DW Monsters: Kaldor Robots

The next story in the series is The Deadly Assassin, which does not have a “monster”, or any aliens other than the Time Lords. In the next story, The Face of Evil, we have a mad computer, but then we come to The Robots of Death. Robots, particularly human-shaped ones, have featured several times on the show, but these remain fondly remembered, at least partly for their Art Deco look. They featured in a 1999 novel, Corpse Marker, by the writer of the original TV story, but it’s really in the audio medium that they have had their greatest success. They have so far appeared in three audios alongside the Doctor, and in two series of their own, one of them reaching eighteen episodes.

DW Monsters: Kastrians

The primary antagonist in The Masque of Mandragora is not only a unique entity, but one that’s more of an abstract threat than something we could stat up; it produces visible effects and controls people, but it doesn’t really qualify as a “monster”. Following that story, though, is The Hand of Fear and Eldrad. Now, Eldrad himself is also unique, in that he’s the last surviving member of his species, the Kastrians, but because we can throw time travel into the mix, that doesn’t mean we could never meet another. Having said that, the Kastrians do not return, or even get much of a mention, elsewhere in the TV series. Indeed, their only other appearance to date is in the audio story Eldrad Must Die! which is, of course, a direct sequel.

DW Monsters: Krynoids

After The Brain of Morbius, which features a unique monster, we come to The Seeds of Doom (not to be confused with the Second Doctor story The Seeds of Death) and the Krynoids. There are only two in the story, but they’re a species of alien that could plausibly be found on many other planets, so they’re within my remit for these posts. The Krynoids are a one-off monster within the series, and have been little used elsewhere. Other than a few short stories, they have featured in only one licensed audio, Hothouse, which acts as a sequel to the TV serial without really expanding the description of the species.

Description and Biology

Krynoids are plants that begin their life cycle as seed pods flying through space. Once they land on a suitable planetary surface they germinate, infecting the nearest large animal by injecting them with bacteria-like cells. The original plant then dies, but the infective cells take over and restructure the host's body using it as the foundation to grow the second, reproductive, phase of the Krynoid. Essentially, then, we have two forms: the plant inside the seed pod, which produces the infective spores, and the much larger form that the spores grow into and that eventually produce new seed pods.

DW Monsters: Androids

Following Terror of the Zygons, the next two stories are:

• Planet of Evil – the anti-matter monster here is an apparently unique entity and, in any case, is more a sort of mobile hazard than something with creature statistics
• Pyramids of Mars – although we only encounter one Osiran, they are a race… however, they’re sufficiently powerful that they are more effectively described as one-off NPCs. I’m also going to pass on their servitor robots for the time being as there isn’t much to say about them other than them being large, strong, robots.

This brings us to The Android Invasion. The alien race here are the Kraals, which have leathery skin, sculpted skulls, and a small nose-horn. Other than their physical appearance, however, there seems little to set them apart from humans, and in game terms they (as with races such as the Draconians) probably don’t need any particular rules. Their titular android creations, however, are a different matter. 

DW Monsters: Skarasen

The next story up is Terror of the Zygons, the only classic series appearance of the eponymous aliens. While I have done those before, as a recurring race in the modern series, the story also includes the Zygons' pet monster, the skarasen. Considering that we're told the creature is essential to Zygon survival, it's noteworthy that it has not appeared again on TV in any subsequent stories involving the race. 

The spin-off media, however, have been more willing to include them. They have so far appeared in two of the licensed audios (and one older one, outside the regular license) and two novels. The most significant of these is probably the Eighth Doctor novel The Bodysnatchers, which features a batch of infant skarasen. Each of these stories has, naturally, also included the Zygons; there have been many Zygon stories without the skarasen, but never the reverse.

Trouble at t'Mill (con game report)

This weekend, I ran a Doctor Who game at the annual Continuum convention in Leicester. I've had relatively little to run the game before, despite having written about related topics here, although this was the third in a loose series where I have previously run the other two (including one at last year's Continuum). The game was run using the Doctor Who Adventures in Time and Space system (2nd ed.) - one that I haven't used in my "monster" posts since, of course, the relevant information already exists in print. For those who haven't previously encountered it, it's available here.

Unfortunately, I'm not terribly good at coming up with ideas for adventures. I can tweak stuff that already exists, and throw in ideas but writing the adventure itself, not so much. (My recent fantasy sourcebooks, which are available here and here, consist of settings, NPCs, and plot hooks, but cannot reasonably be described as "scenarios"). Fortunately, there is a readily available source of plot ideas for Doctor Who: the expanded universe.

DW Monsters: Cybermats

The Wirrn are the only new race introduced in season 12, with their story being followed by, in order:

• The Sontaran Experiment 
• Genesis of the Daleks  
• Revenge of the Cybermen

All of which feature their titular returning “monsters”. However, the last of these three does include, in addition to the Cybermen, their creations, the cybermats. These had previously appeared in a couple of Second Doctor stories, in slightly different form, and have also appeared once in the modern series. Outside the TV series, they have so far featured (typically quite briefly) in nine audio stories and one original novel – all, of which, of course, also include the Cybermen in more prominent roles. Two of the audios address the question of the cybermats’ origin and nature, which is probably the most detail we’re ever going to get on them; the two answers given are, however, contradictory.

Description and Biology

The appearance of cybermats changes at least as much as that of the Cybermen, but they are always small segmented metallic creatures that crawl along the ground. Although some of the versions lack any visible biological parts, the original version had organic eyes, and that in the modern series has animal-like teeth implanted in it. It seems reasonable to assume, however, that all cybermats are, like their creators, cyborgs combining both organic and electronic elements.

The wide variation in form is doubtless because the Cybermen have arisen more than once on different planets and have come up with different cybermat designs independently, as well as their tendency to upgrade their technology. As a minimum, it seems likely that all cybermats have an organic brain (or at least part of one), but there’s no reason to assume that they all originate from the same sort of creature. While the TV series has not so far weighed in what those might be, as noted above, the audios provide two possible answers.

