Fudgerylog

[This article is in support of my project to design an unofficial (and free) Fudge role-playing game adaptation of Doctor Who (the original show).]

The problem of how to plunge characters into adventure was addressed in FASA’s Doctor Who with the invention of the renegade Celestial Intervention Agency, which kept an eye on Temporal Nexus Point Earth and sent field agents there in stolen TARDIS units to halt the activities of temporal marauders. The idea of an agency of Time Lords who share the Doctor’s ethics and guide the players from one adventure to another is a good one, although I have a different view of the form it would take and I don’t think it ought to be the only method of introducing a scenario. The following is an excerpt of a work in progress:

THE EXCUSE FOR ADVENTURE

Why do characters do what they do? Specifically, how do they manage to
find themselves entangled in difficult situations that may involve the
fate of nations, planets, or even the universe as we know it? In Doctor
Who, the answer is typically a TARDIS misjump due to a faulty mechanism,
a miscalculation, or the effect of a temporal phenomenon. Sometimes the
TARDIS is drawn off course intentionally by a friend or foe intent on
thwarting the Doctor or enlisting his aid. Often the excuse for adventure
is pure coincidence. The Doctor and his Companion are off to this time or
that planet to enjoy its rare attractions when they are unexpectedly
thrust into the middle of one of the Master’s evil plots or an attempt by
the Daleks to enslave or exterminate another species. Although it works
well enough for a television programme, the premise may wear thin for
players when every adventure begins with a holiday outing interrupted by
interstellar conspiracy.

To provide a framework for continuing adventures without straining
credibility too much, an element has been added to the Classic Doctor Who
Universe (thus making it part of the Expanded Classic Doctor Who
Universe): the Temporal Integrity Preservation Society.

The Temporal Integrity Preservation Society (or T.I.P.S.) is a “club” of
independently-minded Time Lords concerned with threats to the timestream.
Operating from a private headquarters on Gallifrey and numerous TARDIS units
throughout time and space, its members monitor the natural and proper flow
of time and actively correct any deviations that are detected. Each
member’s TARDIS is equipped with a special device that enables members to
communicate with and be located by T.I.P.S. Headquarters. In the event
that a temporal deviation is detected, any member’s TARDIS can be
contacted and given the proper coordinates for emergency action. Adventure
can then proceed. Once the deviation has been corrected, Headquarters is
informed and the member returns to standby status.

Occasionally, the players will be the first to detect a disturbance in the
temporal flow, either from the instruments on the TARDIS or from personal
observation whilst visiting a particular time and place. Under those
circumstances, the players would immediately contact T.I.P.S.
Headquarters, investigate the matter, and attempt to correct the situation
(not necessarily always in that order).

It should be noted that not all temporal disturbances are the result of
obvious tampering by time travellers. Temporal anomalies do occur, and
sometimes only the wisdom and conscience of a Tipsy (as T.I.P.S. members
are both fondly and derogatorily referred to) can determine whether
intervention is permissible. Whereas the Doctor may oppose interference
with the Aztec ritual of human sacrifice on the grounds that it would
destroy the timestream, he may actively participate in defending Earth
against a Rutan invasion that, according to his knowledge of Earth’s
history, should not have succeeded in the 1890s. Whether his actions were
the cause of his own knowledge of the events is immaterial. The fact that
he knew that the Rutans must be opposed is proof that their failure to
conquer Earth was the proper result in the time line. The fact that he knew
that the Aztecs practiced human sacrifice until their conquest by the
Spanish is proof that their continuance of the ritual was the proper
result in the time line. One could argue circles around the subject of time
travel indefinitely, but for the purposes of adventure gaming in a light
science fiction setting, it is enough to know that the players ought to
sense when it is right to intervene, and when it is wrong. If they know
something didn’t happen a certain way in history, then they know they
ought to preserve that outcome as members of the Temporal Integrity
Preservation Society. If they don’t know something didn’t happen a
certain way (such as an event in our distant future or on an alien
planet), then they ought to proceed as if it were proper for them to be
there and do the right thing (avert an epidemic, liberate an enslaved
people, rescue the survivors of a crashed spaceship, stop a cult of alien
vampires, etc.). This both captures the tone of Doctor Who and promotes
playability.

[This article is in support of my project to design an unofficial (and free) Fudge role-playing game adaptation of Doctor Who (the original show).]

In general, I think the role of Time Lord ought to be assumed by a player, as it is in FASA’s Doctor Who, rather than the GM, as it is in Time Lord (which is an ironic title for a game where the players only get to be Companions). What fan of the show hasn’t yearned to have power over time and space and an extended lifespan in which to enjoy that power? It’s rather like creating a superhero game in which the players are only allowed to play characters like Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane, or Alfred the butler. I can see a mixed party having potential for open-minded role-players, but I am doubtful of the attraction of a game where all the players are mundane supporting characters of the non-player character “star” who has all the exotic skills, gadgets, and powers. The player characters, in effect, are the non-player character’s fault or disadvantage: Dependents (Player Character Companions).

The inevitable problem is that one’s gaming group will consist of more than one player who wishes to play a Time Lord. There are several possible solutions, and I am hoping I will be able to think of more. First, one can have a rotating Time Lord. For the first scenario, Player A will play the Time Lord and everyone else will play Companions. For the second scenario, Player B will get the honor, and so on until everyone has had a chance to play the Time Lord of the group, after which the privilege passes again to Player A, etc. The advantage is that the integrity of the show’s social dynamics are preserved. The disadvantage is that it may be a long time before some players ever get to be the star.

The second solution is to allow everyone to play whatever role they desire, which would probably lead to multiple Time Lords or even groups of nothing but Time Lords. This precedent can be found in the fourth Doctor’s Companion, Romana, who was herself a Time Lord (or Time Lady, depending on your term of preference). It can also be found in various Doctor Who specials that temporarily united multiple incarnations of the Doctor in a single story under highly unusual and rare circumstances. The advantage, of course, is that everyone gets to play a Time Lord without waiting for their turn. The disadvantage is that there may be multiple Time Lords, but there is usually only one TARDIS. Whose TARDIS is it? Whoever has the TARDIS has ultimate authority regardless of how many Time Lords are travelling in it. If everyone has their own TARDIS, how is group cohesion achieved?

The third solution is to use the same cast of characters, but switch roles at certain intervals, once per session, or once per scene, or once per dramatic conflict. Or it could be timed: once per hour, or once per 5 minutes. Depending on the frequency, it could make the session seem more or less like a party game, which might make for a welcome change of pace, or possibly a suitable prelude to an informal Doctor Who-viewing festival.

I think this is something I ought to address in the rules, at least in terms of suggesting options, if not recommendations.