#AtoZChallenge2023: Doctor Who Day (and Night) of the Doctor

Another Sunday special today. In 2013 we were hit with a bunch of Doctor Who special event episodes to celebrate the upcoming 50th anniversary of the show. At this point, Doctor Who had never been more popular, and in addition to a series of stories leading up to the 50th, the Anniversary episode itself was going to be shown in select theatres. 

It was all quite exciting.

The Anniversary episodes had always featured all the Doctors. But now we 50 years in. The first three Doctor Who actors had passed, Tom Baker, the Fourth Doctor, was nearly 80 years old. Christopher Eccleston, the ninth Doctor, had already announced he was not coming back. Then we got hit with the big surprise!

The Name of the Doctor

This was the penultimate episode before the Anniversary. In this the Doctor is forced to go to his own grave in the future in the fields of Trenzalore. When a Time Lord dies the scars of all their travels in Time and Space are laid bare; there is no body. Here a former enemy (going back to the Second Doctor days) The Great Intelligence, has set a trap for the Doctor. The plan is to lure the Doctor into his own time stream and collapse it, removing the Doctor Who history.  

The Doctor is, however saved by Clara, who jumps into his time stream, where she interacts with all his past lives. Sometimes he remembers her most times he doesn't but it explains why she has popped up in his life in different times and places. He is further saved by what can only be described as a "time ghost" of River Song. 

In this episode we see all the Doctors (well as fleeting ghosts and flashbacks) but there is one here we do not recognize. Clara says she sees 11 faces, 11 Doctors, but not this one. The Doctor tells us that this ghost is him, but not "The Doctor!"

And then we had to wait six months!

Night of the Doctor

Our next adventure with the Doctor is almost as exciting. Ok, It actually., and you can watch the whole episode online.

"I'm the Doctor. But probably not the one you expected."

- The Eighth Doctor, Night of the Doctor

Paul McGann is back as the Eighth Doctor! And so are the Sisterhood of Karn and Clare Higgins (well-known to many Hellraiser fans). This also gives the Eighth Doctor his proper regeneration scene, and he regenerates into a young John Hurt who is called "The War Doctor" now.  

The Day of the Doctor

This movie-sized event brings back the 11th Doctor and Clara, the 10th Doctor and we see what the deal is with the War Doctor. I will be going into much greater detail on him and the Time War on "W" day.

We also get "Rose Tyler" back, or more to the point, "The Bad Wolf." So even Billie Piper was on board. The War Doctor is about to use The Moment to destroy all of Gallifrey and the Daleks, but he is shown his personal future with the 10th and 11th Doctors. He is sent back to Time War to commit the act that "Silences the Universe" (and turns him into the dark legend that the People of the Gamma Forests know as "The Great Warrior" which in their language is "Doctor".)

This time (or originally as the case maybe) the 10th and 11th Doctors meet him there (something they are not supposed to be to do) and all three decide to do it together.  Until 11 has an idea.

Using the stasis cubes used to create "Time Lord Art" (a moment in time frozen forever) they are going to freeze the whole planet and remove it from time and let the Daleks kill each other in the cross fire.

What happens is one of the best Anniversary moments ever.

I mean, wow! Not just all 12 Doctors, but even Nine (from a previous episode like the others) AND a sneak peek at the Twelfth Doctor played by Peter Capaldi who had only recently been announced.

We even get something special in the very end. The Doctors are all headed back to their own time streams while the Eleventh Doctor is still looking at the painting of "Gallifrey Falls" that gave him the idea when a familiar, very familiar, voice is heard.  Tom Baker walks in as "The Curator" but leaves you doubt of Who he really is.

This sets things up rather nicely for the 60th Anniversary coming up. How?

Well here is the last episode we got. Jodie Whitaker's 13th Doctor regenerates into...well let's just say "an old favorite."

Now we have to wait six months. Again!

I am not sure how the 60th Anniversary will be able to top the 50th, but right now it is off to an interesting start.

All images are used with permission from the BBC and are copyrighted 2023 by the BBC.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 4, Room 23

A secret door in room #22 leads to a hallway of cut stone and not a cave passage. It opens up to a perfectly square room. There are four statues in each corner of demonic women standing 7 ft tall. Each holds a sword. There is a fifth statue in the center of the room holding a staff.

The statues are really Caryatid Columns. 

They will only attack people if they attempt to go throw the door straight ahead. 

Whenever a character strikes a caryatid column with a weapon (magical or nonmagical), the weapon takes 3d6 points of damage. Apply the weapon’s hardness normally. Weapons that take any amount of damage in excess of their hardness gain the broken condition.

The caryatid columns do not have treasures, but their swords can be used.  Each Caryatid Column has two masterwork swords they wield. These swords require an 18 strength to use but are treated as a +2 weapon that does 1d10 hp damage.

Adapted from Pathfinder.

