Willow and Tara: Doctor Who Adventures in Time & Space

I think it is an obvious conclusion, but if Willow and Tara had been characters during Russel T. Davies run of Doctor Who, they would have fared far, far better than they did on some other show.  Heck even under Steven  "Tipping the Scales" Moffat they would have been better off.

But that is the fantastic thing about RPGs.  They let us go places and do things we otherwise never could.

So what you have Willow and Tara been like as companions to the Doctor?

Willow, the Doctor, Tara and the Dodecahedron (my clock-face d12)

Well let's take them back a bit to when they were younger, maybe when Tara first showed up on the show.  Given that it is tempting then to use my WitchCraft RPG stats as a point of origin.  But there is an issue with that.  There is no magic really in the Doctor Who universe.  There are plenty of things that look like it and there are psychic abilities, but nothing like the magic I typically have the girls doing.  So for completeness sake I am going to look at stats I did about the same time the 10th Doctor was doing his thing. Something like my Fudge, Chill or Mutants and Masterminds stats. So maybe instead I'll go with their ages then.

So here is an idea.  Play up Willow's tech back ground a lot more.  She becomes, what is known in the game is a Boffin. Some one that can argue with the Doctor on tech and science. Sort of like what River Song can do now or how Romana was.   Tara is still shy and quiet, but she has a very good reason, she is psychic.  Like scary psychic. Makes for some great plots and gives me something weird and alien to work with, maybe even giving her some Carrionite ancestry.

I like it.

Willow Rosenberg (circa 2006)

Story Points: 12

Attributes
Awareness 2
Coordination 2
Ingenuity 6
Presence 3
Resolve 4
Strength 2

Skills
Athletics 1
Convince 1
Craft 2
Fighting 1
Knowledge 4
Marksman 0
Medicine 2
Science 4
Subterfuge 0
Survival 1
Technology 4
Transport 1

Traits
Ambidextrous (not in the book, but in my reality), Attractive, Boffin, Photographic Memory, Technically Adept, Insatiable Curiosity

Equipment
Laptop, Smart Phone (PDA Phone)

Home Tech Level: 5

Nationality: American
Profession: Software Engineer
Education: B.S. in Computer Science, 2003 University of California, Magna Cum Laude


Tara Maclay (circa 2006)

Story Points: 10 (2 points used)

Attributes
Awareness 4
Coordination 2
Ingenuity 4
Presence 2
Resolve 3
Strength 3

Skills
Athletics 1
Convince 0
Craft 1
Fighting 1
Knowledge 3
Marksman 0
Medicine 1
Science 2
Subterfuge 1
Survival 1
Technology 2
Transport 1

Traits
Attractive, Animal Friendship, Empathic, Psychic, Telekinesis, Telepathy, Code of Conduct, Eccentric

Equipment
Cellphone

Home Tech Level: 5

Nationality: American
Profession: Part time QMHP.
Education: B.A. in Art History, 2003 University of Southern California, Cum Laude,
M.A. in Psychology, Counseling emphasis, 2005 University of Southern California.

Looks good to me.  Now to see if they will ever run into Vastra and Jenny.

D is for Doctor Who

One of my favorite TV shows ever is Doctor Who.
I discovered it back in the 80s on PBS and was hooked.  Of course my dream was always to have a Doctor Who RPG.  There was a Doctor Who by FASA, and I liked it, but I never got a chance to play it much.

Well 2005 rolls around and we got a new Doctor Who on TV! Yeah! and A few years later we also got a new Doctor Who RPG! Double Yeah!  And I got to play-test it!!

And I know I am not the only one excited about it.  Doctor Who related posts are some of my most viewed.

Well there is a new version out and I wanted to let you all know about it.


Doctor Who Adventures in Time and Space is a great and worthy game to bear the name of the highly acclaimed "restart" of the Doctor Who series.

Using a simple 2d6 + attribute + stat + mod, roll over target number system, DW:AiTaS though goes beyond what is typically since in RPGs. Talking and Running are preferable to fighting, just like in the show and there many ways to measure success.

The system is really, really simple. In fact once you get the hang of it it "disappears" much like Unisystem does.

The system is similar to Unisystem and even GURPs, but not as "crunchy". This is a game of normal humans and the occasional alien battling foes that out match them, out gun them and out "tech" them. You are going to need to be very clever or lucky (or both!). While this could have fell into the Call of Cthulhu end of the spectrum on hero survival, heroes are expected to survive and even win.

There are two versions of this game out.  The Original or 10th Doctor version and the new 11th Doctor version.

