Timelord Journies
Timelord Journies
Timelord Journies
TIMELORD
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: CHARACTER GENERATION Using the Character Templates Table: Skill Rating Costs An Example of Character Generation - Doctor Sarah Bellum Table: Resources & Authority Player Group Composition Character Templates: The Experienced Time Lord The Professor The Noviced Time Lord Zharadimitrades The Companion Antonio Garcia The Specialist Dr. Sarah Bellum The Soldier Sgt. John Carter The Alien Blivitz the Gleep CHAPTER 2: NEW RULES AND CLARIFICATIONS Regeneration Using a Regeneration Time Lord Body Building Table: Gallifreyan Min/Max Ability Scores Table: Gallifreyan Body Building Special Abilities Post-Regeneration Disorientation Regeneration Example Genre Tropes Drama Points Villians and Drama Points Example Pg. 6 6 7 7 9 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 24
26 26 26 27 27 28 28 30 30 30
CHAPTER 2: NEW RULES AND CLARIFICATIONS (Cont.) Genre Tropes The Davros Effect The Probic Vent Effect The Nick of Time Effect The Daft Gaurd Effect The Master Effect The Joe Grant Effect The Instant MacGuffin Effect The Li Hsen Chang Effect Learning Rules Clarifications MacGuffin Regenerative Powers Pseudoscience History CHAPTER 3: Random Journies Random Journies The Master Plan: And Example Random Journey Section 1: Themes & Subplots Section 2: Adversaries Section 3: Locations Section 4: Objects
Pg. 31 31 31 31 31 32 32 33 33 34 35 35 36 37 37
40 40 40 49 53 59
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the first edition of Time Lord: Journies. Inside you will find all sorts of rules, clarifications and generators for the enhancement and expansion of Time Lord: the Doctor Who role-playing game. I first started playing Time Lord back in 1992, and since then, Ive found no other game that so captures the flavour and feel of Doctor Who and episodic adventure television in general. The system is rules light, and those rules reflect the TV reality of the universe of the Doctor so well that it is a wonder the game has not seen wider attention. Of those who managed to originally find a copy (despite Virgin Ltd.s bizarre marketing strategy), a few people dismissed the game for the lack of character generation and experience rules, long standing sacred cows of the RPG community. Others felt it was a little too rules light and not crunchy enough. These days, such things are so commonplace in the RPG industry, one might say that Time Lord was well ahead of its time in those regards and many have missed out on a great game. Fortunately, though the main rulebook is out of print, the authour, Ian Marsh, has made the contents available on the web, so that new players, and fans of Doctor Who alike, can enjoy home made adventures through time and space. This manual serves as a companion piece to the main rules, adding character generation, experience and other new rules and tools to make the game crunchier while still maintaining the originals flavour and intent. While most of the content is of my own creation, the Regeneration and Resource Point rules are actually either modified or drawn from previous works that have been on the web for years, and can be found compiled in the Time Lord Companion, by Stephen J. Ege, which also contains an alternate point based chargen system and rules for converting the old FASA Doctor Who game to Time Lord. Finally, this document is a Living document. It will continue to grow and expand as questions are asked, new rules are envisioned or old rules updated, so check back on occasion for the latest version.
CREDITS
Writing, Design and Lay Out by Nathaniel Torson Art Nathaniel Torson (www.torsononline.com) Rob Semenoff (www.interocitor-media.com/tardis/) www.who-3d.com Doctor Who and all photos, names and anything else otherwise related to it and not an original work of art from the people defined above, are the rightful IP of the BBC and are used here without permission.
GENERATION
CHARACTER
1: Character Generation
NOTE: Only Aliens and Gallifreyans may purchase Regenerative Powers and only Aliens may purchase Special Immunity. All PCs gain the Special Ability: Running at a rank of 1 and Cheat Death at a rank equal to 5 - their Strength, for free. Resource Points: Characters start off with nothing but the clothes on their back. With resource points, you may purchase equipment and/or a position of authority (see the Resource & Authority table). This item will always be available to you at the start of a new adventure unless the referee determines that you have somehow permanently lost it (as Mike Yates lost his UNIT position at the end of The Invasion of the Dinosaurs). Advantages & Disadvantages: Here you will find special rules relating to the character template you have chosen.
1: Character Generation
Next, she moves on to the Special Abilites section of the template. She automatically recieves the Strong Passion Special Ability. As she wishes her character to be a medical doctor, she decides that she will be passionate about healing others and curing their ailments. She writes Strong Passion, Healing 2 on her sheet. As an Advantage of being a Specialist, she also receives one Special Ability rated at 3, two Special Abilities rated at 2 and three Special Abilities rated at 1. These must all be related to her field of expertise, however. She decides that her character is a doctor from a future time in Earths history and is a specialist in the Cybernetic replacement and enhancement of human bodies. She takes Cybernetics at 3; Medicine and Science at 2; and First Aid, Computing and Electronics at 1. The referee decides that all of these fit the field and background that Emma has chosen for her character and allows them. Finally, all characters receive the Running skill at 1 for free. They also receive the Cheat Death skill at a rating equal to 5 - their Strength. This comes out to a 3 for Emmas character. Skill Points are next, and Emma is disappointed with the measly D3 potential points a Specialist receives. Oh, well, she thinks, you cant have everything. She decides to take the average of 2, as she sees little advantage in rolling for the extra point. She spends the Skill Points by purchasing two more Special Abilities, each rated at 1: Mathematics, a basic skill for any scientist; and Striking Appearance, giving her already charismatic doctor smashing good looks as well. Emma receives 4 Resource Points for her Specialist and she spends 3 of them on a Palm Pilot, a useful technological item which will allow her character to better perform her scientific duties. She uses the remaining point on a Gold Pen, which she describes as a Med School graduation present from her dear departed father, whom the Professor bears a strong resemblance to. To wrap up her character, she needs a name and a background. She picks Sarah Bellum, a name that humourously reflects her characters brainy nature. Her background has already developed a bit as a result of the choices she has made during character generation and she fills it out a little more, including a description of the way she looks and how she acts. With that finished, she is ready to join the other players on an adventure through time and space...
The Time Lord Stands Alone: The default grouping, one character takes on the role of an Experienced or Novice Time Lord while up to three others play any other character type, preferrably with a good mix of templates to create a well balanced crew. The T-Team: The TARDIS crew is made up of a Time Lord and a group of Specialists and Soldiers who act as a troubleshooting team for the Celestial Intervention Agency. This could include up to eight players, as it would be a very action oriented format, with the soldiers holding off hordes of Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans and what have you, while the Specialists accomplish the technical side of the mission.
