GURPS Doctor Who Compiled by James Ryan : JDanRyan@aol.com NOTE: Doctor Who is a copyright of the British Broadcasting Company. The Daleks are a copyright of Terry Nation. GURPS is a copyright of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. All are protected by the Berne Copyright Convention and the United States Copyright Act of 1978. In addition to them, if you abuse this stuff I'll hunt you down myself. INTRODUCTION This is a brief set of notes concerning conversions of some elements of the series DOCTOR WHO for use with the rules of GURPS. This is by no means a complete world book, which means that if you have any questions about the series, the characters and creatures and settings and the like therein, you may have to look elsewhere. And as the series spans 26 years of stories (and, Lord willing, will be back with more some day), these notes are hardly that comprehensive. Later additions, corrections and the like will come about at their own pace, so if you download this and find yourself wanting, send your additions around, we'll all get them sooner or later. :> Note that references will be made herein not only to *GURPS Basic Set* but also *GURPS Ultra-Tech* (referred herein as UT), *GURPS Time Travel* (referred herein as TT) and *GURPS Supers* (referred herein as S). Explanations will be given concerning some material used from these books, but it is recommended that for a deeper understanding of these points that one refer directly to those books. GALLIFREY It probably goes without saying that Gallifrey and Time Lord society are at TL 16 development. Such devices as infinity rooms (UT 117) would be considered good proof of this. Therefore, any TL-based skills for Time Lords would have TL 16 as their base line. TIME LORDS The following racial template for a Time Lord is included herein, with a total cost of 135 points IQ +2 (20), HT +3 (30) Absolute Timing (5); High Pain Threshold (10); Immunity to Disease (10); Lightning Calculator (5); Longevity (5); Rapid Healing (5); Recovery (10), Fast Regeneration; Only while undergoing Resurrection (-60%) (20); Resurrection; Does not occur if body is disintegrated (-20%) (120); Temperature Tolerance (10); Unusual Background (50) Enemies: Daleks: fairly often (-40); Enemies: Sontarans: fairly often (-40); Enemies: Cybermen: fairly often (-40); Enemies: other Time Lords: quite rarely (-15); Overconfidence (-10); Secret: the secret of the Time Lords and time travel (-30); Sense of Duty: to the Time Lords (-10) Area Knowledge: Gallifrey @ IQ (1); Astrogation @ IQ (2); Breath Control @ IQ-2 (2); Computer Operation/TL 16 @ IQ (1); Electronics/TL 16 @ IQ-1 (2); Physics/TL 16 @ IQ-1 (2); Piloting: TARDIS @ DX (2); Temporal Physics @ IQ-1 (4); Temporal Electronics/TL 16 @ IQ-1 (2); Temporal Operation @ IQ (2) For reference purposes, items not found in the basic set may be found in the following: Recovery: S44 - Recovery from being unconscious is in minutes not hours (or seconds, not minutes, if applicable) Fast Regeneration: S44 - Recover one HT per minute. Note that in this case, it can only be used with Resurrection (see below), and thus cannot heal wounds inflicted which while painful, won't trigger a regeneration by themselves. Resurrection: S44-45 - After death, the character will come back to life, regaining health at a normal rate (unless aided by Regeneration), at a cost of 25 character points. Resurrection will not work against old age, but can normally bring one back from even disintegration. (Note that in this instance, disintegration will not allow you to come back, and recovery is at one HT per minute thanks to the linked Regeneration. Whether you have to have a different player take over the character, in the grand tradition of the show, I leave up to the GM...) Temperature Tolerance: S47 - Allows the character to ignore extreme high and low temps, from 35-(HTx5) degrees F to 90+(HTx5) degrees F. Temporal Physics: TT35 - M/VH skill, defaults to Temporal Electronics -6 or Physics/TL 9 or better -4, Prerequisite: Physics/TL9+. This skill covers the science of time travel. Temporal Electronics/TL: TT35 - M/H skill, defaults to Temporal Operation -6 or other Electronics -5, Prerequisite: Temporal Physics. This skill covers building and repairing time machines. Temporal Operation: TT35 - M/A skill, defaults to Temporal Electronics -2. This skill covers piloting and navigating time machines. (Note that while one could argue that the TARDIS could be moved under this skill, from what we have seen of the TARDIS in operation leaves enough debate for having a separate skill for that craft. As comparing the TARDIS to other time vehicles is rather like comparing the space shuttle to a ten-speed bicycle, a special skill was considered appropriate.) OTHER CHARACTERS While characters could conceivably come from anywhere and do most anything, the GM may want to consider the level of the campaign first. In a 150-200 point campaign, the Time Lord(s) will have a somewhat limited number of skills and abilities, and thus need the help of their companions to get through an adventure. In a 250-300 point campaign, the Time Lord(s) have more options, although the companions are by no means helpless. Higher totals puts very experienced Time Lords alongside near-super powered beings, which if your campaign consists of squads of Daleks at every turn