For the 11th Doctor edition what do have?  Well the trade dress and artwork is all from the 11th Doctor/Moffat era.   But if that were all then there would not be much need to buy this.  There is an easy to use "Read This First" file, all the important stuff in two pages.  There are characters from the Matt Smith run, so The Doctor, River, Amy and Rory. All the new monsters (and the old faves) like the Atraxi, Cybermen, New Paradigm Daleks, and the Silurians. In fact there is quite a bit of "new stuff" that feel this is much more of an update than a simple re-edit and design.

Note: If you have the 10th Doctor version then C7 has the files you need for free.

Now the game is supposed to be played with 2 6-sided dice (2d6 in RPG parlance), but I have this cool 12 sided die with clock faces instead of numbers that is so perfect for Doctor Who that I can't not use it!  Plus as many Who fans know, the d12 is important to Who history.

I have done some character write-ups for Doctor Who: AiTaS, check them out.

• Madame Vastra and Jenny: Everyone's favorite katana wielding, Victorian lesbian Silurian/Humans consulting detectives/warriors for hire.
• And Count Dracula
• And something special later on today!

Dave Chapman did a fantastic job with this game. Not just the writing, but the whole concept.  I love it. I only wish *I* had been the one to do it!

Vastra and Jenny

Been thinking some more about Vastra and Jenny.

I did some posts back when "A Good Man Goes to War" first aired.
Introduction and Ghosts of Albion stats.
Doctor Who RPG stats

I have found some very cool links recently that expand their story more.
Vastra and Jenny

I have a Ghosts of Albion game coming up and I'd love to work them in somehow.  Just not sure how to do that yet.  Especially since the idea I have in mind is already dangerously close to "The Hungry Earth" except I am basing it of of a real riot that happened in London in 1846.

Madam Vastra and Jenny for Doctor Who RPG

AGAIN WARNING: There are some MINOR Spoilers here for the new Doctor Who episode, A Good Man Goes to War.  If you have not seen it yet, you might want to come back here after you do.

My post about Vastra and Jenny for Ghosts of Albion was very popular.  No surprise really given how popular the  characters currently are.

So it seems only proper then that I also stat them up for Cubicle 7's Doctor Who Adventures in Time and Space RPG.  Maybe if I get cheeky I'll even stat them up in Traveler and FASA's Doctor Who game.

You can re-read the background for them on my Ghosts of Albion post.

Madame Vastra

"The Great Detective"
Story Points: 10

Attributes
Awareness 4
Coordination 6
Ingenuity 4
Presence 4
Resolve 4
Strength 3

Skills
Athletics 4
Convince 2
Craft 1
Fighting 5
Knowledge 2
Marksman 3
Medicine 1
Science 2
Subterfuge 2
Survival 2
Technology 2
Transport 2

Traits
Alien (Silurian), Alien Apperance, Brave, Code of Conduct, Eccentric (Mild Cruelty, Speciesm), Gadget (Perception Filtre), Last of My Kind (sorta, only awake Silurian in Victorian London), Tough

Tongue Lash (Strength +2, poison)

Equipment
Perception Filtre (Major Gadget)
Katana (Strength +4)

Home Tech Level: 5-6 (higher than 21st Century Earth, but no indication of FTL travel).

Vastra as a human. 

(in reality Neve McIntosh who played Vastra)

The Silurian Tongue Lash has a lethal poison.  Vastra, like all female Silurians, can choose whether or not her lash injects the poison or not.

Vastra is very devoted to Jenny, her companion and love.

Jenny Flint

Story Points: 10

Attributes

Awareness 3

Coordination 4 

Ingenuity 3

Presence 3

Resolve 4

Strength 3

Skills

Athletics 3

Convince 2

Craft 1

Fighting 4

Knowledge 2

Marksman 2

Medicine 3

Science 1 

Subterfuge 2

Survival 2 

Technology 0

Transport 1

Traits

Attractive, Brave, Face in the Crowd, Obligation (Madame Vastra)

Equipment

Katana (Strength +4)

Home Tech Level: 4

Jenny is the human companion and paramour of Madame Vastra.  To normal people they keep up the façade of a Lady and her servant girl. Jenny had been a servant but she was also already knowledgeable in the healing arts. A skill that has served the combat prone Vastra well.  Jenny herself is not slouch at combat, having trained with Vastra many times.  She is just as deadly with her katana as is her mistress.

Using Vastra and Jenny in Your Game
If you are going to go to Victorian London anytime soon (and you must if you are playing Doctor Who) then Madame Vastra and Jenny are going to be there.  They can be the focal point of an episode, important side characters (as they were in AGMGTW) or just a rumor.


There has been discussion and a post of stats for DW:AITAS already on the Doctor Who boards.
http://dwaitas.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=characters&thread=1469&page=1

Demons Run...when chased by Madame Vastra and Jenny

WARNING: There are some MINOR Spoilers here for the new Doctor Who episode, A Good Man Goes to War.  If you have not seen it yet, you might want to come back here after you do.