The more plausible explanation, to my mind, is that given in the Fifth Doctor audio Spare Parts, where it stated that the Mondasian version of the cybermat was created from a type of pet popular on the Cybermen’s original homeworld. As a domesticated animal, this would have been tractable, and easily configured by cyber-tech to end up as something similar to what we see – the original physical form also loosely resembling the final shape.

The alternative, more horrific, possibility comes from The Crystal of Cantus, an audio story that does not directly feature the Doctor. Judging from the cover art, the Cybermen in this story are Telosian, rather than Mondasian, and here we’re told that cybermats are created using the brains of human babies. There is some logic to this in that very young humans can’t reasonably be converted into the regular Cybermen we see, and they might not wish to waste the potential resource. On the other hand, it’s hard to explain why they would put the brain in such an obviously non-humanoid body, or whether it would work terribly well – or behave in the way that it does – if they did. Most (but not all) cybermats also seem too small to physically fit even a baby’s brain inside them.

Plus… ick!

Other than the brain, there may not be many organic internal organs in a cybermat, although, again, this might vary between models. So long as you have a suitable means of providing the brain with oxygen and nutrients, there are probably few parts you absolutely have to keep organic, depending on the technology available. In general, similar principles apply to their “biology” as do for the Cybermen themselves.

Game Attributes

In many respects, cybermat statistics can be modelled on those of Cybermen, with the exception that they are much smaller and that, in systems that care about such things, they are a different shape. They obviously have low physical strength and don’t seem especially agile. Their cyborg body will be resilient, as that of the Cybermen is, although in systems where physical size is built into the relevant statistic, that may well cancel out. The armour plating is marginally bullet-proof, but not exceptional.

Regardless of the origin we go with, it seems clear that cybermats are of only animal intelligence, although likely a fairly intelligent animal, such as a dog. For this reason, they don’t have many skills beyond attacking and stealthily sneaking about. The attack is delivered by a bite; the various models have metal teeth, or organic ones, or perhaps even piercing mandibles, but in game terms, this is unlikely to make much difference. Since one of their purposes is to scout out their environment, their senses are likely quite good.

Special Abilities

For the sake of simplicity, I will assume that the two special abilities we see cybermats use are general functions of the cyborg, even though we only see one or the other (or neither) being used in any given story. Specific models can be described by cutting out either or both of the abilities and/or adding a vulnerability to gold in those versions said to be susceptible to this attack. The Cybermen can probably swap out functional modules in their creations anyway, depending on what they want them to do on any given occasion.

The eyeless, almost wormlike, version of Revenge of the Cybermen has the ability to inject its victims with a venom, virus, or other toxic agent stored inside it. We know that the chemical in question can be changed to suit different purposes, so even the base model may vary somewhat, but we’ll assume a regular poison. The other special feature, seen in Closing Time, is the ability to drain electricity from their surroundings, providing energy to their masters.

---

5E - Cybermat

Tiny construct, neutral

Armour Class: 16 (metal plating)

Hit Points: 19 (3d4+12)

Speed: 20 ft.

STR 6 (-2)	DEX 10 (+0)	CON 18 (+4)
INT 3 (-4)	WIS 12 (+1)	CHA 5 (-3)

Skills: Perception +3

Damage Resistances: Cold, Fire, Poison

Senses: Passive Perception 11

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6) piercing damage and 11 (3d6) poison damage.

Challenge: 1 (200 XP)

BRP - Cybermat

STR 1D3+6 (8)	CON 18	SIZ 1D6 (4)
INT 3	POW 2D6 (7)	DEX 2D6 (7)
Hit Points: 11	Move: 8
Base SR: 6	Damage Bonus: -1D6

Armour: 5-point metal plating

Skills: Listen 50%, Spot 60%

Combat Skills: Bite 50% (1D6-1D6 damage, plus a POT 10 poison)

GURPS - Cybermat

ST 8	DX 10	IQ 3	HT 18
Damage: 1		Move: 2
DR: 10		Size: -4

Advantages: Alertness +3, Damage Resistance +6, Doesn’t Eat or Drink, Doesn’t Sleep, Fit, Innate Attack (Toxic, melee attack, resistible, 2d, linked with Piercing, melee attack, 1d)

Disadvantages: Cannot Speak, Electrical

Savage Worlds - Cybermat

Agility: d6	Smarts: d6 (A)	Spirit: d10
Strength: d4	Vigour: d12

Skills: Fighting d6, Notice d8

Edges: Cyborg, Hard to Kill

Special Abilities: Bite (Str+1), Poison (lethal)

Pace: 5                  Toughness: 5 (4)                   Size: -3 (Very Small)

STA - Cybermat

Control: 6	Fitness: 6	Presence: 4
Daring: 6	Insight: 2	Reason: 2
Command: 0	Security: 1	Science: 0
Conn: 0	Engineering: 0	Medicine: 0
Stress: 7	Resistance: 2

Bite: Melee 2^ (1H, Deadly)

DW Monsters: Wirrn

We don’t see any newly introduced races in the remainder of the first revived season after Dalek, but for the record, the relevant stories are:

• The Long Game – The “monster” here is the Jagrafass, which is, so far as we can tell, a unique being, not a race.
• Father’s Day – The Reapers are said to be completely impervious to damage, which makes them more of an obstacle than something that can be described with creature statistics so I will, at least for the moment, pass on them.
• The Empty Child – The real threat here are the nanites that create the empty children and they are only doing what they are doing because of a very specific malfunction. Thus, the empty children themselves are a one-off thing and the malfunctioning nanites are (game mechanically speaking) a disease, not a monster.
• Boom Town – features the Slitheen.
• Bad Wolf – features the Daleks.

With the Ninth Doctor’s run completed, I am heading back to the classic era, and looking at the monsters of the Fourth Doctor’s run. The first story of his run is Robot, which features a unique… robot… but after that, we get The Ark in Space, which introduces the Wirrn. 

