Michael Hopcroft Posted April 25, 2006 Report Share Posted April 25, 2006 Who looks at a screwdriver and says "This needs more sonic?" In the new series of Doctor Who, the Sonic Screwdriver (the Doctor's all-purpose super-tool) is more powerful and useful than ever. How do you build it in HERO, and it is too powerful a tool to let PC's use even in an over-the-top SF campaign like Doctor Who? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rapier Posted April 25, 2006 Report Share Posted April 25, 2006 Re: Sonic Screwdrivers In the new series of Doctor Who, the Sonic Screwdriver (the Doctor's all-purpose super-tool) is more powerful and useful than ever. How do you build it in HERO, and it is too powerful a tool to let PC's use even in an over-the-top SF campaign like Doctor Who? I'd probably just go with some Fine Manip TK. I haven't seen the last 2 episodes (of the 2005 season)...got them taped and just waiting to see them, so I can't say anything about the new effects but the old ones always revolved around some kind of TK. Even when the Doctor used it to do some little damage or something it was so minor to be resolved with a low power 1 - 2d6 EB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Schwarzwald Posted April 25, 2006 Report Share Posted April 25, 2006 Re: Sonic Screwdrivers From what I know of hero, make the SS a low level power pool. It can blow up a phone answering machine now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edsel Posted April 25, 2006 Report Share Posted April 25, 2006 Re: Sonic Screwdrivers I agree with the concept of a VPP. I have seen the sonic screwdriver do TK-like things but I have also seen it used to hack into computers and bypass electronic security of all sorts. With the VPP you could buy small amounts of TK, perhaps skill bonuses to lockpicking and security systems, and maybe a form of mind control vs. computers. The Power Skill: Sonic Screwdriver would be required to use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thia Halmades Posted April 25, 2006 Report Share Posted April 25, 2006 Re: Sonic Screwdrivers Actually, I will gently remind y'all that we usually pick a select group of abilities and build a Multipower around them (in this case, Sonic Screwdriver). The MP includes FMTK, EB, and... whatever else it does. Can someone give me a Station/Time combo so I can start seeing the '05 season? I'm a nut from back in the Baker/Davis era and I'd love to see the new season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rapier Posted April 25, 2006 Report Share Posted April 25, 2006 Re: Sonic Screwdrivers Can someone give me a Station/Time combo so I can start seeing the '05 season? I'm a nut from back in the Baker/Davis era and I'd love to see the new season. SciFi at 9pm Eastern on Friday nights, replay at like 11 or midnight, usually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnTaber Posted April 25, 2006 Report Share Posted April 25, 2006 Re: Sonic Screwdrivers I would go with something like the following in a MP... + Fine Manip TK with a limited range linked with bonuses to Security Systems and Lockpicking + RKA NND against machines only. Doesn't really have to be too much. + Flash against hearing That covers a lot of what it does... Pertwee's Doc used it a lot as well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Schwarzwald Posted April 26, 2006 Report Share Posted April 26, 2006 Re: Sonic Screwdrivers As I recall, pertwee's doc used it to detonate mines in a minefield once to clear a path. I guess a form of TK could do that.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted April 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2006 Re: Sonic Screwdrivers I would go with something like the following in a MP... + Fine Manip TK with a limited range linked with bonuses to Security Systems and Lockpicking + RKA NND against machines only. Doesn't really have to be too much. + Flash against hearing That covers a lot of what it does... Pertwee's Doc used it a lot as well... The Eccleston/Tennant version seems to have a few other abilities. Some of the things the Doctor does with it in the new series are remeniscent of Mind Control and/or Telepathy vs. Machines, much the way being "jacked-in" works in cyberpunk games only it doesn't require mental contact. the complexity of some of these operations almost defies imagination, such as the Doctor using the Sonic Screwdriver to control parts of the incredibly complex computers on Platform One, FIVE BILLION YEARS in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csyphrett Posted April 26, 2006 Report Share Posted April 26, 2006 Re: Sonic Screwdrivers SciFi at 9pm Eastern on Friday nights' date=' replay at like 11 or midnight, usually.