[ Kinship ] Mr. Wrinkles

It was a normal day, or at least what passes for normal in Kinship, when Mr. Wrinkles fell from the sky, and landed on Main Street.  Almost everyone who saw what had happened had thought that the creature was dead.  He was oozing some kind of substance, and although several people tried to move it, the creature was too slippery.  In fact, one touch was more than enough for most people.  Even gloves didn't help get a grip on the strange creature.

Whatever it was, it was small,  had a vague human shape, was gray and very wrinkled. Hence the name, Mr. Wrinkles.  As far as anyone could tell, Mr. Wrinkles was also naked.  There was what appeared to be some sort of white purse or pouch that hangs by a strap around his neck, but no visible way to open it was seen.

Mr. Wrinkles had no eyes, no ears, and something vaguely resembling a mouth that ran vertically up half it's misshapen head.  Instead of arms, Mr. Wrinkles had tentacles.  Not like an octopus, or squid, there are no suckers.  The legs were sort of like an elephant's, and not as wrinkled as the rest of the body.  A very odd creature indeed.

A few hours after it "landed" it sat up, and appeared to be looking around, even though it had no eyes.  Standing up, it began walking around aimlessly, and a few townsfolk tried to talk to it.  Apparently it can't talk, or didn't understand anyone.  All attempts at communication have so far failed.

Some of the townsfolk thought that it should be captured, but the Sheriff vetoed that idea.  Mr. Wrinkles wasn't causing any trouble, and was to be left alone.  Soon after awakening, Mr. Wrinkles walked out of town.  There's still a stain at the landing spot.

Mr. Wrinkles occasionally walks back into town, and it's behavior is at times very odd.  It will sit on a curb for hours on end, come rain or shine.  Extreme weather doesn't seem to bother Mr. Wrinkles.  Sometimes Mr. Wrinkles will pull something out of the pouch to look at.  People have seen him with a corncob pipe, a small metal disc, and a mess of what looks like tangled wires.

Mr. Wrinkles doesn't appear to be hostile.  It's appetite is strange, and can eat just about any plant or animal matter.  Mr. Wrinkles seems to enjoy corn, even the cob!  Which is a good thing, we have plenty of corn around here.  At times Mr. Wrinkles seems sad...

I would attempt to communicate with Mr. Wrinkles with my telepathy, but...

Excerpt from Number Five's Journal

Mr. Wrinkles ( GURPS 4E NPC )
[ 278 Points ] 
Age: Unknown 2' 100 lbs. SM -3

ST 15 [ 50 ], DX 11 [20], IQ 8 [ -40 ], HT 20 [ 100 ]
HP 20, Will 8, Per 8, FP 20

Basic Lift 45 lbs., Damage: Thrust 1d+1/Swing 2d+1
Basic Speed 7.75, Basic Move 7;
Dodge 10, Parry 11 ( club ), Block -;
DR 10.

Advantages & Perks  Cost: 207
360° Vision [ 25 ], Ambidexterity [ 5 ], Damage Resistance/ +10  [ 50 ],
Doesn't Breathe/Oxygen Absorption [ 15 ], Flexible Arms [10 ],
Hard to Kill/ 10 Levels [ 20 ], Hyperspectral Vision [ 25 ],
Injury Tolerance/ No Eyes [ 5 ],
Regeneration/ Slow 1 HP per 12 Hours  [10 ], 
Slippery/ 5 Levels [ 10 ], Stretching ( arms only )/ 5 Levels [ 24 ],
Temperature Tolerance/ 8 Levels [ 8 ], Universal Digestion [ 5 ] 

Disadvantages & Quirks Cost: 91

Appearance/Hideous [ -16 ], Cannot Speak/Mute [ -25 ]
Colorblindness [ -10 ], Increased Consumption/ 1 level [ -10 ],
Innumerate [ -5 ], No Sense of Humor [ -10 ],
No Sense of Smell or Taste [ -5 ], Unusual Biochemistry [ -5 ],
Broad Minded [ -1 ],  Sexless [ -1 ], Odd Behavior [ -1 ],
Eats Odd Things  [ -1 ], Wanders Aimlessly [ -1 ]

Skills Cost: 32

Brawling – 14  [ 8 ], Gesture – 10 [ 4 ],
Melee Weapon/ Axe/Mace – 15 [ 16 ],
Stealth -12 [ 4 ]

Possessions
White Pouch:  Corn cob pipe, metal disc 3" in diameter, tangled ball of wire, one square foot of burlap, and several small stones

Ognritle, Og for short, was a simple laborer on it's home world.  One day while working in the Vlaph Field ( Vlaph is a vegetable plant ), a strange vehicle flew down from the sky, and attacked.  Knocked unconcious, Og was abducted, and taken offworld.  What happened next is a mystery.  Og awoke on a strange world.

