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Cuumadra; mysterious alien soothsayer
(c) copyright 2000 andi jones
Total Points: 700 Points
Age unknown; about 5'4"; roughly 130 pounds; Cuumadra
appears as little more than a shambling pile of rags and
tatters, his stunted arms and arthritic legs hidden away
among myriad folds, his alien face concealed by a large
veil-like hood.
ST 8 [-15] - thrust 1d-3, swing 1d-2
DX 9 [-10] - basic speed 5, move 2, dodge
5
IQ 15 [60]
HT 11 [-5] - hit points 8
WL 11 [-12] - fright checks 16
ADVANTAGES: Aspect (Power 12; no signature, +20%)
[29]; Autotrance [5]; Clairvoyance (Power
250; link, to Psychometry, +20%; no signature, +20%; usable
only in trance, -20%) [600]; Cultural Adaptability
[25]; Dampen (link, to Clairvoyance and Psychometry,
+20%; no signature, +20%; only while in a trance, -20%)
[18]; Imperturbable [10]; Less Sleep x4
[12]; Oracle [15], Precognition (Power 20;
no signature, +20%; only in dreams, -30%) [36];
Psychometry (Power 10; link, to Clairvoyance, +20%; no
signature, +20%; usable only in trance, -20%) [12];
Silence x2 [10].
DISADVANTAGES: Confused [-10]; Disturbing Voice
[-1]; Enemy (Unknown) [-25]; Incurious
[-5]; Insomniac [-15]; Light Sleeper
[-5]; Reclusive [-10]; Reduced Move -3
[-15]; Reputation -3 (as weird and sinister vagrant,
to all Station residents, 10-) [-3]; Short Arms
[-10]; Sleepwalker [-5]; Unusual
Biochemistry [-5]; Weak Immune System
[-30].
QUIRKS: Tends to ramble while speaking; Sometimes
communicates solely via crudely-rendered ideograms; Lapses
into periods of mild paranoia. [-3]
SKILLS: Area Knowledge (Galaxy)-14 [2]; Area
Knowledge (Space Station)-15 [1]; Autohypnosis-15
[4]; Bard-14* [.5]; Beam Weapon/TL10
(Laser)-10** [.5]; Calligraphy-9 [2];
Dreaming-11 [.5]; Holdout-16 [4]; Lucid
Dreaming-14 [.5]; Meditation-14 [4];
Picture-Writing (Galactic Symbols)-13 [1];
Scrounging-15 [1]; Stealth-12/14*** [4];
Streetwise-15 [2]; Survival (Urban)-16
[4].
*includes +1 for Cultural Adaptability
**includes +2 for IQ
***includes +2/+4 for Silence
PSI SKILLS: Aspect-15 [4]; Clairvoyance-16
[6]; Precognition-14 [2]; Psychometry-16
[6].
LANGUAGES: Unknown (native)-17* [0]; English-15*
[.5]; Galactic Basic-15* [.5]; Sparrial-14*
[.5]; Dolaarian-14* [.5]; Pachekki-14*
[.5]; Mnetrobite-14* [.5].
*includes +2 for Cultural Adaptability
EQUIPMENT
Cuumadra keeps little or nothing of value in his soiled
robes, having little need for money or equipment; he usually
carries nothing more than a couple brushes, oil-based chalks
or permanent markers for writing. Living in the bowels of a
space-station does pose the occasional threat, however, and
when he is feeling a little more paranoid than usual,
Cuumadra is known to conceal a Holdout Laser (Dam 1d-1 imp,
p.UT50) in his garments...
BIOGRAPHY
Virtually nothing is known about Cuumadra (pronounced
kyoo-MAH-drah), except that he is an alien of an unknown
race, and lives as a homeless vagrant in the bowels of the
largest and most cosmopolitan space-station in known space.
He has been there as long as anyone can remember, but no one
seems to know when he first arrived, or from which world or
system he originates.
In the time he has lived on the Station, Cuumadra has
acquired something of a legendary "bogey-man" reputation
among the long-time residents and regular passers-through.
Cuumadra see visions in his restless sleep and his even more
restless waking hours - and spends much of his time in a
confused and only semi-lucid state. Between his ability to
project his alien personality into the minds of those around
him, his chilling whisper of a voice, his tendency to know
things he shouldn't, his natural interference with
electrical devices, and his incidents of sleep-walking, he
has effectively convinced everyone that he is a dangerous
and unpredictable lunatic, and is best avoided.
ENCOUNTERED
The alien Cuumadra is one of the more compelling figures the
PCs might encounter on the Station, even given the stunning
variety of alien life to be found there; he is a short
creature, covered from head to floor in dusty and rotten
rags, with no part of his anatomy exposed. His arms are
small for his body, his legs are weak and his back bent, and
he moves only with great effort. But despite his shabby and
destitute appearance, Cuumadra's presence is anything but
ordinary.
Cuumadra's mind is not contained within the usual
boundaries; just being in his presence is enough to feel -
and to experience - the jarring state of confusion in which
he exists. But layered with that bewilderment is a small
glimpse into his hyper-awareness of his surroundings, an
awareness that often supersedes both time and space. When
Cuumadra enters a trance, he is able to extend his senses up
to a century into the past, and into other places up to a
mile distant. It is during these trances that Cuumadra is
most profoundly confused, and as a strange pside-effect, his
senses shut down all electrical systems within fifteen
feet.
