Introduction What is GURPS TARDIS Adventures? Inspired by the hit BBC TV show, Doctor Who, this supplement is a book for playing in the universe of Doctor Who. For those of you not familiar with role playing, it's like acting out Doctor Who stories that YOU make up. There's rules for keeping it all realistic (I shoot Jimmy with my blaster - no you don't! I shoot him first!) but other than that, your imagination is the limit on what can happen! I've chosen GURPS as the rules system because it is popular and generic. Not to mention the fact that I think it's pretty cool! Seriously, check out Basic. Any rules not specified in Basic have been included in this supplement. GURPS TARDIS Advnetures is purposefully more generic than a Doctor Who role playing game, to allow for a wider variety of play. You can play the Doctor and his companions, or a whole new Doctor and companions of your own making, or anything else you can think of! About the compiler/editor Doctor Who, the longest-running science fiction show ever (30+ years), has always been my favorite show. I am an American who got hooked on Doctor Who during the Tom Baker era. This supplement is a labor of love. I've wandered across the internet and put togeather this net supplement from a wide variety of sources, credited earlier. This was written while I was getting my degree in Computer Science at the University of Minnesota Duluth. What you need for this supplement You need GURPS Basic. Useful supplements would be GURPS Time Travel, GURPS Space, GURPS High-Tech and GURPS Ultra-Tech. It should be noted that I actually did not have GURPS Time Travel when I wrote this supplement. Couldn't find it in time. --------------------------------------- Campaigns Introduction This part deals with creating new Doctor Who campaigns. There is a section on creating new advnetures without the Doctor and his TARDIS specifically and a section that can be used as a jump board for new adventures that are set in the general Doctor Who universe. Defining your campaign is a very essential step for the GM to make before playing a TARDIS adventure. You need to decide what kind of characters will be allowed, the scope of play, and what rules you'll be using. The Doctor and Companions Campaign Pick a Doctor and pick the companions. ³Redo² the series, fill in some gaps, or forge new adventures with the latest Doctor (number 8 at this time). This is the most series-accurate RP and probably the most difficult to pull off due to the problems that arise in the fact that the character of the Doctor is so much more powerful than the companions. Depending on how many points youıre going to give your PCs, you can either have the same points for Time Lords and Companions, or different points. For more ideas on how to handle this, see the discussion below, Time Lords vs. Companions. Essentials of Doctor Who stories See also the Doctor's description in the appendix. All Doctor Who stories contain two common elements: the Doctor, and his TARDIS. The Doctor is a Time Lord. He is not a typical Time Lord: he has a strong moral sense (which, although he has great respect for the sanctity of life, is not the same as a human's moral sense); he likes to get involved; he has a special affection for the short-lived, wayward, plucky and occasionally brilliant humans who will evolve far in the future of his own race. He is a meddler. The Doctor is a very erratic hero. He can be betrayed by his own self-confidence, impatience and intolerance. He isn't invulnerable, either physically or emotionally; he can be hurt, and it is often his companions that are his Achilles' heel. He's sometimes too clever for his own good. When he eventually defeats the baddie, it often seems that the victory is more a result of his companions' actions, or serendipity, or a hastily improvised technological solution. But sometimes you just can't help feeling that the Doctor knew what he was doing all along. The TARDIS A TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space) is a craft which travels in time and space. Its most distinguishing feature is that it is bigger on the inside than on the outside (or 'dimensionally transcendental'). This is because a TARDIS is a mathematically modelled universe. It is a semi-sentient artificial intelligence of staggering power. It is incredibly big, with thousands of rooms and corridors. The blue police box that materialises when the Doctor's TARDIS 'lands' is merely the interface, or portal, between the pocket universe that is the TARDIS and the main universe. A TARDIS draws its energy from the Eye of Harmony, a black hole contained within force fields on Gallifrey. A TARDIS is not, however, an omnipotent computer; it's a quirky device anyway, and most of its power is expended on maintaining its internal configuration and detecting and analysing the patterns of probability in the chaos of the future. The