Although we do briefly see a dead Wirrn in a later story, they otherwise do not appear again in the TV show. They do, however, feature in the 1998 novel Placebo Effect and in four audio stories. The most notable of the latter are perhaps Wirrn Isle, a direct sequel to The Ark in Space, and Wirrn Dawn, which is essentially Aliens with Wirrn instead of xenomorphs. As usual, a few comics and short stories round out the total.

Description and Biology

When it comes to some of the more non-humanoid aliens in the classic TV series, it can often be difficult to determine how much of their appearance is how they are ‘supposed’ to look and how much is down to the limitations of special effects, budget, and the need to fit actors inside the costumes. The Wirrn are an example of this, but by no means the most extreme, so we can make a reasonable guess at the intent.

Wirrn, then, physically appear much like giant insects, with some features resembling those of mantises and grasshoppers and others with less obvious analogues. Their general body form is insectoid, with a distinct head, thorax, and segmented abdomen. The thorax bears six legs, at least four of which are likely supposed to be carrying the weight of the body (they don’t on the prop used in the show, because the actors’ legs are inside the abdomen) and the front two of which can be used as arms. They don’t seem to have much in the way of hands on the ends of these limbs and, unlike many real-world insects, they don’t have wings. 

The head has a pair of large eyes, which may or may not be compound, and a pair of long antennae. The latter are primarily used for the sense of smell in real-world insects, but they have other functions, too, so they may or may not be the same here. There are a pair of curved mandibles, but none of the other mouthparts a real-world insect would have, nor any ocelli. There is also a slender, antenna-like structure projecting from the forward part of the head which is presumably sensory in function.

Since they are aliens, and not real insects, we can’t make too many inferences about their internal anatomy. Nonetheless, their ability to move about without difficulty when they are as large as they are would imply the presence of an internal skeleton in addition to the chitinous plates on the outside of the body. A respiratory system based on tracheae wouldn’t work at that size, so they must have lungs of some kind – although not necessarily where we would expect them to be. 

There are two stand-out features of Wirrn biology. The first is that they can survive without food, water, and even air for extended periods. Some real-world creatures, most famously tardigrades, can do much the same, entering a state of almost total hibernation until woken up by the presence of liquid water. In the case of Wirrn, however, they can remain active for at least some of this time, being able to survive in a vacuum because of an ability to convert their expired carbon dioxide back into oxygen. In reality, that would require an input of energy from somewhere else – possibly sunlight – but this isn’t specified.

The second feature, of course, concerns their life cycle. The Wirrn are eusocial insects, like ants or bees, with only a small number of reproductive females. The status of the males is unclear; it could be that all the other Wirrn are male and that only a minority get the chance to mate, but it’s also possible, that, like real-world eusocial insects, the majority of Wirrn are sterile and it’s not obvious which ones are the fertile males. It’s also possible, if less likely, that queens are parthenogenetic, and there are no fertile males at all.

The queen lays her eggs inside warm-blooded vertebrates where they incubate until they hatch. Like bees and many other insects – but unlike the grasshoppers and mantises they otherwise resemble – Wirrn are holometabolous. That is to say, the egg hatches into a distinct larval form that later pupates to turn into an adult. The larva is a segmented worm-like creature with six short stubby limbs like those on the hind part of a caterpillar. They lack any obvious sense organs, and the mouth is simply a round opening without any mandibles or other visible mouthparts. 

Where it gets weird is that the larvae secrete a slime that slowly transforms humans (and presumably similar vertebrates) into further larvae. Like regular larvae, these gain racial memory from their biological parent(s) and are also able to access the memories of the mammalian host. Since the host is apparently a kind of cow-like animal on their home planet, it’s hard to see what purpose this evolved for, but it’s certainly handy when the host happens to be a human whose world you wish to conquer.

There is a question as to just how humanoid the host has to be. Since they originally evolved to infect bovine creatures on another planet, the requirement is probably broad, and any warm-blooded mammal of sufficient size will do. So cats are likely safe because they are too small to form a proper larva let alone incubate an egg, but large dogs, cattle, horses, lions and so on are probably all fair game. Maybe ostriches, too, since they are warm-blooded and likely no more alien to the Wirrn than we are, but whether reptiles such as crocodiles – or Silurians – would fit the bill is less obvious.

Game Attributes

Despite the spindly appearance of their limbs, the Wirrn are no weaker than humans. They move slowly and clumsily but the latter may be more a factor of the costume’s limitations than something intended to be true of the race. Their armoured carapace is resistant to physical attacks, including blaster weapons, and their ability to survive for long periods in harsh environments implies a high degree of physical endurance. They are vulnerable to electricity, and likely to some other non-kinetic attack forms, too.

While they appear monstrous, the Wirrn are an intelligent species, on a par with humans and able and willing to communicate with them under the right circumstances. They don’t have any native technology that we know of, which limits the skills they will inherently possess, but their ability to absorb the knowledge of their host significantly offsets this. Nonetheless, the version I will provide stats for is one that has incubated in a non-sentient animal; additional skills can be added as required when other circumstances apply. The mandibles would be able to deliver a nasty bite, but the main threat in hand-to-hand combat would actually be how hard they are to injure, leading them to win a war of attrition.

There is also the matter of the other two instars – the larvae and pupae. The larvae are undeniably slow-moving and clumsy, even if the adults are not, and they lack any manipulatory appendages or natural weapons. Their hide is thick and resilient and can be easily regenerated, making them difficult to hurt, although not as much so as the adults. At this stage, they’re probably not fully sentient unless they have incubated inside or taken over a creature that already was and they’re apparently unable to communicate when in full larval form.

The pupae are immobile and harmless so, while they too are likely difficult to injure, they can’t fight back and so do not require creature statistics.

Special Abilities

The ability of Wirrn to survive in a vacuum is easily dealt with. Most systems will either provide a specific ability that covers this or would just have it be something that the creature “does” and that does not require a special description.

