# d20 Men in Black



## Falkus (Oct 16, 2005)

If I were to start a d20 Modern game based off of the Men in Black movies, would anybody be interested in playing? I've been working on the rules for such a game on and off for several months now (essentially, stats for alien races and over the top weaponry and equipment).

It would probably be a week or two before I could get the game going, as I need to finish midterms, get ahold of my old rulebooks from home, and finish up the modifications.


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## sukael (Oct 16, 2005)

This sounds like it could definitely be interesting...


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## Angel Tarragon (Oct 16, 2005)

Got my interest.


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## Prof Yeti (Oct 16, 2005)

A d20 game!!! Definitely have my interest.


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## Falkus (Oct 16, 2005)

Excellent, I'll get started on the final revisions to my work now, and have character creation rules posted soon, hopefully.

The campaign format I'm planning on is one character being a veteran MiB agent, and the rest are rookies on their first assignments.


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## Angel Tarragon (Oct 16, 2005)

I got dibs on playing the veteran.


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## Falkus (Oct 16, 2005)

While you're waiting for me to finish my midterms and the revisions, you can get started on your character backgrounds, descriptions and personalities.

I want at least five paragraphs describing your character and what he/she did before joining the MiB, and how he/she was recuited (and in the case of the vet, some of the various crises he/she has resolved and villain's defeated, so I can bring them back to haunt you, muhahahahaha!)


You’re part of the mysterious quasi-governmental organization known only as the Men in Black- elite cops policing and patrolling the 1500 aliens living amongst the people of Earth. You’ll conform to the identity we give you. You will have no identifying marks of any kind. You will not stand out in any way. Your entire image is crafted to leave no lasting memory. You’re a rumor, recognizable only as déjà vu. You don’t exist; you were never born. Anonymity is your name. Silence is your native tongue. You are above the system. Over it. Beyond it. Can you handle the truth? More importantly, can you handle an Arquillian Megasonic Destructor Ray? You can? Good. We’ve got a crazy Baltian loose in Manhattan. Take care of it. And remember…

No earthlings must know!


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## sukael (Oct 16, 2005)

[sblock=S' Description]An average-height, thin man with a slightly sallow complexion, S has light but determined bags under his eyes--the sort incurred by a repeat insomniac. His brown-blond hair is heavy gelled into a carefully-orchestrated part. He has deep-set dark green eyes that outline a tall, ridgelike nose. His mouth is small when closed but, when it opens, does so widely, showing a wide expanse of almost-unhealthily closely-clustered though brightly white teeth. His ears are small, drawn out of the focus by his hair.

He wears an immaculate black suit, almost anonymous in its lack of any features out of the ordinary.[/sblock]

[sblock=Sean's History]Sean grew up in deeply urban New York, constantly surrounded by the technology procured by his future-happy adopted father. He came to see it as natural--that technology was the future, if not in the retinue that most cyberpunk writers would put. A relatively early adopter of the principles behind blogs, memes, and the 'Singularity', he saw technology as eventually becoming--if not already--an exponential progression.

Though he wouldn't often write a new program from scratch for whatever project was his focus at the moment, or build new hardware, Sean would happily scavenge bits and pieces from whatever else he could get his hands on, somehow kludging them into an ugly but working whole. This is what led to his discovery by the MiB: one of his projects, a volunteer-driven open-source construction that used GPS readings of downloaders' cell phones to plot pedestrian traffic, began showing intermittent odd patterns. Unbenownst to him, they were actually caused by the actions of MiB agents going about their work.

Soon enough--within a few hours or less of his posting it on the Internet--this revelation was discovered by the agency; Sean and those he had directly told his discovery to were quickly neuralised, and the information he'd issued over the web retracted; the MiB quickly corrected their oversight, putting automatic protocols into place to deal with similar information-gathering projects in the future.

