Time Lord (role-playing game)
Encyclopedia
Time Lord — Adventures through Time and Space is a Doctor Who
role-playing game
, written by Ian Marsh
and Peter Darvill-Evans
and published in 1991 by Virgin Publishing. This game is totally unrelated to the previously released Doctor Who RPG by FASA, having different and simpler mechanics that often seemed arbitrary. For example, the companion Polly is a secretary yet according to her statistics, she can hardly read or write.
Oddly, the system lacked any method for creating original player characters: it was suggested that the referee give the players a particular Doctor and his associated companions, or a group of Doctors. A later on-line supplement, Timelord: Journeys, written by Nathaniel Torson, provided a system for creating original player characters. A variety of basic templates were provided ("The Soldier," "The Specialist," The Alien") and die roll ranges provided for determining attribute and skill values. Rules for purchasing alien abilities, generating random adventures, and using "Drama Points" to increase abilities and use Genre Tropes to simulate standard situations from the series were also provided.
The game was marketed with other Doctor Who books instead of other role-playing games; It was printed in paperback
novel format, unlike other RPGs. In addition, Virgin was unknown in the gaming market. As a result, it did not sell well and aside from a few articles in Doctor Who Magazine
, no supplements were published.
The system revolves around the concept of "beating the difference" - Actions have a difficulty rating, from which the relevant attribute
and skill is subtracted; the remaining number is the difference. Players roll two six-sided dice, and then take the difference of the two rolls; if that number is higher than the difference, the action is successful. The game includes many skills which are especially appropriate to the tone of Doctor Who, such as cheat death and macguffin
.
The original game book includes extensive biographical information on all the companions of the TV series, as well as many of the villains. Also included is an incomplete original short story, "The Necromancers", with the idea the story could be completed as part of a game campaign. The text includes a solo adventure, Switchback. A full campaign, The Templar Throne, is also included. It takes place in a shopping mall
.
In 1996, the game was made available for free on the internet, along with updates for the game to include the Eighth Doctor
. In the electronic version, the adventure The Templar Throne has been replaced with another campaign, The Curse of the Cyclops.
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
, written by Ian Marsh
Ian Marsh
Ian Marsh is a British writer and editor. He graduated in 1983 from the University of Surrey, Guildford, with an honours degree in Materials Technology ....
and Peter Darvill-Evans
Peter Darvill-Evans
Peter Darvill-Evans is an English writer and editor.He was born and lived in Buckinghamshire until he went to university, graduating in 1975 from University College, London with a degree in History....
and published in 1991 by Virgin Publishing. This game is totally unrelated to the previously released Doctor Who RPG by FASA, having different and simpler mechanics that often seemed arbitrary. For example, the companion Polly is a secretary yet according to her statistics, she can hardly read or write.
Oddly, the system lacked any method for creating original player characters: it was suggested that the referee give the players a particular Doctor and his associated companions, or a group of Doctors. A later on-line supplement, Timelord: Journeys, written by Nathaniel Torson, provided a system for creating original player characters. A variety of basic templates were provided ("The Soldier," "The Specialist," The Alien") and die roll ranges provided for determining attribute and skill values. Rules for purchasing alien abilities, generating random adventures, and using "Drama Points" to increase abilities and use Genre Tropes to simulate standard situations from the series were also provided.
The game was marketed with other Doctor Who books instead of other role-playing games; It was printed in paperback
Paperback
Paperback, softback or softcover describe and refer to a book by the nature of its binding. The covers of such books are usually made of paper or paperboard, and are usually held together with glue rather than stitches or staples...
novel format, unlike other RPGs. In addition, Virgin was unknown in the gaming market. As a result, it did not sell well and aside from a few articles in Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
, no supplements were published.
The system revolves around the concept of "beating the difference" - Actions have a difficulty rating, from which the relevant attribute
Attribute (role-playing games)
An attribute is a piece of data that describes to what extent a fictional character in a role-playing game possesses a specific natural, in-born characteristic common to all characters in the game. That piece of data is usually an abstract number or, in some cases, a set of dice...
and skill is subtracted; the remaining number is the difference. Players roll two six-sided dice, and then take the difference of the two rolls; if that number is higher than the difference, the action is successful. The game includes many skills which are especially appropriate to the tone of Doctor Who, such as cheat death and macguffin
MacGuffin
A MacGuffin is "a plot element that catches the viewers' attention or drives the plot of a work of fiction". The defining aspect of a MacGuffin is that the major players in the story are willing to do and sacrifice almost anything to obtain it, regardless of what the MacGuffin actually is...
.
The original game book includes extensive biographical information on all the companions of the TV series, as well as many of the villains. Also included is an incomplete original short story, "The Necromancers", with the idea the story could be completed as part of a game campaign. The text includes a solo adventure, Switchback. A full campaign, The Templar Throne, is also included. It takes place in a shopping mall
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
.
In 1996, the game was made available for free on the internet, along with updates for the game to include the Eighth Doctor
Eighth Doctor
The Eighth Doctor is the eighth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by Paul McGann...
. In the electronic version, the adventure The Templar Throne has been replaced with another campaign, The Curse of the Cyclops.
External links
- Time Lord RPG for download along with expansions.
- Time Lord in PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
and HTMLHTMLHyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
formats - Who-RPG Yahoo! group and Home Page
- Time Lord stats for Abslom Daak
- Supplemental characters and aliens by Justin Reynolds
- Curse of the Conqueror adventure by Marcus Rowland