The transforming slime from the larvae is a more complicated issue. There is almost certainly a ‘saving throw’ (or equivalent) involved here; it’s just that the only person we see affected in the TV show happened to fail his. Once infected, however, while further saving throws – probably based on willpower – can slow down the rate of transformation, so far as we know, it is ultimately irreversible. So what we have is a slow-acting contact poison, but one that transforms the victim rather than killing them and, moreover, leaves them active while it is doing so.

One way to simulate this might be to reduce the victim’s dexterity or equivalent attribute since their ability to move about and manipulate objects is being steadily eroded as the transformation into a slow-moving slug-caterpillar continues. At a certain point, the transformation is complete and any skills that rely more on knowledge than physical ability or humanoid shape are carried over to the newly created Wirrn.

---

5E - Wirrn

Large monstrosity, lawful evil

Armour Class: 15 (natural)

Hit Points: 38 (4d10+16)

Speed: 30 ft.

STR 10 (+0)	DEX 10 (+0)	CON 18 (+4)
INT 10 (+0)	WIS 12 (+1)	CHA 8 (-1)

Saving Throws: Constitution +6, Wisdom +3

Skills: Athletics +3

Damage Resistances: Bludgeoning, Fire, Radiant, Slashing, Piercing

Senses: Passive Perception 11

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (2d4+1) piercing damage.

Metabolic Resilience: The Wirrn can survive without food or water for ten times longer than a human. The Wirrn can hold its breath, and survive in a vacuum if necessary, for up to five days without ill effect. For each day thereafter, it takes a level of exhaustion.

Racial Memory: In addition to possessing the past knowledge of their parents, a Wirrn also has Proficiency in History, Medicine, Nature, Religion, Science, or Technology if its original host had Proficiency in those skills.

Challenge: 1 (200 XP)

5E - Wirrn Larva

Medium monstrosity, lawful evil

Armour Class: 12 (natural)

Hit Points: 30 (4d8+12)

Speed: 10 ft.

STR 10 (+0)	DEX 4 (-3)	CON 16 (+3)
INT 8 (-1)	WIS 10 (+0)	CHA 6 (-2)

Saving Throws: Constitution +5, Wisdom +2

Skills: Athletics +3

Damage Resistances: Fire, Radiant, Slashing, Piercing

Senses: Passive Perception 10

Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6) piercing damage.

Infection: The Wirrn larva secretes an infectious toxin. If this touches the bare skin of a warm-blooded vertebrate-like creature, the creature must make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or become infected. Once infected, they begin to transform into a Wirrn larva. Each hour, they must make a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw or transform further, losing 2 points of Dexterity in the process. Once they have lost 8 points of Dexterity in this way, they are fully transformed and replace their original statistics with those of a Wirrn larva.

Pupate: When a Wirrn larva pupates, it is considered to suffer the Paralysed condition until it emerges as an adult. Its statistics otherwise remain unchanged.

Challenge: ½ (100 XP)

BRP - Wirrn

STR 3D6 (10-11)	CON 2D6+12 (19)	SIZ 2D6+9 (16)
INT 2D6+6 (13)	POW 3D6 (10-11)
DEX 3D6 (10-11)	CHA 2D6 (7)
Hit Points: 18	Move: 10
Base SR: 4	Damage Bonus: +1D4

Armour: 6-point chitinous exoskeleton (no effect against electrical attacks)

Skills: Climb 50%

Combat Skills: Bite 50% (1D6+1D4 damage)

Metabolic Resilience: The Wirrn can survive without food or water for ten times longer than a human. The Wirrn can hold its breath, and survive in a vacuum if necessary, for up to five days without ill effect. Each day thereafter, it takes 1D6 damage that cannot be healed without returning to a breathable atmosphere.

Racial Memory: In addition to possessing the past knowledge of their parents, a Wirrn also retains any of the following skills its host body possessed: Artillery, Craft, Drive, Heavy Machine, Knowledge, Language, Literacy, Medicine, Navigate, Pilot, Repair, Science, Strategy, Technical, Track.

BRP - Wirrn Larva

STR 3D6 (10-11)	CON 2D6+9 (16)	SIZ 2D6+6 (13)
INT 2D6+6 (13)	POW 3D6 (10-11)
DEX 1D6 (3-4)	CHA 2D6 (7)
Hit Points: 15	Move: 3
Base SR: 7	Damage Bonus: 0

Armour: 2-point bubbly hide

Combat Skills: Brawl 40% (1D3 damage)

Infection: The Wirrn larva secretes an infectious toxin. If this touches the bare skin of a warm-blooded vertebrate-like creature, the creature must make a CON roll against a resistance of 10 or become infected. Once infected, they begin to transform into a Wirrn larva. Each hour, they must make a POW roll against a resistance of 10 or transform further, losing 2 points of DEX in the process. Once they have lost 8 points of DEX in this way, they are fully transformed and replace their original statistics with those of a Wirrn larva.

Pupate: When a Wirrn larva pupates, it becomes immobile, with a DEX and Move of 0. Its statistics otherwise remain unchanged.

GURPS - Wirrn

ST 10	DX 10	IQ 10	HT 18
Speed: 7		Move: 5
Size: +1

Advantages: Damage Resistance +5, Extra Legs (+2), Oxygen Storage (5 days), Racial Memory (active), Radiation Protection/2, Reduced Consumption-3, Vacuum Support, Innate Attack: Bite (1d-2)

Disadvantages: Obsession (propagate the race) 

Skills: Brawling-12, Climbing-12, Free Fall-12, Stealth-10, (other IQ-based skills possessed by the original host body)

GURPS - Wirrn Larva

ST 10	DX 4	IQ 10	HT 18
Speed: 5.5		Move: 2
Size: +0

Advantages: Damage Resistance +2, Dominance

Disadvantages: Mute, No Legs (slithers, larva only), No Manipulators, Sessile (pupa only)

Skills: Brawling-6

Savage Worlds - Wirrn

Agility: d6	Smarts: d6	Spirit: d8
Strength: d6	Vigour: d12

Skills: Athletics d6, Fighting d6

Metabolic Resilience: The Wirrn can survive without food or water for ten times longer than a human. The Wirrn can hold its breath, and survive in vacuum if necessary, for up to five days without ill effect. Each day thereafter, they take a level of Fatigue.

