We are in the midst of the Wasted Lands playtest right now. It is fun to play a game I am at the same time familiar with (it is very similar to NIGHT SHIFT) and yet brand new at the same time.  For me, there is extra fun here since I can use so much of my own One Man's God material in my home games.  

My home game, right now, is a bit of a riff on my "Second Campaign" ideas.  Recall that in the Wasted Lands during the "Dreaming Age," the first generation of humanity (or proto-humanity) has thrown off the yoke of the Old Ones (the stars went "wrong" again), and now they have an Earth to themselves.  It is part Mythical Age and part Post-Apocylptic. 

With the Old Ones gone, humanity renews its battles with their most significant threats, the reptiles. So I have reptiles and Snake People as my big bads here, at least for this trail run of the game.

Since the characters will become the gods of our myths and legends, I want to try out some of my favorite gods here.

Up first is one I have called "The World's First Goth Girl" Ereshkigal.

She was the Queen of the Underworld and the Goddess of the Dead in Sumerian mythology. In the Dreaming Age, though, she is now just a 1st Level Necromancer.  This is good for me since my very first D&D character was a cleric dedicated to destroying the undead. So a nice little flip side to that.

Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age uses the same O.G.R.E.S. rules as NIGHT SHIFT does. So following along here will be easy. 

So. Let us see what we can do.

Siouxsie Sioux as EreshkigalEreshkigal

Class: Necromancer (Persona Aspect)
Level: 1
Species: Human

Alignment: Dark Neutral

Abilities
Strength: 16 (+2)
Agility: 13 (+1)
Toughness: 15 (+1) N +1
Intelligence: 13 (+1)
Wits: 15 (+1) N +1
Persona: 17 (+2) A +2

Fate Points: 
Defense Value: 7
Vitality: 5 (d6)
Degeneracy:
Corruption:

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +2/+1/0
Melee Bonus: +2
Ranged Bonus: +1
Saves: +3 to Persona based

Special Abilities
Channel the Dead 22%
See Dead People
Summon the Dead 15%
Command (Spirits)
Protection from Undead
Turn Undead 20%

Divine Notes: Death, Earth Psychopomp
Background: Undertaker

Gear
Leather armor: DV 8
Dagger: 1d4

Here is my concept for her.

At this time, Ereshkigal of Irkalla & Kur is the daughter of Nanna, an oracle of the moon. It has been her task to take care of the dead of the city and in particular, the dead that have been killed by dark magics. 

I have yet to do much with her, but rolling her up was as easy as rolling up any D&D-like character. Faster even if you are a fan of NIGHT SHIFT. Now I don't have everything figured out just yet, but I want to get her into a game to figure it all out. 

The campaign I am working up will be against a cult of Snale Men that are trying to rise up in the vacuum left by the Old Ones. Humanity is on the brink of being wiped out before they even begin and only one group will inherit the Earth. 

Since I see Ereshkigal as the world's first goth girl, it only makes sense that she is portrayed in my games by Siouxsie Sioux.

Want to know more about The Wasted Lands? Head on over to Jason's blog to read more.

The Doctor: This lot have still got one foot in the Dark Ages. If I tell them the truth they’ll panic and think it was witchcraft.
Martha: Okay, what was it then?
The Doctor: Witchcraft.

- The Doctor and Martha, The Shakespeare Code

Doctor Who is overtly a sci-fi series and a family show. So one would imagine that themes of the occult and horror would not pop up, but you would be wrong!

Doctor Who has a long-established tradition of "hiding behind the sofa" when the Daleks show up and with some of the scarier episodes.  While there are plenty of scary episodes and plenty more that met with the disapproval of Mary Whitehouse, I want to focus on ones that had occult overtones as befitting my typical interests around here.  I'll also look into that most quintessential of all British horror, Folk Horror.

The Dæmons

This one has the dæmons returning to Earth, but they are not diabolic, but rather a race of giants that have "sufficiently advanced science" that looks like magic. Though it does have the Master posing as a Satanic Priest and using rituals to summon the dæmon Azal.  There is even a white witch in this one.

The magic here is couched very much in the science of Doctor Who, it is just highly advanced.

This episode is very much a British Folk Horror tale. And there was that time where the 11th Doctor fought them off with the help of Buffy and her friends. 

Image of the Fendahl

Talked about this one all the way back on "F" day.

The Stones of Blood

Here is another "Science disguised as Magic" the large standing stones are disguised blood drinking creatures and the alien of our tale is disguising herself as The Cailleach of Scottish and Irish myth. 

Of note: This episode gave me the idea for Gog and Magog.

The Awakening

Another British Folk Horror episode this deals with a demon-like creature and old pagan rites. In some ways it reminded me a lot of The Dæmons. So much so that I was disappointed it wasn't more closely tied to it. 

The Curse of Fenric

I'll go into this one in more detail later on, but there are some interesting occult associations here as well. 

The Unquiet Dead

Ghosts in Cardiff. Or really, the Gelth caught in a time rift. In Universe, this was the reason that Charles Dickens wrote about ghosts in A Christmas Carol. In the real world this gave us some background for the Torchwood series. 

The Impossible Planet / Satan Pit

Ah. Now this one was so good.  I might have to add this as my one "TV Episode" per year to my Horror movie marathon in October. This one is more straight up horror than occult, but the appearance of the "Devil" at the end sends this one into occult territory.

The Beast of this episode does bring to mind the Dæmons of the Pertwee era. They might even be related to this creature as their former ruler. Maybe it was them that chained him up in the Pit.

The Shakespeare Code

Ah. This is not the first Doctor Who episode to feature witches or witch-like creatures, but it is a fun one. This Tenth Doctor romp features a subtly bisexual Shakespeare ("Fifty-seven academics just punched the air,") and former HEX actress Christina Cole as Lilith. 

Again this episode implies that magic and "witchcraft" are just a different type of science. Maybe an older type.

