Special Character Types
A. Time Lords
Time Lords were the oligarchic rulers of the planet Gallifrey before the Time War destroyed their home world. The Time Lords are divided into various colleges, such as the Arcalians, Patrexes, and Prydonians, each headed by Cardinals. They were ruled by a High Council, which was comprised of a President, a Chancellor, the Cardinals, and various high-ranking officials.
Before the Time War, the Time Lords were linked no matter where they went in space and time through the telepathic circuitry in their TARDISes. Because of the destruction of Gallifrey, the Time Lords who survived the Time War are unaware of the existence of other Time Lords. Each believes that he or she is the last Time Lord, until a meeting with another Time Lord occurs by chance. It is quite probable that, in addition to the Doctor and the Player Character Time Lord(s) in your game, other renegades survive – possibly including Drax, K’Anpo Rinpoche/Cho-Je, the Master, the Meddling Monk, Professor Chronotis/Salyavin, the Rani, and the War Chief.
The early history of the Time Lords is shrouded in myth and misdirection. The two greatest figures from this era were Omega, the solar engineer who collapsed a star to create the Eye of Harmony – a captive black hole that powered all Time Lord technology. In the process, he was thought destroyed, but it was eventually learned that he became trapped in an antimatter universe where his willpower could manipulate reality.
Omega attempted to escape the antimatter universe at least twice. The first time, he nearly drained Gallifrey of its power, and the combined talents of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Doctors was needed to defeat him. In the second instance, he attempted to create a new body for himself in the real universe by converting that of the 5th Doctor.
Rassilon created the transduction barriers that protected Gallifrey. Essentially, these were giant transtemporal force fields that placed Gallifrey in a universe of its own. While the transduction barriers were functional, Gallifrey could ensure that no vessel could approach the planet without permission, and even with permission they could only approach within the Gallifreyan “present”. The transduction barriers essentially set up a “Gallifreyan Standard Time” that Time Lords could rely on, and prevented other species from interfering with Gallifrey’s past or future.
Interference was a serious concern – and one that the Time Lords were well aware of.
The Time Lords possessed enormous powers, able to erase whole worlds and species. They were responsible for driving the Great Vampires into hiding, for capturing the planets of the Fendahleen and the Vardans in time loops, and for nearly destroying the Racnos.
In their early history, they had sought to use their powers for entertainment – creating the Death Zone on Gallifrey. After a time, they began to act against the great threats they discovered (such as the Great Vampires and the Racnos).
It was during this time that Shada, the Time Lords’ prison planet, was created. Malcontent Time Lords and dangerous aliens were imprisoned there, and then forgotten.
Eventually, the Time Lords began to use their powers to attempt the betterment of other species. The Minyans of Minyos were one such species. They viewed the Time Lords as gods, who helped them to build an advanced species. However, the Minyans were not ready for the technology the Time Lords granted them (including an early form of regeneration), and Minyos was destroyed in an internecine war. Horrified at the results of their interference, the Time Lords withdrew from the rest of the universe, vowing only to observe from that point on.
Of course, even fairly early on there were Time Lords who were less keen on remaining observers. When caught, they were imprisoned on Shada. Many Time Lords were able to stay out of Shada, though, through the simple expedient of not drawing the attention of the High Council on Gallifrey. Thus, the Doctor was able to retain his freedom until his 2nd incarnation, when he faced a reproduction of the Death Zone on an alien planet. He was unable to return all of the kidnapped human soldiers without aid from the Time Lords. Likewise, the Meddling Monk and the Rani never faced an official censure from Gallifrey (although the Master was, at one time, imprisoned).
At his trial, the 2nd Doctor was able to convince the Time Lords that true evil still existed in the universe, and that the Time Lords still bore a responsibility to oppose that evil. The Time Lords were troubled by the Doctor’s defence. They decided to forcibly regenerate him, and to exile him to the planet Earth, during a period in which many alien invasions were to occur. They also formed the Celestial Intervention Agency. While the Time Lords would maintain their veneer of dispassionate observation, the CIA would monitor the universe for potential threats – and often used the Doctor as a tool for intervention!
One of these interventions was intended to destroy the Daleks before they could be created. The Time Lords had foreseen a time when the Daleks would wipe out all other life in the galaxy – including the Time Lords. They sent the 4th Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith to deal with the problem. The 4th Doctor, however, refused to commit genocide – choosing instead to set back the Daleks’ development.
Worse, the Daleks’ creator, Davros, captured the Doctor and forced him to reveal how and why the Daleks suffered future defeats.
From then on the Daleks had one overriding agenda – to get a Dalek agent on Gallifrey and assassinate the High Council. Although the Time Lords didn’t realize it yet, the first salvo in the Time War had been fired.
The Daleks tried various times to get an agent on Gallifrey. At first, they attempted to duplicate the Doctor and send the duplicate to Gallifrey. However, when the Doctor continued to foil their plans, the Daleks settled for the Master. They claimed that the Master had been captured and exterminated for his crimes against the Daleks (a claim which could reasonably be true). They claimed that the Master had, as his final wish, requested that the Doctor take his remains to Gallifrey. This claim might also have been reasonably true, but that the Daleks would honour it (and leave the Doctor unmolested) should have alarmed the Doctor.
The 7th Doctor claimed the “remains” of the Master (an ectoplasmic Dalek construct), but the personality of the real Master asserted itself, and the Ectoplasmic Master caused the TARDIS to crash land on Earth. The Doctor was forced to regenerate when he was taken into surgery in San Francisco, and the Ectoplasmic Master attempted to fulfil one of the real Master’s longstanding goals – stealing the Doctor’s body and remaining lives. The Master and the 8th Doctor fought over the opened access to the Eye of Harmony in the Doctor’s TARDIS – and the Master was sucked into it.