[/quote'] I think it also runs at midnight on the weekend but I don't remember which day. CES Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Schwarzwald Posted April 26, 2006 Report Share Posted April 26, 2006 Re: Sonic Screwdrivers Speaking of Dr. Who, can someone please tell me HTF the whole gallifreyan race died out because gallifrey was destroyed? I mean, they had space AND time travel, anfd they were ALL on one planet at the same time??? Uh, hello? Stupidity, anyone? And don't tell me the gallifreyans were all on their one worlds to defend it, no one would put their whole race in one planet at one time when it was in danger. My god, in ww2 the city of london shipped kids off to the countryside to protect them from the blitz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyrath Posted April 26, 2006 Report Share Posted April 26, 2006 Re: Sonic Screwdrivers Speaking of Dr. Who, can someone please tell me HTF the whole gallifreyan race died out because gallifrey was destroyed? I mean, they had space AND time travel, anfd they were ALL on one planet at the same time??? Uh, hello? Stupidity, anyone? And don't tell me the gallifreyans were all on their one worlds to defend it, no one would put their whole race in one planet at one time when it was in danger. My god, in ww2 the city of london shipped kids off to the countryside to protect them from the blitz. It isn't so stupid if by "Gallifrey was destroyed", one actually means "Gallifrey was destroyed before intelligent life evolved on it". If the Daleks sent a planet-buster bomb back through time and vaporized Gallifrey about the time that life was evolving in the ocean, then the race of Time Lords never existed. Unless, of course, one was The Doctor, who could have managed to hang on to his existence by some technobabble time warp something-or-other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tancred Posted April 26, 2006 Report Share Posted April 26, 2006 Re: Sonic Screwdrivers Didn't the Doctor, in the episode "Dalek," mention something about fleets being wiped out in a tremendous battle between the Time Lords and the Daleks? (Or was that only the Dalek fleet he mentioned?) As well as saying that his home world had been destroyed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted April 26, 2006 Report Share Posted April 26, 2006 Re: Sonic Screwdrivers I admit I see the title of this thread and wonder if one gets a Sonic Screwdriver in the sort of place as one gets a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Anomaly Posted April 26, 2006 Report Share Posted April 26, 2006 Re: Sonic Screwdrivers I admit I see the title of this thread and wonder if one gets a Sonic Screwdriver in the sort of place as one gets a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster. If so, what would you use in place of the vodka in a "regular" Screwdriver? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rapier Posted April 27, 2006 Report Share Posted April 27, 2006 Re: Sonic Screwdrivers Didn't the Doctor, in the episode "Dalek," mention something about fleets being wiped out in a tremendous battle between the Time Lords and the Daleks? (Or was that only the Dalek fleet he mentioned?) As well as saying that his home world had been destroyed? I do slightly remember Sylvester McCoy making some kind of mention of a war. But that could just be some kind of beer-induced flashback. But yes, the first real concrete mention was the last couple episdoes with the Dalek where he mentioned a fleet of Daleks attacking Gallifrey. I'm still not quite sure of the timeline or exactly what happened. I'm hoping that this is something they tucked into the gap in series and will flesh out a bit over the next couple seasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Schwarzwald Posted April 27, 2006 Report Share Posted April 27, 2006 Re: Sonic Screwdrivers It isn't so stupid if by "Gallifrey was destroyed"' date=' one actually means [i']"Gallifrey was destroyed before intelligent life evolved on it"[/i]. If the Daleks sent a planet-buster bomb back through time and vaporized Gallifrey about the time that life was evolving in the ocean, then the race of Time Lords never existed. Unless, of course, one was The Doctor, who could have managed to hang on to his existence by some technobabble time warp something-or-other. In "Dalek" the doc was having a tirade with the dalek and said he was at the last battle between the timelords and the gallifreyans. The dalek implied he survived by being a 'coward'. I think there was a huge battle royale between the Tls and daleks, with gallifrey being destroyed but the dalek fleet being lost in the process, with one survivor we know of, the dalek that ended up on earth thru a time rip in the battle. Oh, in the ep "End of the world" the tree woman found out the doc was a gellifreyan, and could hardly believe it when she found out, so apparantly the gallifreyan's existed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rapier Posted April 27, 2006 Report Share Posted April 27, 2006 Re: Sonic Screwdrivers Oh' date=' in the ep "End of the world" the tree woman found out the doc was a gellifreyan, and could hardly believe it when she found out, so apparantly the gallifreyan's existed.