Characters in game are as follows. The first entry gives information on the general format of the other entries. Many of the entries are rather terse, and may be missing some information or prior knowledge from the books, but this information will be made more complete in the materials actually given to the players.

Character Name -[Whether this is a major character from the books (with personality kept the same, but situation modified for game), minor character from the books (usually with major modifications in all respects), or wholely new character]- Character description, including background, personality, and current goals.

Race: The characters race stat, given as a name rather than a number.
Psychlims: If any, the psychological limitations of the character. Most characters do not have psychlims, so this entry is usually omitted.
Arrival: Method of arrival, as well as other relevant gamestart information.
Plots: Things the character is up to, described either in the character description above or in the plots list. Plots that everyone has (like survivial) are left out.
Items: Important items that the character has at the beginning of game.
Abilities: Important abilities, including (in parentheses) the character's level of skill (Low, Average, High), and any other notes about the abilities.

Arthur Dent -[Major]- He is one of two remaining survivors of the Earth when it is demolished by the Vogons to make way for a Hyperspace Bypass. He was rescued from the Earth by his friend Ford Prefect, who revealed himself to be from a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse, and not from Guilford after all. He and Ford hitched a ride aboard one of the Vogon constructor ships, but were then found and thrown out into space. They were then rescued by the Heart of Gold where they met Zaphod, Trillian, and Marvin. Through various adventures (summarized here) they found their way onto the black ship, and leave in an escape capsule which randomly deposits them here.

Arthur is a remarkably unremarkable Earthman who has been thrown into rather remarkable circumstances, going directly from one adventurous crisis to the next without even time to stop for a nice cup of tea. He is still wearing the bathrobe he was wearing when Ford rescued him from the Earth only a few days (subjectively) ago. He is very worried about Zaphod and Trillian (nobody worries about Marvin) since their escape capsule looked to be damaged as Arthur and Ford left. He is also very upset by Earth's entry in the Guide, which currently reads "Harmless" and wants it to be far more extensive (well beyond the revised entry that Ford thinks he can get past the editors, which reads "Mostly Harmless"). He is somewhat curious about the Ultimate Question, but is certainly not willing to die over it.

Race: Golgafrinchan (unless Ark is diverted, in which case he becomes pure Earthling)
Arrival: Escape Capsule, begins at gunpoint of Number Two
Plots: Finding Lost Friends, Finding the Question, Revising Earth's entry in the Guide
Items: Bathrobe, Revised Earth entry for Guide
Abilities: Luck (can ask a GM for a "lucky break" a few times in game), First Aid

Ford Prefect -[Major]- Ford is a field-researcher for the Guide who became stranded on the Earth after going there to research a story. The Earth is so far from the space-lanes that his electronic thumb was unable to flag down another ride until the Vogons came to demolish the Earth, five years after Ford arrived. While on the Earth, Ford made friends with Arthur Dent, and thus decided to take Arthur with him when he fled the Earth, beginning on the adventures summarized here.

Ford is an easygoing, quick-thinking hitchhiker. One might well say, "Hey, sass that hoopy Ford Prefect. Now there's a frood who really knows where his towel is." (A towel is, of course, one of the most useful items in the universe.) He is very late on his submission deadline due to being delayed on the Earth, and thus will be in a lot of trouble whenever he returns to the Guide offices. Turning in his Submission to Zarniwhoop here in the distant past is a good solution to that problem.

Race: Betelgeuse
Arrival: Escape Capsule, begins at gunpoint of Number Two
Plots: Finding Lost Friends, Finding the Question, Making Guide Submissions
Items: Towel, Guide, Electronic Thumb (can flag down passing ships, but not in-game due to distance from space-lanes), Guide Submissions, Rubber Band (wrapped around submissions)
Abilities: Programming (Average)

Zaphod Beeblebrox -[Major]- Zaphod was galactic president (a position designed, unbeknownst to its occupants, to draw attention away from power rather than to weild it) before he stole the Heart of Gold in order to go to the ancient planet Magrathea (part of the adventures of the five main characters summarized here).

Actually the real reason that he stole it was to find the Ruler of the Universe. Zaphod was part of a group with Zarniwhoop, Roosta, and others who wished to do this, but his memories were erased so that he would pass the psychological exams for becoming president. Yesterday, he came to himself in a dream and told himself to find Zarniwhoop. He also told himself some parameters to enter into the improbability drive. They were meant to move the HoG into Zarniwhoop's simulated universe, but due to the nature of that simulation, they actually did nothing other than inform Zarniwhoop of Zaphod's werereabouts in time and space.

