Well… that was interesting: ALIEN RPG Solo Game 1 – Havoc Dawn: Session 0.4 - Character Creation PC 3

This Thing Bled Acid! Who Knows What It’s Gonna’ Do When It’s Dead!
Ripley – ALIEN

Havoc Dawn: Session 0.4 – Character Creation PC 3

In this forth post of a multi-part series covering the session 0 of this new solo game, I’ll be performing the character creation for the third Player Character for my first solo game of the ALIEN Roleplaying Game.

You can read the other posts related to Session 0 by clicking the appropriate link below:

Character Creation begins on page 25 of the core rulebook.

Advice to the reader

In order to interpret the structure of my gaming session posts effectively, it is strongly suggested that you peruse A Readers Guide to Play Sessions on The Old Bard, if you haven’t already.

To better grasp what I mean when I bring up Fate questions, you might find it useful to keep the Mythic Fate Chart accessible, potentially in a new window or tab in your browser.

Like previously, this post will be a relatively more streamlined process, hence the character overview will be more succinct. Refer back to ALIEN RPG Solo Game 1 – Havoc Dawn Session 0.2 – Character Creation Overview & PC 1 if you want an overview of the details of each section. Here, I’ll just be filling out the character sheet based on the specifics needed for this character without all the fluff.

How To Create Your Player Character

The core rulebook outlines the character creation process on page 27, which consists of the following steps:

Choose your career.
Spend points on your attributes.
Spend points on your skills.
Choose your career talent.
Choose your name.
Decide on your appearance.
Decide on your Personal Agenda.
Choose your Buddy and Rival.
Pick your gear and a signature item.
Roll for cash.

Step 0: Character Concept

This character will be a male Fanatical Cult Member. This individual is a devout follower of a religious sect that views the extraterrestrial lifeforms as omens of an impending Armageddon. Having read the infamous “Space Beast” book, he interprets it as prophecy and religious text. This character provides a unique viewpoint on the rumors of alien life and bio-weapons, fueled by zealous belief rather than scientific or corporate understanding.

Step 1: Choose your career

This is the moment I noticed that the ALIEN RPG, doesn’t have a career (Or class as it may be called in other systems) for just a common Joe that you could use as the template for something like a cult member. The list of careers are as follows:

Colonial Marine
Colonial Marshal
Company Agent
Kid
Medic
Officer
Pilot
Roughneck
Scientist

The closest thing in the above list might be Roughneck. I mean there’s Kid, but not something similar for Adult. I’m also not sure how these careers are used as your character advances, or if they are just base templates for your character that simply limits your initial options for Attributes, Skills and Talents. If these were templates, you would think there would be a standard template that doesn’t have any specific high values for their options for a standard joe type character.

Of course, anyone who isn’t in the military or a crew member on a ship is probably just some sort of Scientist or Colonist (Hey that would have been great, how about just a Colonist career type huh?), and Roughneck seems to be the closest thing to a Colonist I see, so we’ll go with Roughneck.

The Roughneck career type is detailed on page 52 in the core rulebook.

Someone has to do the manual labor on the Frontier, and that someone is you. Life has dealt you some harsh blows but you’ve always struck back. You’ve been in countless barroom brawls, you swear a lot, and belch at the dinner table. In short, people find you uncouth. You really don’t care—you’ve grown past the need for niceties. No one works harder than you. You are up before first dawn and finish your workday long after second twilight. You are the cog that keeps the Frontier chugging. Your hands are calloused and your face is dirty, and the only thing harder than the work you do is the way you party.
ALIEN RPG Core Rulebook – Chapter 2: Your Character – Page 52

I bookmark this career page in the rulebook as I will need to refer back to it quite often throughout the creation process.

Step 2: Spend points on your attributes

For the Roughneck career type, the key attribute is Strength. I decide to distribute my 14 points allowed the following way and record them on my character sheet:

5 points on Strength
3 points on Wits
3 points on Empathy
3 points on Agility

Step 3: Spend points on your skills

For a Roughneck, the key skills are Heavy Machinery, Stamina, and Close Combat.

