Thursday, May 4, 2023

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 5, Room 4

 There are rooms on either side of this long strange hallway, both left and right.  Taking the first room on the right.

Room 5

There are crates here that look like they are made of metal but are lighter than wood. Inside the crate are strange devices shaped like short (5.5 inches / 12 cm) cylinders.  There are three studs on the cylinder, blue, green, and red.  Pressing one of these studs causes a mist to fire out of the end opposite of the studs.

The room is otherwise empty.  There are no other exits.

--

This is the first of many storage areas near the shuttle bay.  This one has a crate of medical supplies.

The cylinder is a subdermal medical injection tool like a hypospray. If applied properly, bottom on bare skin and button pressed. 

  • Blue will heal 1d6+4 hp of damage (like Cure Wounds).
  • Green will cure any disease (like the spell Cure Disease)
  • Red provides a stimulant. (like the Haste spell)

Only one application per hour can be used.

There are 20 of these hyposprays in this crate, and they have 1d6+3 charges remaining.

 


Wednesday, May 3, 2023

FASA Doctor Who RPG: Part 2, Review

The Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space RPG
As we talked about yesterday, the Doctor Who RPG from FASA was released in 1985/6 and consisted of three books and two d6s.  I'll cover each in turn.

Since yesterday I have discovered that while, yes, Colin Baker's 6th Doctor was not popular, that is not why his photos have been removed in the later printings, it was due to FASA not securing the rights to Colin Baker's (and the 6th Doctor's) images. 

A few more notes. The material is a bit all over the place, as was common with many game books of that time, so you need to jump from the Player's Manual to the Game Operations Manual. Not a big deal really, but feels unneeded these days.

The books are also presented in three-column format. And in case you forget, the logo for Doctor Who is at the bottom of every page.  Most of the art is either black-and-white screenshots or publicity stills from the first 25 years of the show and some art. The art varies quite a bit and a lot of it is repeated. Again, I find it hard to complain by comparing it to today's standards. Plus licenses are expensive. 

The Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space RPG

Michael P. Bledsoe & Wm John Wheeler & L. Ross Babcock III & Guy W. McLimore Jr
FASA 9001, ISBN 0931787904
1985
Out of Print

Book 1: Player's Manual

This 48-page book focuses on introducing new players to this RPG and Doctor Who, though it seems unlikely that anyone buying this doesn't know what Doctor Who is. This also covers character creation. 

Characters will be either a Time Lord from Gallifrey or a human companion. It is recommended that first time players choose a human companion. While the rules *could* adapt to other species of companions there are no real guidelines for it. But honestly human does account for at least 90% of all companions. Even "aliens" like Adric, Nyssa, and Capt. Jack. The only ones that were not human were K-9, Romana, Susan, and River.

All characters have six Attributes; Strength, Endurance, Dexterity, Charisma, Mentality, and Intuition. These would map onto the "Standard Six" pretty well. Attributes can range from 1 to 30, with human average of 6 to 10.  Additionally, these scores are grouped by Performance Levels (I to VII, "Handicapped" or "Unskilled" to "Mastery").  Skills are measured the same way.  Each skill is attached to an Attribute. A "Trivia" category even covers any skill not described. Some weapons are covered (largely thanks to Leela I think) but there is only a sampling. Weapons are deadly in Doctor Who.

Characters also gain a Special Ability (or more) to help set them apart. This can be things like the Master's ability to hypnotize.  

Other details like personality traits, appearance, and background are then worked out. 

There is a fiction section, Tabby Cats and Time Lords, that gives us a new Time Lord "Stan" short for "Alistanathcalebiviteth."  Obviously using Romana as the model here. And a new companion T.C. a cat burglar. They get involved with the Master, and Stan ends up regenerating right away.

From here we get into the details on how to make characters. 

Here we find that level (I to VII) grants bonus points (1 to 7) to skills.  Attributes all begin at 6 and players are given  36+2d6 points to divide up amongst the Attributes.  Then a 3d6 is rolled to determine what if any special abilities characters could have.  Plenty of examples are given along the way.

Even looks and personality traits can be randomly determined.