1: Character Generation
The Time Lords Apprentice: This is a campaign primarily designed for two players. One is an Experienced Time Lord and the other is a Novice Time Lord fresh from the academy. This type of campaign is best when started around a Quest, as the Key To Time series. After the quest is over, the Novice may return to Gallifrey, or stay on, as Romana did. This group could be expanded by adding in another Novice, although three Time Lords should be the practical limit. Furthermore the danger and complexity of the task would have to be enormous to warrant such a grouping, so the referee should really pull out all the stops when planning adventures for three. Guest Starring: Along with the one of the choices above, you can add extra players who will take on the role of Guest Stars, i.e. characters who will only be around for one story, like the characters of Professor Chronotis, Chris Parsons and Claire in Shada. This could also include recurring roles, like those of the Brigadier, Captain Yates and Sgt. Benton during the Third Doctors era. An interesting variation on this theme is to allow one of the Guest Starring players to take over the role of a Time Lord during regeneration, relegating the Time Lord Player to playing Guest Stars. This way, not only will everyone in the group eventually have a chance to play the Time Lord character, the Time Lord player will be less likely to throw away regenerations, and will actually change personalities when they do regenerate! Allow the new player to choose or roll up his new body and Special Abilities as per the rules on pg. 26. The Villain: Choose one of the other formats and then allow one player to be the main Villain! This works best if the group is good about not acting on information that their characters would not know. In either case, the Villain should help the Referee build up his plot in the story, creating a rough plan of how he intends to carry out his scheme. As the players cause problems, he can react to their interference, taking the Referee into another room to inform him of any changes to his plan and to roll dice secretly (especially for Gloating rolls)!
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1: Character Generation
An Experienced Time Lord and his crew (from left to Right): The Companion, The Alien and the Specialist.
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1: Character Templates
Special Abilities Regenerative Powers (STR) Iron Constitution (STR) History, Galactic (KNO) , Planetary (KNO) TARDIS (KNO) Temporal Science (KNO) Indomitable Will (DET) Skill Points: 21 (6D6) Resource Points: 6
1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Advantages & Disadvantages Experienced: Add +1 to any Ability and subtract 2D6 from your remaining regenerations. The player may wish to create these past lives as characters by backwards regenerating their current character. Knowledgeable: The Experienced Time Lord is so widely learned, that he begins with (6) Knowledge based Special Abilities of his choice, rated at 1 each. My Best Enemy: Choose an adversary or villain from the rulebook or have the referee make one up for you. There is a 1 in 6 chance each game session that they show up to trouble or attempt to kill you in revenge for past defeats.
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1: Character Templates Sample Experienced Time Lord - The Professor STR CON MOV SIZ 3 3 3 4 KNO DET AWA WGT 7 7 3 3
SPECIAL ABILITIES STR Cheat Death Iron Constitution Regenerative Powers CON Bench Thumping Running Driving Piloting Sailing MOV 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 2
KNO Astrogation Computing Electronics Engineering History, Mutters Spiral History, Earth Law MacGuffin Mathematics Mechanics Pseudoscience Science TARDIS Temporal Science DET Indomitable Will AWA Bureauchracy Refined Palette
Space/Time Origin: Gallifrey Species: Gallifreyan Apparent Age: Late-Fifties Regenerations Used: 6
Background The Professor was previously curator of the Gallifreyan Museum of Temporal and Spatial Vehicles and has always had a great love for travel machines of all sorts, shapes and sizes from across the universe. It was little wonder then, that after a millennium of tending to the museum, he would eventually decide to make off with one of his charges (an antique Type 33 Reconnaissance TARDIS) and see the real universe for himself. At first, he only intended to sneak out for a small excursion and return unnoticed. Unfortunately, the directional unit blew out on his first trip and sent him on a rather lengthy and random journey throughout the universe. During that time he encountered so many interesting peoples and places that, once the fault had been fixed, he had no desire to return to the confines of his dusty cloister. The Professor is an older gentlemen with a scholarly demeanour and a quiet, observant manner. This, combined with a raggedy tweed suit and and cap, gives him the semblance of a tenured university professor on an extended holiday.
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1: Character Templates
Special Abilities Regenerative Powers (STR) Iron Constitution (STR) History, Galactic (KNO) TARDIS (KNO) Temporal Science (KNO) Indomitable Will (DET) Skill Points: 18 (5D6) Resource Points: 3
1 1 1 1 1 1
Advantages & Disadvantages Inexperienced: The Novice may not start with any Special Abilities at Rank 3. Time Lord Ageism: When dealing with older, more experienced Time Lords, the Novice suffers a +1 Difficulty modifier to all interaction rolls. This lasts until the Novice regenerates for the first time. Adaptive: You may shift 1 point from any single Ability except Size or Weight, and move it into another.
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1: Character Templates Sample Novice Time Lord - Zharadimitrades STR CON MOV SIZ 3 5 3 3 KNO DET AWA WGT 5 4 4 3
SPECIAL ABILITIES STR Cheat Death Iron Constitution Regenerative Powers CON Bench Thumping Martial Arts Running MOV 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 Space/Time Origin: Gallifrey Species: Gallifreyan Apparent Age: Early Twenties Regenerations Used: 0 Background After graduation at the head of her class, Zharadimitrades was immediately assigned as the personal assistant to a high ranking member of the High Council. This consisted of passing messages back and forth across the capitol for him, monitoring his pet projects, and attending lectures in his place and taking notes as some stodgy old man droned on for hours about some insignificant species on some backwater planet in some dull prehistoric time zone. Just as she feared she would be a thousand before ever setting foot off her home world, she recieved a Secure Delivery Capsule which contained a TARDIS key, directions to a type 51 in a disused repair bay, and three sets of coordinates with the message Do whatever you think is best. She hasnt been back to Gallifrey since.
KNO Computing Cybernetics Electronics First Aid History, Mutters Spiral MacGuffin Mathematics Medicine Pseudoscience Science TARDIS Temporal Science DET Indomitable Will Eloquence AWA
Zhara is a tall, red-headed Time Lady, her severe features beaming with refinement and a vast intellect. The belies her vivacious spirit and natural charm, however, and she has been known to liven up a room with her mere presence or calm a tense situation with a casual remark.
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1: Character Templates
The Companion
The average man or woman on the street may find themselves in many less than pedestrian situations after becoming affiliated with a Time Lord. While theyre constantly aware that there are great differences in intellect, ability and behaviour between themselves and this strange, time traveling alien, they also know that without them, he would be largely unable to extricate himself from the numerous sticky situations he inevitably lands himself in (Example: Joe Grant) Abilities: Strength Control Size Weight Move Knowledge Determination Awareness 3 (1+D3) 3 (1+D3) 3 or 4 3 or 4 3 (1+D3) 4 (2+D3) 3 (1+D3) 3 (D6)
Special Abilities Independent Spirit (DET) Skill Points: 7 (2D6) Resource Points: D6
Advantages & Disadvantages Adaptive: You may shift 1 point from any single Ability except Size or Weight, and move it into another. No Threat to My Plans: Whenever a Villain takes a Companion into consideration for imprisonment, excecution, etc. during an adventure, have them make a Gloating Roll with a difficulty equal to 5 + 1 for every time the Companion has been instrumental in thwarting their plans. If it succeeds the Villain will see them as no threat. Whereas other characters will be placed under heavy guard while awaiting their fate, the Villain might find the Companion pretty or amusing enough to keep around for entertainment value, useful as slave labour or anything else that puts them under light guard and/or gives them access to a means for making life difficult for the bad guys. Quick Study: Companon characters only need to spend 3 Drama Points to learn a new Ability. See pg. 34 for more information.