Zaphod is an egomaniac, and also happens to have two heads and three arms (one artificial, grown recently). He is also one of the most famous poeple in the universe, which feeds his ego rather effectively. He's always looking for schemes to gain wealth and fame (though he doesn't care much about power), though he is also a coward, and thus can't execute the more dangerous plans. Immortality would be just the thing for him, and he's heard of Wowbagger.

Race: Betelgeuse
Arrival: Heart of Gold
Plots: Finding the Ruler, Becoming Immortal (mempacket), Finding lost Friends
Items: Kill-O-Zap Gun, Passcard (all HoG doors)
Abilities: Piloting (Average), Engineering (Low)

Tricia McMillan (Trillian) -[Major]- Trillian is the other survivor of the Earth. She left six months earlier than Arthur after meeting Zaphod when he was visiting Earth and attended a fancy-dress party in Islington. "With a degree in Maths and another in Astrophysics, it was either that or back to the doll queue on Monday." She has been hanging around with Zaphod ever since and through the adventures in the book summarized here, though she has no interest in a romantic relationship with him (not that he hasn't been trying).

She is attractive and devastatingly intelligent. She's very interested in learning experiences and adventures, and not particularly attached to the companions that she shares them with. She does, however, care for the well-being of her friends, and it was she who was the motivating factor in going to look for Arthur and Ford. She would be an ideal companion for Wowbagger, and would be very interested in immortality as a chance to experience more of the universe.

Race: Golgafrinchan (unless Ark is diverted, in which case he becomes pure Earthling)
Arrival: Heart of Gold
Plots: Finding Lost Friends, Becoming Immortal (if chosen by Wowbagger)
Items: Mouse food (forces Mice to come out of hiding), Passcard (all HoG doors)
Abilities: Navigation (High), Piloting (High), Physics (High), First Aid

Marvin -[Major]- Marvin was a prototype of the Cirius Cybernetics Corporation's GPP (Genuine People Personalities) features. Unfortunately, the personality he ended up with is chronically depressed. Key among his problems is that he has a "brain the size of a planet" and is thus monumentally bored with everything. He also has "this terrible pain in all the diodes down his left side", which he has had for all of the now millions of years of his existance. He slouches about and usually does what he's told, but he doesn't enjoy it, and he makes that known to anyone within earshot.

Race: Robot
Psychlims: Depressed, Unhelpful (won't help with anything unless asked)
Arrival: Heart of Gold
Plots: None in specific. Marvin isn't excited by anything, really.
Items: None
Abilities: All technical skills (High), Brain Scan (for question), DNA Scan (determine race, with full information about the meaning of number)

Eddie -[Minor]- Another product of GPP technology, Eddie is constantly cheerful, to the point of becoming less helpful at times. He is the shipboard computer for the Heart of Gold, his cheerful voice always accompanied by the tickertape of his printer.

At the beginning of game, the Heart of Gold colocated with the B Ark, and specifically the Heart of Gold computer colocated with the B Ark computer core, and thus Eddie has replaced the B Ark's computer. This results both in the significant problems aboard the B Ark due to the lack of its computer, and to the inability of the HoG to leave until Eddie is downloaded back into it. In the meantime, though, Eddie can explore the new system, travelling from terminal to terminal, helping whoever he happens to meet, and playing with systems as he feels appropriate.

Eddie is likely to be considered an NPC part, with no real plot and with limitations for the purpose of smooth running of the game.

Race: Artificial Intelligence
Psychlims: Cheerful, Easily Distracted (wanders off topic unless forced back on), Follow any order (even if later told not to), Unhelpful (will not use skills unless asked)
Arrival: Heart of Gold (is resident in the Ark's computer system, though)
Plots: None
Items: None
Abilities: He's the computer, Race scan (no information on meaning of numbers)

Zarniwhoop -[Minor]- Zarniwhoop is the chief editor of the Guide, working in their main offices on Ursa Minor Beta. He is a megalomaniac, wanting to control everything. He is also the leader of a group of people attempting to find and influence the ruler of the universe. Immortality would also be big on Zarniwhoop's list of priorities, but since he never really pays much attention to the Guide he edits, he hasn't heard of Wowbagger.

