Agent Mulder
rating: +1+x

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:

Sources

Bibliography
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".
    • On the other hand, just because monsters and magic exist doesn't mean every imaginable monster or spell exists. "I believe in space aliens" or "I believe in psionics" are entirely valid characterization if the consensus is that the campaign world is the only inhabited one and that magic requires specific external actions.
  • 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.
  • Like anyone else with odd beliefs, the Agent Mulder can be a source of exposition ranging from "dangerous nonsense" through "a kernel of truth" and "right for the wrong reasons" to "can back this up with solid evidence".
    • A trap for PCs to fall into might be mistaking what Agent Mulder tells them in a personal capacity for the Agency's official position. They think they've gotten "disclosure" of the secret truth, and act on his wild ramblings before his partner can correct them.

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:

Skills:

Special Abilities:

  • If your setting has a supernatural effect that enforces a masquerade, resistance to it can explain why you believe when no one else does.
  • As an investigator or official agent of some type, Status or Rank.

Drawbacks:

  • Keep in mind that if Mulder has any kind of backing from an agency, any drawbacks should not rise to the level of a disqualifying mental disorder unless they were acquired on the job.
    • Compulsive Behavior of some kind. Someone clued in might be unwilling to sleep in places without a horseshoe over the threshold and salt lines on the windows.
    • Delusion, since someone who believes in everything likely believes all kinds of false things.

Variants:

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