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Post by caffinatedd on Nov 16, 2023 18:47:57 GMT
Personally, I’ve longed toyed with the idea of creating sourcebooks for other such similar properties such as Sapphire and Steel, The Tomorrow People, Space 1999 or even more obscure ones such as Ace of Wands. But I’ve never had the time nor motivation to dedicate myself to such a Herculean task. Nothing immediately springs to mind, but maybe a collection of stats for original threats and villains with suggestions on how you could incorporate them within a campaign? Or, to be more specific for the DW universe maybe something akin to The Paternoster Gang Sourcebook but dedicated to another period in history? You left out Blake's 7
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Post by grinch on Nov 16, 2023 20:43:29 GMT
Personally, I’ve longed toyed with the idea of creating sourcebooks for other such similar properties such as Sapphire and Steel, The Tomorrow People, Space 1999 or even more obscure ones such as Ace of Wands. But I’ve never had the time nor motivation to dedicate myself to such a Herculean task. Nothing immediately springs to mind, but maybe a collection of stats for original threats and villains with suggestions on how you could incorporate them within a campaign? Or, to be more specific for the DW universe maybe something akin to The Paternoster Gang Sourcebook but dedicated to another period in history? You left out Blake's 7 That I did. And Red Dwarf as well for that matter.
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Post by soultaker666212 on Dec 3, 2023 17:36:45 GMT
An idea I had was, what about a sourcebook of ready made NPCs that can be slotted into a campaign as allies or adversaries or neutrals to encounter. This could include people from all walks of life from across time and space, separated into backgrounds/professions for easier access like the Military section could have a UNIT general from the 90s, Sontaran Mercenary etc. Each one has like some backstory that can be further expanded upon, plot hooks, their stats and equipment etc. Would be a useful book for those who need an NPC and can't think of one etc.
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
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Post by Catsmate on Dec 3, 2023 18:31:34 GMT
An idea I had was, what about a sourcebook of ready made NPCs that can be slotted into a campaign as allies or adversaries or neutrals to encounter. This could include people from all walks of life from across time and space, separated into backgrounds/professions for easier access like the Military section could have a UNIT general from the 90s, Sontaran Mercenary etc. Each one has like some backstory that can be further expanded upon, plot hooks, their stats and equipment etc. Would be a useful book for those who need an NPC and can't think of one etc. I've been contemplating a collection of assorted time travellers.
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Post by soultaker666212 on Dec 3, 2023 18:34:05 GMT
An idea I had was, what about a sourcebook of ready made NPCs that can be slotted into a campaign as allies or adversaries or neutrals to encounter. This could include people from all walks of life from across time and space, separated into backgrounds/professions for easier access like the Military section could have a UNIT general from the 90s, Sontaran Mercenary etc. Each one has like some backstory that can be further expanded upon, plot hooks, their stats and equipment etc. Would be a useful book for those who need an NPC and can't think of one etc. I've been contemplating a collection of assorted time travellers.I like it as an option as well, but the sourcbook wouldn't contain just time travellers though and instead include folks native to time zones with different backgrounds and professions that offer a chance to feature in a campaign. From all of time and space as well can include a wealthy Victorian gentleman, Draconian Noble, Galactic Empire diplomat, Ancient Egyptian Priest etc etc.
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Post by thewarchief on Dec 3, 2023 18:45:53 GMT
I rather like the idea of a historical guide type book, and I'm on board to help. I have a multitude of historical ideas in my notes. Maybe a timeline like structure for them?
What if the book gave a chapter to specific times & places in Earth's history, along with some sample NPCs/VIPs gear/vehicles and some bullet points with ideas for possible adventures, and even appropriate genres and themes for the setting. So you could have a chapter on Ancient Egypt, Imperial Rome, Ancient Greece, Saxon Britain, Norman Britain, Feudal Japan, Victorian England, the American West, Louis XIV's France etc. That format would allow for lots and lots of possible settings, while not needing a very detailed timeline or a need to try and cover everything thing. It would also be easy to expand, and if the whole book project didn't work out then each setting chapter could be a stand alone supplement. Authors could focus on quality for each setting as opposed to quantity.
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
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Post by Catsmate on Dec 3, 2023 20:39:37 GMT
I've been contemplating a collection of assorted time travellers. I like it as an option as well, but the sourcbook wouldn't contain just time travellers though and instead include folks native to time zones with different backgrounds and professions that offer a chance to feature in a campaign. From all of time and space as well can include a wealthy Victorian gentleman, Draconian Noble, Galactic Empire diplomat, Ancient Egyptian Priest etc etc. Agreed, my own idea was more of a compilation of a couple of dozen time travellers who've popped up in our campaigns, as NPCs (or Indeed PCs) for anyone of interest.
