How would you build The Doctor? (for PFS play)


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If I was doing this for a home game then clearly there are some amazing races to consider (Samsarans for example) and some archetypes (the druid that always reincarnates - Reincarnated Druid and who gets "speak with any living creature" as a level 15 power would work well - but isn't a legal archetype for PFS play.

So how would you build a version of The Doctor while staying within the rules for PFS play?

I think there are many viable approaches each emphasizing different aspects of the The Doctor.

- Rage Prophet/Oracle of Time (my initial approach - lots of decisions to make however)

- Druids that get A Thousand Faces early (like the Urban Druid archetype) - though really any class that could get access to Alter Self or that buys a Hat of Disguise could functionally seem to have many different faces ala The Doctor

- A Bard or Bard/Rogue for the skill monkey "jack of trades" aspects of the Doctor

- a level of two of Monk (see 3rd Doctor)

And you could make cases for many of other approaches to building him (and yes probably using the Mythic rules would be appropriate - but not currently an option for PFS play however.

Silver Crusade

Jack of all Trades can be covered by the feat Breadth of Experience. It's in the CRB, and I think the doctor would qualify...

Grand Lodge

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Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Rycaut wrote:

If I was doing this for a home game then clearly there are some amazing races to consider (Samsarans for example) and some archetypes (the druid that always reincarnates - Reincarnated Druid and who gets "speak with any living creature" as a level 15 power would work well - but isn't a legal archetype for PFS play.

So how would you build a version of The Doctor while staying within the rules for PFS play?

Golarion is not a stage where a character like the Doctor could be played.

Or more accurately, The Doctor is a character for story driven game systems, not wargames with role play elements bolted onto them like D20/Pathfinder.


Reincarnated druid?

Silver Crusade

Coming back to life isn't really the Doctor's trick. Sure, he does that, but what does the Doctor do, episode to episode, every show? He thinks his way through problems and tries to keep everyone alive. Mostly.

You want someone with a lot of Knowledge and Lore skills.
You want someone with a lot of practical skills.
You want the feat for x5 run speed.
You want someone that can communicate with everything. (Comprehend Languages?)
You need a high Bluff.
You want a high Sense Motive.
You want someone who does very little combat mongering...
I'm sure you can put things together after this by fleshing it out and thinking it through.

In the end, though...LazarX makes the best point.
Pathfinder Adventuring is not the world of the Doctor. The system doesn't embrace his style of play, and PFS even less so. Anything you come up with won't really do The Doctor justice, but at least it might make you smile. He would think that's enough.


Yeah, wrong game.

Having said that, what the doctor mostly does is talk, so a Bard is the obvious choice.


Look I don't care about the folks saying "wrong game" I see people building characters in PFS drawn from all genres and media.

Furthermore the point is to have fun. And frankly I don't have a group to play a doctor who game with but I do play (and judge) a lot of PFS. This is mostly for my own amusement and also somewhat of a thought exercise.

An additional point - some of the suggested feats really aren't true for all doctors just certain more modern ones (the whole running thing is new and frankly that feat is pretty pointless).

A bard is one approach but I don't think it fully captures the doctor. I'm interested in the more martial side - he's a talker but when pressed can back it up - he's about more than just inspiring others. Though that is part of who he is.

Anyway you can build nearly anything within the framework of pathfinder and especially on Golarion - which is designed to accommodate many genres and styles of play.

As I suggested an oracle of time perhaps rage prophet feels like an interesting approach but I'm looking for other suggestions and approaches.

I'm not looking to replicate a doctor who game in PFS play. (Though mild spoiler - play the last level of Thornkeep - it could easily be played like a Doctor Who type of scenario and I think actually may show some signs of that influence). It is perhaps my favorite scenario or module I've run for PFS so far as well.


All you'd really need is really bad writing and terrible acting.


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Honestly, high-level expert or maybe high-level rogue. Straight class. No spells. Custom race that can be reborn on death and has a +4 or so intelligence modifier.

The TARDIS would be a major intelligent artifact.

Stabbald wrote:
All you'd really need is really bad writing and terrible acting.

9th doctor had a good actor and really good writing. And billie piper is a good actor as a companion. 10th doctor had a fantastic actor and good writing. 11th doctor has a decent actor and yeah, really bad writing, that I can agree with.

Honestly, during the 9th-10th doctor era I think most acting was pretty good, except of course for some side characters. But the ones that played both doctors, donna, rose, and the master where really good actors, and it's not like the ones playing sarah jane, martha, mickey and others are bad actors either.

And come on. David Tennant.


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Rycaut wrote:
A bard is one approach but I don't think it fully captures the doctor. I'm interested in the more martial side - he's a talker but when pressed can back it up - he's about more than just inspiring others. Though that is part of who he is.

