One of my favourite things about tabletop gaming is that moment when your brain asks, ‘What if...?’
What
if Sherlock Holmes investigated Innsmouth? What if Robin Hood robbed the Death
Star? What if the Fourth Doctor turned up just as Victor Frankenstein was about
to tear a hole through space and time?
Most
games would look at you funny, except for glories like A Very British Civil
War.
However,
7TV simply says, ‘Sounds like a great episode.’
That freedom is exactly why I've decided to give 7TV a proper outing, and I honestly can't think of a better first game than ‘Doctor Who versus Dr Frankenstein.’ Now, I could have opened proceedings with a default scenario, but I’ve decided to create a bespoke scenario I've called The Rabentor Rift.
What
is 7TV?
If
you've never come across it before, 7TV is less of a traditional wargame and
more of a toolkit for recreating your favourite television shows and films on
the tabletop. Rather than building armies around historical periods or tightly
balanced factions, you cast your production like a TV episode with heroes, villains,
henchmen, monsters, weird gadgets, and ridiculous plot twists.
It
actively encourages cinematic storytelling over tournament efficiency, and for
me that's a big part of its charm. My wargames interest has significantly moved
away from tournament play or even the simple ‘line up and fight’ style of game
into a desire for objective based games with strong narratives.
The
game is built around ‘Ratings’ rather than points, so instead of worrying
whether every unit is mathematically optimal, you're putting together a cast
that simply feels right. Every game should end up looking like an episode of
television that somehow escaped onto your gaming table.
Which,
frankly, sounds much more fun than another perfectly balanced mirror match.
Why
Doctor Who vs Frankenstein?
Doctor
Who is wonderfully flexible as a narrative setting. The Doctor has fought
robots, mummies, Cybermen, dinosaurs, Vikings, vampires, Romans, Daleks and
giant maggots (made of bubble wrap of course). Throwing Frankenstein into that
bonkers mix barely raises an eyebrow.
The
scenario I’ve designed starts in Rabentor, Switzerland in 1820, where Dr
Frankenstein believes he's finally discovered the secret of creating life. Unfortunately,
he's completely wrong.
The
machine he's painstakingly assembled isn't generating life at all. It's tapping
into an ancient alien containment device buried beneath the village, slowly
forcing open a fracture in space-time.
Cue
impossible temporal shenanigans!
The
TARDIS materialises.
Out
steps the Doctor, Sarah Jane, K9 and a UNIT detachment led by Lieutenant
Lethbridge-Stewart, racing to stop history literally coming apart at the seams.
Meanwhile
Frankenstein, entirely convinced he's on the verge of conquering death itself,
has absolutely no intention of switching the machine off.
It's
exactly the sort of glorious crossover that feels right for 7TV.
Building
the Cast
One
of the nicest surprises during preparation was discovering the 7TV StudiosCasting Agency
Rather
than trying to squeeze existing profiles into the characters I wanted, I was
able to build completely bespoke cast cards that matched the feel of everyone
involved. The 7TV rules include methods to do this, which I used in building
these bespoke character sheets. It would be nice if the software did this
validation for you, but it’s still a great resource.
I
chose MY Doctor (Tom Baker) and gave him some characterful tricks.
Sarah
Jane (my wife’s favourite companion, she’s the real Dr Who fan in our
household) is included as the capable investigative companion.
K9
brings his usual mix of utility and laser-based problem solving.
UNIT
soldiers provide plenty of dependable firepower. Now of course, my soldiers are
equipped for 1880, rather than 1820, but that matters not a jot when
‘timeywimey’ nonsense is involved!
Across
the table Frankenstein is supported by his Monster, the Bride,
stitched-together zombies and a wonderfully unpleasant pair of assistants in
Mia Krempe and Igora the Brain Gatherer.
The
whole cast came together remarkably quickly, and seeing everyone's personalised
cards printed out really helps sell the illusion that this is an actual lost TV
serial from somewhere in the multiverse.
Using
My Collection
Perhaps
the biggest surprise of this project was realising I barely needed to buy
anything.
Like
many hobbyists, I have a growing collection of terrain that spends most of its
life looking decorative on shelves.
The
fantasy medieval buildings I scratch-built for the game Guards of Traitor's
Toll turned out to be great for representing a secluded Swiss village in 1820.
Add some barrels, crates, walls and a graveyard, and Rabentor required no
additional effort to construct.
The
centrepiece, naturally, is Frankenstein's Engine of Life sitting in the middle
of the town, surrounded by scattered objectives representing alien components
hidden throughout the village.
It's
always satisfying when existing terrain gets to play a completely different
role from the one it was originally intended for.
Finally
Giving Some Models a Job
Perhaps
my favourite part of the preparation has been finding an excuse to use
miniatures that were never actually bought for gaming.
We've
all done it.
You
see a fantastic sculpt, paint it simply because it looks cool, proudly place it
in the display cabinet, and then never touch it again.
For
most of the models I’m using for this game, these were bought my Dr Who loving
wife, who picked them up from Crooked Dice and Bad Squiddo at Vapnartak in
York. I painted them for her and they live on our boardgame shelves for most of
the time.
For
this scenario I’ve raided that display shelf with absolutely no shame
whatsoever.
These
characters originally painted purely for display are suddenly starring in their
own television special, proving that almost any miniature can become useful if
you're prepared to write a slightly ridiculous scenario around it.
Honestly,
that's one of the most fun parts of 7TV. Stop worrying whether a model belongs
to the ‘correct’ faction, just cast them in a starring role.
The
Scenario
The
battle itself revolves around five objectives spread across the village.
Four
represent pieces of ancient alien technology hidden beneath Rabentor. Depending
on which side reaches them first, they're either helping stabilise the growing
rift or feeding more power into Frankenstein's machine. Only after securing
enough of these objectives can the stars finally interact with the Engine of
Life itself.
For
the Doctor, success means shutting down the alien containment system before
history is rewritten.
For
Frankenstein, success means triumphantly activating the machine, blissfully
unaware that he's about to erase his own village from existence.
It
feels wonderfully thematic. The supporting cast race around solving problems
while the stars build towards the inevitable final confrontation at the heart
of the battlefield. Exactly as a great season finale should.
Roll
Camera...
That's
probably my favourite thing about this entire project.
Nothing
here was designed by chasing the strongest list or the latest competitive meta.
Instead,
it all started with a silly idea.
Could
Doctor Who fight Frankenstein?
Could
I use terrain I already owned?
Could
display models finally get their moment in the spotlight?
Could
I create something that felt like a forgotten Saturday evening adventure
serial?
The
answer to all those questions has been a very enthusiastic ‘yes.’
Whether
the Doctor successfully seals the temporal fracture or Frankenstein
accidentally destroys reality itself, the important thing is that the table
will tell a memorable story.
And
really, isn't that what great wargaming is all about?
Tbc
