*Name of TV episode, novel, audioplay or comic this is referenced or shown in is in italics*
External Anatomy:
Gallifreyans are identical to humans in their appearance
Gallifreyan children age at a similar rate to human children (The Sound of Drums) but upon hitting puberty their ageing would slow with their teenage years lasting for decades (Legacy of the Daleks)
When fatally injured or sick, Gallifreyans have the ability to regenerate when they would usually die
If injured, but not severely enough to require regeneration, a Gallifreyan can slip into a “healing coma” where they would appear dead but they can dedicate all their energy to healing (Inferno, Planet of the Daleks, EarthWorld, Vanishing Point)
Some Gallifreyans can change their eye colour without the need for regeneration (Vampire Science, Doctor Who and the Daemons)
Gallifreyans are superior physically to humans (Terror of the Autons)
Gallifreyan bones can withstand pressures and impacts which would shatter human bones (The End of Time)
Gallifreyans have resistances to both extreme cold (Tomb of the Cybermen, Planet of the Ood) and extreme heat (The End of the World)
Gallifreyans can survive exposure to vacuums for brief periods (The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe)
Gallifreyans can resist higher-frequency sounds which would deafen a human (The Christmas Invasion, Partners in Crime)
There is a vulnerable nerve cluster in a Gallifreyan’s left shoulder which can disable them if hit (Set Piece)
Gallifreyan reflexes and dexterity are far above humans with the ability to perform actions which humans can’t (Terror of the Autons, The End of the World, The Doctor’s Daughter)
Gallifreyans can see in the dark (Lucifer Rising) and notice incredible amounts of detail from distances which humans would find impossible (The Eleventh Hour)
Gallifreyans can identify substances by taste including specific details about the composition of the material (The Christmas Invasion, Bad Therapy, Tooth and Claw, The Idiot’s Lantern, The Eleventh Hour, Day of the Moon, The Time of the Angels, Dinosaurs on a Spaceship)
Internal Anatomy:
Gallifreyan blood is darker in colour than human blood and has an orange tint to it (The Two Doctors)
Gallifreyans have a two hearts (The Power of Three, The Doctor’s Daughter) but can survive with only one working heart although in a greatly weakened state (The Shakespeare Code, The Power of Three)
Gallifreyans have 2 extra ribs compared to humans giving them a total of 26 ribs (Blood Heat)
Gallifreyans natural body temperature of 15°C/59°F (Blood of the Daleks)
Gallifreyan brains are larger and more complex than human brains (The Brain of Morbius)
Gallifreyans can separate their brain hemispheres allowing them a greater ability to multitask (Island of Death)
Gallifreyan lungs are the same size as humans but they have extra pulmonary tubes similar to a lymphatic system to supply oxygen to their dual hearts this also makes them naturally buoyant in water (Island of Death)
Gallifreyans can survive longer without oxygen to the point that a human would be unconscious (The Two Doctors, Mummy on the Orient Express)
Gallifreyans do not need as much sleep as humans and can survive on as little as one hour of sleep (The Talons of Weng-Chiang, Mummy on the Orient Express, Night and the Doctor, The Highlanders)
Gallifreyans are immune to the effects of helium gas and some anaesthetic gases (The Robots of Death)
Gallifreyan skin has a deeper subdural and subcutaneous layer which gives them greater durability (Burning Heart)
Gallifreyan DNA has a triple helix structure (The Crystal Bucephalus, Doctormania)
Gallifreyan bodies can reject and expel cyanide (The Unicorn and the Wasp)
Gallifreyans can and do have allergic reactions to specific substances (The Caves of Androzani)
Other Abilities:
Gallifreyans can share a telepathic link with each other allowing long distance conversations (The Three Doctors, The Pirate Planet)
Gallifreyans are largely resistant to mind control (The War Machines, The Green Death)
Gallifreyans have several mental manipulation abilities including: hypnosis (Terror of the Autons, The Ribos Operation, Fear Her), mind-reading (The Girl in the Fireplace), sharing thoughts (The End of Time), relief of mental disorders (The Shakespeare Code), inducing sleep or unconsciousness (Listen), influencing dreams (The Eleventh Hour), transferring knowledge (The Lodger), and memory erasure (Journey’s End)
Gallifreyans have the ability to sense all possible timelines radiating from an event (The Parting of the Ways, The Fires of Pompeii) including negated timelines (Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS)
Gallifreyans can sense, and have a instinctual repulsion to, fixed points in time (Utopia)
Congratulations and I hope you have FUN and as cliched as that sounds I’m prefacing this with how important that is. Do what you do with the intent to enjoy yourself, and never let those who have lost sight of the fact that this is a HOBBY suck you into a state of feeling obligated to a certain rate or skill level of reply. These are people with whom you should not associate. They do not have a healthy grasp of a balanced lifestyle. And there are unfortunately a lot of them here, and everywhere on the internet.