The Doctor is many things, but 'martial' is one of the few adjectives I'd leave off the list. He's a warrior in the philosophical sense, but he rarely if ever engages in direct combat. His problem solving is much more Scooby-Doo than Superman. No weapons, no armor.

In other words, the most faithful representation of The Doctor is going to be pretty crap in toe-to-toe combat. He won't do much, if any direct damage. On the flip side, he's got to be a skill whiz. In particular: Diplomacy, Intimidate, UMD, and Knowledge. For attributes, Intelligence and Charisma should be first and second in some order. Then Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution, and finally Strength.

All that says full caster. Druid and Witch are probably furthest from the theme, so they're out. The last questions then are divine or arcane, and prepared or spontaneous. I think the divine list fits a bit better, since it de-emphasizes blasting, and while the Doctor is spontaneous in the normal sense, prepared is a better fit to his toolbox approach.

So, cleric. But the core cleric is too combat-focused, with heavy armor proficiency, and too light on the skills, with only 2 + Int per level. Cloistered Cleric fixes both of these problems, while buffing those juicy Knowledge checks. The Doctor is nothing if not well-traveled, so the fluff may not fit perfectly, but mechanically it's pretty damn close, even if Wisdom is your casting stat. There's no 1st-party Time domain, sadly, but Travel and Liberation both fit well enough. The Trade sub-domain is particularly nice, with more boosts to social skills.

Aasimars, as the 'good guy' outsiders, are the clear choice for race.

Another option, if you want to go arcane and get a little clever: take The Doctor's "protector of humanity" identity literally. Aasimar Sorcerer, Scion of Humanity alternate racial trait, Imperious Bloodline. Bam, now you're the outsider who specializes in human affairs. The bloodline powers are both potent, and fantastic thematically. Learn about humans, rally your companions, and cow your enemies, all in a day's work for The Doctor. The cloistered cleric is still closer in mechanics, but this build sounds a lot more fun to roleplay.


I agree with Zahmahkibo in terms of ability scores, but would not make him a caster. On the other hand, I think it's hard to make something close to the Doctor while still being a useful party member.


Rycaut wrote:

Look I don't care about the folks saying "wrong game" I see people building characters in PFS drawn from all genres and media.

Furthermore the point is to have fun. And frankly I don't have a group to play a doctor who game with but I do play (and judge) a lot of PFS. This is mostly for my own amusement and also somewhat of a thought exercise.

An additional point - some of the suggested feats really aren't true for all doctors just certain more modern ones (the whole running thing is new and frankly that feat is pretty pointless).

A bard is one approach but I don't think it fully captures the doctor. I'm interested in the more martial side - he's a talker but when pressed can back it up - he's about more than just inspiring others. Though that is part of who he is.

Anyway you can build nearly anything within the framework of pathfinder and especially on Golarion - which is designed to accommodate many genres and styles of play.

As I suggested an oracle of time perhaps rage prophet feels like an interesting approach but I'm looking for other suggestions and approaches.

I'm not looking to replicate a doctor who game in PFS play. (Though mild spoiler - play the last level of Thornkeep - it could easily be played like a Doctor Who type of scenario and I think actually may show some signs of that influence). It is perhaps my favorite scenario or module I've run for PFS so far as well.

I admit that my usual answer to people who try to model very powerful or complex movie/book/comic/etc characters using D&d based rules is: "Can't be done properly, the system doesn't support it."

Indeed a vast vast range of different character types can be created using these rules, and Pathfinder rules are very well suited to portray its intended genre, but they never designed with the needs of for example superhero fiction or high-tech sci-fi in mind (because there was no reason to). Therefore attempting to model some characters accurately simply can't be done within the rules (for example a supernaturally fast character who can run anywhere on the planet in a few seconds and hit someone thousands of times before they can even blink, or super strong character like the Hulk who has moved tectonic plates with his arms, simply can't be created with these rules).

So it really depends on what you want to do here. If you want to create a character who can do everything the Doctor can do, the system can't do it simply because the Doctor has access to such ridiculously powerful technology that nothing in these rules comes even remotely close in power (the Timelords had weapons systems that could wipe out complete galaxies, for example).

On the other hand, you certainly can try capture the flavor and style of the Doctor, if that's what you are after. High int, high wisdom, relatively high charisma, enormous amount of knowledge skills and high ranks in Use magic Device (to model his technological inventions). A bard might be a good class to use, though the bard performances wouldn't really fit, and the bard spell list might not be thematically approriate. You might be able to do it with a wizard too, if you re-flavor the spells as tricks the Doctor does with the sonic screwdriver or his own inventions.

Shadow Lodge

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He's an expert with a wand of Deux Ex Machina.


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As an NPC?

20th level Aasimar Oracle of Time with the Enlightened Philosopher archetype.

