Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Limited Edition Rulebook
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bjmorga
First Post
5 out of 5 rating for Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Limited Edition Rulebook
Doctor Who: Adventures in Space and Time is a great game system for Doctor Who fans and non-fans alike. The Doctor Who RGP has been described by some as being more rules-lite than other games. I don't necessarily agree with that assessment. It does require you to focus on roleplaying rather than the "hack and slash" style of playing many games devolve into during the first dungeon. The Vortex system is based on a very simple rule: players roll 2d6 and add their attribute and skill they are using to accomplish the task. The player then compares the result with the difficulty the GM has established. The joy of this game comes from roleplaying out the various situations encountered as one plays. Even when succeeding or failing at a task could bring advantage of disadvantage. Like the actual Doctor Who, seldom are things as clear cut as winning or losing.
While people unfamiliar with Doctor Who may have a slight disadvantage when it comes to the established feel of the universe, there's no reason why they can't enjoy gaming with this system. It's unique initiative system gives the game an authentic Doctor Who feel that could also be appreciated by non-Whovians. The game emphasizes on finding solutions solutions to problems without fighting. Resorting to the the usual "break stuff and gain treasure" method of playing RPGs won't work for this game. Combat is lethal and unforgiving. Like any Doctor Who episode, book, or audio play, it rewards the players for finding novel solutions to the tasks presented to them in-game.
The initiative system is brilliant. Talkers go first, Runners second, Doers third, and then finally Fighters. Players get one action during a round, but they can do more wit a -2 penalty to each roll after the first. While non-Whovins may be leery of trying this game out, one does not have to play as the Doctor or his (maybe someday "her") companions. Players can create their own time lord or version of the Doctor. Players can also decide to create their own adventures without the Doctor. The book provides a multitude of pre-gens for players to use if they want to jump right into action with one of the established Doctors or companions, though most come from the new era of Doctor Who.
Overall, the layout is beautiful with many photographs from the various eras of Doctor Who, though the 9th-11th Doctors eras get the most visual love.
This book is a great place to start for a truly unique game.
Doctor Who: Adventures in Space and Time is a great game system for Doctor Who fans and non-fans alike. The Doctor Who RGP has been described by some as being more rules-lite than other games. I don't necessarily agree with that assessment. It does require you to focus on roleplaying rather than the "hack and slash" style of playing many games devolve into during the first dungeon. The Vortex system is based on a very simple rule: players roll 2d6 and add their attribute and skill they are using to accomplish the task. The player then compares the result with the difficulty the GM has established. The joy of this game comes from roleplaying out the various situations encountered as one plays. Even when succeeding or failing at a task could bring advantage of disadvantage. Like the actual Doctor Who, seldom are things as clear cut as winning or losing.
While people unfamiliar with Doctor Who may have a slight disadvantage when it comes to the established feel of the universe, there's no reason why they can't enjoy gaming with this system. It's unique initiative system gives the game an authentic Doctor Who feel that could also be appreciated by non-Whovians. The game emphasizes on finding solutions solutions to problems without fighting. Resorting to the the usual "break stuff and gain treasure" method of playing RPGs won't work for this game. Combat is lethal and unforgiving. Like any Doctor Who episode, book, or audio play, it rewards the players for finding novel solutions to the tasks presented to them in-game.
The initiative system is brilliant. Talkers go first, Runners second, Doers third, and then finally Fighters. Players get one action during a round, but they can do more wit a -2 penalty to each roll after the first. While non-Whovins may be leery of trying this game out, one does not have to play as the Doctor or his (maybe someday "her") companions. Players can create their own time lord or version of the Doctor. Players can also decide to create their own adventures without the Doctor. The book provides a multitude of pre-gens for players to use if they want to jump right into action with one of the established Doctors or companions, though most come from the new era of Doctor Who.
Overall, the layout is beautiful with many photographs from the various eras of Doctor Who, though the 9th-11th Doctors eras get the most visual love.
This book is a great place to start for a truly unique game.
Last edited:
overgeeked
B/X Known World
3 out of 5 rating for Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Limited Edition Rulebook
Let me start by saying that yes, the system itself is interesting and fun. There are several elements that scream Doctor Who in the design of the game, namely the initiative system and the lethality of combat.
However, as a Doctor Who game this basically fails in one fundamental way. You can't actually play out adventures similar to those seen on-screen. That's not due to a lack of episode write ups with gaming in mind, quite the contrary, the series of Doctor specific sourcebooks do an amazing job of this. Each story is written up with details and notes specifically with the gaming table in mind. No, the reason this game fails as a Doctor Who game is because you can't really play as the Doctor with a group of companions, nor can you play out a multi-Doctor story with anything approaching fun for the players who are not lucky enough to get to play the most recent incarnation of everyone's favorite Time Lord.
