[Editor’s Note: the following review was initially written for a print magazine and is presented here without additional edits beyond hotlinks. -dc]
“D&D” is a term known even to non-gamers. Dungeons & Dragons; a game which is sometimes referred to as the oldest or most popular Table Top Roleplaying game. For the record, we’re not here to discuss the veracity of that, it’s really just a throwaway preamble.
In the 1980s Dungeons & Dragons was one of the largest targets of the movement that would become known as the Satanic Panic. It can be argued that the negative press resulting from that movement helped to increase the visibility, and subsequently the popularity, of the game at the time. Like many others I came into the hobby via AD&D (Advanced Dungeons & Dragon, AKA second edition), blissfully unaware of the furor. Although I sure did read a book my mother had been given talking about kids dying in sewers trying to find Ninja Turtles, and the evil of cartoons like He-Man, Care Bears, and even Disney’s Cinderella. Again, this is just framing things for newer or non-gaming readers who may not know these historical tidbits and providing a bit of my own perspective.
Jump ahead to the advent of Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition. I played a bit with friends but also started reviewing other game systems for a now-defunct website. I found that I didn’t have the time or desire to commit to another larger-scale high fantasy setting. When I launched my website, TheRatHole.ca, one of the guiding decisions I made was that I wanted very little to do with Dungeons & Dragons and several other systems that I often refer to as “Big Box RPGs.” As my site grew, I covered several third-party products using the 5E Open Gaming Licence (OGL). I also added new writers who enjoyed Fifth Edition more than I do, and there’s no reason not to let them write about what they know. What I know, is Doctor Who and that brings us to why you are presumably reading this: Doctors and Daleks or Doctor Who: The Roleplaying Game meets Fifth Edition.
From here on I’m mostly going to refer to Doctors and Daleks as “D&D” and Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition as “5E”. It’s just easier that way. Another abbreviation that is important to mention is “SRD” which stands for System Reference Document. Historically, one of the largest impediments to playing a roleplaying game the size of 5E has always been the cost and perceived need for all of the source books. The solution across much of the industry was to create free SRDs online. They have no art or flavour, simply the barebones rules of a game.
Knowing the term SRD is important because there is, and likely never will be, a “Core Rulebook” for Doctors & Daleks. It doesn’t really need one. The Player’s Guide, which is what I’ll be talking about here, has most of the information about how to play the game. When it wants to give the Player more detailed information, or additional options, it refers them to the SRD online. The other place that Players are sometimes referred to is the myriad of books available for Doctor Who: The Roleplaying Game. While both games are from Cubicle 7 Entertainment and are largely written by the same team, I wasn’t expecting that sort of direct connection between them. I was thrilled to see that happen, as well as the acknowledgement that many of the changes made to the traditional 5E ruleset for Doctors & Daleks are adapted from that game’s Vortex System.
One of the biggest, and most obvious, changes is actually mechanically insignificant. That is how the game addresses combat. 5E can do many things, but at its heart, it is very much combat focused. The Doctor is very much against violence so that seems very incongruent. Even in their most “action oriented” incarnations, The Doctor would much rather see a situation resolved peacefully. The solution to this incongruity is nothing short of elegant. Even in a sword slashing 5E dungeon crawl, the trail of monstrous bodies left in the Player’s wake happens as a way to advance the overall story. It happens in order to advance the plot. So is there really a difference between beheading a goblin and the goblin fleeing? Sometimes, but generally, the goblin is still gone and there will always be more goblins either way. If you can talk down a Cyberman long enough to escape, is that any different than finding a way to kill one? The Cyberman is still no longer a threat and there will always be more Cybermen either way. So why not make “Hit Points” into “Plot Points”? That’s what they did. So instead of having a measure of physical fortitude, Characters have a narrative measure of success. When a Character runs out of Plot Points they don’t die, they are incapacitated, or they surrender (which isn’t always bad), or are otherwise taken out of the current encounter in whatever way best suits the narrative at the time.
Two other notable changes are the lack of Alignment and Languages. The Universe isn’t black and white, and neither are people. Besides, the Doctor isn’t exactly known for travelling with irredeemably “evil” companions. The Translation Circuit on the TARDIS renders most languages understandable. If the GM wants to have that circuit malfunction or whathaveyou, there’s nothing saying they can’t, but there’s no reason to include Language on the Character Sheets. To be honest, I can’t think of a single time in any game where the inability to communicate enhanced gameplay.
