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| Image: Wikipedia. |
This is post number 25 in the series “30 Days of Tales from the Loop,” a celebration of the game set in an 80s that never was.
Just as a game of Tales from the Loop should feature a mix of Mystery scenes and scenes of Everyday Life, so (I believe) should it present a mix of both strange and everyday adversaries. Sure, your Kids will meet dinosaurs and robots and psychic kids who escaped from a lab, but they also need to meet regular humans who cause some degree of Trouble. The following are a few examples you might use in your game.
Anders Jansson [Todd Dean], the Bully
“I don’t want your lunch money this time, nerd. I want that robot you found.”
The terror of the school, Anders is big and tough for his grade—probably because he was held back once or twice. The Bully might have a favorite target from among the Kids that he likes to prey upon, or he might be an equal opportunity bruiser and oppress the entire group. You might even grant him the special ability Tough 2 to reflect how difficult it would be for a regular Kid to defeat Anders. Use the Bully if things are going too smoothly for the Kids at school.
Karin Eriksson [Bernice Wyatt], the Unhelpful Librarian
“I don’t think so, young lady. That book is in the restricted section.”
Although you don’t want to make it too hard for the Kids to get the information they are investigating, you also don’t want the group to take for granted their visits to the library. Mrs. Eriksson the librarian can help in this regard, and by help I mean “not help.” She likes books far more than she likes kids, and tries to protect the one from the other. The librarian is also a conservative woman and believes that decent kids shouldn’t learn about adult subjects at an early age.
Bengt Svensson [Andrew Jacobs], the Scary Neighbor
“I know what you kids are up to.”
Unless you want to set an entire Mystery around the Neighbor, his role will likely be to keep one or more of the Kids on edge while something else is going on. Bengt doesn’t like Kids making noise, he doesn’t like seeing Kids doing anything he considers suspicious, and he HATES Kids who get in his yard. Since it’s unlikely that ALL the kids have a Scary Neighbor—though that might be a fun idea for a Mystery—you’ll probably want to decide which of the Kids lives the closest to Bengt’s house. (Lucky Kid.)
Jan Jonsson [Phil Moody], the Suspicious Police Officer
“What are you kids doing out so late?”
There’s a reason that Kids have to keep their mysterious activities a secret and avoid running to the authorities every time they see something strange—and that reason is Officer Jonsson. Always quick to assume that Kids are trying to deceive him and make him look foolish, Officer Jonsson sees everything the Kids do in a negative light. He also has the uncanny ability to be looking the wrong way when clear evidence of truly weird phenomena that would back up the Kids’ story presents itself ever-so-briefly.
Ingrid Karlsson [Carol Brown], the Nosy Aunt
“How did you get mud on your shoes, young lady?”
Aunt Ingrid might be a snoopy type who won’t mind her own business, or she might be genuinely concerned for her niece or nephew’s safety (or a little of both), but either way, she frequently shines unwanted attention on the activities of the Kids. Sneaking out of the house? Look out, Aunt Ingrid is coming down the hall. Skipping out on school to look for that missing girl? Careful, Aunt Ingrid decided to pick you up from school today. With Aunt Ingrid around, the Kids always have to watch their step.