“Over the Top”
“Over the Top” (3LD02)
by Mark Acres
Game Master: Brian Players: Adam, Erin
Game Date: 29 January 2019
Characters: The Doctor, Riddell, Flo
Adversaries: The Master, Manfred von Richthofen
Allies: George S. Patton
Time: 19-20 November 1917 CE
Space: Cambrai, France, Earth
Synopsis: France. 1917. In the mud-filled trenches of the Western Front, the Germans, the British, and the Americans face each other in a bitter stalemate. Thousands have died but, for three bloody years, not an inch of ground has been gained. When a trio of strangers emerges from No Man’s Land bearing secret battle plans for a major British tank offensive, Lieutenant Colonel George S. Patton knows that the course of the war is about to change. Emboldened by this knowledge and by the extraordinary skills possessed by these outlandish operatives, he charges them with a dangerous reconnaissance mission.
The Doctor, Riddell, and Flo must penetrate enemy lines. There, on a hidden airfield, they discover the source of the strange energies they’ve been tracking since the TARDIS first fell onto this bleak battleground. The Flying Circus of Manfred von Richthofen—the legendary Red Baron—is prepared for the coming offensive, and their Fokker triplanes are equipped with advanced arms representing the wrong World War! It becomes clear that a brilliant but sinister influence has bent Germany’s leaders to his dominating will. The Master is near death, incinerated by the time vortex, stripped of his robotic frame, but as desperate and determined to survive as he has ever been. Soon, he will take a new body, and in that rejuvenated form he will lead Germany to victory in the Battle of Cambrai, corrupting a crucial tipping point in the history of the Great War. The Doctor and his companions will have to take to the skies to correct the course of history—and face the dreaded Red Baron, ace of aces, on the field of combat that he has mastered!
“Ascension”
“Ascension” (5ND04)
by Mark Clapham & Jon de Burgh Miller
Game Master: Adam Players: Brian, Erin
Game Date: 15 April 2018
Characters: The Doctor, The Master, The Rani, Ori
Adversaries: The Divinity, The New Moral Army
Allies: Captain Jack Harkness
Time: 11-13 February 2596 CE
Space: Dellah, Constellation of Vitroa
Synopsis: Prophecy tells of an apocalyptic battle that will take place on the planet Dellah on the eve of the twenty-seventh century, the ultimate clash between the Divinity and the one they call the Great Blasphemer: the rebellious trickster otherwise known as the Doctor. Desperate to bring an end to the ascendancy of his eternal foes, the Doctor embraces this destiny, calling upon his captive companions, the Master and the Rani, to break free of the control exerted over the TARDIS by the Time Lords.
The Doctor and Ori arrive on Dellah to discover that this once peaceful world has fallen under the pitiless rule of the New Moral Army, whose holy wars and genocidal pogroms have left the road to the city of Tashwari lined with the crucified corpses of unbelievers. Appealing to the Sultan of Tashwari, the travellers find that any effort to quell the religious fervour that grips the populace is hopeless. The Sultan and his army heed only the doctrine of their idols, the Divinity, and the Doctor and his companion are soon slated for execution. Hope arrives in the form of an unexpected saviour who falls out of the sky—not an angel but a man, a man named Captain Jack Harkness.
With the help of this dashing rogue, the Doctor and Ori flee the city in search of allies, the atheist rebels who hide in nearby hills. Their quest will take them deep inside the volcanic Mount Casmov, where they learn that the prophecy that has led the Doctor to Dellah is self-fulfilling, allowing a great evil to harness the power of his TARDIS. The Divinity have become one with the elder god known as Tehke, the Burning One, and unless the Doctor can extinguish the beast, it is his ascension that will at last allow these ethereal fiends to defile the most glorious domain in all of time and space: Gallifrey, homeworld of the Time Lords!
