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
_______________________________________________

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.

_______________________________________________

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.

_______________________________________________

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

_______________________________________________

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.

_______________________________________________

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.

_______________________________________________

John Connor: Temporal War Criminal

Future John Connor from Terminator 2

The basic conceit of the Terminator franchise is that John Connor, leader of the human resistance is this great hero who is protecting humanity from Skynet. Even going as far as sending agents back in time to try and alter events to keep the Terminators from existing.


But is John Connor truly this great leader?  At least that's what the loyal resistance fighters of the future say about him. They have lived in a world of total war for years and John Connor seems to be the only glimmer of hope they have. As a result they are fanatically loyal and more than willing to lay down their lives for him. Kyle Reese's devotion to him is quite evident in his numerous monologues in the first Terminator movie.

All we have really ever seen of John Connor is younger man who finds himself propelled steadily closer to his eventual future. By a large degree, it is John Connor's future self that is manipulating events though his proxies in the first two movies. Even worse, in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chrocnicles it's clear the manipulations of both Skynet and the Resistance extend much farther than just John's existence. Both sides are engaging in a time active war against each other and it seems the more both sides change the past the more inevitable Judgement Day becomes.


By sending Reese and the second Terminator back in time, he pretty much ensures the very future of blood soaked death and destruction through predestined paradox. Without Kyle to impregnate Sarah, there is no John Connor, who never becomes the resistance leader Skynet must seek out before he is born, and thus their Terminator never falls into the hands of Cyberndyne Systems and the technology that creates Skynet never exists. The John Connor of the future must be aware of these facts when he arrives at the point where he must send Reese off to become his father.

Yet he chooses this path, and the world suffers for his decision. The war can be prevented by John Connor, if he chose to sacrifice his existence which was never meant to be.  More than a few writers have made Christ comparisons to John Connor,  but his future actions make it clear he is no savior of mankind. He is it's damnation by fire, and it is clearly a conscious action on the his part since he did it repeatedly.

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

Movie Review: History of Future Folk

The History of Future Folk is a low budget indie sci-fi comedy that's been screened at various film festivals and recently came out on DVD and VOD. It's a charming little movie  based around a fun and quirky idea.


The story revolves around General Trius (Nils d'Aulaire) the most decorated warrior of the planet Hondo. He has been sent to Earth to unleash a deadly plague that will wipe out the human race and allow the Hondorians to colonize. 

When Trius lands on Earth, he discovers music, a concept completely alien to Hondo. Falling in love with music and the planet that created it, he chooses not to go through with the planned destruction. He marries a human, gets a job and starts playing bluegrass at a local club. 

Later, when the Hondorians send an assassin to try and deal with their renegade, Trius uses the power of music to sway his would be killer named Kevin (Jay Klaitz) to his cause. Soon they join up to become the Alien Bluegrass Folk Duo Future Folk.

While the movie is clearly low budget in an almost classic Whovian manner, the charm of the story and the characters make it a fun ride in spite of the limitations. Did I mention the music? Yes, the original songs by the duo are quite fun. Here are the guys in character singing "Space Worms", it does very well to sum up the nature of the movie.

From a gaming perspective, I could easily see having the Hondorians and a younger General Trius as a recurring villain in your campaign. He's a competent soldier and his advanced technology could be a threat. In general he might be played less outright villainous like the Sontarans and much more of the dedicated soldier doing his duty. When he suddenly turns up on Earth as a musician, it ought to make the players really wonder what the heck is going on.

Book Review: Star Trek: From History's Shadow by Dayton Ward

From History's Shadow might remind a lot of Doctor Who readers of David Bishop's Who Killed Kennedy. Both stories serve to tie together a number of plot threads into a cohesive continuity.

While the original crew is part of the story, it's the parallel tale of Captain James Wainwright that really drives events. He was a minor character in the Deep Space Nine episode "Little Green Men" where the Roswell incident is the result of the Ferengi accidentally time travelling to 1947. Wainwright becomes part of Project Blue Book and throughout the 50's and 60's has run ins with the other time travelling incidents in Star Trek lore.

The book in general has an X-Files feel to it. With Wainwright and his partner Allison Marshall playing Mulder and Scully as they try to track down a group of time travelling aliens who are trying to interfere with Earth's history.  They also have to deal with the lack of support from the military and government, who regard Blue Book as a waste of time.

Gamers running a period Torchwood or UNIT campaign would find lots of interesting ideas out of this book. It plays heavily with the Temporal Cold War idea that was introduced in Star Trek: Enterprise (and honestly making it much more interesting here than the show ever did.) It's feasible the Temporal Cold War might be an extension of the Last Great Time War into the Star Trek Universe. And the book providing a look at events both through the eyes of locals trying to grasp what is happening and the time aware agents who are trying to alter events to their own advantage.

Star Trek Week: Troi and Guinan

Ship's Counsellor Deanna Troi

Deanna Troi was a half-Betazoid, half-Human Starfleet officer. Under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, she served as ship's counselor aboard the USS Enterprise-D. As a half-Betazoid, Troi was capable of extra-sensory empathy, but was incapable of reading aliens with brain structures dissimilar to Humans and other Betazoids, such as the Breen and the Ferengi. Like most Betazoids, Troi had telepathic abilities; due to her half-Human heritage, however, the range of her telepathic abilities were limited compared to full-blooded Betazoids, and could usually only read the thoughts of other Betazoids, most notably her mother. Troi's empathic skills made her an important asset to the Enterprise and often came in handy when dealing with hostile races. Since she could usually tell if others were lying, she repeatedly proved herself invaluable in many suspenseful situations.

ATTRIBUTES (20)
Awareness    3   Coordination 3
Ingenuity     3     Presence  4
Resolve        4    Strength 3

Good Traits (8)
Alien,

Attractive
Charming
Empathic
Psychic
Psychic Training
Telepathy

Bad Traits (-8)
Code of Conduct-Professional Ethics (minor)
Emotional Complication-Former Relationship with Riker (minor)
Distinctive
Obligation-Starfleet (major)
Obligation-To her patients (minor)
Weakness-Telepathic abilities very limited, mostly empathic feelings, and some non-human species were unreadable. (major)

Skills (22)

Convince 4 (Area of Expertise: Negotiation)

Fighting1
Knowledge  4 (Area of Expertise: Psychology)
Marksman  2
Medicine 2
Science 2
Subterfuge 2
Survival 1
Technology 1
Transport 1

Story Points 12
Tech Level 7

Guinan


Guinan was the mysterious bartender in Ten Forward, the lounge aboard the USS Enterprise-D. She was well known for her wise counsel, which had proven invaluable many times. She was an El-Aurian, a race of "listeners" who were scattered by the Borg. Q, however, once suggested that there is far more to her than could be imagined.

Guinan came aboard the Enterprise-D in 2365 at Captain Picard's personal request. Guinan and Picard shared a long-time relationship, which, according to her, went "beyond friendship and beyond family", although she also claimed to have only met Picard after boarding the Enterprise.

ATTRIBUTES (23)
Awareness  3      Coordination 3
Ingenuity  4        Presence  6
Resolve  4          Strength 3

Good Traits (5)
Alien
Immortal
Experienced
Feel the Turn of the Universe

Bad Traits (-5)
Distinctive
Insatiable Curiosity
Eccentric-
Obligation-The Enterprise Crew (major)

Skills (24)
Athletics  2
Convince  5
Craft  3

Knowledge 5
Marksman 5
Subterfuge 2
Survival  2

Story Points 9
Tech Level 7