Aasimar makes him an outsider (Scion of Humanity is optional, but would fit depending on which doctor we are talking about), Oracle of Time is obvious, and enlightened philosopher gives you linguistics and all knowledge skills in class as well as the ability to spontaneously reincarnate at 20th level. I would probably give him Tongues as his curse for the ability to understand all languages by the time he reaches that level, and the downside is not that crippling for a character that goes out of his way to *prevent* conflict - you could always have him default to technobabble in a crisis!

If you want a *PC* based on the Doctor,You might want to consider the Detective archetype for the bard (the bardic music abilities are much more "doctor-ish" than the ones they replace - at 9th level you get to trick the bad guy into revealing his master plan! - plus you get the ability to disarm magical traps and a bucket load of divinations added to the bard spell list). I would also consider a Monk using the Sensei archetype, who trades direct damage for knowledges and the ability to buff his allies (and eventually save them).


A sensei monk isn't a bad idea at all. Or sensei monk/rogue multiclass.
Needs martial artist though, to not have to be lawful. While his alignment shifts (as most "alignments" do when you try to apply them to characters outside of D&D) he doesn't really feel that strongly lawful. He seems to jump a lot between neutral good, chaotic good, lawful neutral, neutral and chaotic neutral.


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Ilja wrote:

A sensei monk isn't a bad idea at all. Or sensei monk/rogue multiclass.

Needs martial artist though, to not have to be lawful. While his alignment shifts (as most "alignments" do when you try to apply them to characters outside of D&D) he doesn't really feel that strongly lawful. He seems to jump a lot between neutral good, chaotic good, lawful neutral, neutral and chaotic neutral.

The First Doctor was much more Lawful than any of his successors, so maybe a Sensei Monk who "falls" (around the time of his first reincarnation) and then progresses as a Rogue and/or spellcaster?


There is a trait that lets one Aasimar heritage take monk levels while remaining neutral so that's an option


Re the martial stuff the Doctor is often shown as being actually quite skilled with weapons (and unarmed strikes - see 3rd Doctor) but also reluctant to shoot first (and generally not a ranged weapon user certainly not a gunslinger however nifty the Mysterious Stranger archetype might be to represent him...


First, pick your Doctor. Yes, 3rd was faily martial, but maybe you're not thinking of the 3rd.

For me, I have to agree 100% with Z above. "All sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." So magic.

Think about what sort of hijinx the Doctor can pull on the bad guys. Sonic attacks to stun are common. Sabotaging devices, could be interpreted as both sabotaging magic and disabling devices, as again, the devices the Doctor sabotages are advanced technology that normal people don't understand, and so are like magic. Maybe a dispel magic master, pumping CL for dispel magic with traits, etc. Bad guy just drank a potion and got big? Dispel Magic, now he's back to 5' reach and can't take advantage of his Combat Reflexes.

He'd have to be Good, and would essentially have a vow to not kill (though if bad guys die out of necessity while your companions are battling them, that's sad, but can't do anything about it.) A dip in a class with vows that would fit with a caster might be appropriate both to diversify the build and add mechanics to support RP.

And he'd as said need to be a knowledge master. So high Int. Or a dip in some class/archetype that lets you use something else for knowledge checks. But also high Cha and Wis... probably Dex Con Str after that.

I'd leave off trying to incorporate the regeneration aspect. If this guy dies, make a new character and name him The 2nd Doctor.


I actually had the slight thought this morning that Inquisitor might fit - a wide range of skills and abilities, really good knowledge checks (at least for monster identification) and lots of ways to customize what he does.

If so picking the right power would be the key - and of course the debate between domains and inquisitions. He might also be multiclassed with something else - not sure what (rogue for trapfinding?)

Silver Crusade

Kthulhu wrote:
He's an expert with a wand of Deux Ex Machina.

Wait...

(French)Two (Latin)from the Machine?
So, is that a witty language joke? The Latin and French couple from the machine, like...inter-cultural clone people in love or something? That's so sweet!

Rycaut wrote:

Look I don't care about the folks saying "wrong game" I see people building characters in PFS drawn from all genres and media.

Furthermore the point is to have fun. And frankly I don't have a group to play a doctor who game with but I do play (and judge) a lot of PFS. This is mostly for my own amusement and also somewhat of a thought exercise.

An additional point - some of the suggested feats really aren't true for all doctors just certain more modern ones (the whole running thing is new and frankly that feat is pretty pointless).

Sorry grumpy cat. For myself, I was making a point to clearly set expectations by directly stating that a Doctor Who character couldn't be completely realized in Pathfinder. If all the folks making the same statement set your teeth on edge, I can understand why you got the idea you were being told not to do it. I think the overall attitude was "That's not going to translate well" and that was the message I got from all the previous posts. This is your character to play, nobody is telling you not to try. Nobody is condemning you to have a bad time.

