Doctor Who in the 3I!

[Astromancer]

How would you blend the The Doctor into a Traveller game? You don't have to blend in the whole Doctor Who Mythos (although Daleks and Cybermen make nasty threats and the Silence are a truely great, if tricky to roleplay, monster), just the Time traveller and choosen tropes from his mythos.

Given Phil Masters statement that the Doctor must be seen as Nylarthotep by the Daleks, you don't have to have the Doctor show-up as a friend. Even if you have a totally good/virtuous Doctor and Companions set, they may have goals your characters would hate/loathe. Example: what if the Doctor sees the drestruction of the Imperium and it's replacement with a democratic federation as vital to the survival of sophant life in the Milky Way Galaxy? From a conventional 21st century point of view, that looks virtueous and all to the good. However many subjects of the 3I would rather die than see the Imperium fade away and die.

The Doctor is unfailingly insightful and on the right-side, once he understands events, in the TV show. But why should he always see history correctly? Certainly many people living on worlds whose history his actions might transform might object violently to the Doctor's actions.

But then the immortal shape-changing Doctor, always accompanied by long dead girls, is more than slightly sinister.

On the other hand, the Doctor is a great excuse for a silly adventure and a quick trip to a different time period for the PCs. This would allow one campaign to use any of the settings for Traveller.

Well, how would you use the Doctor?

[Malenfant]

Put "Grandfather" in the role of The Master and there you have it. The Time War wasn't between the Timelords and the Daleks, it was between the Timelords and the Ancients. Both the Doctor and Grandfather are the sole survivors from that, and Grandfather decided to sinisterly try to control everything behind the scenes while the Doctor thwarts his evil plans.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by Malenfant

Put "Grandfather" in the role of The Master and there you have it. The Time War wasn't between the Timelords and the Daleks, it was between the Timelords and the Ancients. Both the Doctor and Grandfather are the sole survivors from that, and Grandfather decided to sinisterly try to control everything behind the scenes while the Doctor thwarts his evil plans.

I like it. The war of the Grandfathers.

[cptbutton]

I picture the Doctor as opposing local injustices that are supposedly necessary for larger reasons.

Like how this happy and prosperous pocket empire must be crushed by the Imperial juggernaut because its existence would indirectly help the dread Zhodani conspiracy.

Or the primitive rebels who just want to live on their home planet in peace, who don't understand that a naval base at this chokepoint is essential to prevent the entire subsector from collapsing into anarchy.

You know who will really hate the Doctor? The Hivers. Centuries of scheming and quadrillions of credits spent on a manipulation and just as the final triumph is at hand some jackass with a long scarf ruins everything.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by cptbutton

I picture the Doctor as opposing local injustices that are supposedly necessary for larger reasons.

Like how this happy and prosperous pocket empire must be crushed by the Imperial juggernaut because its existence would indirectly help the dread Zhodani conspiracy.

Or the primitive rebels who just want to live on their home planet in peace, who don't understand that a naval base at this chokepoint is essential to prevent the entire subsector from collapsing into anarchy.

They need to do an episode like that some day.

You know who will really hate the Doctor? The Hivers. Centuries of scheming and quadrillions of credits spent on a manipulation and just as the final triumph is at hand some jackass with a long scarf ruins everything.

Fun image!

[Flyndaran]

The modern Doctor Who doesn't do morally complex stories. People are usually short sighted caricatures and must always be obviously wrong to the viewers when compared to the forward thinking brilliant (tm) Doctor.

I remember the 4th's moral torture when deciding whether to destroy the dalek nursery and gestating population. He knew they were irredeemably evil, yet killing "innocent" babies is too. No matter what he decided, he would be scarred by it. As any moral person would be.

[jeff37923]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Well, how would you use the Doctor?

Honestly, I wouldn't. If you use the Doctor as he is depicted in the BBC shows, it would be like dropping the Son of God into your game, it would be a campaign changing event with the ultimate GMPC as its focus (not the PCs). I'd rather keep the game focus on my Players and not the NPCs.

You could create the TARDIS and toys using GURPS or Mongoose Traveller (the Psion supplement was written with rules for that included).

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by jeff37923

Honestly, I wouldn't. If you use the Doctor as he is depicted in the BBC shows, it would be like dropping the Son of God into your game, it would be a campaign changing event with the ultimate GMPC as its focus (not the PCs). I'd rather keep the game focus on my Players and not the NPCs.

The Doctor has changed over time. The First Doctor was fairly weak in many ways, but he had abilities most of the later Doctors lacked. In GURPS terms he could sometimes use Hyperstrength, his ring with the Blue Key could act like a switchable Gizmo, and he had telepathy with lots of unreliable. But the Doctor as Demi-God is very post 2005. Yes the 7th Doctor could take on the 3I fairly well, but most of the others aren't that awesome.

You could create the TARDIS and toys using GURPS or Mongoose Traveller (the Psion supplement was written with rules for that included).

Good to know.