#AtoZChallenge2023: Doctor Who River Song

The Doctor: Oh, you're not, are you? Tell me you're not archaeologists.
Professor River Song: Got a problem with archaeologists?
The Doctor: I'm a time traveler. I point and laugh at archaeologists.
Professor River Song: [offering handshake]  Ah. Professor River Song, archaeologist. 

The Doctor and River, Silence in the Library

There can be endless debates on who was the best companion. Rose vs. Clara, Sarah Jane vs. Leela, Mel vs. Ace. Just kidding, no one liked Mel (poor Bonnie Langford!).  But there can be no doubt the companion who had the biggest impact on the Doctor and his stories was "the child of his best friends" and his wife, Professor River Song. Played by the AMAZING Alex Kingston.

We are introduced to River in the episodes she dies, Silence in the Library/Forrest of the Dead. She meets the 10th Doctor, and she seems to know him well, but they are also "squabbling like an old married couple." And then River does something. Something no other companion has ever done before or since.

She tells the Doctor his name. Not "The Doctor," his real name, the one he tells no one.

I mean, how is that for an entrance?  

We do go on to see River more and more, but her history and the Doctor's ar all messed up. They keep meeting out of order. So they keep diaries to figure out where they both are at any given time. 

River was the brainchild of writer, then showrunner (during the 11th and 12th Doctors) Steven Moffat. He based her somewhat on the book "The Time Traveler's Wife," which he would later adapt as a series on HBO.

THAT in an of itself would have made River very interesting. But it was her next big reveal that stunned everyone.  

In the episode "A Good Man Goes to War," the Doctor and Rory assemble an army to take back Rory's wife, Amy, and their baby daughter, Melody.  The Doctor calls in all his favors, and everyone shows up, except for River Song. When she finally does she tells the Doctor there was nothing she could do to stop it. Why?

She would have been erasing her own timestream is why. Because River Song is Melody Pond.

NO ONE saw that one coming. 

The Doctor and River had all their adventures, just not always in the same order (we still don't know much about Jim the Fish) but one day was going to be the last day the Doctor saw River and he tried to avoid it as much as he could.

To quote River herself,

“When you run with the Doctor, it feels like it'll never end. But however hard you try you can't run forever. Everybody knows that everybody dies and nobody knows it like the Doctor. But I do think that all the skies of all the worlds might just turn dark if he ever for one moment, accepts it. Everybody knows that everybody dies. But not every day. Not today. Some days are special. Some days are so, so blessed. Some days, nobody dies at all. Now and then, every once in a very long while, every day in a million days, when the wind stands fair, and the Doctor comes to call... everybody lives.”

I could spend the next few days talking about how awesome River Song is. While I do want her to come back I also accept that her story has been played out in full. We know she and the Doctor had a wonderful life and we all also knew there was no way the Doctor would have been able to stay with her forever. Their story is wonderful and sad in all the right places and that is good.

If anyone asks how do you kill off a beloved character and make it matter, I always point to River Song, the Doctor's Wife.

All images are used with permission from the BBC and are copyrighted 2023 by the BBC.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 4, Room 22

This rough-cut hall straight on from rooms 18 and 20 leads to a room that is half natural cave and the rest is cut and shaped walls.

This room is full of crystal balls. They show scenes from different parts of the dungeon and different worlds, but it is difficult to tell what is what.

Many are broken and dark. All are too massive to carry and will not fit into a bag of holding. The crystal balls can be destroyed, but each one requires 340 hp of blunt damage. Every hit with a weapon has a 50% chance of that weapon being broken.

There are no creatures here, but many gems are embedded in the various stands for the crystal balls. Each (20) grants Treause Type L.

Fundraiser Friday

Photo by Liza Summer

Something a little different today.

I have been rather fortunate. I have a great job. I have a wife who has a great job. We have a roof over our heads, we can put food on the table, and we are all healthy and happy.  That has not always been the case. I can remember times where I didn't have money for food, or when I did it was lean times. I was a grad student in the 90s and went 3 months without a paycheck because the State of Illinois could not make their budget. I was out of a job in the early 2000s for the longest time. I grew up without much. So when people have it rough I can empathize. 

Professional Game design is not a get-rich-quick scheme. Lots of game designers live paycheck to paycheck. So when an unexpected hardship hits, it is felt.

Here are a few game designers that could use some help and every little bit helps.

Owen's Medical Bills Bundles

Owen K.C. Stephens suffered a pulmonary embolism back in February. As you can imagine, the bills have been pretty bad. There are two bundles from publishers he has worked with in the past on DriveThruRPG that you can buy to support him.  He gets some help and you get over 180 PDFs. Even if you just find one or two in here to use it is worth the price.

