Well… that was interesting: ALIEN RPG Solo Game 1 – Havoc Dawn: Session 0.5 - Character Creation PC 4

Oh God! It’s Moving Right Towards You! Move! Get Out Of There! Behind You! Move!
Lambert – ALIEN

Havoc Dawn: Session 0.5 – Character Creation PC 4

In this fifth post of a multi-part series covering the session 0 of this new solo game, I’ll be performing the character creation for the fourth 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 Hadley’s Hope Survivor. This person managed to escape the catastrophic events that led to the destruction of Hadley’s Hope colony. He harbors deep-seated distrust and resentment towards corporations like Weyland-Yutani, which he blames for the horrors he experienced. This character can provide firsthand accounts of the disasters, lending credibility to the rumors of bio-weapon development and corporate malfeasance.

Step 1: Choose your career

For this character, I’m going to choose the Pilot career type which is detailed on page 50 of the core rulebook.

The stars are the limit, and they are limitless. You aren’t content to keep your feet on the ground, and on the Frontier, there’s no need to. From starfighters to dropships, freighters to frigates, there’s always something that needs flying—and some aerospace-stunt that only you can pull off. You aren’t in this for the money, although it doesn’t hurt. You’re a thrill-seeker and an adrenaline junkie. Danger is the rush you live for but stay frosty. Otherwise, the next time you find yourself dodging through an asteroid belt or seeing the ground rush up to meet you might be your last.
ALIEN RPG Core Rulebook – Chapter 2: Your Character – Page 50

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

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

Step 3: Spend points on your skills

For a Pilot, the key skills are Piloting, Ranged Combat, and Comtech.

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

3 points on Piloting
2 points on Ranged Combat
2 points on Comtech
2 points on Observation
1 point on Heavy Machinery

Step 4: Choose your career talent

A Pilot has three options for its initial talent. These talents are Full Throttle, Like the Back of Your Hand, and Reckless. After reading the description for these talents on page 76, I decide to choose Like the Back of Your Hand as it appears that I get to choose a vehicle or spacecraft. Woo hoo! I mark the talent down on my character sheet.

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

Since I get to choose a vehicle, I then turn to the Vehicles section on page 140 in Chapter 6: Gear. I don’t see any spacecraft there except for the drop ship, however turning to page 182 in Chapter 7: A Hard Life Amongst The Stars, I see the following:

MODEL CYG-NS3 STAR CLIPPER
M-CLASS COMMERCIAL TRANSPORT SHIP
A retired Lockmart design, Star Clippers are still in wide use shuttling personnel and/or small loads of cargo across the Frontier. The ship’s cargo bay ceiling is equipped with free-hanging stasis pod coupling racks, allowing for easy attachment of additional pods and passengers. Many Star Clippers are independently owned and operated as merchant vessels and charter craft across the colonies.
ALIEN RPG Core Rulebook – Chapter 7: A Hard Life Amongst The Stars – Page 182.

I think our character has probably affectionately named his ship, so we’re going to call her Bessy. I write down “Model CYG-NS3 Star Clipper: Bessy” down on my character sheet.

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 Carter Cleveland Savege 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 51 detailing the Pilot, I decide to just choose from a few options here. I decide to include Steely blue eyes, Sunglasses, and Skeptical look. I also choose for him to have Gray Hair as he is in his early fifties and write these down on my character sheet.

Step 7: Decide on your Personal Agenda

I decide that his personal agenda is to try to always take charge. Since he is of course the captain of his own ship, he thinks he’s the best qualified to lead any group, of any kind, and anywhere. This will of course create conflict with just about everyone he encounters. He’s a good man, he just doesn’t know that he might just not be the best choice as leader all the time. He makes quick decisions that are not always the best either. I write down “Try to always take charge” in the Personal Agenda box on my character sheet.

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 Pilot career type on page 51 I look at the options and decide on the following:

I choose M4A3 service pistol, and Seegson System Diagnostic Device.

For his signature item, it’s going to be an Ace of Spades playing card he always keeps in his shirt pocket. It’s a card that won him prestige in a high stakes game of blackjack from days gone by when he was known to be quite the gambler.

