Hostile: Alien - Character Creation Part 4

 

Thomas Kane (John Hurt, RIP)

Introduction

We're making the crew of the Nostromo in Hostile, the RPG from Zozer Games in order to play through the plot of Alien and see who survives. Next up is Kane. Will he be luckier in our playthrough than he was in the film?


Thomas Kane, Executive Officer

Characteristics
Strength: 6
Dexterity: 5 (-1)
Endurance: 7
Intelligence: 8
Education: 9 (+1)
Social: 12 (+2)

Kane makes quite an early exit from the film so we don't get to see him pushed to his limits and chased around by the alien, but he does take some important actions in the plot. He's a skinny lad so we'll give him low to average Strength. He gets 5 Dexterity because he rather clumsily falls off the walkway into the egg pit in the derelict. He's quite inquisitive and seems intelligent, but he can't be too intelligent since he sticks his face into what's obviously an egg with something moving inside it, so he stays on an 8 and doesn't get the +1 modifier he'd get from a 9.

Kane has a masters degree in engineering from an academy in Suffolk, England, so the Hostile rules say he has an Education score of 9. He seems well liked by the other crew and quite popular compared to Ripley, joking around and getting on well with them, so we'll give him quite a high Social score of 12.

Career
Kane's bio online says he went to a military school then studied medicine but developed an addiction to medication and was kicked out of university for it. He then went to a different university and eventually gained a masters in engineering along with a pilot's licence. His first job was as executive (first) officer aboard a hospital ship where unfortunately he was let loose on the available medical supplies, and fired.

After a new problem with alcoholism he managed to beat both addictions, and three postings later found himself as executive officer on the Nostromo under Captain Dallas. This makes him a commercial spacer like Ripley.

Rank and Position
The rank of executive officer in Alien translates to first officer in Hostile. This gives him Vacc Suit-1 and Pilot-1. He is second in command to Dallas and probably deals with personnel-related matters, keeping the rest of the crew in line while the captain focuses on the mission.

Age
39. Kane is a mature character. He passes his ageing roll and doesn't lose any characteristic points.

Skills
Kane was born in Borehamwood, England so he gets three Earth background skills and one primary education skill. Being a veteran character he gets 14 skill points to spend.

Vacc Suit-2
Comms-2
Computer-2
Pilot-1
Engineering-1
Steward-1
Medical-1
Gun Combat-1
Carousing-0
Survival-0
Ground Vehicle-0


I've given him high Vacc Suit and Comms skills because he does a lot of climbing about while wearing a vacc suit. He gets Medical, Pilot and Engineering from his education. He attended a military school before university and he wields a laser pistol while approaching the eggs, so he gets Gun Combat-1. He also gets a level in Survival because he's good at using climbing gear to descend into the egg chamber on the derelict. Steward-1 represents his good people management skills as executive officer.

Psych Profile
  • Inquisitive
  • Joker
  • Sociable
  • Clumsy
So that's Kane done. What do you think about my choices for the characters so far? Let me know in the comments.

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