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1: Character Templates Sample Companion - Antonio Garcia STR CON MOV SIZ 4 5 3 3 KNO DET AWA WGT 3 4 3 3
SPECIAL ABILITIES STR Cheat Death Brawling Edged Weapons Stealth Running MOV CON 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Space/Time Origin: Earth, Spain 1863AD Species: Human Apparent Age: Mid-twenties
Background Antonio was an incorrigible rogue and gambler who made a living conning his way around Europe before he met the Professor in Prague and helped him to defeat a crash landed Rutan scout. The RESOURCES Professor took a shine to the young man and, knowing that his Sword (3) criminal ways would lead to his untimely death in a little less than Weighted Dice (1) a year, he challenged him to a game of cards. He bet his large Deck of Marked Cards (1) emerald ring (a gift from Nefrititi) against Antonios servitude for a year and a day. Antonio lost (despite having marked the cards beforehand) and has been travelling with the Professor ever since. Antonio is a curious and adventurous young spaniard with a keen intellect and haughty demeanour. While he has little love for authority in general, he has great respect for the Professor and will usually follow whatever instructions he gives, especially as the situations he now finds himself in are usually well outside of his range of experience. Still, he has taken to his new life and wonders if, when his servitude is finally up, he will actually want to go home...
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1: Character Templates
The Specialist
Whether scientists, spies or politicians, the Specialist is passionate and accomplished in all the areas pertaining to their specialty. Time Lords may find them very helpful in tackling particular problems, like negotiating treaties, aiding in their scientific experiments, and so on, so they find the prospect of traveling with one very appealing, even if the Specialist simply wants to be left at home... (Example: Liz Shaw) Abilities: Strength Control Size Weight Move Knowledge Determination Awareness 3 (1+D3) 3 (1+D3) 3 or 4 3 or 4 3 (1+D3) 4 (2+D3) 3 (1+D3) 3 (D6)
Special Abilities Strong Passion, Field of Expertise (DET) Skill Points: 2 (D3) Resource Points: 4
Advantages & Disadvantages Area of Expertise: The Specialist should pick a Field (examples include science, politics, espionage, detective work, farming, etc.). They may then gain the following: (1) Special Ability at Rank 3 (2) Special Abilities at Rank 2 (3) Special Abilities at Rank 1 The only proviso is that all of the Special Abilities must be related to their field in some way, so Math and Pseudoscience would fit a scientist but not Stealth and Escapology, while the opposite would hold true for an espionage Specialist. Natural Talent: Replace any one Ability Rating with a 5.
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1: Character Templates Sample Specialist - Dr. Sarah Bellum STR CON MOV SIZ 2 4 3 3 KNO DET AWA WGT 5 3 5 3
SPECIAL ABILITIES STR Cheat Death CON Bench Thumping Running MOV 3 1 1 1 3 1 1 1 2 2
Space/Time Origin: Earth, England 2387AD Species: Human Apparent Age: Early twenties Background Sarah Bellum is a bright young medical doctor with a speciality in the cybernetic augmentation of living creatures. She found herself putting this knowledge to good use when aiding the Professor to defeat a colony of future Cybermen placed in the past to prevent their present defeat during the Galactic Cyberwars.
DET Strong Passion, Healing 2 AWA Striking Appearance RESOURCES Palm Pilot (3) Gold Pen (1) 1
Following the destruction of the colony, along with the crew of the ship on which she served, Sarah insisted on joining the Professor in his travels. She finds life aboard the TARDIS stimulating and enjoys the mental and physical challenges she finds whenever she steps out the door, even the ones that threaten her life. Unfortunately, the Professor is rather nervous about Sarah endangering herself. He recently found out that she is extremely important to the time-stream, eventually inventing a cybernetic antivirus that will save millions during a galactic plague. He wants to return her to her own time, but he darent tell her why and she refuses to go without a very good reason.
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1: Character Templates
The Soldier
Whether Army, Navy or Special Forces, Soldiers are common throughout Time and Space, from the hoplites of ancient Greece to the blaster wielding starship troopers of the far future. Whatever the Soldiers origins in history, however, he is now experiencing conflict throughout space/time, and all on a regular basis thanks to the TARDIS. The Soldier is comfortable in most environments and can use a variety of weapons, even unfamiliar or alien ones, with ease. While most Time Lords are pacifists, they cant deny that having a Soldier on hand is a Very Good Thing when Daleks are about(Example: Sgt. Benton) Abilities: Strength 4 (3+D2) Control 4 (3+D2) Size 3 or 4 Weight 3 or 4 Move 3 (1+D3) Knowledge, Ancient World Pre-20th Century Others Determination 4 (2+D3) Awareness 3 (D6)
2 3 4
Special Abilities Iron Constitution (STR) Brawling or Martial Arts Wilderness Lore (KNO) Pre 20th Century 20th Century and Beyond Skill Points: 3 (D6) Resource Points: 7 (2D6)
1 1 2 1
Advantages & Disadvantages Hop to it Mr. Benton!!!: Soldiers who spend Resource Points to gain rank or authority gain the Special Ability: Command at a rating of 1 for free. MOS: Soldiers gain (1) Special Ability at 2 to reflect specialized Military Training. This must be appropriate to the era and race they hail from, so no Greek Hoplites with Temporal Science
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1: Character Templates Sample Soldier - Sgt. John Carter STR CON MOV SIZ 5 4 4 3 KNO DET AWA WGT 4 3 5 4
SPECIAL ABILITIES STR Iron Constitution Brawling Marksman Driving Running CON 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 Space/Time Origin: Earth, United States 2003AD Species: Human Apparent Age: Late twenties Background Sgt. John Carter was an armoured vehicle specialist for U.N.I.T. USA. He first became involved with the Professor when averting an attempted invasion of Earth by the Ice Warriors. He so impressed the old Time Lord during the affair, that the Professor borrowed him from U.N.I.T. at the missions conclusion in order to deal with another matter far in the Earths future.
MOV
That was some time ago and the Professor has yet to return the Sergeant home, but truth be told, Sgt. Carter enjoys travelling in the TARDIS and isnt in a hurry return to the dull regimented life of the military just yet. During his time with the Professor he has seen the siege of Masada, fought the Sentient Cybertanks of Sirius 7, and been made an honourary noble ofDraconia for his actions against the Daleks. Life on Earth just seems a little too tame in comparison. Sgt. Carter is very tall, well muscled, and generally physically intimidating. He is quiet, however, and tends to follow the ages old axiom speak softly and carry a big stick, although once battle is joined, he springs to life, bellowing orders and taking charge of the situation.