Hide

Hide is a fantastic haunted house episode. Among other things, there is a monster, a psychic, a witch, and all sorts of strange goings on. Our psychic is played by the amazing Jessica Raine, who will have more involvement with Doctor Who and our monster...well it is a quintessential Doctor Who twist. The monster is just a poor alien trapped in time. The witch is a time traveler from the future trapped in every moment of time but stuck at this house. So in the words of The Doctor, "this isn't a ghost story, it's a love story."

The Witchfinders

Few things are as British occult as the witches of Pendle Hill. It is here in this episode the Doctor, now in the form of Jodie Whittaker, finds herself in the middle of. 

Again, no witches or demons here, just aliens. In fact the Doctor says "A brilliant man once said, 'any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.'" One of Arthur C. Clarke's Three Laws. 

While the Doctor will deal with various occult themes, the explanation will always be some sort of advanced science. It is a conceit of the show's universe and one that works well enough for me. 

All images are used with permission from the BBC and are copyrighted 2023 by the BBC.

Going left in Cave #17 takes the party through a short narrow tunnel (only single file here) it opens to a large, and mostly dark cave. 

Photo by Christina Petsos
Inside the cave a small group (2d10+4) of Grimlocks have made their home.  

The grimlocks are blind, but they can sense the party.  Two of these creatures are larger with 3 HD and there one leader of 4 HD. The leader also has a +1 sword. The sword does not glow. All the grimlocks are combative, even the youths will kill, and eat, anything they do not recognize.

There is Treasure Types E and J found here, mostly from other creatures the grimlocks have killed in the past. 

There is an exit straight ahead from the entrance (to Room 20) and a hidden exit (secret door) to the right as the party came in (Room 19).

The Doctor: I'm the Doctor, by the way, what's your name?Rose Tyler  Rose.The Doctor: Nice to meet you, Rose, - run for yer life!
- The Ninth Doctor, "Rose"
Doctor Who premiered in November 1963 and ran until 1989. There was a TV movie that, while fun, was not great and went no where. Sadly we Doctor Who fans settled in to just enjoying the new novels and the audio dramas. 

Then Russel T. Davis came on the scene and, in 2005 brought Doctor Who back!

At first, we did not know if this new series was a new series or tied to the original series. So many of us began to call this "New Who" or even "NuWho."

Not only did we get a wonderful series that had all the charm of the old series, but we would also learn that this Doctor was the Ninth Doctor and he was the only survivor of the Great Time War between the Time Lords and the Daleks. 

The original series ran 26 years and had seven total Doctors. Eight if you count the movie. The new series has run for 14 seasons (though almost 18 years) and has had six doctors, or eight, or nine depending on how you count it. 

The new series of Doctor Who has done so much to bring in new fans to the show and make it a world-wide phenomena. While the Tenth and Fourteenth (both David Tennant) and the Eleventh (Matt Smith) did much to make the show popular we really have to thank Christopher Eccleston for bringing the character back to life.

Eccleston's Doctor was a Doctor consumed with guilt and sadness. He was fresh off the Time War (tune in for that on "W" day), and you feel that Rose was his first companion in a very, very long time.  This Doctor had seen everything he loved burn and to make it all worse, he knew he was the one that caused it all. This new reality; the Time War, Gallifrey destroyed, and the Doctor alone, made for a great way to bring in both new and old fans. It was, well to quote the Ninth Doctor, "Fantastic!"

This was the Doctor that got my wife and kids hooked on the show and made us a Who-loving family.

While Eccleston had his own reasons for leaving (and I won't debate his choice here) it did do one very, very perfect thing. It gave new viewers a complete Doctor Who experience in one whole season.  

His regeneration at the end of his first and only season gave the new fans something we old fans always had. That fear and anticipation about who this new doctor was going to be. 

My wife was SO upset with this. And as you can expect David Tennant's Tenth Doctor went on to become her favorite.

New Who has been fantastic to me as an old-school Doctor Who fan. 

If you want more details on the new series of Doctor Who, pop on over to fellow A to Z blogger, Elena Square Eyes, and see what she is doing. She is also doing the A to Z of Doctor Who but focusing on the newer stories.

All images are used with permission from the BBC and are copyrighted 2023 by the BBC.

 The hallway leads down to another cave.

Photo by Kevin Burnell: https://www.pexels.com/photo/grayscale-photo-of-a-cave-13049146/

This cave is vast with a diffuse eldritch glow. There are regular bats, blind moles and other normal inhabitants, but no other creatures.

There are two exits. One on the far side of the cave and another to the left.

Fifth Doctor: I'm the Doctor. Who are you?Tenth Doctor: [amazed at meeting his former self]  Yes you are! You are the Doctor!Fifth Doctor: Yes I am... I'm the Doctor.Tenth Doctor: Oh good for you, Doctor! Good for brilliant old you!Fifth Doctor: Is there something wrong with you?
- The Tenth and Fifth Doctors, Time Crash
Another Sunday Special on the A to Z. Today, I want to cover some other multi-Doctor stories, this time with just Two Doctors.

The Two Doctors

The first one that comes to mind is appropriately titled, The Two Doctors. This was set during the Colin Baker years (originally airing Feb/March 1985) and features the Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) and the Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton).  Troughton has always wanted to come back to Doctor Who, but not as the Doctor, but as an alien. He thought it would be fun to play something under so much makeup that no one would know it was him. This was during the John Nathan-Turner years, and JTN wanted to bring back all sorts of old friends and enemies. So it really is no surprise that the Second Doctor and Jaime were brought back.

While the episode itself was not supposed to celebrate anything, like the Three and Five Doctors did, it was the 100th book put out by Doctor Who novel publisher Target. So that is nice. Also, I felt this episode marked a turning point for Colin Baker's Doctor. He became less brash after this moving towards that kinder Doctor he always wanted to play. 