new movie reveals that there is an interface or link from every TARDIS to the Eye of Harmony. For some reason, it seems that only a human eye can open it. Maybe you just need to be pure of heart. :) Each time-travelling Time Lord has a genetically implanted brain pattern that can create a symbiotic link between him and his TARDIS. This is known as the Rassilon Imprimature. It allows the Time Lord insights - of variable reliability - into the future patterns the TARDIS can detect, and it gives him some sensitivity - usually maddeningly vague - to things going awry in the TARDIS. On numerous occasions the Doctor has attempted to repair his ship, with humorous and disastrous results. There is evidently some sort of telepathic link between the Doctor and his ship; they share a symbiotic relationship, and, as in the New Adventures, when the TARDIS malfunctions, so does the Doctor. The TARDIS is perhaps the second-most important character in the series; it is our "passport to adventure", and, in many ways, is the Doctor himself. The "Spoof Cinematic" campaign I am ashamed that I actually kept this seciton. This was written just before the first 8th Doctor Who movie came out on FOX. People have moaned at the possible "Americanizing" of the movie, and the idea that "What's Dr. Who without the cheezy special effects?" Indeed. The Spoof Cinematic campaign consists of pratically cartoonish characters. Everything and everybody is made fun of - for everyone's spoof enjoyement. The Bad guys are always stupid and are always trying to destroy/control the universe, and the Doctor always comes up with a horribly obvious trap that the bad guys always fall for. The normals on the Doctor's "side" never listen to him, no matter how stupid their ideas are, and every female companion (but Leela) screams at the drop of a hat. There are many variations on this campaign, and is a ripe ground for silly crossovers (see the Romana & Dave series) and more slapstick than you can shake a slapstick at. And, of course, cheezy special effects galore. On the other hand, you may just need cheezy dialoge. The new movie, in the author's opinion, made up for the loss of the cheeze effects with dialogue. "This won't hurt.. much." "Stop! He's... British!" (to the Master: "We're partners, right?" the sarcastic Master: "Hm? Yes... 'partners'...") Generic campaigns The essential elements of the Doctorıs character, taking out specifics, would be an enigmatic, intelligent, alien, and eccentric hero. Companions would be the audience, in a limited fasion. The TARDIS can be thought of as an alien fortress, a labyrinthine fantastic which is a vehicle of adventure and a repository of technology. Overall, mystery is the star of TARDIS adventures. Enigmas, conondrums, and things that arenıt what they seem - all variations on the mystery behind the Doctor, the TARDIS, and his adventures through time and space. However, the Doctor is also ³human², he warps into an adventure and has to figure everything out with the rest of us. Some adventures center around the Doctor or the TARDIS, but many of them are not related to either. The essential elements of Dr. Who role playing are an enigmatic hero, some companions heıs picked up, and a powerful machine that travels through space and time. Here are some variations on that theme: Elements of a campaign You may even want to pick and choose among these three elemets, like an exiled Time Lord without a TARDIS, or companions and a TARDIS but no Time Lord. TARDIS Time Lord Companion Variations on the Elements of a campaign 1. Possible ³TARDISes² See Vehcile Archive SIDRAT (See the Dark Scrolls of Rassilon) Alien time machine An accidental fusion of a TARDIS and some college dorms Your crazy uncle's broken down motor home Time Corridor technology-based vehicle. Beware of copying Sliders or Quantum Leap. A strange puzzle box that you found, solved, and got sucked into The haunted house down the block Castle Perilous (a huge fortress in another dimension that is chock full of shifting dimensional doors) Something you inherited in a dying Time Lord's will. A TARDIS that's been partially destroyed in a terrible disaster. A TARDIS you accidentally steal from a rather irate (and criminal) Time Lord A Non Player Character that can *Make a copy of itself to go with the adventurers *Make a projection of itself to go with *Has a remote computer linkup, or *Gives a character a telepathic linkup. 2. Possible "Time Lords" New Time Lord (Renegade, restless, or misplaced) Alien race that developed time travel differently than Time Lords Telepathic/living Tardis Telepathic or lucky Mechanic A "companion" with a telepathic link with the Tardis 3. Possible "companions" The Doctor's companions The Doctor's or his companions' offspring/friends Any human from any human point in history Any alien from the series (A nice one?) Any alien you can think up A robot