Many years ago, I discovered the D6 System, a role-playing game engine with a pleasantly simple rule set. For me, it started with the Star Wars Role-Playing Game, which I instantly loved. In truth, the game was first conceived for the Ghostbusters Role-Playing Game by the folks at the West End Games company.
From those basic sources, the game was expanded and adjusted a few times. Most commonly, it was always attached to a licensed product — there are Hercules & Xena and DC superhero variations to the game, for example — but occasionally it was featured in an entirely new product.
Among all those options, one stood out for me: The Men in Black Role-Playing Game. That game, in particular, showed how much fun the D6 System could be. Honestly, the system was never good for long-term gaming, but for a quick campaign or play session, it worked just fine.
With that in mind, I created a Geocities web site and began producing a few additional items for Men in Black enthusiasts. Now with the third “Men in Black” movie due out, I figured it would be nice to add those writings back to the web. You see, back in 2009, Yahoo pulled the plug on all its Geocities accounts. Luckily, my site was saved by Reocities, a site dedicated to preserving the Geocities era.
For my first Men in Black re-entry, I offer you:
“Alien Hitchhiker Wrecks Toyota.”
This original Men In Black adventure is best suited for agents who’ve had at least two previous adventures and have a few mid-range skills.
THE TREATMENT:
The director calls the agents to inform them that a young Adrevioc has gone missing from her family, a group of aliens who work on stealth technology for the U.S. government. According to reports from the hot sheets, she was last seen at a truck stop in Utah, where she apparently got flustered and tore apart a good samaritan’s van.
The agents journey out to the truck stop, where they find she was picked up by a traveling acting company that has been putting on shows throughout the area.
The MiBs catch up with the group and discover that the entourage is led by a Varah (MiB RPG p.108), who confronts the agents with his blaster pistol.
Once the agents subdue the Varah, he tells them that a group
of foreign based Adreviocs paid him for the teen, and were heading to San Francisco (or other port city) to transport her to their host country. The Adreviocs hope to use her knowledge to jumpstart their host country’s own stealth program.
In San Francisco, the MiBs get in touch with local alien community who admit that the city is used quite frequently for “alien smuggling” out of the United States via Dock 17,
one of the city’s Merchant Marine ports. There they uncover the
smuggling ring lead by a trio of Karvoans (MiB ARG Vol.1 p.26).
Once the MiBs bargain their way past the Karnoans or kill them, they find that the teen and her captors just left aboard a steamer.
The MiBs board the steamer, battle the six O2 Frenzied Adrevioc kidnappers and rescue the youngster.
THE BRIEFING: The Director tells them about, Seelie, the missing alien girl, and tells them about how she was spotted at a truck stop, shows them a clipping from the hot sheets and sends them on their way.
If the MiBs think to ask about why she tore up some poor guy’s Toyota, he tells them about the Adreviocs’ O2 Frenzy. If they don’t ask, he doesn’t bother to tell them.
SCENE 1: At “The Lucky Trucker,” the MiBs search around for Clarence Bromley the man named in the hot sheets as the owner of the 1984 Toyota Van destroyed by an enraged alien.
Clarence Bromley (All stats 2D, Skills: Marksmanship 3D, Business -Scrap Metal Dealer 2D+2, Scholar -Pro wrestling 4D. Possesions: Shotgun,destroyed van)
He happily tells the MiBs of his encounter, showing them pictures of his “baby” and describing how the pretty girl just went crazy:
“I wuz talkin’ with her. We were lissenin’ to some Lynrd Skynrd, when she jus’ started breathing heavy. I axed her if she wuz OK, but then she just look’d at me funny an’ then punched her fist right through the window.
“I pulled over as quick as spit, an’ jumped out. I wuz make her to git the heck outta my baby, but by the time I got over there, she kicked the door off.
“It all went downhill frum there. She tore out the steering column, ripped open my sunroof like it wuz made a tin foil, and then …”
After further questioning, he tells them that he heard she walked to
“The Lucky Trucker,” and got a ride with a “buncha actors, the ones that
put on that show about the ’50s — “‘Greez’”
With a little research, such as a Computer Ops roll (Difficulty 10) the MiBs can find the Greez Web site, and find out where their next stop is.
SCENE 2: The agents arrive at the theater hosting the “Greez”
crew, and search around a bit. Eventually, with some Persuasion Skill use, they meet up with the show’s director, Reginald Rink. However, Rink greets the MiBs with a barrage of Blaster bolts.
It turns out that Rink is a Varah, who’s on earth illegally. (All stats
match those listed in MiB RPG p.109 except skills: Charm 4D+1, Disguise 5D+1, Artist – Actor 6D).
