Possible handicap trait?

[therajeswari]

I was just thinking of the Silence and how they don't ever remain in your memory and how that really makes them dangerous to the Doctor. Then I started thinking about how old Who is a lot different than new Who in that the Doctor knew what things were a lot less in old Who. He was still new to the universe by his standards.

So I am wondering, is there a kind of handicap a character has if the Doctor knows something about them or an advantage if he knows nothing? If so, would you change this up if you were using the first Doctor who had probably never met a race like, oh say, the vashta nerada? Because the 10th Doctor already knew what they were, and who's to say it's not our game where he met them?

[Stormcrow]

I wouldn't make this a trait. The game master can just declare that the Doctor knows about the particular character or race. A trait would just be extra paperwork, and player characters don't need it.

In general, however, determining whether the Doctor knows about someone or something should be handled with an Ingenuity + Knowledge roll, modified for how obscure the information is. This is true of anybody, though characters from, say, modern Earth probably won't have any chance of knowing anything about them.

[garethl]

Dec 13, 2011 14:47:36 GMT Stormcrow said:

I wouldn't make this a trait. The game master can just declare that the Doctor knows about the particular character or race. A trait would just be extra paperwork, and player characters don't need it.

In general, however, determining whether the Doctor knows about someone or something should be handled with an Ingenuity + Knowledge roll, modified for how obscure the information is. This is true of anybody, though characters from, say, modern Earth probably won't have any chance of knowing anything about them.

I almost completely agree with Stormcrow. I wouldn't make this a trait. I disagree with the rolling for knowledge, if I wanted the Doctor to know something I would tell the player before the session or pass him/her a note.

The companions, in my experience, are the problem. Always trying to metagame the knowledge from the series. For them it could be useful to write down who they've met and what they know about them.

[Stormcrow]

Dec 14, 2011 16:13:32 GMT garethl said:

I almost completely agree with Stormcrow. I wouldn't make this a trait. I disagree with the rolling for knowledge, if I wanted the Doctor to know something I would tell the player before the session or pass him/her a note.

Sure, if you want the Doctor to know something, he knows it. I was referring to when you haven't decided that the Doctor automatically knows something.

The companions, in my experience, are the problem. Always trying to metagame the knowledge from the series. For them it could be useful to write down who they've met and what they know about them.

If players have a hard time with this, the game master should rely less on elements of the series and more on original ideas.

[garethl]

Dec 14, 2011 17:45:00 GMT Stormcrow said:

Dec 14, 2011 16:13:32 GMT garethl said:

I almost completely agree with Stormcrow. I wouldn't make this a trait. I disagree with the rolling for knowledge, if I wanted the Doctor to know something I would tell the player before the session or pass him/her a note.

Sure, if you want the Doctor to know something, he knows it. I was referring to when you haven't decided that the Doctor automatically knows something.

The companions, in my experience, are the problem. Always trying to metagame the knowledge from the series. For them it could be useful to write down who they've met and what they know about them.

If players have a hard time with this, the game master should rely less on elements of the series and more on original ideas.

Or the players should try harder to get in character. Giving a new and unexpected twist to old enemies can be fun too (see the episode Victory of the Daleks). In reality it isn't that much of a problem in our sessions. It is just that the potential for metagaming is greater with companions because if the Timelord player metagames we all go: oh, he could know that.

[Stormcrow]

Or you can let the characters come across a data repository detailing everything the players themselves know. Then players can use their meta-knowledge in character.