This wasn't the only time it happened, however. One of his later projects, after his pedestrian-traffic-monitor had been trimmed and refined to something less bug-prone, was essentially a semantics processor--a kludged-together setup that, using existing dictionary/grammar and Bayesian filtering software roughly interfaced to some hastily-written file-processing routines, could process documents on a large scale to discover similarities and differences in their writing styles. On a whim he fed assorted government-issued documents into his homegrown Beowulf cluster and found something rather odd--random segments of writing with similar styles, but markedly different ones, at least according to the machines, than the surrounding text.

It was when they realised his discovery of their censorship--for the second time--that the MiB became more interested in Sean. With further investigation into his relatively remarkable coding and mechanical/electrical ability, the order was eventually passed down to consider him for membership into the MiB--if only, at least, to keep away from the trouble of repeatedly neuralizing him with every new instance of his inventions.[/sblock]


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## Angel Tarragon (Oct 17, 2005)

[sblock=Description]C is five foot eight inches tall. He is a slightly overweight caucasian individual with a light tan. He has brown hair, which he usually keeps slicked back. He has a well trimmed moustache and beard. C has lines in the side of his face from when he used to wear glasses. His face is in no way memorable and he has a medium size pudgy nose in the middle of it. The only thing unique about him is that he has broad shoulders and thick hands.[/sblock]
[sblock=History]Charles was born in Valley Stream, New York in May of 1976. His father had a job that demanded relocation at various points in his life and has been all over the states, but has no real memory of any them other than California and Arizona. He went to high school with aspirations of doing something great with his life and always thought he would be a celebrity. When he turned 19 and graduated, he realized that he didn’t have the ingredients of a celebrity. 

During the summer of 95 he found out that he needed a basic degree to join the local police force. So, during that summer he started his first semester and found work in the evening as security guard at the local mall. In the course of a year and a half he managed to get an associates degree. In January of 97 he underwent police training and it was a breeze, his experience as a security guard had been useful. 

After a period of a year and a half, Charles had saved up the expense of moving. He was sick and tired of the desert, and decided he’d rather work in a bustling metropolis. He asked his supervisor for the right to use him as reference when applying for a new job as cop in New York. His experience in AZ had been beneficial and the NYPD hired him in July of ‘99. 

His first assignment was a peculiar one. He was hot on the trail of a local drug dealer and it took a turn for the weird. Using his brains, he tracked the slimeball to a local warehouse. After a serious shakedown and one heck of a chase he was lead to an interesting place. It turns out that the slime was actually an alien and decided to kill itself rather than deal with any repercussions.

The MIB approached Charles with one of their agents and proposed to him an offer he couldn’t refuse. Charles, now with the alias of C, has been on the MIB payroll since August of 99. With the time he has spent at MIB C has learned the workings of the program and has enough knowledge of alien life to put a zoo of biologists to shame. 

Cs major accomplishments were the deflection of a Gaergothian attack and invasion, in which he has made enemies out of a handful survivors, Jaielythie in particular. She is quite bitter about the whole ordeal and would like nothing better than to squash C like a bug. C has also managed to quell a capsule from entering Earths atmosphere, which had it entered, would have shot straight into the ocean and lead to the colonization of it by the aquatic Valquathians. Also of interest is that he managed to expose a plot that would have resulted in an alien breach of MIB personnel and replacement of key individuals with mind controlled clones. All the clones but one were destroyed. The clone that did manage to get away looks exactly like his sister, Laura.[/sblock]


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## Falkus (Oct 17, 2005)

Well done, very good bios. I like them both.


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## Falkus (Oct 17, 2005)

*Equipment*

Here's the MiB equipment I've converted so far.


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## Angel Tarragon (Oct 17, 2005)

Looks godd, but I am noticing that none of the items have purchase DC cost.


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## Falkus (Oct 17, 2005)

That's because pretty much none of this stuff is available on market's that humans have access to. MiB agents don't purchase their gear, it's assigned to them by the requistions department. Senior agents on good terms with Zed can even choose their own equipment.


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## sukael (Oct 17, 2005)

A question--outside of super-advanced tech, will the Wealth DC system still be used? (Asking for the purpose of things like possibly looking at the Salvage feat, etc.)


