[D20 Modern] The T.A.R.D.I.S. Campaign, aka "The Kitchen Sink Project"
- Thread starter Tom Cashel
- Start date
d4
First Post
i guess early Victorian era, 1830s-1840s.Tom Cashel said:
http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/CHING/OPIUM.HTM
basically, English merchants were making money hand-over-fist growing opium in British India and selling it in China. when the Chinese complained about all the misery and suffering opium addiction was causing their country and attempted to make it illegal, the English declared war on them. with their superior technology, they beat the Chinese and forced them to sign a humiliating peace agreement -- which among other things, legalized opium again.
a rather sordid period of English history. :\
Wulf Ratbane
Adventurer
I can't recommend Grim Tales enough for this kind of game!
Now with super-sweet ENnie nominated goodness!
Wulf
Now with super-sweet ENnie nominated goodness!
Wulf
Dougal DeKree
First Post
episodes
Well, if you want to challenge your players with Aliens or Predators, you can use the excellent and free material on the site of Michael Tresca. He also has stuff on Predator, Army of Darkness and Krull and more...
Oh, and you could use "Chaositech" by Monte Cook for Cthuluid Monstrosities and Mutations...
Well, if you want to challenge your players with Aliens or Predators, you can use the excellent and free material on the site of Michael Tresca. He also has stuff on Predator, Army of Darkness and Krull and more...
Oh, and you could use "Chaositech" by Monte Cook for Cthuluid Monstrosities and Mutations...
Last edited:
Hullo all,
I actually run a D20 whovian campaign that I call "Time Lord" (no relation to the old RPG).
I actually do not use D20 Modern howver, I use a modified version of T20 ( the Traveller D20 system ). The modifications I have in place remove classes and levels allowing an experience buy system.
The T20 system works really good for a Dr. Who type game for the following reasons:
1. stamina / lifeblood vs hit points (a flavor thing and optional at that)
2. Tech levels - rules for multiple technology levels
3. Skill based combat skills vs a progressing BAB
4. World and civilization generation forms and charts.
and much more that I cannot think of off the top of my head. The tech levels made it possible for a character to make gallifreyans with gallifreyan skills and have them working alongside humans ( or in our party even an androids)
Since you are not using Gallifreyans, it would seem that D20 Modern and the upcoming D20 future should work well for you.
The following non-d20 books I found very useful or indispensible for inspiration or conversion:
Gurps HI-Tech
Gurps Time Travel
Gurps Lensmen
Gurps Mars
Gurps Bio-Tech
Gurps Space
FASA's Doctor Who RPG & supplements
There is also this interesting looking supplement on RPGnow with hundreds of scifi weapons and equipment - some of it very pulpy that I keep meaning to pick up.... (d20 or course)
Gurps Space is a really good product. And Gurps Time Travel was real usedul in reigning in Time Travel and establishing "Laws of Time Travel" I mean you give the players a tardis, you will be amazed with the ideas they can come up with and what they can do to circumvent your plans. I was always run over by the players ideas until I read this product. It was very useful as now the players ideas are much more manageable.
As for advice, and I know you didn't ask, but having run Dr Who adventures since the 80s, I have figured out what works and what doesn't (at least for my type of storytelling). In the early years, players were obsessed with the TARDIS and what it could do. Many of the stories revolved around the TARDIS - so much that players couldn't think outside the box. For example, back in the early 90s I ran an adventure that pitted the players against the Borg from star trek. How did they defeat that devastating cube? They took the tardis into the heart of the cube, dropped a nuke off, and then left. Boom. Now back then, I was to inexperienced to not let that happen. Nowadays, the tardis is more of a really cool "get the players to the adventure" and less of the "how can we use the tardis and time to defeat our opponents" kind of thing?
Here is my current campaign for Time Lord. Players are part of a secret group called "the Watchmen". It is comprised of Gallifreyans and aliens from throughout time and space. Their goal is to protect timelines from damage from a mysterious group/force known only as "the Enemy" (if you've read any of the novels you'll know where I am going with the enemy). These groups of Watchmen travel via tardis to different places in time & space that have been damaged and try to set the timeline awright. They use a special device (shaped like a pocket watch) that helps them determine when a timeline is damaged, on the way to being repaired, or completely repaired. The intersting thing is, they never know "what" is wrong, only that somethign is wrong. They then need to immerse themselves in the situation, and figure out what is wrong, then fix it! It is a gritty campaign with more action than the series and poses moral dilemmas. For example, what if you know a world was supposed to be destroyed to make the time line "right" and you have the ability to save billions - do you? Knowing full well that if this world doesn't explode, that it will cause even further damage to history making your job tougher? Not all episodes are that heavy, but some of them really have been crazy.
Finally for some tidbits on adventures that I have run in Time Lord. Maybe it will inspire some adventures for you!