[Editor’s Note: Just a side note regarding that comment. It is admittedly ableist and reflects my personal experiences alone. Gaming is super accessible and should always be so. There are great anecdotes of players (especially in school groups) who may be Deaf or aren’t as fluent in a given language, and GMs can integrate that into the story to the benefit of everyone. The inclusion or exclusion of language rules in a game should never be used to create real world barriers to play. -dc]
There is one other major change that is arguably more extreme than Plot Points. Quips. The Player’s Guide describes Quips as “...special abilities that represent the power of knowledge and the strength of words in Doctors and Daleks”. They are the analogue to spells in 5E and are handled similarly. Certain classes have access to more quips, but every class has some. Like 5E spells, Quips have limited uses, except for Cantrip Quips which can be used as much as desired. At the end of the section, there is a further list of 5E spells and equivalent Quip names, but without great detail. It is up to the Game Master to determine how it is used within the context of the game. One thing that intrigued me here is that In North America, the word Cantrip is almost exclusively used in the context of magic in gaming. But one of the dictionary definitions for the word is “artful shamming meant to deceive” with no magical reference whatsoever. Whether that was an intentional thing or just a bleed over in 5E terminology, I think that makes it an even more perfect term.
Another substantial part of most roleplaying games is Character Creation. You can download pre-prepared characters from the Cubicle 7 website, but many groups dedicate an entire session of play to just creating characters. (Often called Session Zero) I won’t go into great detail here, but I will quickly touch on two essential areas: Species and Class.
Since the humanoid form is one of the most common in the Universe, there is a note about Cyborgs, Aliens, and Psychics that most alien Concepts can be built from a Human starting point. (Let’s be honest, we all know that’s a BBC television budget thing, and an ease-of-use thing in most games, but just run with it.) The Species included in this book are Human, Silurian, Sontaran, and Time Lord/Gallifreyan. Each Species has several pages of detail and diversity on each, with a very long section on Gallifreyan abilities (aka Feats). The Silurian section includes specific details and differences between the Welsh and Wenley Moor Silurians. While it doesn’t include Sea Devils, this is one of the places that the book brings up Doctor Who: The Roleplaying Game sourcebooks. Specifically, it notes The Silurian Age (which I’ve reviewed at TheRatHole.ca/who) and Paternoster Investigations books, with Sea Devils being included in the former.
Your Character Class is basically what your character does and how they fit into the world around them. In 5E and other fantasy games, this tends to be variations on things like Fighter, Rouge, Magic User, Healer, etcetera. In Doctors and Daleks, the Classes are Charmer, Empath, Protector, Stalwart, Thinker, and Trickster. When you choose a Class it will impact the character both thematically and mechanically. Mechanically, different Classes have access to distinct Quips, equipment, dice, and add bonuses to your stats. Thematically it informs (not dictates) how your Character may choose to act.
A Character’s actions in the game are important and bring us to one of the most meaningful changes imported from Doctor Who: The Roleplaying Game. In 5E players roll dice and add modifiers to determine Initiative, the order in which they act. In both DWTRPG and D&D, your actions determine the Initiative order, although the rules do allow for using the more traditional rolling method. The initiative order is predetermined as:
- Player Talkers
- NPC/Enemy Talkers
- Player Doers
- NPC/Enemy Doers
- Player Fighters
- NPC/Enemy Fighters
This unique system reinforces The Doctor’s emphasis on a peaceful resolution to conflict over a combative one. To be perfectly blunt, it is probably the most dramatically elegant initiative system I’ve ever encountered in any game I’ve ever reviewed. In talking to some of Cubicle 7 staff who helped test and run the system, this is the change that almost always blows 5E players’ minds. It’s so wildly different that at this point in the review, it probably qualifies as “burying the lead” in comparison to the other changes.
Obviously, there are way more specific rules that I’m skipping, dedicated to journeying through all of time and space, and a look at some of the Doctor’s most iconic antagonists. Since this is a Players Guide and not a Core Rulebook, I’m thrilled to see a Game Master specific section at all. Encouraging and supporting new players to take on the responsibility of a GM is vital to the long-term health of any game. After praising Cubicle 7 earlier for pointing to existing material, I was surprised and disappointed they didn’t mention the DWRPG Gamemaster’s Companion book. You can find my review of that book (and more) at TheRatHole.ca/who but to sum it up it is one of the best books on how to GM I’ve ever read. Yes, I’ve said that a couple of times, and I honestly do mean it. The work Cubicle 7 has done with Doctor Who is amazing.
The Players Guide is the first of three books to be digitally released for Doctors and Daleks. As of my writing this, the digital edition of the Alien Archive and The Keys of Scaravore books are expected before the end of 2022 with the physical releases of all three, individually or as a collector set, scheduled for mid-2023. Sufficed to say, between this, the second edition of DWTRPG, and the entire 60th anniversary, next year is looking to be a banner year for the franchise. Because of the sheer prevalence of 5E in both the gaming market and pop culture, I think that Doctors & Daleks will be an easier game to find players for, and that it’s going to be hitting tables hard as a result.
You can find the publisher, Cubicle 7 Entertainment, online at www.cubicle7games.com or on Facebook at facebook.com/Cubicle7Entertainment.
TheRatHole.ca does not accept payments for our reviews but may have received a promotional copy of this product for review.