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on Dec 3, 2023 20:40:27 GMT
I rather like the idea of a historical guide type book, and I'm on board to help. I have a multitude of historical ideas in my notes. Maybe a timeline like structure for them?
What if the book gave a chapter to specific times & places in Earth's history, along with some sample NPCs/VIPs gear/vehicles and some bullet points with ideas for possible adventures, and even appropriate genres and themes for the setting. So you could have a chapter on Ancient Egypt, Imperial Rome, Ancient Greece, Saxon Britain, Norman Britain, Feudal Japan, Victorian England, the American West, Louis XIV's France etc. That format would allow for lots and lots of possible settings, while not needing a very detailed timeline or a need to try and cover everything thing. It would also be easy to expand, and if the whole book project didn't work out then each setting chapter could be a stand alone supplement. Authors could focus on quality for each setting as opposed to quantity. I'd be happy to contribute to such a project.
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Post by thewarchief on Dec 4, 2023 18:18:06 GMT
I'd be happy to contribute to such a project. I think the way to get something like that going would be to start up a thread in the appropriate section, and then note what setting you are going to work on, and maybe check to see if anyone else has done some work on it already and has something you might use, so that we don't all reinvent the wheel (or the horse), and also to ensure that we all use the same stats for the wheel (or the horse). That said, the folks who've being doing the various unofficial expanded Doctor sourcebooks are the ones who really know how such a project works. BTW, I've got a sizable number of vehicles and weapons statted up for 1E that were/are for a project I was working on with MisterHarry, but which has mostly sat dormant (my fault). I definitely wouldn't mind digging out a few writeups for specific setting. For instance a Sopwith Camel and Fokker Dr.1 for whoever does a WWI setting. If it revealed the methods I used to stat stuff we could all use them to get consistent stats between us. That way one author's British Mk V tank would have the same stats as another author's. That assumes that people still have an interest in 1E stats, and in having different stats for different vehicles/weapon as opposed to the generic "car", "truck", "Motorcycle".
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misterharry
Dominus Tempus
Dalek Caan's Lovechild
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Post by misterharry on Dec 4, 2023 20:00:53 GMT
That said, the folks who've being doing the various unofficial expanded Doctor sourcebooks are the ones who really know how such a project works. As somebody who's been involved in the expanded universe sourcebooks from the start, here are a few thing to think about: You'll need somebody to act as coordinator, editor and the person who'll do the design/layout/artwork-sourcing/overall pulling things together - there's a lot more work involved than just writing text and stats, so don't underestimate this. For us, Siskoid takes that role. For each supplement you want to produce, start a thread with the first post listing what the contents will be - I'd suggest the coordinator does this. For the EU sourcebooks, this is simply a list of the stories within scope. But for something like the supplements you're thinking about, probably start with setting out chapters (such as historical eras, countries, NPC types, etc or however you want to organise it) and populate the opening post with more detail as people put forward what they're committing to write. The first post can then be kept updated with the names of who's writing what. Most of the actual communication between writers and coordinators should take place outside the forum to avoid it becoming clogged up. So emails, a private Facebook group, Google docs or whatever. Hope this helps.
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Post by thewarchief on Dec 4, 2023 21:11:39 GMT
Seems like sound advice to me.
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misterharry
Dominus Tempus
Dalek Caan's Lovechild
Posts: 3,246
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Post by misterharry on Dec 4, 2023 21:15:55 GMT
A practical consideration has also occurred to me. Siskoid made what turned out to be a very sensible decision right at the start of the EU project - that each entry in our sourcebooks would take up a whole page (or two or three whole pages for longer entries). By not splitting pages up with parts of multiple entries, it has made it easy to slot new things in if they crop up late in the process, without having to re-do a lot of page layout. I'm not sure if this would work for these supplements or not, depends on what you're envisaging.
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Post by thewarchief on Dec 5, 2023 1:49:35 GMT
A practical consideration has also occurred to me. Siskoid made what turned out to be a very sensible decision right at the start of the EU project - that each entry in our sourcebooks would take up a whole page (or two or three whole pages for longer entries). By not splitting pages up with parts of multiple entries, it has made it easy to slot new things in if they crop up late in the process, without having to re-do a lot of page layout. I'm not sure if this would work for these supplements or not, depends on what you're envisaging. Well, while we obviously haven't gotten anything worked out yet, I was thinking that each setting could be a self contained chapter/section. That way the project wouldn't be slowed or stopped by any one contributor. It would also make it easier to expand too, since we could put things into a mostly-chronological order, and just slot in new material where it fits. But that's just my thoughts. If there is a better approach, I'm all for it. Maybe doing each setting as a smaller stand alone thing might be better? Then maybe someone collects them into a single book later? Then again that might make it harder to give them a consistent format? I dunno still just at the ideas stage.
