Stranger Things is a Netflix Original Series that was released on the streaming network on July 15, 2016. The show focuses on mysterious events which occur in the fictional city of Hawkins, Indiana in 1983 that are related to experiments at the Hawkins
National Laboratory. The Laboratory receives its funding through the U.S. Department of Energy and is run by Dr. Martin Brenner who uses the Laboratory to engage in experiments similar to those of the CIA's
Stargate Project.
Many have described the series as a love-song to the 80s due not only to the fact that the show takes place in 1983, but also due to the number of references to 80s pop culture the show contains and the number of homages to 80s pop culture which served to influence the show. These influences include the horror of Stephen King, Sam Raimi, and John Carpenter, alternative music from the early 80s, Dungeons & Dragons, and the films of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. For example, the music during the opening credit sequence references score composed by John Carpenter and the opening shot of Episode 8 is a direct reference to the Imperial Base on Endor in
Return of the Jedi. A complete list of Easter Eggs and influences is beyond the scope of this blog post, but much has been written about the show at
The Hollywood Reporter and elsewhere.
Given the supernatural elements of the show, and the fact that it falls into the Spielberg tradition of Tween/Teen Adventures,
Stranger Things makes for the perfect setting for a role playing game campaign. To this end, I've put together some basic background material and statistics for important Player Characters/Non-Player Characters for you to use at your own gaming tables. The statistics in this initial blog post are for the
Savage Worlds Roleplaying game using the core rulebook and the
East Texas University setting book. The Savage Worlds system is particularly good at emulating the kinds of "kids using luck to survive dangerous situations" stories within the Tweenventure genre and the East Texas University setting of Pinebox, TX provides a nice analog for Hawkins, IN. Future updates will include statistics for
BubbleGumshoe,
Hero Kids, and other popular role playing games.
Posts in Savage Things Series:
Part 1 -- The Setting and the Kids
Part 2 -- The Heroic Teens
Part 3 -- A Super Heroic Second Take on Eleven/Elle
Locations
Hawkins, Indiana (Population 4,936) –
Hawkins,
Indiana is a fictional city created as a setting for tales in the
Stranger Things-verse. The show uses the city of Jackson, Georgia as a
proxy for Hawkins and thus all estimations of population and city
services are done using real world data for Jackson.
Hawkins PD
– Hawkins law enforcement is overseen by the Chief of Police
Jim Hopper
manages the City Jail and a staff of 17. This staff includes 13 sworn
police officers and 4 communications officers. The Hawkins City Jail has
16 beds for use in housing inmates and provides service 24-hours a day.
Hawkins Library – The Hawkins Library is the
central library for the County and thus has a large selection of books
and access to all major newspapers dating from 1910 are available on
microfiche. In addition to its extensive collection of normal books, the
Hawkins Library is also home to a private collection of books about
mysterious incidents and the occult (this information is not included in
the show, but was added due to The Monster using the Library as a nest
in the Upside-Down). The library hours are as follows:
Monday – Thursday: 9:00 am – 8:00 pm
Friday: 9:00 am – 6:00 pm
Saturday: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Hawkins Middle School -- As one of the larger cities in the county, Hawkins Middle School (Home of the Tigers) serves as the home of the County School District's Middle and High Schools. These schools serve students from the neighboring cities. Hawkins Middle School has a population of 1,000 students in grades 7 and 8. It has an advanced science program for a school in the 1980s. This is as much due to the enthusiasm of Mr. Clarke as it is to grants and donations from Hawkins National Laboratory. The school district has an annual science competition and Will Byers' D&D group have won their grade level almost every year.
Hawkins High School -- Like the Middle School, Hawkins High School provides services for county residents who do not live in Hawkins proper. Unlike the Middle School, which only serves neighboring communities, the High School serves the entire County. This give Hawkins High School a population of 4,000 students. The High School receives support from the Hawkins National Laboratory and has a history of academic focus over athletics. The Football team typically has a .500 season and the same is true for the Baseball team. The school has a competitive Softball team and both men's a women's basketball have a history of success that exceed expectations from such a small county.
