A Renegade's Guide to the Universe

Who are the NADW "Renegades"?

November 1963, the British Broadcasting Company aired the televised adventures of a space-time traveling dogooder known only as "the Doctor". This series last some 27 years until the infamous timelord's enemies conspired against him and cruelly cancelled the programme and banished to the realm of cult memory. Like all Whovians, the Renegades strive to keep the Doctor alive and well in our imagination. We do this by meeting one night a week in our own chat channel to roleplay a Doctor Who adventure. Our games and characters are based on short player-written plot scripts. The goal of our game is to tell a complete Doctor Who adventure in episodic format like the original tv series.

The Renegades began roleplaying Doctor Who adventures in the chat rooms of America OnLine in 1994. Come January 1999, we moved to the free world of Internet Relay Chat. Our games are hosted on IRC and Web Chat today under the umbrella of the Who Sim Universe. We have played the adventures of three Doctors including our own 8th (predating Big Finish's Paul McGann), 9th and 10th Doctor. We are currently beginning the adventures of the 11th Doctor.

What is the Who Sim Universe?

Located at www.whosim.org, the Who Sim Universe is a collection of Doctor Who roleplay groups celebrating the many adventures of space-time traveling dogooders such as the Doctor, his timelord associates, former selves and intergalactic friends. WhoSim also hosts our web space and past story archives (Renegades Outpost).

What is the goal of the game?

Every week, each player in our group receives a new script outlining that week's episode. Cast roles, which change every storyline with the exception of our TARDIS Crew, are chosen to whoever volunteers first. Then in character and according to the script summary, players act out the story in a real time chat room. We play multiple scenes at one time (with the use of ASCII symbols) and improvise the action, dialogue and character byplay until we get to that week's cliffhanger. Storylines last from 2 - 6 episodes (parts).

What are the NADW Renegades Archives?

Because we use words to act out our adventures, we tend to write them as we play. After a storyline is completed, all game logs (logs of the chat room) are reconstructed into a combination screenplay and short story adventure. Player Time Logs, character biographies and plot line excerpts are added accordingly with a cast list and acting players. These Story Reconstructions are then published online at our Renegades Outpost for other Whovians to enjoy. We invite you to download a few for your own enjoyment or trade them with friends, but ask that you do not publish them elsewhere without permission from our Game Coordinator.

When and Where Can I Play?

The NADW sim meets every week on Internet Relay Chat (IRC) or via our web chat room.

How Can I Join?

Anyone is invited to join us. If you wish to receive our script early or be updated on our plans for the week, you may join our Yahoo mailing list at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nadw. If you'd prefer to drop in for a game, simply sign in via our web chat room.

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