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1: Character Templates
The Alien
Aliens are a varied lot and that is about the best you can say to describe them. Some may be human like in every way except for their ability to hover about the place, while others may have blue skin, multiple arms and/or various other blazingly apparent alien traits. For the most part, those who travel with Time Lords tend to be of a humanoid shape and comparable size for convenience sake, but exceptions have been known. It might be difficult, however, to convince the Inquisition to not burn you alive when your traveling companion is the spitting image of the Devil (Example: Cheetah People) Abilities: Strength Control Size Weight Move Knowledge Determination Awareness 3 (D6) 3 (D6) 3 (D6) 3 (D6) 3 (D6) 3 (D6) 3 (D6) 3 (D6)
Special Abilities History, Own Species (KNO) Skill Points: 10 (3D6) Resource Points: 3 (D6)
Advantages & Disadvantages Unusual Abilities: The Alien may use Skill and Equipment points to purchase Alien Special Abilities. See the list on the next page. Note that those that make use of a specific Special Ability are useless unless you also purchase that as well. What IS That Thing Sticking Out of Your Bottom?: Alien characters who purchase more than one Alien Special Ability or who purchase the same ability more than once, must also pick some sort of physical tag to go with each additional choice. For instance, a Acid Spitter might drool, a telekinetic might be bald with obtrusive pulsing veins in his temples and a Hyper Intelligent Alien might have pointed ears and a bowl haircut.
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1: Character Templates Sample Alien - Blivitz STR CON MOV SIZ 3 5 2 4 KNO DET AWA WGT 3 5 4 3
SPECIAL ABILITIES STR Cheat Death MOV Bouncing (Running) KNO History, Gleeks AWA Serendipity Space/Time Origin: Spiv 3129AD Species: Gleep Apparent Age: Indeterminable Alien Abilities Shapeshift (18) 2 1 1 1
Background Blivitz was merely a bud when the Professor first visited the planet Spiv and helped them to avert catastrophe when the planets magnetic field reversed itself. Years later, after Daleks had invaded to learn the genetic secrets of Gleep shapeshifting, the Professor returned. Blivitz helped the Time Lord and his companions to rally the normally pacifistic Gleeps into a guerilla force and destroy the Daleks utterly. He then stowed away on the TARDIS to follow his hero into time and space. Gleeps are amorphous blob like creatures with an unstable genetic structure that allows them to duplicate almost any creature theyve touched. They are normally very inquisitive beings, and Blivitz shows this racial trait to such an extreme that he often lands himself in various sticky situations. Many times, however, he also inadvertantly finds a solution to a greater problem in the process or reveals hidden dangers that might have gone unnoticed by the others. Blivitz is still young and rather immature for his species, so he often displays child-like behaviour that can annoy his companions, like mimicking them and pulling practical jokes. On the whole, however, he is very loyal, especially to the Professor, whom he idolizes.
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CLARIFICATIONS
RULES &
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For Size and Weight, roll a D6 for each. 1-3 4-6 You are Size or Weight 3 You are Size or Weight 4
Special Abilities The massive upheaval of the synapses caused by the regenerative process can have a direct effect on a Time Lords skills and knowledge. As old synaptic pathways are closed down and new ones are opened, they may find that they have completely forgotten how to do something theyve been doing for years but can now remember a long forgotten skill, one that hasnt been used in centuries, with perfect clarity. To represent this, whenever a Time Lord regenerates, roll a D6 for each Special Ability: 1 2-3 4-6 Reduce the Special Ability Rating by 2 Reduce the Special Ability Rating by 1 The Special Ability remains the same.
If an Special Ability is reduced to 0 in this way, it is lost to the Time Lord until he regenerates again, however, the following Special Abilities may never be reduced below a rating of 1 and are therefore never lost: Regenerative Powers; Iron Constitution, Cheat Death, MacGuffin, TARDIS, Temporal Science, Science and Indomitable Will. Any lost points may be used to purchase new Special Abilities on a one for one basis. They may also be used enhance those Special Abilities, and only those Abilities, that have not been reduced or lost during the current regeneration, on a two for one basis.
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LEARNING
While the biggest reward one should get from playing Time Lord is the action and drama that comes from participating in a grand adventure through time and space, it is one of the oldest traditions of RPG design to provide a system that will allow the characters themselves to grow in ability as a campaign progresses. The problem is that in Time Lord, a 1-point jump is massive in terms of experience. Even the Doctor, who has centuries of experience, has few Special Abilities at the master level of 3. Still, one would think that with all the information stored in the TARDIS databanks and the ability to learn from the brightest minds throughout Time and Space, one would be able to pick up quite a few new tricks. Keeping this in mind, the following system may be used. Raising Special Abilities For the cost of 3 Drama Points, you may raise a single Special Ability by one point (to a maximum of 3). To learn an entirely new Special Ability, you must spend 4 DPs. Referees, however, should limit the acquisition of Special Abilities that are quite outside of the characters understanding. For example, teaching Leela about Cybernetics, without first teaching her Math, Science, Medicine and raising her Knowledge in general by a couple of points would be near impossible. Watch the Doctor try to explain Transdimensional Engineering to her in the episode Robots of Death and youll see what we mean. Raising Primary Abilities While Special Abilities represent specific skills that a character might know, the primary Abilities represent much broader capabilities. Therefore, raising a primary Ability even one point represents a greater leap than raising a Special Ability and is a much more difficult. To raise a primary Ability score, a character must have a number of relevant Special Abilites equal to the new rating they are trying to attain. They may then spend 3 DPs and reduce all of the relevant Special Abilities by 1 each. If this reduces a Special Ability to a rating of 0, then keep it listed on the character sheet and just change the rating. This way, you remember what Special Abilites character has training in so that you only spend 3 DPs when raising them in the future. Special Abilites rated at 0 must be raised to at least 1 before raising their primary Ability Rating further... Ex. Sarah Bellum has travelled for some time with the Professor and her player decides that the experience has broadened her knowledge considerably. Accordingly, he decides to raise her Knowledge Ability from 5 to 6. Checking the character sheet, the player sees that Sarah does indeed have the six Special Abilities under Knowledge necessary to raise it to 6. They pay 3 DPs and reduce her Computing, Cybernetics, Electronic, Mathematics, Medicine and Science skills to 0, 1, 0, 0, 2, and 1 respectively.