“The Atlantean”
“The Atlantean” (5ND03)
by J. Andrew Keith
Game Master: Adam Players: Brian, Erin
Game Date: 31 December 2017
Characters: The Doctor, The Master, The Rani, Ori
Adversaries: The Divinity, The Iyteans
Time: 17 December 1885 CE
Space: London, United Kingdom, Earth
Available: IN PRINT
Synopsis: On Baker Street in December of 1885, the Doctor introduces Ori to the joys of Christmas in Victorian London, but the two find there is little hope for peace on Earth. A brutal murder has struck down a member of Parliament, Sir Reginald Carruthers, and the Doctor’s investigation into the circumstances surrounding the high profile killing uncovers more extraordinary crimes. The dead man was involved in a black market connecting Marylebone and Limehouse, an underground network trafficking otherworldly artefacts to London’s elite. Another of the buyers, the eccentric Colonel Malcolm Fraser, believes these dangerous and powerful objects support his outlandish theories concerning the lost city of Atlantis. What’s more, he claims the artefacts have led him to make contact with an Atlantean!
The Doctor is sceptical of Fraser’s fantastic story until he chases down a cloaked, ethereal figure in a snow-strewn alley—a herald angel, a ghost of things to come. Recognizing this ghastly creature for what it truly is, he realizes that the truth of these events is more terrible and frightening than the likes of Carruthers or Fraser could ever have suspected. The course of human history is being threatened by the introduction of anachronistic alien artefacts, but there are those who will make every effort to ensure that mankind is not diverted from its predestined path. None are more invested in preserving the history of humankind than the Divinity. After all, it is a history that they have spent millennia remaking in their image.
“The Age of Prosperity”
“The Age of Prosperity” (5ND02)
by Walt Ciechanowski
Game Master: Adam Players: Brian, Erin
Game Date: 7 October 2017
Characters: The Doctor, The Master, The Rani, Ori
Adversaries: The Silurians
Time: 7-8 October 1877 CE
Space: Colorado, United States, Earth
Available: IN PDF
Synopsis: The men and women of Prosperity live their lives in the shadow of Sentinel Mountain. Its mines once drew prospectors from across the American West, but the gold has long since petered out, and the hopes and dreams of the people have gone with it. During a visit to the Gold Nugget saloon, the Doctor and Ori learn that the townsfolk are quick to forget their troubles. Their greed for gold has been swapped for a thirst brought on by a snake oil salesman’s promises of health and vitality. And though the Comanches warn of a beast that stalks the nearby hills, the end of gold mining has not brought an end to visits to the mines. Determined to uncover the truth, the Doctor and his companion engage in some prospecting of their own. Together, they learn there are primeval secrets concealed within the caves of Sentinel Mountain, secrets that could mean an end to mankind’s own age of prosperity on Earth!
“Empire of the Rani”
“Empire of the Rani” (5ND01)
by Christopher Bulis
Game Master: Adam Players: Brian, Erin
Game Date: 9 September 2017
Characters: The Doctor, The Master, Ori
Adversaries: The Rani
Allies: Ptolemy Caesar
Time: 5 May 10 BCE (Dominion Year 10)
Space: Rome, Romano-Egyptian Dominion, Terra Nova
Synopsis: The TARDIS comes to ground in ancient Rome and is rendered powerless, stranding Ori and the Doctor in a landscape of disturbing anachronisms. They escape from a sealed tomb to find the skyline of the imperial capital broken by the startling shapes of smokestacks and electrical towers, and a majestic airship looms above the Colosseum. The so-called Romano-Egyptian Dominion is in the throes of an age of rapid and dangerous transformation, all thanks to the prophecy and divine guidance granted by a mysterious oracle. Unravelling the origin of this demented alternate history, the wayward travellers become embroiled in a dangerous game of politics and deceit, a contest that pits brother against brother against sister as the children of Cleopatra—Cleopatra Selene, Alexander Helios, and Ptolemy Caesar—compete for control of an empire on the verge of developing weapons capable of destroying their world.
Convincing the triumvirate to trust the Doctor won’t be easy, for he has been afflicted by dangerous transformations of his own and grows more unstable with each moment spent in this twisted timeline. In unexpected bursts of elemental energy, the Doctor is regenerating, regressing through past incarnations! As the Time Lord is transformed from wide-eyed bohemian to whimsical tramp to crotchety old man, an overwhelmed Ori comes to see that no one is as they seem, least of all Cleopatra Selene, for behind the guise of this wicked queen schemes one of the Doctor’s oldest and most unpredictable enemies. The earthbound Rani has been waiting for the Doctor to return to the era of the Roman Empire, and she intends to make the most of her revenge!
