Greetings

Welcome to Lug Who. To date, there have been two officially licensed Doctor Who RPGs. The best of the two has always (in my mind) been the game published by FASA, based on their Star Trek RPG. So, when Last Unicorn Games published a new Star Trek RPG, I felt its system (with its highly detailed character stats) was ideally suited to a Doctor Who RPG. Alas, this never came to pass. So, after thinking about it all these years, I've decided to create this site. Here I will post original species templates, advantages, disadvantages, skills, equipment, ships, etc. I will be accepting submissions from anyone who might be interested in roleplaying with the Icon system.

To submit content send an email to: lugwho@gmail.com

P.S. Feel free to submit alternate ideas for things already posted.

Friday, December 21, 2007

Glossary of Terms

The following game terms appear throughout the [Doctor Who] Roleplaying Game.

Action: Almost anything a character does can be described by an action. Making an attack, dodging a blow, and using a Skill are all actions. Actions are divided into Immediate Actions, which take no time in combat (for example, dropping a weapon), and Timed Actions (actions which take time in combat and must be declared; for example, making or dodging an attack).

Advantage: A special ability, benefit, or advantage which a character possesses. Examples include having a Contact in [a planetary government], being especially adept at Engineering tasks, or having a particularly acute sense. Advantages cost a number of Development Points equal to their value; for example, a +2 Advantage costs 2 Development Points.

Attribute: A character’s innate capabilities, such as his agility or intelligence. There are five attributes: Fitness,
Coordination, Intellect, Presence, and Psi. Attributes range in value from 1 to 5 (and, rarely, higher).

Attribute Test: A Test (q.v.) made using only an attribute (no skill is involved).

c: The scientific notation for the speed of light. For example, a starship moving at .25c moves at one quarter light-speed.

Combined Test: A Test made by several characters working together. The best Test Result acts as a base, and each additional successful result adds +1 to it; failures may subtract from the total or delay completion of the task.

Courage Points: Courage represents a character’s bravery, ingenuity, and fortitude in the face of adversity. Characters use Courage Points to improve rolls and increase Test Results. A character’s overall Courage Point total is sometimes referred to as his Courage Pool.

d6: A six-sided die. Six-sided dice are used to make all Tests in the [Doctor Who] Roleplaying Game.
Development Points: Points which characters use to buy Attributes, Edges, and Advantages. Characters receive a certain number of Development Points at each stage of their Background History.

Difficulty: How easy or hard it is to accomplish a task. Each task is given a Difficulty (or Difficulty Number) indicating how hard it is—the higher the number, the harder the task. Difficulty Numbers are organized into categories (from lowest to highest, Routine [3-5], Moderate [6-8], Challenging [9-11], Difficult [12-14], and Nearly Impossible [15+]). When trying to accomplish a task, a character rolls a Test (q.v.); if his Test Result equals or exceeds the Difficulty, he succeeds.

Disadvantage: A limitation, hindrance, or other problem which afflicts a character. Examples include having a
Sworn Enemy, being Physically Impaired (for example, blind), or hiding one’s emotions.

Drama Die: When a player rolls a Test, one of the dice he rolls is a different color. This die is called the Drama Die. If the Drama Die rolls a 6, it indicates a great degree of success; if it rolls a 1, it may indicate a great failure.

Dramatic Failure: A failed Test which is 6 or more below the Difficulty Number (for example, a Test Result of 5 when the Difficulty is 12). This indicates a grievous failure which may have terrible consequences for the character.

Dramatic Success: A successful Test which is 6 or more above the Difficulty Number (for example, a Test Result of 12 when the Difficulty is 5). This indicates an amazing success which may have especially beneficial results for the character.

Edge: Aspects of attributes which represent a character’s particular level of talent (or lack of talent) with some
functions of an attribute. For example, the edges associated with Intellect are Perception and Logic. Edges range in value from +2 to -2, and act as modifiers to related Tests.

Extended Test: A Test which requires an extensive amount of time, or which is broken up into segments so that the Narrator can gauge the character’s progress by requiring multiple Skill Tests.

Initiative: Determines who goes first in combat or similar situations. Characters must make Initiative Tests based on the Skill they are about to use, modified by their Reaction edge.

Level: A character’s level of ability in a skill or attribute. For
example, a character who buys a skill has a level of 1 in
that skill; as his ability improves, the level increases to 2,
3, 4, and so on.

Opposed Test: A Test (q.v.) which another character opposes
or resists. For example, a character who uses his Stealth
skill to sneak past a guard will engage in an Opposed Test
with the guard, who uses his Search skill in an attempt to
locate the character. The character who rolls the highest
Test Result in an Opposed Test wins the Test.

Overlay: A character creation tool which represents the character’s
profession, such as Engineer or Doctor. Each
Overlay includes the basic skills and other abilities needed
to perform the profession.

Renown: Renown measures how well known a character is.
Renown has five Aspects (Initiative, Aggression, Skill,
Discipline, and Openness), and can be positive or negative.
Each character starts the game with 1 point of
Renown in one Aspect (player’s choice).

Resistance: A character’s ability to withstand damage.
Resistance equals a character’s (Fitness + Vitality). If the
character wears armor or other protection, it will add to
his Resistance.

Result: Test Result. See Test.

Round: A measure of time in combat, equal to five seconds.

Skill: A character’s learned abilities, aptitudes, and knowledges.
Examples include the ability to fire energy
weapons, the ability to diagnose illness and perform surgery,
and the ability to operate [a] ship’s sensors. Skills range
in value from 1 to 5 (and, rarely, higher). Most skills have
specializations (q.v.).

Skill Test: A Test (q.v.) in which a character rolls a number of
dice equal to the attribute upon which a skill is based, and
adds the highest result on any die to his skill level. If the
total equals or exceeds the Difficulty Number for the task,
the character succeeds.

Specialization: Areas of particular expertise and ability within
a skill. Many skills require a character to specialize, since
they are so broad that few characters will ever learn all
aspects of the skill in depth.

Template: A character creation tool which represents the character’s
race or species, such as Human or [Time Lord]. Each
Template includes the basic attributes and other abilities
common to an average member of the race.

Test: Tests are dice rolls used to determine whether a character
succeeds with a particular action. Most Tests are based
on a skill + an attribute, but there are also Tests based
solely on an attribute. Typically, the highest die rolled in a
Test is added to the relevant skill level; if that total, or Test
Result, equals or exceeds the Difficulty of a task, the character
succeeds.

Test Modifier: Circumstances which modify a Test. These
include edges, poor visibility, using the off hand, being
wounded, or trying to perform tasks in zero gravity.

Wound Level: An indication of a character’s current injury status.
There are seven Wound Levels: Healthy, Stunned,
Injured, Wounded, Incapacitated, Near Death, and Killed.
A character can withstand a number of points of damage
equal to his Resistance per Wound Level; when he takes
more damage than that, he drops to the next level.

Exerpted from the Star Trek Deep Space Nine Roleplaying Game

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