Trial of a Time Lord

In the modern Doctor Who era we are used to big surprises, especially when they come to the Doctor (see below), but in the classic series this was something new and unexpected. In a story that would fir in in with New Who well we have The Trial of a Time Lord. Again with Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor and Anothony Aniley as the Master (and doing things that will have an effect on Jodie Whittaker's Doctor and Sacha Dhawan's Master) and another figure, the Valeyard played by Michael Jayston. We learn he is an incarnation of the Doctor between his "12th and last regeneration."  So evil that the Master joins up with the Doctor to defeat him.  We don't see him after this year-long series but he is mentioned a few more times.

Time Crash

This one was a short that appeared on the Season 4 DVD (or maybe Season 3) DVD sets. It was right before the Christmas Special "Voyage of the Damned" and featured the Tenth and Fifth Doctors.

Ok this one is so meta. First off, David Tennant grew up with the Fifth Doctor as his favorite Doctor. Earlier that year David had just met Georgia Moffett and they would get married in 2011. Georgia Moffett is Peter Davidson's (the Fifth Doctor) daughter. Georgia in fact played"Jenny" the Doctor's Daughter in a previous episode called, "The Doctor's Daughter."

Confused? Not surprising. When asked at a convention "what was the strangest thing a fan had ever given him" Peter Davidson replied "Grandchildren."

The episode is fun and pure fluff to be honest, but fun fluff.

Twice Upon a Time

Jumping past the 50th Anniversary special for now.  We get to our next double Doctor story. This one features the Twelfth Doctor, Peter Capaldi, as he is trying to decide if he should regenerate or not, and he meets up with his former self, the First Doctor, now being played by the amazing David Bradley, going through a similar existential crisis. 

Before I say too much about this episode (it is wonderful) I need to say something about David Bradley here. WOW. He is so great as the First Doctor (he has played him since and even played William Hartnell). Yes, yes, this script makes him seem older and more cantankerous than he really was, but it was done to show the differences between 1 and 12 more.

Technically this episode is not a Two Doctor story but rather a Three Doctor one since at the end the Twelfth Doctor does decide to regenerate into the Thirteenth Doctor in the form of Jodie Whittaker. 

Fugitive of the Judoon

Now here is an episode that totally surprised everyone.  The "Fugitive" in this episode is not The Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) but instead a completely unknown and never before seen incarnation from before the First Doctor. This Doctor, called the Fugitive Doctor (play AMAZINGLY by Jo Martin), had her memories wiped via a Chameleon Arch by the Time Lords. 

Look, I'll be honest. I LOVED Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor. I just felt some of the scripts were weak. But Jo Martin? Damn. She lit up and took over every scene she was in. 

My head cannon is this. We know the First Doctor took a TARDIS that was "a museum piece," according to River Song. We know that he was going to steal one, but Clara, in her Impossible Girl incarnation, directed him to a different one.  That TARDIS, old with a broken Chameleon Circuit was brand new when The Fugitive Doctor used it (it looks new in the above clip). It was her TARDIS then and when the Time Lords wiped her memories and made her into the "First Doctor" that TARDIS sat there and waited until the Doctor decided to run again. Like the First Doctor she even calls it her "ship."

I want more Jo Martin and her Doctor. I want to know what her actions were to give us the Doctor we know today. 

The War Doctor in The Name of the Doctor

Ah. There is so much to unpack here. This one will need its own post.

All images are used with permission from the BBC and are copyrighted 2023 by the BBC.

Going back down the hallway from Room #15 the party will see a bit of light coming from the wall on the right.  There is a secret opening that is easier to find here. 

Inside this small room is a Grey Ooze.

There is no treasure here.

Chantho : Chan-Professor, please!
The Professor : THAT IS NOT MY NAME! "The Professor" was an invention. So perfect a disguise that I forgot who I am.
Chantho : Chan-Then who are you-tho?
The Master : I am... the Master.

- Professor Yana/The Master, Utopia 

The Master. Moriarty to the Doctor's Holmes. Lex Luthor to the Doctor's Superman. He is possibly the deadliest enemy the Doctor has ever known, next to the Daleks, and they began as friends.  Not just friends but old, good friends.

Like the Doctor, the Master is a Time Lord. Like the Doctor he is a renegade. We know from various sources they were both good friends and were shown the Untempered Schism together. The Doctor ran, the Master went mad. They went to the academy together, along with another brilliant Time Lord, The Rani. 

Also, like the Doctor, the Master has been played by many actors.  The role was originated by Roger Delgado in the Pertwee (3rd Doctor) years and was introduced in the serial "Seeds of Death" which also gave us Jo Grant. At first they Doctor and the Master knew each other but did not act like they had a history.   Delgado died in car crash a few years later and it was one of the reasons Jon Pertwee left the show, they two were very good friends. Next we had a couple of actors play a "decayed" version of the Master, having gone through all of his regenerations and was now in regeneration crisis.

We next see him at the end of the Tom Baker (4th Doctor) years. He steals the body of a Trakenite named Tremas (more on that) and is played with over-the-top gusto by Anothny Ainely. Now a LOT of people didn't like Ainely's portrayal of the Master compared to the more suave and sophisticated evil of Delgado. And I waiver back and forth a lot myself. 

We last see the Master in the old series in the serial "Survival" with the Seventh Doctor and Ace. Though we know he escapes that doomed world. 

Ace : Last time I saw you, you were half cat.
The Master : A man's allowed to experiment.

- The Power of the Doctor (2022)

He is the major antagonist of the US Fox/BBC-produced Doctor Who movie with Paul McGann as the Doctor. Here is played with gleeful scenery chewing by Eric Roberts as only Eric Roberts can. Making this the only time a Time Lord was played by an American actor. Eric Roberts real-life wife Eliza (who should be familiar to anyone that frequents this site) appears as his wife in this movie as well. In this the remains of the Master find a way to possess poor paramedic Bruce (Roberts) and use him as he did Tremas.  He is seemingly destroyed here as well...but I am sure you know what is next.

