I'm actually something of a latecomer with tabletop gaming. I've played maybe 1 or 2 game sessions throughout my entire life to date. At 34 years old and an avid video gamer for life, it's something of a surprise to find how much I've been missing.
Perhaps it's a reaction to how limiting video gaming can be at times. Invisible walls blocking true exploration and solutions limited by the imagination and budget of the designer. A good tabletop roleplaying game does away with all of this and allows the players to explore any option that comes into their head, with only the goodwill of the GM and the roll of the Dice determining success.
Ever since taking up the hobby, with regular and excellent sessions courtesy of the hospitality of the Grumpy GM (http://sefotron.blogspot.co.uk/) I began to feel how much I would enjoy playing a game within the Doctor Who universe and how much I would enjoy being the GM and narrator, creating the world for others to explore. I am, after all, a writer and entertainer and finding the elements which keep an audience happy are my most divine pleasure. The world of Doctor Who is also a great love of mine, in both the classic and modern TV versions and particularly the excellent audio adventures created by the geniuses at Big Finish (http://bigfinish.com/hubs/v/doctor-who). My hope is that, like the radio versions, the tabletop version will have limitless vistas and flawless special effects, since it all takes place in the players' heads...
I had been thinking for a while about how I would construct a set of game rules which would adequately allow for the scope of all the extended world of Doctor Who. I then came across the "Doctor Who Adventures in Time and Space: The Roleplaying Game." (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0857440381/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00) This seemed perfect for the job on the surface.
Upon reading the Gamesmaster guide, I became a little concerned. Compared to the comprehensive and decades-tested system of Dungeons and Dragons - in all its guises - the Doctor Who ATS seemed extremely lightweight. Only in its second edition it seems to be rife with contradictions and vagueness and falls a little too heavily into suggesting how the content of the game should manifest, rather than sticking to the rules.
But, undeterred - as I can see the potential brilliance and flexibility in the system - I have set about creating a couple of game sessions with friends to see how well it plays. Over the next few weeks I will have a good idea about how well it can work. Or at least how well I can bend the rules to our collective entertainment.
We have already run one successful session, creating and bringing together the first player party - but I'll share more of that another day...
...vworp vworp vworp...
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