Weekend Write Ups: ALF

Here's another one of my oddball character write-ups. This time it's ALF from the 80's sitcom of the same name. The series focused on typical American family that has it's life turned upside down when an alien crash lands his ship in their garage. Keeping him out of sight of the authorities and the neighbors focus of a lot of the show, which was made more difficult by Alf's exceedingly difficult personality.  The series ran from 1986-1990, and in 1996 there was a follow-up TV movie titled Project ALF.

ALF (aka Gordon Shumway of Melmac)

Awareness 3      Coordination 2   Ingenuity  5
Presence 2         Resolve  4          Strength 2

GOOD TRAITS
Alien
Alien Organs (5 stomachs)
Boffin
Charming
Immortal (major)
Keen Senses
Technically Adept

BAD TRAITS

Alien Appearance
Impulsive
Last of My Kind
Selfish
Tiny (minor)


SKILLS
Convince  3

Knowledge 3
Science 3
Subterfuge 3
Survival 2
Technology 4
Transport 4

Story Points: 12
Tech Level: 6

Gordon Shumway is an alien nicknamed ALF (an acronym for Alien Life Form) by the humans that took him in.  ALF's body is covered with fur and he has a rippled snout, facial moles and eight stomachs. His heart is apparently located in his head. He likes to burp and eat cats, and can whistle without opening his mouth. He was born on October 28, 1756 on the Lower East Side of the planet Melmac. Melmac was located six parsecs past the Hydra-Centaurus Supercluster, and had a green sky, blue grass and a purple sun.

ALF was gardener by profession back on his homeworld, but did serve as a reservist member of the Melmac Orbit Guard.  He was fortunate to be off planet at the time when nuclear disaster caused the destruction of his planet. Homeless with a damaged ship, he crash lands in the garage of the Tanner family when his ship locked in on HAM radio signal Willie Tanner was broadcasting. With nowhere to go the Tanner family took him in and helped him adjust to life of Earth and avoid the Air Force's Alien Task Force that was looking for him.

ALF lived with the Tanners for several years. When other survivors of his planet contacted him with information about their newly formed colony, he jumped at the chance to leave. But before he could escape the Alien Task Force caught up with him, and he found himself  a prisoner.

His captivity by the military was not kind to him, which did include various "experiments" on him that were little more than torture. While the senior officers and their pet scientists were downright xenophobic regarding ALF, his Airmen jailers were much more accommodating. They gave him many creature comforts and allowed to turn his cell into the center of a lot of illegal business on base. When one of the senior officers decided of his own accord to have ALF killed, two of the junior officers smuggled him off base.

ALF's fugitive status was relatively short lived, and when returned to the Air Force, the people responsible for his harsh captivity had been removed. He was further granted status of Ambassador to Earth, though after meeting ALF they  have reservations about how good an idea that really was.

 USES IN THE CAMPAIGN

In a UNIT campaign, the characters might be more inclined to run into ALF during his military captivity.  After the events in England with the Slitheen and Sycorax attacks, The US military might have to reveal ALF's existence as part of an information exchange. If he's been in their care since 1996 (the year the Project ALF movie was released) the US might end up foisting him upon UNIT just to be rid of him.

ALF's main role is obnoxious troublemaker, his impulsive nature makes him the one to push the big red button on the control panel, or to run off and try to do something on his own when he should be waiting on the rest of the group. His sarcastic nature sometimes gets the better of him, throwing out one of his quips at the most inopportune moments.

ALF does have his good side though, he is quite loyal to his friends and will try to make amends when he realizes he's gone too far. He is also quite the boffin, having created several gadgets over the years including converting Willie Tanner's HAM radio into a galactic communications system. Given the right motivation he could potentially be quite useful on the technical side.

Melmacians age so slowly they have for all practical purposes the Immortality trait. ALF is over two hundred years old, and likely to live for several more centuries. So it's likely the players could run into him on multiple occasions and points in history.

A Cast of Dozens: UNIT Personnel

Need some UNIT personnel with a bit more character than just faceless minions in fatigues destined to get killed the second the monster shows up? Here's five folks from UNIT to help fill some blank spots.

UNIT Personnel
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Captain Michael Greerson 
Oversexed Skirt Chasing Officer

Capt. Greer's a decent enough officer, he just can't keep it in his trousers. Any attractive female, human or otherwise, is fair game. He's acquired the nickname Captain Kirk due to his reputation for "conquering" a number of  visiting alien females. Though you don't want to ask him about the incident with the Vinvocci delegation.

Awareness  3      Coordination 4    Ingenuity  3        
Presence  4        Resolve  3           Strength  3

Good Traits
Attractive, Charming, Military Rank (Capitan), Lucky, Experienced

Bad Traits
Adversary-Various Angry Boyfriends/Husbands (minor), Obligation-UNIT (major) Obsession-Sex (minor)

Skills
Athletics 2,  Convince 3  Craft 1 , Fighting  3, Knowledge 2 , Marksman  3, Medicine 2, Subterfuge 2, Survival 2, Technology 2 , Transport 2

Story Points 9
Tech Level 5

Distinguishing Features: Recruiting poster good looks, fit and athletic. Lack of impulse control when it comes to women.