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2: Rules Clarifications
To aid the players in their creations, remember when building your adventures to provide hints at weaknesses or effects that might be useful, like the fact that Daleks seem to slow down in extreme cold (as in Planet of the Daleks) or that powdered mushroom kills green maggots (seen in The Green Death). And if the players come up with something unique that isnt too far-fetched, like altering a machine to do the opposite of what it is intended to do, let them have a go even if it doesnt fit in exactly with the way you planned to solve the adventure. Theyll have more fun stretching their intellectual muscles than being railroaded and youll have more fun letting them
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2: Rules Clarifications
REGENERATIVE POWERS Regenerative Powers allow a character to heal much more rapidly than typical, and when combined with normal medical attention, can have a wounded character hopping to his feet in a matter of days. A good example of this occurs in the Planet of the Daleks, where the Doctor, who had been shot at the end of the previous story, recovers almost completely, and only a short time after Joe leaves to seek assistance. Treat this Special Ability the same way as (and in addition to) the Medicine Special Ability in the Healing rules. Once bleeding and trauma have been dealt with using First Aid, allow a roll every 24 hours, with a success healing a number of wounds equal to the Special Ability alone. Ex. The Professor is severely wounded by a blaster (6 Wounds) during a fight with space pirates. Fortunately, his companion Sarah is a trained medical doctor and she manages to apply first aid, healing a wound and stopping any further damage, before being dragged of by the pirates for nefarious purposes. The Professor lies unconscious and wounded severely, but he is a Time Lord and his recuperative powers kick in. He has a STR of 3 and Regenerative Powers at a rating of 2. During the first 24 hours, he beats the difference and regains 2 Wound Levels, taking him from Severely Wounded to only Lightly Wounded. He recovers consciousness and staggers off to find his companion. Later, after he manages to rescue Sarah, they return to the TARDIS sickbay and she treats his remaining 3 wounds. She has a KNO of 5 and Medicine at 2. She succeeds automatically and heals 2 Wound Levels. Now with only 1 Wound remaining, his Regenerative Powers also succeed automatically and he heals up completely and, much to Sarahs surprise, is back to full health a mere two days after being nearly killed!
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2: Rules Clarifications
PSEUDOSCIENCE A lot of people have questioned the exact usage of Pseudoscience. Here are a couple of ways it can come up in a story Verbal Interaction: The Doctor often uses complex scientific explanations to bluff, intimidate and convince others to do as he wishes. When giving a scientific reason for something to occur, the character may use his Pseudoscience skill in place of Bargaining, Bureaucracy and Con. Examples of the use of this skill in the series are numerous. In The Sea Devils, the Doctor rigs a device to temporarily incapacitate the Sea Devils while his friends escape and then bluffs the Master into thinking he accidentally plugged the output into the input. In Inferno, the Doctor tries (and fails) to intimidate Professor Stahlman(n) into listening to his advice by using his superior technical knowledge and awareness to point out a potentially dangerous reactor fault. And in Frontios, the Doctor cons the Gravis into using his magnetic powers to reassemble the TARDIS by dazzling him with all sorts of technical descriptions, which the Gravis doesnt fully understand, but which carry the implication that it is THE ONLY way to travel. MacGuffin Solutions: The referee might require that players, who come up with a singularly bizarre, but still possible, idea for a MacGuffin, first make a Pseudoscience roll to see if it can actually be done. HISTORY What follows is an optional system to help the referee set difficulties when judging the use of the History Special Ability. It is for those who want a more crunchy system for determining what characters know, as opposed to just judging on a case by case basis. When considering the timespan that a characters Historical knowledge covers, the referee should first consider the background of the character making the roll. While a Timelord may, indeed, know a great deal about the entire range of Galactic History, a human from the 20th century is highly unlikely to know squat about the same and should be restricted to facts concerning the present and past of his time-zone of origin. Furthermore, the broader the scope of knowledge, the less likely a character will know specifics, and vice versa. The range of specificity is shown below. Culture - Planet - Interstellar - Galactic Culture: Pick an individual grouping of beings on a specific planet. Ex. Aztecs, The British, the Kaleds, etc. Planet: Pick a specific Planet to base your historical knowledge on. Ex. Earth, Skaro, Androzani Major, etc. Interstellar: Pick a specific Intersteller power group. Ex. The Earth Empire, the Traken Confederation, etc. Galactic: Pick a Galaxy. Ex. Mutters Spiral (the Milky Way), Andromeda, Galaxy 5, etc. Choose one of the categories as your History speciality. All rolls concerning that area of speciality are considered to be a base Difficulty of 5. Trying to recall something that falls into one of the other categories, or a different sub-section of the same category, shifts the Difficulty up by +2 for each area of difference. Ex. The Professor has History: Mutters Spiral at a rating of 2. To remember facts about the Galactic Cyberwars would be Diff 5. To know that the Late Cyber Empire is based around Telos would be Diff 7. To know that Telos contains naturally cryogenic caverns, Diff 9. To know of the Cryons would be Diff 11!
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JOURNIES
RANDOM
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3: Random Journies
The How to Invent Adventures section of the Timelord rulebook provides you with plenty of information to build a great story. But what if youre short on time, creativity or both? For moments such as these, I give you the Random Journies Adventure Creation System. Each element of the story is divided into Sections. Each Section is further divided up into numerous numbered tables. Roll a six-sided dice to find a table, and then roll a second D6 to find a result on that table. If you dont like the result, or it makes little sense, throw it out and roll again. You may also choose to roll on a specific table in any section, if the results of other tables would seem inappropriate, Greeks invading a Deep Space Station during a Historical Adventure, being a superlative example. Grab a pencil, a scrap of paper and start with section 1: Themes & Sub-plots. As you roll, jot down the results and eventually you will have the skeleton of a brand new adventure. Just follow the bouncing dice
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3: Random Journies
resulting in a 3 (an Adversary released them), a 2 (they threaten the destruction of an entire planet) and a 2 (they can only be stopped by a specific object). He jots these down on his scratch paper and proceeds to find out the specifics. First, he needs to determine which Adversary is responsible for releasing the Things. He tosses two dice for a result in the Adversary Section and rolls double 1s. The result on Adversaries 1, result 1 is the Autons. Having already had dealings with the Nestene, and not wanting to repeat the experience, he rolls again. This time he rolls a 2 and a 5, resulting in Sea-Devils. Now there he has an advantage, as he has had favourable dealings with them before, so he keeps that result. Now he needs to determine what Object could stop the Things. He looks in the Objects section and notices that there is only one table, so he rolls a single D6. The result is Technology Ancient Tech. Again he writes this down and leaves the details for later. Finally, although there is no indication under the Theme heading to do so, the Master rolls a Location. Seeing that the Sea Devils are a strictly Earth bound species, it is only common sense that he limit his locations accordingly. Instead of rolling for a table, he chooses the Earth table and throws a D6. He rolls a1, getting the American Continent. Under the Location Descriptions, he sees that he needs to roll again to determine a more specific area of the continent. He rolls a 4, resulting in the adventure taking place in the United States. He smiles at the knowledge that hell not have to deal with UNIT UK again. With all of this information handy, he fills out the storyline In the year 2003, a colony of Sea Devils, located off the coast of Maine are awakened by oil drilling in the Atlantic. Seeing the destruction of their environment by Man, and having learned of the destruction of their colony in England, they have decided to take drastic measures and call one of their old Gods to deal with the upstart ape. To this end, they have captured a port town and will drain the life force of a large number of humans to call up the greatest of these, Dagon. The only problem is that Dagon may not stop with the humans, and so the Sea-Devils have to be ready to stop it with the only thing possible: an ancient seal which is actually a dimensional recall device that will send Dagon screaming back to his void. Assuming, of course, that someone can get him to swallow it The Master laughs maniacally and all the patrons of the bar in turn to look at him strangely, except for one, a young man sitting next to him, who introduces himself as Howard and asks him what is so funny. The Master, passing his Gloating roll, cannot resist telling him his entire devious plan. What does it matter, he thinks. Its 1919. Theres no possible way word of it will reach the year 2003
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THEMES 1
1 2 3 4 5 6 Alien Menace Altering History Ancient Powers Arch-Enemy A World Gone Mad Beauty & the Beast 1 2 3 4 5 6
THEMES 2
Chase Environmental Action Historic Adventure Intrigue Invasion Mad Scientists
THEMES 3
Mistaken Identity 1 Parallel Universe 2 Quest 3 Rightful Rulers 4 Survival 5 Technology Gone Wrong 6
THEMES 4
1 Temporal Paradox 2 Things From Dimension X 3 Traitor 4 War 5 Whom Gods Destroy 6 The X Doctors
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Altering History: A time traveling (Adversary) tries to alter the history of (Location) in order to (D6): 1-2 3-4 5-6 Conquer Trap the PCs conform the future to their vision.
