The Cast

This is the cast of the 2016 ATX Ghostbusters Campaign!

Dr. Edward Addison Hynek

NAME: Dr. Edward Addison Hynek

AGE: 46

BIRTHPLACE: Chicago, Illinois

BIO:

Edward Addison Hynek was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1970. He grew up on a steady diet of deep dish pie, pinball and television. At the age of six he became intensely interested in Leonard Nimoy’s seminal “In Search Of…” television series and began to devour everything he could find on the paranormal. Beginning with books from the school library, by 1980 he had discovered every crackpot theory and scientifically dubious idea the pre-Internet world had to offer. Armed with an Atari 800 and a modem, Hynek began to reach out to a larger world, amassing an incredible amount of knowledge the rest of the world thought complete and total hokum- until the events of 1983 revealing to the world that the paranormal did, in fact, exist.

Teenaged Hynek, feeling vindicated, dove even deeper into his obsession with the strange and unusual. He read everything from von Daniken to Holtzer to Tobin to Gygax. He graduated high school early in 1986 and enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin, completing his BA in Physics in 1989 and his PhD in Parapsychology in 1993. He applied to the Austin Ghostbusters franchise, but was placed on a waiting list by the economic circumstances the francise was already feeling in the wake of nationalization as the Department of Paranormal Affairs. By the early 1990s, the public fervor generated by the 1983 and 88 disturbances, and their 1984 and 89 film releases had died down. Ironically, the films created a situation in which the public began to consider the actual events unbelievable and apocryphal. Hynek found it impossible to find a job in his chosen profession that did not involve working for the Government. Settling down in Austin, Hynek found work as an adjunct professor of Physics, but found that part-time teaching could not pay the bills. He got in on the ground floor of an internet business that was attempting to skirt the government monopoly on paranormal investigations only to lose the money he made to the dot-com bust and a government crackdown.

By 2005, Hynek was writing books on the paranormal in the vein of his favorite authors and continuing to live off a modest income generated by part-time teaching and a small Chicago-style pizza restaurant he had opened with what was left of his dot-com money. The restaurant is a peculiar shrine to the heyday of the 1980s, with a game room full of a dozen classic pinball and arcade cabinets and walls adorned with Ghostbusters memorobilia and artwork by 1980s fantasy painters like Larry Elmore and Jeff Easley. Two old “TSR” display shelves near the cash register hold an odd assortment of books, from old Dungeons & Dragons manuals to copies of “Hauntings of Central Texas” to dog-eared copies of the novelization of the Ghostbusters feature film next to DVD copies of Peter Venkman’s “World of the Psychic.” A smaller dining area aside from the main dining room and known as “The Dungeon” is often the location for local players of all ages to roll funny dice. Occasionally, Hynek will preside over one of these tables, using the skills that serve him so well as a minor internet personality and show host to portray the denizens of a dozen different fantasy worlds.

Hynek’s unauthorized Internet revial of “In Search Of…” had run for three seasons before the reactivation of the Austin Ghostbusters Franchise gave him the opportunity to finally don the jumpsuit. With his pizza place operating in the black most of the time, he turned management over to his long-time player and partner in crime Morris Coleman, who holds Member Number 00001 in the Searchers fan club.

REFLEXES: 2D

Dodge: 2D+1

Melee Combat: 2D+1

Melee Parry: 2D+1

COORDINATION: 2D

Driving: 2D

Marksmanship: 3D

PHYSIQUE: 2D

KNOWLEDGE: 4D

Business: 4D

Languages: 4D+1

Scholar: 5D

Tech: 4D+1

PERCEPTION: 4D

Artist (Pizza): 4D

Investigation: 4D+1

Search: 4D+1

Repair: 4D+1

Tracking: 4D+1

PRESENCE: 4D

Charm: 4D+2

Con: 4D+2

Persuasion: 4D+2

MOVE: 10

CHARACTER POINTS: 5

FATE POINTS: 1

STRENGTH DAMAGE: 1D

ADVANTAGES

*Fame (R1) – Dr. Hynek is the host of a YouTube revival of the classic “In Search Of…” series.

*Contacts (R1) – The Searchers. Fans of the YouTube series that have pledged to assist Dr. Hynek in finding the truth about the paranormal.

DISADVANTAGES

*Devotion (R2) – Dr. Hynek earnestly and steadfastly believes in the Paranormal – to the extent that he is often more than a bit insistent that the skeptical believe, attempting to evangelize belief in everything from ghosts to vampires to Atlantis. Of course, as a Ghostbuster, he has seen some of these things firsthand, others he takes on occasionally ill-advised faith.