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Dr. Allison Pettigrew 
Brilliant Scientific Advisor with the personality of a turnip

With a Doctorate in Quantum Physics and Mechanical Engineering, she's a valuable UNIT asset when it comes to dealing with alien technology and strange phenomena. Just don't try to talk to her in person. As long as she's isolated in her lab, or speaking by phone or webcam, she's fine. But put her in a room full of people she turns totally monosyllabic and starts to hyperventilate.

Awareness  3      Coordination 2     Ingenuity   5       
Presence  2        Resolve      2        Strength  3

Good Traits
Boffin, Photographic Memory, Run for Your Life!,  Technically Adept

Bad Traits
Insatiable Curiosity, Impaired Senses- Wears Glasses  Phobia-Social Anxiety (Minor)

Skills
Athletics 1, Convince 2 , Craft 1, Fighting  1, Knowledge  5, Marksman 1 , Medicine 1, Science 5, Technology 4, Transport 1 

Story Points 12
Tech Level 5

 

Distinguishing Features: Always wearing a lab coat. Multiple pencils stuck into her bun since she tends to forget about them.

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Special Agent George Pendleton-Smith
Containment Officer

Ex-Torchwood, George has come over to UNIT and serves as the containment officer, aka the Cover-up Man. He learned a lot of tricks from his time in Torchwood, and applies that knowledge to keep UNIT out of the papers and the locals confused and uncertain about what really happened.

Awareness  4      Coordination 3    Ingenuity  5        
Presence  3        Resolve  3          Strength 3

Good Traits
Brave, Face in the Crowd, Friends- Torchwood Contacts, Voice of Authority

Bad Traits
By the Book, Obligation-UNIT

Skills
Convince 4, Fighting 2, Knowledge 3, Marksman 3, Subterfuge 4, Technology 2, Transport 2

 
Story Points 12
Tech Level 5

Distinguishing Features: Bland appearance, Stoic manner

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Sergeant John McKenzie
Veteran UNIT NCO whose seen it all

 McKenzie has been in UNIT for over a decade and a half, and has seen more than his share of action. More than that, he's the most decorated soldier in UNIT and has become something of a legend in the agency.  He's taken down a Cyberman with a .22 rifle at thirty meters, head butted Weevils unconscious, and has been on the front line of UNIT's stickiest situations.

Awareness  3      Coordination 3
Ingenuity  4        Presence  3
Resolve  3          Strength 4

Good Traits
Brave, Crack Shot, Sharpshooter, Voice of Authority, UNIT Veteran, Military Rank (Sergeant), Tough
Bad Traits
Dependency-Tobacco (minor) Obligation-UNIT (major)

Skills
Athletics 2,  Convince 3, Fighting  4, Knowledge 2 , Marksman  4, Medicine 2, Subterfuge 2, Survival 2, Technology 2 , Transport 3
 
Story Points 12
Tech Level 5

Distinguishing Features: Large beefy man in fatigues. does the shouty drill sergeant routine quite well.

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Corporal Ellie Wynant 
Young, Wide Eyed Company Clerk

Ellie signed up for military service out of school hoping to help pay for her university tuition. She knew she was no use as a front line soldier, but her organizational and computer skills were invaluable in command. She had expected getting stuck in some dingy base office in Afghanistan, so her UNIT posting was something of a surprise, even more so when she realised it what UNIT really entailed.

Awareness  4      Coordination 3
Ingenuity  3        Presence  3
Resolve  3          Strength 2

Good Traits
Attractive, Face in the Crowd, Photographic Memory

Bad Traits
Unadventurous

Skills
Athletics 1, Convince 1, Fighting 2, Knowledge 5 (History+2), Marksman 3, Medicine 1, Subterfuge 1, Survival 1, Technology 4, Transport 2

 
Story Points 12
Tech Level 5

Distinguishing Features: Petite young woman, often has a clipboard and files in hand.

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Random NPC: Mavlor

Since it is close to Halloween, I thought at least one classic monster themed write up was in order. Since Doctor Who has already had multiple flavors of vampires, werewolves, mummies, and at least one Frankenstein's Monster, it seemed Universal's classic Creature from the Black Lagoon seemed like an appropriate addition.


Mavlor, the Gill Creature of the Dark Basin
Recently awoken Silurian


Mavlor is a member of a Silurian subspecies that was much more amphibious than most of their cousins (Sea Devils excepted.) They lived in and around swampy estuaries and deep river backwaters.

Like the rest of his people, Mavlor went into hibernation when the planetoid that would become the moon came close to the Earth, threatening their survival. When he awoken in the middle of the 20th century, he found he was the only one of his community to survive the millennia.Thinking himself alone, he resigned himself to a solitary life deep in the Amazon. He was aware that the ape creatures they used to keep had become these humans now roaming about. Mostly he's ignored them, the locals are fairly primitive and seem to fear him.


Though recently, some scientists from far away have come up the river looking for the so called "Fish Man". Mavlor is uncertain whether he should try and talk with these humans, or just try and frighten them off like the locals.


Awareness  4 Presence 4
Coordination 4  Resolve  4 
Ingenuity 3  Strength 5

Traits
Alien, Environmental (Amphibious), Natural Weapons (claws) , Alien Appearance [major], Weakness [minor-cold], Last of My Kind

Skills
 Athletics 4 (AoE: Swimming) Convince 1, Fighting 4, Knowledge 3, Medicine 2, Subterfuge 3, Survival 4, Technology 1