Well, I’m not sure I should be engaging in “spoilers”. I usually end up wrong when I guess stuff. So, that first episode of the festive special proved thoroughly enjoyable. I have to admit to a fan-fueled tear at the final shot…

Anyway, I happy for the ‘enemy’ to be defeated provided that doesn’t mean the end of the them. I’m hoping their return presents a permanent fixture and The Doctor has to gone on the run again. I like them and the prospect of their return seems like a good move to add a new dimension to the storyline. I daresay Russell only removed them to simplify the back story for newcomers when the series returned.

We’ll see…

And, finally, what’s the connection between The Doctor and Wilfred Mott? Could it be a sneaky anagram?

Time Lord WTF?

I have to say I’m glad I’ve stumbled across ‘Ahistory: An Unauthorised History of the Doctor Who Universe’. I’m suprised I wasn’t aware of it’s existence before now.

I have treasured ‘A History of the Universe’ by Lance Parkin for a dozen years or more. I have a fetish for encyclopedic works about fictional and real world events and people alike. I wallow happily in the interconnectivity of the presented information, flicking back and forth with barely contained glee. To have such a work centred on the Doctor Who universe, I can hardly contain myself.

‘A History…’ took the events up to the end of the Virgin books; but ‘Ahistory’ brings matters almost up to date, up to 2007, including the Big Finish audio adventures and Doctor Who comic strips. I’m happier than a pig in muck.

So, I’m now reading ‘Ahistory’ and the Doctor Who RPG – and I’m thinking to start my own gaming campaign in the midst of the Last Great Time War. Despite failed earlier attempts to move themselves to the safety of a Bottled Universe, the option becomes a desperate last ditch effort to save some vestige of Gallifrey. While events spiral towards a terrible conclusion for Time Lords and Daleks alike, a few escape the end of everything escaping to another reality.

Or something like that…

ADDENDUM: Of course RTD has to throw his oar in with the current special and potentially change the whole outlook of my intended game background. He’s a cheeky monkey.

I noted on Twitter that Cubicle 7 had announced the release of Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space as a PDF, through DriveThruRPG and RPGNow. I haven’t got my own copy at the moment, which irks a little… I’d love to have my hands on it right now. Others have been opening the box with reverance, inspecting the glossy booklets with curious and fannish eyes.

I have to admit I am happy to wait – because I’m not at a major disadvantage for waiting an extra week or two. In the meantime, I’m saving £13 on the recommended price.

Now, I have to wonder the advantages of getting the PDF copy. You get no box, no dice – and you need to print them out if you want to use the tokens. If the PDF pricing considered this in light of market pricing as well, I might be tempted (and I have other games in PDF format, while also possessing the hardcopy)… However, the PDF copy is £21.53, just £5.46 cheaper than the boxset I’m getting from Play.com. What would possess me to do without the physical books for such a discount? Yes the PDF can go anywhere with me, stored away on a laptop or iPhone; but do I, as a Doctor Who GM, really need to be that flexible?

Just noted that there’s a favourable review of the new Doctor Who RPG in the latest issue of SFX.

The production value seems to have impressed – with the reviewer noting that many RPGs didn’t come up to the mark in terms of presentation. The reviewer noted the game used a point system for character creation and supported creation of characters suited to the atmosphere of the game (i.e. no gungho alien killing machines coming out of this game!)

The only downside the reviewer noted related to player fights over who got to play The Doctor/the resident Time Lord. I doubt that fight will really last long – because the weight on the shoulders of the average Time Lord will likely detract from the entertainment of playing one. Too much depends on you being right and you spend your time concerned for your companions – so very little time to consider yourself. If you do struggle to get players to agree, rotate character roles – random selection each session. Players who don’t like that kind of random factor and prefer to develop their own characters will rapidly get the idea and settle on a more agreeable arrangement for who plays what character. Those less bothered can play Time Lord ping-pong.

Anyway, I still await arrival of my copy. The price of getting the game £13 cheaper than advertised seems to be existing for the whims of the distributor. The game will come when it comes… Not like I don’t have anything else to do in the meantime!