Minisode: “The Vintner’s Luck”
“The Vintner’s Luck” (5ND00)
by David Agnew
Game Master: Adam Players: Brian, Erin
Game Date: 30 July 2017
Characters: The Doctor, The Master, Ori
Adversaries: The Daleks
Time: 14 September 7306 CE
Space: Dionysus, Zeep Sector
Continuity: The first adventure featuring Ori.
Synopsis: Orizrekit’Gehm knows wine. Hailing from the ocean world of Adrilia, the seasoned vintner is heir to the renowned Gehm family winery, and a lifetime of cultivation has earned her a prestigious position as chief winemaker and sommelier aboard the famed luxury starliner Dionysus. Ori is a particular kind of connoisseur and so, she recognizes, is the strange, pale-faced passenger they call the Doctor. He strolls the liner’s self-contained vineyards as if he owns them, and his knowledge of variety and vintage is seemingly boundless. Ori is intrigued by this unusual man and, in a bid to impress him, she ventures into the depths of the Dionysus wine cellars to retrieve a rare bottle of Taurasi 178. Instead, she finds a raving metal monster that threatens her with extermination! In the fire and chaos that follow, she learns the truth about this stimulating stranger. The Doctor is experienced and discerning, a veritable virtuoso, but danger follows in his footsteps, and adrenaline is the vintage he knows best.
Back and Forth
These are exciting times for Doctor Who. As the countdown continues to the Twelfth Doctor’s final adventure—an episode that will also serve as an all-new television adventure for the First Doctor!—the series itself is undergoing a regeneration. Jodie Whittaker has claimed the role of the Thirteenth Doctor! We couldn’t be more proud, and we’re excited to see her take over the TARDIS. Our Doctor Who roleplaying campaign, like so many others, openly embraces the myriad possibilities embodied by the show’s changeable title character. There is so much potential in the role of the Doctor, and Whittaker will usher in a bold new era for the character. If regeneration stories have taught us anything, it’s that change is necessary, even if it can be hard to accept.
Amid the flurry of news regarding this changeover, it’s time to for us to share an update from the game table. Series 10 is at an end, and so is our most recent run of roleplaying adventures. “The Starmind” concluded an unforgettable second series for the Lost Doctor, Jeremy Brett (pictured here with esteemed Doctor Who guest star David Suchet, Fifth Doctor Peter Davison, and John Thaw, each of them a famous TV detective). The Lost Doctor and Riddell braved the elements across frozen tundra, through the depths of teeming alien jungles, and into the roiling cytoplasm of the universe’s largest living amoeba. They faced the Master, the Chelonians, the Ice Warriors, and the enigmatic Viyrans. The series ended with an epic cliffhanger, the revelation that the Cybermen have evolved to vanquish one of the most advanced races in the galaxy! What could possibly happen next? When the Dark Dimension campaign resumes later this week, you’ll find that we’ve jumped a time track.
After two series of adventures featuring the Lost Doctor, it’s time to change things up. Our next run of stories will return us to the era of the Nth Doctor, Richard E Grant. We promised you he’d be back! Consider these to be the Nth Doctor’s lost adventures. They’ll break the chronological order of things and take place earlier in the timeline, slotting into the existing chronology for the character. (The episode guide will, of course, be appropriately updated.) Ultimately, our intention is to introduce a unique original Doctor for each of the players in our campaign, and we’ll alternate between them from time to time. This is intended to ensure variety and allow everyone in our game an opportunity to play the Doctor, create a companion, and serve as our game master.
So, prepare yourself for all-new adventures in time and space with a familiar hero! The Nth Doctor remains a tormented puppet of the Time Lords, sharing his TARDIS with the ever-inscrutable android Master. We’ll also be introducing a never-before-seen companion who will join in these adventures.
The Lost Doctor will return, in time. After all, someone has to stand up to those pesky Cybermen…
“The Wrath of Rassilon”
“The Wrath of Rassilon” (2LD02)
by Peter Gilham
Game Master: Brian Players: Adam, Erin
Game Date: 1 April 2017
Characters: The Doctor, Riddell
Adversaries: The Master, The Chelonians
Allies: Romana V
Time: 16 March 5242 CE
Space: Arboramorensis, Constellation of Canthares
Synopsis: Rassilon: father of Gallifreyan thought and the architect of Time Lord supremacy. Long after passing into the pages of history, he stands as a figure both feared and revered. For those who know of his works, his immortal influence is to be found in even the farthest corners of our universe. The Master and his mercenary minions, the Chelonians, have tracked a lost remnant of Rassilon’s Foundry to the teeming jungles of Arboramorensis. Facing an unassailable army and an inescapable vengeance, the Doctor and Riddell must decipher the ancient riddles of Gallifrey’s All-Father or risk allowing a power beyond imagination to fall into the hands of its most notorious renegade.
