Hartnell Suppliment. What would you like to see?

[drnate]

The news seems pretty gloomy about DW:AiTaS lately. But let's try to look on the bright side in this thread.

In a recent thread a new book covering the Hartnell years was announced.

quote author=admin board=general thread=767 post=6511 time=1270044483]Dominic says:

The next supplement to be announced is the First Doctor Campaign Pack.[/quote]

My question to you is: What would you like to see in such a book?

Here are some of my hopes:
Stats for the major characters in that era, including tips on role-playing them as PCs or NPCs
Plot ideas that could spin out of those episodes or tips for continuing the stories depicted in the episodes after the TARDIS crew have left. "Further adventures" if you will.
I also hope for NO extended episode summaries. Short ones are fine, but space is at a premium in a book that has so much to cover.

What would you like?

[Siskoid]

I agree with your requests, but would also throw in GM advice on how to create Historicals and attendant adventure seeds. Obviously, the book will include stats for the monsters of that era - Skaro-bound Daleks, Sensorites, the Meddling Monk, Mondasian Cybermen, etc.

[metacrisis]

I'd like to see it be released on time.
Oops...too soon?

[Curufea]

Advice on how to run gadget-light games. Where TARDISes don't work very well, there are no sonic screwdrivers and puzzles are solved with little to none jiggery-pockery.

[metacrisis]

OK Curufea -- your answer was a thousand times better than mine.

[Curufea]

Each Doctor has a different style of adventure than the previous one and solves them in their own way. The ways are similar, where intelligence is the main ingredient, but differently flavoured with other lesser ingredients

[Craig Oxbrow]

Covers in black and white.

[kabukiman]

Cantankerous as a trait.

[Curufea]

Apr 6, 2010 21:57:10 GMT Craig Oxbrow said:

Covers in black and white.

That's a cool idea - especially in this age of overly-coloured RPG books. It might even stand out on the shelves, especially if the spine was white.

[hogscape]

Is this the kind of supplement that will appeal to viewers who are attracted to the new generation of Doctor Who (post 2005)... Not sure it's a good idea.

[da professor]

Apr 7, 2010 8:22:56 GMT hogscape said:

Is this the kind of supplement that will appeal to viewers who are attracted to the new generation of Doctor Who (post 2005)... Not sure it's a good idea.

The game isn't just for fans of the new era. It's for any fan of the Doctor who is also a gamer. This makes it a good idea to do Hartnell first because a) he was the first and b) you've got to get early Doctor supplements out while those of us old enough to remember that long ago are still alive.

[Siskoid]

I think that gamers are by nature, geeks, and geeks are by nature obsessive about their niches. If you're a gamer and a Doctor Who fan (and I'm talking about the GameMasters here who buy the bulk of the product), you'll likely know about the first 8 Doctors.

Plus: ZARBIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Who could resist?

[JohnK]

Hullo, Craig,

Apr 6, 2010 21:57:10 GMT Craig Oxbrow said:

Covers in black and white.

LOL!!

However, seriously, I would love to see the Hartnell and Troughton supplements all in black and white, other than photos from "The Three Doctors" and "The Five Doctors". (And I suppose, the Hurndall stuff from "The Five Doctors".) It would be so in keeping with the series and all, you know?

[JohnK]

Hullo, kabukiman,

Apr 7, 2010 1:18:49 GMT kabukiman said:

Cantankerous as a trait.

Haven't seen my write-up for the Hartnell Doctor, have you? See below:

dwaitas.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=characters&action=display&thread=338

[JohnK]

Hullo, daprofessor,

Apr 7, 2010 8:40:09 GMT da professor said:

Apr 7, 2010 8:22:56 GMT hogscape said:

Is this the kind of supplement that will appeal to viewers who are attracted to the new generation of Doctor Who (post 2005)... Not sure it's a good idea.

The game isn't just for fans of the new era. It's for any fan of the Doctor who is also a gamer. This makes it a good idea to do Hartnell first because a) he was the first and b) you've got to get early Doctor supplements out while those of us old enough to remember that long ago are still alive.

LOL!!! Ain't it the truth?

Personally, I think it's fitting that the first Doctor supplement is out of the gate first, because he was the *first* Doctor, and all the rest are developments based on the Hartnell Doctor.

[skagra]

A thirty two page adventure book!

[whichdoctor]

Apr 7, 2010 1:18:49 GMT kabukiman said:

Cantankerous as a trait.

I was gonna say curmudgeon, but whatever works.

[imajica]

Something along the lines of the Babylon 5 Season books - story seeds for each episodes, stats for the major players, screenshots and production art from the show.

Looking on the bright side, this one could be printed quite cheap as only the cover would need colour ;-)

I wouldn't mind seeing the books for each Doctor carry the branding of that series, so this one should have the original logo.

