Microcon’s Doctor Who RPG Marathon

Yesterday during Micro-con, I ran a Doctor Who marathon, with 4 different “episodes” of Doctor Who taking a group of random time travelers on a voyage through time and space. I was able to run all four parts I had planned, for which I was very happy.

Who were the PCs?

Lady Gwendolyn, an alien posing as an Edwardian Lady, Gilbert-Andre de Bellevue, a Napoleonic infantry officer; Theela, a cave woman; William Belfast, a starship engineer; and Wogo Loogo, an African tribesmen; Doctor Vladimir, a cybernetic doctor from 2030 joined for “Little Blue Box”.

The Fort Next to Nowhere

You are at home, spending a lazy day relaxing. In the background, a grinding, warbling sound breaks the silence. It grows loud enough that it draws you from your idle reverie.

There is a flash of bright light and you find yourself standing at the edge of a wooded area. It is about noon on a nice day.

Before you is a tilled field leading to a crude wood fort. To your left and right people dressed in strange garb, all of them seem as surprised as you to be standing here.

The PCs are transported to Roanoke Island. The PCs encountered Indians and a bizarre gargoyle-like creature. During their investigation, they discovered a strange pump-like device. The device proved to be made of Dalekanium, a metal obviously not normally found on earth. After William tried to hit the gargoyle with the device, the device activated. A bright flash of light emitted, cue credits.

The New Emperor of the Daleks

Four futuristic soldiers huddle together in a trench, their faces dirty and grimy. Their brown uniforms matching the wet dirt and mud that surroundes them. From their inaudible conversation, it is obvious that they are scared, tired, and almost out of ammunition.

Energy beams and explosions echo in the distance. The men crouch as they receive a shower of dirt. The soldiers return fire, shooting at enemies unseen. A fog covers the ravaged lands around the trench.

A blue light appears in the gray haze, then another, then another. Finally the pepper-shaker forms of Daleks come into view. “EXTERMINATE!” They repeat as their beam guns blast away.

The scene cuts and the soldiers are brought into a military tent. “KNEEL! YOU WILL OBEY!” The Daleks push the soldiers to their knees. A human-shaped figure stands, hidden in the shadows.

The PCs appear on a deserted, foggy wasteland where a group of soldiers come running towards them. The PCs follow them to a bunker where they learn that the Daleks are coming. They learn that the war is not going well for the Thaals, and that though they initially thought to have won the war when the Doctor destroyed the Kaled’s dome. The Daleks arrive and the PCs disable one and break the others’ eyestalk before fleeing. Fleeing through the fog, they encounter a group of Napoleonic soldiers who force them to surrender. They are taken to a camp where Daleks and Napoleonic soldiers are together. In a tent, they meet with the Emperor, Napoleon. Napoleon orders them to be “processed”. As the PCs are taken to a machine, they are told that there is a small gap in the machine. Finding their way in, they encounter a young Thaal boy hiding in the machine. The PCs discover that the Thaals have microchips in their necks. Using the device they used earlier to disable the Dalek, they destroy the Emperor’s microchip. The Emperor pulls out a bejeweled sword hilt. The PCs figure out this is a time travel vortex. The Emperor activates it and disappears. A secondary flash makes the PCs disappear.

Snowball

The scene is inside a starship. Red lights flash. An alarm repeats in a monotone tone “Hull breach detected”. Two men run before the camera, run through an airlock and the door closes behind them.

A second later, a pop is heard and the escape pod disappears quickly in the darkness of space. As the alarm continues to repeat mindlessly “Hull breach detected. Hull breach detected. Hull breach detected.”

The PCs appear on a starship. After some research they cannot find any hull breach. They are on IZ-244, a freighter “transporting” a large ball of ice to the moon colony. The ship is effectively a large rocket attached to the ice. The PCs investigate and find that the Captain was spying on his crew. They also see that five of the 8 crew seem to be sleeping in their quarters. Forcing one of the crew quarters open, they find a man dead of unknown cause.

Then, a group of pirates get on the ship. The PCs discover the pirates are not too bright, deferring to their captain on most things. The PCs then surprise the pirates as they are trying to stop the engine and search for a blue box (though they initially think it is the TARDIS, the dimensions are incorrect). In the end, they strike a deal with the pirate Captain Illyana after she discovers the crew died from some unknown radiation. They team up to find the box and the PCs find it first. They wait for the captain to open it and within are a bejeweled cybernetic arm and a wand-like device. The wand is of Gallifreyan origin. The pirates take the arm and leave the wand.

Asking one of the pirate to see if they can fix the time travel vortex, a pirate attempts something and he believes will get them home to 1812.

The Little Blue Box

President Obama stands at the podium ready to deliver a speech. “My fellow Americans, today I have signed a bill that will provide free and comprehensive healthcare to everyone. No longer will we be Democrats and Republicans. No longer will we be divided on fundamental issues. From now on, America will once again lead the way into the future. My fellow Americans, I bring you the future.”

The camera pans out and flanking the president are two tall metallic men. One of them says in a monotone voice “Prepare to be upgraded.”

The PCs appear in Colorado Springs. Looking around they see Cybermen walking up and down Academy boulevard. The Cybermen track down the PCs and Dr Vladimir is nearly disintegrated after a close encounter. The PCs then run to escape and meet with a survivalist. They are told that 75% of the US population has been turned to Cybermen since the President put in place his “Obamacare”. They meet with the anti-government rebels at the Citadel mall. During the meeting, they are told that the Cybermen have lock away a very important prisoner within Cheyenne Mountain. The Cybermen again discover the group and the PCs flee, heading south toward what was NORAD command.

Going inside, the PCs follow the odd wand that mysteriously activates. Finally, the PCs defeat two cybermen guarding a prisoner ward. They rescue a snarky redheaded Scotswoman who tells them they must find the Doctor. Following the inevitable “that’s not what the Doctor looks like” scene, they find the doctor with a bowtie (the 11th Doctor). The Doctor then takes all three of the items they collected, creates a device and summons the TARDIS.

He takes everyone back to their time and thanks them.

JP