Doctors and Daleks is a Tabletop Role-Playing Game based on the Dungeons and Dragons 5e core rule system, and is designed by Cubicle 7.
https://cubicle7games.com/doctors-and-daleks
I’ve been reading through the core rulebooks recently, and there’s a lot of fun things in there that I wanted to highlight, first and foremost being the plot hooks that the Alien Archive contains for a bunch of different monsters.
Some of these are so good I want stories based on them now.
A few of my favourites
- Axos attacks a spaceship while it travels between planets, then crawls inside the hull like a gigantic parasite. It replicates the crew and takes control of the ship. When they return home, the replica crew members quietly decamp to the far corners of the world bearing Axonite, while Axos murders anyone who gets too close to the truth hidden in the spaceship’s hull…
- The Carrionites came from a planet named Rexel 4, part of a system of closely aligned worlds. What was left behind when they were locked away by the Eternals? Were there other creatures on Rexel 4 to fill the gap they left, or is the whole planet nothing but the largest, spookiest haunted house of all? An expedition of archaeologists pilots their ship to land, looking for the answers to some timeless mysteries. The old Carrionite dangers are not entirely gone, however. Will the archaeologists survive until dawn?
- The Forest of Cheem opens its borders to a delegation of friends and allies. It is a rare honour for the animal-evolved, and the characters are pleased to be invited. The licentious Rites of Spring are certainly a surprise, but more surprising still is the spate of murders of the guests. Something is rotten at the heart of Cheem, swarming in the darkness: the Vashta Nerada are here.
- The Great Intelligence prepares another invasion. The Yetis are built, their control spheres are beeping, and their figurines are sitting ready on a map of the target city. But the Intelligence identifies something lacking in its strategic ability. It needs a special mind, someone who is particularly skilled at deploying figurines around on a battle-map. And so the Intelligence finds its way to a small, friendly wargaming convention where a budding general finds themself unknowingly directing the Intelligence’s newest attempt to conquer the world.
- The village church has a new vicar! He seems to be a very nice man indeed, although he is a bit odd. His sermons are unusual but everyone is learning a great deal from his unorthodox views. Strangest of all is his refusal to allow the steeple bells to ring! He says the bell tower is damaged but rumours hint that a beast is lurking in the steeple, watching as the village changes into something new. (A Jagrafess plot hook)
- The Multiform is a parasite, but an
intelligent one. Perhaps a Multiform,
somewhere — a really, very smart one
– is going ‘vegetarian,’ and only stealing forms it can justify. But who’d volunteer for a Multiform mind-meld? Gemma is depressed, and wants to get away from the world. With her cooperation, a psychic link was established in days, and now the Multiform is running her life for her as she revels in a waking dream, where all her mistakes are rectified. The Multiform insists this is a win-win scenario, but the characters suspect otherwise. - The first Nestene invasion was closely monitored by reporters from newspapers and radio, and at the start of the second invasion, an energy unit was on display in a museum. Of all alien visits to 20th century Earth, the Nestenes came closest to public awareness. Some who knew the truth decided on an extreme measure to stay safe: a plastic-free life. When one true believer discovers an energy unit, he decides the safest place to put it is in the middle of his enclave of plastic abstainers. Unfortunately, not everyone in the enclave has been so diligent about abstaining from plastic.
- A pirate space fleet has mastered the ability to contain the Pting and has weaponised them as a living projectile to fire out of ship-to-ship cannons. Not only is this cruel and destructive, but the Doctor believes that a time-travelling scientist has brought Pting-containment technology from the future to give the pirates an undefeatable weapon.
- On the edge of the Rutan-Sontaran conflict, a Sontaran commander has done the unthinkable, withdrawing from the front and striking out on his own personal mission. He has concluded the war is, in fact, unending. The only true triumph would be ending the war altogether, and that would mean wiping out Rutan and Sontaran alike.
- The TARDIS picks up a distress call from the end of the Universe. The Toclafane have evolved, and spheres the size of cities are making the last embers of civilisation their playground. But is there any point in the characters risking their life to save a planet that’s already doomed?
- A distant planet hosts a peculiar sight: a ring of Angels. A central energy signature with no obvious cause explains why the Angels have not decayed, but not why they are quantum locked, as their hands cover their faces. The ring has survived for centuries, and a cult known as the Angelic Choir has grown up around it. Then, one day, an Angel changes position, as if attempting to flee.