New Types: Valley Girl & Skater Dude – The Adventures of Keith Garrett

This is post number 7 in the series “30 Days of Tales from the Loop,” a celebration of the game set in an 80s that never was.

Tales from the Loop has a great collection of Types for players to choose from, but I wanted to add some of my own—ones that really scream 80s to me.

Valley Girl

(This is a Popular Kid variant. Note that characters of this Type don’t have to be girls; we’re just using the most recognizable term. I’d also like to add that my valley girl wife helped out with this one.)

Some call you clueless, others say you’re spoiled or self-absorbed, but that’s just because they’re, like, totally jealous. You’re stylish, sassy, and blend in easily with the more well-to-do folks in town. And as for brains, if you were as ditzy as some people assume, would you be able to memorize credit card numbers or find the mall blindfolded?

Key Skills: Contact, Charm, Lead

Iconic Item
Choose one or make up one of your own:

Designer purse
Fishnet gloves
Compact mirror

Problem
Choose one or make up one of your own:

I’m flunking social studies.
My over-spending is about to catch up with me.
My mother/father was recently fired.

Drive
Choose one or make up one of your own:

I’ve realized I need higher-quality friends.
People underestimate me and I want to prove them wrong.

Pride
Choose one or make up one of your own:

Nobody dresses better than me.
I find the best deals.

Relationships to Other Kids
Choose one for each other Kid or make up one of your own:

I tease a lot but secretly like him/her.
I need to always outdo him/her.
We’ve been classmates forever.

Relationship to NPCs
Choose two or make up two on your own:

Some of my old friends have started bullying the younger kids.
The Phys Ed teacher doesn’t seem to like me, and I don’t know why.
A shop owner in town, Birgit [Beverly], keeps me informed about the latest fashions.

Anchor
Choose one or make up one of your own:

Daddy
Principal
Stepbrother

Typical Names
Choose one or make up one of your own:

Girls names: Britta, Kristin, Clara, Hedda [Becky, Christi, Cindy, Heather]
Boys names: Clemens, Konrad, Njord, Tim [Chad, Kyle, Nathan, Todd]
Nicknames: Barbie, Candy, Goldie, Vanity

Skater Dude

(As with the Valley Girl, characters of this Type don’t have to be gender-limited; we’re just using the most recognizable term.)

There’s nothing better than feeling the wind in your face and the rumble of the pavement flying by underneath your wheels. You rarely stay in one place for long, and you seem to perceive life differently than most of your classmates. And you probably spend as much time racing toward danger as you do speeding away from it.

Key Skills: Sneak, Move, Charm