Just like "Bad Wolf" was an Easter Egg for the first season of the new Doctor Who, and "Torchwood" was for the second season, "Mister Saxon" was for the third season. We heard a lot about Mr. Saxon, but the payoff was not until the end.

The 10th Doctor, Martha and Jack Harkness end up at the very end of the Universe, 100 trillion years in the future. The stars have all burned out and the last of the humans are living on a dark planet ("Malcassairo") with hopes of finding the last surviving home for humanity, Utopia. Hoping to get them all there is Professor Yana, a strange and sort of bumbling scientist (of the type the British do so well) played by Derek Jacobi (THE Derek Jacobi).  Yet not all as it appears. The Professor carries a watch, like what the Doctor had used when he was disguised as a human for a while. Opening the watch (a Chameleon Arch) returns his memories and Yana is revealed to be the newest incarnation of the Master. Sadly we only get a few moments of Jacobi playing the Master before he is killed and then he surprisingly regenerates! To the new Master played by John Simms. Who, if anything, is more akin to the Joker than Lex Luthor. 

We learn that Mister Saxon is really the Master in the form of John Simms who came back to Earth in the Doctor's stolen TARDIS six months prior.  John Simms gives us some of the best performances as the Master up to that point. Yes, even better than Delgado and Jacobi. We learn a lot more history about the Master here from the 10th Doctor.  The Master is killed, again, and this time to spite the Doctor he refuses to regenerate. Of course, he has a backup plan.

We next see the Master when Rassilon (from the Five Doctors) comes out of Death/Retirement to win the Time War (more on that) tries to pull Gallifrey out of the War and into orbit near Earth. The Master sacrifices himself to save the Doctor and Earth (crazy right?).

No Master at all for the 11th Doctor. But when we get the 12th Doctor a new character keeps poping up in his wake, someone called "Missy" and refers to the 12th Doctor as her "boyfriend."

Missy is played by the absolutely delightful Michelle Gomez.

"Please try to keep up. Short for Mistress. Well, I couldn't very well keep calling myself the Master, now could I?"

- Missy/The Master, Death in Heaven

Missy seemed more like she was trying to impress the Doctor rather than defeat him. Indeed it seemed like maybe the old friendship they had would rekindle and Missy could be something new.  That is until she ran into the John Simms (now with a goatee) version of herself. The old master re-corrupts the new Master/Missy, but they still ended up killing each other.

Finally, we have the most recent Master during the time of the 13th Doctor, played again with over-the-top glees by Sacha Dhawan.  This Master is back to being evil. Very, very evil. This Master seemingly dies in the same episode that he, once again, kills the Doctor. 

Honestly, I could go on and on here about the Master, they are just as colorful and interesting as the Doctor.  A couple of things though. While both the Doctor and the Master have hypnotic and psionic powers, the Master's seems to be much greater. The Delgado Master would routinely hypnotize people and the Simms Master even took the power to take over the Earth using a series of interlinked satellites. 

Another thing about the Master is his seeming compulsion to use anagrams or alternates of his own name. The Delgado Master was often known as Mr. Masters or Magister. Even Tremas of Traken (who the Master could have been grooming to be his new body) is an anagram of Master. Speaking of anagrams, "Mister Saxon" is an anagram of "Master no. six" to indicate John Simms as the sixth person to play the Master at that time. Even Professor Yana came as a warning from the Face of Boe to the Doctor of "You Are Not Alone." 

Will we see a new Master now after the Doctor has regenerated? Oh yes, just like the Daleks and the Cybermen the Master keeps coming back for more.

All images are used with permission from the BBC and are copyrighted 2023 by the BBC.

This tunnel in the back and to the right of Room 14 leads to long hallway. This goes some 50' and then splits to the left and to the right.  

Going right, the corridor straightens out and opens to a carved out room glowing with eldritch light.

Inside are Seven (7) Ghouls.  The ghouls appear to be orc-like in appearance.

These ghouls are worshiping around a giant idol of a demon. When the party enters, the ghouls will stop their chanting. At this point it will come down to initiative.

The Ghouls have 3* HD instead of the normal 2 HD. In fact, they are not even aware they are ghouls; they still think of themselves as living orcs.  The paralysis WILL affect elves.

These orc-ghouls have an extra Treasure Type C as a group. 

There is a secret door underneath the idol that leads to Level 5.

(I will detail that next month)

"Empty threats, Rutan. Enjoy your death as I enjoyed killing you."

Leela to a Rutan, Horror of Fang Rock

I mentioned that the role of the Companions in Doctor Who was largely one of screaming, getting captured, and going, "what Doctor?" every so often. 

That is not true for Leela. 

If Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor was my first Doctor, then Leela was my first Companion. And what an impression she made! She was from a savage tribe descended from human space travelers that crash-landed on her planet. Her tribe, The Seevtem, aka "Survey Team," had reverted back to savagery and superstition. Leela herself when first meet her is on trail for disobeying the will of her elders. So she was head strong, and intelligent from the very start.  And actress Louise Jamison played the character with undisguised gusto.  Louise Jamison rather famously talked about getting scripts and seeing "Leela screams" with her crossing it out and writing in "No she does not!"

Leela didn't scream, at least not typically, and she usually ran into danger than from it. She had a knife and a bag full of Janis thorns that would paralyze and then kill.  Unlike other companions before (and since really), Leela had a body count. Though in her mind, the world, and then the universe was a savage kill-or-be-killed place.  

She was unlearned but obviously very bright and she picked up on concepts the doctor threw at her quickly, although sometimes in her own way.

For reasons unknown the production team made Jamison wear these red contact to turn her normally blue eyes brown.

She hated them and they were uncomfortable. So in the episodes of "Horror of Fang Rock" and exploding Rutan spaceship blinds her temporarily (and in typical Leela fashion she asks the Doctor to kill her because she is no use to him) and her eyes heal and turn blue.  

Leela is the prototype companion that would later give us Ace and the modern companions but in particular River Song.

 

All images are used with permission from the BBC and are copyrighted 2023 by the BBC.

The tunnel in the back of Room 13 leads down to another cave.  This one features the bones of a great beast embedded in the walls.

The bones are the fossilized remains of some ancient beast. They were part of the walls when the Necromancers got here.  Repeated unsuccessful necromantic magics have left this cave magically charged.

If the party remains more than 3 turns they must make a saving throw vs. Paralysis or take 1d4 hp of damage. The energies are draining the very life from the characters.

The bones are difficult to remove from the walls, the easy ones were removed a long time ago, but if they somehow manage (dealing 24 hp of damage to the bones will break off a chip), then they can be sold to a wizard or necromancer for 50gp each. But while the characters possess these bones, they will not heal any wounds, either by normal or magical means.

Rose Tyler: [referring to K-9] Why does it look so... disco?
The Doctor: Oi! Listen, in the year 5000, this was cutting edge!

- Doctor Who, School Reunion

Most of the Doctor's companions have been human, most of whom are from Earth. But two stand out as not only non-human but non-living robots. I am talking about K9 and Kamelion.

K9 was a robot dog (get it, K9?) from the year 5,000 during the Tom Baker years. Invented by Prof. Marius who lived on a space station and wanted to bring his real dog but couldn't. 

K9 went on to join the Doctor and Leela, who he referred to as "Master" and "Mistress." He stayed behind on Gallifrey with Leela. When the Doctor left he introduced his new version K9-Mk2 who traveled with him and both Romanas.  He stayed behind in E-Space with Romana and that was the last time we saw him. For a while.

K9, this time Mk-3 was given to Sarah Jane Smith as a present and for the start of his own spin-off show K9 and Company. But that only lasted one episode. We would not see him, or Sarah Jane again until the 10th Doctor episode, School Reunion. The Doctor rebuilt him to give us K9 Mk-4.

K9 would appear again, briefly in the Sarah Jane Smith spin-off and in his own Australian version, "K9" with a different look. We only got such brief glimpses of him because the character is still owned by its creators, Bob Baker and Dave Martin. So to use him, the BBC has to pay Baker and Martin. 

K9 though was extremely popular and I can remember my younger brother desperately wanting to build one (he is an engineer now, so I suppose he could) and I know others that loved that "little tin dog" as well.

On the other end of the popularity spectrum is Kamelion. Originally a tool of the Master to disrupt the signing of the Magna Carta in "The King's Demons." He was a robot that could appear as anyone commanded. 

Let's be honest here. The episode he stared in was a bit weak. Even the Doctor admitted that the plan was small time by the Master's standards. And Kamelion, well he was really kind of lame.  The prop used was not built for the show, but was found by then producer John Nathan-Turner as a K9 replacement.  Plus it was a prop and not an actor in a suit, so it was always breaking down.  

Kamlion seems to have been cursed from the start. The man who designed it's software, Mike Power, had been killed in a boating accident around the time the show was aired and no one knew how to operate it properly.  Terence Dudley (1988) and Peter Grimwade (1983), who scripted the robot companion's appearances, left the show or died while the show was running. His voice, Gerald Flood, died in 1984. And the last actor to play him as a human also died. 

The companion/prop was so hated in fact that Peter Davison has said that any sign of regret shown by him/the Doctor during Kamelion's (the prop's) "death" scene was pure acting. He was happy it was gone.

I remember the fans at the time also rather hated it. I guess they all can't be winners. 

All images are used with permission from the BBC and are copyrighted 2023 by the BBC.

Going back to Room #9 and hitting the other tunnel, straight ahead, leads to another cave.  Though this cave is not the home to some creature, it is a tomb. 

Inside this room are 5 Wights. Their ancient tattered uniforms gives the characters the idea that these had been guards at some point. Their magically compelled orders said they could not leave this room and that compulsion remained after their deaths.

They will attack on sight.

There are the remains of other humans and humanoids here. So in addition to their treasure, (B x5) there is type C, D, and T.

At my day job, my work is increasingly trying to adapt to AI generative techniques. I am not going to go into any details here about that. Suffice it to say that about 20% of my day is given over to AI now. 

I am coming into today's post with about four+ months of doing nothing but deep diving into all sorts of AI tools.  I decided to turn these powerful tools over to what is essentially one of my bread-and-butter topics here; creating new witch characters.

Now before I go on here, I want to state this unequivocally. I have no desire to use AI-generated text in any future blog posts unless it is clearly stated (like this one), and NO desire to put any generated text into my books. 

It's not that I have issues with AI or on moral grounds. I just believe that people like to buy my stuff because it is my stuff; written by me. Having used these tools, you all can go out and do this on your own. You don't need me for that.

But today's post is about seeing just what these powerful tools can do.

For today's post, I am using the tools ChatGPT, Google Bard, and MidJourney. I choose these three because they are right now the most powerful at what they do. Let's see if they can replace me.

Today's experiment. Can these tools create a new witch character with a background, art, and, better still, D&D stats?

I asked both Chat GPT and Bard to generate a legendary witch on par with Circe, Medea, Morgan LeFey, and other mytho-historical witches. I also asked the same of Bard.  Once I got these, I then copied and pasted text into MidJourney to produce an image of this witch. 

Here are the results.

Luna Moonshadow

From ChatGPT:

Born during the Dark Ages in a small village nestled deep in the woods, Luna was known for her mysterious aura and captivating beauty.

From a young age, Luna exhibited a natural talent for magic, drawing power from the moon and the stars. She honed her skills in secret, practicing ancient and forbidden spells that she discovered in ancient tomes hidden in the depths of the forest. As she grew older, her powers grew stronger, and she became known for her ability to control the elements and manipulate time itself.

Luna's reputation as a witch spread far and wide, and many sought her counsel and assistance. She was revered by some as a wise and benevolent witch, using her powers to heal the sick and protect the innocent. However, others feared her power and saw her as a threat to their beliefs and way of life.

In history, Luna Moonshadow played a pivotal role in a conflict known as the "War of the Witches." This was a dark period in history when witches and sorcerers were hunted down and persecuted by the ruling powers. Luna was a staunch advocate for the rights of witches, leading a rebellion against the oppression they faced. Her mastery of magic and strategic prowess led her to become a formidable leader in the battle against the witch hunters.

Despite facing numerous challenges and betrayals, Luna's unwavering determination and bravery inspired others to join her cause. She used her magical abilities to defend her fellow witches and fight for their freedom. Her legend grew as tales of her exploits spread, and she became a symbol of resistance against tyranny.

Ultimately, Luna Moonshadow's efforts led to a turning point in history, as the tide of the war shifted in favor of the witches. Her leadership and sacrifices paved the way for a new era of acceptance and tolerance towards witches and their magical abilities. Luna's legacy endured, and she became a revered figure in history, celebrated as a powerful and influential witch who fought for justice and equality for her fellow witches, leaving a lasting impact on the world of magic.

Not bad. Maybe a bit clichéd. So I asked it to generate "Dungeons & Dragons stats" for her.

Again, ChatGPT: 

Character Name: Luna Moonshadow
Race: Elf
Class: Sorcerer
Background: Folk Hero
Alignment: Chaotic Good

Ability Scores:
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 16
Constitution: 12
Intelligence: 14
Wisdom: 10
Charisma: 18
Proficiencies:

Saving Throws: Constitution, Charisma
Skills: Arcana, Persuasion, Medicine, Nature
Armor: None
Weapons: Daggers, Quarterstaffs, Darts, Slings
Features and Abilities:

Sorcerer's Spellcasting: Luna can cast spells using Charisma as her spellcasting ability, and she knows a number of spells from the Sorcerer spell list.

Font of Magic: Luna has access to sorcery points, which she can use to fuel her metamagic abilities or to convert into additional spell slots.

Metamagic: Luna can use her sorcery points to manipulate her spells, choosing from options such as Twin Spell, Quickened Spell, or Subtle Spell, among others.

Fey Ancestry: Being an Elf, Luna has advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and she can't be put to sleep by magical means.

Folk Hero Background: Luna is well-respected among her fellow witches and is seen as a hero for her role in the War of the Witches. She has proficiency in Animal Handling and gains a set of artisan's tools.

Equipment:
Quarterstaff
Component pouch
Explorer's pack
Common clothes
A pouch containing 15 gold pieces

Spells Known:
Cantrips: Eldritch Blast, Mage Hand, Prestidigitation, Ray of Frost
1st Level Spells: Shield, Sleep, Charm Person, Thunderwave
2nd Level Spells: Invisibility, Misty Step, Scorching Ray
3rd Level Spells: Fireball, Counterspell, Fly

Luna Moonshadow is a powerful sorcerer with a keen understanding of magic and a reputation as a folk hero. Her abilities as a sorcerer and her determination to fight for the rights of witches make her a formidable and respected character in any Dungeons & Dragons campaign.

Well...not exactly right, but not bad for an AI. It defaulted to some strange version of D&D 5e. I ran the same thing in Google's Bard:

Race: Human
Class: Warlock
Background: Sage
Alignment: Chaotic Good

Strength: 8 (+0)
Dexterity: 14 (+2)
Constitution: 12 (+1)
Intelligence: 16 (+3)
Wisdom: 14 (+2)
Charisma: 18 (+4)

Hit Points: 12 (1d8 + 2)
Armor Class: 12 (studded leather)
Speed: 30 ft.

Skills: Arcana +6, Deception +8, History +6, Insight +6, Investigation +6, Nature +6, Perception +6, Persuasion +8, Prestidigitation +6, Stealth +4

Senses: darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 16

Languages: Common, Elvish

Equipment: a dagger, a component pouch, a book of spells, a set of common clothes, and a traveler's clothes

Spellcasting: Morrigan is a 1st-level warlock. She knows the following warlock spells:
Cantrips (0-level): light, mage hand, prestidigitation
1st level (4 slots): hex, magic missile, shield

Luna's Other Abilities:
Shapechanger. Luna can use her action to polymorph into a crow or raven, or back into her true form. She can remain in her alternate form for up to 1 hour. Any equipment she is wearing or carrying melds into her new form. She reverts to her true form if she dies, falls unconscious, or chooses to do so (no action required).

Witch Sight. Luna can see innately into the Ethereal Plane. She can see invisible creatures on the Ethereal Plane, and she can see into the Border Ethereal as if it were lightly obscured.

Fey Presence. Luna has advantage on Charisma (Deception, Intimidation, Performance, Persuasion) checks against humanoids. She can use her action to frighten humanoids that can see her within 30 feet of her. Each frightened humanoid must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw (DC 14) or be frightened of Morrigan for 1 minute. A frightened creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

Not too dissimilar, but I like it a bit better. Again, D&D 5e and Bard told me it grabbed all this data from the 5e d20 SRD. So that was a nice touch, really. 

My next test was can it do the same thing if I specified AD&D 1st Edition.  The results were pretty interesting and surprising.

Certainly! Here's a character sheet for Luna Moonshadow in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st Edition:

Name: Luna Moonshadow
Class: Witch
Race: Elf
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Level: 10

Ability Scores:
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 16
Constitution: 12
Intelligence: 14
Wisdom: 10
Charisma: 18

Saving Throws:
Paralyzation/Poison/Death Magic: 10
Rod/Staff/Wand: 12
Petrification/Polymorph: 11
Breath Weapon: 13
Spell: 14

Hit Points: 55
Armor Class: 6 (Leather Armor)

Weapons:
Quarterstaff: 1d6
Dagger: 1d4

Equipment:
Quarterstaff
Dagger
Component pouch
Backpack
10 torches
Bedroll
Rations (1 week)
Waterskin
Healing potions (2)
Spellbook

Spells:
1st Level: Charm Person, Detect Magic, Light, Sleep, Magic Missile
2nd Level: Invisibility, Levitate, Web, Mirror Image, Scorching Ray
3rd Level: Fireball, Lightning Bolt, Fly, Counterspell, Dispel Magic

Special Abilities:
Familiar: Luna has a familiar in the form of a black raven named Shadow, who aids her in her spellcasting and grants her additional abilities.
Witchcraft: Luna has access to various witchcraft abilities, such as brewing potions, divination, and the ability to curse or bless others.

Luna Moonshadow is a skilled and experienced witch who has honed her craft through years of study and practice. Her expertise in spellcasting, combined with her wit and resourcefulness, make her a formidable ally in any AD&D 1st Edition campaign. Her reputation as a folk hero and her dedication to fighting for the rights of witches further add depth and intrigue to her character.

OK! It's not a perfect write-up by any means, BUT it is surprisingly close. 

I then dumped all of this into MidJourney and had it render out a witch for me based on the descriptions.  That is the art you see here.

What To Do With This?

I am sure of one thing here. I am not out of a job just yet. Luna is a lot of fun, but there is not much to her. Well, not yet anyway.

Since I generated every aspect of her via AI tools, I am releasing her into the public domain. Not that I have to, she already was there by means of how she was made, but this particular combination of all of this text and imagery is unique. So I am releasing that. 

What does this mean? It means you are all free to take her and use her as you like. 

Put her into your games. Make her an NPC. Hell put her in a book and publish it and make a lot of money. You don't even need to tell me about it, but I would like to hear about it, though. If you kill her out of spite in your games because you don't like AI, well, I'd rather not hear about it, but you do you.

I'll tweak her myself later using my own witch rules. Based on both versions, I would make her half-elf and, given some of the other material generated, make her Patron the Morrigan. I do love that "War of the Witches" bit above too. I'll have to work that in.

I can see a lot with her now that I have been doing this. AI may have been the ground she grew in, but the seed was mine, and how I take it from here on out will be mine as well. 

Or yours.

I'll put this at the end again for the good serial position effect.

I will not use any AI generative text in any published book. Also, I will not use any AI generative text in any blog post unless I clearly mark it.

You see the "AI" label below? That is how you will know, BUT I will also clearly indicate it.

Of all the secondary characters (not companions), one of the standout successes has been the ongoing adventures of Henry Gordon Jago and Professor George Litefoot. Jago & Litfoot were first introduced to us in the wonderful Tom Baker-era story "The Talons of Weng-Chiang" in 1977.  The pair, a somewhat shady theatre manager and a semi-retired academic went on to solve mysterious crimes and mysteries in Victorian London courtesy of various audio dramas from Big Finish Audio.

They were popular in their time but grew increasingly popular with the airing of the Tom Baker Doctor on PBS.

The audio dramas have also been big hits for Big Finish, with 17 completed dramas. Each one features the original actors, Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter, resuming their roles. Some even feature other Doctor Who companions such as Leela (4th Doctor) and Strax (11th Doctor). They are even sometimes guests on their contemporaries' Madam Vastra & Jenny (11th Doctor) audio dramas.

 Of course, I love the Victorian-era. So I liked "Talons" from the word go. Yes, there is some unfortunate "Yellowface" going on in the episode, something the cast and production team (who are still alive) regret and have mentioned many times. But the story is good, and the characters from this tale are wonderful. 

If Jago and Litefoot have been given new life in these audio dramas, then their Victorian-era contemporaries Vastra & Jenny (and Strax) have been given continued life in the Cubicle 7 Doctor Who RPG.

In both mediums (audio and RPGs) there are some cross-overs. But for me I love the RPG structure the best for further adventures (though the audio dramas are very, very close!)

The best thing about Jago & Litefoot is the implication that once the Doctor enters someone's life, they are forever changed and want to do more to improve their world. This has been an explicit detail in the newer series. 

All images are used with permission from the BBC and are copyrighted 2023 by the BBC.

Going all the way back to Room 9 there were two tunnels, left and right.  Choosing the left tunnel (previously the right) takes the party on a twisty path that almost doubles back to a small cave.

This cave is swarming with 6 Rhagodessa. These giant spider-like monsters feed on the victims the trolls didn't finish off. Due to the influence of the chaos stone, these creatures are now Chaotic.  

They have collected treasure (U x6) in a small pile. 

Busy time. I have not written anything in over two weeks, but I am hardly idle.  On my plate this week?  Playtesting the newest game from Elf Lair Games.

Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age

This is a new Swords and Sorcery RPG set in a savage lost epoch, millions of years ago. A time lost to current humanity.  Players will take on the roles of human (near human) characters struggling against the remains of the Old Ones, ancient gods and alien threats. 

These characters will fight, and struggle and eventually, they will become the Gods we know today. 

This game uses the same rule system as NIGHT SHIFT: Veteran of the Supernatural Wars.

Playtest is now underway.

I am hoping to use some of the material I have created for my own One Man's God posts in my Wasted Lands game.  In particular, I will use this to flesh out my Roman-Norse Pantheon, actually play out the legends that would later become these gods.  And of course, because I have a rep to maintain, expect to see some gods/goddesses of magic and witchcraft.

I am quite excited about this game and I hope to get you all excited about it as well. 

Something a little different again since I will talk about a single serial of Doctor Who. This time it is 1970's "Inferno."  It is the second serial (from the seventh season) to feature Jon Pertwee as the Doctor in exile on Earth.  The Time Lords have crippled his TARDIS and removed all knowledge of how to Time Travel from his mind. He is stuck on Earth and not taking it well, so he tinkers with the TARDIS all the time with mostly disastrous results. 

