The Doctor: How do we handle him?

Welcome to the very first topic for Doctor Who. And it’s a big one. The big question.

How do we handle the Doctor?

Because the Doctor is both such a central and powerful character, we can’t just have one person play him through the whole game, otherwise they will dominate all the way through. So how to do it?

Option 1: Play him as a normal NPC. In effect, everyone plays the Doctor in their own posts, and whoever is running the story can have him do specific actions using the DW NPC account (which will exist).

Option 2: The Doctor as a semi-PC. In this case the Doctor has his own account, and whoever is running the adventure essentially plays both their own character and the Doctor. Or they can hand the responsibly of playing the Doctor to someone else, should they wish. Even if we go down this road, I still think everyone else should be able to NPC the Doctor in their own posts, within reason and possibly checking with the person running the story.

So, what do people think?

My reader opinion is that I prefer option two just because it is easier to follow the story that way.

I prefer Option 1. This will force the Doctor into being an NPC no matter what, changing the focus of the game to the companions--since the PCs are all companions, they should act as main spokespersons in the game. Having the Doctor as a universal NPC also lessens the plot-bearing burden on whoever is running the episode, making it important for all companions to write the doctor and take up some of the exposition of plot and so on. I think this will work because the Doctor is kind of crazy so I think everyone could do his personality very well. If the Doc is a rotating PC, I have the feeling that the game narrative would be interrupted by flashes of plot exposition, and all we would be doing with the PCs is character development. With a decentralized doctor, the PCs are in control and will do a lot of things that the Doctor usually does himself in the show--but since the main characters are companions, and not the doctor, they should partake of the plot stuff and character development more than the Doctor. So my vote is for normal NPC doctor!

I agree with Beeayy and prefer Option 1. This isn't normal Doctor Who, where the Doctor is the star. The companions should be the stars, with the Doctor there as a plot device.

Also, yes, that relieves the burden of whoever's running the episode, and even reduces possibilities of people getting bored waiting to ask the Doctor the next obvious question or get into trouble or whatever companions are supposed to do If everyone can control the Doctor, it will make for much more streamlined, quicker games, I think.

Furthermore, it shares the love. Those who don't feel like running a whole episode still get to "play" the Doctor. And yeah, he's such an iconic character, but also schizophrenic, I doubt anyone could screw him up!

And I'm gonna agree with preferring Option 1 as well, for all the reasons already listed! They said it better than I could.

Sorry Ariel but all the players are aggreed on option 1. Personally I was swithing between the two so i'm really glad there's a clear consensis.