Time Lord Attributes

[ninjaconor]

Can a Time Lord character raise attributes other than Ingenuity above 6? I know normally the alien trait allows this but it doesn't really specify with Time Lord.

[Escher]

If you were one of my players, as a GM I would rule yes but with restrictions. I would allow Coordination to go above 6, but limit Ingenuity to 6. It is already established Time Lords have enhanced or superhuman physical attributes.

It is not strictly canon but in the Doctor's Daughter (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Doctor%27s_Daughter), Jenny showed superhuman agility. Perhaps the rationale was that her 'points' were placed into Coordination rather than Ingenuity.

[Marnal]

In "End of the World" we learn that by focusing their minds (on the right time equations?) Time Lords can alter the rate at which they experiance time - allowing them to move with seemingly super human reflexes. In "Time Monster" the Doctor claims that his reflexes are ten times faster than a human's.

[ninjaconor]

Cool! Was just building a psychic Time Lord and wanted to give him 7 Resolve. Planet-wide telepathic communication just sounds so handy

[da professor]

Maybe one of a Time Lord's special (spend a hero point to do it) abilities is to temporarily transfer part of his enhanced intelligence to another stat - by knowing secret techniques or whatever handwave seems appropriate.

[Marnal]

The novels state that they can re-program their brains to divert 'processing power' to various traits. I let my Time Lord players use SP to justify temporary boosts to anything but Strength.

[chickenpaddy]

Apr 22, 2013 23:28:58 GMT Marnal said:

The novels state that they can re-program their brains to divert 'processing power' to various traits. I let my Time Lord players use SP to justify temporary boosts to anything but Strength.

That sounds like it could dangerously overpower Time Lords more than they already are. I don't see the need for them to perform such things. Couldn't any "re-programming" be explained as the normal usage of Story Points?

Not trying to be a downer, just trying to understand other GM's methods.

[Marnal]

I just let let the players shuffle points around temporarily. So they could boost their dex but would have to drop their ingenuity.

In practice it hasn't unbalanced things because the Time Lord PCs never use it. By spending a story point to roll 4 dice they can getting a plus ~7 to your attribute on ONE critical roll. They see this as a much better deal then spending that same Point to have a +2 bonus on some rolls and -2 penalty on others for an hour when they don't exactly what that hour of gaming will bring.

Which brings up another useless rule. The game says you can burn a Story Point to have access to someone else's skill. But that since that same point could net them approximately a +7 if they just double their dice its ONLY worth using someone else's skill option IF that person has a skill of 6 or higher - which is quite rare!

[chickenpaddy]

I think the instance where borrowing another's skill is most useful when you don't have the skill and would take a -4 penalty. Also, doubling your dice is a bit more risky, as a +7 isn't guaranteed. I've run many a game where the extra dice ended up being snake eyes. Borrowing another person's skill is a more guaranteed set bonus, if not as high on average. I suppose it depends on the type of roll being made and what is more thematically appropriate.

[mike]

In the "Time Traveller's Companion" page 41 para 2 it indicates that a Time Lord cannot have any attribute over 6 other than Ingenuity.

Another option to have resolve (or other attribute) higher than 6 is to use a gadget with the Augment trait from the "Defending the Earth" sourcebook (page 51).

[sonoftherani]

Going to add that using someone else's skill can be done for an entire scene.. Possibly several rolls.

[simonf]

I have a slightly different question. Various Good Traits in the Time Traveller's Guide confer benefits like "+1 to Knowledge with an Area of Expertise in Secrets of the Time Lords," (the High Office Trait) or some such. Does that mean that the Knowledge Skill goes up by 1 and the character automatically gains that Area of Expertise? I'm not sure how it works if the character has Knowledge 1, as it needs to be 3 to get any Areas of Expertise at all...

[Curufea]

I'd allow it. This would represent an idiot-savante kind of character. A geek/nerd/fan who only knows their specialty subject without the underlying knowledge of education leading up to that subject. ie you may not know how football is played, but know all the scores for a particular team in a particular year.

[misterharry]

Mar 27, 2014 0:06:43 GMT simonf said:

I have a slightly different question. Various Good Traits in the Time Traveller's Guide confer benefits like "+1 to Knowledge with an Area of Expertise in Secrets of the Time Lords," (the High Office Trait) or some such. Does that mean that the Knowledge Skill goes up by 1 and the character automatically gains that Area of Expertise? I'm not sure how it works if the character has Knowledge 1, as it needs to be 3 to get any Areas of Expertise at all...

High Office (for example) doesn't list a Prerequisite of a minimum level of Knowledge to be able to buy the trait. I'd therefore say that you gain the AoE even if your Knowledge is less than 3 - it's an exception to the general AoE rule.

[Polar Bear]

I think of that minimum as a guideline, not a rule. In the 1DS, Susan has Athletics 2, yet has an AoE in dancing.

[Escher]

The AoE Rule has been broken officially several times and I'm fairly easy letting players (and my own GM's NPCs) waive it if the rationale is plausible.

There's a post somewhere on here where Cubicle 7 said they 'might' make it official one day and remove the prerequisite for AoE's.

[simonf]

Thanks for the comments! Of course I think it's highly probable that a Time Lord with High Office would have Knowledge 3, but then again there are those who get ahead because of who they know rather than what...