Hi guys and gals!
First time of posting so please be gentle
Just got my copy of the Time Travellers Companion and I have a couple of questions regarding the 'TARDIS templates'...
1) For the ANCIENT TARDIS template (P. 113) there is no listing for additional story points as the rest of the TARDIS templates have...Surely as an ancient TARDIS it would have MORE additional story points than the DECOMMISSIONED, MODERN and ADVANCED models? Could be a misprint/noprint?After reading the thread and seeing that you meant Skill Points, I must now go D'oH! It should have 2D6 extra Skill points! You are the first person in a dozen to catch that one. Good on ya!
While it looks as though most of the changes are linear, this is not the case for a Modern TARDIS System Fault. What makes it better is the larger Story Point pool, better armour, speed, etc. It has still, quite likely, been snagged from a repair depot however, or has seen some action in the Time War. As a result, there is less temporary starting damage, as minor damage is easier to diagnose and fix, but the Major System Fault Trait represents Damage that landed it in a Gallifreyan repair depot in the first place or was suffered on the front line and never repaired before Gallifrey was destroyed.
You roll up the damage as you would normally. That damage is permanent and irreparable unless it spends a considerable amount of time in a Gallifreyan Repair depot or until you buy it off with TARDIS growth (representing a LOT of work done on the machine over a long period of time in the field), which is an intentionally lengthy process.
Consider the Doctor's TARDIS: it took him three incarnations to fix the navigation circuit (and he never seemed to have full control over the thing until his Seventh Incarnation) and he still has yet to properly repair the Chameleon Circuit. You want to save the Story Points for your Time Lord and take an Old Crock of a TARDIS? Go ahead, but realize you are taking a TARDIS with 'character.'
Now, if you get a damaged Dematerialization Circuit or something that makes the TARDIS unusable, the GM has three options:
1. Stick you with it and use it as a springboard for all sorts of dramatic nonsense. You may indeed have a faulty Demat Circuit, but this might make for a good series of Earth Bound adventures while you try and repair it (ala the Third Doctor). In the meantime, there is always the 'Come on Old Girl...' rule on pg.127 to get you by when you need it to work for a short period of time (before it inevitably breaks down again).
2. Allow you to reroll that bit of damage, if they think it is too much of a bother. or really doesn't fit in with their plans. If they really want you to actively pursue a goal through Time & Space, tracking a particular villain for instance, a shot demat circuit is going to hamper that series significantly, so it is best to reroll it.
3. Choose the specific damage instead of rolling it. This is probably the best of combination of the above options, as it allows him to make your PCs life interesting without derailing his plans.
In a perfect world, yes. But I had a page limit of 240 and that would have taken a half a page at least. But for you, the loyal customer, I will oblige right here.
The Professor's TARDISThe professor was an archivist in a Gallifreyan museum. Old beyond measure and never having done anything wild in his life, he decided to take a single trip in one of his older charges just to experience what 'all the fuss was about' before sneaking it back into its cradle in the atnique vehicles exhibit. He took off in a Type 27 and hasn't been able to get back since.
Step 1: Type and MarkWe want to take an Ancient TARDIS. IT can be of any Type between 1 and 29. We choose a Type 27, because that is old enough to be ancient, but not so old that it becomes implausible for it to exist. Plus, I really like the number 27.
I roll a D6 and get a 3, so it is a Type 27 Mk.3 TARDIS.
Step 2. Attributes
I copy down the Attributes from the Ancient TARDIS box.
Step 3. TARDIS Traits.I copy down the Traits listed in the Ancient TARDIS Box. One of those is the System Fault (Special) Trait, so I roll up the permanent damage (using the process found on page 81) and get the following results:
Quirk: Major Bad Trait (Player's Choice)
Console Damage (I'll roll this up after I create my Console)
-3 Presence (ouch!)
Quirk: Major Bad Trait (GM's Choice)
Quirk: Minor Good Trait (Player's Choice)
Major System Damage: Time Column (+6 Difficulty to Navigation)
For the Quirks, the Player picks
Smaller on the Inside (the TARDIS only has one example of each room and, after a roll of the D6, 5 spare rooms to work with) and Research Capsule (+2 when using the TARDIS Lab). The GM picks Forgetful, to give the TARDIS a senility to match its owner.
I'm going to explain the Perception of 1 as the TARDIS basically being so ancient, its sentience tends to fall asleep for long periods of time, and even when it is roused, it reacts like a sleepy old man.
The Time Column is just ancient tech, nowhere near as reliable as later models, and they don't make the parts to repair it anymore, so the Professor is going to have to do a lot of work to update it. If he ever gets around to it.
I then spend 1 Story Point to give it the Well Travelled Trait, reducing its starting total to 9.
Step 4. Gadget TraitsAgain, I simply copy down the Gadget Traits.
Step 5. SkillsI copy down the TARDIS Skills and roll 2D6, the number of extra Skill points the Ancient TARDIS receives, and then add 3 to that for a total of 16(!) extra skill points to spread amongst its skills in the normal manner. The image of the TARDIS as an impossibly ancient and wise old man is further bolstered by this.
Step 6. ArmourAncient TARDISes have 25 Armour.
Step 7. SpeedAncient TARDISes have a materialized Speed of 9.
Step 8. Story PointsAn Ancient TARDIS, with its primitive systems, starts off with 10 Story Points. This is reduced to 9 because I have purchased an additional Minor Trait in Step 3, above.
Step 9: Starting Damage
I now roll D6+6 (total 7) points of damage for the TARDIS (I won't go into detail, but the process is the same as described on page 81). All of this damage is repairable as the Professor gets time to fix it (but see
It Always Comes Down to the Parts on page 83).
Step 10. Customize the Console
I spend some time placing the various systems into the console, spreading them out evenly, two systems to a panel, including a Tea Dispenser, as the Professor has a particular love for that ancient Earth drink.
When I roll for Console damage (from Step 3, above), I find that the Architectural Configuration Circuit has taken a +1 modifier. I decide that this isn't actually damage, but (in accordance with the Smaller on the Inside Trait) just the primitive nature of the Type 27 ACS circuit.
So there you have it. An ancient TARDIS of great Wisdom but sleepy demeanor that fits well with the senile old Time Lord who stole it. Any further questions?
) himself!