There is a section on combat, but Doctor Who is not a combat-focused show nor is it a combat-focused game. 

The Doctor Who game uses an Action Point system. Fairly routine these days, but it was fairly novel back then. This lets the players know what (and how many) actions they can take. 

This book ends with a bit on Regeneration for Time-Lord characters.

Book 1: Player's Manual

Book 2: Sourcebook for Field Agents

This 64-page book is simultaneously fascinating and irritating. The book largely works as the "Campaign Setting" for this game. First thing first, massive credit to the authors for trying to make sense of 25+ years of Doctor Who lore that is often contradictory and lacking in proper details. The book, even as a guide to Doctor Who, is fascinating. I also get irritated at some of the liberties taken with the lore. I understand WHY they had too, and why it is needed for the game. There are similar liberties that FASA takes in the Star Trek Game. Nothing here would impact my enjoyment of the RPG or the show, but some are just odd.  Example. Conflating the "Meddling Monk" with "The Master" as the same person. Something later media does not do. 

Of course, some things are nowhere near the fault of the writers, either of the show or the game. For example, we never made it to Jupiter in the early 2000s (interestingly enough, the same thing is predicted by Star Trek).

The focus of this book and indeed the "buy in" from the players and characters is the involvement of the CIA or Celestial Intervention Agency. This is a group of Time Lords that do meddle in the affairs of others and keep time flowing on it's proper course. They are largely ignored by the President and High Council of Gallifrey and are said to have been created by Rassilon himself. Since they are clandestine and "off the books," CIA field agents don't get top-notch equipment. Usually, they get what ever has been ignored in the repair bays. So these TARDISes are older and often have bits still malfunctioning. It makes it easier then for Game Masters to steer them where they want. 

I DO enjoy the game making Earth a "Temporal Nexus Point" within the game.   While this moves the spotlight away from Earth as the Doctor's favorite planet, it does help explain why the rest of the galaxy keeps picking on us. 

This book has an overview of all the creatures we have seen in Doctor Who to that point and detailed sections on some of the major creatures/aliens too. Namely the Daleks, Ice Warriors, and Cybermen. The Movellans keep getting attention here despite at that time only appearing in one serial. Since then they have only showed up as background elements in a Dalek fight. Not really on par with the Sontarans or the Silurians really if you ask me. 

Lists and descriptions of tons of equipment including the famous sonic screwdriver and the Master's Tissue compression eliminator. Honest the list feels like an expanded version of the Doctor Who Technical Manual.  There are broad timelines for both Earth and Gallifrey. Best just to avoid the whole UNIT timeline. 

The TARDIS Operations section is still surprisingly useful, even given all the things we have seen since. 

We also get some stats for all six incarnations of the Doctor along with a bio. We also get stats for 14 (or 15 if you count Romana twice) companions, with a focus on the most recent and most popular ones. Sorry Dodo and Polly.

This is the one book from this game that would still have some utility in other Doctor Who RPGs. Some minor edits would be needed to bring it in line with the modern series, but that is expected.

Book 2: Sourcebook for Field Agents

Book 3: Game Operations Manual

This 80-page book is the Game Master's book. One of the complaints I have read about this book is that a lot of the material in it is a repeat of material from the Player's Manual, but this is a feature, not a problem. 

It covers the basics of what an adventure is, what a campaign is, and how to craft adventures for your players. 

There is a good section on Judging Character Creation, which goes over the character creation options from the Game Master's point of view. While not explicitly said it lends itself very nicely to notion of a Session 0. 

The leads into judging various actions and what to do. Here the Interaction Matrix comes into play a lot. Modern games would likely have a sliding target number, but this chart is wonderfully Old-School. There are also plenty of examples of what can be done at each Attribute and Skill Performance Levels (I-VII).

There is repeated content on the various alien creatures here. I did recall that at the time I wanted these to be better edited so they took up less space more more importantly having all the information in one spot, but today I am fine with it. This way the players can keep a book nearby and the Gamemaster has their own book.

We also get a lot of detail about time travel (naturally) and TARDIS systems. This in and of itself is a great read.

Book 3: Game Operations Manual

Overall and Closing Thoughts

I do have to hand it to the authors, designers, and the folks at FASA for trying to untangle a mass of self-contradictory histories from within the show.  

