Timelord is not only the best adaption of Doctor Who to an RPG that I have ever seen, but it is also a great system for adapting other series and genres, as well...
Post originally by Dan at 2003-08-01 14:26:56
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I don't know, I found the FASA version perfectly good and not at all bland and boring. I donwloaded this one later and found it to be inferior. And, come on, no character generation rules? The author didn't take it seriously enough to make into a real RPG, why should we take it seriously.
And the Doctor was NOT half human. That was a bit of insanity added by an extremely poor US adaptation. Pretty much anything from that show and the incredibly poor novels that appeared after Who was canceled can be safely ignored.
Post originally by croaker at 2003-08-01 15:30:41
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Well, I see -someone- is feeling bitter!
The novels are of similar quality to the show, actually: they range from incredibly cool to painfully lame. Dan, you're missing out on some SERIOUSLY cool @!#$.
Post originally by Nathaniel at 2003-08-01 16:22:06
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To each his own, I suppose, but I felt that the FASA version did nothing to catch the 'feel' of Who, which I point out in my review. Actually, the majority of the FASA rules were actually just the Star Trek rules with a Task entry system tacked on to make it different. I own both games, and they are, word for word, the same in many areas with Timelords and Tardis simply replacing Star Fleet and Starships. Although Ian didn't include chargen rules, that is nothing compared to taking one game, changing the titles and releasing it as another! Which do you take more seriously now!
As for the Doctor Who movie, it was an official BBC production, the first in what was planned to be a revival of the series, and is considered cannon for that reason. And for the record, the entire Production team, producers, writers, directors etc., were English!
I agree, however, that the books, comics, audio and what have you are questionable (I particularly dislike the whole Faction Paradox storyline and the idea that Timelords are 'loomed'). But this is a review of the game, not Whovian memoribilia...
Post originally by knightsky at 2003-08-02 05:13:42
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Dan wrote:
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I don't know, I found the FASA version perfectly good and not at all bland and boring. I donwloaded this one later and found it to be inferior. And, come on, no character generation rules? The author didn't take it seriously enough to make into a real RPG, why should we take it seriously.
And the Doctor was NOT half human. That was a bit of insanity added by an extremely poor US adaptation. Pretty much anything from that show and the incredibly poor novels that appeared after Who was canceled can be safely ignored.
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My college roommate had a copy of this, I remember being highly underwhelmed by it. In addition to lacking chargen rules, I beleive it also lacked rules for improving characters, as well. Not that I thought the FASA version was great (too clunky for my tastes), but at least it was complete and playable.
About the only thing I *really* liked from Timelord was the 'bench-thumping' skill. *That* was inspired, and captured the feel of the show (and a great deal of other tv shows/movies as well) perfectly.
Post originally by Siskoid at 2003-08-02 07:23:56
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knightsky wrote:
My college roommate had a copy of this, I remember being highly underwhelmed by it. In addition to lacking chargen rules, I beleive it also lacked rules for improving characters, as well. Not that I thought the FASA version was great (too clunky for my tastes), but at least it was complete and playable.
About the only thing I *really* liked from Timelord was the 'bench-thumping' skill.
Agreed. Bench-Thumping, Screaming and Resourceful Pockets is way more in keeping with the feel of the show than the more generic FASA game. I own both, but would play neither actually. I'd use something else and use these games as sourcebooks on which to base my interpretations.
Time Lord is probably the better sourcebook here, containing stats for all of the companions and doctors (well, almost all), while the FASA game has better art (and pictures!) and layout (atrocious in Time Lord), but fewer companions and doctors (not just because ofthe product's time frame either, some were just sadly left out).
Doctor Who also makes an appearance in a Paranoia module and very briefly in Castle Grayhawk, for the completists out there.
Post originally by Nathaniel at 2003-08-02 07:53:47
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Have to disagree with FASA's art being superior. Actually, a lot of the art, like alot of the writing, is ripped right out of their Star Trek RPG.
And the funny thing is the way they attempt to 'hide' it. They'll take a Romulan senator from Star Trek, take the points off of his ears and then scribble a shabby beard on him to make him look different. It's almost like the picture is an actor with a bad make up artist.
And again, the game is complete. The Timelord Companion Rules on my website not only include CharGen rules, but also include conversion rules for FASA material, so that should be worth a look see for those of you with the old game.
And while I'm about it, I thought I'd plug my own material to support the game. this month will see the release of the Journies section of my site, with a Random Journey Generator and a small example adventure, and a TARDIS Manual to fill out the vehicle rules a bit.
By the way, what modules does the Doctor appear in in Greyhawk and Paranoia?
Post originally by Parody-U-MAN-4 at 2003-08-02 08:20:24
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The Paranoia module/campaign setting is "Vulture Warriors of Dimension X". It's actually a parody, since The High Programmers from Honesdale weren't able to get the rights for the crossover. (The other two modules in the series were Cyberpunk 2020 and Twilight:2000 crossovers.)
Post originally by Siskoid at 2003-08-02 18:48:43
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Both are parodies. Paranoia's is in Vulture Warriors of Dimension X, but the artwork clearly shows Tom Baker's Doctor. In Greyhawk, it's Castle Greyhawk (WG7), I believe it's on level with all the tv characters... let me check here... Level 5, that's it. He's called Professor Why, and he has a CURDIS (Chronically Unable to Reach Destination In Silence). Some rather generic female companions are included, but not named.
Re: FASA art. I never saw the Star Trek game, so it's news to me. Not suprised though. What I liked wasn't really the drawings, but the fact it had more pictures, as opposed to Time Lord which had really very few. The drawings were mostly limited to the character sheets and well, many of them looked rather stumpy (Daleks look nice though).
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