Life on this world is strange.  The creatures are huge, and some are very strange and hostile.  Some desire to eat him.  Some seem concerned about him.  No matter how hard Og tries, communicating with the creatures is very difficult, and mostly impossible.

It's not all bad here.  Og doesn't have to work. Og enjoys the food here, it's texture is wonderful, especially the elongated, bumpy vegetable.  Og sometimes fights the hostile creatures when the good creatures need help.  But mostly Og wants to go home.

[ Kinship ] The Arrival of Fred the Nerd

Fred clutched his backpack close to his chest. Riding the subway late Saturday night, after spending the day at the NYC Comicon, he was still feeling the high of the con. It had been a great day. He managed to fill some holes in his comic book collection, got a couple of autographed photos, and picked up a copy of an out of print RPG he had been looking for. The only other person on the subway car was a scruffy looking man, who was asleep.

Then the lights went out, and suddenly Fred knew someone was standing before him.

It became cold, and Fred shivered. Then the lights came back on, and standing before him was a person in black robes. A very tall person. At first Fred thought the person was in costume, and had been at the con. However, Fred suddenly knew that wasn't the case.

The robed figure lowered his head toward the seated Fred. The face was pale, bony to the point of looking almost completely skeletal. Inches from his own face, Fred saw the glowing eyes, and then the face grinned.  As the lips curled back, Fred saw teeth as black as obsidian, and pointed as a sharks.  Ironically it's breath smelled of grass after a Spring rain.

Then in a voice raspy as sandpaper on rusted metal, the figure spoke...

"You are now free..."

Raising an arm, the monstrous figure grasped Fred's shoulder, a cold shock shuddering through out Fred's body. Peace came with the darkness, and the last thing Fred heard was a melodical laugh.

An indeterminate amount of time later, Fred woke up. Looking around he appeared to be in an alley, but it was daytime. Sitting up, he sees graffiti on a brick wall...

Spray painted in red it read: Kinship NO WAY OUT!

Fred the Nerd knew he wasn't in New York City anymore...

Fred the Nerd  ( GURPS 4E NPC )

Fred the Nerd [ 55 Points ] 45 Unspent Points

Age: 19  5'1" 110 lbs.  Skinny [ -5 ]

ST 9 [-10], DX 11 [20], IQ 12 [40], HT 10
HP 9, Will 12, Per 12, FP 10

Basic Lift 16, Damage: Thr 1d-2/Sw 1d-1;
Basic Speed 5, Basic Move 5;
Dodge 7, Parry 8 ( unarmed ), Block -;
DR 0.

Advantages and Perks
Common Sense [ 10 ], Eidetic Memory [ 5 ], Luck [ 15 ]

Disadvantages and Quirks
Combat Paralysis [ -15 ], Collects Comic Books [ -1 ], Collects Action Figures [ -1 ], Curious [ -5 ], Gullibility [ -10 ], Imaginative [ -1 ], Loner [ -5 ],
Minor Addiction/Caffeine [ -1 ], Trekkie [ -1 ] Weirdness Magnet [ -15 ]

Skills
Area Knowledge/New York City - 13 [ 2 ],
Artist/Drawing - 13 [ 8 ],
Biology - 10 [ 1 ], Chemistry - 11 [ 2 ],
Computer Operation/TL8 - 16 [ 8 ],
Games/RPGs - 14 [ 4 ], Hobby Skill/Comic Books - 14 [ 4 ],
Hobby Skill/Science Fiction - 14 [ 4 ],
Writing -12 [ 2 ]

Possessions
Backpack: laptop computer, digital camera, jar of peanut butter, spoon, 3 issues of Uncanny X-Men 101, 102, 103 ( all near mint ), sketch pad, small box of drawing pencils and pens, GURPS Basic Set 3E softcover, bag of dice, cell phone

He's wearing faded jeans, and a Captain America t-shirt.  The con badge is still hanging around his neck.  He has a wallet with about $10, some loose change, keys, and a pack of gum in his pockets.  He's wearing some inexpensive atheltic shoes.

Poor Fred the Nerd is now in Kinship due to the manifestation of his Weirdness Magnet.  He's not a combat orientated character, and it will remain to be seen if he becomes zombie chow or worse.  He does have unspent points ( I decided he was a 100 point character ) so once the Sheriff assigns Fred a weapon he can begin training.  His combat paralysis may very will be his doom however...

Fred the Nerd is the first GURPS 4E character I have made.  It was fun, and not that different than GURPS 3E. I'm a bit rusty so hopefully there are no mistakes.