I have to say, the Doctor Who RPG announcements of the last couple weeks have had me thinking a heck of a lot about what I'd do with it. So much so I may not wait for it and start a campaign using the Cinematic Unisystem rules in the meantime. What WOULD I do with it? Here are a few thoughts:
Regeneration
Though Unisystem manages to balance "Heroes" and "White Hats" (in this case "Time Lords" and "Companions") reasonably well, it's still likely players will want to play a Time Lord first, and a Companion second. Regeneration offers a way to give everyone a turn at the TARDIS controls.
In a long-term campaign (or "series"), a player might have use of the Time Lord until that character is killed, at which point another player would be able to retire his or her Companion and be responsible for creating the Time Lord's next regeneration. Same name, same goals, everything else is different. A neat way to give everyone a chance.
If play is less frequent and more episodic, a group might be able to share a Doctor (let's call him the Professor) on a rotating basis. Player 1 might play the Professor's first regeneration, while Player 2 has the second, etc. Same character, and though we know his future selves, we don't know how he got there necessarily. This group would agree to rotate Professors and Companions between each arc. In either scenario, a "Five Professors" story becomes a distinct possibility!
Over-Crowded TARDIS
On the show, the best TARDIS crews seem to be two people. Three's ok. Four only ever worked for the original cast and never after that. Role-playing groups, however, usually run 4 to 6. So you see the problem if trying to simulate the program. One way around this is to have the three most dependable players act as TARDIS crew, while other players take on the roles of the "near-companions", pre-generated allies that happen to live where the Professor lands. To name only a few from the new series: Lynda with a Y, Captain Jack in Empty Child, Astrid Peth, Mickey, Nancy, Brannigan, etc.
These characters are more expendable than TARDIS crew, which is an interesting role-playing challenge, as is the idea of having a different role in each story. For very dependable groups, the above rotating companions idea would help alleviate TARDIS envy. In my case, I have a number of on-again, off-again players who could play "native sons" of whatever world the TARDIS is dropped onto. And as you can see from the examples, there are recurring allies (especially on present-day Earth), allies who return as Companions, and old Companions who return as allies. Your favorites need not be one-offs!
Adventures for the Lazy GM
You might be able to find an old adventure module for the FASA game (I have one), and maybe there's stuff on the Internet (the unofficial Unisystem game has strong ideas), but when going forward with an unsupported game, you're not going to get many pre-fab adventures. Where do you get your ideas?
First of all, it's Doctor Who. It goes anywhere, anytime. In other words, any science-fiction, horror or historical adventure made for ANY game will likely work with the Professor thrown into it. Magic should be used sparingly, and worlds should be able to exist in the same continuum as Earth (not that parallel worlds need be excluded), but that still covers an awful lot of games on the market.
What I think I'll do, however, is mine Big Finish's audios for storylines. I have a great many of these, as well as their published soundtracks. I can use these latter discs to create an atmosphere for the chosen story, and then lend my players the story itself so they can see how they compared to the Doctor. It's something I've done when playing the James Bond RPG's movie-themed published adventures - a movie night showing the featured film after we'd played it out. Players had a lot of fun pointing to "themselves" and delighting in both similarities and differences. And unlike the television series, I can be pretty sure players have not experienced the stories.
I really am gearing up for this, aren't I? And I'm even hoping to draw some actual girls to the game (I know, unheard of), seeing as Companions have traditionally been women, and I have quite a few female fans in my pocket. But... baby steps. Baby steps.
What would you do with a Doctor Who RPG?
RegenerationThough Unisystem manages to balance "Heroes" and "White Hats" (in this case "Time Lords" and "Companions") reasonably well, it's still likely players will want to play a Time Lord first, and a Companion second. Regeneration offers a way to give everyone a turn at the TARDIS controls.
In a long-term campaign (or "series"), a player might have use of the Time Lord until that character is killed, at which point another player would be able to retire his or her Companion and be responsible for creating the Time Lord's next regeneration. Same name, same goals, everything else is different. A neat way to give everyone a chance.
If play is less frequent and more episodic, a group might be able to share a Doctor (let's call him the Professor) on a rotating basis. Player 1 might play the Professor's first regeneration, while Player 2 has the second, etc. Same character, and though we know his future selves, we don't know how he got there necessarily. This group would agree to rotate Professors and Companions between each arc. In either scenario, a "Five Professors" story becomes a distinct possibility!
Over-Crowded TARDISOn the show, the best TARDIS crews seem to be two people. Three's ok. Four only ever worked for the original cast and never after that. Role-playing groups, however, usually run 4 to 6. So you see the problem if trying to simulate the program. One way around this is to have the three most dependable players act as TARDIS crew, while other players take on the roles of the "near-companions", pre-generated allies that happen to live where the Professor lands. To name only a few from the new series: Lynda with a Y, Captain Jack in Empty Child, Astrid Peth, Mickey, Nancy, Brannigan, etc.
These characters are more expendable than TARDIS crew, which is an interesting role-playing challenge, as is the idea of having a different role in each story. For very dependable groups, the above rotating companions idea would help alleviate TARDIS envy. In my case, I have a number of on-again, off-again players who could play "native sons" of whatever world the TARDIS is dropped onto. And as you can see from the examples, there are recurring allies (especially on present-day Earth), allies who return as Companions, and old Companions who return as allies. Your favorites need not be one-offs!
Adventures for the Lazy GM
You might be able to find an old adventure module for the FASA game (I have one), and maybe there's stuff on the Internet (the unofficial Unisystem game has strong ideas), but when going forward with an unsupported game, you're not going to get many pre-fab adventures. Where do you get your ideas?
First of all, it's Doctor Who. It goes anywhere, anytime. In other words, any science-fiction, horror or historical adventure made for ANY game will likely work with the Professor thrown into it. Magic should be used sparingly, and worlds should be able to exist in the same continuum as Earth (not that parallel worlds need be excluded), but that still covers an awful lot of games on the market.
What I think I'll do, however, is mine Big Finish's audios for storylines. I have a great many of these, as well as their published soundtracks. I can use these latter discs to create an atmosphere for the chosen story, and then lend my players the story itself so they can see how they compared to the Doctor. It's something I've done when playing the James Bond RPG's movie-themed published adventures - a movie night showing the featured film after we'd played it out. Players had a lot of fun pointing to "themselves" and delighting in both similarities and differences. And unlike the television series, I can be pretty sure players have not experienced the stories.I really am gearing up for this, aren't I? And I'm even hoping to draw some actual girls to the game (I know, unheard of), seeing as Companions have traditionally been women, and I have quite a few female fans in my pocket. But... baby steps. Baby steps.
What would you do with a Doctor Who RPG?
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