Hawkins National Laboratory -- The Hawkins National Laboratory was built in 1979 as part of a Department of Energy program seeking to research new forms of energy production. A good deal of the research at the Laboratory deals with the creation of more efficient solar energy cells. Given the variations in weather, Hawkins makes an ideal location for study of a solar panel that can operate productively in less sunny climates. Unknown to the public is that the majority of the Hawkins National Laboratory's funding comes from the CIA's Stargate Project. This project investigates whether humans are capable of manifesting psychic and psychokinetic powers. To advance their efforts they recruited Dr. Martin Brenner whose earlier research on the use of LSD and sensory deprivation at the University of Indiana led to early insights into psychic phenomenon. While the CIA initially selected the Stargate title for the project as a means of obfuscating the actual research going on, recent events at the Laboratory have led to the creation of a Portal between our dimension and a Shadow Dimension which parallels our own.
The Upside Down/Vale of Shadows
– A dark reflection or echo of the material plane, a place of decay and
death. It is a plane out of phase and filled with monsters. It is right
next to you and you don’t even see it and it is governed by necrotic
and shadow magic. The Upside-Down appears to be a dark and cold version
of our world with necrotic growths and no living creatures other than
The Monster and possibly its offspring.
There are only
two ways to pass into the Upside-Down. The first is through the
semi-permanent portal created by Elle/Eleven. This portal is on a lower level
of Hawkins National Laboratory and has begun to warp the world around
it. Inside the Laboratory these effects can be seen in necrotic
outgrowths, a lower temperature, and constant light snowfall. In an area
of around 2 miles in diameter around the Laboratory, the effects can be
detected through instability in the electromagnetic field. When you are
within the diameter, compasses no longer point North. They point to the
Portal instead. The other means of passing into the Upside-Down is to
use a temporary portal created by The Monster. These portals are created
by The Monster as it enters and exits our world, but quickly close due
to the amount of energy needed to produce them. They can last as long as
5 minutes. Of course, using them without The Monster noticing is no
small feat.
The creators of the show have a
30 page bible dedicated to the Upside-Down, hinting at future adventures in upcoming seasons.
Negative Environmental Effects –
Poisonous Atmosphere: anyone non-native caught in the
Upside-Down must make a Stamina check once per day or suffer one level
of Fatigue. This damage cannot cause the death of a Wildcard.
Cold: Unless wearing warm clothing, a person must make a
Stamina check once per day or suffer one level of Fatigue. This damage
cannot cause the death of a Wildcard.
The Kids
Will Byers (
Noah Schnapp) – Will Byers' is close friends with Mike Wheeler, Dustin Henderson, and Lucas Sinclair. When the group is playing Dungeons & Dragons, Will tends to play the character Will the Wise and when given the choice between taking risks and playing it safe, he will often choose to cast Fireball instead of Protection spells. He is a good kid, but his current home life is very unstable. His mother Joyce is viewed as unstable by the town and Will is viewed as the easiest kid to bully at Hawkins Middle School.
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d4, Strength d4, Vigor d6
Skills: Driving d6, Notice d6, Stealth d6, Survival d6, Shooting d4
Charisma: -2; Pace: 6; Parry: 2; Toughness: 5; Academics: 0
Hindrances: Loyal, Outsider, Young Edges: Alertness, Be a Zebra, Luck
Gear:
Mike Wheeler (
Finn Wolfhard) – Mike Wheeler is 12 years old and is one of the "point of view" characters in
Stranger Things. He is the Dungeon Master for the D&D gang and frequently runs 10 hour sessions on the weekends which end with a climactic battle against a powerful villain. In the first episode, his adventure includes a stressful encounter with Demogorgon. Little did he know that this adventure would shape the perceptions of his friends as they encountered The Monster from the Upside-Down. He is the son of Karen Wheeler and brother to Nancy Wheeler. He was once very close to his sister emotionally, but her recent relationship with Steve and his obsession with D&D have come in the way of their friendship. He is a good student with developing observational skills.
Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, Strength d4, Vigor d6
Skills:
Driving d6, Investigation d6, Notice d6, Stealth d4, Streetwise d4,
Tracking d4
Charisma: -2;
Pace: 6;
Parry: 2;
Toughness:
5;
Academics: 0
Hindrances: Outsider, Overprotective
Parents, Young
Edges: Alertness, Brave, Multitasker
Gear:
Binoculars, Walkie Talkie, Bicycle, Compass, RPG supplies
Dustin Henderson (
Gaten Matarazzo) is one of Mike Wheeler's oldest friends and a part of the D&D group. He is not native to Hawkins and likely moved here from California (he wears a T-Shirt advertising the
Castroville Artichoke Festival). While all the kids in the D&D group are smart, scientific, and tech savvy, Dustin truly excels in these areas. His permanent teeth have not come in yet due to
cleidocranial dysplasia.While Mike is the group's Dungeon Master, and the "hub" around which the group is centered, Dustin is the group's "leader." When push comes to shove, it is Dustin who gets the other kids to reconcile and who is able to rally the troops when the going gets tough. He is skeptical of certain kinds of authority and tends to view the challenges the gang faces through the lens of
Star Wars and D&D.
Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, Strength d4, Vigor d6
Skills:
Driving d6, Investigation d4, Persuasion d6, Repair d6, Streetwise d6
Charisma:
-2;
Pace: 6;
Parry: 2;
Toughness: 5;
Academics:
0
Hindrances: Outsider, Quirk, Young
Edges: Command,
Connections (Mr. Clarke), Multitasker
Gear: Bicycle, Compass, Walkie Talkie, Head Set
Lucas Sinclair (
Caleb McLaughlin) Lucas is Mike's oldest friend and a key member of the D&D crew. He is smart and adventurous, but he often lacks patience and is not quick to trust anyone. He distrusts Eleven/Elle and wants to take action as quickly as possible to rescue Will. He is a man of action and not waiting.
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d4, Strength d4, Vigor d6
Skills:
Driving d8, Investigation d6, Notice d4, Shooting d6, Stealth d4
Charisma:
-2; Pace: 8; Parry: 2; Toughness: 5; Academics:
0
Hindrances: Loyal, Outsider, Young
Edges: Alertness,
Be a Zebra, Fleet-Footed
Gear: Binoculars (Typical 10×25
binoculars), Bicycle, Walkie Talkie, Compass, Wrist Rocket (d8 2/4/6).
Eleven/Elle (
Millie Bobby Brown) was kidnapped by Dr. Martin Brenner when she was born. Eleven's mother was one of Dr. Brenner's subjects in his experiments at the University of Indiana. While the show hints that she is the 11th child/subject Dr. Brenner has worked with, no other subjects are shown in the series. When Eleven runs away, she befriends a local diner owner named Benny and eventually encounters Mike Wheeler. Even though Eleven is quiet and largely clueless to the mundane world around her, she and Mike become very close friends. Eleven has abilities beyond her "experience" level and is an extremely powerful young woman. She hopes to find a way to rescue Will Byers and free herself from the influence of Dr. Brenner.
Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d6, Spirit d10, Strength d4, Vigor d6
Skills:
Faith d4, Notice d6, Psionics d12, Shooting d4, Survival d6, Tracking d4
Charisma:
0;
Pace: 6;
Parry: 2;
Toughness: 5
Hindrances:
All Thumbs, Clueless, Loyal
Edges: Arcane Background (Psionics),
Brave, Danger Sense
Powers: Bolt,
boost/lower trait,
entangle,
mind reading,
telekinesis;
Power Points:
10
Quirk: Loves Eggo Waffles.
To Be Continued...
Later in the week, there will be posts discussing the Teens, Parents, Supporting Cast, and Antagonists of Stranger Things.