“Lost and Found”
“Lost and Found” (1LD01)
by David Agnew
Game Master: Brian Players: Adam, Erin
Game Date: 27 August 2016
Characters: The Doctor, Riddell
Adversaries: The Master
Time: N/A
Space: N/A
Continuity: The first adventure featuring the Lost Doctor.
Synopsis: Outside of time, beyond space, exists a pocket of reality where the Time Lords of Gallifrey have buried remnants of their most advanced technology. This is the scrapyard where TARDISes come to die. The Master has brought the Doctor’s old Type 40 here in a bid to gain his freedom, and his escape may lead to ultimate victory over his eternal foe. The Doctor’s regeneration has gone dangerously wrong and his beloved TARDIS is behaving erratically. Unless John Riddell can make sense of a dimensionally transcendent space-time machine gone mad, none of them will escape this impossible graveyard alive!
SHARDS OF fiery regeneration energy spewed forth from the Doctor’s hands, feet, and neck as he was violently thrown back against the central console, his arms and legs straining against the power of it, his features beginning to transform. He let out a shout somewhere between a cry of agony and a scream of ecstasy. As the sound of it rose amid the chamber, the timbre of his voice seemed to shift in pitch to a higher, lighter tone.“Destiny and the Doctor”
“Destiny and the Doctor” (ΩND01)
by William H. Keith Jr.
Game Master: Adam Players: Brian, Erin
Game Date: 9 July 2016
Characters: The Doctor, The Master, Riddell
Adversaries: The Supreme
Allies: Selene, The Brotherhood of Freedom
Time: 25340 CE–27121 CE
Space: Destiny of Ydar, Mutter’s Spiral
Continuity: The final adventure featuring the Nth Doctor and the first to feature Riddell.
Available: IN PRINT
Synopsis: After rescuing John Riddell from perilous misadventure in Afghanistan, the Doctor reconnects with his old friend over a drink aboard the TARDIS, but they are soon torn from the vortex by the ravenous maw of a black hole! Emerging from the wreck that remains of the TARDIS, the Doctor and Riddell find themselves aboard an inconceivable interstellar vessel, the Destiny of Ydar, a vast and frighteningly powerful megastructure possessing a singularity that consumes planets and stars. In the depths of this great and ever-growing world-ship, corridors become caverns at the core of a trapped moon, armed robots maintain an oppressive code of order, and one of the Doctor’s former companions waits for a moment of redemption.
With her are the children of a forgotten world, lost souls who have forgotten there is a universe beyond but seek to wage a bitter rebellion within their world-ship in the name of all life. The Doctor and his companions join their noble cause, but they are not prepared to oppose the implacable will of their enemy. The Supreme believes itself to be all-knowing, all-seeing, never-ending. It will not be deterred from its five million year mission of vengeance and survival. To bow to the will of the Supreme means galactic genocide. For the Doctor, there is no choice but to resist, even if challenging a would-be god for the fate of the galaxy will seal his own cruel fate. All things must end—even the legendary journey of the hero known as the Doctor!
A Time to Change
It seems like only yesterday that the Doctor and Selene were stepping out of the TARDIS and onto the beach at Arrowdown, ready to face an uncertain future and terrors untold. That was “Ghost Town,” the inaugural module in our ongoing campaign based on the Doctor Who Roleplaying Game from Cubicle 7. It launched an unforgettable run of adventures that has taken our players from the battlefields of Roman Britain to the flowering jungles of Vortis to the depths of the Atlantic Ocean in the belly of the Titanic. The Doctor and his companions—the robot Master, Selene, Mohana, and Alison—have toppled madmen and undead gods and alien killing machines. The Daleks and the Divinity came closest to ending their journey, but with carefully chosen traits and a few well-played story points, our heroes triumphed over evil time and again. The Doctor and the TARDIS are eternal. On television and at the gaming table, their story will never end.