If the MiBs subdue Rink, he tells them that he sold the Adrevioc girl to another group of Adreviocs for a new set of portable stage speakers. He also adds that they said they were hoping to take her to San Francisco “to get her out of the country.”
If the agents make Rink explode into a rain of blue goo, the MiBs have to ask around to the cast and crew of the show. One actress, Cicely Frazer, says her new friends had California license plates. Another actor, Timothy Dall, points out that they were all wearing ’49ers football team merchandise and shirts.
SCENE 3: In San Francisco, the MiBs are guided by their director to a San Fran alien hangout known as, ahem, “Rocket Jocks.” Their they meet any number of aliens, most of whom are MiB friendly, and either persuade or intimidate some informants into telling them about Dock 17.
The pier, they tell the MiBs, is a place for aliens to “jump ship” to
another country without being tracked by the MiB organization.
This is a good scene for the GM to drop hints of future scenarios and introduce new aliens to the game.
It’s up the GM to fill out this scene as need be, providing all the role-playing info and stats as needed.
The Karnoans are armed with 1 machine gun (Damage 6D+1, Range 35/150/370), 1 grenade (Damage 6D, Range 3/8/16) and 3 baseball bats (Damage STR+1D+2) between the three of them.
Karnoan thugs (Rocco,Guido, Althesz). Reflexes 3D+1, Coordination 3D, Strength 4D+2,Endurance 4D+1, Knowledge 4D, Perception 3D, Confidence 2D+2, Charisma 1D. Body Points: 42/41/34. Skills: Dodge 5D+1, Hand-to-Hand Combat 7D+2,
Piloting – Freighters 4D+1, Hide 3D+2. Weakness: Karnoans can’t breathe in an atmosphere without a high pollution content. For every hour the Karnoans aren’t exposed to pollution, subtract 2 pips from their Endurance until they die.
Once the agents subdue the Karnoans or convince them to stop their attack, the MiBs can search the dock’s warehouse office. There, they find a papers that show a ship, the “Wallflower,” which is going to the foreign Adrevioc’s host nation (GM’s choice), left about an hour ago. If the Karnoans are still alive, they’ll confirm that the Adreviocs are aboard.
SCENE 4:
The MiBs find a vessel to take them out to the “Wallflower.” Where they confront the Adreviocs holding Seelie. Once the MiBs board the ship, the six kidnappers remove their respirators, activating their mindless O2 Frenzy. One 49er Merchandise-clad Adrevioc does this per turn until they all have taken off their masks.
Adrevioc kidnappers (Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Steve Young, Ronnie Lott, Jimmy Johnson, O.J. Simpson) Reflexes 4D, Coordination 7D, Strength 4D+2, Endurance 3D, Knowledge 2D, Perception 2D, Confidence 3D, Charisma 2D. Body Points:
33/37/29/30/35/33. Skills: Dodge 4D+2, Hand-to-hand Combat 5D, Missile Weapons 9D, Ignore Pain 5D, Clamp 9D+2, Alien Tech 3D, Hide 4D, Disguise 3D. Special abilities: Noxious Blast, Clamp Skill, 02 Frenzy. Weakness: O2 Frenzy causes Adreviocs to collapse after 3D rounds. Possessions: 4 Small Hand Guns (Damage: 3D, Range +2/0/-2D/-), 2 Heat Ray Rods (Damage 2D+2, Range: 3/6/9), Unlimited number of lead pipes (Damage: STR+1D+1)
Sometime during the fight, the Adreviocs tell the MiBs why they’re
kidnapping Seelie: Because she might be able to help them develop
stealth technology for her host country.
They also have her locked in a hold down below deck. The MiBs must use their lockpicking skills (Difficulty 15) to open the heavy metal door (Body points:40, Armor:5D).
If they don’t announce who they are ahead of time, Seelie will
force herself into a O2 Frenzy, hoping to use her strength boost to
escape her characters.
Adrevioc Teen (Seelie) Reflexes 3D+1, Coordination 3D, Strength 3D+2, Endurance 1D+1, Knowledge 4D, Perception 3D, Confidence 2D+2, Charisma 3D. Body Points: 22. Skills: Dodge 3D+2, Clamp7D+2, Alien Tech 7D, Hide 4D+2, Disguise 4D. Special abilities: Noxious Blast, Clamp Skill, 02 Frenzy. Weakness: O2 Frenzy causes Adreviocs to collapse after 3D rounds.
FOLLOWUP: This adventure can lead the MiBs in many directions.
They can try to figure out who runs Dock 17. They can return Seelie to
her home, only to learn that she will leave again if she doesn’t get to
go to her original destination: Disney World. MiBs might also want to
check up on Clarence Bromley, as he drives a vehicle commonly used by
resident aliens.