Zarniwhoop created a simulated universe in his office computer so that he could research stories in the day and still go to parties at night. The simulated universe is also meant as a safe meeting place for Zaphod after he has stolen the HoG which the group needs to reach the ruler. Zarniwhoop has noticed that Zaphod has entered the simulated universe, and thus is going in to meet with Zaphod and tell him to come to Ursa Minor with the HoG. Unbeknownst to Zarniwhoop, the computer decided that the only way to simulate the universe was to use the real one, and thus Zarnowhoop and Roosta is actually being projected into the past to where Zaphod is.

Race: Ursa Minor
Arrival: Simulation
Plots: Finding the Ruler, Collecting Guide submissions
Items: Stun Gun
Abilities: Race Scan (checking Simulation data, gives only vague information on meaning of number)

Roosta -[Minor]- Roosta is a hitchhiker, guide researcher, and Zarniwhoop's right-hand man. He's less interested in power than he is in adventure, fun, and the good life, but he goes along with Zarniwhoop as long as he pays the bills. Roosta and Ford were personal friends and went hitchhiking together in the old days, and thus Roosta would like to see Ford come out of this situation alive, and ideally capable of rejoining Roosta for further adventures.

Roosta would be very interested in becoming immortal, and has read enough of the Guide to recognize Wowbagger's name once he hears it. He may also decide to try to help Zarniwhoop become immortal to gain his favor in future.

Race: Ursa Minor
Arrival: Simulation
Plots: Finding the Ruler, Becoming Immortal (mempacket)
Items: Towel, Liquid Lunch, Guide
Abilities: First Aid, Lockpicking (Average)

The Captain -[Minor]- Completely incompetent, he was chosen for this mission due to the unlikelyhood that he would notice that anything was wrong until too late. He has spent the last five years in the bath (which he installed in the bridge because he thought it would be relaxing) because he forgot a towel and is too embarassed to ask for one. He'll do his best to make things run smoothly if he can, but has an uphill fight ahead of him.

Race: Golgafrinchan
Psychlims: Can't get out of bath without a towel.
Arrival: Crew (bridge)
Plots: Form Successful Colony (requires planet, not being taken over, etc.)
Items: Soap, Rubber Duck (with mechanical squeak circuit), Passcard (all Ark doors), Communicator (inoperative)
Abilities: Navigation (Low)

Number One -[Minor]- He wasn't actually "Number One" of the Illuminati on Golgafrincham, but he arranged for this position because he liked its suggestion of the position he hoped to have on the new colony. He was, in fact was about as highly though of in the Illuminati on Golgafrincham as were the rest of the inhabitants of the B Ark, and they sent him away as much to get rid of him as to let him rule a new colony (which is why they never told him about the ship's being programmed to crash). He doesn't actually know who his agent is, but has been assured by the Illuminati that his agent knows the proper codephrase to contact him.

He is powerhungry and also egotistical, believing himself to be the enlightened ruler that the new colony needs. Of course, he wants to rule through a pupped potentate, and thus has no desire to unseat the Captain of the Ark. He was an infiltration agent (he thought he was one of the best) back on Golgafrincham, and still has some of the tech toys he got from Q-branch, like his single-shot disguized Kill-O-Zap gun. He thinks Immortality would be just the thing to ensure that his rulership lasts forever, and read about Wowbagger in the Illuminati archives back on Golgafrincham.

Race: Golgafrinchan
Arrival: Crew (bridge)
Plots: Illuminati, Becoming Immortal (mempacket) Items: Communicator (inoperative), passcard (all Ark doors), Kill-O-Zap Gun (disguised as pen, single-use)
Abilities: Piloting (Low), Engineering (Low)

Number Two -[Minor]- He was a combat specialist for SHIELD back on Golgafrincham, and his focus on combat over the intellectual shows. He's a major order and organization freak, and obsesses about military discipline and procedure. The military position on the ship was the logical one for him to take, as it allowed him to keep order and gave him authority over most of the others on the ship. He is paranoid and fully believes that nearly everyone in the world is up to no good, though he also believes in justice, and thus won't kill anyone without a fair trial (or, on this ship, the Captain's judgement), unless it's in self-defense.