might be appropriate... The above assumes the characters want to play normal people that the Time Lord(s) picked up along the way. Players wishing to use more unusual characters, perhaps psis or cyborgs, might have to have an Unusual Background charge assessed to their characters to maintain some balance. Note that by its very nature, a GURPS Doctor Who campaign is of somewhat higher cost than a normal GURPS game. As GURPS can be a somewhat messy game when combat breaks out, GMs might wish to consider a "cinematic" style of gaming in order to keep the tone light. Unless, of course, you're trying to recreate the Colin Baker era... ENEMIES Some of the more popular are described below. The Daleks Perhaps the most famous opponents of the Time Lords, the Daleks should be considered a TL 10 civilization for baseline skill determination when needed, as well as a good guide as to what kind of equipment the Daleks would develop on their own (as opposed to steal or bargain for). An individual Dalek is really not very tough, actually. The average Dalek has ST 2, DX 10, IQ 12 and HT 3, with a MV of 3. It's when the Dalek is in its armor suit, however... THEN it becomes a problem! The pepper-pot shaped conveyance gives the Dalek a MV of 6 (most times limited to movement on flat surfaces), grants the Dalek a PD of 2 and a DR of 75, and is equipped with a blaster rifle that does 14d+2 damage (UT49). For purposes of pushing through doors and barriers, the suit gives a Dalek a ST of 14, with no lifting or fine manipulation granted with that ST. The suit also carries a wide array of communications equipment to keep in touch with other Daleks. Skill levels for using this suit and its equipment average out to be about 11. The Cybermen The Cybermen, second on the hit parade as it were, should be considered a TL 9 civilization. Note that like the Daleks, the Cybermen are not above borrowing other technologies if it suits their end. Cybermen have on average ST 14, DX 10, IQ 11, and HT 14, with a MV of 6. Their cyber bodies give them a PD 1 and DR 65. The weapon of choice is the blaster rifle, which does 12d damage (UT49). On the down side, their armored bodies have a weak spot, the breathing grills in their chest, which are only DR 5 (but due to their size are at a -7 to target). Cybermen further have the unfortunate weakness of gold, which when applied in attacks to their chest grills does 6d damage over and above any additional from the attack itself. Their skill levels average out to 12. The Sontarans As the only race to have actually landed troops on Gallifrey, the Sontarans have the enmity of the Time Lords and that grudging admiration of their enemies, which is why they are included here. The Sontarans are a TL 9 civilization. The Sontarans (as they are all clones, there won't be any variation from this norm) have ST 15, DX 10, IQ 12, HT 14 and MV 6. Their armor grants them PD 3 and DR 60. Their main weapon is a disruptor that does 8d (UT51), although as a race that prepares well for war Sontarans may show up well prepared for a mission with a whole arsenal to use. Skill levels are at 13 for all combat skills, and 10 for all others. The Ice Warriors A reptilian race with ties to Mars (no matter what the Viking space probes say!), this race has been portrayed as both good and evil, although which side they play on doesn't affect their stats. Their civilization is probably just verging on TL 9, although from the way they have been portrayed one could assume that their race had still somewhat within TL 8. The average Ice Warrior soldier has ST 13, DX 9, IQ 10, HT 12 and MV 5. Their leaders the Ice Lords tend to have ST 13, DX 9, IQ 12, HT 12 and MV 5. The soldiers have armor that grants them PD 2 and DR 40 and are armed with disruptors that do 6d (UT51), while Ice Lords have laser pistols that do 1d (UT22). In the presence of humid heat, the Ice Warriors suffer 1d per five minutes for every ten degrees F above 70 degrees F. (That's every 5 degrees C above 25 degrees C.) Skill levels are usually at 10 for Ice Warriors, and 12 for Ice Lords. The Silurians The original intelligent species on Earth, these intelligent dinosaur-like beings can be encountered either during their native time (the Cretaceous) or when humans disturb them in the 20th Century. Their civilization could be arguably called TL 4-5, just on the verge between the two. The average Silurian has ST 12, DX 10, IQ 13, HT 11, and MV 5. Their bodies provide DR 20 protection, while their third eye does 3d damage as a laser (S61). Their average skill levels tend to be 11. NOTE: There are no point breakdowns given for how each race was formulated, in part to discourage the temptation to have player aliens from the above races in the campaign. It's not likely that a Dalek would ever join a party in any campaign, and by giving thumbnails as opposed to point tallies this hopefully discourages this. Note also that it's hoped that GMs might not want to entertain the thought of a "villain" campaign. Although it can be tempting to run a party of Daleks as they plot to overthrow the Earth, having everyone around the table scream "EX-TER-MIN-ATE" for ten minutes gets old real fast... Again, this is by no means complete. If you have your own ideas as to how anything can be improved or what should be added, I'd be interested in seeing them, at JDanRyan@aol.com.