DWAITAS and the Faction Paradox

[rulandor]

Several times now I stumbled across mentions of the Faction Paradox series, which, it seems, would be a part of the Doctor Who universe if it weren't for legal/copyright reasons.

Is this series worthwhile to read (for a Whovian and general science fiction aficionado), AND how does our DWAITAS game fare when used inofficially and privately as FPAITAS game?

[Marnal]

I loved "This Town will Never Let Us Go" and "Warlords of Utopia" [the later of which turned into the inspiration for a 5 year Star Trek RPG]

And "The Book of the War" is a must have for any GM who wants to mess about with Time Wars as it is literally a source book of info on characters, locations, technology, and story ideas.

I run an game call "Destiny of the Time Lords", and one of the PCs is a member of Faction Paradox. I've got rules for a Paradox Shrine (FP's version of a TARDIS), Faction Armor, Faction Rituals, and a lot of other bits and bobs.

[chickenpaddy]

I would like to say that Faction Paradox is not for everyone. Some people seem to really enjoy it, which is fine. Nobody has any right to tell them not to. I, however, find the concept for Faction Paradox to be... Well, I just don't like it, to put it kindly.

Though, I do recommend that you take a look into the subject. You may enjoy it. Just be aware that it is, as I have seen anyway, highly divisive among Whovians, at least ones that I know.

Nothing against your love for FP, Marnal. You go and enjoy what you want.

[rulandor]

It seems that there is some overlap in motives and story seeds between the expanded Whoniverse of the BBC (meaning, their novels like "Ancestor Cell" and "The Gallifrey Chronicles") and the Faction Paradox, if you can believe Wikipedia. How do these fare in the fandom's mainstream opinion?

[Corone]

I do agree FP, like anything else, isn't universally liked.
But I love it, and 'This Town will never let us go' is excellent.
(although some of the other books not so much).
Some of the problem is that its been thrown around a lot from author to author.
Miles' 'Alien Bodies' this introduces it is brilliant,
but after it became part of the canon it got used by other writers who rather screwed with it.
Turning it into an infection in Ancestor Cell really didn't work for me at all.

However, I'd dearly love to do a sourcebook for it for DWaiTaS,
and one day it might be possible, but not for a long time.

[rulandor]

Nov 12, 2013 19:02:17 GMT Corone said:

I do agree FP, like anything else, isn't universally liked.
But I love it, and 'This Town will never let us go' is excellent.
(although some of the other books not so much).
Some of the problem is that its been thrown around a lot from author to author.
Miles' 'Alien Bodies' this introduces it is brilliant,
but after it became part of the canon it got used by other writers who rather screwed with it.
Turning it into an infection in Ancestor Cell really didn't work for me at all.

However, I'd dearly love to do a sourcebook for it for DWaiTaS,
and one day it might be possible, but not for a long time.

So, Alien Bodies seems to be the right choice for a first testing of the ground. Then straight to the spin-off franchise.

I am quite curious. The basic premise of Doctor Who is so genius, that I always felt that, as good as a lot of his stories are, it could be interesting to take the premise and go off with it in other directions.

[Marnal]

I also enjoyed "Doctor Who: Unnatural History" and "Dr Who: Interference" - Both of which have a fair amount of Faction Paradox. "Dr Who: The Taking of Planet 5" is good if you want to see a story set during the Time War.

But Corone is right. Start with "Dr Who: Alien Bodies"

[Corone]

Indeed, Lawrence Mile may be something of an arse, but he's a very good writer!
Interference (which comes in 2 parts) is also worth a look,
but it does get a bit self indulgent.

[Curufea]

I'm with the above.

I'd also add that Faction Paradox mythos pushes the envelope of metaphysics and high-mathemathical concepts well into the realm of Asimov's "sufficiently advanced, it may as well be magic".
It's worth reading in that regard for the different ways you can use Timey Wimey in a game.

I'd also note that the majority of the protagonists in the setting don't know the science behind what they do - so approach it as though it were magic/supernatural. So in general the books read like fantasy/supernatural novels.