Doctor Who review: Doctors and Dragons is a nice tribute to RPGs
By James Aggas
With dragons, magic and some very important numbers, this month’s Doctor Who short story Doctors and Dragons should appeal to fantasy and RPG fans alike!
This month’s Short Trip is Doctors and Dragons. And yes, it’s pretty much exactly what you’re thinking of. Well, at least the core basic idea: Doctor Who with the popular elements of Dungeons & Dragons, or role-playing games in general.
This short story by Alfie Shaw makes its influences known early on, and anyone who has played such games even once will surely get a kick out of many moments in this story. Particularly the significance of numbers, and how important it is to get a high number.
If you’ve never played one of these games before, that doesn’t matter. The story plays out as an interesting little fantasy, one that unfolds very nicely. Both the characters and the world start to reveal itself to both the main character, Reya, and to the audience.
That’s something that sticks out about this one – neither the Doctor nor his companion are the main point of view for the story. That position goes to Reya, who’s on a quest to save her sister. To do that, she has to slay a dragon. But a strange little man called the Doctor is very keen to stop her. Why? And what’s really going on?
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A small but effective take on RPGs
This is a great little story by Alfie Shaw. What’s particularly brilliant is that he hasn’t simply written a fantasy story with the Seventh Doctor in it. For example, this isn’t just a story of dragons, warriors and other classic fantasy elements.
Shaw has also made sure to include that actual RPG playing mechanics are a part of the story, too. At first, it leaves you wondering how it works within the world that we’re introduced to. But then Shaw also includes elements from elsewhere in the Doctor Who universe to provide a satisfying explanation to the listener.
The only slightly disappointing element of this is that we didn’t see this idea explored within a larger story – one with a full cast and a wider scale, so other elements of this RPG world could be explored. But overall, it’s an enjoyable story, and another strong example of how experimental the Short Trips range can be.
Next. Overview: How the Kamelion trilogy fleshed out an overlooked companion. dark
Have you listened to Doctors and Dragons? Are you a fan of role-playing games? Would you like to see an idea like this explored on television? Let us know in the comments below.