That said:
–Go into blog settings and make yourself a few “pages.” These should include an about section briefly describing your muse; and a rules page (stating what you are and aren’t comfortable with writing, including potentially triggering content). Some people eventually also make relationship pages describing meaningful relationships between their muse (character) and that of writing partners. If you make a relationships page, you may want to decide if you are going to be “exclusive” with any muses of canon fandom characters. Meaning you will not write with other versions of those characters. This can be a sticky issue so talk it out openly with your partners.
–Make your blog eye-catching but also accessible. No tiny fonts, no graphics that convolute your layout so much that people can’t find your about or rules pages, or your askbox.
–Make, or ask a friend to make, a promo. You post this as a photoset, with links in the post body to your askbox, rules, about, and verses (if you wish to be “multiverse,” which means you have multiple discrete storylines that don’t overlap, with multiple character relationships, sometimes with duplicates of the same characters. Most blogs are multiverse because it avoids territorialism and hurt feelings among your partners).
–Communicate, communicate, communicate. Out of character or “ooc,” communicate with your partners constantly, via asks or im’s. Always be mindful of personal emotions leeching into characterization. Always be mindful of what you’re comfortable writing. If you don’t like what’s going on in an rp, talk about it privately with your partner. Partners worth having will respect your needs.
–Don’t be discouraged. Fandomless OC’s can take time to get traction. Post brief “open starters” (meaning short posts that get the ball rolling for action, that many different kinds of characters can approach) and TAG those starters with multiple fandoms that interest you, even though you are fandomless. It will put you on the radar of lots of different kinds of blogs. Tagging posts on Tumblr is a super strategic way to get noticed.
I hope this helps and you are of course welcome to approach any of my muses for stuff!
A Founding House. It was so ancient that some of its Cousins were members of the Sisterhood of Karn.
Cassandra, High Priestess of the Sisterhood.
(from Big Finish Audio: Zagreus)
LUNGBARROW
A Prydonian House, with a quota of 45 Cousins. Founded as a direct response to the Curse of the Pythia, the House of Lungbarrow was one of the first Houses to be brought into existence under Rassilon. It gradually fell from favour in Time Lord society and eventually, 350 years after the Doctor’s Looming, Lungbarrow was deleted from the Matrix records as punishment for exceeding its Loom quota. It was later reinstated. It was located halfway up the western side of Mount Lung, from which its name derives, and overlooked the Cadonflood river.
Almund.
Arkhew, an unusually gentle Cousin, but prone to gambling and caving in to peer pressure. He owned a pet scrubber.
Celesia.
Chovor.
DeRoosifa.
The Doctor, renegade Time Lord.
Farg.
Glospin(ninymortheras), an exceptionally malevolent Cousin, who intended to become the House’s Kithriarch. Possibly a member of the Celestial Intervention Agency.
Innocet, (eventual) Housekeeper, tasked with the upbringing of a new House. A very intelligent woman, and a childhood friend of the Doctor. She was a talented telekinetic.
Irving Braxiatel, Lord Cardinal of the High Council of Gallifrey. The Doctor’s brother.
Jobiska, an elderly Cousin.
Luton.
Maljamin, who vanished under mysterious circumstances.
Owis, the Doctor’s illegal Replacement and the House’s youngest Cousin. Unable to attend the Academy, he was immature and lacked an education.
Quences(setianobayolocaturgrathadeyyilungbarrowmas), Ordinal-General and 422nd Kithriarch of Lungbarrow. He requested that the Doctor be enrolled in the Academy.
Rynde.
Salpash.
Satthaltrope, Lungbarrow’s Housekeeper for over 900 years.
Tulgel.
Ulysses, the Doctor’s father.
(from New Virgin Adventures: Lungbarrow; BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures: Unnatural History)
MIRRAFLEX
One of the smaller Oldblood Houses, and the provider of most of Gallifrey’s generals and tacticians. Cousins of Mirraflex were known to be versatile and well-discipled, yet also had a reputation for ruthlessness and extreme xenophobia.
General Mirraflex, founder of the House and a veteran of the Eternal Wars.