Ok?
Good.

Back?  Ohmygodwasthatthecoolestthingyoueversawinthehistoryofdoctorwho!!!???

And of course by that I mean the Victorian Silurian katana wielding Consulting Detective and her human paramour Jenny.
That's makes them perfect for Ghosts of Albion in my book!

I am going to have to do a bit of speculation, but I have some good sources and I consulted Jason Vey who did the EXCELLENT Doctor Who game guide for Unisystem.

Background: Madame Vastra came up from her home deep underground when she thought underground workers were trying to invade. They were not, they were only working on the underground subway system. She was ready to go to war on them when the Doctor arrived to help her.  He was able to save the humans and the Silurians.  Vastra, indebted to the Doctor vowed to repay him helping her.  She knows quite a bit about the Doctor and about Time Lords.  She knows about regeneration and even calls the Doctor "old friend" on many occasions.

At some point she met a young serving girl named Jenny and the two entered into a partnership. They shared adventures as disguised vigilantes/detectives and a romantic partnership as well.

In 1888 Madame Vastra had just ended the career and life of serial killer Jack the Ripper when a blue box appeared in her parlor...

We have little to go on of these two. But if the web traffic out there is any indication then they are already wildly popular with people asking for a spin off!
You can read their TARDIS files here, Vastra and Jenny.
They have their own Facebook page, Deviant Art page,  and an article on After Ellen.  All before the show even airs in America.

Madame Vastra
Very Experienced Master

Life Points 50
Drama Points 10

Attributes
Strength 3
Dexterity 6
Constitution 4
Intelligence 4
Perception 4
Willpower 4

Qualities
Silurian (Homo Reptilia)
Attractiveness +1 (+2 with Perception Filter on)
Charisma
Hard to Kill 4
Fast Reaction Time
Natural Armour (+2 to Armor)
Nerves of Steel
Perception Filter (acts as a Glamour, disgusses her true form) (see below)
Resources 8
Situational Awareness
Status 4

Drawbacks
Honorable (Minimal)
Love (Jenny)
Mental Problems (Mild Cruelty)
Minority (Woman)
Obligation (The Doctor, Important)
Obligation (The Yard, as a consulting detective, Minimal)
Secret 3 (is really a Silurian pretending to be human)
Secret 2 (Lesbian living with another woman)

Useful Information
Initiative +11
Actions 2/1
Natural Armor +2
Observation 1d10 +9
Fear +5

Skills
Armed Mayhem 5
Art 0
Athletics 5
Crime 3
Drive / Ride 1
Engineering 3
Fisticuffs 4
Influence 4
Knowledge 3
Knowledge (Silurian Technology) 3
Languages 2 (Silurian, English)
Marksmanship 5
Notice 5
Occultism 0
Physician 1
Wild Card

Combat

Maneuver	Bonus	Damage	Notes
Dodge / Parry	+11	-	Defence Action
Grapple	+11	-	Defence Action
Katana	+11	12	Slash / Stab
Punch	+10	6	Bash
Tongue Lash	+11	3	Sting
- Poison	-	Special	Strength 4 (same as Con Score)

Madame Vastra in the Ghosts of Albion world is a hunter of criminals.  She is not above killing them herself, she is a trained Silurian Warrior after all.  She does posses a Perception Filter which acts as a Glamour allowing her to pass as human.  Though due to the nature of the device, and it's fragility, she prefers to don a cloak and hood when "hunting".

Vastra as a human. 

(in reality Neve McIntosh who played Vastra)

The Silurian Tongue Lash has a lethal poison in it that has a Strength value equal to the Silurian's Constitution score.  Vastra, like all female Silurians, can choose whether or not her lash injects the poison or not.

Vastra is very devoted to Jenny, her companion and love.

Jenny Flint
Experienced Journeyman

Life Points 40
Drama Points 10

Attributes
Strength 3
Dexterity 4
Constitution 3
Intelligence 3
Perception 3
Willpower 4

Qualities
Attractiveness +2
Hard to Kill 2
Fast Reaction Time
Nerves of Steel
Situational Awareness

Drawbacks
Adversary
Honorable 2
Love (Vastra)
Obligation (The Doctor, Minimal)
Secret 1 (Lesbian living with another woman) (Jenny's is less than Madame Vastra's since she is of a lower class and has less status to loose)

Useful Information
Initiative +9
Actions 1/1
Observation 1d10 + 6
Fear +5

Skills
Armed Mayhem 4
Art 0
Athletics 3
Crime 2
Drive / Ride 2
Engineering 1
Fisticuffs 3
Influence 2
Knowledge 3
Languages 1 (English only)
Marksmanship 2
Notice 3
Occultism 0
Physician 3
Wild Card

Combat

Maneuver	Bonus	Damage	Notes
Dodge / Parry	+8	-	Defence Action
Grapple	+8	-	Defence Action
Katana	+8	12	Slash / Stab
Punch	+7	6	Bash

Jenny is the human companion and paramour of Madame Vastra.  To normal people they keep up the façade of a Lady and her servant girl. Jenny had been a servant but she was also already knowledgeable in the healing arts. A skill that has served the combat prone Vastra well.  Jenny herself is not slouch at combat, having trained with Vastra many times.  She is just as deadly with her katana as is her mistress.