Ancient Powers: Powerful and ancient entities are awakened by (D6): 1-2 3-4 5-6 PCs (Adversary) Innocents.
The Powers threaten the Destruction of the (D6): 1-4 5 6 Planet Galaxy Universe.
They can only be stopped by (D6): 1-2 3-4 5-6 (Object) MacGuffin Special (act of self-sacrifice, a dance, the word Bgthyrssf, etc.)
Arch-Enemy: A personal (Adversary) has set a trap for the PCs at (Location). The plan is unnecessarily complex and involves (D6): 1-2 3-4 5-6 A subplot. Roll another Theme to determine what it is. Another (Adversary). Both a subplot and another (Adversary).
A World Gone Mad: The universe is not the way the PCs left it. Either theyve ended up in another dimension of a bizarre nature or history has been so altered as to be unrecognizable. The is due to (D6): 1-2 3-4 5-6 Bizarre Natural Phenomenon Equipment Malfunction An (Adversary)
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Looks can be deceiving, however, and the side of right is actually (D6): 1-3 4-6 The Beauties The Beasts
They seek to gain (D6): 1-2 3-4 5-6 (Object) Capture of the PC/NPCs Revenge
Environmental Action: Environmental hazards (volcanoes, asteroids and such) and/or pollution threaten to destroy (Location). It is caused by (D6): 1 2 3-4 5-6 (Adversary) (Object) Nature Stupid/Mad/Power-hungry People
Historic Adventure: The PCs experience Earth during (D6): 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pre-history Greco-Roman Times The Dark Ages The Renaissance Colonial Times Late 19th/early 20th Century
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The PCs must determine who is right and deserves their help while avoiding the wrath of both sides and protecting innocent bystanders. The bad guys are (D6): 1-2 3-4 5-6 (Adversary1) (Adversary2) Both
Invasion: (Adversary) overtly invades (Location) in full force for (D6): 1-4 5-6 Conquest (Object)
Mad Scientists: A brilliant Scientist or group of scientists attempt to change (Location) with (Object) for (D6): 1-2 3-4 5-6 Good (although the intention is misguided and doomed to failure) Power Roll another Theme to serve as a Sub-plot.
Mistaken Identity: The PCs are mistaken for someone, something or some god. Roll up another Theme to serve as a Subplot. Parallel Universe: The PCs have ended up in a universe opposite of their own due to (D6): 1-2 3-4 5-6 Bizarre Natural Phenomenon Equipment Malfunction An (Adversary)
In order to return to their own universe, they need (D6): 1-2 3-4 5-6 Help from (Adversary) who is friendly/good in this universe. (Object) To wait patiently for the problem to correct itself. Roll a Subplot.
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Rightful Rulers: A race/species is trying to regain rightful control of their (D6): 1-2 3-4 5-6 Land Planet Interstellar Empire
Their enemies are (D6): 1-3 4-6 (Adversary) Other Members of their Race/Species.
Survival: A race/species has been reduced to a primitive culture on the edge of extinction by (D6): 1-2 3-4 5-6 Natural Disaster Their own negligence. (Adversary)
Technology is (D6): 1-2 3-4 5-6 Shunned as the cause for the current state of affairs. Enshrined and utilized in a religious fashion by an elite order. Totally non-existent.
Roll another Theme to serve as a Subplot. Technology Gone Wrong: Advanced machines/robots turn on their creators due to (D6): 1-2 3-4 5-6 Self-Emergent Awareness (Adversary) interference Mechanical/Electronic accident
The Machines/Robots seek (D6): 1-2 3-4 5-6 Freedom. To dominate all non-machine life To exterminate all non-machine life
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The paradox has been caused by (D6) 1-2 3-4 5-6 Themsleves (Adversary) Inexperienced Morons mucking with Time.
The paradox may be corrected by (D6) 1-2 3-4 5-6 A MacGuffin Undoing a specific event that cauesed the Paradox Both of the above.
Things From Dimension X: Slimy, crawly, tentacled and/ or just plain creepy Things-Man-Was-Not-Meant-To-Know gain access to this dimension with the help of (D6): 1-2 3-4 5-6 PCs (Adversary) Innocents.
The Powers threaten the Destruction of the (D6): 1-4 5 6 Planet Galaxy Universe.
The only way to get rid of them is to (D6): 1-2 3-4 5-6 Close the gateway into their dimension Use an (Object) against them. Special (Find, translate, recite text; free mortal focus; etc.)
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The PCs must determine the best course of action while avoiding the wrath of both sides and protecting innocent bystanders. The bad guys are (D6): 1 2 3-5 6 (Adversary1) (Adversary2) Both Neither. The war has been instigated by (Adversary3)
Whom Gods Destroy: Powerful beings imprisoned, whether by accident or by the design of others of their race, seek to free themselves and restore themselves to their former glory. Roll another Theme to serve as the Subplot by which the being seeks to realize their escape The X Doctors: Extraordinary circumstances lead to the meeting of multiple incarnations of the Doctor or a PC Time Lord. This gross violation of the Laws of Time is being instigated by (D6): 1-2 3-4 5-6 The Time Lord High Council The Celestial Intervention Agency (Adversary)
Roll a Subplot to determine the reason multiple incarnations of the Time Lord have been brought together. Whatever the Subplot, it should be considered a major threat to time and space to necessitate such a violation
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3 : Adversaries
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6
ADVERSARIES 3
ADVERSARIES 4
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 Sabalom Glitz 2 The Master 3 The Meddling Monk 4 The Rani 5 Sil 6 Create a New Adversary
Autons: Whenever the Autons are involved, whatever the story Theme, one of the Nestenes main goals will be to create a host body to inhabit and breed with. If they should succeed, use the Nestene monster stats found in the Time Lord Rulebook. Cybermen: If the theme of the story is not overt, as in Invasion, the Cybermen are likely to remain unseen, manipulating events from behind the scenes. Until they are sure of achieving their goals, theyll use traitors, spies and Cybermats to weaken their target before revealing and risking themselves. Daleks: Whenever Daleks are involved, there is a 50% chance that Davros is also involved. If there are two Adversaries and both rolls turn up Daleks, then the adventure involves both the Imperial (led by Davros) and Renegade Daleks and both factions are automatically opposed. Dominators: Information on the Dominators can be found in the Cultural Database section of my Timelord Site (www.torsononline.com/hobbies/timelord/main.htm). Draconians: Time Lords encountering the Draconians after the time of the 15th Emperor may find that revealing themselves as members or the same race as the Doctor may help them diplomatically (-1 Difficulty on any personal interaction tests).
