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Doctor Who and the Vortex Crystal was the first of two adventure gamebooks published by the American publisher FASA.
Due to their interactive nature, most FASA Doctor Who books are not considered a part of the valid DWU as this wiki defines it.
Publisher's summary
The planet did not look inviting... On the fog-shrouded planet Gathwyr, the Doctor and his companions stumble across the keys to a mystery that lead them to plot and counterplot in a struggle that threatens the universe itself.
In this plot-your-own Doctor Who adventure from FASA, the Doctor must use all of his intelligence, charm, and luck to discover what power is eroding the barriers between Time and Space. Somewhere on Gathwyr lie the clues to the puzzle, but as the puzzle comes together, the Doctor learns he still faces his greatest challenge, a confrontation with the dark lord of the enigmatic Vortex Crystal!
Doctor Who plot-your-own adventures are a new concept in interactive fiction, combining the detail and depth of a novel with the fast-paced excitement of a role-playing game. As the intrepid Doctor, you make the decisions that determine the course of an adventure. Each decision leads you, step by step, through an unfolding story-plot, where your skill will make the crucial difference between success and failure.
Characters
References
to be added
Notes
- The book was designed to be compatible with FASA's The Doctor Who Role Playing Game, so that a character created in that game could be substituted for The Doctor; conversely, a game-master in the RPG could use the book to create a scenario.
- Rolling dice was necessary to determine the outcome of some of the book's decisions; so the book could be enjoyed without dice, a random series of numbers was printed in the upper corner of every other page. The reader could flip through the pages and stop at a random place to simulate a dice roll.
- Depending on the player's choices, it was possible in this story for the Doctor to become mortally wounded and attempt to regenerate. If the necessary dice rolls were successful the Doctor would regenerate, just this once managing to keep the same body and personality, and the player would resume the adventure.
- Author William H. Keith, Jr. followed this novel with the second and final novel in this range, Doctor Who and the Rebel's Gamble.
Production errors
- Though this story takes place during the time when the Fourth Doctor was travelling with Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan (Season 12 to Season 13) the book's cover art depicts the Doctor in the redesigned maroon version of his outfit from Season 18.