Racial Memory: In addition to possessing the past knowledge of their parents, a Wirrn also retains any of the Smarts skills its host body possessed.

Pace: 6                  Parry: 5                 Toughness: 12 (3)                      Size: 1

Savage Worlds - Wirrn Larva

Agility: d4	Smarts: d6	Spirit: d8
Strength: d6	Vigour: d10

Hindrances: Mute

Infection: The Wirrn larva secretes an infectious toxin. If this touches the bare skin of a warm-blooded vertebrate-like creature, the creature must make a Vigour roll or become infected. Once infected, they begin to transform into a Wirrn larva. Each hour, they must make a Spirit roll or transform further. After four failed Spirit rolls, they are fully transformed and replace their original statistics with those of a Wirrn larva.

Pupate: When a Wirrn larva pupates, it becomes immobile, with an Agility and Pace of 0. Its statistics otherwise remain unchanged.

Pace: 2                  Parry: 2                 Toughness: 8 (1)                      Size: 0

STA - Wirrn

Control: 8	Fitness: 10	Presence: 8
Daring: 9	Insight: 8	Reason: 8
Command: 0	Security: 2	Science: 0
Conn: 0	Engineering: 0	Medicine: 0
Stress: 12	Resistance: 2

Traits: Immune to Vacuum

Metabolic Resilience: The Wirrn can survive without food or water for ten times longer than a human. 

Racial Memory: In addition to possessing the past knowledge of their parents, a Wirrn also retains any Science, Conn, Engineering, or Medicine skills its host body possessed.

STA - Wirrn Larva

Control: 6	Fitness: 9	Presence: 8
Daring: 9	Insight: 8	Reason: 8
Command: 0	Security: 0	Science: 0
Conn: 0	Engineering: 0	Medicine: 0
Stress: 9	Resistance: 0

Infection: The Wirrn larva secretes an infectious toxin. If this touches the bare skin of a warm-blooded vertebrate-like creature, the creature must make a Fitness + Security roll against a difficulty of 3 or become infected. Once infected, they begin to transform into a Wirrn larva. Each hour, they must make a Daring + Command roll against the same difficulty or transform further, losing a point of Control in the process. After four failed rolls, they are fully transformed and replace their original statistics with those of a Wirrn larva.

Pupate: When a Wirrn larva pupates, it becomes immobile, unable to perform any active tasks or oppose any attacks. Its statistics otherwise remain unchanged.

DW Monsters: Daleks

The next story is Dalek, and it’s finally time to try and cover the most iconic, and frequently-used, of all the Doctor Who “monsters”. I’ve left them this long mainly because they’re such a big topic that it’s easier to do other races first, but also because they are quite complex. Given their greater number of appearances than Cybermen, it’s notable that they’ve changed rather less than that race has, but even so, and ignoring unique and variant individuals, I’ll need to cover at least three different versions in their evolution over the 60 years of the series so far.

Appearances

The race first appeared way back in the first season in 1963, as literally the first “monster” in the series’ history. That first appearance was followed by at least fourteen further Dalek stories in the classic series (arguably more, if you count brief appearances) with at least one for every Doctor up to the Seventh. As I write this, there have been sixteen unequivocal Dalek stories in the modern series, but such is their popularity that if you are reading this even one year after I penned it, there’s a good chance that that number will have increased.

The Daleks have been much less popular in the novels, due largely to licensing issues. So far, there have only been three full-length novels featuring the race… and two of them contained excessive fanwank. There have, however, been plenty of licensed short stories and numerous appearances in the comics, so fans of the written word are by no means restricted to fanfic.

The number of audios featuring the Daleks is similarly vast, easily outweighing their TV appearances. By my count, there have been over one hundred Dalek audios to date and that number is only going to go up. This is partly due to the existence of entire mini-series featuring the race as regular opponents, mostly set during the Time War, but naturally, there have been many one-offs as well. As with the prose stories, sometimes these introduce their own variants on the race, but I am going to stick to the televised versions.

Description and Biology

The look of Daleks has changed relatively little over the 60 years of their appearance. They appear as robotic pepper-pot shapes with a skirt composed of (usually) 12 angular segments, each decorated with a vertical row of four hemispherical bumps and with a fender at the base that runs very low to the ground. The midsection is, in most versions, adorned with a series of vertical slats and has a forward surface bearing a gun and what looks suspiciously like a sink-plunger. Above this is a wraparound grill with (usually) three projecting rings around it, and then the top dome, with an eyestalk and two lights that flash in time with the creature’s speech.

Even looking at supposedly baseline Daleks there are some changes to this over the series’ history and one can really go down a rabbit hole if one delves into the fine detail. Avoiding that, we can still say that the original look, as seen in the first two Dalek serials, lacked the slats around the midsection, instead having two smooth horizontal rings. The slats first appear in The Chase, where they are explained as the means by which the Dalek obtains power from its environment – the earlier versions either obtained it from electrically charged flooring through their bases, or via dish receivers attached to their backs. 

The earliest Daleks were blue-and-silver (not that it was easy to tell in black-and-white) but various muted liveries were used down the years. In the modern series, we instead get an all-copper livery and glowing blue eyes. The slats are now riveted pieces of metal, probably decorative and/or protective so that we can assume the power source is internal by this time. In Victory of the Daleks we see a “new paradigm” version, with brightly coloured livery and a larger body that’s both chunkier and more smoothly moulded. The slats have gone, to be replaced by something closer to the original design, but thicker and more angular. This look didn’t last, and the latest baseline versions are pretty much back to the “copper” look.