I decide to spend my 10 skill points the following way and record them on my character sheet:

3 points on Stamina
2 points on Heavy Machinery
2 points on Medical Aid
2 points on Manipulation
1 point on Observation

Step 4: Choose your career talent

A Roughneck has three options for its initial talent. These talents are Resilient, The Long Haul, and True Grit. After reading the description for these talents on page 76, I decide to choose True Grit and mark that down on my character sheet.

Note: you’ll see the definition of this when I generate the backstory for the character later on

Step 5: Choose your name

I once again decide to use Behind the Name to come up with a name for me and it generates Callan Sidney Haight after a couple of requests to regenerate to see something that catches my eye. I’ve left the links to each of the name’s etymology and history for your reference.

Step 6: Decide on your appearance

From the list of options listed in the appearance block on page 41 detailing the Roughneck, I decide that nothing there really appeals to me so I’m just going to come up with some for myself. I decide on Long Hair, Sunken Eyes, Pale Skin, Wearing a Robe, and Crucifix and write these down on my character sheet.

Step 7: Decide on your Personal Agenda

His personal Agenda will of course be to convert as many people as he can to his faith. so, I write down “Convert others to faith.” on my character sheet. He is a zealot when it comes to this.

Step 8: Choose your Buddy and Rival

Just as before, we need to revisit this after we create the other characters and just move on for now.

Step 9: Pick your gear and a signature item

All gear is located in page 117 in Chapter 6: Gear. For Campaign play, your career determines what gear you can choose from at the start of the game. Referring back to the Roughneck career type on page 53 I look at the options and decide on the following:

I choose Stash of hard liquor, and Seegson C-Series magnetic tape recorder.

For his signature item, it’s going to be the extravagant crucifix he wears around his neck.

Step 10: Roll for cash

Your career lists the formula to use when you roll for cash. For a Roughneck, they receive 1D6x100 in cash. I roll 1D6 for a result of 1. Multiply that by 100 and my starting cash is $100. I write that down in the gear section of my character sheet.

Step 11: AI Details

This isn’t an official step. But it’s my custom step where I’m going to take everything we’ve come up with and feed it into ChatGPT and see what the results are, and possibly tweak it if I see something I don’t like, or it makes sense.

Also, I’m going to come up with Visuals for her using Midjourney.

ChatGPT

I use the following information and feed it into ChatGPT in my ALIEN RPG chat session I’ve established that contains everything we’ve done in this post series:

I’ve created the third of 5 characters I’m going to use in this first solo game of the ALIEN RPG. I want you to come up with a backstory for him.
His name is Callan Sidney Haight
He is in his early forties.
He is a Roughneck Clergyman
Life has dealt him some harsh blows but he’s always struck back. He’s been in countless barroom brawls, he swear a lot, and belch at the dinner table. In short,
people find him uncouth. He really doesn’t care—he’s grown past the need for niceties. No one works harder than him. He is up before first dawn and finish his workday long after second twilight. He is the cog that keeps the Frontier chugging. His hands are calloused and his face is dirty, and the only thing harder than
the work he does is the way he parties.
However he is a Clergyman and a zealot when it comes to his faith.
In fact he is a fanatical cult member. A devout follower of a religious sect that views the extraterrestrial lifeforms as omens of an impending Armageddon. Having read the infamous “Space Beast” book, he interprets it as prophecy and religious text. He provides a unique viewpoint on the rumors of alien life and bio-weapons, fueled by zealous belief rather than scientific or corporate understanding.
For his Attributes, he is stronger in Strength and slightly less strong in Wits, followed by Empathy then Agility with the following scores:
5 points on Strength
3 points on Wits
3 points on Empathy
3 points on Agility
His Skills are as follows with higher points meaning he is stronger in that skill:
3 points on Stamina
2 points on Heavy Machinery
2 points on Medical Aid
2 point on Manipulation
1 point on Observation
His Talent is True Grit which means Life on the Frontier is a constant
struggle. Luckily, he has what it takes to overcome anything that comes his way. He can push any skill roll based on STRENGTH twice, not just once like other characters. Each push increases his STRESS LEVEL by one.
He has long hair, sunken eyes, paile skin, and wears a robe.
Around his neck is an extravagant Crucifix is his Signature Item.
His personal agenda is to convert as many others as he can to his faith.
He carries a stach of hard liquor with him at all times along with his Seegson C-Series magnetic tape recorder to keep track of his thoughts, his interpretations of what is contained in the book “Space Beast” and notes for sermons, along with $100 in case to his name.

