Character Templates: Torchwood Scientist

At conventions, I have so far found that players tend to go for the obvious adventurer archetypes when picking from the list of pre-gen PCs for my Doctor Who games. That makes sense given the one-off nature of the game session; it's easier to work what a character is supposed to be doing if they fall into an obvious niche. So, although I originally included a pre-gen that fell into the support role (a military nurse from the 1940s) that was never popular, and I no longer include it. But this is Doctor Who, so it would feel odd if all the character options were traditional fighter or rogue types; we also need characters with scientific or knowledge skills. It's not quite the "wizard" niche of fantasy games since you aren't getting to zap people with fireballs or transform into animals or whatever, but it does fit the genre. 

So I include a scientist, somebody with the technical skills to solve problems in a more in-genre way. To keep them grounded in our world, rather than alien, and to fit them in with the setting, they are specifically a Torchwood scientist, something that also allows them a little bit of the "magic" role through their familiarity with alien technology (they'd have "boffin" in the 1st edition of DWAITAS, but that doesn't apply in the 2nd).

Background

Working for the newly reconstituted (but chronically underfunded) Torchwood you were sent to attend a demonstration of an alleged teleportation device being given at a hotel in Kent. It turned out that the device had created a temporal rift that was pulling random people from across time to the present day. Isolated from your Torchwood colleagues, you teamed up with the accidental time travellers to close the anomaly and defeat the alien invasion plan. Unfortunately, that still left the others trapped in the year 2022! Using a TARDIS drawn to the hotel, you decided to join them when they left and you are now travelling together through time and space (note: how effectively depends on whether one of the other players is playing a Time Lord…) either to help them get back home, or simply to explore.

Familiarity with Alien Tech

Using technology from outside of the character’s experience would normally impose penalties as they’re unfamiliar with the way it works. You are used to alien technology (TL 10) and, unless it’s otherwise strange or obscure, can operate it with little or no penalty.

Scavenged Alien Tech

There’s a chance, albeit a slim one, that you may have some small, useful item that could get you out of a sticky situation. You can spend a Story Point and find the thing you need, so long as it is not designed as a weapon or something obviously powerful like a teleporter – examples include transmitting or detecting energy, unlocking doors, cutting through metal, erecting a temporary force field, etc. The item is unreliable, and requires another Story Point each time it is used – and it may eventually break down altogether.

DWAITAS stats

Concept: Torchwood scientist

Awareness  4	Coordination  3	Ingenuity  4
Presence  2	Resolve  3	Strength  2

Skills: Convince-2, Craft-1, Intuition-2, Knowledge-3, Medicine-1, Science-4, Technology-4, Transport-1

Focus: Science            Story Points: 10

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In 5E Doctors & Daleks, the choice of character type is pretty obvious; the character is a boffin, taking the subclass with the same name as the Trait they'd have in 1st edition DWAITAS. The focus is as much on designing and operating gadgets as on pure science and we'll also throw in some perception skill to allow him to use his scientific knowledge to notice and interpret things.

The ability to create or have ready access to high tech gadgets requires being "seasoned" in Savage Worlds, or else grants powers that are a little beyond what we're aiming for, so we'll simply assume decent levels in the relevant skills. We also need some balancing Hindrances, which aren't immediately obvious if we want to avoid too much overlap with the other templates, so we throw in a few things that aren't directly implied by the initial character concept but don't contradict it either.

In BRP, we need to split the science skills up into disciplines, so we'll assume a primary focus on physics and chemistry, along with computer use, but still allowing some additional science skills. In order to keep him this broad, his skills are lower than will be the case for more focused characters, but few of the other pre-gens have a scientific bent, so his niche is at least defined by having them at all.

GURPS requires an even wider range of skills, although this is easier to achieve, since we can offset them with unremarkable attribute scores (other than IQ, of course). We'll reflect his "gadgeteer" advantage and familiarity with alien technology by giving him TL8 skills when it comes to operating equipment, but not to his basic scientific skills or in-depth understanding - he can use alien tech, but not necessarily fix it when it breaks or fully understand how it works.

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5E - Torchwood Scientist

3rd level Boffin

STR 8 (-1)	DEX 14 (+2)	CON 12 (+1)
INT 17 (+3)	WIS 14 (+2)	CHA 10 (-0)

Saving Throws: Int +5, Con +3

Armour Class: 12          Plot Points: 16

Speed: 30 ft.         Tech Level: 5

Quip Bonus: +5 Motivation: Seeker

Skills: Engineering +7, Medicine +5, Perception +4, Science +7

Tools: Chemist's Tools, Computers, Mechanic's Tools

Features: Consider This, Inspiring Failure, Technological Instincts, You Cannot Win, Craft Gadget, Field of Expertise (Physics)

Quips: Emotional Argument, Expose Weakness, Logical Argument, Parley, Techno Deception, Thoughtful Argument, Dazzling Ingenuity

Savage Worlds - Torchwood Scientist

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

Skills: Academics d6, Athletics d4, Common Knowledge (2020s Earth) d4, Drive d4, Electronics d8, Notice d4, Persuasion d6, Repair d4, Research d4, Science d8, Stealth d4

Hindrances: Big Mouth, Cautious, Driven (scientific knowledge)

Edges: Alertness, Scholar

Pace: 6                  Parry: 2                Toughness: 5

BRP - Torchwood Scientist

STR 8	CON 12	SIZ 12
INT 15	POW 11	EDU 16
DEX 12	CHA 10
Hit Points: 12	Move: 10	Fatigue: 20
Base SR: 5	Damage Bonus: 0

Skills: Craft 45%, Drive Car 40%, Knowledge (History) 30%, Medicine 20%, Persuade 25%, Repair 35%, Research 40%, Science (Astronomy) 41%, Science (Biology) 31%, Science (Chemistry) 56%, Science (Physics) 66%, Status 20%, Technical (Computer Use) 45%

GURPS - Torchwood Scientist

ST 10	DX 10	IQ 13	HT 10
Speed: 5	Move: 5	Thrust: 1d-2	Swing: 1d

Advantages: Gadgeteer, Security Clearance

Skills: Astronomy/TL7-12, Biology/TL7 (Earthlike)-12, Chemistry/TL7-12, Computer Hacking/TL7-12, Computer Operation/TL8-14, Driving/TL7 (car)-10, Electronics Operation/TL8 (scientific)-14, Electronics Operation/TL8 (sensors)-13,  Electronics Operation/TL8 (surveillance)-13, Electronics Repair/TL7 (computers)-12, Electronics Repair/TL7 (scientific)-13, Forensics/TL7-11, Intelligence Analysis/TL7-11, Mathematics/TL7 (applied)-11, Mathematics/TL7 (computer science)-11, Physics/TL7-15, Research/TL7-13