Using Vastra and Jenny in Your Game
The question is why not use them? Or. How can you not use them?  Seriously.
If you are not happy with the Doctor Who connection then make Vastra a reptilian alien from Conspiracy X or a type of demon or even go out further and make her an Unseelie Lady, working to remove the taint of dishonor she sees her people have done.
The Victorian Era is so full of crime and mystery that there is enough for these two to do.

Good to see my regular GM already thinking of things to do with these two.
http://rhoninsramblings.blogspot.com/2011/06/i-really-want-to-do-something-with.html

Recycled Adventures

So it is well known that I love the old D&D adventures from the early 80's.  I think they are well done and a lot of fun to play.  I have been playing them with my kids but I have not been able to fit in all the ones I have wanted into our 3.x game.

But I have lots of games.

So here are some of the recycled adventures I have done using other systems and the classic adventures.

Ash vs The Keep on the Borderlands
System: Army of Darkness and Dungeons & Zombies
Module: B2 Keep on the Borderlands

The character get sent back in time to the Keep and need to clean out the Caves of Chaos with a shotgun.

I designed this as a way to play-test Dungeons & Zombies under the Cinematic Unisystem Rules.

Never got to play it all, but the bits I did were a blast.  Characters I created for the game were Xena and Gabrielle (seemed appropriate) and used a version of Indiana Jones I found online.

One day I should run this at a convention.  I think it will be a blast.

The Ghost Tower of Inverness, Illinois
Systems: Doctor Who and Angel.
Module: C2 The Ghost Tower of Inverness

From the intro:
"No one has ever asked why there is a lighthouse between Palatine and Inverness, Illinois.  The closest large body of water is Lake Michigan, over 20 miles away. But it has always been there, quiet.

Till the day the Time Beacon went crazy."

The Ghost Tower of Inverness, IL was an adventure that I had converted for my playtest of Doctor Who.  Outside my town there is a water tower that is painted like a light house.  I thought it would be cool if it were a real lighthouse, but not for ships at sea, but ships in the time stream.  On top was a beacon to warn passer-bys "warning, primitive culture ahead!" Well one day the time beacon goes nuts and start pulling in people from out of their times (an excuse to convert a bunch of Unisystem characters from Ghosts and Angel).  The characters have to go through the tower and shut down the beacon.  Each level of the tower is a different time stream, so I had dinos, Victorian, post-apocalyptic and all sorts of terrible things.  At the top was the control center and the time beacon.  So I converted the original Ghost Tower module and replace the Soul Gem with the Time Beacon.  Part Doctor Who, part Angel, part Ghosts of Albion, part D&D and a dash of Primeval and Torchwood.  It was going to be the first adventure in a new campaign, but I never got it going.  Too bad, really.

Why does Inverness need a light house?

Ghosts of Albion: Ravenloft
System: Ghosts of Albion
Module: I6 Ravenloft

Ravenloft might be my favorite classic module ever.  Ghosts of Albion is of course my game.  It was natural to me to bring them together.  Ravenloft has that great Gothic feel.  Ghosts of Albion deals with all sorts of magical weirdness, and while it is hard for us today to really understand this, to the Victorians the world was a wild and scary unknown.  Unknown lands were meant to be explored and conquered.  What can be more unknown than Barovia?  Who is to say it is not on the map somewhere in 1840?  Plus you might have noticed that  Ghosts of Albion movies and books all have one word titles, "Legacy", "Astray", "Witchery" and my adventures have followed suit, "Obsession", "Blight", and "Synchronicity".  So "Ghosts of Albion: Ravenloft" also works.
The idea is simple.  The characters are travelling by rail to the east.  Their train suffers some malfunction, and I start the Ravenloft adventure by the book.  I include the mists and Madame Eva and everything.  And that map of Castle Ravenloft is still one of the coolest maps ever made.  One day I'll build a 1" = 5' miniature of it for play.  That would be very awesome.
For this I have bits I am using from the Ravenloft world, WitchCraft RPG and the Expedition to Castle Ravenloft module for 3.x.

I still have more games and more adventures.  I'd like to try some other pairing in the future.