That’s important to remember, as change is coming. The Dark Dimension is about to be renewed. The incarnation of the Doctor brought so memorably to life by Richard E Grant in “Scream of the Shalka,” star of our campaign, has dark days ahead as our game narrative is jumping forward to depict his defiant last stand. The time has come for an historic first in our campaign, the first regeneration—and the moment has been prepared for. Players and game masters will be switching roles, and there will be a shake-up in the status quo.
A regeneration is imminent, but that doesn’t mean we’re done telling stories with the Nth Doctor. Though we’ll be introducing the Doctor’s next incarnation and a new take on the ongoing story arc, there will be plenty of opportunities to play out the untold stories of the Nth Doctor’s era in the future. Going forward, the Dark Dimension will feature twice the Doctors. This will expand our ongoing original narrative and add some variety to the proceedings. Ultimately, each player in the campaign will have the opportunity to create their own Doctor. It’s been great fun developing an original take on the mythology of Doctor Who using “Scream of the Shalka” as a starting point. That mythology is going to take on a greater richness and vibrancy as our cast of Doctors begins to expand.
Who is the companion destined to board the TARDIS during its time of peril? Will the Doctor at last break free of the oppressive control of the Time Lords? Can the Master resist his hideous true nature? What is to be the Doctor’s final fate, and what sort of man will emerge from the ashes of his regeneration? Time, and a roll of the 2D6, will tell.
“Blind Eye”
“Blind Eye” (10ND04)
by Morgan Davie
Game Master: Erin Players: Brian, Adam
Game Date: 8 May 2016
Characters: The Doctor, The Master, Alison
Adversaries: Clockwork Robots, The Weeping Angels
Allies: The Indian Space Agency
Time: 15 July 2385 CE
Space: SS Marie-Anne Lavoisier, Sol System
Synopsis: Class is in session when the Doctor and Alison become the subjects of a peculiar lesson in a most peculiar school. The artificial gravity, perception filters, and clockwork teachers suggest a sinister curriculum at work, and expulsion from the classroom means certain death in the depths of space! Even the atmosphere of this strange place is toxic, burning the eyes and confusing the senses. Soon, the Doctor and Alison are running blind, relying on students to lead them in a desperate study of their surroundings. Together, they learn that the clockwork teachers are being directed by a more powerful and malevolent force: the Lonely Assassins who feed on time and wait in shadows for a moment of blindness in which to strike.
“Time and Tide”
“Time and Tide” (10ND03)
by David Agnew
Game Master: Erin Players: Brian, Adam
Game Date: 13 February 2016
Characters: The Doctor, The Master, Alison
Adversaries: The Timeline Sculptors
Allies: Margaret Brown
Time: 14-15 April 1912 CE
Space: RMS Titanic, North Atlantic Ocean, Earth
Synopsis: On the eve of one of the greatest tragedies in maritime history, the Doctor and Alison board the RMS Titanic. Alison is troubled by the prospect of playing a role in the disaster, but the Doctor is insistent: the ship must sink if the timeline is to remain intact. A strange apprehension has gripped Captain Edward Smith, however, inspiring him to take certain precautions that may well undermine fate. As the Doctor and Alison begin a frantic investigation, they feel as if their movements are being tracked by a number of marble statues, artful sculptures that seem able to move about the ship of their own free will. A familiar force has stowed away aboard Titanic, a force intent on corrupting the future of the human race. With the Doctor doing everything in his power to preserve the tragic course of history, time itself becomes an enemy. At 23:40 ship’s time, Titanic collides with an iceberg. From that moment on, everything and everyone remaining aboard is destined to reach the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean—including the Doctor, Alison, and the TARDIS!
Character Sheet: The Master
The Doctor and the Master. Theirs is a friendship—and a rivalry—that has outlived civilizations. Together, they have witnessed the fall of empires, and their never-ending conflict has led to the collapse of universes. Their fates have been inextricably intertwined by the Time Lords of Gallifrey. Following the most recent of his many deaths, the Master’s consciousness was extrapolated from the Matrix and infused in an android body. He is now a permanent fixture of the Doctor’s TARDIS, unable to leave its confines and thereby forced to aid the Doctor in his mysterious missions throughout time and space.