He expects to become the new Gauntlet (leader of SHIELD) on the colony, and doesn't know that the other SHIELD agent doesn't expect so.

Race: Golgafrinchan
Arrival: Crew (freezer bay, with Arthur and Ford at gunpoint)
Plots: SHIELD
Items: Kill-O-Zap Gun, Communicator (inoperative), passcard (all Ark doors)
Abilities: High Combat Stats

Ship's Cook -[New]- A brainwashed SWORD agent, the brainwashing process wasn't quite complete before he left Golgafrincham, and thus he is rather confused. He currently will follow any direct orders from anyone, including being ordered to answer questions truthfully (though he won't have to answer truthfully if not explicitly ordered to). He is only forced to obey those orders for 10 minutes, though, before his screwed up mind loses its train of thought. If his commander identifies himself via a codephrase, though, he will follow that commander's orders with no such time limitation, and those orders will be able to override any other orders.

Race: Golgafrinchan
Psychlims: Follows _all_ direct orders
Arrival: Crew
Plots: SWORD
Items: Communicator (inoperative), passcard (low-security Ark doors), Kill-O-Zap Gun (disguised as meat thermometer, single shot)
Abilities: First Aid, Programming (Low)

Ship's Handyman (Pinky) -[New]- Though he's a hyperintelligent pandimensional being, Pinky's projection into this dimension didn't come out quite right, and thus he appears rather more dimwitted than one would expect. He has some rather interesting speech patterns, and tends to blab things he's not supposed to talk about, since his mouth simply picks up what he's thinking without much of a filter in between. On the plus side, he has a very keen sense of smell which allows him to tell the difference between different races. Pinky wants to see the Earth be safe from interference so that the Mouse experiment there will continue undisturbed.

Race: Mouse (or in suit, mixed Mouse/Robot)
Psychlims: Must say the following once per hour: Narf, Poit, Egad, Must mention at least once secret he knows to someone who doesn't at least once per hour (calling Brain by name, for instance, counts)
Arrival: Crew
Plots: Mice
Items: Communicator (inoperative), passcard (low-security Ark doors), Mouse suit
Abilities: Engineering (Low), Programming (Low), Race scan (no information on meaning of number, but knows value of true Earthling), Mouse Abilities outside of suit (hide in holes, bypass doors through air-vents, etc) but cannot carry anything

Agrajag -[Minor]- The B Ark's janitor (Cleanliness Engineer). A character who is reincarnated repeatedly but always seems to be killed because of Arthur Dent. Pregame death, killed by the escape capsule (it fell on him). Agrajag is a pregame death, meaning that no player need play him.

Race: Golgafrinchan
Arrival: Crew (freezer bay, dead)
Plots: N/A
Items: Soap, mop, bucket, passcard (all Ark doors), Communicator (inoperative)
Abilities: N/A

Cryo 1 -[New]- He plans to be the new Warlock (leader of SWORD) for the Golgafrinchan colony. He was an ambitious SWORD membe on Golgafrincham, who was sent off with the B Ark largely to keep his ambition from being a danger to the real Warlock. He wants to build his brainwashing device and brainwash the Captain of the ship so that he can be assured of influence in the new colony. He has the codephrase to identify himself to his brainwashed agent, who doesn't currently know his identity. He too has heard of Wowbagger, and things immortality would make a great addition to his role as Warlock.

He is undercover here as a hairdresser, with his brainwasher disguised as a hairdryer. He also has a concealable weapon disguised as a curling iron.

Race: Golgafrinchan
Arrival: Cryo
Plots: SWORD, Becoming Immortal (mempacket)
Items: Brainwasher Casing, Kill-O-Zap Gun (disguised as curling iron, single-shot)
Abilities: Engineering (Average)

Cryo 2 -[New]- He is number 6, a brand new Illuminati recruit grabbed from among the masses, given his mission and told to deliver the OMCL casing to the new Number One. He has a codephrase to identify himself to Number One as his agent. He doesn't really understand the Illuminati, but he thinks it's a neat idea, and will do his best to do a good job.

He is undercover here as a TV producer, with his OMCL satellite disguised as a camera.