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## Falkus (Oct 17, 2005)

No, MiB agents discard all connections with modern finance with their rest of their identities.


The two new skills:

New Skills:

Knowledge (alien technology): Similar to the knowledge (technology) skill, this MiB only skill covers all technology manufactured and/or designed by extraterrestrial beings.
5 or more ranks in alien technology is required to perform any craft or repair checks involving alien technology.
This is a class skill for all MiB Agents

Knowledge (alien biology): This skill governs the knowledge of what aliens exist, their biological makeup, and various pieces of trivia about their sexual habits that will make you a hit at any party. Or possibly get you shot, it depends on the company and the specific trivia.
5 or more ranks in Knowledge (alien biology) is required to perform treat injury checks on an alien.
This is a class skill for all MiB Agents


If you want to get to work on your characters, character creation will use d20 Modern, d20 Future and the d20 Modern companions. Attributes will be 32 point buy, and we'll be starting at sixth level. 

I've had more time to work on the system, since local flooding has caused classes to be cancelled for an indefinite period of time.


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## Angel Tarragon (Oct 18, 2005)

What level are we to start at? I'm thinking that if my character is to reflect 'veteran status' I should sart at 2nd or 3rd.


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## Falkus (Oct 18, 2005)

Sixth level for the rookies, you can start at eight.


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## Mithran (Oct 22, 2005)

I don't have the time to write up everything tonight but I though I'd go ahead and say I'm interested.


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## Falkus (Oct 23, 2005)

Great. I've managed to finish working out most of the behind the screen stuff (alien races, plot details, villain stats, etc), so once I get in all the character sheets, I'll be able to start. I've put up a rogues gallary for your character sheets.



Paralytic restraints: These cunning alien devices are standard issue for whenever the MiB needs to take an alien back. Slap one on a limb of an alien, and it’ll cut off nervous transmission to it, essentially paralyzing said limb. Guaranteed to work on 98% of all alien species with central nervous systems, or your money back.

Universal translator: An illegal piece of alien gear, this cunning device allows the wearer to perfectly understand and speak in any other language, human or alien, through advanced brain wave analysis techniques. Technically, humans aren’t allowed to have them, because human thinking is considered an infectious disease by aliens.

Ford LTD:
The MiB Ford LTD is a popular car among the older agents of the Men in Black. While it appears to be a normal, if old, car from the outside, it’s actually a highly complicated piece of alien technology. The surface of the car itself is made out of an advanced alien alloy, that makes it as tough as a tank, while the engine can propel it at speeds of over four hundred miles an hour. The red button located in the front increases that speed by fifty percent by supercharging the engines and folding the exterior into a more aerodynamic form, and allows the car to travel on tunnel walls and ceilings.

The car comes equipped with a limitless range hyperwave radio, a first aid kit in the glove compartment, and a gun rack in the trunk that stores a couple of rifle sized alien weapons ready to be pulled out a dramatic moment and cause enough property damage to keep five containment teams busy for a week covering it up.

MiB Ford LTD
Size: Huge
Crew: 1
Pass: 4
Cargo: 400 lb
Init: +4
Maneuver: +2
Top Speed: 700 (1050 during turbo mode)
Defense: 8
Hardness: 20
Hit points: 60
Size: H


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## Falkus (Oct 26, 2005)

Bump


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## sukael (Oct 26, 2005)

I should have a sheet up by tomorrow. Sorry for the delay :/


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## Falkus (Oct 26, 2005)

No problem.