But, of course, all of this refers to what we normally see and, as every fan knows, despite appearances, the Daleks aren’t really robots. Instead, the visible part is, in effect, a miniature tank being driven by an alien mutant deep inside the shell. The ancestors of these mutants were once indistinguishable from humans, but the form they now take has tentacles and a single eye, looking – at least in the modern series – like something between a starfish and an octopus. Whatever humanoid internal anatomy they may once have had has obviously mutated to the point of unrecognisability and they don’t, for example, appear to have any skeleton. 

While they are permanently ensconced within their travel machines the degree to which they are physically integrated with the electronics varies. Most do not appear to be true cyborgs, although (for example) the “Imperial Daleks” of Remembrance clearly are.

The shell provides all the life support that the mutant could need, and is sealed, allowing at least the modern series version to survive in the vacuum of space. Presumably, there are refillable air tanks or something in the casing to allow it to breathe. Since they are organic, they must also obtain food somehow – Into the Dalek states that some of this is hoovered up by “antibodies” that attack bacteria and other potential pathogens, but it seems unlikely that this would be the only source. This being supplemented by the energy that also powers the unit itself (whether it be static electricity or something else) may, however, mean that less is required than one might think.

Daleks are generally described as if they are all male. Certainly, they sound male, and since they were originally built by a humanoid race, that’s surely intentional. Having said which, they probably aren’t biologically male in the sense of having functional gonads, since they no longer breed. Instead, they appear to reproduce using some form of cloning technology, which likely helps to explain their remarkable uniformity of personality and their obsession with racial purity.

Game Attributes

Trying to provide statistics for Daleks is not as straightforward as doing so for more humanoid species. Strictly speaking, they should be described using the rules for vehicles, not those for characters or monsters. But this is at odds with the way that they are normally used and encountered, so “monsters” it is. There’s also the question of variation, and for these purposes, I am going to consider four different things to provide statistics for:

• Original Daleks – Those that appeared in the First Doctor stories The Daleks and The Dalek Invasion of Earth
• Classic Daleks – All others that appeared in the classic series, from The Chase to Remembrance of the Daleks
• Modern Daleks – Including both the baseline copper version and the “new paradigm” Daleks, since, in game terms, there is probably little difference.
• Kaled Mutants – the actual living creature, out of its shell

It’s also worth remembering that, because they are mass-produced, without even the variation in body size that Cybermen have, in systems that normally describe attributes as a range of values these won’t apply to the physical ones in the case of Daleks.

The strength of a Dalek is not going to refer to their athletic prowess or their ability to use melee weapons, since neither of these is really applicable and the sucker-arm (even in versions where it's deadly) likely has little physical strength of its own. Instead, it makes more sense to consider the Dalek’s ability to resist being pushed around, which the evidence suggests still isn’t great, especially in the earlier versions. The Kaled mutant does have strength that can be used for more conventional purposes, and we know that it’s strong enough to strangle someone – but so are most humans, so again, this isn’t necessarily that impressive.

Dexterity has a similar issue in that, whatever else a Dalek may be, it’s hardly what you’d call flexible and acrobatic. Nor does it have high manual dexterity, since it doesn’t have any fingers. However, in most systems, dexterity (or its equivalent) is primarily useful for attacking with ranged weapons, which Daleks certainly can do, and, usually to a lesser extent, for determining initiative. This would be guided by the accuracy and reflex speed of the mutant inside, which is probably decent, but nothing too remarkable; given how deadly the Daleks’ main weapon is, we don’t want to make them hit every target.

The physical resilience of Daleks is, however, impressive. Being machines, they don’t tire easily and they don’t bleed. The early versions aren’t especially well armoured, and can, for example, be killed by being run over by a bus. Later versions in the classic series are, however, at least resistant to firearms and, while the actual frame of the modern ones may be no better than that, they have a forcefield that’s almost totally impervious to anything early 21st-century military hardware can throw at it.

The mutant is physically quite pathetic (barring the one inside the exceptional “reconnaissance Dalek” in Revolution of the Daleks) being slow-moving and lacking much in the way of obvious defences. It is, however, this that provides the mental attributes and skills of all regular Daleks so that these shouldn’t vary except insofar as the physical attributes might affect them in the relevant game system. Here, we can say that the average Dalek is probably as intelligent as the average human but that, except for intimidation, its charisma is pretty awful. In some systems, the jarring voice won’t help with that. Their willpower does not seem to be great, since they often start to panic if they are, say, blinded or otherwise inconvenienced, and they follow the orders of their superiors without question.

In terms of skills, Daleks are good at shooting and at controlling larger vehicles and spaceships. Even the regular Dalek grunt also has some technical expertise although it’s probably only the officers that can be said to have any tactical skill – again, we don’t want to make them too effective. In D&D terms, they’re about as good an example of “lawful evil” as one could wish for, being regimented, blindly obedient, and driven by a raging hatred of anything different from themselves – this is easily sufficient to be reflected by negative mental traits in systems that quantify such things.

Special Abilities

Modern series Daleks can survive for at least some time in the vacuum of space, and presumably underwater as well – although there’s no evidence this is true of the earlier versions. Notably, they can fly, although they don’t seem to be especially fast; this is first seen, as an even more limited hovering ability, in the last two Dalek stories of the classic series. Otherwise, classic Daleks are landbound, with the original versions being further limited by their need for an external power source. Famously, they cannot climb stairs, which is a bit of a limitation – indeed, with their ground clearance, even rough terrain is going to be a problem.

One of the novels gives Daleks the ability to see in the infrared, which seems a logical enough extrapolation given that their eyestalks are (in most versions) electronic sensors, but I’ll pass on this as not explicitly supported by canon.

Where they do excel, of course, is in their built-in weapons. The “plunger” is capable of manipulating the controls of their vehicles and other equipment but is otherwise useless in the classic version. The modern Daleks can use it as a weapon, although it’s short-range and of limited utility. The gun is a different matter, almost always killing anything it hits, barring any high-tech armour or force fields. If the game system has mechanisms to allow targets to dodge or otherwise evade being hit, the staggeringly high damage this implies may not be an overwhelming issue, but in those that don’t it may make sense to argue that it’s not very accurate – or to find a way of giving Daleks a low initiative so that escape is always an option. How it works is, perhaps unsurprisingly, not really detailed; it’s simply an “energy weapon”. Some indications in the TV series (for example, in the 9th Doctor episode Dalek) imply that it’s at least partially electrical, so that may be as good a description as any in game systems where it matters.