As for the run feat...the Doctor has been running from creatures/disasters/paramours/etc... since he was black and white (though it was more of a hustle and quick screen change then. Or the TARDIS was doing the real legwork). The emphasis on it was more recent, I agree. That came about with younger actors and better budgets and story-telling methods. I totally stand by that recommendation for character reasons, whether you choose to incorporate it or not as a sub-optimal feat.

No matter how you choose to build and embrace the Doctor, good luck and I hope it plays out as a lot of fun for you and your table.


Inquisitor could be interesting - fits the 7th and 9th doctors better than the other regenerations IMO, but as Sylvester McCoy was my favourite that's not a bad thing!

Knowledge Domain(or possibly the Memory subdomain) would be the best fit IMO, or possibly the Conversion or Fate Inquisitions. None of the archetypes really fit, although spellbreaker could be interesting, particularly if you chose to oppose illusion or enchantment effects.

I still think Bard might be your best bet for a PC Doctor. Consider the Archaeologist Archetype if the performances are a sticking point - it gives you access to the bard spell list (with all its lovely Sonic effects!) but trades performance for trapfinding, bonuses on disable device, and a few rogue talents (although maybe you should just take the Leadership feat and have an Archaeologist named River as your cohort...)


This is for PFS play so no leadership feats available. achealogist is a fun archetype though it does give up some buffing which would seem in character for the doctor.

I still say the Run feat is a silly feat (among the weakest in the game IMHO) so not going to take it since feats will be precious for this character whatever class I settle on.

I already have a very skill monkey build in PFS but may indeed try to do something with skills for this character as well. I'm tempted to do a caster of some sort and I agree sonic effects seem like a good direction to explore.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Rod Millard wrote:

As an NPC?

20th level Aasimar Oracle of Time with the Enlightened Philosopher archetype.

The problem is... The Doctor, is really not that powerful a character. He doesn't zap or disable people and he very rarely ever physically engages anyone. Although sometimes he will use his Companions to do his fighting for him. He may pull out an occasional gadget, but it's more of a story item than a power item, such as the dingus which let him see an invisible monster if he looked into it's mirror. (which got promptly destroyed) If there's anyone who embodies the E6 trope, it's him.

Seventh Doctor: And of course you wouldn't be carrying any of that Nitro 9 I told you not to make any more.
Ace: Of course not, I'm a good girl and always do what I'm told.
Doctor:Excellent, go blow up that vehicle.


The doctor is powerful - just also very restrained most of the time. When he is shown fighting directly most incarnations are shown as being talented but perhaps also not focused on killing. (A non-lethal specialist would make some sense) and he clearly also is great at making his companions better. So some form of buffing is in order.

There is probably a lot I could do around flavor with even common spells if he is a caster. ie his haste might focus on the "lets run" aspect at least in character with the extra attacks and defense bonus being nice side effects.

It is too bad that breadth of experience is limited to just a few specified races - in a home game I would totally allow any race that has a lifespan well past 100 to take it (basically it would have to be a race where 100 is still at most middle aged)


The Doctor would need his own class. No, I wouldn't call it Time Lord :)

You want something for PFS, so my "homebrew class" will not help you, sorry.

I would start with the race of course. Similar to human, it's only special abilities would be regeneration (the Time Lord variant, not impossible to kill base rules), eternal youth, and +2 Int. Yes, that's it. IMO, the Doctor has photographic memory, and his class would give him substantial skill bonuses, but I don't he's actually that much smarter than humans. (I would make Albert Einstein a mid-level expert with starting Int as high as humanly possible, and every feat that boost Knowledge (physics). Einstein would have only above-average scores for other Intelligence-based skills. But the Doctor is a genius in several fields. Also, his eternal youth lets him cheese age rules.)

Keeping track of the Doctor's skills isn't easy. I'd be reluctant to give him a boost to Sense Motive, for instance; sometimes he's a mind-reader, and other times ordinary humans easily fool him. Between having max ranks and lots of levels, his Sense Motive would be good, but an at-level opponent with maxed Bluff ranks and high Charisma can still fool him, especially with good lies that give bonuses.

He certainly gets bonuses to Knowledge (history) and pretty much every scientific skill there is.

The Doctor is only "okay" at combat. We've seen him wrestle, shoot and even swordfight pretty effectively, but then a 20th-level expert with physical stat mods of +1 is actually going to be pretty effective against any 5th-level opponent. When he does defeat an opponent, he rarely does damage (especially melee damage), instead using his knowledge of technology and then activating it. (When he defeated the Sycorax leader, he mainly defensively fought (Combat Expertise?) while making a check to understand the alien technology and then made a ranged attack with a sword to activate said tech. The enemy leader fell through a "trap door" (that was the tech) to his doom.