"The Colony"
Everyone has seen the movie Aliens. This adventure is set on the colony on LV426, before the events of Aliens take place. It chronicles the fall of the colony. The PCs arrive to find colonists are beginning to disappear. A series of events introduce another threat (for my game - Daleks), that is the real reason that the PCs are there. They defeat the new threat while trying to survive the Alien assault, and remove all trace of it while the colony is falling around it. They barely make it to the tardis to escape. By the time the marines arrive months later, they are only aware of the Alien threat, and the timeline is restored, the colony fell.
Now everyone who watches the movie aliens who played in that game loves it even more, because they feel a part of it. It impacts them more too. When they are reading the chart in the med lab about the first face-hugger victim being :John Marachek" Players feel it more because they knew him... they liked him.
"Dark Night of Tardis"
Unfortuantely, in escaping from the colony, one of the Aliens above attached a facehuggger to one of the gallifreyans. True to the Aliens, they are paret Alien and part host - in this case a Gallifreyan! Imagine an Alien with a Time Lords Intelligence... All of time space would be threatened. The PCs must delve deep into the Tardis and hunt down the Hybrid. In their searching, they discover a part of the tardis that had been sealed away for millenia. An area created by a mad timelord long ago, and the Hybrid has entered it and is waiting. In this zone, the Tardis is evil and mad, and now under the control of the Hybrid. They must enter the zone and defeat the hybrid and all of its puzzles and traps before it "infects" the rest of the tardis with its madness.
"the Devil from Outer Space"
June, 1941, a large merchant ship off Alaska is witness to a terrifying event - a Cthulhian entity crashlands into the ocean before them. on its heels is another alien spacecraft filled with creatures that were hunting it. The PCs need to stop the cthulhian creature from reaching the mainland and disrupting time. The aliens hutning it have the same idea, but they have diffent plans for the crew of the merchant ship.
"Time and Time again"
The Pcs need to hunt down a temporal criminal that has escaped to earth. The only problem is it cant be determined which year the criminal escaped to 1968 or 1998. The crew must check out both times simultaneously, keeping in touch with each other via a cool time space communication gizmo. It is eventually discovered that the criminal is in 1998, and the party there needs the help of the 1968 group to plant items that wil lay dormant for 30 years to help the second group win the fight.
Neat stuff. You are right. The possibilites are endless. You mix story arcs in there that cross multiple episodes and you have some super great stories.
Good Luck!
Razuur
I actually run a D20 whovian campaign that I call "Time Lord" (no relation to the old RPG).
I actually do not use D20 Modern howver, I use a modified version of T20 ( the Traveller D20 system ). The modifications I have in place remove classes and levels allowing an experience buy system.
The T20 system works really good for a Dr. Who type game for the following reasons:
1. stamina / lifeblood vs hit points (a flavor thing and optional at that)
2. Tech levels - rules for multiple technology levels
3. Skill based combat skills vs a progressing BAB
4. World and civilization generation forms and charts.
and much more that I cannot think of off the top of my head. The tech levels made it possible for a character to make gallifreyans with gallifreyan skills and have them working alongside humans ( or in our party even an androids)
Since you are not using Gallifreyans, it would seem that D20 Modern and the upcoming D20 future should work well for you.
The following non-d20 books I found very useful or indispensible for inspiration or conversion:
Gurps HI-Tech
Gurps Time Travel
Gurps Lensmen
Gurps Mars
Gurps Bio-Tech
Gurps Space
FASA's Doctor Who RPG & supplements
There is also this interesting looking supplement on RPGnow with hundreds of scifi weapons and equipment - some of it very pulpy that I keep meaning to pick up.... (d20 or course)
Gurps Space is a really good product. And Gurps Time Travel was real usedul in reigning in Time Travel and establishing "Laws of Time Travel" I mean you give the players a tardis, you will be amazed with the ideas they can come up with and what they can do to circumvent your plans. I was always run over by the players ideas until I read this product. It was very useful as now the players ideas are much more manageable.
As for advice, and I know you didn't ask, but having run Dr Who adventures since the 80s, I have figured out what works and what doesn't (at least for my type of storytelling). In the early years, players were obsessed with the TARDIS and what it could do. Many of the stories revolved around the TARDIS - so much that players couldn't think outside the box. For example, back in the early 90s I ran an adventure that pitted the players against the Borg from star trek. How did they defeat that devastating cube? They took the tardis into the heart of the cube, dropped a nuke off, and then left. Boom. Now back then, I was to inexperienced to not let that happen. Nowadays, the tardis is more of a really cool "get the players to the adventure" and less of the "how can we use the tardis and time to defeat our opponents" kind of thing?