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5E - Original Dalek

Medium construct, lawful evil

Armour Class: 16 (light metal casing)

Hit Points: 43 (5d8+20)

Speed: 20 ft. (only when able to receive energy)

STR 10 (+0)	DEX 12 (+1)	CON 18 (+4)
INT 10 (+0)	WIS 10 (+0)	CHA 8 (-1)

Saving Throws: Strength +2, Constitution +6

Skills: Intimidation +1, Technology +2

Combat Skills: Missile Attack +3

Damage Resistances: Piercing, Necrotic, Poison

Condition Immunities: Paralysed

Senses: Passive Perception 10

Gun-stick: Ranged weapon attack: +3 to hit, range 50/200 ft. one target. Hit: 3d6 lightning damage.

Challenge: 1 (200 XP)

5E - Classic Dalek

Medium construct, lawful evil

Armour Class: 20 (dalekanium casing)

Hit Points: 76 (8d8+40)

Speed: 20 ft. (6^th and 7^th Doctor versions add Fly 10 ft.)

STR 12 (+1)	DEX 12 (+1)	CON 20 (+5)
INT 10 (+0)	WIS 10 (+0)	CHA 6 (-2)

Saving Throws: Strength +3, Constitution +7

Skills: Intimidation +0, Technology +2

Combat Skills: Missile Attack +3

Damage Resistances: Piercing, Slashing, Fire, Necrotic, Poison

Condition Immunities: Paralysed

Senses: Passive Perception 10

Exterminate!: Ranged weapon attack: +3 to hit, range 50/200 ft. one target. Hit: 6d6 lightning damage.

Challenge: 4 (1,100 XP)

5E - Modern Dalek

Medium construct, lawful evil

Armour Class: 24 (force field)

Hit Points: 95 (10d8+50)

Speed: 20 ft., fly 30 ft.

STR 14 (+2)	DEX 12 (+1)	CON 20 (+5)
INT 10 (+0)	WIS 10 (+0)	CHA 6 (-2)

Saving Throws: Strength +5, Constitution +8

Skills: Intimidation +1, Technology +3

Combat Skills: Melee Attack +1, Missile Attack +4

Damage Resistances: Piercing, Slashing, Fire, Necrotic, Poison

Condition Immunities: Paralysed, Prone

Senses: Passive Perception 10

Sucker to Death: Melee attack: +1 to hit, 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d10 force damage.

Exterminate!: Ranged weapon attack: +4 to hit, range 100/400 ft. one target. Hit: 6d6 lightning damage.

Challenge: 6 (2,300 XP)

5E - Kaled Mutant

Small monstrosity, lawful evil

Armour Class: 11 (natural)

Hit Points: 10 (4d6-4)

Speed: 20 ft.

STR 10 (+0)	DEX 12 (+1)	CON 8 (-1)
INT 10 (+0)	WIS 10 (+0)	CHA 6 (-2)

Saving Throws: Constitution +1

Skills: Intimidation +0, Technology +3

Combat Skills: Melee Attack +1

Damage Resistances: Necrotic

Senses: Passive Perception 10

Tentacle: Melee weapon attack: +1 to hit, 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d6 bludgeoning damage.

Challenge: 0 (10 XP)

BRP - Original Dalek

STR 10	CON 18	SIZ 11
INT 2D6+6 (13)	POW 3D6 (10-11)
DEX 3D6 (10-11)	CHA 2D6+1 (8)
Hit Points: 15	Move: 8
Base SR: 5	Damage Bonus: 0

Armour: 4-point light metal casing

Skills: Repair 40%

Combat Skills: Gun-Stick 60% (range 20 metres, 2D8 damage)

Limitation: Can only move when there is access to power, normally static electricity through the floor, but including transmitted power if fitted with a receiving dish.

BRP - Classic Dalek

STR 12	CON 21	SIZ 11
INT 2D6+6 (13)	POW 3D6 (10-11)
DEX 3D6 (10-11)	CHA 2D6 (7)
Hit Points: 16	Move: 8
Base SR: 5	Damage Bonus: 0

Armour: 10-point dalekanium casing

Skills: Pilot 40%, Repair 40%

Combat Skills: Exterminate 60% (range 80 metres, 4D8 damage)

Flight: 6^th and 7^th Doctor versions can fly at a Move of 5 and with Flight skill at the base value of DEX x ½  (5%).

BRP - Modern Dalek

STR 14	CON 21	SIZ 11
INT 2D6+6 (13)	POW 3D6 (10-11)
DEX 3D6+6 (10-11)	CHA 2D6 (7)
Hit Points: 16	Move: 8
Base SR: 5	Damage Bonus: +1D4

Armour: 16-point force field

Skills: Flight 40%, Pilot 40%, Repair 40%

Combat Skills: Exterminate 60% (range 80 metres, 4D8 damage), Sucker 25% (1D8+1D4 damage)

New Paradigm: SIZ is 13, giving a total of 17 Hit Points.

BRP - Kaled Mutant

STR 2D6+3 (10)	CON 2D6 (7)	SIZ 3
INT 2D6+6 (13)	POW 3D6 (10-11)
DEX 3D6 (10-11)	CHA 2D6 (7)
Hit Points: 5	Move: 6
Base SR: 6	Damage Bonus: -1D4

Armour: None

Skills: Repair 40%

Combat Skills: Brawl 40%, Drive (Dalek) 90%

Radiation Resistance: The mutant takes only half damage from radiation attacks.