As a PC, The Doctor would only work if the DM really cooperates. Without said tech, the Doctor could have at best stayed alive. FATE, or another system that puts narrative control in PC hands, would work better for Doctor Who. (There is a Doctor Who RPG out there, but I've never seen it.)

The guy needs a high AC without armor. Somehow.


High AC without armor is either a duelist or a monk with a high WIS

Dark Archive

I don't see how you could possibly justify The Doctor taking levels of Barbarian or Rage Prophet, if you want to stay true to the character.

The doctor should have skill focus UMD

And I second the vote for the Run feat.


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If you want something a bit more out there you could consider taking a few levels as a Cavalier of the Order of the Blue Rose:

Quote:
The cavalier must guard against needless violence, protecting both the land and its people from wars they neither started nor wish to fight. He must seek to stop conflict with a minimum of bloodshed, to encourage peaceful resolutions to disagreements between intelligent creatures, and to mend the wounds opened by battle. He must also honor quarter when he gives it, protecting captives who have surrendered from his own allies if need be

Sounds pretty Doctorish to me...

Of course, no DM on Earth would let you take the TARDIS as a Mount!


Have you read what the Rage Prophet mechanically does?

- it is all about spirits guarding you, about taking a moment while raging to heal or do other things you can't usually do while raging

- the doctor is actually often shown as somewhat in a rage (his companions frequently have to talk him down) - not a Dr Jeckyl / Mr Hyde mindless rage but when he is angered he gets really focused

- there are a lot of Rage Powers that are both mechanically good and doctor like (some of the celestial totem ones in particular)

- the Rage Prophet's spirit guide abilities (mage hand, ghost sound and dancing lights) and once per rage guidance as well as the rage prophet mystery spells are all fairly doctor like

(and if you are say an Oracle of Time it may make a bit more sense).

My thought about the Barbarian was in part that "rage" can be flavored to be the doctor doing more than is "humanly" possible - in short focused bursts.

Yes it isn't in keeping with every doctor or every doctor's iconic abilities - but I think it somewhat surprisingly appropriate (and yes Barbarian is unusual for this concept but that's partially why I think it might be fun to try to build)


Halfling Archeologist with a few levels of Halfling Opportunist. Lot of fun to play.


Yeah I agree that everyone's Doctor will be completely different depending on which Doctor people think of. Areas I think the Doctor should cover; high bluff and intimidate (maybe dazzling display) since he gets by on bluster and reputation so much, high knowledges, UMD for wands of Hold Portal and Knock, other utility spells optional, and a means of making his allies better beyond making them just better informed. The spellcasting style of buffing isn't really sitting well with me, I honestly think focusing on aid another would be the way to go here. This all seems to be pointing to a bard cavalier multiclass for my Doctor, or an inquisitor, depending on what emphasis you want. I kind of like the idea of the tactician ability on him, so I'd go the cavalier route, but solo tactics makes just as much sense.

*Edit* Your horse could be called

The
Awfully
Redundant
Dungeoncrawl-
Impeding
Steed

Scarab Sages

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No no no.

You guys are thinking about this all wrong. You have to think about this THEMATICALLY, you have to think about this in terms of ARCHETYPES.

The Doctor is a wizard. NO question about it. He is MERLIN. He is the guy who comes from a strange place and through his knowledge and guile leverages the circumstances to a resolution that no one but he could foresee.

This is WIZARD territory. The Doctor is powerful, but he uses the least amount of power needed to solve the problem, and he mostly uses the resources at hand as opposed to bringing his magic to bear, but when he does bring his magic to bear, it is not about using the TARDIS or any other resources to directly assault the situation. It’s about using his resources to change the CONTEXT of the situation. Because he can see deeper into the situation than anyone else, he can see the leverage point, and USE that leverage point to change the world.

The Doctor is a “GOD” Wizard.

So, with that said:

"The Doctor”

Race: Human (for now)
Class, Wizard: Conjuration (Teleport)

Traits Magical Lineage: Plane Shift
Fast Talker

Feats

1) Improved Initiative
1) Spell Focus: Conjuration
2)
3) Reach Spell
4)
5) Spell Penetration, Craft Wondrous
6)
7) Leadership
8)
9) Craft Rod
10) Heighten Spell
11) Quicken Spell
12)
13) Preferred Spell (Plane Shift) [+2 DC, +2 SR]
14)
15) Greater Spell Penetration, Spell Perfection (Plane Shift) [+4 DC, +8 SR]
16)
17) Greater Spell Focus: Conjuration [+4 DC, +8 SR]
18)
19) Breadth of Experience
20) Immortality

Explanation:
The point of this build is to fire off rays that plane shift the target into whatever plane of existence you choose. This is not an optimal build (ranged touch + Will save is hardly optimal) but it’s fairly powerful, and it’s the sort of time/space warping mo-jo that The Doctor is famous for. Obviously this is not how the character looks on TV, I’m going for thematics here. The numbers in the brackets are the save DC bonus and the SR roll bonus respectively. This ONLY applies to the spell Plane Shift.