The game is still very playable to be honest and has a lot going for it. I think play wise it would be far too crunchy for many modern players, especially when there is the fantastic Cubicle 7 game that is still available. But that doesn't mean you still can't use these books.

The Sourcebook for Field Agents is still a great read as a Doctor Who book, not just an RPG. And there is still good advice here for Game Masters of every sort, not just Doctor Who (whatever RPG) ones.

It is great to have this and I am looking forward to seeing what I can do with it in the future.

Still, though. Pity how the 6th Doctor was done wrong here.

The missing 6th Doctor


#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 5, Room 3

At then of this strange cave (shuttle bay) there is indentation that looks like a door, as the party approach it, it slides open with a "whoosh!"

Room 3

This opens up into a long hallway.  Like the previous room this one is bright with flickering lights. When the party leaves the previous room and all are in the hallway the door Whooshes shut behind them.

When that happens a spectral figure appears in front of them.  The figure is humanoid but appears to have snake-like features. It speaks to the party in its own hissing language.  

Attacks against the creature fail and undead turning does not appear to affect it. The language it is speaking is unlike anything the party has heard before.

There is nothing else in this long hallway.  There are doors ahead and on the left and right. 

--

The apparition is actually a holographic message. The creature is an Ophidian, or snake man, or more to point, a snake woman, but there non of the secondary sex characteristics typically associated with mammals. 

Even if the characters can speak ophidan they will not likely understand these. This is not a spaceship but a dimensional ship. These ophidians were sent to aid the ophidians of this time and place, but they miscalculated and their ship crashed.   The Ophidians of the past fought a war with the Deros and both sides lost.  The human slaves of both groups became the Grimlocks of this island.


Tuesday, May 2, 2023

FASA Doctor Who RPG: Part 1, Unboxing/Introduction

To start off my month-long exploration of the various Doctor Who RPGs, I thought I would start off with the very first Doctor Who game from FASA.  But before I get into the details, let's look at two of the three variations of this game.

The Doctor Who RPG - FASA

There are two boxes for the FASA Doctor Who RPG, featuring Tom Baker's fourth Doctor and Louise Jamison as Leela.  The first box (1985) features them in an artistic style (is that...The Guardian of Forever? More on that!) and the other a publicity shot (1986).

The game was published in 1985.  The materials in the "art box" are all dated 1985. The materials in the "photo" box are a mix of 1985 and 1986. For the purposes of this review/overview only I will refer to them as the 1985 and 1986 boxes respectively. 

Doctor Who RPG FASA 1985 vs. 1986

Doctor Who RPG FASA 1985 vs. 1986

Doctor Who RPG FASA 1985 vs. 1986

The books inside are also different looking.

Doctor Who RPG FASA 1985 vs. 1986

For the most part, the text seems the same. That is to say, I did not find any differences. The art used, in particular, the photos are different in places. Often Tom Baker's 4th Doctor replaces Colin Baker's then-current 6th Doctor. 

Doctor Who RPG FASA 1985 vs. 1986 Baker Boys

Doctor Who RPG FASA 1985 vs. 1986 Baker Boys

This is explained well by the fact that in the US in 1985/6 it was Tom Baker's Doctor on PBS and most popular at the time. 

Other differences often include the addition of an element of art here and there. 

Doctor Who RPG FASA 1985 vs. 1986

Doctor Who RPG FASA 1985 vs. 1986

Doctor Who RPG FASA 1985 vs. 1986

Doctor Who RPG FASA 1985 vs. 1986

The Doctor Who RPG is described as been close to, but not exactly the same as, the FASA Star Trek RPG.

FASA Doctor Who vs. Star Trek

FASA Doctor Who vs. Star Trek

The games have very similar rules and very similar layouts. This would lead to some confusion in the mind of your good author here, but these games are still more similar to each other than they are different.

FASA Doctor Who vs. Star Trek

The Doctor Who RPG uses 2d6 for most of its resolutions and rolls while Star Trek uses d% and d10s. Both my boxes have their original dice and I think if I tried rolling those d6s now they might shatter.