My first new Game of 2010: BASH

Well had my regular GM and his family over the other night for New Year's Eve and I was introduced to BASH, Basic Action Super Heroes. It is a simple supers RPG that I am sure I am going to be playing more of in the near future. But what has impressed me the most are the number of conversions that the BASH fan community has already put together. I converted one of my M&M characters over to BASH fairly quickly. I have another character I am working on now that started out in BESM 3.0, re-done in M&M (as PL 5), then converted over to Marvel Super Heroes. It will be interesting to see if the BASH conversion goes over well.

The system is really simple, a good thing these days, and looks easy to learn. I also looks pretty flexible too. There are BASH Fantasy and BASH Sci-Fi games too, which I will need to check out.

Like most Supers games, well pretty much every game, I look at the magic first. So far the powers look very Champions or Mutants & Masterminds like, i.e. I choose the "Blast" power and call it "Arcane Blast". I plan to look at Fantasy BASH for more classical, ritualized spellcasting. Given my GM's preferences, I also expect we will be diving into Sci-Fi BASH at some point this year as well.
Since that seems to be the thing to do I'll post some conversions for BASH myself, after I have read it a bit more.

Other games I want to play in 2010:

• D&D 3.x (running) – I want to finish up my oldest son's campaign to defeat Tiamat. The characters in this game will the mytho-historical figures of our next, 4e game.
  
• D&D 4e (playing) – I have at least four 1^st to 2^nd level characters that I have started on various games and I want them to progress.
  
• Doctor Who (running or playing) – I am going to convert my Ghosts of Albion adventure "Obsession" over to Doctor Who. Fitting really since one of its inspirations was the 4^th Doctor's "The Talons of Weng-Chiang". I thought about doing it for Victoriana, but part of plot is somewhat contradictory in a world where everyone knows magic is real.
  
• Witch Girls Adventures (running or playing) – I have a few things I am working on for myself that look like they would be a lot of fun.
  

Otherwise here is to some good gaming in 2010!

Dirty Nellie for Victoriana

Ghosts of Albion takes place in 1839.  Rippers, Cthulhu by Gaslight, Masque of the Red Death and most other Victorian Age games typically take place in or around 1880s-1890s.  That leaves a huge swath of time that is Victorian but often covered by any game.   Except of course for Victoriana.

Victoriana is a game I want to hate but can't.  First, it is full of really cool Victorian goodness.  It is made (presently) by the cool guys over at Cubicle 7, the same guys that give Star Blazer and Doctor Who.  The second edition has been gone over by Andrew Peregrine (who also worked on Angel).  I like the "black die" mechanic they add to what could have been just another dice pool game.    There are some things in it I'd never try with Ghosts of Albion, but it all seems to work great in Victoriana.  The C7 guys describe it as "Victorian-age Shadow Run" and that is pretty dead on.  Most everyone knows about magic.  There are dwarves, gnomes, halflings, "eldren" (elves, but don't call them that), ogres, and beastmen.  So if my work on Ghosts of Albion is more "Hammer Horror" than Victoriana is more "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen", something it shares with "Rippers", though I put Rippers closer to the movie "Van Helsing" or at least what we all wanted the movie to be, not what it really was.

I have played it a few times now, and try to get in a game at Gen Con with either Andrew or one of the other guys at C7 (I think I sat in a game with Marc once), and it is always a great time.  In fact outside of running my own games, or the nightly Catan games in the hotel room, it is my only Gen Con "tradition".
But of course they are the "competition" with Ghosts of Albion, so I have to hate them. ;) (ok not really).

Dirty Nellie, Street Faerie
So one of my favorite NPCs/Guest Stars is Little Dirty Nel, the Street Faerie prostitute.  I have detailed her early years with Ghosts of Albion, and her later years with Rippers.  I should also detail what she is doing during the middle Victorian period with Victoriana.  Like before, this is not a strict conversion, it is more of

Dirty Nel in Victoriana, 1867
Nel in this reality is still a Street Faerie dollymop, but she is doing a little bit better for herself.  In the Victoriana world the existence of magic is widely known, so Nel is often able to offer her trade as herself, complete with her peppered moth wings visible.  For stats, I put Street Faerie between Eldren and Halflings.  She looks like a small Eldren woman, with of course wings.  Like Eldren, Street Faeries are prone to a mental illness or two.  I kept her addictions and faerie arrogance in place since they would work fine in this world.
Like her Rippers and Ghosts of Albion universe counter-parts, Nel is a wealth of information about the occult and criminal worlds.  She is doing a bit better for herself money wise and her reputation is growing.

