Agent Mulder

Basic Information

The Agent Mulder (sometimes also called the Agent Cooper) is the investigator who believes in pretty much everything. This can range from having an open mind, up to bisociation, syncretism, or even a certain amount of gullibility.

They are often a Government Agent or Detective, and frequently are paired with a partner that fits the Agent Scully trope.

Things The Mulder Almost Certainly Believes In:

• Coded Myth
• Conspiracy Theories
• Cryptids
• Magic
• Miracles
• Mythological Creatures, including Demons, Ghosts and Vampires
• Psionics
• Reincarnation, or some other form of Afterlife
• UFOs that are actually Alien Spacecraft
• Unknown Phenomenon, bordering on Negative Space Wedgie
• Urban Legends

Sources

Bibliography

1. TV Tropes Wiki

2. TV: X-Files - starring Agents Mulder and Scully

3. TV: Twin Peaks - starring Agent Cooper

Game and Story Use

• This sort of character fits best in settings with some sort of Masquerade hiding the truth from the public eye.
  • In a setting where everyone knows monsters and magic exist, there's not much point to having your primary characterization be "I believe in monsters and magic".
• This character type also benefits from a Wander The Earth structure - too much weirdness in one place can be hard to believe, unless it's due to a Hellmouth or Weirdness Magnet.
  • Speaking of Weirdness Magnets, in Twin Peaks, two different characters told Agent Cooper that he brought the evil with him. Such a character could be fun to play. You believe in all these crazy things because they happen near you, but rarely if ever do they happen in when you're not around.

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Building This Character

Level

• Probably a high-level character. Especially if he's without a support network. The more of the agency that believes and backs The Mulder, the less he individually needs to be a bad ass.

Attributes:

• The focus of the Agent Mulder is on Mental traits and investigative skills.
• If there's an Intuition or Willpower stat in your game, the Agent Mulder type will have a strong rating in it.
• Needs decent Physical Traits, but this is probably secondary to the mental stats.

Skills:

• Forensics, possibly also Tracking or Shadowing.
• Police Procedures in general
• Cryptozoology or Biology
• Interviewing or Interrogation or Oral History
• Occultism or Mythology. Probably doesn't have full-blown Magic and Powers, but may have a good Psychic Defense or know the basics of Hedge Magic or at least Headology.
• Since the Agent Mulder expects to be facing down some monsters, he'll be at least passable at marksmanship, and know the traditional weakness of the most likely monsters to actually exist.
• Be careful not to boost your Persuasion or Charisma too high, or else you'll be too well equipped for convincing your fellow agents. Part of the fun of being the Agent Mulder is believing in things everyone else is skeptical about.

Variants:

• Agent Cooper from Twin Peaks was this with some Eastern Influences and extra quirkiness - Tibetan Buddhism, Dream Analysis, and Hypnotism are on his list, maybe even some minor psionics.
• If the Agent Mulder shows up in a high-tech / futuristic setting, they'll also be familiar with the basics of Astrophysics, Quantum Mechanics and Relativity (including understanding the powers of fourth dimensional lifeform or the implications of the many worlds interpretation, and possibly a belief in Quantum Immortality).