Would anyone like to host a list about roleplaying gaming based on the
BBC science-fiction series "Doctor Who".  The list would be open and
unmoderated, owned by myself.  My best guess is that it would have
around 20 members and carry several messages a day, but this could be
widely wrong.
 
Disk space for archives would be nice, but is not needed.
 
The 'info' file for the mailing list follows.
 
WHO-RPG-L
 
WHO-RPG-L is the mailing list for discussion of roleplaying in the universe
portrayed by the well-known British science-fiction programme "Doctor Who".
Topics are likely to include how to prevent the dominance of the Doctor
spoiling the game, discussing characters and storylines, amending the two
Dr Who role-playing games and playing Dr Who using other systems.  I don't
know.  This hasn't been done before :).  We will be able to archive
documents at tardis.ed.ac.uk.
 
Ian McDonald 03/4/95
 
APPENDIX: Are there any published Dr Who RPGs?
 
Two, both of which, are, I think, out of print.  How to get hold of them,
and their adventures, may become another FAQ :).
 
They are:
 
"The Doctor Who Role Playing Game" (FASA, Chigaco, 1985), Ed. Wm. John
Wheeler
 
Three books in a box with Tom Baker / Leela on it.  Player characters were
usually from the Gallifreyan Celestial Intervention Agency and similar to
the Doctor/companions in that they were usually a Time Lord/Lady and some
humans travelling around in a TARDIS.  Attributes are built of points, then
skills, with both ranging from 1-7 and an 'interaction matrix' and 2d6
resolving conflicts.  The mechanics were a reworking of FASA Star Trek.
This was followed by several, usually good, adventures, and three
sourcebooks of varying quality.
 
"Time Lord" (Doctor Who Books, London, 1991), by Ian Marsh and Peter
Darvill-Evans, ISBN 0426 203623
 
Players are the Doctor and companions - there is no character generation
system, although there is an appendix on how to produce stats for yourself
(!).  Attributes range from 1-10.  The rules are deliberately simplistic,
relying on a novel 'beat the difference' system.  You have a skill level,
and a difficultly level.  You roll 2d6, and the result is the diffence
between them.  If the skill level plus the result is *more* than the
difficulty, you have succeeded.  This game suffered from very bad placement
(in other words, it was sold with Dr Who books, not with the RPGs) and
there have been no official supplements other than a couple of Dr Who
magazine articles.
Ian McDonald