They cannot regenerate if the body has been disintegrated, burned up, or chopped apart (severed body parts do not reattach, although Time Lord medicine might). Likewise Staser weapons and the Master's Tissue Compression Eliminator prevent regeneration. Dying from old age can be regenerated. A character may not start play with more than 12 regenerations, and getting more is (almost) impossible. Once regenerated, the player should role-play a new personality, but the attributes, skills, and traits are mostly unchanged. The GM may allow the player to change certain mental traits at this time as long as the point cost is unchanged or lower. For example, the sixth Doctor gained the odious personal habit (highly eccentric) trait for a -1 reaction penalty.
A note on Regeneration Skills: Each incarnation of a Gallifreyan has three Regeneration Skills. For example, the First Doctor would have started with three Regeneration Skills. These three Skills each would have received a +1 bonus to them. When the Doctor regenerated, the Skills would have been reset. The First Doctor's three Regeneration Skills are still there; they just no longer have the +1 bonus to them. Three Skills are then selected for the Second Doctor. These Skills should already be Skills that the Doctor already knows, or if the Doctor had enough Experience Points, could be purchased new. These new Regeneration Skills then gain the +1 bonus. Each of the current Regeneration Skills must be different; you cannot select a Skill twice to get a +2 bonus. However, a Skill may be selected for the current regeneration even if it was also selected for a past regeneration, as in the case of the Skill Personal Equipment (Sonic Screwdriver).
Optional Regeneration Rule: The GM also may allow a Time Lord character to start play with regenerations at no point cost, but when the character regenerates a new player plays that character, to simulate the changed personality.
Longevity: The critical age for a Gallifreyan is 450. Regeneration resets their age to zero for the purpose of determining critical age effects. (See STTNG Players Guide.)
Reduced sleep: Gallifreyans need only half an hour of sleep a day.
Resistant to Alcohol: The character has tolerance for alcohol. A character gets +2 on all fitness tests to resist the effects of alcohol.
Reduced food intake: The character can easily survive on one meal a week. However they will prefer one a day.
Radiation Resistance: The character receives -2 to the damage of all radiation rolls.

Political Rank [+2 to +6]
Cost Position
+1 Kithriarch: The leader of a House and is allotted cousins.
+2 Junior Time Lord: The character has received the Rassilon Imprimatur, but is still enrolled in a Time Academy.
+3 Time Lord Ordinal: Has graduated from a Time Academy and is one of 1000 Time Lords on the planet.
+4 Time Lord Cardinal: A member of the High Council of the Time Lords. One of the 15 leaders of the planet Gallifrey.
+5 Time Lord Chancellor: The “vice-president” of the Time Lords.
+6 Time Lord President: Supreme ruler of the Planet Gallifrey.

Rassilon Imprimatur [+6]
Rassilon Imprimatur is worked into the Biodata of the Initiates. This is makes a Gallifreyan a Time Lord by mapping the Gallifreyan into the Space-Time Vortex with Block-Transfer Numbers. They become linked to the heart of space-time and capable of changing their time state by thinking the right Block-Transfer equations. This symbiotic nucleus is needed to 'prime' a Time Travel Capsule and form a quasi-symbiotic link with the Capsule. It gives them the following abilities.
Temporal Genius: This represents the Quasi-Symbiotic Link with TARDIS that all Time Lords have. They receive an extra die for all temporal technology or science rolls. For more info see All Our Yesterdays page 74.
Temporal Sense: Skill of 1. This is actually a psionic skill that Time Lords receive with the Rassilon Imprimatur.

Vacuum Seals [+1]
The eyes, nose, and ears can be sealed with nonporous membranes. Combined with Temperature Tolerance this means a Gallifreyan only suffers from oxygen deprivation when in a vacuum (use the drowning rules instead of the vacuum rules).

NEW DISADVANTAGES

Code of Honor (Respect for Life) [-5]
Gallifreyans are trained from birth that all life is sacred and that violence is never the solution. This is a major part of Gallifreyan Culture. However it should be noted that not all Gallifreyans have this disadvantage (especially amongst the High Council).

Code of Honor (Word of a Prydonian) [-2]
This is advantage is only taken by Time Lords of the Prydon Chapter. A character that has this disadvantage will never break his word.

Collar-bone nerve bundle [-2]
A blow to the (right?) collarbone of a Gallifreyan does the same damage as a Vulcan Nerve Pinch. A Called Shot must be made. The difficulty modifier is +3.

Phobia (Agoraphobia) [-4]
Gallifreyans are raised completely indoors. Most never venture out of their houses or domed cities. As a result most have a pronounced fear of the open sky and the outdoors in general. While outdoors a character with this disadvantage suffers a +2 to the difficulty of all Tests. This can be temporarily overcome by spending a courage point.

GALLIFREYAN AND TIME LORD PSIONC SKILLS
The following is a list of psionic skills that some (but not all) Gallifreyans have.

Mind Meld: This represents the Entrelacement ability seen in “The Three Doctors”(see the Deep Space Nine RPG Core book page 81)
Mind Shield (see the Deep Space Nine RPG Core book page 81)
Projective Telepathy (see the Deep Space Nine RPG Core book page 82)
Receptive Telepathy (see the Deep Space Nine RPG Core book page 82)
Precognition (See the Next Generation Player’s Guide page 100)
Mind Control: This represents the ever-popular Hypnotism ability of the Master. (See the Next Generation Player’s Guide page 100)
Induce Trance (See the Next Generation Player’s Guide page 103)
Control Body: Known on Vulcan as Rah-Tel (see The Way of Kolinahr page 87)
Soul Catching: This rare skill allows a Gallifreyan to catch and hold the memories (and maybe the Katra) of another sentient being. It is usually done to save the memories of a dying Time Lord so that they may be stored in the Matrix. First the character must successfully perform Entrlacement (Mind Meld) with the target. Then the character must make a Challenging test. The target may resist (a free action), in which case the difficulty would be determined by Willpower or Mind Shield rolls.

I hope you guys like it. I’m open to suggestions and criticism. http://www.trekrpg.net/Board/ubb/smile.gif


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Just remember, even though it’s a vacuum,
In space no one can hear you Clean.
-J.T.

JT, you're welcome to use what you like. I'm just brainstorming here.

I am in the middle of a Gallifreyan Template myself. I like lots of detail in my games, unfortunately, my players don't. This is something that the ICON system seems to embrace. With this philosophy in mind, I was going to go for something more simplistic.

JT, I was wondering what sources you used for reference?

Has anyone given any thought to alternative series types?

The Star Trek Games had details for a Romulan-based series and plans for Klingon and Cardassian as well as others.

Has anyone thought of basing their series in one time zone? Instead of having a series with a Time Lord and TARDIS travelling through time and space, why not just have a bunch of characters in one specific time zone.

For example, there is no reason why not to play a Star Trek-like series set in the Doctor Who universe. Instead of the being in Starfleet, the characters could be a part of the Earth Empire or the Federation. They could cruise through space fighting off Daleks and Cybermen. The Third Doctor's story 'Frontier in Space' is a great time for a series like this. With Earth and Draconia having an unstable peace, not unlike that of the Federation and Klingon Empire.

The Doctor Who universe is full of interesting times and places, it's a shame not to explore them more fully.