This entry is a toast to the memory of one of my dearest friends and greatest gamers I've ever known, Allen Halden.
Allen passed away in the fall of 2017 and not a week goes by where I don't think about him and miss him terribly. As I try to regularly post RPG related subjects to this blog, I can't help but think of Allen as he was such a big part of my best gaming experiences for so many years.
One of my favorites of which, was our Galaxy Quest campaign and one of the reasons it was so good was his character...
Character: He Who Glistens in the Autumn Twilight Beneath the Third and Seventh Moons.
AKA: Lt. Commander, Moonbug
Player: Allen Halden
System: Galaxy Quest, The Roleplaying Game, Homebrew based on Teenagers from Outer Space, 1st Edition by R. Talsorian Games.
Nature: Short Campaign: Galaxy Quest: Galient
Gamemaster: Adam Dickstein
Circa: 2003
Origins: I've told this tale before but to sum it up; originally I was meant to run our regularly scheduled game with my ol' New Jersey group but for one reason or another it couldn't be done. Most everyone was therethough and I still really wanted to run something so I had a sudden epiphany - a Galaxy Quest game.
After quickly explaining the rules, everybody pitched me their character concepts. My buddy Allen, already well known for playing strangle looking and quirky characters, decided to take the 'Dr. Lazarus' role (played by the incomparable Alan Rickman) and create a Token Alien who was also our Science Officer (and Second-in-Command).
Where he got the idea to create this character I couldn't say. Allen was very creative but also great at understanding how to pick and choose the appropriate tropes to include so that his characters fit the setting he was playing or running in.
I do know his choice of the name was a spoof on how so many aliens in Sci-Fi TV and films have names that are easy for the actors to say and audience to remember. This character's parents didn't name him with you in mind. His name makes perfect sense to other members of his species and hey, that's what counts.
Backstory: He Who Glistens in the Autumn Twilight Beneath the Third and Seventh Moons didn't really have a backstory per se. At least he didn't have any that came up during the course of our campaign. Through dialogue and jokes we developed a little information about his species however.
The Lieutenant Commander's home planet was warm, wet, and mostly covered by rainforests and jungles. Plants grew very large, particularly flowers, lilipads, and fruit trees.We know it has at least seven moons but it is unclear if that is the total number of natural satellites. According to the Lt. Commander the most dangerous predators on his world were a type of amphibious reptile described as an alligator/frog hybrid.
Like everyone else on his planet, He Who Glistens in the Autumn Twilight Beneath the Third and Seventh Moons has dozens of brothers and sisters. Although this makes the homeworld heavily populated, He Who Glistens in the Autumn Twilight Beneath the Third and Seventh Moons is the only member of his alien race in the NSEA Fleet and one of the few roaming the galaxy. The Insectoid people (no species name was ever established, though they were sometimes referred to as 'Insectiloids'.) were content to remain on their own world and had little interest in the greater interstellar community. He Who Glistens in the Autumn Twilight Beneath the Third and Seventh Moons was a very rare exception.
Overview: Played as both comedically over-the-top and with subtle nuance, He Who Glistens in the Autumn Twilight Beneath the Third and Seventh Moons' personality is difficult to describe. For the most part he was calm, cool, collected, a consumate professional, and always polite. He could sometimes get frustrated that not everyone shared his views on proper manners and etiquette. This is best exemplified by the use of his name. He would always say it in its entirety when asked what his name was and wasn't fond of other trying to shorten it or give him a nickname. To everyone else his name was too long but to him, it was his name and he didn't shorten yours.
Eventually the reoccurring joke/real life issue of people tripping over his name caused our friend Lynn's character to call him 'Moonbug' and it stuck. Otherwise people got around the issue by calling him by his rank.
Knowing our Commander had the responsibility and burden of...well...command, He Who Glistens in the Autumn Twilight Beneath the Third and Seventh Moons tried very hard not to distract her or interfere with her operations. This created a running gag wherein He Who Glistens in the Autumn Twilight Beneath the Third and Seventh Moons.starts to say, "Commander, perhaps we should...", as the Commander walks past and waves him off or ignores him for the most [while rubbing the bridge of her nose]. The Lt. Commander then falls silent. Later, when the poop really hits those huge unnecessary fans below the catwalk, the Commander would call for ideas, suggestions, or answers and Moonbug would say, "As I was going to say earlier...".