Step 10: Roll for cash

Your career lists the formula to use when you roll for cash. For a Pilot, they receive 1D6x100 in cash. I roll 1D6 for a result of 3. Multiply that by 100 and my starting cash is $300. 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 fourth 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 Carter Cleveland Savege
He is in his early fifties.
He is a Pilot
To him the stars are the limit, and they are limitless. He isn’t content to keep his feet on the ground, and on the Frontier, there’s no need to. From starfighters to dropships, freighters to frigates, there’s always something that needs flying—and some aerospace-stunt that only he can pull off. He isn’t in this for the money, although it doesn’t hurt. He’s a thrill-seeker and an adrenaline junkie. Danger is the rush he lives for. But he needs to remember to stay frosty. Otherwise, the next time he finds himself dodging through an asteroid belt or seeing the ground rush up to meet him might be his last.
He is a Hadley’s Hope Survivor. He to escape the catastrophic events that led to the destruction of Hadley’s Hope colony. He harbors deep-seated distrust and resentment towards corporations like Weyland-Yutani, which he blames for the horrors he experienced. He can provide firsthand accounts of the disasters, lending credibility to the rumors of bio-weapon development and corporate malfeasance.
For his Attributes, he is stronger in Agility, followed by equal values of slightly less in Wits, Empathy and Agility with the following scores:
5 points on Agility
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 Piloting
2 points on Ranged Combat
2 points on Comtech
2 points on Observation
1 point on Heavy Machinery
His Talent is “Like the Back of Your Hande” which means: The vehicle he pilots is his, and he knows every bolt and cable, nook and cranny.
His ship is a Model CYG-NS3 Star Clipper that he affectionally calls “Bessy”
He gets a +2 modification to PILOTING with this vehicle. He can choose this
talent several times, once for each vehicle.
He has Steely blue eyes, Gray Hair, a pair of Sunglasses, and always has a Skeptical look on his face.
He keeps an Ace of Spades playing card in his shirt pocket. A card that won him prestige in a high stakes game of blackjack from days gone by when he was known to be quite the gambler. This card is his Signature Item, and he is always playing with it, flipping it in his hands.
His Personal Agenda is to “Try to always take charge”. This is because since he is of course the captain of his own ship, he thinks he’s the best qualified to lead any group, of any kind, and anywhere. This will of course create conflict with just about everyone he encounters. He’s a good man, he just doesn’t know that he might just not be the best choice as leader all the time. He makes quick decisions that are not always the best either.
He carries a M4A3 Service Pistol and a Seegson System Diagnostic Device, along with $300 in cash.

And the result we get is:

Carter Cleveland Savege is a man for whom the limitless sky is the ultimate playground. In his early fifties, he’s an experienced Pilot who thrives on the thrill of conquering the cosmos, effortlessly performing aerospace stunts that would make others balk. Money isn’t his primary driver, but the adrenaline rush of danger certainly is. However, Carter understands the fine line between courage and recklessness, aware that one false move could end his thrill-seeking lifestyle permanently.

Adding complexity to his character is his haunting past as a Hadley’s Hope survivor. Carter managed to escape the harrowing events that led to the annihilation of the colony, an experience that has left him with a deep-seated animosity towards corporations like Weyland-Yutani, whom he blames for the disaster. His firsthand knowledge of such catastrophes provides authenticity to the circulating rumors of bio-weapon development and corporate misdeeds.

Agility is Carter’s strongest attribute, a crucial characteristic for any daredevil pilot. His wits, empathy, and strength are evenly matched, reflecting a well-rounded personality. His skills lie in piloting, ranged combat, Comtech, and observation, with some prowess in handling heavy machinery.

Carter’s talent, “Like the Back of Your Hand,” extends to his beloved starship, a Model CYG-NS3 Star Clipper he affectionately calls “Bessy.” He knows every detail of this ship, allowing him to gain a +2 modification to piloting it.

Physically, Carter is distinctive with steely blue eyes, graying hair, and a constant skeptical look on his face. His ever-present sunglasses and the Ace of Spades playing card in his shirt pocket – a memento from his victorious past as a gambler – are signature items that reflect his unique persona.

Carter’s personal agenda is to always take charge, a trait stemming from his role as the captain of his ship. This desire to lead can lead to conflict with others who might not see him as the best choice for leadership, especially given his inclination to make rapid decisions that may not always yield the best results.

Armed with an M4A3 Service Pistol, a Seegson System Diagnostic Device, and $300 in cash, Carter is ready to face whatever comes his way. Beneath his thrill-seeking exterior, Carter is a good man grappling with a traumatic past, making him an intriguing addition to this universe.

I like it and don’t plan on changing anything for now.

Midjourney

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

I used the following prompt to generate these images:

/imagine: <https://s.mj.run/DngQLO0eyus> A man on a space ship in the ALIEN universe. Steely Blue Eyes Skeptical Look, Gray Hair. An Ace of Spades. Ultra Realistic. --aspect 2:1

And here is the results:

Initial Character Description & Sheet

I created a full character page for Carter Cleveland Savege 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 5th and final player character who is a ruthless corporate executive.

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 0.5 – Character Creation PC 4