Most profound of Cuumadra's expanded senses are his
precognitive visions, some experienced while he sleeps,
others "seen" in the seemingly mundane details of his waking
world. This, too, he is able to communicate to those around
him, both by the "leaking" of his mind, and by the arcane
pictograms he is known to scrawl on walls, floors and other
public surfaces.
It is most important to remember that Cuumadra, even
relative to the Station's other residents, is an alien
being. He does not think like us, and he does not act like
us. No one can say why he does what he does, or if there are
even explanations for his actions. He communicates
sporadically, he is lucid less often than not, and yet he
may know the one single piece of information that makes all
the difference...
In Game Terms
Cuumadra's mind spills over into the minds of others via the
Aspect skill, which operates at up to 400 yards (but doesn't
necessarily affect everyone in that range). His passive
hyper-awareness of his surroundings can occur while waking
(the Oracle advantage) or during his restless sleep's dreams
(the Precognition power, with a "range" of 60 miles, and 400
days). Actively, Cuumadra can use either Clairvoyance (range
1 mile) and Psychometry (range 100 years), either
independently or linked together; in either case, this
requires him to be in a trance state. Whether these powers
are used individually or together, the Dampen power is
automatically linked to their use; it is an unavoidable
side-effect. Note that all these extraordinary senses are
natural to Cuumadra, and that he won't necessarily recognise
the significance or importance of everything he sees, and
isn't always capable of distinguishing past, present and
future.
CANONICALITY
By and large, Cuumadra adheres to standard GURPS rules. Note
that despite his IQ 15, his three levels of Weak Will result
in a WL of only 11, as per p.B93. Also, although he has
three of the skills covered by the psionic power ESP, each
was bought as a "one-skill power" (p.P6) to allow for
different ranges and areas of effect. This, in combination
with the "no signature" enhancement, was also meant to make
Cuumadra's powers more alien - and more mysterious - and not
to seem like the psionic powers possessed by other
races.
WHAT IF?
Cuumadra is intended as an NPC of the "mysterious stranger"
variety to be added to the background of a cinematic or
"space opera" sci-fi campaign. At the very least, he can
serve as an off-beat encounter or sub-plot, the crazy
vagrant alien who has visions of the future. Or, he might
become central to the lives of the PCs, maybe becoming a
patron or mentor, like Gandalf to Bilbo, Obi-Wan to the
young Luke Skywalker, or Sheelba to Fritz Lieber's Grey
Mouser. (As a Patron, he should have a base cost of no more
than 10 points; while he can provide potentially vital
information, dealing with him will tend to be exasperating,
exhausting and troublesome.) One way or the other, Cuumadra
can serve the GM as a means of delivering essential story
elements, but in a manner too abstract and inconsistent to
be easily abused. Given his predilection for symbols and
icons, Cuumadra's prophecies may come in the form of
puzzles, images to be interpretted, or codes to be
deciphered.
Fantasy: Although designed for a Space campaign, Cuumadra's
central concept is equally at home in a fantasy setting,
fictional, historical or contemporary. He is an Oracle, a
vehicle through which the Divine Plan is glimpsed, a vessel
through which the Truth - or, at least, one of many possible
Truths - may freely flow. Without changing their game
mechanics, Cuumadra's psionic powers can just as easily be
described as magical, mystical or sorcerous. Change his
Dampen power to something like Cool, Smoke or Warm (all
pp.CI72-73), alter his Area Knowledge and Language skills,
and he is just as easily a crazed hermit living on the
outskirts of town, the one the children are told is an evil
mage, the one even the adults are more than a little afraid
of...
Cinematic Cyberpunk: With a little more work, Cuumadra can
become an Artificial Intelligence, perhaps like William
Gibson's Wintermute and Neuromancer, or other "ghosts in the
machine" from cyberpunk literature. An alien intelligence,
or an uber-hacker running bleeding-edge corporate cyberdeck
programs, he is as much at home in cyberspace as he is in
realspace, a physically crippled geek who is more-than-human
in the Matrix. As an ally or benefactor, he is a source of
crucial intel; as an enemy, he is in every computer system,
every vid-phone connection, every palmtop OS, limited only
by his inability to hold it all together without going
crazy...
ADVENTURE SEEDS
Pandora's Box: The PCs - possibly merchants, mercenaries or
military officers - are on the Station for the first time.
One of them goes off on his own, exploring the side of the
Station not mentioned in the travel brochures. Without
warning, he stumbles across Cuumadra below decks, and has an
experience that transforms his life. The alien - barely able
to stand, and seemingly unhinged - mumbles a name he
shouldn't know, or whispers the truth about a question that
has long gone unanswered. Who is this creature, and what
does he want? Is he a safe source of information? Is he too
potentially valuable to be ignored? Or is he too great a
threat to the PC's sanity to be dealt with for any length of
time? People seem to think he's dangerous; are they
right?
Friend or Foe: One way or another, one or more of the PCs
have developed a relationship with Cuumadra, occasionally
taking advantage of his insights. But when trouble starts to
beset them at every turn, they soon realise the connection.
Someone - or something - is after Cuumadra, and the PCs are
now in the middle of it. (The GM will note that Cuumadra has
a -25 point Unknown Enemy, which could manifest as virtually
anything, possibly something even more alien than Cuumadra
himself.) What is the reason for this unknown force's
aggression, and how did Cuumadra fail to see it coming? Have
the PCs been played, skillfully manoeuvered and manipulated
into a position to defend their frail benefactor? Or is
Cuumadra innocent, and lucky to have a group of heroes to
protect him in his time of need?
- written and editted by andi jones
(andi@angelwerks.com)
- danke to Volker Bach for a bit of an assist
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