The Campaign of the Doctor (Inactive)

Game Master Clebsch73

I will be camping this weekend and not posting until Sunday.

Have fun!

So far, I've not made any maps for exploration, but I could if you think it would help. The rules are not as detailed about positioning and movement as Pathfinder and other RP games, so it would not generally be a factor, but if it would help make decisions on what is happening and what might be feasible, I can provide maps for situations like fights or chases. Let me know if you think that would help.

I find maps allow you to know what is going much on more than if they are absent. However, I know preparing them takes time...

I just realised we have all managed to flee into an airlock, which probably only has one exit, except to space that is.

Everyone please note, BBC America is showing the re-worked "Shada" episode (of which the start of this game was based), with animation filling in for the un-shot sequences, from 2-5 AM this Friday (US EST, that is). Check your cable service for your local times. The show is called "The Lost Episode" in my cable service's listings.

Everyone please note, BBC America is showing the re-worked "Shada" episode (of which the start of this game was based), with animation filling in for the un-shot sequences, from 2-5 AM this Friday (US EST, that is). Check your cable service for your local times. The show is called "The Lost Episode" in my cable service's listings.

I watched it earlier this summer. There is an alternate version of the episode that aired via audio play with the 8th Doctor and Romana and K-9. Furthermore, the original Doctor Who screenplay was written by Douglas Adams and when that did not air, he reworked it into his book "Dirk Gentley's Holistic Detective Agency."

Good stuff.

Looking forward to next Sunday.

I'm starting a new 5 week teaching term. I have night classes this time, so I will generally post in the afternoon during the week or sometimes late at night.

What a great bait and switch. Truly did not see that coming. And I'll have to remember to set a recording for Shada.

I am located in Australia. Therefore I can't watch US TV, sadly in this case, and probably won't notice The Doctor GMs new posting times. I am still having fun down here. :)

The last two days, my main window of posting time has been filled with unexpected meetings, and time I've been getting home, I'm too tuckered out (not to mentioned disgusted by the news this week) that I've not had the gumption to post. Tomorrow might not be much better until evening, unless I can put something up via iPad.

Fair enough Mr GM.

Hope things improve for you.

Did K 9 ever interact with UNIT?

My guess is he did as he was around about the same time.

And internet searches of the two bring up police Canine Units. :(

Actually, UNIT's last inclusion in the old TV series was in 1976, while K-9 (Mark I) first appeared in 1977. So, apparently not.

Thank you Bryce.

I could remember them both from episodes I had watched as a youngster. But precise order 41 years or later is a bit beyond my memory.

I've now watched the new Doctor in her first episode. It's good to have the series back after such a long break. I like what I've seen so far of the new Doctor, Jody Whittaker. New companions are an interesting group.

We got the same episode here and I watched it about 4 1/2 hours ago. I reacted pretty much the same way you did. :)

Due to an unexpected meeting today at work, I'll not have time to post until late this evening, if then. We also may have issues with power outages associated with Hurricane (Tropical Storm?) Michael passing through Virginia this evening. Sorry for the delay.

I hope the disruption isn't too severe.

We don't have a hurricane or storm called Michael, but I have a member of my tabletop group named Michael. He causes numerous disruptions, but not normally to the power supply.

This storm grew suddenly from down west of Cuba and did a great deal of damage to the west part of Florida. It was still surprisingly strong when it passed through our state. We recently had a near miss from another strong hurricane that hit south of Virginia.

I had to work Thursday night and so I had to drive in through the storm about 12 miles, which was nerve wracking, given the risk from wind, water, and the possibility of fallen/falling trees and power lines.

Things are getting back to normal now.

Glad to hear that you are unharmed and the storms have passed.

Current events in game remind me of another tabletop RPG where we were adventuring in an alternate universe WW2 where the Russians were on the Axis side and the Japanese were one of the Allies.

Given the time we were supposed to be outrageously colonial, we came from just after 1900. We met with the Allied leaders, and my character Penny Dreadful, the mad scientist, lead off with-

"President Roosevelt, Winnie and important slanty eyed people."

Another PC decided I was being undiplomatic [the very idea!] and started giving the orientals detailed instructions for the catering.

Then yet another PC took over who thought the leaders of the free world were uppity and self important.

They wound up using the first nuke on us. We managed to evade it.

Penny Dreadful built a device that reversed the tendency of space to generate more space at an ever increasing rate. We went home and collapsed the alternate universe.

I can't believe you made me research when unit became a slang term. Though honestly, the earliest use I could find was in Beavis and Butthead.

I myself have been researching the roots of UNIT (or U. N. I. T. if you prefer) in the early years of Doctor Who, including the episode that links to this. I'm trying to be true to the series, but I may get some things wrong, in which case, blame the process that has been erasing the Doctor from history, changing events in subtle ways.

K 9 wrote:

Really? I must be the only robot dog with a security clearance. Best not say anything, I must look odd enough just being here K 9 muses to himself wryly.