Dirty Nellie
Social Class: Lower
Race: Street Faerie
Nationality: British
Age/Gender: ??/Female
Build: Slim
Hair/Eyes: Black/Piercing Blue
Vocation: Prostitute
Personality: Loner, almost cynical
Social ethics: lower-class anarchist

Characteristics
Strength: 0 Presence: 3
Dexterity: 3 Wits: 3
Fortitude: 3 Resolve: 4

Imitative: 9 Movement: 8
Health: 5 Mana: 2+4 = 6

Racial Abilities
Innate Magic (Petty Magic)*

Skills
Art 6
Athletics 5
Bull 8
Charm 10
Conceal 6
Concentration 2
Dance 2
Dodge 4
Etiquette 4
Fisticuffs 4
General Knowledge 6
Hide & Sneak 6
Improvised Weapon (melee) 4
Perception 10
Streetwise 12

Conversation 4
Pick Pockets 6
Slight of Hand 4

Enchanting 5

Talents, Privileges & Assets
Beautiful, Glib, Ear of the Street, Street Informant, Bolt-Hole, Income (Lower class, prostitution)

Complications
Bad Reputation, Bon Viant, Criminal, Lecherous, Faerie Arrogance

Spells
Befuddle, Cloak of Shadows, Glamour (like “Liken Shape” but can change to human shapes), Instant Beauty

Unisystem 2d6

Eden's Unisystem, both Classic and Cinematic use a single 1d10 roll to determine all their random probabilities. It has the advantage of being simple and easy to do. But some games, a lot of games actually, roll dice instead of a die. Good examples that are close to Unisystem in terms of scope are BESM 3.0 and the Doctor Who Adventures in Time and Space which both use a 2d6 resolution.
So the question has come up what is the effect of using a 2d6 instead of a 1d10 roll. These are being discussed over on the Eden boards, http://edenstudiosdiscussionboards.yuku.com/topic/2772 and RPG.net http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=489038

Well for starters anytime you involve more dice, the probability curve is going to change. With a 1d10 the chances of getting a roll of 1 is the same as getting a roll of 9 or 7 or 3 or any other number. It's always 1 out of 10 (10%, or p=0.1).

When you add more dice than the number of potential rolls increases as due to the potential outcomes.

A 1d10 has 10 potential rolls and 10 potential outcomes.

A 2d6 has 36 potential rolls, but only 11 potential outcomes (2 to 12). Why the difference? Well a roll of 1 on one die and a roll of 6 on the other is 7 as is a roll of 2 and 4, and 2 and 5. So. This means some numbers will occur more often. This is obvious to anyone who has ever played any RPG really (unless the only thing you have played is Amber).

This also mean some outcomes are more likely to occur (high p) and others are less likely (low p), unlike a 1d10s flat outcomes.

This relationship is much closer to the way reality is modeled. We call this the Normal Curve. Now a 2d6 is not quite Normal, but it is much closer than the 1d10. Even better is the 3d4.

A quick look at Table 1 shows the 3 die types, their outcomes, the number of outcomes, their probability (p) and cumulative probability (cum p). I have also included the basic measures of central tendencies; mean, median and mode.

At first glance on the average, the 2d6 grants 1.5 points per roll (averaged out of course), and the 3d4 up to a 7.5 mean. There is also the nagging problem of both rolls cap out at 12 (not 10) and have no 1 rolls.

There is also a higher probability of rolling greater than a 9 in each case. I included 7 as well since you almost always add an attribute + a skill in many rolls. This results in far more success than the flat system. So how do we get the curve we want with the outcomes we need?

But This One Goes to 11
Simple, we subtract from the result. For the 2d6 we minus 1 (1 to 11 outcomes) and for the 3d4 we minus 2 (1 to 10 outcomes). So the 3d4-2 gives us the same range of outcomes, the same mean and median (flat distribution have no mode), but edges the probability down for success. The 2d6-1 gives us an extra point (an 11) and the averages are only .5 higher with comparable probable successes.

NOTE: I just noticed that these graphs are off by -1. The numbers are good, but I must have chosen the wrong range when making the graphs.

Now the question remains, why do it?

This brings a slightly grittier feel to your games. Successes now are less about blind luck and more about your skill. The outcomes are shot to the middle now (like reality) with fewer dramatic failures and successes. Want it even grittier? Take off another 1 from the rolls in every case to actually have a 0 outcome.
On the Eden Boards, we started calling these alternate dice methods "The Chicago Way" due to the number of Unisystem players we have here in the Chicago area.

Though I should point out while I really like the alternate dice methods, I still only use a d10 in my con games.

But I have also been playing the new Doctor Who game with a d12.

Dracula for Doctor Who

A quick one to try out my new toy Doctor Who Adventures in Time and Space.
These stats might be a tad high since I quickly converted my Ghosts of Albion version.