–
Other Oldblood Houses – with no known occupants or Cousins – include:
ARPEXIA, known for its Cousins’ belief that reason and logic would always triumph over emotion. This House produced several impressive but overcomplicated models of Time Capsules.
CATHERION, an extinct House maintained by a line of Caretakers.
EFFESTON, a presumably Prydonian House for which Romana is custodian.
FORDFARDING, a Founding House.
IXION, used as a base for the organisation known as the Order of the Weal. Like House Catherion, it was maintained by Caretakers.
LINEACRUX, a Founding House revered for its knowledge of Gallifrey’s history. Its Cousins appeared deceptively frail.
NECHRONMANCY, the records for which have been deleted by its own Cousins, who rejected the existence of Time.
SCARLET, a Prydonian House.
STILLHAVEN, a Prydonian House.
XIANTHELLIPSE, a minor House that rose to power during the War in Heaven. They experimented with the very nature of the Houses themselves to create monstrous ‘war forms’.
(from Faction Paradox:The Book of the War; Faction Paradox: In the Year of the Cat)
[see here for a full list of Gallifrey’s Great Houses]
The Great Houses were the oldest living things on Gallifrey. They were sentient structures, home to the various Gallifreyan Families. Their interiors were generally plant-like in appearance, with trees and roots forming the walls, as they were cultivated and grown from seeds. Each House belonged to one of the six Chapters, and would supply its Chapter’s Academy with Time Lord Initiates.
The furniture within the Houses was disproportionate to their inhabitants and often towered above individual Family members, in order to remind younger Time Lords that they were still inexperienced and had much to learn. Occasionally, the furniture could also become sentient itself, and gain mobility. All Great Houses were fitted with a transmat, which enabled them to be reached from the Capitol and, presumably, other Houses. At the very centre of each House was a Loom with a unique genetic core, responsible for birthing new Cousins (members of a Family). Each house had a specific quota of Cousins which it was not allowed to exceed – for example, the House of Lungbarrow was punished for exceeding its quota of 45 Family members. The Great Houses could move walls and doors around and shift their interiors, in a manner similar to that of a TARDIS. When a Cousin ultimately died (in that they could no longer regenerate), they would be buried in a vault beneath their House.
Within each House, a Family member was designated the Housekeeper. They would be the only Cousin permitted to ‘speak’ directly to and regularly with the House, while Drudges – huge, wooden servants – would provide more personal interaction with the rest of the Family. The Housekeeper’s responsibilities included tending to the House when it grew sick, as any ill health would also affect the House’s inhabitants. A founder of a new House would be referred to as ‘Grandfather’.
The Houses had their own army, known as the House Militia, which was largely separate from the Chancellery Guard and was governed by the War Council of the Great Houses.
The Houses may also have been split into two categories: Oldblood (Founding Houses and Houses created by Rassilon) and Newblood (formed much later in Gallifrey’s history).
KNOWN HOUSES
House Arpexia
scientific fundamentalists
House Blyledge
the most prominent House within the Cerulean Chapter, and older than Rassilon
House of Brightshore
House of Catherion
a House that became extinct
House of Dellatrovellas
one of the oldest Houses
House Dvora
alternatively referred to as the ‘House of Devouring Hounds’. The most powerful of the Newblood Houses.
House of Effeston
House of Fordfarding
House of Heartshaven
Romana’s House
House Ixion
a House made up of dissenters from other Families. It later became the headquarters for Morbius’ Order of the Weal. They were rumoured to tamper with the Looms of other Houses
House of Jadedreamers
experts in Gallifreyan history and law. Its Cousins were regarded as contributing greatly to Gallifreyan society
House Lineacrux
believed to produce the ‘typical’ Time Lord, i.e. calm and reluctant to involve themselves
House Lolita
it had only one member – an evolved TARDIS with the same name (possibly the Master’s TARDIS)
House Lucia
House of Lungbarrow
the Doctor’s House. Lungbarrow was one of the original Founding Houses, yet later fell from favour
House Mirraflex
credited with producing many of Gallifrey’s military heroes
House of Nehcronmancy
known for shunning gender and titles, and refusing to accept Time as an entity
House of Oakdown
the Master’s House, and one of the most respected in all of Gallifrey’s history
House Paradox
illegal experiments were conducted within this House
House of Redlooms
well-known for producing members of the Chancellery Guard
House of Scarlet
House of Stillhaven
House Tracolix
known to produces reckless, ambitious Cousins, despite its weak position in terms of influence
House of Wildthyme
presumably the House of Iris Wildthyme
House Xianthellipse
its Cousins experimented with artificial evolution
Icarus 