Race: Golgafrinchan
Arrival: Cryo
Plots: Illuminati
Items: Orbital Mind-Control Laser Casing
Abilities: Programming (Average)

Cryo 3 -[New]- An ace telephone sanitizer, he takes his calling in life metaphorically, to clean up the world. Thus, as well as learning to clean all manner of machinery he joined SHIELD. He was actually a rather competent agent, and they probably wouldn't have sent him away on the B Ark if he wasn't so damned annoyingly enthusiastic all the time.

He expects to become the new Gauntlet (leader of SHIELD) on the colony, and doesn't know that the other SHIELD agent doesn't expect so.

Race: Golgafrinchan
Arrival: Cryo
Plots: SHIELD
Items: Truthing Device Casing
Abilities: Telephone Sanitizer (can clean machines to allow them to be fixed, requires soap, water, and a towel or mop)

The Brain -[New]- Unlike Pinky, Brain actually displays the genius that a hyperintelligent pandimensional being should. He would, in fact, probably make a decent companion for Wowbagger, if Wowbagger can get over the fact that Brain is a mouse. Brain is rather high on himself, and would be very interested in becoming immortal. He wants to learn the answer to the ultimate question for himself, and doesn't really care much whether anyone else gains benefit from it. He might even be willing to kill Arthur or Trillian for their brain if he can get away with it.

Race: Mouse (or in suit, mixed Mouse/Robot)
Arrival: Cryo
Plots: Mice, Becoming Immortal (mempacket)
Items: Mouse suit
Abilities: Engineering (High), Navigation (High), Physics (High), Mouse Abilities outside of suit (hide in holes, bypass doors through air-vents, etc) but cannot carry anything

Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged -[Minor]- Wowbagger became immortal as a result of an accident involving a particle accelerator, a liquid lunch, and a pair of rubber-bands, and is thus one of the Galaxy's few truly immortal beings. He is not only infinitely long lived, but also extremely difficult to kill. Unlike naturally immortal beings who are also born with the means to deal with that immortality (who Wowbagger considers a bunch of serene bastards) Wowbagger has become very bored and restless in his million years of life.

To pass the time, Wowbagger has decided that he will insult the universe, one being at a time, in alphabetical order. With the size of the universe and the rate of new births it is, of course, an impossible task, but at least it keeps him busy. The next being on his list is Arthur Phillip Dent, and thus Wowbagger has come here (thanks to the millions of years of data in his computer which allow it to calculate the proper probabilities to determine where to go next).

Though nobody has ever been able to duplicate the accident that made Wowbagger immortal, he has over the millenia toyed with the idea, and has finally put in the effort necessary to duplicate it. He now has a blueprint which, given the right materials and skills, would allow the process to be duplicated for someone else. He has thus come up with the idea of finding a companion with which to share his eternity. He wants someone intelligent and interesting enough to be worth spending that long with, so he must choose carefully. He'd also prefer a female, since he hasn't ever really been able to have what he would now deem a "long term" romantic relationship, but he hasn't made that a requirement.

Race: Antarean
Arrival: Wowbagger's Ship
Plots: Insult Arthur Dent, Find Companion
Items: Rubber Band
Abilities: Immortality, Hard to Kill, Navigation (High), Physics (High), Piloting (Average), First Aid

Crickett Robots (multiple) -[Minor]- The Crickett Robots were created by the people of the planet Crickett, a race of rather nice individuals who happen to have the flaw of being psychotically xenophobic. The planet Crickett was imprisoned in a field of slowed (virtually stopped) time after the end of a long and bloody war which the rest of the Galaxy only barely won, and the key was broken in to many pieces which were sent to random points in time, space, and parallel universes. One of them turned out to be the heart of the infinite improbability driven, and thus the single ship of Crickett robots which was not imprisoned is now coming to retreive it in the hopes of freeing their masters.

Almost certainly NPC parts, the robots exist primarily to add a few unpredictable events to the game, and to make it more difficult to leave via the Heart of Gold. Unless stopped, they will steal the engine core of the HoG, making it unable to function. They will also explore the rest of the ship, observing its occupants for the purpose of reporting to their masters back on Crickett.

Race: Robot
Psychlims: Carry out purpose ignoring others unless they interfere
Arrival: Crickett Ship (arrives with a sound like many people saying "Whop")
Plots: Remove core of HoG engines
Items: Bat (weapon/grenade-launcher), Stun Gun
Abilities: Engineering (high)


Andrew Twyman, kurgan@mit.edu
Interactive and Non-Linear Narrative, Spring 1998