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Post by markrand on Dec 5, 2023 2:06:47 GMT
Having been involved in Pern fandom since the 1980s, I have quite a bit of material on the subject and can email it to whoever writes the book. Additionally, there is quite a bit of material about "The Dragonriders of Pern" books on the web.
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on Dec 5, 2023 9:44:39 GMT
Having been involved in Pern fandom since the 1980s, I have quite a bit of material on the subject and can email it to whoever writes the book. Additionally, there is quite a bit of material about "The Dragonriders of Pern" books on the web. And some of the dragons could travel in time....
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misterharry
Dominus Tempus
Dalek Caan's Lovechild
Posts: 3,246
Favourite Doctors: Second, Third, Fourth, Eleventh, Thirteenth
Traits: Empathic, Face in the Crowd, Insatiable Curiosity, Stubborn, Phobia (Heights), Unadventurous
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Post by misterharry on Dec 5, 2023 12:07:39 GMT
A couple more things occurred to me overnight:
Firstly, the coordinator/editor will probably need to establish some writing guidelines to set out things like: word counts, whether British or American spelling and terminology is to be used (the EU project goes with British to be consistent with Cubicle 7's books), formatting of stats blocks, and general guidance on writing style. The point about stats formatting is important because getting writers to do this correctly will minimise the amount of changes the editor will need to make when transferring stats from submitted drafts into the master document. Have a look at Siskoid's post in the pinned Submission Guidelines thread in the EU Projects section for what I mean.
And secondly, on a related note, the editor will probably need to prepare templates for the various stats blocks that are likely to be needed: characters/aliens (probably both full-length and "thumbnail" format), animals/non-sentient monsters, gadgets, vehicles, etc.
It's probably become clear (if it wasn't already) that the coordinator's role is vital - until somebody steps forward for that, the project can't really get underway. I'm afraid I'm not that person: I'm committed to the EU project plus fitting one or two of my own shorter supplements in whenever I have the time.
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Post by markrand on Dec 5, 2023 13:47:08 GMT
Having been involved in Pern fandom since the 1980s, I have quite a bit of material on the subject and can email it to whoever writes the book. Additionally, there is quite a bit of material about "The Dragonriders of Pern" books on the web. And some of the dragons could travel in time....Yep. It's called "Timing it". In the current, Ninth Pass, it was discovered by Lessa when she and her gold dragon, Ramoth, the largest dragon on Pern, accidently traveled back in time 17-turns (years) to Ruatha, where Lessa was born.
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on Dec 5, 2023 14:42:57 GMT
And some of the dragons could travel in time.... Yep. It's called "Timing it". In the current, Ninth Pass, it was discovered by Lessa when she and her gold dragon, Ramoth, the largest dragon on Pern, accidently traveled back in time 17-turns (years) to Ruatha, where Lessa was born. Hmmm, that gives me an idea....
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Post by grinch on Dec 15, 2023 17:14:11 GMT
I’ve been rewatching the Vic and Bob remake of “Randall and Hopkirk: Deceased” which isn’t half bad and it does occur to me that, it would probably work well as a sourcebook. Especially considering it preceded the revival of Doctor Who by a few years and did occasionally do the Monster of the Week approach.
Failing that, maybe at least a few stats or adventure seeds based on selected episodes.
I dunno. Just something I’m musing on at the moment.
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Post by lupercal on Dec 15, 2023 17:33:05 GMT
Being a long-time fan of the Midsomer Murders, I think the bizarreness of Midsomer County would fit right into the Doctor Who Universe. What do you think?
Friendly greetings, Horus Lupercal.
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on Dec 15, 2023 18:14:48 GMT
Being a long-time fan of the Midsomer Murders, I think the bizarreness of Midsomer County would fit right into the Doctor Who Universe. What do you think? Friendly greetings, Horus Lupercal. Absolutely, there was an Iris Wildthyme storm that was basically a Midsomer pastiche.
