[ 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.

Role Playing, Social Interaction, and Charisma

I tried my best to stay out of this discussion.  I really did, but I realised I had a valid opinion to state, and it is just that, an opinion.  Hopefully, I can state my opinion as briefly as possible.  I won't bother linking to any other parts of the discussion, because if you are interested you probably have already read them...

Some people think that there should be no social interaction rules in RPGs, especially "old school fantasy", and that it should be covered by role playing. Others believe that such rules would be beneficial, especially for the less talented role players.  My opinion is that it should probably be a mix of both schools of thought.

For example, if a PC comes up to a guard in a castle, and wants to get into a private or restricted area, the discussion might go something like this...

Player: "I want to make a charisma roll to get by the guard."

GM: "Uummm... what are you saying?"

Player: "Can't I just roll?"

GM: "Fine...roll." 

As I GM I would penalise the player for not even trying.  It is called a role playing game after all, and not roll playing.   It isn't a board game.  Of course I would make exceptions for a new player, but I would explain the benefits of trying to role play the interaction.

Here's another example...

Player:  "Hello there guard!  Say, what's your name?  Have we met before?  Did you know that I'm here on business for King Viphtry?  I really need to see the King's civic advisor, and someone told me he was in the library..."

GM (Guard):  "I don't believe we've met..."  The guard eyes you warily.  The GM rolls to see how the guard reacts, with various pluses and minuses.  The good role playing could net the player a nice bonus, but there might be minuses due to the guard being suspicious of most strangers in the castle.  It's his job after all.

Another thing a dice roll does is add a bit of variability to the situation.  You could be the best role player in the world, and the character could have a high charisma, but maybe the guard is in a lousy mood, and doesn't care if the character is smooth talking, attractive, and gregarious.  The dice roll covers variables that the GM can't come up with before hand.

Now, not every situation should require role playing, I believe it depends on the importance of the situation.  If it's a major plot point in a campaign then some role playing should be necessary.  If a PC is trying to convince a King that the adventuring party should be allowed to operate in his kingdom, it's going to take some role playing, and not merely a dice roll.  In this instance, both would be just as important, but, if the role playing was excellent, then I might decide no dice roll was necessary.

So there you go, my thoughts on the subject.