[/quote'] Not only did they exist, but she was shocked and even made some comment about him being the "only one left." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoresLost Posted April 27, 2006 Report Share Posted April 27, 2006 Re: Sonic Screwdrivers In "Dalek" the doc was having a tirade with the dalek and said he was at the last battle between the timelords and the gallifreyans. The dalek implied he survived by being a 'coward'. I think there was a huge battle royale between the Tls and daleks, with gallifrey being destroyed but the dalek fleet being lost in the process, with one survivor we know of, the dalek that ended up on earth thru a time rip in the battle. Oh, in the ep "End of the world" the tree woman found out the doc was a gellifreyan, and could hardly believe it when she found out, so apparantly the gallifreyan's existed. That is the current story line, but I have the nagging feeling that the whole race is still around (as the Doctor said individual Time Lords have means to cheat death...regeneration. So why not the race) They create black holes to power there devices. Move through time as easy as most beings go to the local market. There has to be other survivors. I see Rasalon and Omega making pervision for such an issue as the appearent destruction of the Time Lords. A hidden world where they can regroup and study what ever mysteries are left to them. They leave the Doctor in the dark to misdirect their enemies (or better yet the doctor is purposely misdircting them, voluntarily extiling himself to do it.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted April 28, 2006 Report Share Posted April 28, 2006 Re: Sonic Screwdrivers The Sonic Screwdriver could also function as a medical scanner, and in the Tooth and Claw episode, could also lock a primitive lock (which it couldn't do in the old series). Possibly it can weld small parts. The war- Less than 1% of Gallifreyans are Time Lords. Normal Gallifreyans do not travel in time. Daleks also have time travel ability (usually just "Time Corridor" but that is sufficient to trap TARDISes, and has been used for that before). However, I imagine the battle taking place within the Vortex, rather than in real space. It's the best explanation as to why so many other races were effected as well - such as the retreated-to-earth Nestene Intelligence in the very first episode, and the almost extinct Gelth in the third episode. Byproducts and side effects of a time war. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Schwarzwald Posted April 28, 2006 Report Share Posted April 28, 2006 Re: Sonic Screwdrivers Meh, they just had to redo dr. who to make it 'edgier' and 'darker' because, god forbid, we leave anything the way it was. I've heard rumors that the doc himself destroyed gallifrey to save millions of other races. Who knows? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted April 28, 2006 Report Share Posted April 28, 2006 Re: Sonic Screwdrivers He wouldn't. As you see in the last episode of the first series - he's proud to be a coward, and would never voluntarily take a life if it saved other lives. Of course, that may be because he had done it previously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigJackBrass Posted April 28, 2006 Report Share Posted April 28, 2006 Re: Sonic Screwdrivers The trouble with the Sonic Screwdriver is that you're trying to model something which generally only existed as a plot device. Its limitations are variable and rarely discussed. I'd just go with the major uses of it, bearing in mind that it's not a weapon even though the Doctor sometimes pretends that it is, when he has to bluff. And it does have its limits. Remember Tom Baker's marvellous goggle-eyed aside to camera where he remarks, "Not even the Sonic Screwdriver can get me out of this one!" ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted April 29, 2006 Report Share Posted April 29, 2006 Re: Sonic Screwdrivers The Doctor often doesn't take things seriously, including himself But yes, it really shouldn't be stated out for rules. It is a means to an end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigJackBrass Posted April 29, 2006 Report Share Posted April 29, 2006 Re: Sonic Screwdrivers An interesting addition to Sonic Screwdriver lore from tonight's episode of Doctor Who (without spoilers, I think): Apparently it can't open something that has been "deadlock sealed." Quite what this means isn't detailed, but the Doctor encounters both an alien computer and a storage drum which have this feature and the screwdriver can't help. By the way, it's a terrific episode: Guest-starring Elisabeth Sladen, Anthony Head and K-9! Good heavens, for a moment I was six years old again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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