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Post by thewarchief on Dec 16, 2023 21:31:00 GMT
A couple more things occurred to me overnight: Thanks for the insight. It's probably become clear (if it wasn't already) that the coordinator's role is vital - until somebody steps forward for that, the project can't really get underway. Yup, and it's probably the major reason why most fan supplements are the work of one or two dedicated people, or at best a small group, and also why most projects like this one, despite how good the concept, don't pan out. I'm afraid I'm not that person: I'm committed to the EU project plus fitting one or two of my own shorter supplements in whenever I have the time. That's okay. I didn't expect you to take on the job when I mentioned you. I mentioned you to get some insight from someone who has successfully done this already and who has an idea of what the real difficulties are.
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Post by grinch on Jan 16, 2024 11:01:36 GMT
As much as I dislike the liberties they took with mythology and folklore, I think The Librarians would actually make for a good sourcebook. Let’s face it, after a while Flynn basically became the Doctor in all but name.
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Post by grinch on Jan 18, 2024 23:41:10 GMT
And on somewhat of the same fantasy note, I think "Merlin" would make for a good sourcebook. Although, as always, you would have to factor in the whole Magic factor. Even with the use of the Magic Adept trait introduced in the excellent EU sourcebooks.
As it turns out, the Vortex system would work with a great many programmes the BBC have produced over the years.
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Post by spydalek on Jan 19, 2024 8:46:56 GMT
And on somewhat of the same fantasy note, I think "Merlin" would make for a good sourcebook. Although, as always, you would have to factor in the whole Magic factor. Even with the use of the Magic Adept trait introduced in the excellent EU sourcebooks. As it turns out, the Vortex system would work with a great many programmes the BBC have produced over the years. Magic could probably be done in a similar way to the Psychic stuff in Doctor Who/Rocket Age. Psychic Powers are basically magic, after all.
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Post by soultaker666212 on Jan 20, 2024 17:03:21 GMT
And on somewhat of the same fantasy note, I think "Merlin" would make for a good sourcebook. Although, as always, you would have to factor in the whole Magic factor. Even with the use of the Magic Adept trait introduced in the excellent EU sourcebooks. As it turns out, the Vortex system would work with a great many programmes the BBC have produced over the years. Magic could work how Gadget works perhaps. Have the magic trait allows for you to be a magic user and spells are like gadgets with a story point cost to use. Perhaps its basic spells effects that can be used alone or combined like gadget traits but costs more story points to use. Magic could be a Ingenuity+ Spellcasting skill+ any relevant magic traits+2d6 and determines how well the spell did as usual. Just food for thought there.
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Post by grinch on Mar 25, 2024 18:58:37 GMT
This’ll sound daft but after watching the entire series I actually think the revived series of “Ducktales” could make for a good sourcebook.
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Post by thewarchief on Mar 26, 2024 19:19:01 GMT
This’ll sound daft but after watching the entire series I actually think the revived series of “Ducktales” could make for a good sourcebook. I'm not quite sure how to interpret that. Do you mean it would be good as a Doctor Who supplement, or that it would make a good game using the Vortex game system? And are you thinking of keeping the anthropomorphized animals or just adapting the stories and characters over to something more humanoid? Great, now I've got ideas for Ducktor Huey in my head.
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Post by grinch on Mar 26, 2024 19:48:00 GMT
This’ll sound daft but after watching the entire series I actually think the revived series of “Ducktales” could make for a good sourcebook. I'm not quite sure how to interpret that. Do you mean it would be good as a Doctor Who supplement, or that it would make a good game using the Vortex game system? And are you thinking of keeping the anthropomorphized animals or just adapting the stories and characters over to something more humanoid? Great, now I've got ideas for Ducktor Huey in my head. No worries. I meant considering this version was more story driven than its predecessor and its colourful cast of characters it would make for a good game using the Vortex system. I certainly don’t think the likes of Duckberg would work in the Whoniverse aside from perhaps existing within the Land of Fiction.
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Post by thewarchief on Mar 26, 2024 21:37:29 GMT
No worries. I meant considering this version was more story driven than its predecessor and its colourful cast of characters it would make for a good game using the Vortex system. I certainly don’t think the likes of Duckberg would work in the Whoniverse aside from perhaps existing within the Land of Fiction.[/quote] Okay, gotcha. I was thinking of something similar with Gerry Anderson UFO series. But, after remembering that John Levine was in both show I'm now leaning towards SHADO being an alternate universe version of UNIT, sans the Doctor. I've also been thinking that the film Forbidden Planet would fit it well with classic Who's Earth Federation. Especially if we assume the Dalek Invasion of Earth still happened in the timeline, and humans patterned their early interstellar designs off of Dalek saucers.
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