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## sukael (Oct 27, 2005)

[sblock]
	
	



```
CHARACTER NAME  : S
RACE            : Human
CLASS (LEVEL)   : Smart Hero (3)/Engineer (2)/Technosavant (1)
... NET LEVEL   : 6
SPEED           : 30 ft.

EXPERIENCE      : 15,000 xp
REPUTATION      : +2 (1/Smart 1/Tech 0/Eng)
OCCUPATION      : Student (Computer Use, Knowledge [Technology])

PROGRESSION

HD 1 : Smart Hero
HD 2 : Smart Hero
HD 3 : Smart Hero
HD 4 : Engineer
HD 5 : Engineer
HD 6 : Technosavant

ABILITY SCORES

Str 10 (+0) (10/base) [2p]
Dex 14 (+2) (14/base) [6p]
Con 12 (+2) (12/base) [4p]
Int 18 (+4) (17/base 1/levels) [13p]
Wis 12 (+1) (12/base) [4p]
Cha 11 (+2) (11/base) [3p]

SAVES

Fortitude  +4 (1/smart 2/eng 0/techn 1/Con)
Reflex     +6 (1/smart 2/eng 1/techn 2/Dex)
Will       +4 (2/smart 0/eng 1/techn 1/Wis)

COMBAT STATS

Initiative   +2 (2/Dex)
Attack       +2 (1/smart 1/eng 0/tech)
   Ranged    +4 (2/base 2/dex)
   Melee     +2 (2/base 0/str)
Defense      15 (10/base 1/smart 1/eng 1/techn 2/dex)
   Touch     15 (10/base 1/smart 1/eng 1/techn 2/dex)
   Flatfoot  13 (10/base 1/smart 1/eng 1/techn)
Hit Points   31 (6/smart1 7/smart2to3 3/eng 3/tech 12/Con)

CLASS FEATURES
  Engineer
    Improved Kit (+1)
    Quick Craft
    Superior Repair
  Smart Hero
    1st--Savant (Craft [electrical])
    3rd--Savant (Craft [mechanical])

FEATS
  HD 1    : Personal Firearms Proficiency
  HD 1    : Smart Plus (Savant [Craft [mechanical]], Exploit Weakness)
  Smart 1 : Simple Weapons Proficiency (B)
  Smart 2 : Combat Expertise (B)
  HD 3    : Gearhead
  Eng 1   : Builder (Craft [electrical], Craft [mechanical]) (B)
  Techn 1 : Salvage (B)
  HD 6    : Mastercrafter

SKILLS
  Computer Use +15 (9/ranks 3/Int 1/occ 2/Gearhead)
  Craft (chemical) +11 (8/ranks 3/Int)
  Craft (electronic) +17 (9/ranks 3/Int 3/savant 2/Builder)
  Craft (mechanical) +17 (9/ranks 3/Int 3/savant 2/Builder)
  Disable Device +12 (9/ranks 3/Int)
  Knowledge (alien biology) +5 (2/ranks 3/Int)
  Knowledge (alien technology) +12 (9/ranks 3/Int)
  Knowledge (earth and life sciences) +5 (2/ranks 3/Int)
  Knowledge (technology) +13 (9/ranks 3/Int 1/occ)
  Profession +7 (6/ranks 1/Wis)
  Read/Write Language (Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, German, Russian, Technocant) (4/ranks)
  Repair +14 (9/ranks 3/Int 2/Gearhead)
  Research +11 (8/ranks 3/Int)
  Speak Language (Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, German, Russian) (4/ranks)
  Treat Injury +5 (4(8)/ranks 1/Wis)
```
[/sblock]


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## Falkus (Oct 27, 2005)

Nice, one or two more character sheets and we'll be able to start.


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## Angel Tarragon (Oct 28, 2005)

Give me until Wednesday and I'll have mine up. I am in the middle of a bunch of reviews right now.


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## Falkus (Oct 29, 2005)

No problem.


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## Corvus Coronoides (Nov 2, 2005)

*Position Open Query ?*

Hiya,

Interested in taking an application for somebody to play a complete rookie (recruited last week type character ?)

If you are, it shouldn't take me too long to come up with a background, and not much longer than that for a character sheet

Thanks

Chris


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## Falkus (Nov 2, 2005)

Absolutely I'm interested.


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## Corvus Coronoides (Nov 2, 2005)

Cool !