• Owen's Medical Bills Bundle #1 [BUNDLE]
• Owen's Medical Bills Bundle #2 [BUNDLE]

Jonathan M. Thompson Memorial

I mentioned this on before and it should be repeated. But a good friend and publisher Jonathan M. Thompson passed away a while back and left his family with some expenses. There is a DriveThruRPG bundle and a GoFundMe in place for him.

• Jonathan M. Thompson Memorial [BUNDLE]
• Jonathan Thompson Funeral Fund [GoFundMe]

Fright Night Classics

Another good friend and publisher Richard Ravalli is having to go to court to defend his trademark. 

If you like what I'm doin', please consider helping!

Help us cover our costs https://t.co/Zpz1FZ0hoR

— Fright Night Classics (@chillcryptworld) April 21, 2023

• Fright Night Classic legal fees

Cam Banks Support Fundraiser

Another designer in need of a bit of help from a lawsuit is Cam Banks. No lawsuit is fun and no matter which side of it you are on it is a messy and expensive affair. He has a Givealittle campaign (the GoFundMe of NZ I think) set up to give him some help.

• Cam Banks Support Fundraiser [Givealittle]

So instead of giving $8 a month to a narcissistic billionaire, why not spend it on someone that will actually benefit from it all AND you can help out their lives.

Note: I am not getting any "kickback" from any of these and there are NO affiliate links here. I am asking this because these folks all need our help. RPGs is based on communities and group work. We as a group can make things better for others. And we should.

#AtoZChallenge2023: Doctor Who Role-Playing Games

You didn't think I would do this whole A to Z and not mention RPGs?

My exposure to Doctor Who was coterminous with my exposure to RPGs and Dungeons & Dragons in particular. When I would go to bookstores, my goal was always a new D&D book and a new Doctor Who novel.  So when in the mid-80s I discovered that FASA (a company I knew of from their Star TrekRPG) had also done a Doctor Who RPG. Well, I had to get it. 

Well. Actually, my brother got it first. But I spent a lot of time reading it. 

FASA Doctor Who

I enjoyed the Star Trek RPG (and still do), and this one was a new experience for me. I had tried to play Traveller back then (I finally got around to it) and played Star Frontiers, but this was Doctor Who. It was an officially licensed game, and I loved it. 

The FASA Doctor Who game took some liberties with the Doctor Who cannon. It had to. Even in the 1980s, Doctor Who was 20 years old and had stories all over the place. Some were contradictory to each other, and some others had taken place in "the future," which was now in the past. It was always entertaining to read about something that was supposedly going on then. Reading in 1985 about the Cyberman Invasion of 1986 in the past tense was fun. 

Over the years I have collected the entire FASA Who series. It hasn't been cheap but it has been fun.

Given the closeness of the rules to their own Star Trek RPG I am still half-tempted (ok, more than half) to run a Star Trek/Doctor Who crossover.  Tom Baker era Who with TOS era Trek. 

Time Lord

Time Lord was another Doctor Who RPG. This one was written by Ian Marsh and Peter Darvill-Evans and published in 1991 by Virgin Publishing. I knew of it, but never played it. I also never owned a copy.

Much like the original release of the Indiana Jones RPG there were no character creation rules, just pre-gens of the Doctor and various companions. 

The game was released in paperback book form. This was not a surprise since the publisher, Virgin, was a book publisher and not a game publisher. Virgin had made their mark in Doctor Who fandom with  Target books novelizations of the classic Doctor Who episodes and the "New Adventures" product line of new stories featuring the Seventh Doctor at first and then moving into the Eighth and other Doctors. 

In 1996 the entire game with some unpublished supplements was released online.

Doctor Who Adventures in Time and Space

The latest version of the Doctor Who RPG comes to us from Cubicle 7. If you have been a long-time reader here you know my fondness and history with this game. It is now currently in its Second Edition.

It is a fantastic game and has provided me an endless amount of fun. There has been a printing featuring in turn the 10th, 11th, War, 12th and 13th Doctors. I don't have them all since they had minor changes between each one, though I did get them on PDF.

Additionally, I have all the guides for the various Doctors. 

Honestly, I could spend forever talking about these games.

Since I typically dedicate May to Sci-Fi RPGs maybe I'll spend my May going through all of these.

All images are used with permission from the BBC and are copyrighted 2023 by the BBC.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 4, Room 21

Going to the right in Room 20 leads to a small tunnel that opens into a huge cave.  The cave is bright with eldritch light.  But that is not all that is strange about this room.

The walls are covered in thousands of eyes. All sorts of eyes. Human eyes, demon eyes, elf eyes, dragon eyes.

The eyes watch all movement in the room and follow the party as they walk through.  If any of the eyes are stabbed, then they bleed.  At some point, all the eyes will shut and the cave will go completely dark.

If the characters spend more than a turn in this room they need to make a save vs. Petrification. A failed save means the character will try to get out of the room as quickly as they can.

There is no monsters or treasure in this room.