At this point in the series, the brigadier has already seen robot yeti monsters attack London, so he's not going to be too surprised if an associate of the Doctor is a robot dog. :)

I wasn't so much thinking of the Brigadier or members of UNIT as everyone else.

On another topic, I saw the second of the new series of Dr Who last week. Enjoyable, although I thought the new Doctor looked better in men's clothing in the first episode.

I wasn't too into some of the 21st Century Doctor Who series, but this one seems good.

I'm running this much as the episodes often do where the Doctor and his/her companions show up and no one really treats them like a security threat (at least for long). In this case, the Brigadier knows enough of how the Doctor operates to make a command decision to trust the party, since they haven't done anything harmful so far. It's easier than role playing the verbal wrangling it would probably take to convince him to trust you.

I liked the second (Nu-Who) episode well enough. It's playing out the process whereby the Doctor earns the trust of the companions and the companions begin to deal with the fact that they can travel in space and time. It was a little derivative of the Hunger Games meets the Amazing Race (American TV reality show), but that makes it more relevant and relatable, I suppose. There was a similar parody of reality shows in one of the episodes near the end of the first series of the 21st century reboot. And they advanced another connection to the villain that they fought in the first episode, suggesting that will be an arc for the season.

Also introduce the new interior of the TARDIS, which is always an interesting moment. Liked the way the TARDIS provides the Doctor with a snack at one point.

Sorry if I didn’t respond to the PM. I love the backstory idea.

Great! I'll continue to use it and eventually Kyle will learn why the TARDIS collected him for this mission.

Catching up now! Very sorry, there was a wedding this weekend and rehearsals for a show that ate up more of my time than I thought they would.

I thought this past week would allow me to resume mostly daily posting, but instead, the crush of work got worse, with some ten and twelve hour days. I would ordinarily still have a few hours to post, but at present I can't work from home while my wife is doing her work from home. So, I won't promise it will get better this next week, but I hope after that, when I return to working in the mornings, I can get back to regular posts during the week. Sorry again.

Do we need to roll Presence + Convince individually or can we have someone do it for the group?

One person should take the lead. I would say let the person with the best Presence + Convince total should make the roll, but Bryce, Ted, and Kyle all have the same total, so whoever wants to roll can do so. Just role play a little in addition to the roll.

Sorry for the delay in posting. Some RL issues caused me to miss a lot of sleep Sunday to Monday and I'm just getting back on schedule. I hope to get posts up this afternoon.

Doctor GM - you haven't posted in a week - is everything ok?

I was waiting on something definite to respond to and then toward the end of the week, things got busy.

Hi everyone. My wife is giving birth today. I'll be around during the morning/early afternoon today and then basically vanish for most of the rest of the week. Bot me if you have to!

Congratulations!

Thanks!

Congratulations from me also. I hope everything goes well.

How about K 9 as the name for a baby? It is original anyway. :)

Best wishes! How about Clebsh for a name? Works for a boy or a girl. :)

I'm seeing a problem with the way the game runs melees and play-by-post. How can you tell if a player is not posting because they are waiting to attack, and if the player just isn't posting quickly?

I think at the beginning of every melee round, you should ask us to post what we're going to do, then you should order the actions accordingly and post a summary of what happened.

That does put a burden on the players to post quickly after you announce another round has started, but it beats waiting for days for someone to post because they're attacking and waiting for *everyone* else to post first.

I think that's a solid choice that we could see how it plays out. And if the situation is drastically altered by a talker or a doer (less likely a mover), then anyone fighting or something after could have the opportunity to adjust their action.

I'm expecting people to post what they intend to do promptly as possible before resolving actions. It's just that if you're talking instead of running or doing something or fighting, you don't have to wait until everyone has posted intent. Sometimes, I'm just delayed in responding to posts that have been made. I'll also 'bot Kyle after I hear from the other three players, since he may be AFK for a while.

This campaign is turning out to be really fun. And even rather like the TV series. :)

I'm glad!

Sorry I'm sometimes slow to post. This week I've had some holiday related events and errands to complete plus grading. I'll be on vacation until after New Year's Day, so it should be better.

Fine by me.
You have a job and have to give that priority over recreational pursuits like roleplaying. Like everyone else.
I expect all of my PbP campaigns will experience delays over Christmas. There is bound to be someone who's normal posting times are interrupted.

You may have noticed the double post.

It isn't my fault, blame the site. Sorry anyway.

I'd just like to say, that in the TV shows, K-9 has an incredible amount of energy to devote to his laser beam. If worse comes to worse, he could even cut an open hole thru the door, big enough for us to crawl thru.

I will bear that in mind.

Perhpas I can cut the whole door out of it's frame and then we can use it as the floor of a hang glider. What could possibly go wrong?

That assumes the door is a conventional door. This is a site with a rocket launch capability, so access to the control room is bound to be more secure than just a normal door with normal hinges and normal locks. This is especially true if there is a secret motive for the launch, hidden from those responsible for the construction.

Put another way, K-9 not only needs a lot of power for his nose laser, but something more substantial, script-approval.