D&D 5E Doctors & Daleks - Cubicle 7 Brings Doctor Who to D&D 5E

Cubicle 7 -- makers of the official Doctor Who roleplaying game -- has announced that the Doctor will officially be coming to 5E soon under the name Doctors and Daleks. There are no dates or details yet, over than that the Doctors and Daleks Player's Guide will launch 'soon'.

A NEW COMPANION FOR YOUR ADVENTURES THROUGH ALL OF SPACE AND TIME!

The wild adventures of everyone’s favourite Time Lord comes to the world’s most popular roleplaying game in Doctors and Daleks. Take your gaming group into the TARDIS and travel anywhere, anywhen. Want to meet Leornado da Vinci? Or see what life is like in the year 3,000? What about another planet entirely? All of space and time is your Venusian macro-oyster, but keep your wits about you — there’s a lot of danger in the vastness of eternity.

We are delighted to announce that we are working on Doctors and Daleks – a new line of products that brings Doctor Who adventures to your table using 5th Edition rules! The first release – The Doctors and Daleks Player’s Guide will launch soon.

The wild adventures of everyone’s favourite Time Lord comes to the world’s most popular roleplaying game in Doctors and Daleks. Take your gaming group into the TARDIS and travel anywhere, anywhen.

We’ll also continue to support the new Second Edition of our award winning Doctor Who: The Roleplaying Game, with a host of new products on the way soon!

 

[Dire Bare]

Worst case we get a game that is actually a Torchwood RPG sold under a Doctor Who name.

I would love a Torchwood RPG! I enjoyed that way more than the show's parent, Dr. Who!

 

[nyvinter]

I agree, but . . . what rules system would not be silly with Doctor Who?

The rules they're using for Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space? It can do the goofy stuff but also remarkably poignant. It also have the best initiative system ever. (Talkers go first, then runners, then doers, and last people who still want to fight.)

 

[Dire Bare]

The rules they're using for Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space? It can do the goofy stuff but also remarkably poignant. It also have the best initiative system ever. (Talkers go first, then runners, then doers, and last people who still want to fight.)

Heh, sorry, what I meant was . . . it's a very silly show, so any game based on the property is going to be somewhat silly. I did not communicate that well. And no slight to the show or its fans, I don't mean silly as in bad.

I imagine the current rules work just fine, a 5E version isn't needed. But I also think 5E, with some tweaks, can handle the franchise just fine. There's room for both games.

 

[nyvinter]

I love the Doctor Who RPG, it's great and can handle everything from the show.

DnD 5e is good for Dungeons & Dragons and not anything else IMO. Sure, one could throw out everything and just keep the roll a d20, but is it really 5e at that time?

 

[overgeeked]

Considering that the "90% combat" aspect of 5e (which isn't really accurate, anyway) is largely due to the number of class features and spells dedicated to combat, not the rest of the system, I don't see why they'd have any problems.

It's accurate in regards to the mechanics and system of 5E. Clearly not accurate in how most people actually play the game.

I imagine the current rules work just fine, a 5E version isn't needed. But I also think 5E, with some tweaks, can handle the franchise just fine. There's room for both games.

There's no need for both, C7 just needs to make more money off the franchise, so here we are.

I love the Doctor Who RPG, it's great and can handle everything from the show.

It really does a great job. Simple, elegant mechanics. The initiative system is pitch perfect. The narrative elements are great.

DnD 5e is good for Dungeons & Dragons and not anything else IMO.

Same. Though it's only good for certain kinds of D&D games. Others it's absolutely terrible.

Sure, one could throw out everything and just keep the roll a d20, but is it really 5e at that time?

Right. Which is where my concern comes from. For it to be any more 5E than any old d20 game, it needs to have mechanical similarities. But literally nothing about 5E works for something like Doctor Who besides maybe skill proficiencies and checks. Maybe stats and saves. Level? Nope. Hit points? No. Classes? Not really. In a class & level game, how are you going to have the Doctor and a companion in a group together? That's literally a 20th-level artificer/bard pulling along a 0-level NPC. Ugh.

 

[JohnF]

Although part of me is hoping they are working on Victoriana 5E first as I'm just dying to see what they add so I can jack it and add it to my regular 5E games.

Same here! Although...

I want to play in the Dr Who universe but not necessarily with any Dr Who’s. Or sometimes without any time travel. There is so much there that I want to explore.

I'm totally thinking the same thing, now, as well!

The existing Dr. Who game is fun, but I wouldn't mind a more combat-y 5e adaptation with wildly diverse PC race options like Draconians, Galactic Federation Ice Warriors, Menoptera, Judoon, Catkind, etc, facing off against a hefty bestiary of all sorts of DW baddies. Give me Drahvins, Haemovores, Macra, Tetraps, Krotons, Great Vampires, Rutan, Sea Devils, Vervoids, Silents, Pting, and Kroll! All the craziest ones, not just the A-list villains! (But absolutely no Adipose, please.) I'm sure few would want the same, and I doubt I'll get anything like that, but I can dream...

Oh, and I want the book to be fully illustrated - no tv stills. (I definitely won't get that!)

 

[doctorbadwolf]

It's accurate in regards to the mechanics and system of 5E. Clearly not accurate in how most people actually play the game.

I disagree, but it's not worth derailing a thread over.

That's literally a 20th-level artificer/bard pulling along a 0-level NPC. Ugh.

I haven't played their existing Who game. Does it allow one person to be the Doctor and others his companions?

 

[nyvinter]

I haven't played their existing Who game. Does it allow one person to be the Doctor and others his companions?

Yes. You can also play no timelords, or all timelords, or specific doctor and specific companions as well as new timelord and companions (humans or aliens).

 

[overgeeked]

not worth derailing a thread over.

I’ll agree to that.

I haven't played their existing Who game. Does it allow one person to be the Doctor and others his companions?

Yep. But it’s a lighter system with a more narrative focus so you don’t feel the “power level” disparity as much.

Yes. You can also play no timelords, or all timelords, or specific doctor and specific companions as well as new timelord and companions (humans or aliens).

It really is a great system. Shame almost no one wants to play it. Here’s to hoping they do a brilliant 5E adaptation. Not holding my breath though. Not over C7’s design skills, clearly they have the chops. But I can’t think of a system less suited to Doctor Who than D&D.

 

[Bayushi_seikuro]

To be fair, most creators want a dip in that bucket.

I don't think cynicism has anything to do with it. D&D is the industry standard: it's not the only game in town, it's not the best game in town, but it's the game that's been in town the longest and it's the game that everyone in town is familiar with. It's the lowest-risk avenue to the largest customer base. That's not cynicism, that's sensibility.

(Side note, I'd probably play an RPG called "Cynicism & Sensibility.")

I think this makes sense. It's got an attachment where to the general populace, D&D in synonymous with tabletop rpgs. "Wanna play D&D?" "Sure" "We actually play Vampire..."

Living in the Southeastern US, it's the same with Coca Cola here. Everything is a Coke. I worked at a grocery once I moved here, guy comes in and asks 'what Cokes are on sale' 'Pepsi' 'Cool'