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.
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.
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.
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!)
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!
"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."
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?
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ICON rules for Doctor Who
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