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Doctor Who Adventures in Time and Space Limited Edition Rulebook
Imagine you could go anywhere. This world or countless others, encountering strange alien races, new cultures or hostile environments. Now imagine you could travel to any time. Meet Queen Elizabeth I (and maybe marry her!), discover the secrets under the Tower of London, watch the Moon landing (from the Moon!) or travel into the far future as humanity spreads to the stars. Where would you go?
With the Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space roleplaying game, the power is in your hands! You can go anywhere or anywhen in the universe. It's not going to be easy. It'll probably be dangerous. The universe is a hostile place, full of Daleks, Zygons, Sontarans, Weeping Angels, Cybermen, Silence, Silurians and worse. There will be fear, heartbreak and excitement, but above all, it'll be the trip of a lifetime.
With the Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space roleplaying game, the power is in your hands! You can go anywhere or anywhen in the universe. It's not going to be easy. It'll probably be dangerous. The universe is a hostile place, full of Daleks, Zygons, Sontarans, Weeping Angels, Cybermen, Silence, Silurians and worse. There will be fear, heartbreak and excitement, but above all, it'll be the trip of a lifetime.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published April 23, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 3, 2010
Ever want to be The Doctor? Or maybe a companion? Or even another traveller making his or her way through time and space? This is the game for you. Simple rules that are easy to pick up and emphasize the story over the structure. A good choice for experienced players who are maybe not experts but also not entirely new to role playing. The rules are a bit too losey goosey for some one who may never have played a game before but at the same time not so laden down with rules and minutae that you get lost in arguments of augmenting stats (I'm looking at you 4th edition D&D.) The added bonus is the universe and all of time and space is your oyster so there is no story you can't tell.
August 16, 2015
This is a pretty cool game. I like a lot of aspects of the system, including the way most things are kept fairly simple. The core mechanic is 2d6 + stat + skill versus a target number, which I imagine should work pretty well. Of course, you can spend metagame points to alter things in various ways. I like that different characters might have smaller or large pools of Story Points to help balance things. I also like that there are only twelve skills, which keeps everything nice and simple, especially for new players. And, of course, the way that combat is organized so that talkers go first and fighters go last is pretty cool and does a good job emulating the show.
In general, this feels like it's pretty friendly to first time roleplayers, although I feel like the device rules might be a little complex. I mean, I'm fine with them, but I'm not sure how intuitive they are. Still, there are some pre-made devices, characters, and aliens, and I'm sure there's plenty more stuff already statted out in supplements. This book is, for the most part, enough on its own, at least to get started. The info on time travel is rather abbreviated, and the same goes for the monster section. It's enough to start, but I definitely think I'll be getting those sourcebooks if I use this game. This version does a fair job of supporting all of Doctor Who by including examples and references to the show's fifty year history. The pre-made characters are all from the revived show, but that's okay. After all, there's an extensive line of sourcebooks covering each Doctor. All in all, I really like this system, and I hope to use it some time soon. I could even see using it for settings other than Doctor Who that have a similar vibe to them.
In general, this feels like it's pretty friendly to first time roleplayers, although I feel like the device rules might be a little complex. I mean, I'm fine with them, but I'm not sure how intuitive they are. Still, there are some pre-made devices, characters, and aliens, and I'm sure there's plenty more stuff already statted out in supplements. This book is, for the most part, enough on its own, at least to get started. The info on time travel is rather abbreviated, and the same goes for the monster section. It's enough to start, but I definitely think I'll be getting those sourcebooks if I use this game. This version does a fair job of supporting all of Doctor Who by including examples and references to the show's fifty year history. The pre-made characters are all from the revived show, but that's okay. After all, there's an extensive line of sourcebooks covering each Doctor. All in all, I really like this system, and I hope to use it some time soon. I could even see using it for settings other than Doctor Who that have a similar vibe to them.
April 30, 2022
A role-playing game for adventures set in the Doctor Who universe. The basic assumption of DW: AITAS is that you'll be playing a Doctor and companions, but the rules aren't bound to that, and they do provide alternate models (such as games featuring UNIT or completely original characters).
The core mechanics of the game are very straightforward and interesting: roll two six-sided dice, add relevant bonuses, and compare the result to a difficulty... but then the degree of your success or failure suggests a range of possible results (including partial successes and not-quite failures). Characters also have a supply of "Story Points" that can be used to adjust the narrative in various ways. In addition, turn order is based on characters' intended actions, with "talkers", "movers", and "doers" all getting to go before "fighters". This last design choice is one of many in the book that shows just how much the designers understand Doctor Who and its tropes.
