This is the first in a series of posts about creating the characters for Warped Beyond Recognition. To start, a video of the digital art process where we take a look at Subject 01, Evander Budaj:

Evander is the first character most players encounter, and I wanted him to serve as a kind of introduction to the module and the NPCs/horrors' psychic abilities. As such, his is probably the most straightforward and (relatively) easy to deal with: he can mentally control machinery, robots, etc., which is basically just a souped-up but specialized form of the telekinesis that all the characters have.

The immediate, obvious danger is in the huge cargo-loading mech suit that he commands to stomp and crush the player characters – but it's actually quite slow, so careful play should allow the players to outmaneuver it.

The bigger (but more subtle) danger is that because of his attunement to machines, Evander can detect androids in the party (even if the other players don't know about them) and control their bodies. In my experience running the module, triggering this at the right moment can not only be devastating to players' well-laid plans, but can also freak them out immensely.

Since most parties only have one android, the potential danger here is still somewhat limited. But it serves as a kind of prep or warning for Subject 04, Billy Wei, who can dominate and puppet humans, usually making up the majority of the party. Billy usually winds up being a much bigger problem, but if players have encountered Evander first, they'll be better prepared!

It was pretty easy to land on the direction for the music with Galen: I just wanted an industrial, mechanical-sounding theme with a driving, military-march like quality, and I think he nailed it.