Pariah Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 We're about a third of the way into the third season of Farscape, and I've been thinking about what's happening to the main character right now. For those of you who've watched the show, you'll have a pretty good idea what I'm asking about. For everyone else, here's a brief (?) summary of events so far: John Crichton, an American astronaut, was taking a small spacecraft of his own design on a test flight when he ran into an energy wave. He got shot through a wormhole to some distant part of the universe, where he became part of the crew (along with several escaped criminals) of a living ship named Moya. He quickly made some enemies, one of which was a sadistic and ruthless military commander named Scorpius. Scorpius had a MacGuffin called the Aurora Chair, with which he tortured and psionically probed his prisoners. While Crichton was in the chair, Scorpius learned of his wormhole experience. Seeing great potential for power in this discovery, Scorpius tried to get the information out of Crichton's mind using the chair, but was unsuccessful. Unknown to Crichton at the time, Scorpius then implanted a chip in Crichton's brain to search for the wormhole information. A few episodes later, Crichton began seeing a manifestation of the chip in his mind, a 'neural clone' of Scorpius which he eventually began calling Harvey. Harvey would show up at the most inopportune times, often causing Crichton serious difficulties. On the other hand, Harvey kept Crichton alive in otherwise deadly situations on a couple of occasions, too. Essentially, Harvey was there to get the information of wormholes out of Crichton's mind and to keep him alive long enough for the microchip to find that information. Scorpius has now removed the chip, but Harvey remains in Crichton's mind. He still talks to Crichton (making it look like Crichton's talking to himself when he replies), still distracts him at unfortunate moments, and still taunts him from time to time. And although he also gives Crichton useful advice every so often, he's still a lot more of a curse than a blessing. So after all that, here's my question: What are John Crichton's Disads in this situation? I've come up with a few: Distinctive Features (talks to himself), Psych Lim (Multiple personalities?), Physical Lim (Subject to Harvey's distractions), and possibly Unluck. Any other suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdguy Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 Re: What the frell? (John Crichton's Disads) He's definitely Hunted by more powerful people, first by Krais, then by Scorpius. He also had a clone of himself running around, although that doesn't count as a disad per se. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted February 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 Re: What the frell? (John Crichton's Disads) This is certainly true. Crais alone is bad enough to have as a Hunted, but Scorpy is so much worse. What I'm particularly interested in, however, is what his Disads would be with respect to Harvey. What Disad (or combination of Disads) represents the fact that he's got somebody else sharing his skull? Harvey was supposed to be gone now that the chip has been removed, but he isn't. How would you represent that fact? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdguy Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 Re: What the frell? (John Crichton's Disads) I thought it was a form of delusion Chrichton developed from having Harvey in his skull for too long. It can be written up as a Psych Lim (or Physical Lim, since he can't ignore it). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundog Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 Re: What the frell? (John Crichton's Disads) I thought it was a form of delusion Chrichton developed from having Harvey in his skull for too long. It can be written up as a Psych Lim (or Physical Lim' date=' since he can't ignore it).[/quote'] No, Harvey's an imprint left by the chip. He's quite real. I'd write him up as a Hunted 14- (he does show up a lot), less pow., to chastize and annoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manic Typist Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 Re: What the frell? (John Crichton's Disads) I thought it was a form of delusion Chrichton developed from having Harvey in his skull for too long. It can be written up as a Psych Lim (or Physical Lim' date=' since he can't ignore it).[/quote'] ....since when can you ignore a Psych Lim? Man I loved that show, but heaven help you if you missed a couple episodes... or seasons. Poor John went through so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted February 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 Re: What the frell? (John Crichton's Disads) Man I loved that show' date=' but heaven help you if you missed a couple episodes... or seasons.[/quote'] Yeah, it was as bad as Babylon 5 in that respect...or worse. Miss a few episodes, and you find yourself asking, "Wait, what? When did that happen?!" (I love both shows, by the way, and the continuity and character development are two of the main reasons.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Mhoram Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 Re: What the frell? (John Crichton's Disads) My take on the Harvey disads. DF as mentioned. And unluck to represent him showing up at inopportune times. Maybe a psych lim, but probably not - psychs guide actions or choices, and Harvey is just a distraction. I'd go with the whole "Am I going crazy?" as special effect for the DF and unluck, and go with roleplaying for the rest. That is what I plan to do anyway, should we run that plot. As a side note - Pariah is getting ready to run a SF game, and I like brain cyberchips (holdover from reading too much cyberpunk) and so to get one later, my character will likely be in this boat (although I don't know if that is Pariah's motivation for creating the thread). I'm also the guy who lent him Farscape... actually the one who talked him into watching it, IIRC (which is only fair, his comments are one of the main reasons I watched Babylon 5). We're both Browncoats, Trekkers, and Gaties (if that is the term). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Mhoram Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 Re: What the frell? (John Crichton's Disads) Yeah' date=' it was as bad as [i']Babylon 5[/i] in that respect...or worse. Miss a few episodes, and you find yourself asking, "Wait, what? When did that happen?!" Well worse actually - Farscape can be much more off the wall in what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 Re: What the frell? (John Crichton's Disads) At first, I'd write Harvey on John's sheet as a Hunted 11- (capture) and as a Contact 8-. As a Hunted, Harvey wanted to capture Chriton for Scorpius; as a Contact, Harvey could be counted on to give Chriton information and help keep him alive. Later, after the chip is removed, John buys the hunted down to a Watched (as Harvey is no longer trying to capture him), and buys the Contact up to 11-. Later still, when Scorpy joins the crew, John shifts points around, dropping the Contact down to 8- but also dropping the Watched to 8- (as the Scorpster has told Harvey not to bother John). Harvey himself is written up as an AI housed in the chip; when the chip comes out, Harvey loses the Mind Control he had been using on John and once on Xan (probably a No Range MC, or a Damage Shield may be used to attack), and is instead housed directly in John's brain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 Re: What the frell? (John Crichton's Disads) Harvey still possesses some powers however, which are used on occasion - I don't want to spoil the OP with what and where. Crichton should also have social disads - mistaken for Sebacean (notably PK), doesn't understand local cultures, constant assumption that everyone understands his. Language: Earth colloqualisms and a compulsion to say them, especially when no one will understand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted February 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 Re: What the frell? (John Crichton's Disads) Language: Earth colloqualisms and a compulsion to say them' date=' especially when no one will understand.[/quote'] Speaking of which, we just saw the "Cross my heart, smack me dead, put a lobster on my head" episode. My wife and I both laughed out loud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Major Tom Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 Re: What the frell? (John Crichton's Disads) He's definitely got the "Cosmic Trouble/Weirdness Magnet" Disad, as well as having the Scarren Empire after him as well as the Peacekeepers (and for much the same reason as Scorpius), at least until he gave them both a demo of the Cosmic Weapon of Mass Mega-death and Destruction. Major Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 Re: What the frell? (John Crichton's Disads) Speaking of which' date=' we just saw the "Cross my heart, smack me dead, put a lobster on my head" episode. My wife and I both laughed out loud.[/quote'] That's the first ep after "eat me" I believe - the first to exploit the two Crichtons and introduce Xhalax Sun. Ah yes - "thanks for sharing" Stark: "It's not working, it's not helping, Talyn's dying, not waking up!" John: "Astro! Work...now...freak...later. Work...now... freak...later..." Stark: "Oh, yeah. Yes, that's fair." John: "Good." Stark: "How much later?" John: "Who's your daddy? C'mon, you know who your daddy is! Who's your daddy? D'Argo, tell him who his daddy is!" D'Argo: "I'm your daddy." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted February 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 Re: What the frell? (John Crichton's Disads) He's definitely got the "Cosmic Trouble/Weirdness Magnet" Disad' date=' as well as having the Scarren Empire after him as well as the Peacekeepers (and for much the same reason as Scorpius), at least until he gave them both a demo of the Cosmic Weapon of Mass Mega-death and Destruction.[/quote'] Personally, I don't consider "Weirdness Magnet" a Disad; I consider it the defining characteristic that separates PCs from NPCs. NPCs have fairly normal lives with occasional periods of weirdness. PCs are continually having bizarre things happening to them, which is what makes them the Main Characters. Player Characters are always having to deal with weird stuff--which is what makes them worth playing in the first place. YMMV, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 Re: What the frell? (John Crichton's Disads) I think Crichton is more of a weirdness attractor than the other Moya crew though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted February 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 Re: What the frell? (John Crichton's Disads) I think Crichton is more of a weirdness attractor than the other Moya crew though. ...because he's the star. He's the PC in the campaign. D'Argo, Aeryn, and Zahnn were the rest of the PCs when the campaign started, but Crichton is probably played by the GM's significant other. Chiana's player joined partway in, and Zahnn's player moved away before the campaign finished. Stark, Jool, Rygel, and Pilot are all NPCs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 Re: What the frell? (John Crichton's Disads) Or possibly Rygel may be played by someone who has a short attention span and is always at the snack foods, reading, playing video games or otherwise not giving the game their full attention. When they do, they want to solve things quickly and decisively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundog Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 Re: What the frell? (John Crichton's Disads) And I'd say Jool is another walk-in PC, but one with a job that keeps her player from being available every episode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted February 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 Re: What the frell? (John Crichton's Disads) Or possibly Rygel may be played by someone who has a short attention span and is always at the snack foods' date=' reading, playing video games or otherwise not giving the game their full attention. When they do, they want to solve things quickly and decisively.[/quote'] And I'd say Jool is another walk-in PC' date=' but one with a job that keeps her player from being available every episode.[/quote'] Or maybe Rygel's player is a munchkin, and Jool's player is someone who's only at the game because his/her friends are there (reluctant gamer). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted February 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 Re: What the frell? (John Crichton's Disads) Spoiler Alert for those who haven't watched the series yet, or who may still be watching the series! Okay, so one of the Crichtons just ran off with Aeryn (among others), became intimate with her, then contracted a lethal dose of radiation poisoning. Once the two halves of Moya's crew meet back up, the remaining Crichton is still going to have the same feelings for Aeryn that his double did, while Aeryn will likely be too devastated to return this Crichton's affections. This is bound to cause (further) trouble for the guy. How would you represent this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 Re: What the frell? (John Crichton's Disads) Addiction: Aeryn's love Phys lim: Aeryn treats him as dead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted February 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 Re: What the frell? (John Crichton's Disads) Addiction: Aeryn's love Phys lim: Aeryn treats him as dead Both excellent suggestions. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Re: What the frell? (John Crichton's Disads) Both excellent suggestions. Thanks! No prob. Just remember it should be lots of points that have to be bought off - nothing comes easy to John. But then, Farscape is the only scifi show I know of that consistently gives high experience rewards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristopher Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Re: What the frell? (John Crichton's Disads) Not sure the latest question needs to be addressed with Disads. It sounds like a simple case of playing the characters in question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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