Here is my current campaign for Time Lord. Players are part of a secret group called "the Watchmen". It is comprised of Gallifreyans and aliens from throughout time and space. Their goal is to protect timelines from damage from a mysterious group/force known only as "the Enemy" (if you've read any of the novels you'll know where I am going with the enemy). These groups of Watchmen travel via tardis to different places in time & space that have been damaged and try to set the timeline awright. They use a special device (shaped like a pocket watch) that helps them determine when a timeline is damaged, on the way to being repaired, or completely repaired. The intersting thing is, they never know "what" is wrong, only that somethign is wrong. They then need to immerse themselves in the situation, and figure out what is wrong, then fix it! It is a gritty campaign with more action than the series and poses moral dilemmas. For example, what if you know a world was supposed to be destroyed to make the time line "right" and you have the ability to save billions - do you? Knowing full well that if this world doesn't explode, that it will cause even further damage to history making your job tougher? Not all episodes are that heavy, but some of them really have been crazy.
Finally for some tidbits on adventures that I have run in Time Lord. Maybe it will inspire some adventures for you!
"The Colony"
Everyone has seen the movie Aliens. This adventure is set on the colony on LV426, before the events of Aliens take place. It chronicles the fall of the colony. The PCs arrive to find colonists are beginning to disappear. A series of events introduce another threat (for my game - Daleks), that is the real reason that the PCs are there. They defeat the new threat while trying to survive the Alien assault, and remove all trace of it while the colony is falling around it. They barely make it to the tardis to escape. By the time the marines arrive months later, they are only aware of the Alien threat, and the timeline is restored, the colony fell.
Now everyone who watches the movie aliens who played in that game loves it even more, because they feel a part of it. It impacts them more too. When they are reading the chart in the med lab about the first face-hugger victim being :John Marachek" Players feel it more because they knew him... they liked him.
"Dark Night of Tardis"
Unfortuantely, in escaping from the colony, one of the Aliens above attached a facehuggger to one of the gallifreyans. True to the Aliens, they are paret Alien and part host - in this case a Gallifreyan! Imagine an Alien with a Time Lords Intelligence... All of time space would be threatened. The PCs must delve deep into the Tardis and hunt down the Hybrid. In their searching, they discover a part of the tardis that had been sealed away for millenia. An area created by a mad timelord long ago, and the Hybrid has entered it and is waiting. In this zone, the Tardis is evil and mad, and now under the control of the Hybrid. They must enter the zone and defeat the hybrid and all of its puzzles and traps before it "infects" the rest of the tardis with its madness.
"the Devil from Outer Space"
June, 1941, a large merchant ship off Alaska is witness to a terrifying event - a Cthulhian entity crashlands into the ocean before them. on its heels is another alien spacecraft filled with creatures that were hunting it. The PCs need to stop the cthulhian creature from reaching the mainland and disrupting time. The aliens hutning it have the same idea, but they have diffent plans for the crew of the merchant ship.
"Time and Time again"
The Pcs need to hunt down a temporal criminal that has escaped to earth. The only problem is it cant be determined which year the criminal escaped to 1968 or 1998. The crew must check out both times simultaneously, keeping in touch with each other via a cool time space communication gizmo. It is eventually discovered that the criminal is in 1998, and the party there needs the help of the 1968 group to plant items that wil lay dormant for 30 years to help the second group win the fight.
Neat stuff. You are right. The possibilites are endless. You mix story arcs in there that cross multiple episodes and you have some super great stories.
Good Luck!
Razuur
Commonblade
First Post
Razuur that has got to be some of the most creative thinking I have ever heard of, consider it stolen.
Tom Cashel
First Post
Razuur, thanks for the ideas...GURPS Time Travel looks essential.
Here's how my thinking has progressed...first session (copied from my post at rpg.net):
Here's how my thinking has progressed...first session (copied from my post at rpg.net):
Wraith Form
Explorer
Skeletor is a perfectly acceptable girl's name, too. It's non-gender specific.d4 said:what if it's a girl?
Prest0
First Post
I'm gonna plug my own adventure called Bloodlines. It's a modern horror/mystery set in Texas, but with LOTS of detailed backstory spanning five generations ranging from the turn of the century (the previous one, not this one) to present day. It would be very cool for your characters to experience the modern mystery then encounter characters from earlier generations as they time-hop. And as a horror adventure, it has a distinct "mythos" feel.
Tom Cashel
First Post
Ooh, great idea!
Here's my latest version of session 1, by way of my "teaser" post for the PCs:
So, what causes the problem is the TARDIS rotating into existence...and the horrible death of its Gallifreyan crew (haven't decided how that happens yet). The session will end with the PCs inside the TARDIS as it rotates out of the present...
...and re-appears during the construction of the dam. Now I'm thinking that their research in the present day might turn up well-hidden tales of some crazy disturbance in 1933 or so (which would be them appearing).
I love time travel.
Here's my latest version of session 1, by way of my "teaser" post for the PCs:
So, what causes the problem is the TARDIS rotating into existence...and the horrible death of its Gallifreyan crew (haven't decided how that happens yet). The session will end with the PCs inside the TARDIS as it rotates out of the present...
...and re-appears during the construction of the dam. Now I'm thinking that their research in the present day might turn up well-hidden tales of some crazy disturbance in 1933 or so (which would be them appearing).
I love time travel.
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