GURPS - Original Dalek

ST 10	DX 12	IQ 10	HT 18
Speed: 7.5		Move: 4

Advantages: Damage Resistance +5, Doesn’t Sleep, Injury Tolerance (No Blood, No Neck, Unliving), Radiation Tolerance-5

Disadvantages: Bad Temper, Cannot Float, Dependency (energy supply, constant), Disturbing Voice, Electrical, Intolerance (total), No Legs (glides), One Arm

Skills: Armoury/TL9-10, Beam Weapons (gunstick, 3d burn damage)/TL9-13, Electronic Ops (Comms)/TL9-11, Electronic Ops (Sensors)/TL9-11, Intimidation-11

GURPS - Classic Dalek

ST 12	DX 12	IQ 10	HT 18
Speed: 7.5		Move: 4

Advantages: Damage Resistance +30, Doesn’t Sleep, Filter Lungs, Flight (6^th & 7^th Doctor versions only), Injury Tolerance (No Blood, No Neck, Unliving), Radiation Tolerance-5

Disadvantages: Bad Temper, Bloodlust, Cannot Float, Disturbing Voice, Intolerance (total), No Legs (glides), One Arm

Skills: Armoury/TL10-10, Beam Weapons (exterminate!, 5d (2) burn damage)/TL10-13, Computer Ops/TL10-11, Electronic Ops (Comms)/TL10-11, Electronic Ops (Sensors)/TL10-11, Intimidation-12, Piloting (Low Performance Spacecraft)-11

GURPS - Modern Dalek

ST 14	DX 12	IQ 10	HT 18
Speed: 7.5		Move: 4

Advantages: Damage Resistance +50, Doesn’t Sleep, Filter Lungs, Space Flight, Injury Tolerance (No Blood, No Neck, Unliving), Innate Attack-2 (Melee Weapon), Pressure Support-1, Radiation Tolerance-5, Sealed

Disadvantages: Bad Temper, Bloodlust, Cannot Float, Disturbing Voice, Intolerance (total), No Legs (glides), One Arm

Skills: Armoury/TL11-10, Beam Weapons (exterminate!, 6d (5) burn damage)/TL11-13, Computer Ops/TL11-11, Electronic Ops (Comms)/TL11-11, Electronic Ops (Sensors)/TL11-11, Intimidation-12, Piloting (Low Performance Spacecraft)-11

GURPS - Kaled Mutant

ST 10	DX 12	IQ 10	HT 8
Thrust: 1d-2		Swing: 1d
Speed: 5		Move: 5
Size: -3

Advantages: Injury Tolerance (No Neck), Radiation Tolerance-5, Reduced Consumption-1

Disadvantages: Bad Temper, Bloodlust, Cannot Speak, Intolerance (total), No Legs (slithers), One Eye

Skills: Battlesuit-14, Brawling-13 (n.b.: excludes skills it is functionally unable to use outside of the casing)

Savage Worlds - Original Dalek

Agility: d6	Smarts: d8	Spirit: d6
Strength: d6	Vigour: d12

Skills: Electronics d6, Intimidation d4, Repair d4, Shooting d8

Edges: Hard to Kill

Hindrances: One Arm, Ruthless (Minor)

Abilities: Armour, Construct

Gear: Gun-Stick (equivalent to a laser rifle)

Pace: 4                  Parry: 2                 Toughness: 11 (3)                     Size: 0

Savage Worlds - Classic Dalek

Agility: d6	Smarts: d8	Spirit: d6
Strength: d8	Vigour: d12

Skills: Electronics d6, Intimidation d4, Repair d4, Shooting d8

Edges: Hard to Kill

Hindrances: One Arm, Ruthless (Major)

Abilities: Armour, Construct, (6th and 7th Doctor versions add Flight at Pace 2)

Gear: Exterminate! (range 30/60/120, damage 3d6+4, RoF 3)

Pace: 4                  Parry: 2                 Toughness: 14 (6)                     Size: 0

Savage Worlds - Modern Dalek

Agility: d6	Smarts: d8	Spirit: d6
Strength: d8	Vigour: d12

Skills: Electronics d6, Intimidation d4, Piloting d6, Repair d4, Shooting d8

Edges: Hard to Kill

Hindrances: One Arm, Ruthless (Major)

Abilities: Armour, Construct, Flight (Pace 4)

Gear: Exterminate! (range 30/60/120, damage 3d6+4, RoF 3)

Pace: 4 4                  Parry: 2                 Toughness: 18 (10)                     Size: 0

Savage Worlds - Kaled Mutant

Agility: d6	Smarts: d8	Spirit: d6
Strength: d4	Vigour: d4

Skills: Electronics d6, Fighting d4, Piloting d6, Repair d4,

Hindrances: One Arm, Ruthless (Major)

Abilities: Tentacles

Pace: 4                  Parry: 3                 Toughness: 2                    Size: -2

STA - Original Dalek

Control: 9	Fitness: 12	Presence: 8
Daring: 8	Insight: 6	Reason: 8
Command: 0	Security: 2	Science: 0
Conn: 0	Engineering: 2	Medicine: 0
Stress: 14	Resistance: 1

Weaponry: Built-in phaser Type-2

STA - Classic Dalek

Control: 9	Fitness: 13	Presence: 8
Daring: 8	Insight: 6	Reason: 8
Command: 0	Security: 2	Science: 0
Conn: 1	Engineering: 2	Medicine: 0
Stress: 14	Resistance: 1

Weaponry: Built-in disruptor rifle

Menacing

STA - Modern Dalek

Control: 10	Fitness: 13	Presence: 8
Daring: 8	Insight: 6	Reason: 8
Command: 0	Security: 2	Science: 0
Conn: 1	Engineering: 2	Medicine: 0
Stress: 15	Resistance: 4

Weaponry: Built-in disruptor rifle, sucker (1^ deadly)

Menacing

STA - Kaled Mutant

Control: 8	Fitness: 6	Presence: 6
Daring: 7	Insight: 6	Reason: 8
Command: 0	Security: 2	Science: 0
Conn: 0	Engineering: 2	Medicine: 0
Stress: 8	Resistance: 0