Victoria Simmons

NAME: Victoria Simmons

AGE: 16

BIRTHPLACE: Austin, Texas

BIO:

Victoria was born in Austin, Texas into a normal, working-class family and lived in the suburban standard. But from a young age Victoria knew she wasn’t a normal girl. She could hear and see things others didn’t and she knew things before they happened. When she told her parents about these wondrous and scary things, they sent her to a psychiatrist. For the next five years she bounced from one psych to another, all saying the same thing; that she can’t see what she sees, or know what she knows. Victoria’s parents also enrolled her into a learning center, since she was unable to attend a normal school. Because of her parents’ busy work schedules, she spent most of her time in the center’s library, but this gave her plenty of time to study her gift and to learn how to hide it from the world. Released from psychiatric purgatory, but still enrolled at the learning center, Victoria scoured the internet for materials about the supernatural. One of the sites she can across linked to some old articles about the Department of Paranormal Defense, and an even older group called Ghostbusters. Soon through she learned that power comes at a price, and for Victoria that price was pain. At 13, she began developing headaches. It didn’t take her long to realize that the more she used her gifts, the more painful the headaches got until she had to stop and rest. In an attempt to control the pain, Victoria began attending different classes at the local YMCA. Her parents were pleased that Victoria seemed to be coming out of her shell more and began talking to her about enrolling her into a normal high school. Victoria threw herself into her learning center courses hoping to encourage her parents to allow her to continue there. It worked and she spent the next several years focused on her GED, her YMCA classes, practicing the magick she already knew and building her occult book and divination collection. Once she had earned her GED she began searching for people who might help her learn more spells, feeling she had gotten as far as she could on her own. Her parents were concerned that she was out late into the evenings, and so insisted that she needed to get a job. She tried the different jobs most people start with, but none of them lasted long. Unhappy with her latest job at a theatre, Victoria pulled out her trusted tarot card deck and performed a reading. Following the tarot cards and with a little research, she found herself working at the newly reformed Austin Ghostbusters.

REFLEXES: 3D

Dodge: 3D

Melee Combat: 3D+1

Melee Parry: 3D+1

Sneak: 3D+1

COORDINATION: 2D

Driving: 2D

Throwing: 2D+1

PHYSIQUE: 2D

Stamina:3D

KNOWLEDGE: 4D

Scholar: 4D

Tech: 4D

PERCEPTION: 3D

Hide: 3D+1

Investigation: 3D

Search: 3D

Streetwise: 3D+2

PRESENCE: 4D

Disguise: 4D+1

Persuasion: 4D

Willpower: 5D+1

MAGICK

Apportation: 1D

Conjuration: 1D

Divination: 2D

MOVE: 10

CHARACTER POINTS: 5

FATE POINTS: 1

STRENGTH DAMAGE: 1D

ADVANTAGES

*Magick (R4) – Unusually abilities that Victoria was born with

DISADVANTAGES

*Teenager (R1)

*Advantage Flaw (R1) – With Victoria’s magick comes pain, a headache that builds with each use without rest.

Don Edwards

NAME: Don Edwards

AGE: 34

BIRTHPLACE: Houston, TX

BIO:

Don was born and raised in Houston, TX in a musical family who nurtured his weirdness and aspirations for the performing arts. In and out of several bands throughout his late teens to early thirties, none of his projects seemed to hit. He realized that he would not make it in the Houston music scene and moved to Austin to take a shot in the “Live Music Capitol of the World.”

He moved in with his aunt and uncle who owned and operated the local Ghostbusters franchise. Don inherited the franchise after the tragic accident that claimed the lives of his Ghostbusting relatives. He is not 100% sure about what he’s doing, but has vowed to keep the business open and operational to honor their memories. And so they don’t come back to haunt him.

REFLEXES: 4D

Melee Combat: 5D

Melee Parry: 5D

COORDINATION: 3D

Marksmanship: 4D

PHYSIQUE: 2D

Lifting: 3D

KNOWLEDGE: 2D

Scholar: 3D

PERCEPTION: 4D

Streetwise: 5D

PRESENCE: 3D

Persuasion: 4D

MAGICKAL:

Conjuration: 2D

Divination: 2D

MOVE: 10

CHARACTER POINTS: 5

FATE POINTS: 1

STRENGTH DAMAGE: 1D

ADVANTAGES:

*Contacts (R1) - Has acquired a network of club owners and hotel managers due to booking shows.

*Magick (R4)

DISADVANTAGES:

*Allergy (R3) - Developed a metal allergy

*Debt (R1) - Mounds of personal and student loans

*Quirk (R1) - Stutter

Damien "Droz" Drozdoff

NAME: Damien Drozdoff aka “Droz”

AGE: 28

BIRTHPLACE: Bastrop, Texas

BIO:

Droz’s family moved to Texas after escaping from the U.S.S.R. and going through American naturalization. Both his father and uncle were 2nd generation members of SPETSNAZ following in his grandfather’s footsteps. 

Unfortunately, Droz’s uncle was killed helping his parents escape from communist clutches. A couple of years after setting roots in Texas, Droz was born. Tragedy struck his family again though as his mother died giving birth. Droz’s father raised him to live and survive off the land, he also educated him in many of the skills he had learned in the special forces. At the age of 18, Droz followed in the family footsteps joining the military, the Army specifically. He more than excelled in the Army, acing his way through the Green Berets program and landing in a DOPD special unit. Over the next few years, Droz’s unit did battle with various supernatural phenomenon and shit that’ll turn you white, all over the world. Droz also learned our government wasn’t to be trusted when it came to ghostbusting and the general public’s best interests. After leaving the DOPD, he did a bit of freelance mercenary work. Droz returned home after his father died of “mysterious circumstances”, no doubt the work of the Men In Black. Droz now works for the ATX Ghosbusters, biding his time and surviving.

REFLEXES:  4D 

Dodge: 5D 

Melee Combat: 4D+1 

Melee Parry: 4D+1

COORDINATION: 4D 

Marksmanship: 5D

Throwing: 4D+1

PHYSIQUE: 4D

KNOWLEDGE: 2D 

Demolitions: 3D

PERCEPTION: 2D 

Hide: 3D 

Survival: 3D

PRESENCE: 2D 

Willpower: 4D

MOVE: 10

CHARACTER POINTS: 5

FATE POINTS: 1

STRENGTH DAMAGE: 2D

ADVANTAGES:

*Combat Sense (R3) - Droz can sense danger. He is never surprised. Rather, he and his attacker must determine initiative as normal. Even if the attacker still goes before the character does, any combat modifier from the surprise is reduced by 2. 

*Skill Bonus (R1) - Knife Fighting (+1 to Melee Combat, Melee Parry & Throwing) 

*Wealth (R1) - Droz made a small fortune working for the DOPD and his mercenary work.

DISADVANTAGES:

* Advantage Flaw – Wealth (R1) Though he amassed a small fortune, Droz’s money is tied up in secret foreign accounts and not easily accessible at times. 

*Devotion (R2) - Droz earnestly and steadfastly believes the government and DOPD are out to screw over everyone, to the extent that he is often more than a bit insistent that the skeptical believe. As a Ghostbuster in the DOPD special ops, he has seen these things firsthand and thinks he can make a difference. 

*Enemy (R2) - The DOPD really wanted Droz to stay in the fold, his skill set was invaluable to them. Some of the knowledge of their operations and future plans could be compromised if the truth got out. Perhaps they really did kill his father to send a message. Just because you’re paranoid, doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you.

Jaime Perez

NAME: Jaime Perez

AGE: 16

HAIR: Light Brown

EYES: Hazel

HEIGHT: 5′ 11″

WEIGHT: 180ish

BIRTHPLACE: San Antonio, Tx

BIO:

Born in San Antonio TX but moved around a lot as a kid due to his father being in the military. The family moved to Round Rock after his father got out of the military. Where he was able to start high school from the beginning of his freshmen year. He was always into big mech robots his biggest influence being Saturday morning cartoons in Japan. The Kaiju would come and devastate some town or village and the mechs would come in to save the day. He was determined to create a mech that would protect his family. but so far he only produced tiny version of his robots for the tech club in the high school.

In school he is not really an athlete but he does love to run cross country. Clears his mind when he is trying to design something for his bots. He is really smart and finds high school to be a waste of time. The subjects are too easy and thus boring.

He started getting into the paranormal on the day his grandmother passed. He could have sworn he saw her a few times that day and several times during the week. He has not seen her since but sometimes out of the corner of his eye he sees movement when no one is around. So his interest grew from trying to make sure it was her watching out for him to just making sure that people were safe from paranormal harm. Especially after what happened in New York.

REFLEXES: 2D+2

COORDINATION: 2D

PHYSIQUE: 3D

Running: 4D

Stamina: 4D

KNOWLEDGE: 4D+2

Tech: 6D+2

PERCEPTION: 3D+2

Know-How: 4D+2

Repair: 5D+2

PRESENCE: 2D

MOVE: 10

CHARACTER POINTS: 5

FATE POINTS: 1

STRENGTH DAMAGE: 1D

ADVANTAGES:

*Quick Study (R3)

*Contacts (R1): High School Robot and Tech Club

DISADVANTAGES:

*Allergies (R3): Hayfever

*Age (R1)