Dracula


Awareness 4
Coordination 6
Ingenuity 4
Presence 7
Resolve 5
Strength 9

Skills

Athletics 6
Convince 5
Craft 1
Fighting 6
Knowledge 4
Marksman 3
Medicine 1
Science 3
Subterfuge 5
Survival 7
Technology 1
Transport 2

Traits
Alien (Great Vampire), Animal Friendship (Control), Fast Healing, Hypnosis, Keen Senses, Quick Reflexes, Psychic, Telepathy, Tough
Adversary (lots), Code of Conduct, Weakness (blood dependency, holy items (psychic block), sunlight)

The Time Lords destroyed the Great Vampires, but it is known that some escaped. One such vampire escaped to Earth and became the progenitor of all the Earthly vampires.

Several centuries later this vampire turned a Wallachian warlord named Vlad Tepes into the vampire now known as Dracula.

Sisters of Paradox

Sisters of Paradox

Note: This one is for my friend Robert Black. He was one of the ones that got me into Charmed, Hex and renewed my love for Doctor Who. He is also an unabashed Willow and Tara fan and fellow Kitten. Bob is now a successful novelist and I proudly own an autographed copy of his first book Liberty Girl. Paradox Willow was his idea originally and I am gleefully stealing her for this. Paradox Phoebe is my own, but I am sure he would have developed it too. 

Faction Paradox

The Doctor Who novels and audio plays featuring the 8th Doctor introduced a new enemy to the Doctors rogues gallery, Faction Paradox. This voodoo cult/criminal organization delights in causing temporal paradoxes, including replacing people with their alternates or who they could have been born as. A person and their alternatives are entirely different people, they can look different and act different but are not evil twins. Genetically they are siblings. For this reason, I call them Paradox Siblings.

Using Paradox Siblings in Your Game

Paradox Siblings, even if you never use Faction Paradox, can bring an interesting twist to a game. They are not evil twins or alternate-universe versions of the character. They are this universes version, different at the moment of conception. They are different yes, but not alternates (say from The Wish or Centennial Charmed). Thus the paradox.

They can be used to cause confusion, erase someone from history, or even supplant someone with nefarious means. Think of the ultimate version of The Manchurian Candidate or the situation Spock faced in Yesteryear from the Star Trek Animated Series. This is especially useful when you need a character replaced for a brief period of time (say due to the absence of a player) or removing someone when killing them outright will not serve the purpose (as with Willow and Phoebe in Semi-Charmed Life). Paradox siblings are also useful if someone needed something that only a particular genetic code or family line good provide. Cant get the hero to give up her blood and she has no living relatives? No problem, yank one out of time and you are good to go.

Ok, so you have you nice new Paradox sibling, what do you do with her? You can go one of two ways. First, everyone but the Paradox Sibling remembers things are they were (are) and can go about their business, the Paradox Sibling remembers something completely different and is the confused one. This the method used by Robert Black in his Sisters of Paradox. The other characters except for the original sibling have vague memories that are the same as the Paradox Sibling. This can be their clue as to what is going on. Directors could apply a Perception Test (maybe Perception + Willpower) to determine what is going on. Characters with Eidetic or Photographic Memory would have two complete and conflicting set of memories. Directors might have them go into some sort of psychogenic fugue state for dramatic purposes.

Another possibility (and I think the more fun one!) is to have the Paradox Sibling replace the original sibling/character and everyone thinks they are the normal one (with altered memories) and the original one is the one that is the outsider. In Semi-Charmed Life it was Tara that finally discovered the difference when Paradox Willow was revealed to be straight.

Paradox Willow and Paradox Phoebe
Canon note: Screw canon. These characters all came from my alternate 8th Season (Season 1 of Willow and Tara the Series: Season of the Witch) adventure Semi-Charmed Life which is as you can guess a Charmed-crossover.

Synopsis: DHoffryn goes to Kira the Seer to gain knowledge on how to become the next Source. Kira tells him the only way to do it is to neutralize the Charmed Ones. Adding to his complications Willow and Tara are visiting San Francisco and are looking forward to meeting the Charmed Ones (Leo and Tara know each other). Knowing he cant out right kill them, he manipulates time to remove one of the Charmed Ones and one of the anamchara witches from history. With the girls connections to their powers lost DHoffryn claims his prize.