The Highlights:
I usually prefer to highlight character driven moments and not just action based ones but in the case of Moonbug its been over 20 years, it was a humorous campaign, and his personality was, as noted above, subtle and hard to pinpoint in a single standard out event.
In the very first use of his Token Alien ability, He Who Glistens in the Autumn Twilight Beneath the Third and Seventh Moons invented 'Communicate with Insects' to prevent a rhino sized beetle creature from attacking the PCs in the first session/adventure. He used it again in the second adventure, talking to a large flutter of butterfly-like insects in order to locate an ancient ruin hidden by the surrounding jungle. This was his most often used ability and therefore became his only permanent Special Ability. Among my favorite uses was his last, wherein he called upon clouds of swarming gnats to distract and frustrate a Meechan Warlord!
When a murder occurred on the NSEA Spaceport Beta-2 during a Galactic Peace Accord Conference, Commader Krista Packard had her hands full dealing with panicked diplomats, coordinating station security, and getting hassled by her superiors to find answers and fast! He Who Glistens in the Autumn Twilight Beneath the Third and Seventh Moons made some initial observations and came up with a general guess about what had happened, which he kept to himself for the time.
The rest of the Galient's crew split-up into teams to investigate the situation, including Moonbug heading off with Security Chief Van Pelt. After looking into the mystery and attempting to catch a mysterious group of 'phantom assassins', the Commander called everyone back to give her a run down on what they'd found. Ambassadors from a few different galactic powers barged in demanding to know what Commander Packard and her people had discovered. Packard told them all to have a seat as she was just about to be informed on just that subject. The PCs all gave the evidence they had, testimonies they'd heard, and theories they'd come up with based on their observations. All but He Who Glistens in the Autumn Twilight Beneath the Third and Seventh Moons. When the Commander asked, "Lt. Commander? Anything to add?"
He Who Glistens in the Autumn Twilight Beneath the Third and Seventh Moons stood up from his chair, looked to the Commander and said, "Yes Commander, if it would please you and the esteemed assembled dignitaries, I'd like to solve the mystery. Again, if that's all right with you." The Commander, heck everyone, stared at him dumbfounded until she finally shook her head and motioned for him to speak. Allen goes on to say that he actually solved the murder in the very beginning and then waited for everyone to gather proof to back up the answer he'd had all that time. Not only was he right, he worked out additional details based on evidence the PCs had assembled that weren't intended to be part of the mystery [by me].
His idea was BETTER than the idea I had. It was essentially my plot plus.
Game Info:
While I can't seem to locate the original piece of scrap paper Allen wrote the character on (though I found everyone else's oddly), I do have the one we used for the expanded campaign.
Notes: He Who Glistens in the Autumn Twilight Beneath the Third and Seventh Moons' special abilities included Communicate with Insects (which he used enough to make it part of the 'show's' permanent continuity), Danger Sense (which he successfully used once), Limited Flight (also used once), and Sticking to Walks (used twice). I believe he had one or two other one-shot abilities.
While Allen didn't affect a funny voice for this character, he definitely had a distinct way of speaking and particular mannerisms. He was polite, very fastidious, and was a being of few words except when directly asked to explain something. Then (as in the Highlights section above) he could go on and on about a subject in great detail.
Legacy: This character hasn't been used in any capacity since the original Galaxy Quest campaign I ran back in 2003 and that's partially because I've never felt comfortable portraying him the way Allen did. I can't quite nail that certain something that made him so awesome. With Allen gone, it is possible He Who Glistens in the Autumn Twilight Beneath the Third and Seventh Moons may never grace my table again.
Still...what I wouldn't give to run Galaxy Quest once more. Maybe, just maybe, a shiny green insectoid alien science officer could appear as a background NPC.
The true legacy of this PC isn't the character itself but Allen Halden - his creativity, talent, warmth, humor, and friendship.
We miss you Moonbug.
AD
Barking Alien
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