The Conjuration Teleport sub-school is where his "time-lord" character shows through in that he warps space-time.

Craft Rod – Custom-make a rod that casts: Hold portal, Knock, Detect Magic and Shatter (for the sonic screwdriver of course!). I don’t suppose most DM’s would object to this item, it’s hardly a campaign breaker.

Build a magic box at higher level and create a demi-plane inside it. Enchant the thing to be able to fly, and pump a LOT of money into making it as invulnerable as possible. One TARDIS.

Leadership is for the side – kick (A hot young woman of course). Breadth of Experience and Immortality are character traits as well.

He has Bluff as a class skill, but he should also max his Disable Device and Knowledge Engineering skill to cover his mechanical skills. Max out Knowledge: Arcana and knowledge: The planes as well. Other than that, just do what makes him playable and fun.


I do not think the Doctor is Merlin. I confess to not having watched all of classic who, but I think even thematically it's kind of far off. While the doctor has some cool technology/"powers", apart from the TARDIS they're really secondary to his other character traits. While it differs from doctor to doctor, I think the two main characteristics of him, looking at a total of all his incarnations, are that he's 1. a solver of mysteries, a'la scooby doo, sherlock holmes etc and 2. a leader that inspires his followers to greatness. And his followers aren't just "a hot young woman" - while he's certainly had quite a few of those, and most of his companions are human, the Doctor has had many, many different followers of varying genders and species.

That he has a few "magic items"/technologies outside of earth's capabilities is more of a side note (apart of course from the TARDIS).


Further I should repeat - I'm looking for a PFS build - so stuff like Leadership or crafting feats don't apply in this case.

That said, I do agree that you could build a Wizard version of the Doctor - though I'm not sure I would take the approach you are suggesting.

For one - I don't like builds that take many many levels to come together - I want a build that I will enjoy playing for how ever many levels I play it - and which will help every party I join. So it should be effective at every level - and in a very Doctor like approach the build should adjust as it levels up (and as the party composition changes). So I'm also wary of builds with too little flexibility (my concern about an Oracle build is in part the spells known).

To that end a "god" wizard is somewhat appropriate - but the doctor also has lots of other non-wizard like characteristics. (The 4th doctor epitomizes the Pathfinder Chronicler prestige class feature "deep pockets" - always having just the random thing in his pocket that he needs along with much he does not - the 2nd doctor had a bit of this going on as well)

I do think there are some interesting builds to do with certain prestige classes (Rage Prophet was my initial thought, I'm wondering if there are others that might fit as well - stuff like Loremaster has some flavor that seems appropriate - in the "secrets" learned)

Scarab Sages

Well there is no way to express the character's mechanical skills without crafting feats/skills, so that's a tough limitation.

Think of K-9 for example. He's a construct.

you CAN get around the whole limit on crafting though by taking an arcane bond (wand), then use it as a wand of either hold portal or knock. It's a bit weak-sauce as sonic screwdrivers go, but what can you do?

I agree that my build is not the most playable around. I was going with a whole "warp space/time" theme there. Still Conjuration: Teleport works that way. If you wanted to make him more persuasive, an enchanter might work as well.

There are few ways to get immortality though, except by going wizard (I read somewhere that Summoners get it too). The problem is that most of the thematic skills are kind of hard to play with. Starting with Breadth of Experience works thematically, but it's not a very strong feat for example.

This is clearly going to be a matter of trade-offs. Still I'd Go GOD wizard if I were you.


I don't play PFS myself, so I only know what I've heard in terms of what's useful and not. I think one main difficulty is that the Doctor is reliant on a lot of ad-hoc things, and his character being incredibly smart - you as a player have to be very smart to pull it off in PFS, since there are no "hint" mechanics other than occasionally from knowledge skills.

That said, I'd suggest making a support character. Out of combat, you should be knowledgable, a good face, and good at solving mysteries. In combat, you should only rarely directly hurt enemies, generally using buffs, debuffs, and "discreet" battlefield control (more Grease, less Wall of Stone).

Thus, I suggest a bard. Now, it should be noted that this isn't a very optimized character, and if the PFS scenarios you play are really really hard it might go badly for you. However, it's a character that can be useful in most parties; this lessens the issue with the random party makeup nature of PFS.

But a variant of the controller bard mentioned in treantmonks guide might be perfect. Now, if you feel comfortable reducing your in-combat value to increase your out-combat (and pre-combat) value, I'd recommend going with a Detective bard - the flavor fits perfectly.