First off, why Willow and Phoebe? Easy, both have something in common other than being witches. Both were originally played by different actresses in their respective shows pilots. Willow was originally played by Riff Regan and Phoebe by Lori Rom. For their Paradox versions I have used these actresses and removed their spellcasting ability. That was the key in breaking the characters powers. Willow and Tara are stronger together than separate unless of course Willow doesnt have magic or love for Tara. The Charmed Ones are much more powerful together, and in Something Wicca this Way Comes it is Phoebe that discovers their magical heritage. Remove those elements and we have some seriously de-powered witches. In the Charmed universe rules if Phoebe had been killed, then Paradox Phoebe could have claimed her powers (again in Centennial Charmed Paige did something similar), which would not have removed the problem only displaced it and pissed off the Charmed Ones in the process (a mistake the former Source had made, only once). So for a temporal demon like DHoffryn, removing someone from a time stream and replacing them with a Paradox Sibling is easy, wellmuch easier than killing them.

Paradox Willow

This is the Original Willow. Thats right, this is the Willow (the girl with brown curly hair) that happened first, but the world was changed to allow the other Willow (the one with straight red hair and likes girls) to exist. So in a way the Willow we all know is really Paradox Willow. But for the sake of argument lets continue calling this girl Paradox Willow.

Use Willow's stats from Season 5. Drop the magic completely, Paradox Willow has no magical ability. Increase her Art and Computers and give her the Artist Quality. Paradox Willow is a very fine hacker but an even better Jazz singer. She plays and sings in Ozs band and dated Jonathan before he was killed by Cordelia the Vampire. She looks a lot like her mother's sister Esther. Paradox Willow is played by Riff Regan.

Willow Rosenberg

Character Type: Mundane Human White Hat (with lots of experience)
Life Points: 30
Drama Points: 5

Attributes
Strength 2
Dexterity 2
Constitution 3
Intelligence 6
Perception 3
Willpower 5

Qualities
Artist (Singer and Keyboards)
Nerd

Drawbacks
Adversary (Assorted, Vampire Cordy and wicked Witch Amy in particular) (4)
Love-Tragic (Jonathan)
Minority (Jewish)

Skills
Acrobatics 3
Art 5
Computers 7
Crime 1
Doctor 2
Driving 0
Kung Fu 3
Getting Medieval 1
Gun Fu 0
Knowledge 6
Languages 4
Mr. Fix-It 4
Notice 4
Influence 2
Occultism 4
Science 6
Sports 0
Wild Card 0

Combat
Maneuver Bonus Base Damage Notes
Dodge 5 None Defensive Move
Punch 4 4
Stake 3 4

Paradox Phoebe
This is a true Paradox. Phoebe was never supposed to be born in the first place. All of Patty's doctors told her she would never have children again. In fact she was having marriage troubles with Victor (played James Read) and he was not really around enough to conceive another child (he did of course; make-up sex maybe after one of their fights). How was this change brought about? In this case the change came with not replacing Phoebe but replacing her father at the right moment. A Paradox Victor was created (played by Tony Denison) to conceive Paradox Phoebe. This Phoebe had no magic from her mother (thus paving the way for Pru, Piper and Paige to be the Charmed Ones, except Pru was killed before Paige was found).

Paradox Phoebe was then not a witch and was more dedicated to her career in New York. She is more financially secure and mature and thus consider herself to be the serious sister (a role Pru played in the normal continuity). She frequently distanced herself from her mother and sisters, preferring to live with her father. She even went as far as to use her fathers name instead of her mothers like her other sisters. Phoebe Bennett is now a successful writer for a fashion magazine. She continued the martial arts training she had in high school, but only to stay in shape.

Paradox Phoebe is played by Lori Rom and her father Paradox Victor is played by Tony Denison. (as opposed to Allysa Milano and James Read)

Phoebe Bennett

Character Type: Mundane Human
Life Points: 30
Drama Points: 5

Attributes
Strength 2
Dexterity 4
Constitution 3
Intelligence 3
Perception 3
Willpower 2

Qualities
Attractiveness +2
Resources 5

Drawbacks
Addiction (Mild) Smoking
Covetous (Mild) Greed

Skills
Acrobatics 3
Art 1
Computers 1
Crime 0
Doctor 0
Driving 2
Getting Medieval 0
Gun Fu 0
Influence 4
Knowledge 2
Kung Fu 4
Languages 0
Mr. Fix-It 0
Notice 2
Occultism 0
Science 1
Sports 0
Wild Card (Fashion) 4

Combat
Maneuver Bonus Base Damage Notes
Dodge 9 None Defensive Move
Punch 8 4

Doctor Who RPG

My friend the The Acrobatic Flea over at Hero Press is discussing the new Doctor Who RPG from Cubicle Seven.

The Doctor Who RPG: What We Know...

As a playtester I can't discuss much about this game. But I am happy to have TAF do it for me.

I will say this. It will be awesome. EVEN IF I didn't know anything about the game, I know Dave Chapman from working on Con X 2.0 and other projects. And Cubicle 7 is a bunch of great guys, so it will have good support.

I am totally geeking over the fact that it will be a boxed set.

I am just bummed I will have to wait so long to see it.