Doctor Who Dice

Thankfully I have my Doctor Who dice from the Cubicle Seven Doctor Who RPG (also 2d6 based) I can use.  Plus I have my clock-face d12 that I like to use when playing the C7 Doctor Who RPG that could work here too. It would mess up the probabilities a bit.

No discussions about the FASA Doctor Who RPG would be complete without a nod to the famous Doctor Who Technical Manual. This gem of a book was always used in every Doctor Who game I ever saw or played in. 

Doctor Who RPG and Technical Manual

I know I am not the only one that did that too. I'd later use the various Star Trek technical manuals (esp. during the early TNG days) with the Star Trek RPG.

I'll talk more about the relationship between the Doctor Who and Trek RPGs at a later date (Friday maybe).

The rules between the various printings (1985/1986) appear to be the same so when I do my review I'll just game one set. I am partial to the 1985 box, but 1986 books. 

I did say I was looking at Two of the Three. What is the third one?

The Third FASA Doctor Who game shares the same box as the 1986 edition, but the books inside have a different look to them. I do not have a copy of this one, but it appears to be a later one. Wayne's Books though has pictures showing all three printings.   The TARDIS Captain also has a copy of this other printing that he showed off during his character creation month.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 5, Room 2

 Entering the silver room, the party finds a large open area. Lights everywhere flicker on and off in multiple colors, like Faerie Fire.

Room 2

There are no creatures here.

Attacking the lights will result in an electrical discharge, resulting in 1d6 hp of damage.

--

This room is a shuttle bay, but all the shuttles were gone when the crew abandoned the ship.  Let the characters press buttons and have a bunch of lights come on and off, with lots of beeps and noises. The most dangerous things are gone. There are no weapons here, either. 

Monday, May 1, 2023

Doctor Who, Sci-fi Month, and A to Z Reflections

It's May 1st! Here at the Other Side, that means Sci-Fi Month. 

Doctor Who RPG

I didn't want my Doctor Who fun to stop, so I will extend it to May and I will cover the two major Doctor Who RPGs; the 1986 FASA Doctor Who and the two editions of the Cubicle 7 ones.

Doctor Who RPGs

I also have the complete FASA line and many of the Cubicle 7 ones. I'll see where my gaps are.

Right now, I am not considering covering the Time Lord RPG above and beyond what I have already done, but I will consider it. I also might toss in a few other time-travel RPGs if I have the time.

In any case, the reasoning is the same for May and it was for April; 2023 is the 60th Anniversary of Doctor Who.

A to Z Reflections


#AtoZChallenge 2023 Reflections

I completed another A to Z blogging challenge. I had a lot of fun with this, and I think people liked it too. I didn't visit as many other blogs as I wanted, way less than I usually do, so I am going to make an effort to go back and visit them all again.  There were a lot of great blogs this year and it seems a shame not to go back. In fact a few will even go on to my new follows list.

Thank you everyone that came by and posted comments.

Follow Timothy's board "April 2023 A to Z of Doctor Who" on Pinterest.

I already have next year's planned (I knew what it was going to be last year) so I might get started on them now so I can spend next April visiting other blogs. Not a bad plan, really.

#AtoZChallenge 2023 Winner



A to Z of Doctor Who

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

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 5, Room 1

The bottom of the stairs opens up to a gigantic cavern. But that is not the most significant item of interest here.

Level 5, Room 1

There appears to be a large metallic cylindrical (as far as can be seen of it) structure here. It is buried into the walls of this cavern.  The structure is at least 100 ft long and 30 ft tall, though all dimensions of it are buried.

There is a square opening nearby.

--

Notes about this level. There is ambient lighting throughout. This is due to the lighting of the spaceship.

This level is all about an abandoned, crashed spaceship.  It was here before the Citadel of Conjurers, and they tried digging down to it. When the Vampire Queen took over these catacombs. She tried to plumb its secrets, but many still remain.

Describe this level to the players, but try to avoid calling it a spaceship or anything futuristic (it's actually very old and really a dimensional ship) and describe it all as if it is magic.  Use the meaning of Arthur C. Clarke's quote, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."  Everything should be described in terms of magic.