This is the outline of a build I think could work decently. Note that it's main focus is out of combat usefulness, but it should still be able to contribute to combat through controlling, disorienting and buffing.

Race: Human with Focused Study. Ability bonus to dex.
Ability Scores (starting): Str 10, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 10, Cha 14.

Levels/choices:
Bard 1 - Skill Focus (Perform: Comedy), Weapon Finesse
Bard 2 - Versatile Performance (Comedy)
Bard 3 - Combat Expertise or WF (Whip)
Bard 4 - +1 intelligence
Bard 5 - Improved Trip or Dazzling Display
Bard 6 - Versatile Performance (Oratory)
Bard 7 - Improved Initiative maybe?
Bard 8 - +1 Charisma, Skill Focus (Perform: Oratory)

The bard will have 9 skill ranks per level, and maxing out comedy and oratory will max out all the social skills (though unfortunately you have to wait until level 6 until you get diplomacy/sense motive) so you'll be able to put plenty of points into knowledges, perception and other skills that fits and you want. Whether you go for tripping or demoralizing first, try to pick up the other one afterwards.

Pick spells that buff, a few illusions, and a few divinations. Keep away from spells that can only be useful in a single combat - your spells per day will be low - and spells that allow for a save. Heroism has great duration, pyrotechnics is great in that it can serve a multitude of purposes (outside of combat too) and it's smoke effect cannot be pierced by nearly any means.

In combat, your tactic is to disrupt enemies as much as possible. Throw nets and alchemical compounds (your attack bonus will definately be enough for touch attacks) and either use dazzling display or trip the enemy (I'd go for tripping but both have merits and drawbacks). Try to keep to long-duration pre-combat buffs where possible, though of course you should also inspire courage when you have the chance.

Unfortunately the stats don't represent the doctor very well, but hey, whatchagonnado on a 20pb? 14 int/cha is at least smart and charming, though not the awe-inspiring genius the doctor is.


Interesting but I wouldn't go the human, focused study route for the doctor.

Instead if building a bard I would probably go Aasimar, boost CHA really high with INT and WIS also high. I'd probably dump STR, have a fairly high CON and medium DEX. I might nearly forego weapons entirely (and combat feats) in favor of buffs.

Which actually suggests yet another option I hadn't yet considered - the doctor as Summoner where the eidolon is his companion... (Perhaps a small dog....). This could make for fairly entertaining effects


Summoner is a very combat-focused class in terms of abilities, skill set, spell list etc. The doctor isn't at all combat-focused compared to pathfinder classes in general.

One might want to check out some of the alchemist archetypes too, there might be something somewhere there.


Summoner can be whatever you want it to be - it is all in how you play it and how you flavor your Eidolon. (and for that matter many of the doctor's companions over the years have been far more combat focused than him - Ace for example...) One thought I've had is to use the Eidolon to be his "companion" (probably modeled off of one of his rare non-human companions - K9 or perhaps another - there have been a few over the years - more if you include the extended universe materials). The Doctor would then be focused on buff spells (though summoners don't get a ton).

Most summoners I've seen played in PFS have not been combat focused in the least - may just quirks of the local players but mostly they have built Eidolons who do the combat duties and the Summoner stays in back occasionally using ranged attacks but mostly buffing. I've also seen Eidolons built for stealth/scouting though that is rarer in PFS play where there are fewer opportunities for scouting/stealth to be helpful (in part because splitting the party in a time-limited format is frowned upon by GMs and players alike.

Dark Archive

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He's a Witch, ignore the misguided fluff about witches being weirdo cackling women.

His familiar is just like Baba Yaga's hut. Sexy the Tardis has all of those powers.

He has the Time patron, obviously.

He is Peri-blooded Aasimar (outsider, +2 Cha and Int, likes to blow stuff up, no bonus to Wis. Bonus to Knowledge Planes, "and wrestle with their urges to do both good and evil.").

He very seldom uses any Wis abilities anyway. He never bothers checking out a new place before driving the Tardis there. He constantly gets caught, crappy Perception. He listens to any old nonsense the baddies say until almost too late (poor Sense Motive). What he does do is analyse afterwards and come up with a plan. He has Int and Cha, Wis is a dump. It is only his class and level which makes his Will save good.

He uses hexes on the show all the time, just not visible. Give him a feat to make still hexes, he uses Misfortune and Evil Eye on every single enemy he encounters, every episode. He clearly has the Hidden Home and Vision hexes. There are arguments for Nightmares and Dire Prophecy and (self) Forced Reincarnation.

He has high Int and has maxed certain Knowledge skills, but not Local (Witches don't have Local). Witches also get UMD unlike Wizards, he maxes that.

Witches have the worst AC in the game and good witch players never let that be an issue. The Doctor takes a blow about once per season.

He has a wand of Knock/Analyse Dweomer/some other stuff. Probably artifact level.