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3: Adversaries
Haemovores: Due to their origin in an alternate Earth timeline, a Temporal Paradox sub-plot comes along with the Haemovores as Adversaries. Also, where there are Haemovores, there will also be an Ancient One to lead them. Ice Warriors: Any Ice Warrior Expedition will be led by an Ice Lord. Mechanoids: As these robots are mainly found building cities on potential colony worlds bereft of human life, they are unlikely to be involved in a great many of the Themes or Sub-Plots presented without the involvement of some other Adversary. Therefore, unless the Theme is Survival or Technology Gone Wrong, assume that the Mechanoids are a secondary Adversary and roll again to find a primary Adversary. They will never be aligned the primary Adversary, or anyone else unable to provide the proper colonization codes for that matter. Movellans: Whenever the Movellans are about, there is a 50% chance that Daleks will also be involved in the adventure at some point, and in opposition to their mission.
Ogrons: Ogrons are incredibly stupid and almost always in the employ of someone else. Unless you want to run them as an individual group of space pirates or the like, they are serving (D6): 1-3 4-5 6 The Daleks The Master Create a new Adversary
Sea Devils & Silurians: As these two are kindred species and there is a 50% chance that where one is involved, the other is as well. In such a case, a single Silurian Triad will lead the Sea Devil warriors. Furthermore, as the two species have never (to the best of anyones knowledge) left Earth, any rolls for Location should be restricted to table 1.
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3 : Adversaries
Soldiers: Soldiers will be part of a larger force led by a General, King or other leader, who should be customized to fit the storys Main Theme. Alternately, another Adversary might lead the Soldiers. Sontarans: Whenever Sontarans are involved, there is a 2 in 6 chance that the Rutans are nearby as well. Rules for the Rutans may be found in the Cultural Database section of my Timelord Site (www.torsononline.com/hobbies/timelord/main.htm). Tractators: For the Tractators to be hostile, a Gravis is assumed to be present. Disabling the Gravis will disable the Tractators. All adventures involving Tractators will take place at least partially underground. Yeti: This result refers to the robotic Yeti used by the Great Intelligence and not the shy creatures they are patterned after. The Great Intelligence is assumed to by present as well, but if a second Adversary is also about and capable of control through psychic or technological means, feel free to have them controlling the creatures instead. Zygons: The Zygons will have a spacecraft secreted at the bottom of a large body of water, which serves as their HQ and also contains their Body Print machinery and the people they are currently duplicating. They will also have a Skarasen in the same body of water. Skarasens have the following stats:
Great Race: This result refers to a race of beings whom are technologically and/or evolutionarily far in advance of most other species, possibly even more advanced than the Time Lords. Examples include the Daemons, the Great Vampires, and the Eternals. Stats are pretty much unnecessary and you can assume that for the most part, direct confrontation will be fatal for the characters. Sabalom Glitz: Being a highly unscrupulous and amoral character, Glitz has been known to work for others in pursuit of his own schemes. There is a 50% chance that he is working for another Adversary whenever he is encountered. Otherwise, Glitz is not actually an adversary creating the problem or opposing the characters, but merely looking to make a few Grotzits out of the situation. In this case, there is a 3 in 6 chance that Mel is with him and will be henpecking him to change his ways throughout the entire adventure.
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3: Adversaries
The Master: In any adventure involving the Master, he will always be considered the primary Adversary and any other Adversaries will be pawns in his plans. He will most likely be working behind the scenes and will not reveal himself until found out. If, at any point, he realizes a Time Lord is involved, however, he must make a Gloating roll vs. a Difficulty of 10 (or 9 if a particular Time Lord has opposed him in the past). If he fails he will make his presence known in some way, even if only to them. He will always reveal himself to the Doctor in this way The Meddling Monk: The Monk always leaves anachronistic clues to his presence whenever he is about. A referee should scatter a few items that are wildly out of period for the characters to find and puzzle over, especially in the area surrounding his TARDIS. The Rani: Unlike the Master, the Rani is uninterested, for the most part in wild schemes of universal power and is much more interested in her own research. As an Adversary, she will most likely (a 4 in 6 chance) be merely taking advantage of or exacerbating an already present situation for purposes of her work (obtaining test subjects and the like) but will not be the actual direct cause of it. If she is the direct cause of the current situation, then she will have the coerced assistance of another alien species. Generate the species using the Alien Template in the character Generation rules. Sil: If this villain is involved, then the Galatron Mining Corporation should be considered the primary Adversary, with a goal fitting the main Theme and Sil as their representative. As such, Sil has nearly unlimited resources with which to carry out his goals, up to and including an entire invasion force, should the company be truly threatened. In addition, Sil will often hatch his own personal power plays while pursuing his companys goals, so roll a Sub-Plot to represent a minor scheme of his own. Create a New Adversary: Create a new villain using the following steps: 1. Pick a Character Template to base the Villian on. 2. When Generating Ability Scores, add 1 to a single dice roll. 3. Double the number of Skill and Equipment points generated. 4. The Villian may spend Skill or Equipment Points to purchase Minions at a cost of 1 Point each. Minions may be created using the Character Generation rules or picked from the Timelord Rulebook.
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3 : Locations
1 2 3 4 5 6
Sol System 1 2 Primitive Tech World Modern Tech World 3 Future Tech World 4 5 Adversary Homeworld Gallifrey 6
5 SPACE
6 STRANGE
1 2 3 4 5 6
Asteroid Base Planetary Base Orbital Base Deep Space Station Starship Generation Ship
1 2 3 4 5 6
EARTH The Americas: Your adventure takes place on the American continent. Roll to find out where (D6): 1-2 3-4 5 6 Canada The United States Mexico/Central America South America
United Kingdom: Your adventure takes place in the United Kingdom. Roll to find out where (D6): 1-4 5 6 Great Britain Scotland Ireland
Europe: Your adventure takes place on the European continent. Roll to find out where (D6): 1 2 3 4 5 6 France Germany Spain Italy Russia Scandanavia
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3 : Locations
Africa: Your adventure takes place on the African continent. Roll to find out where (D6): 1 2 3 4 5 6 North Africa Sahara desert African Plains African Jungles South Africa Madagascar
Asia: Your adventure takes place on the Asian continent. Roll to find out where (D6): 1 2 3 4 5 6 The Middle East The Indian Sub-continent China Korea Japan Southeast Asia
Remote Places: Your adventure takes place somewhere on Earth far removed from the usual traffic of humanity, perhaps even devoid of a human presence altogether. Roll to find out where (D6): 1 2 3 4 5 6 The North Pole Uncharted Island Charted Island Antarctica Under the Ocean Under the Earths Crust
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3 : Locations
PLANETARY The Sol System: Your adventure takes place in or on one of the other planets (or one of their moons) revolving around Earths sun, Sol. Roll to find out which (D6): 1 2 3 4 5 6 Venus Earths Moon Mars Europa Neptune Pluto
Primitive Tech World: This is a world inhabited by an alien species or regressive Earth colonists with a low level of technology. Roll to find out their Earth equivalent technological level (D6): 1 2 3 4 5 6 Prehistoric Bronze Age Greco-Roman Middle Ages Renaissance Colonial
Modern Tech World: This is a world inhabited by an alien species or regressive Earth colonists with a level of technology roughly equivalent to Earth during portions of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Roll to find their maximum Earth Equivalent tech level (D6): 1-2 3-4 5-6 Late 19th/Early 20th century Mid 20th century Late 20th/ Early 21st
Future Tech World: This is a world inhabited by an alien species or Earth colonists with a high level of technology, including star-craft and energy weapons.