Adrevioc (Alien Race)
WEIGHT: 100 to 300 lbs
ATTRIBUTES MIN/MAX
Reflexes 3D/5D
Coordination 4D/7D
Strength 3D/5D
Endurance 1D/3D
Knowledge 2D/5D
Perception 2D/5D
Confidence 1D/3D
Charisma 2D/4D
STARTING DICE POOLS: 26D for Attributes and 7D for Skills
COMMON SKILLS: Marksmanship, Sleight of Hand, Ignore Pain, Lifting, Alien Tech, Computer Ops, Navigation, Science.
SPECIAL ABILITIES:
— NOXIOUS BLAST
(4D vs. Endurance Roll. Failure means victim gags for 2D rounds, giving the victim a -2D on any roll. The blast emanated from the Adrevioc’s oxygen respirator’s fans and has a range of 5 feet).
— CLAMP
(Str skill +5D, this new skill allows an Adrevioc to lock his hands or feet into a particular position until he chooses to release them.
— O2 FRENZY
(If an Adrevioc removes his respirator mask in a Earth-like atmosphere, he goes into a frenzy, which gives him a +2D to Strength and a +3D to Endurance. This frenzy temporarily adds to all skills and body points where applicable. The frenzy lasts for 3D rounds. Once the frenzy ends, the Adrevioc falls unconscious for 1D+6 rounds.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:
Mammalian with sparse hair, except a heavy patch on the back of the head. Skull ends in two, rounded points. Black, rodent like eyes. Limbs are multi-jointed. Skin has orange hue. Hands and feet have four appendages.
On earth, their human-like mouths and noses are almost always covered by oxygen respirators.
SOCIAL DESCRIPTION: The former natives of the planet Adrevi
are a wanderers, living in small clans of 20 or so who travel the
universe, meeting up with each other every four years to exchange ideas and to mate. They enjoy tinkering and developing new technology. Despite their free-wheeling nature, they often succumb under heavy mental pressure.
With their multi-jointed hands, Adreviocs are marvelous
mechanics and often fun their wandering by working odd jobs for their hosts.
The Adreviocs are mostly ruled by the males of the race, who often are stronger and have a high Confidence attribute
The Adreviocs’ O2 Frenzy is mostly used during mating, when the race congregates on O2-rich planets and let the strongest male mate with as many females, excepting his own kin, as he can. Despite the male-centric use of the O2 Frenzy, the same reaction occurs in females when they are exposed to too much oxygen.
Adreviocs love amusement parks, probably because of the strange mixing of technology that can be found at such places.
ON EARTH:
Adreviocs are solely responsible for America’s stealth technology program, and work mostly in Nevada in Area 51. This also provides them with access to amusement-park rich Las Vegas, where they spend much of their free time.
DISGUISES: Most Adreviocs disguise themselves as humans in long flowing dresses or robes to disguise their oddly shaped legs. As for their arms, they often fold them up in their sleeves, darting their hands out like a praying mantis when they need
to. As for hiding their bi-lobed heads, most Adreviocs in disguise wear turbins, other headdresses or a beehive-style hairdo. Their faces and oxygen respirators are simply hidden under a MiB-issued “human mask.”
TOYOTA HOVER VAN (Vehicle)
SCALE: 2D
SIZE: 16 feet long
CREW: 1
PASSENGERS: 6
CARGO CAPACITY: 165 cubic feet
MANEUVERABILITY: +3D
SPEED: 200 mph
BODY STRENGTH: 2D+2
BODY POINTS: 250
The Toyota Hover Van was produced by the Toytota Motor Corporation and an alien race in the 1980s as part of a technology exchange program.
The van runs on an anti-gravity propulsion system that allows it to hover up to twenty feet in the air.
The van was ultimately classified by the Men In Black, but more than 200 vehicles were produced. Those vehicles were ultimately sent to a junk yard in Nevada to be destroyed, but weren’t.
Insiders at the company arranged for some normal Toytota Vans to sent there and he sold the Hover Vans to a variety of aliens in the U.S. and throughout the world.
Thanks to the Hover Van’s hardy design and relative simplicity of the anti-gravity propulsion system, most of the original 200 Hover Vans are still in operation.
Many of the body parts used on the regular Toyota Van were used on the Hover Van, including steering, frame, air conditioning, seats and other non-engine parts. Because of this
interchangeablity, many aliens using the Hover Van tend to “collect” as many of the regular Toyota Vans as they can for use with repairs.
Most Hover Vans are equipped with a hologram projector that superimposes wheels on to the bottom of the Hover Van’s body. It takes a Difficult Perception check to notice the Hover Van has no wheels when it’s hologram generator is running.
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