The Derelict Pre-Gen Characters

For Free RPG Day 2016

I made 6 characters – 4 men, 2 women – roughly based on the first party concept suggested in the adventure (Option One, luxury yacht owner and friends).  They a group of passengers on a Yacht, lead by the owner of the Yacht.  The owner – Charles “Mac” McQuinlan – is sailing from New York to Liverpool along the North Atlantic to sell his boat because he has fallen on hard times.

I used two movies as inspiration (and borrowed pictures of the characters) – Harbinger Down (2015) and Ghost Ship (2002).  Both had the same kind of feel as this adventure and I recommend checking them out.

I used a classic old school background generator for the backgrounds from the Central Casting series of books – Heroes of Now.  If you like filly fleshed out background and can find them on Ebay, buy them.  Background pages are optional.  A keeper does not have to use them but I think ti adds a little more to the characters and the story.  It all depends on the maturity of your players.  I kept the language of the background family friendly, so they are safe for public games.

Here is a list of the characters

Ashley May Bethell – Film Actress

Charles “Mac” McQuinlan – Rich Writer and Entrepreneur

Daniel von Hollisander – Lawyer

Dennis McCrane – Security Specialist/Bodyguard

Elisabeth “Liz” Hill – Dilettante

Mathew “Dodge” Grantham – Athlete

The second PDF file contains a number of things that apply to the character’s backstory.  First is the story of their background as I generated it from Heroes of Now.  From that, I derived something I call an Agenda that applies specifically to the adventure.  This can be roleplayed out however the character wishes to in the game session.  And finally, Relations is how the character knows the others in the adventure.

There is always a chance you won’t get 6 players and I recommend that you use any unused characters as NPC (aka monster meat) to add to the horror.