I'll get you a character and background within the next 24 hours (already have all of the numbers crunched, Just have to write up the jumbled mess thats in my head)

Thanks heaps

-Chris


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## Corvus Coronoides (Nov 3, 2005)

How does this look :

Character Sheet :
[sblock]CHARACTER NAME  : Ecks
RACE            : Human
AGE               : 27
CLASS (LEVEL)   : Dedicated 5/Investigator 1
... NET LEVEL   : 6
SPEED           : 30 ft.

EXPERIENCE      : 15,000 xp
REPUTATION      : 0
OCCUPATION      : Law Enforcement

PROGRESSION

HD 1 : Dedicated
HD 2 : Dedicated
HD 3 : Dedicated
HD 4 : Dedicated
HD 5 : Dedicated
HD 6 : Investogator

ABILITY SCORES

Str 12 (+1) (12/base) [4p]
Dex 15 (+2) (15/base) [8p]
Con 13 (+1) (13/base) [5p]
Int 12 (+0) (11/base 1/levels) [3p]
Wis 16 (+3) (16/base) [10p]
Cha 10 (+0) (10/base) [2p]

SAVES

Fortitude  +4 (3/base 1/con)
Reflex     +2 (2/base 2/Dex)
Will       +7 (4/base 3/Wis)

COMBAT STATS

Initiative   +2 (2/Dex)
Attack       +3
   Ranged    +5 (3/base 2/dex)
   Melee     +4 (3/base 1/str)
Defense      16 (10/base 4/class 2/dex)
   Touch     16
   Flatfoot  14
Hit Points   28

CLASS FEATURES
Dedicated Hero:
Skill Emphasis – Gather Information
Aware
Cool Under Pressure – Gather Information, Investigate, Listen, Search, Sense Motive, Spot

Investogator:
Profile

FEATS
Alertness, Attentive, Dodge, Brawl, Low Profile, Simple Weapon Proficiency, Trustworthy, Personal Fireamrs Proficiency

SKILLS
  Balance +3 (2/dex 1/rank)
  Climb +2 (1/str 1/rank)
  Computer Use +1 (1/int)
  Concentration +1 (1/con)
  Craft (Structural, Visual Art, Writing) +1 (1/int)
  Diplomacy +4 (2/sense motive 2/trustworthy)
  Disable Device +1 (1/int 1/rank)
  Drive (+2 (2/dex)
  Escape Artist +2 (2/dex)
  Forgery +1 (1/int)
  Gamble +3 (3/wis)
  Gather Information +9 (3/ranks 1/occupation 2/trustworthy 3 skill
                          emphasis)
  Hide +3 (2/dex 1/ranks)
  Investigate +9 (1/int 6/ranks 2/attentive)
  Jump +1 (1/str)
  Knowledge (Behavioral Sciences) +2 (1/int 1/ranks)
  Knowledge (Civics) +5 (1/int 3/ranks 1/occupation)
  Knowledge (Streetwise) +2 (1/int 1/ranks)
  Listen +10 (3/wis 5/ranks 2/alertness)
  Move Silently +3 (2/dex 1/ranks)
  Navigate +1 (1/int)
  Profession +5 (3/wis 2/ranks)
  Read/Write Language +3 (3/ranks)
  Research +1 (1/int)
  Ride +2 (2/dex)
  Search +3 (1/int 2/ranks)
  Sense Motive +10 (3/wis 5/ranks 2/attentive)
  Speak Language +3 (3/ranks)
  Spot +7 (3/wis 2/ranks 2/alertness)
  Survival +3 (3/wis)
  Swim +1 (1/str)
  Treat Injury +4 (3/wis 1/ranks)

Languages : Speak, Read & Write English, Portuguese, Mandarin, Spanish
[/sblock]

And here's a background/description:
[sblock]
Xavier Delano was born and raised in Oakland, California.  An only child in a mixed race family, His father was Brazilian and his mother an American citizen of Dutch descent.  Nobody would call the Delano family wealthy, but they were happy, living in a small two bedroom apartment in Berkeley.