He is just massively focused on still, silent Enchantments. And as he has been resurrected a lot, there is a good claim he has been a Halfling Jinx at some point.

He has Mythic tiers in the Marshall line. He is known to muck about and make everyone else dance to his tune.

Alignment is CN, obviously.


LazarX wrote:
Rycaut wrote:

If I was doing this for a home game then clearly there are some amazing races to consider (Samsarans for example) and some archetypes (the druid that always reincarnates - Reincarnated Druid and who gets "speak with any living creature" as a level 15 power would work well - but isn't a legal archetype for PFS play.

So how would you build a version of The Doctor while staying within the rules for PFS play?

Golarion is not a stage where a character like the Doctor could be played.

Or more accurately, The Doctor is a character for story driven game systems, not wargames with role play elements bolted onto them like D20/Pathfinder.

god your a buzzkill, too bad I almost always agree with you

Scarab Sages

I think Captain K makes some good points.

I still think He's a wizard, but witch works as well. He's definitely an arcane caster. Charisma is not his best score. He's all about being "clever" and "working things out," That's not about charm. In fact he can be downright abrasive sometimes.

The sonic screwdriver is the dead give-away. Only Wizards and witches get wands in mythology and history. The sonic screwdriver is a magic wand. Bard's don't use wands. Wizards use wands. Bard is just the wrong archetype.


Captain K. wrote:

He's a Witch, ignore the misguided fluff about witches being weirdo cackling women.

His familiar is just like Baba Yaga's hut. Sexy the Tardis has all of those powers.

He has the Time patron, obviously.

He is Peri-blooded Aasimar (outsider, +2 Cha and Int, likes to blow stuff up, no bonus to Wis. Bonus to Knowledge Planes, "and wrestle with their urges to do both good and evil.").

...

Alignment is CN, obviously.

Good call!

However, mechanically I would count the TARDIS as the Witch's Hut grand hex (throw in Hidden Home if you want the chameleon circuit to work) with a permanent Create Demiplane spell cast on the inside. It seldom moves very far on its own, and requires the doctor as a "pilot" (using plane shift or whatever).

The Doctor has a dog familiar naturally. Possibly using the Improved Familiar feat to create a homonculus so that it would also count as a construct...


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Rycaut wrote:

Summoner can be whatever you want it to be - it is all in how you play it and how you flavor your Eidolon. (and for that matter many of the doctor's companions over the years have been far more combat focused than him - Ace for example...) One thought I've had is to use the Eidolon to be his "companion" (probably modeled off of one of his rare non-human companions - K9 or perhaps another - there have been a few over the years - more if you include the extended universe materials). The Doctor would then be focused on buff spells (though summoners don't get a ton).

Most summoners I've seen played in PFS have not been combat focused in the least - may just quirks of the local players but mostly they have built Eidolons who do the combat duties and the Summoner stays in back occasionally using ranged attacks but mostly buffing. I've also seen Eidolons built for stealth/scouting though that is rarer in PFS play where there are fewer opportunities for scouting/stealth to be helpful (in part because splitting the party in a time-limited format is frowned upon by GMs and players alike.

Flip that around and make the Doctor the Eidolon. It takes a minute to summon him. There's the "bwoosh, bwoosh" and a box appears and he steps out ready to do... what ever it is you build him to do.

You would play the companion, a creature of the material plane with a connection to a wanderer in time and space.


That's a very interesting proposal. Really really cool.


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Social Rogue.

No, seriously. He goes for the Use Magic Device (Sonic Screwdriver), and the few other tricks he pulls out of his butt could easily be from Talents or the sort; but he's all about the talking. Oh, and he'd have the Run feat. >;3

Dark Archive

He's an Expert, maybe some low-combat flavor of rogue if you insist on a PC class. The folks making him a caster have obviously never seen the show.

Run feat is a given.

ErrantPursuit wrote:
Kthulhu wrote:
He's an expert with a wand of Deux Ex Machina.

Wait...

(French)Two (Latin)from the Machine?
So, is that a witty language joke? The Latin and French couple from the machine, like...inter-cultural clone people in love or something? That's so sweet!

DEUS (god) not DEUX (two.)


This makes me wonder how to create the Dalek (or was it Darlek or Da'lek)

EXTERMINATE ......EXTERMINATE ......EXTERMINATE ......EXTERMINATE ......
;)

Grand Lodge

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Dalek.

30? year old spoiler:

It is Kaled with the consonants backward.

I wouldn't. The whole point of the Doctor is that he is a single character who upstages everyone else at the table. That just isn't going to go over in society play.

That said, if I were going to do it, I think the eidalon route would be hilarious. (Enough that I being tempted to name my next summoner "Sarah Jane Smith" and give her a quadrapedal eidelon...)

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