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3 : Locations
Adversary Home world: The story takes place on the home world of an Adversary rolled up in the Adversary Section. Gallifrey: The Story takes place on the home world of the Timelords. SPACE Asteroid Base: Your adventure takes place on a base built into an asteroid. Roll to find out the asteroids location (D6): 1-2 3-4 5-6 In an asteroid belt. In orbit around a planet. Deep space.
The purpose of the base is (D6): 1-2 3-4 5-6 Military Trade/ Starship refueling Medical
Planetary Base: The story takes place in and around a base on an uninhabited world The purpose of the base is (D6): 1-2 3-4 5-6 Military Trade Leisure
The Planetary environment outside the base is (D6): 1-2 3-4 5-6 Hostile (due to atmosphere, flora, fauna, etc.) Barren (nothing but rocks, mountains and more rocks) Terrestrial
Orbital Base: The story takes place in a station orbiting a planet. Roll on the Planetary Table of the Locations Section to determine what kind of planet it is orbiting. The purpose of the base is (D6): 1-2 3-4 5-6 Military Leisure/ Starship refueling Medical
Deep Space Station: The story takes place on a station located at least one light year from the nearest solar system. The purpose of the base is (D6): 1-2 3-4 5-6 Military Trade/ Starship refueling Medical
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3 : Locations
Starship: The story takes place on a starship in flight. The starship is a (D6): 1-2 3-4 5-6 Warship Courier Civilian Liner
Generation Ship: The adventure takes place aboard a very large starship that is transporting either colonists or the remains of a civilization on a voyage through space that will last many hundreds of years before they reach their final destination. The ship is completely self-contained, a mini-world that provides everything the passengers and crew need. Roll to see if the who or what is awake on the ship (D6): 1-2 3-4 5-6 All humanoid life on the ship is in cryogenic suspension. The passengers are in cryogenic suspension, but a self-aware computer actively runs the ship with the aid of robotic servants. The whole place is alive and kicking.
If awake, the passengers on the ship (D6): 1-2 3-4 5-6 Have forgotten their origins and reverted to primitivism. Remember their purpose, but have forgotten how to run their ship. Remember their purpose and can operate the ship.
Intruders are (D6): 1-2 3-4 5-6 Killed Captured Welcomed as guests.
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3 : Locations
STRANGE LOCATIONS Dyson Sphere: Your adventure takes place in a hollow sphere built around a very small star by a long extinct race of beings. The interior surface of the sphere is a self-contained terrestrial world, complete with an atmosphere, continents, oceans and abundant life. Roll to see if there is sentient life present (D6): 1-2 3-4 5-6 Ruins are all that remain. There is a Primitive society. Roll on the Primitive Tech World table for their Tech Level. There is a Modern society. Roll on the Modern Tech World Table for their Tech Level.
Ringworld: The story takes place on the surface of a humongous artificial ring, built by a highly advanced race and encircling a star. The surface of the ring is terrestrial, containing an atmosphere, continents, oceans and abundant life. The ring has two sides: one in permanent daylight, and the other in permanent night. Roll for each side to determine what sentient life is present there (D6): 1-2 3-4 5-6 Ruins are all that remain. There is a Primitive society. Roll on the Primitive Tech World table for their Tech Level. There is a Modern society. Roll on the Modern Tech World Table for their Tech Level.
If both sides contain sentient life, roll to see how they regard each other (D6): 1-2 3-4 5-6 As only legends, usually involving the other side being banished. As deadly Enemies, both sides fighting along the edge of the ring. As simply different, with much trade between the two.
Hyperspace: The story takes place in the realm between universes, normally only used for FTL travel. Roll another Location to determine where in Hyperspace the PCs end up. This will normally be a ship of some sort, but it is not unknown for whole planets to slip into and become trapped in Hyperspace due to some bizarre (sometimes intentional) chain of events. E-Space: The TARDIS has slipped through a C.V.E and ended up in ESpace (Exo-Space), a universe discovered by the Doctor and parallel to NSpace (Normal Space, i.e. our universe). If this location result is rolled, treat the Main Theme as a Quest result, with the objective being to escape back to the normal universe. Outside Space/Time: The TARDIS materializes in another dimension outside of Space and Time, such as the Land of Fiction, the Celestial Toyroom or the universe of anti-matter. The particulars of the dimension, such as who runs it, how one may leave it, etc. are left to the Referees fiendish imagination Bizarre: The TARDIS lands somewhere incredibly weird, like a Cartoon dimension, inside the body of a planet sized living creature, shrunk down to molecule sized so that they enter a micro-universe, etc.
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3 : Objects
1 2 3 4 5 6
Object Descriptions
Mineral: This is a specific mineral, possibly gold, iron or something more exotic, like Taranium or Zyton-7. Biological Abilities: This is some sort of lifeform, or part of a lifeform, with special qualities. These qualities might be medicinal, nutritional, some form of poison or something more exotic, such as relative immortality, the ability to read minds or enter the Space/Time Vortex unaided by technology. Slaves/Breeding: A sentient race is the object, either as slaves for manual labour/ testing purposes or for breeding. Breeding stock might be necessary because an Adversary is parasitic in nature (as in The Invisible Enemy) or because the Adversary has run out of breeding partners of its own race and has found that the Object species is biologically compatible (as in any b-movie with a title like Mars Needs Our Women). Ancient Tech: This is knowledge and/or technology from an ancient and highly advanced race, which may or may not be extinct. Unique Tech: The target race is known for being highly skilled in a certain technology, perhaps with such mastery that they can do things within their specialty that exceeds even the abilities of the Timelords in that area (as with the Logopolitans). The Object is that knowledge and/or technology. Adversary Tech: Certain bits of knowledge and/or technology belonging to the Adversary, such as canisters of Movellan Virus or Dalekanium, are the object in question.
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