Roleplayer #25, August 1991
Primary Sources
Reviews of Gameable Fiction
by Steve Jackson
Feedback on last issue's column was good, so here's another. And, to
the several readers who asked "Can I write up X as a Primary Source?"
Yes, you can. The sooner the better?
Remember: This is not a column for "game translations," with character
stats, weapon descriptions and so on. . . that would infringe the rights
of the authors. It's a pointer to good source material for the creative
Game Master. Go out and buy these books. Read them for enjoyment; then read
them again and think "What kind of a campaign could I set in this background?
What can I borrow from this background to add to other campaigns?"
Memoirs of an Invisible Man
H.F. Saint
Nick Halloway isn't an especially likeable character. He's a security analyst
-- which even he feels is a thoroughly unromantic profession. He leads a
banal, yuppie sort of life in New York City, with lots of acquaintances
and no real friends. Until something truly extraordinary happens . . .
Halloway becomes the beneficiary and victim of a truly implausible accident.
Nuclear? We never know; that's not what the story is about. There's a laboratory
explosion, and Halloway is knocked unconscious. He -- along with a terrified
cat which quickly flees from the building and from the story -- is the only
survivor. He awakens wholly unharmed . . . and invisible.
At this point, the author waves his hand and banishes the scientific problems
of invisibility. Halloway's invisible eyes can see perfectly well. The food
he eats remains visible only a short time (disgustingly so) before turning
cloudy and then invisible. He's equally invisible to humans, animals and
cameras. As for clothing: no, Halloway can't make something invisible just
by picking it up. But everything within a certain radius of the
explosion became invisible. Halloway thus has one set of invisible clothes,
plus everything that he can take from the invisible laboratory
before the Feds move in.
Ahh, yes. The Feds. When Halloway first awakens after the blast, investigators
are already on the scene. They soon discover that the building has not been
blown to fragments; it's still there -- invisible. Naturally, they're excited.
They are more excited when Halloway's cries for help reveal that they have
a genuine Invisible Man in their hands.
Well, almost in their hands. Halloway is overtaken by caution at
the last moment. He realizes that if he listens to the man called Jenkins,
he'll spend his life either as a super-spy or a laboratory rat. Neither
career appeals to him -- so he runs. And the rest of the book is about the
battle of wits between the invisible yuppie, turned desperately resourceful,
and the government agent who can't even tell his own bosses what he is chasing
. . .
The Background
Nothing unusual here. The book is set in today's New York City. The idea
could work anywhere and anywhen, and it could be interesting to try, for
instance, an "invisible man" campaign in a medieval setting.
Campaign Ideas
The obvious campaign, of course, recreates the book: Halloway versus the
implacable "Colonel Jenkins." But that only leaves room for one
PC. It would probably play better to say that a small group of friends were
caught by the original accident. Other PCs could be visible people who are
willing to aid the invisible ones (the unlucky Halloway had nobody at all
he could trust when he turned invisible). A cohesive group of invisible
men could probably find more to do with their powers than just flee and
survive, especially if they had a few visible accomplices.
Or the GM could turn it around. The PCs could be the federal agents, chasing
the invisible man. No easy task! Even the puny Halloway was dangerous when
invisible and cornered. What if a real criminal -- especially one
with a few trusted friends -- had become invisible?
This idea could also work in a Supers
campaign. Let the hunters have super-powers of their own; they'll need
them. Obviously, nobody can have See Invisible.
A significant limitation on any campaign would be the amount of invisible
matter available to the invisible men. Halloway had invisible clothes, tools
. . . even a telephone, matches, and a gun with a few bullets! The fewer
such items the Invisibles have, the less they will be able to do.
The Book
There is no sign of a sequel to the original "Memoirs of an Invisible
Man." Certainly the adventure could be continued, but how different
would it be from the original books?
However, the back cover of the book says that there will soon be a movie
version starring Chevy Chase . . . who will probably set a record for Least
On-Screen Time By A Main Character. Watch for it.
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#25 Table of Contents)