Most infamous of the renegade Time Lords, the Master possesses a genius level intellect that is both reckless and dangerous. His ingenuity is corrupted by his obsessions. Even in this artificial form, however, the Master’s presence is powerful. He possesses a formidable gift for hypnosis, the power to enthrall and convince others. Though it is unknown why the Time Lords have forced the Master to accompany his arch-nemesis on their enigmatic errands, he harbors secret knowledge destined to play a pivotal role in the cosmic conspiracy in which they are both embroiled. Perhaps just as significant is the fact that he is not limited by the morality that so often constrains the Doctor. Aboard the TARDIS, they endure a tense, tenuous relationship. Though they know each other better than any other, and their personal timelines have been hopelessly entangled, betrayal is a certainty.
“Barge of the Dead”
“Barge of the Dead” (10ND02)
by Peter Gilham
Game Master: Erin Players: Brian, Adam
Game Date: 12 December 2015
Characters: The Doctor, The Master, Alison
Adversaries: Sebek
Time: 2 February 2674 CE
Space: Ship of Sobek, Deep Space
Synopsis: A great stone funeral barge moves through space, its course set for a fateful rendezvous. Venturing aboard, the Doctor and Alison find that this floating tomb serves as the resting place of Sebek, an ancient and powerful Osiran. Though the Doctor is relieved to know that the infamously savage crocodile god has long since passed on, he soon realizes that their presence has returned life to this previously dormant crypt. Mechanical scarabs scuttle in shadows, crocodilian warriors rise from stasis, and servicer robots resume their patrols of the stone labyrinths. When Alison encounters a gang of tomb raiders in the depths of the ship’s vast treasure vaults, an unpredictable new element is added to an already volatile mix. Some of these scavengers are after more than mere riches, breaking down the walls that divide the living and the dead. In the throne room, a colossal corpse stirs. Sebek the Rager—God of Crocodiles, Pointed of Teeth, the Strength of the Pharaohs—has been reborn!
“The Body Electric”
“The Body Electric” (10ND01)
by Alasdair Stuart
Game Master: Erin Players: Brian, Adam
Game Date: 3 October 2015
Characters: The Doctor, The Master, Alison
Adversaries: The Electroform
Allies: The Judoon, Flo
Time: 21 June 2148 CE
Space: Perseid Belt, Outer Sol System
Available: IN PDF
Synopsis: Aboard a crowded prison ship transporting criminals from every corner of the galaxy, the Doctor and Alison are deputized by the Judoon! A mysterious outbreak has infected both the police and their prisoners, and widespread sabotage of the ship’s systems has left the vessel adrift in a sea of meteoroids. The contaminated must be quarantined, but as meteoric debris begins to fracture the hull, time is running out. More bizarrely, the ship’s computer has gone haywire, and efforts to retrieve navigational data or damage reports produce only advertisements for hot dogs and classic television theme tunes. As the Doctor and Alison struggle to come to terms with a peculiar case of cultural contamination amid a shipwide jailbreak, they begin to understand the invasive nature of the hostile force holding them all hostage: the Electroform.
“The Feast of the Stone”
“The Feast of the Stone” (AND02)
by Cavan Scott & Mark Wright
Release Date: 3 April 2004
Characters: The Doctor, The Master, Alison
Adversaries: Psionic Vampire
Time: Unknown
Space: Unknown
Continuity: The only official short fiction to feature the Nth Doctor.
Available: ONLINE
Synopsis: The TARDIS has been trapped on a dead, forgotten world, its arrival in a sealed subterranean cavern sending vibrations through the rock. The chamber is acting as a “stone tape,” the Doctor observes, preserving living shadows and eternal hunger. Exploring the cave, Alison is overwhelmed by psionic stimulation, wave after wave of emotional memories drowning out her consciousness. Caught in the grip of shadows that emerge from the darkness, she takes her place atop a blood-stained sacrificial altar. As the Doctor desperately struggles to release her, he discovers the terrible truth driving this ravenous force. There is a great evil that dwells within the TARDIS, too. The unrivalled hatred and malice in the soul of the Master has aroused the hunger of an insatiable psionic parasite. His very presence aboard the TARDIS may ensure its doom.
The Dark Dimension 