Whether or not this incident was critical to the Daleks is unknown. What is known is that the Daleks had been evolving – in terms of their physical bodies, their cybernetic casings, and their technology. The Daleks were able to destroy Gallifrey – and with it nearly all the Time Lords. The Daleks, however, survived. One Dalek fell out of the Space-Time Vortex to land on Earth. The Cult of Skaro – a Dalek think tank – escaped using a Void Ship. The Emperor of the Daleks survived as well, manipulating Earth and using human beings to create a new race of Daleks. Other Dalek forces may also have survived.
While initial reports claimed that the Time War was a stalemate – with both the Daleks and the Time Lords having been destroyed – it is clear now that the Daleks won. Even after Rose Tyler used the Space-Time Vortex energy to destroy the Emperor Dalek and the Dalek fleet, the Black Dalek of the Cult of Skaro (and perhaps others) survive to plague the universe.
Time Lords have thirteen potential lives – their original, pre-regenerative life, and twelve post-regenerative lives. The Time Lords were able to give another complete set of regenerations (twelve more lives) while Gallifrey existed. How a Time Lord could now extend his existence beyond his or her original regenerations is currently unknown.
Pre-regenerative and post-regenerative Time Lords are very different.
Pre-regenerative Time Lords can live for approximately 400 to 450 earth years. They have the following characteristics:
• +2 bonus to Endurance, Perception, and Personality. This bonus is on top of whatever adjustments were made in Step Two, allowing a potential bonus of +6.
• +4 bonus to Knowledge and Psychic Potential. This bonus is on top of whatever adjustments were made in Step Two, allowing a potential bonus of +8.
• +4 bonus to the following skills: Concentration (PRS), Knowledge (Alien Species) (KNO), Knowledge (Arcane Lore) (KNO), Knowledge (Planets) (KNO), Navigate (KNO), Repair (KNO), Sciences (Temporal Sciences) (KNO), and TARDIS Systems (KNO).
• +2 bonus to four of the following skills: Computer Use (KNO), Diplomacy (PRS), Engineering (KNO), Knowledge (History) (KNO), Knowledge (Spacecraft) (KNO), Knowledge (Technology) (KNO), Research (KNO), Sciences (Mathematics) (KNO), and Sciences (Physics) (KNO).
• +2 bonus to Willpower saving throws.
• Psychic Powers: Body Control, Telepathic Focus, and Telepathic Reception.
• Regeneration: If a Time Lord encounters conditions that would otherwise cause his death, he can attempt to regenerate. Regeneration under these circumstances requires a Willpower save (usually DC 20, but possibly higher depending upon circumstances). If the save fails, a regenerative problem has occurred (your GM will tell you what happens). You gain a +2 circumstance bonus to this save if you are within your TARDIS – this bonus rises to +4 if the time rotor is activated. A Time Lord can also regenerate when not faced with immediate death – this does not require a Willpower save.
• Temporal Sense: Time Lords can sense temporal anomalies. They are allowed to make a Perception check to notice any temporal anomaly within 100 meters.
• Minor Special Effect: A Time Lord can spend 2 Action Points to create a minor effect that seemingly defies the laws of physics. The player must describe this effect, and the GM adjudicates its effects. This ability can be used to grant a +4 circumstance bonus to the use of any skill. Alternatively, it may simply accomplish a task if the GM deems the description is sufficient.
• Deux Ex Machina: By spending all remaining Action Points, a Time Lord can cause a major effect to happen, often resolving a major problem. This effect may negate an attack or a major threat; prevent the Time Lord from having to regenerate; or something similar. The player must describe this effect, and the GM adjudicates its effects. A Time Lord must spend at least 4 Action Points to use this ability.
Post-regenerative Time Lords can live for approximately 450-500 years per post-regenerative incarnation. In addition to the qualities they had as pre-regenerative Time Lords, they gain the following characteristics:
• +1 bonus to any Attribute. This bonus is gained each time that a Time Lord regenerates.
• Binary vascular system: By spending an Action Point, a Time Lord may reroll any Fortitude saving throw. Where the first heart fails, the other may succeed.
• Bypass Respiratory System: By spending an Action Point, a Time Lord may automatically make any saving throw necessary to avoid a gas – or other respiratory – attack.
• Burst of Energy: By spending an Action Point, a Time Lord may reduce the time required to complete a task by half. A Time Lord may spend more Action Points to further reduce the time that a task takes to complete.
• Cold and Heat Damage Reduction: A Time Lord has 15 points of damage reduction against cold and heat (but not fire) effects.
Regeneration & The Round-Robin Time Lord
Unlike other characters, a Time Lord does not belong to a single player. Instead, a Time Lord belongs to the group. When a Time Lord character regenerates, the character is passed to another player, who takes over the role of that character. It is best if every player has the opportunity to play the Time Lord before a player who has already had a chance takes it over again.
When you take over the role of a Time Lord, you get to decide how the character now looks and dresses. You cannot change the Time Lord’s gender, but the character doesn’t have to look completely human (although it is probably to your benefit that the character does). You may adjust all of its Attribute scores by as much as 2 points, so long as the total bonuses for all scores stay the same. In addition, you may move as many as 20 skill points around, representing the different focuses of various incarnations. Finally, you may switch up to half the character’s Knacks (rounded up) for new ones.
During the first 12 hours of a Time Lord’s regeneration cycle, any damage taken by the Time Lord that is not actually lethal can be healed by spending 1 Action Point. This includes the complete regeneration of lost body parts.
