NPC or PC timelord

[zebaroth]

NPC or PC timelord what are the pro & cons of both and what would
be the best to use. Also how to keep the game balanced with a pc timelord

[Gas Mask Zombie]

NPC Timelord

Pros:
You, as a GM, have more control as the, probable, pilot of the Tardis and the person with highest technical skills

Cons:
That same additional control can make players feel their actions are more restricted and they can feel railroaded or, the exact opposite problem, the players may run to your NPC for every little thing.

PC Timelord

Pros: It makes for great role-playing and gives the players far more control.

Cons: It gives the players far more control, they could come right out of left field, deciding to make a trip to Kansas for fun. Timelord players also usually have many more abilities, and options, making players playing mere mortals feeling left out.

When I ran a game a while back, a traditional Timelord companion duo, I found that it works best when the companion has a strong personality, he ended up doing most of the introductions and asked the most questions whereas the Timelord made most of the rolls; although near the end the companion did ask for a gadget of his own.

I'm planing an campaign with an NPC Timelord, but I'm giving him the Cowardly and Selfish bad traits as well as a phobia or two, I'm envisioning a situation were the Timelord acts as kind of mission control from the safety of the Tardis.

All you can really do is try to get a feel for your players; also you can read around the forums a bit, I'm a new member but I've already seen a few interesting ways of dealing with this question.

[Craig Oxbrow]

There's also the option of no Time Lord or equivalent, even for a Doctor Who style "travelling everywhere and anywhere in time and space at random" game. A TARDIS could travel by its own whims or some outside force's design.

As for balancing PC Time Lords, it's possible to have Time Lords who aren't as powerful as the Doctor has become (Eleven is arguably less all-round capable than Ten, and the earlier classic Doctors were much less remarkable) and companions who are empowered themselves. In a more traditional "he's 900, she's 19" power gap, Story Points can make a difference, but it's up to the players and GM to really make it work with roughly equal "spotlight" time and importance despite varying power levels. A Time Lord player who isn't a pushy powergamer makes a more equal game than one who is, of course.

[da professor]

In my game, the nearest to a timelord is a combination of a PC (Jenny) who has impressive abilities but doesn't always remember to use the ones she knows about and hasn't a clue how to fly a Tardis and an NPC (rookie Time Agent Jim Hope) who can just about fly the Tardis but is at -4 to relevant rolls due to tech differences and has a lot of book-learning but little practical experience. Neither of them has exceptional tech skills, so that is picked up by another PC who is a 17 Japanese otaku and boy genius.

[zebaroth]

some interesting idea s here on how to manage timelords