Going chapter by chapter:
- Chapter 1 is a general overview of the game... which gives us an example of play before providing a basic explanation of the core mechanics (odd choice).
- Chapter 2 goes through the process of character creation, and provides good advice along with a solid range of traits and skills. It's pretty plain that many traits were reverse-engineered from actual show characters, but that's not exactly a problem.
- Chapter 3 goes over the game's core rules, with highlights including the different types of conflict (physical, mental, and social) as well as ways to handle potential character death. The chapter also includes various sub-systems, such as chase rules (a particular standout) and rules for gadgets. Occasionally it feels like they should have streamlined some of these rules, but overall they're solid.
- Chapter 4 is an almost entirely lore chapter on time travel in the Doctor Who universe - well considered and very insightful, with good guidelines for play. This chapter is probably the most interesting to read.
- Chapter 5 provides stats for various foes of the Doctor, covering all the major players from various eras: Daleks, Cybermen, the Master, etc. It also provides guidance for building your own aliens and monsters, which is fine but seems slightly too loose; some advice on balance would have been nice.
- Chapter 6 provides gameplay and gamemastering advice. Most of this advice is decent but pretty generic, and likely stuff you know if you're an experienced roleplayer. However, it's better when focused specifically on Whovian tropes.
- Chapter 7 provides adventure design guidelines, which assume you will structure your campaigns like the TV show - good if you feel up to the task, but one wonders if that raises the bar too high. It ends with some sample scenarios (one per Doctor) which are mostly just OK, and often very derivative of existing stories (though a few stand out).
- The Appendix at the end of the book includes sample characters (including the Tenth, Eleventh, and War Doctors), some pre-built character templates, and a handy one-page rules reference.
Overall, this is a well-considered game with great core mechanics, made by folks who clearly understand the source material. There are some rough spots in the rules and their presentation, but none of them are deal-breakers. If you're a fan of Doctor Who and role-playing games, it's definitely worth picking this up, or one of the other versions of the core rules. (A-)
The core mechanics of the game are very straightforward and interesting: roll two six-sided dice, add relevant bonuses, and compare the result to a difficulty... but then the degree of your success or failure suggests a range of possible results (including partial successes and not-quite failures). Characters also have a supply of "Story Points" that can be used to adjust the narrative in various ways. In addition, turn order is based on characters' intended actions, with "talkers", "movers", and "doers" all getting to go before "fighters". This last design choice is one of many in the book that shows just how much the designers understand Doctor Who and its tropes.
Going chapter by chapter:
- Chapter 1 is a general overview of the game... which gives us an example of play before providing a basic explanation of the core mechanics (odd choice).
- Chapter 2 goes through the process of character creation, and provides good advice along with a solid range of traits and skills. It's pretty plain that many traits were reverse-engineered from actual show characters, but that's not exactly a problem.
- Chapter 3 goes over the game's core rules, with highlights including the different types of conflict (physical, mental, and social) as well as ways to handle potential character death. The chapter also includes various sub-systems, such as chase rules (a particular standout) and rules for gadgets. Occasionally it feels like they should have streamlined some of these rules, but overall they're solid.
- Chapter 4 is an almost entirely lore chapter on time travel in the Doctor Who universe - well considered and very insightful, with good guidelines for play. This chapter is probably the most interesting to read.
- Chapter 5 provides stats for various foes of the Doctor, covering all the major players from various eras: Daleks, Cybermen, the Master, etc. It also provides guidance for building your own aliens and monsters, which is fine but seems slightly too loose; some advice on balance would have been nice.
- Chapter 6 provides gameplay and gamemastering advice. Most of this advice is decent but pretty generic, and likely stuff you know if you're an experienced roleplayer. However, it's better when focused specifically on Whovian tropes.
- Chapter 7 provides adventure design guidelines, which assume you will structure your campaigns like the TV show - good if you feel up to the task, but one wonders if that raises the bar too high. It ends with some sample scenarios (one per Doctor) which are mostly just OK, and often very derivative of existing stories (though a few stand out).
- The Appendix at the end of the book includes sample characters (including the Tenth, Eleventh, and War Doctors), some pre-built character templates, and a handy one-page rules reference.
Overall, this is a well-considered game with great core mechanics, made by folks who clearly understand the source material. There are some rough spots in the rules and their presentation, but none of them are deal-breakers. If you're a fan of Doctor Who and role-playing games, it's definitely worth picking this up, or one of the other versions of the core rules. (A-)
November 7, 2014
A good, rules-light approach to role-playing games. It is reminiscent of West End Games' approach as well as the upcoming Metamorphosis Alpha, 5th edition.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews