Original Roleplaying Concepts
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 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.
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!- 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?- 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.Not bad. Maybe a bit clichéd. So I asked it to generate "Dungeons & Dragons stats" for her.
Again, ChatGPT:
Character Name: Luna MoonshadowWell...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: HumanNot 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: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.
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.
Continuing through the door of Room #23, the hallway continues there is a cell on your immediate right.
Inside this room are three (3) large Giant Crab Spiders. They have maximum hp. Their bite has poison as per the B/X rules.
There is a glow coming from a portal 10' from the ground. If the PCs stay in this room for longer than 1 hour three more crab spiders will appear.
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Another dip into my Monster and Treasure Assortment tonight!
I have a little project going on, and it would be nice to make a formal introduction to the NIGHT SHIFT Veterans of the Supernatural Wars Role-Playing Game.
What is NIGHT SHIFT Veterans of the Supernatural Wars?
NIGHT SHIFT Veterans of the Supernatural Wars is a modern urban fantasy role-playing game with horror roots but with multi-genre elements as well. It is designed to be played the way you want, from light and fast to gritty and complex. It also features of examples of play thanks to our various Night Worlds. So you can be a student in Chicago's only school for Magical Youths and partake in various magic-fueled hijinks, all the way to a post-apocalyptic Earth where the forces of Good and Evil battle it out in the skies above and the streets below. Or to play a supernatural creature that just wants to live and get by in a world full of humans trying to hunt them down.
Play it silly, straight, dangerous or just fun, NIGHT SHIFT can do it.
Wait. What is a Role-Playing Game?
Role-playing games have a LONG history. But the modern role-playing game (RPG) began, roughly, in 1974 with the publication of the Dungeons & Dragons rules. You can read more about what a role-playing game is in this excerpt from the NIGHT SHIFT core rules book.
NIGHT SHIFT Veterans of the Supernatural Wars is self-contained. Meaning every rule you need to play is found in the covers of the core book. You will need dice (available nearly everywhere now), some paper, some pencils, but most of all some good friends to play with. No computers, no phones, and if your internet goes down, you can still play!
What Can I do With NIGHT SHIFT VSW?
Anything you want! As a multi-genre game NIGHT SHIFT VSW is open to all sorts of situations and ways to play. Have a favorite TV show, movie, or book series? NIGHT SHIFT VSW with its varying degrees of play difficulty (Cinematic, Normal, and Gritty) allows the players to set the tone of the game.
Players take on the roles of various characters of their own creations. It's the game of Chosen Ones, Survivors, Witches, and Something Weird. YOU decide what you want to play and how to do it.
NIGHT SHIFT is an urban fantasy, horror, and dark modern supernatural game that uses a brand new system of old-school mechanics inspired by and derived from the original, basic, expert, and advanced versions of the World's Most Famous Role Playing Game. It allows you to mimic all the tropes of just about any film, TV series, or novel you like.
All of the following are possible with NIGHT SHIFT VSW:
What is Old-School Play?
Old-school play in RPGs refers to a style of play that emphasizes fewer rules and more freedom to play. This is why NIGHT SHIFT VSW is complete as a single book. Players familiar with new RPGs can still do all the same things they had done before or want to do, now it just depends on how they all want to do it. It is more about how you play with each other rather than how you play with the rules.
But if you want more details here is co-Author and lead designer Jason Vey on what Old-School play means for NIGHT SHIFT VSW over on his blog for Elf Lair Games.
Sounds Great! How Do I Get Started?
Well, start with some friends who all want to play. One person (maybe you!) will be the Game Master or the one that builds the adventures that everyone goes on. They are like the writer, director, and producer of a movie or TV show. As everyone gets more familiar with the rules you switch off Game Master roles so everyone has a chance to build your new world. Unlike watching a movie or reading a book, everyone playing gets to decide what is happening in the world.
You can certainly buy the NIGHT SHIFT VSW core rules and supplements. But in the meantime here are free resources to get you started right now.
Not to mention all the free NIGHT SHIFT content found on the authors' personal blogs and websites.
If you are a fan of physical books you can get NIGHT SHIFT VSW directly from the publisher or if PDFs are your thing you can buy NIGHT SHIFT VSW from DriveThruRPG.
We hope to see you on the NIGHT SHIFT!
Returning to Room #20, the characters can now go to the right (previously left).
This hallway leads to a closed door. The door is not locked. Inside is a circular chamber. There is a door just like the one the PCs entered on the other side.
On the walls above the characters are 2 Gargoyles. As soon as the PCs are all in the room, they will swoop down and attack.
Behind a loose stone near their roosts is their treasure hoard. There is C x2 treasure, as well as an additional 1,000 gp in assorted gems.
Everyone knows I love horror. I watch more than I can ever review here to be honest and don't always talk about the ones I enjoy.
Case in point I rather love "American Mary." It is so twisted, and really Katharine Isabelle (the star as Mary) is just so great to watch in everything she is in.
But the real stars of the movie are the directors (and occasional actresses) Jen and Sylvia Soska, aka the Soska Sisters, aka the Twisted Twins.
They were having a special on their Etsy webstore before closing it down for a bit and I knew I needed something.
Well, I got it over the weekend, and I am pretty happy.
I mean really? "Are you a good witch or a bad witch?" "Blessed Be!!" "Wanna Join our Coven?"
How could I possibly say no!
Yeah sorry for the glare, but I wanted to get them into frames before I scratched them.
They would also make great "live-action" stand-ins for my two blood witches Kimbra & Kelleigh.
Now I need to find a place on my game room walls to hang them. Though knowing the Soskas they would want me to hang these with a meat hook!