Oooh! How about a chip like they have in birthday cards so it plays the theme music when you open the book?

[hogscape]

Apr 7, 2010 8:40:09 GMT da professor said:

Apr 7, 2010 8:22:56 GMT hogscape said:

Is this the kind of supplement that will appeal to viewers who are attracted to the new generation of Doctor Who (post 2005)... Not sure it's a good idea.

The game isn't just for fans of the new era. It's for any fan of the Doctor who is also a gamer. This makes it a good idea to do Hartnell first because a) he was the first and b) you've got to get early Doctor supplements out while those of us old enough to remember that long ago are still alive.

There's no bigger fan of Who than I - and I am old enough to remember Hartnell... Kind of. All I'm saying is that a Hartnell supplement will not sell in numbers sufficient to support the game.

There are 5 or six people slavering for it on this board and a few completists that will buy every supplement regardless but all in all, Cubical 7 will lose money here.

If the publisher loses money, the future of the game is in jeopardy. Hence my reluctance to see such an addition to the line at this time. I would say to C-7, run with what will sell and build the game: adventures, campaign packs and items that tap into the current face of Doctor Who.

DW is a world-wide phenomenon because of the developments since 2005 not the days of the wobbly sets, a single camera and an actor who couldn't remember his lines. I have fond memories of Who's-gone-by but the immediate future of the game must surely be, well, the future and not, for the time-being at least, the past.

[Siskoid]

You make a point, and that's as maybe. I think most supplements are aimed at GMs, and GMs are more likely to BE completists. Gamers on the whole tend to be older than they used to be, especially outside the D&D set. That helps. And just because the show was less sophisticated (though everyone I exposed the best of the Hartnell years to were pleasantly surprised and impressed), doesn't mean much to your game. Zarbi starts are still Zarbi stats, adventure seeds are still adventure seeds, etc. Monster manuals sell regardless of monster familiarity, no?

And just as a correction, today's Doctor Who is single camera. The old show used to be multi-camera.

[azimerthemad]

If each Doctor Box is also chock full of generally useful stats, it should have wider appeal. I would like to see some pages of GM advice for how to evoke the themes of each Doctor's adventures...love the idea of more historical scenario advice and adventures.

[Eryx]

I think it would still sell well enough. I can easily imagine that this game is going to sell more to classic Who fans who are also roleplayers. For the new Who fans picking material up, I can still see them buying it as supplemental material is few and far between at present.

[Jason_WPGL]

Black & White artwork would be awesome for both the first & second doctor supplements. As to it not selling well, bah!

I personally will buy everything c7 releases that is Who related.

[thewatcher]

Like thier treatment of NuWho I'd like to see a focus on capturing the feel of the shows of that era rather than simply stats and background. Also would like interesting ideas as to how to resolve continuity inconsistancies (with the option of leaving such things unexplained) without resulting in creating a fixed 'cannon' for the game.
I love the idea of a retro-future Dr Who timeline featuring moonbases and routine space travel in the year 2010.
At the other end of the spectrum, helpful hints on running purely historical adventures.
New gadgets.
Write ups for creatures and NPCs from that era (goes without saying).
New traits, but only a few relivent ones, I don't like the idea of turning the supliments into splatbooks.
Two adventures, one purely historical, the other set in the future but with a retro feel.

[Eryx]

I liked how Mongoose did their season sourcebooks for the Babylon 5 RPG. A brief guide to the year, episode synopsis's, stats for major characters (updated each year) and villains, vehicles/ships, and equipment. Something along those lines would work nicely but it would need to be condensed somewhat and must include at least one scenario appropriate to the Doctor and that era.

[Craig Oxbrow]

Apr 15, 2010 10:42:38 GMT thewatcher said:

Like thier treatment of NuWho I'd like to see a focus on capturing the feel of the shows of that era rather than simply stats and background. Also would like interesting ideas as to how to resolve continuity inconsistancies (with the option of leaving such things unexplained) without resulting in creating a fixed 'cannon' for the game.
I love the idea of a retro-future Dr Who timeline featuring moonbases and routine space travel in the year 2010.
At the other end of the spectrum, helpful hints on running purely historical adventures.
New gadgets.
Write ups for creatures and NPCs from that era (goes without saying).
New traits, but only a few relivent ones, I don't like the idea of turning the supliments into splatbooks.
Two adventures, one purely historical, the other set in the future but with a retro feel.

Good list. I'd probably keep the retro futures to a sidebar myself, as they're rather odd, but otherwise I agree. I'd definitely want notes on making games feel like the stories featuring the Doctor in question rather than like modern Who with a Hartnell-lookalike in the starring role.