Playing The Doctor

[scapps]

So I am a new GM and have a relatively simple question: Is it easier to have the GM be the Doctor, or should I let the players have at it?  Any help is appreciated.

[Stormcrow]

I prefer to let a player have the Doctor. If he's an NPC, the GM can inadvertently cause him to dominate the players; they'll stop thinking for themselves and wait for the GM to have the Doctor tell them what to do.

As a player-character, the Doctor does not dominate the game because he has relatively few story points. He remains the central character because he knows so much and does so much with gadgets—and has a TARDIS—but the companions are also important because they can use story points much more than he can.

In one case where the Doctor's player couldn't make a game, I said the TARDIS was giving them a bumpy ride, and the Doctor suggested the companions go look around wherever they'd just landed while he made repairs. That put him out of the adventure, rather than force him to be an adventuring NPC. The adventure went just fine—the TARDIS had landed on a spaceship with a saboteur and the companions saved everyone—and when they got back they nonchalantly told the Doctor that nothing special had happened.

[Craig Oxbrow]

Welcome aboard!

I'd suggest giving the role of the Doctor - or an equivalent central character, like a DIY Time Lord - to a player who can handle the responsibilities that such a role brings, like leading from the front, following clues and interrupting villains mid-rant, without turning the game into a one-player show. Playing someone like the Doctor can be a lot of fun, but can also skew the game that player's way. Other options include surrounding the Doctor-type with similarly unusual and powerful characters like Captain Jack or Madame Vastra, or switching control of the Doctor-type from player to player every adventure.

If you'd prefer a game where the players and their PCs are on a more equal footing, consider an alternative Doctor-less setup, such as investigators like Sarah Jane, or expand on something like the end of Blink where two ill-equipped normal people are stuck in the TARDIS and have to try and get it back to the Doctor.

If you'll excuse a plug, one of the first posts on my Who gaming blog addressed this.

[Aerzyk]

I know this post is a year old, but it's still on the first page, so does that count as thread necro? =P

I just wanted to throw out there that the first game we played, our GM let us (the players) decide who was to play the Doctor. We wound up letting the complete newbie (a guy who had never played this game, or even seen DW) play the part. It worked out wonderfully. He did some rather un-Doctor-ish things, but really in the end his portrayal reminded me of some kind of mash up between 1, 9, & 11, lol. To this day, that campaign remains my favorite out of all games (not just DW) I've played.