The game uses a point-buy system that specifically gives mechanical weight to the experience of the character. So with each passing incarnation the Doctor becomes increasingly powerful, to the point where even the Fifth Doctor could use the First Doctor as more of a companion than anything approaching an equal. This makes multi-Doctor stories practically impossible despite being something of a regular occurrence in the show. This is even more acutely felt with the later Doctors and their companions as there's basically nothing the companions can mechanically contribute to a session.
So, while the game system is functional, it fails to allow players and GMs to replicate the kinds of stories seen in the Doctor Who TV series the game is based on.
Let me start by saying that yes, the system itself is interesting and fun. There are several elements that scream Doctor Who in the design of the game, namely the initiative system and the lethality of combat.
However, as a Doctor Who game this basically fails in one fundamental way. You can't actually play out adventures similar to those seen on-screen. That's not due to a lack of episode write ups with gaming in mind, quite the contrary, the series of Doctor specific sourcebooks do an amazing job of this. Each story is written up with details and notes specifically with the gaming table in mind. No, the reason this game fails as a Doctor Who game is because you can't really play as the Doctor with a group of companions, nor can you play out a multi-Doctor story with anything approaching fun for the players who are not lucky enough to get to play the most recent incarnation of everyone's favorite Time Lord.
The game uses a point-buy system that specifically gives mechanical weight to the experience of the character. So with each passing incarnation the Doctor becomes increasingly powerful, to the point where even the Fifth Doctor could use the First Doctor as more of a companion than anything approaching an equal. This makes multi-Doctor stories practically impossible despite being something of a regular occurrence in the show. This is even more acutely felt with the later Doctors and their companions as there's basically nothing the companions can mechanically contribute to a session.
So, while the game system is functional, it fails to allow players and GMs to replicate the kinds of stories seen in the Doctor Who TV series the game is based on.
Last edited:
TrippyHippy
Hero
5 out of 5 rating for Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Limited Edition Rulebook
Notable for being the first RPG product licensed from the BBC where they accepted a game could be presented as a book (not a box set)! This has a very easy on the eye layout, is smooth to read and has gameplay built upon some tidy and accessible d6 based mechanics. Of particular interest is the initiative system which prioritises thinking and communication actions over violence - which certainly suits the theme of the show.
I disagree with the notion that you can’t play a ‘Doctor and Companions’ narrative as mooted by some reviewers (above!) as this is pretty much the default game presented in the books. Disparity in power levels is countered by the Story Points currency, which operate in a similar way to Fate Points or Bennies in other games. The more powerful a character is, the less Story Points they get which means that less powerful characters have greater levels of luck and influence on the story itself. That said, my personal preference is for the Doctor to be represented as an NPC anyway - which keeps a degree of mystery about him in tact. Moreover, I have run some quite successful games based upon Call of Cthulhu and Unknown Armies scenarios before, which are easier done when all the characters are ’normal’. Other models provided are having characters all being part of the secret UNIT forces, essentially as agents or indeed having all the characters playing as TimeLords.
The game is well supported by supplements based upon different incarnations of the Doctor, stretching back through 50 years of TV history. The major problem for those wanting to keep up with the show is that you’ll probably end up buying more books as the future (re)generations continue on..
Notable for being the first RPG product licensed from the BBC where they accepted a game could be presented as a book (not a box set)! This has a very easy on the eye layout, is smooth to read and has gameplay built upon some tidy and accessible d6 based mechanics. Of particular interest is the initiative system which prioritises thinking and communication actions over violence - which certainly suits the theme of the show.
I disagree with the notion that you can’t play a ‘Doctor and Companions’ narrative as mooted by some reviewers (above!) as this is pretty much the default game presented in the books. Disparity in power levels is countered by the Story Points currency, which operate in a similar way to Fate Points or Bennies in other games. The more powerful a character is, the less Story Points they get which means that less powerful characters have greater levels of luck and influence on the story itself. That said, my personal preference is for the Doctor to be represented as an NPC anyway - which keeps a degree of mystery about him in tact. Moreover, I have run some quite successful games based upon Call of Cthulhu and Unknown Armies scenarios before, which are easier done when all the characters are ’normal’. Other models provided are having characters all being part of the secret UNIT forces, essentially as agents or indeed having all the characters playing as TimeLords.
The game is well supported by supplements based upon different incarnations of the Doctor, stretching back through 50 years of TV history. The major problem for those wanting to keep up with the show is that you’ll probably end up buying more books as the future (re)generations continue on..
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