And the result we get is:

Callan Sidney Haight is a roughneck through and through – a rugged, brawling man with calloused hands and a face smudged by the raw materials of the frontier. Yet, beneath his gruff exterior is a zealous faith that burns with a blinding intensity. Callan’s path is a paradox of physical labor and spiritual pursuits, making him a complex character in this universe.

In his early forties, Callan has faced life’s harsh realities and thrown punches back with equal force. His day starts before the break of dawn, tirelessly working until twilight. He’s a key component of the frontier’s infrastructure, and his dedication and hard work set the rhythm of life on the edge of civilization. But when work is done, he parties hard, unapologetically indulging in the pleasures of life.

But there’s more to Callan than just a typical roughneck. He is a devout Clergyman and a fanatical member of a cult that views the existence of extraterrestrial life as a harbinger of impending doom. His faith is deeply rooted in the controversial “Space Beast” book, which he interprets as a prophetic text. His perspective on the rumors of alien life and bio-weapons is driven by fervent belief rather than scientific understanding or corporate curiosity.

Despite his brash exterior, Callan’s empathy and wit shine through when he’s tested. His strength, both physical and spiritual, is a defining attribute. His skills in Stamina, Heavy Machinery, Medical Aid, and Manipulation reflect his adaptability and resilience.

Callan’s special talent, True Grit, allows him to push his limits twice, proving his ability to withstand the stresses of frontier life. His sunken eyes, long hair, and pale skin provide a stark contrast to his vibrant personality, and his customary robe gives him a distinctive presence.

An extravagant Crucifix adorning his neck is Callan’s Signature Item, symbolizing his unwavering faith. His personal agenda is clear: spread his faith and convert as many people as possible. To aid in his religious journey, he carries a Seegson C-Series magnetic tape recorder for documenting his thoughts, interpretations of “Space Beast”, and ideas for sermons.

Despite his seemingly contradictory lifestyles, Callan’s presence is undoubtedly felt. His stashed hard liquor and $100 in cash reveal a man unafraid to enjoy the materialistic pleasures of life, while constantly pursuing a spiritual path. He is a testament to the multi-dimensional characters inhabiting this universe, enriching its narrative with his intriguing mix of faith and raw determination.

Interesting, we’ll see how this character description comes out in play.

Midjourney

And now that we have a description for Callan, let’s generate what he may look like.

I used the following prompt to generate these images:

/imagine: <https://s.mj.run/FjivCqcnXYM> A man on a space ship in the ALIEN universe. Long Hair, Sunken Eyes, Pale Skin, Wearing a rob and a crucifix around his neck. Ultra Realistic. --aspect 2:1

I notice after the fact that I misspelled “robe” in the above prompt, but the results were fine for me so here they are:

Initial Character Description & Sheet

I created a full character page for Callan Sidney Haight that you can view by clicking here with his description and details.

And below is his initial character sheet:

It should be noted that the Relationships section was not filled in until after all the primary characters were created.

Bookkeeping

I finalize what I can for now on the character sheet for this player character. We’ll need to revisit this sheet once we’ve finished the other characters to list his Buddy and Rival. I created a character page for this character here to store his visualizations and character description for later reference.
I also update the page description that will provide information on all characters in this solo game here. We’ll update this page after each character is created.

Next, we’ll create the 4th player character who is a survivor of the Hadley’s Hope colony.

Till next time!

Resources Used

ALIEN – The Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook.
Mythic Game Master Emulator Second Edition (MGME2E)
ChatGPT for generating a description of various elements as noted.
Midjourney for creating imagery.
Random Name Generator – Behind the Name for the characters name

Well… that was interesting: ALIEN RPG Solo Game 1 – Havoc Dawn: Session 0.4 – Character Creation PC 3