In Inferno he manages to slip into a parallel universe with a Fascist Britain. In both universes there is an experiment to drill through the Earth's crust, but at the point they are doing will cause catastrophic problems. The fascist universe is slight ahead in time as the "prime" universe so the Doctor knows what needs to be done.

I liked this episode for a lot of reasons. First it played into my growing interest in the idea of the Multi-verse, something that I began to explore in the comic "Crisis on Infinite Earths" and later in books like "Job: A Comedy of Justice" and "The Coming of the Quantum Cats."  It was something that at the time I was really ready to enjoy.  

Secondly, and this is the big one, it was the Doctor Who episode that introduced me to other Doctors. 

Growing up I watched Doctor Who on my local (St. Louis) PBS station KETC.  Now KETC has a huge market, and they played the Tom Baker era almost exclusively. But they were not the only local PBS station. Just to the north of me was WILL out of Urbana IL and it was connected with the University of Illinois at Urbana.  While I did not get that station on our cable package there were some in town that had access to it. Also there was a steady stream of VHS tapes coming down from Urbana to my hometown from people going to school there. Inferno was one such tape.

I remember watching it in, of all places, my High School's library. One of my friends had it and was watching in the "media room" which was supposed to be off limits to general students unless you worked there. I didn't. But I was fascinated by this episode and mostly by this "new to me" Doctor. I knew Pertwee came before Baker and that his Doctor was a different sort, but this episode was an eye-opener for me.

Recently, I had the chance to rewatch in prep for today's post. It is slower than I remember, but just as good.  Though I do find it very odd that I am right now older than Pertwee was in this episode (he was 51).

I have made a habit since first watching this one to check out all the Pertwee/3rd Doctor episodes I can. I know there are a few I have never seen. I have not sought them out because I do enjoy the joy of stumbling upon them just like I did with Inferno.

Since moving to the Chicago area I have had the chance to talk to others who watched Doctor Who from the same time period and how their PBS stations differed from my local St. Louis one. It has been very interesting and I'll talk more about it on "P" day.

All images are used with permission from the BBC and are copyrighted 2023 by the BBC.

A small passageway in the back of Room #10 leads down to a rough-cut cave.  

A small glowing stone is stuck into a small pedestal in the middle of the cave.  There is plenty of track around the stone, wearing out the stone ground. The area 5' radius around the stone is untouched. 

The stone is a Chaos Stone, one of the artifacts of the mages.  It is made of pure chaos and its effects are random.

Any character touching the stone rolls a 2d6 and consults the table below.

• 2: The character is transported to a random location within 100 feet of the stone.
• 3-4: The character is granted a temporary penalty to one of their ability scores by -1.
• 5-6: The character is cursed with a minor ailment, such as -3 on attack rolls or saving throws. 
• 7: The stone has no effect.
• 8-9: The character is blessed with a minor boon, such as +3 on all attack rolls or saving throws.
• 10-11: The character gains a powerful boon, such as a +2 bonus to one of their ability scores.
• 12: The character gains a permanent +1 to one ability score determined at random.

A character can only touch the stone once for effect.  Unless noted, the effects last 1d6+6 turns.

The stone is fixed to the pedestal. Any attempts to remove it will cause it to shatter. If the shards are collected they could be sold to a high level magic-user or alchemist for 20-50 gp (1d4+1 x10).

Back in 1966/67 a Doctor Who serial aired called "The Highlanders" and it featured the Second Doctor and introduced us to the soon-to-be companion Jamie McCrimmon, played by Frazer Hines during the Battle of Culloden.

Jaime quickly became a favorite among the fans. In the late sixties, he was often voted the #1 fan favorite, and this also included "the best legs on TV."

One of those fans was author Diana Gabaldon. Who took her love of this episode and crafted her own tale about the Scottish Highlands, the Battle of Culloden, and Time Travel. One of the stars of these novels (and later) series was a Highlander named Jamie Fraser. 

Of course I am talking about the wildly successful "Outlander" novels and TV series.

I have never read the novels, but I have seen the series. It is quite fun really. The time-travel elements are only a plot device, as opposed to something central as in Doctor Who.  Frazer Hines even made a guest appearance. 

Outlander is not the only property inspired by Doctor Who, either directly or indirectly.

"DC's Legends of Tomorrow" (2016-2022) was part of the "Arrowverse" subset of DC Comics TV shows. It dealt with a group of misfit heroes, led by Rip Hunter, played by Arthur "Rory" Darvill (fresh off of Doctor Who). Now DC has always had time travel and Rip is an established character, but the Doctor Who elements here are turned way up.

Douglas Adams who was a script editor and writer for Doctor Who in the Tom Baker years gave us "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."  Not only was the book inspired by Adams, but Adams was also good friends with Lala "Romana II" Ward, and the Tenth Doctor even name-drops Adam's famous protagonist, Arthur Dent in "The Christmas Invasion."

One could argue that the Borg from Star Trek: The Next Generation are more or less Cybermen.  Comics publisher IDW makes this even clearer with their Doctor Who / Star Trek Crossovers.  It doesn't end there. For years fans speculated that Guinan, Whoopi Goldberg's character, was something akin to a Time Lord.  Same with the Travellers, which now include Wesley Crusher, and the "Supervisors" Tallinn (Star Trek Picard), and Gary Seven (Star Trek The Original Series).  Gary even has a sonic screwdriver-like device. So many in fact that this topic really deserves a post on it's own. Maybe I'll touch more on that later on.  IDW Comics also featured an "Assignment: Earth" comic and the original episode, "Assignment: Earth" which introduces Gary Seven, began with the Enterprise slingshotting to Earth in the 1960.

Bill & Ted, in their movies travels in time and space use a phone booth. You could argue that Rufus, played by George Carlin, was pretty close to a Time Lord.

The shadow of the Doctor is long. Both in their universe and ours.

All images are used with permission from the BBC and are copyrighted 2023 by the BBC.