This happy picture was shattered just after Xavier’s ninth birthday.  One night, Xavier’s father, Robert, was in the wrong convenience store at the wrong time.  An armed robbery went bad, and Robert Delano was killed.  The medical examiners report indicated that the cause of death was high intensity third degree burns to the upper torso.  The cause of these burns was unknown.  The perpetrator was never brought to justice.

A pall fell over the Delano family.  Xavier’s mother, Cassie, was forced to withdraw from her studies at UCLA.  She ended up working two jobs to put Xavier through school.  They were forced to move into a one bedroom apartment – Cassie slept on the couch in the lounge/dining/kitchen room.  Xavier studied hard to prove to his mother that her work was neither unappreciated or in vain.

Xavier’s one indulgence was comic books.  He had been collecting them since before he could read.  Robert had read them to him as bedtime stories, tales of Spiderman and Superman and Captain America.  After Robert’s death, Xavier lost interest in Superman and Spiderman.  He began to read Batman and The Punisher.  As time wore on, a determination and passion for Justice grew within Xavier.

He finished High School a year early.  He attended UCLA as his mother had before him, studying Criminology and Law.  Immediately upon graduation he applied to and entered the LAPD.  He quickly rose through the ranks, becoming one of the youngest officers to make the rank of Detective.  After serving as a detective for three years, he applied to and was accepted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation Training academy at the US Marine Corps base at Quantico, Virginia.  As one of the most successful graduates of his class, he was assigned to the Federal Plaza office in New York as a Field Agent.

While studying at Quantico, Xavier’s mother disappeared when the cruise ship she was on went missing without a trace in the South Pacific.  It had been her first holiday in twelve years.

After a couple of months of living in New York, Xavier started to notice some very strange things he could not explain.  He started asking questions, reading old reports that lay dormant in filing cabinets in basements, and performing investigations that were not strictly part of the F.B.I.’s jurisdiction.  His investigations caught the attention of a certain Agency that goes by many names.

As of last week, Xavier dresses only in attire specially sanctioned by MIB Special Services.  He conforms to an identity given to him, eats where he’s told to, lives where he’s told to, gets approval for any expenditure over a hundred dollars.  He has no identifying marks of any kind.  He does not stand out in any way.  His entire image is carefully crafted to leave no lasting memory whatsoever with anyone he encounters.  

He’s a rumour, recognisable only as déjà vu and dismissed just as quickly.  He doesn’t exist; He was never born.  Anonymity is his name.  Silence his native tongue.  He is no longer part of “the system”.  He is above the system.  Over it.  Beyond it.

He’s “Them”.  He’s “They”.

He’s _Ecks_.

He’s a Man In Black.

---

One word describes Ecks – Average.  Standing 5’9” (175 cm) tall and weighing in at a wiry 170lbs (77kg).  Short, neat, non-descript brown hair matches his unassuming brown eyes to complete the image of a perfectly average man.

When his investigative instincts are piqued, the change in Ecks’ demeanour is astounding.  A steely glare replaces the vacant gaze, the set of his jaw indicates a determination not previously present, his posture straightens, almost as if coming to attention, and his stride lengthens with a purpose not previously present.

Of course, he wears a black suit.
[/sblock]

What do you think ?

-Chris


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## Falkus (Nov 3, 2005)

Looks good, you're in.

I just need Frukathka's character sheet, and we can get started.


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## Corvus Coronoides (Nov 3, 2005)

Great !

Can't wait to get started (Gonna have to dig out my olf West End Games MIB RPG as refresher material  )

-Chris


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## Falkus (Nov 3, 2005)

Heh, that's the book I used as a source for most of my conversion stuff.


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## Corvus Coronoides (Nov 16, 2005)

*Anybody Home?*

Hiya gang ...

Are we still going to be playing this game, or has it been cancelled and I didn't notice ?

-Chris


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## Falkus (Nov 16, 2005)

Well, I just saw that we lost Frukatha, so I need one more player to play as the grizzled veteran MiB agent.


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## Corvus Coronoides (Nov 16, 2005)

**fingers crossed**

Hopefully these messages will *bump* us up the forum and get some notice

-Chris


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