Charm is the not-secret weapon of many a character, both hero and villain. The ability to manipulate a person is perhaps the most powerful weapon a person can have in their arsenal. So for this day’s prompt, I decided to roll with a character built as a red herring in an investigation in our Blade Runner campaign. Set in the year 2037, Wallace Corporation has just dropped the first of the Nexus 9s onto the streets of Los Angeles, and one of the characters is a newly minted N-9 that is working in forensics and gets assigned to aid the others in a murder investigation that takes them from the “feelie” studios of Hollywood, to Beverly Hills parties, to the “kipple” outside of town.
To really squick them out, I wanted to have a replicant that was not the average attractive doxie, but something the likes of Hollywood would want to buy: hence Arabella. A Nexus 9, she’s just been bought as a prop/companion/conversation piece for the famed actor Bradley Faire — a man renowned for his ability to pull emotion out of a scene, and for causing scandal off. At a party tracking down a lead, the characters encounter Arabella (N-9/AB6-3.12), a female replicant in the form of a young teenage girl with a gothy aesthetic and clothed in a fetishy-goth style. While this made her profoundly discomfiting, it was the very adult charm mixed with the image of youthful innocence that really got under two of the players’ skins. Where the plight of the replicants was still just part of the plot for them, this really drove home the awfulness of their situation. Even worse was realizing their fellow police officer was probably no older than she was, despite appearances to the contrary.
ARABELLA (N-9/AB6-3.12) while she was written up originally as a “doxie”, I converted her to “siren” under the Replicant Rebellion rules set that dropped this year. For the skills, assume level D (d6) if not listed.
STRENGTH: B (d10) Skills: Hand-to-Hand Combat C (d8); AGILITY: A (d12) Skills: Mobility A; INTELLIGENCE: C Skills all D; EMPATHY: A Skills: Manipulation: A
Health: 7, Resolve: 3
She wound up being somebody they wanted to protect…but she’s not a person; she’s product. During the session, a kill squad attacks the party, and Arabella is obviously terrified and once backed into a corner, murders the crap out of one of the hitmen about to kill one of the PCs in spectacular fashion. However, she is able to convince one of the characters to cover for her. Later, the player admitted he found the character a highly disturbing. Which was the goal.
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The Black Campbell 
4 August, 2026 at 06:51
I am really very fond of this game, although I have not yet felt compelled to obtain the Replicant Rebellion sourcebook.
Watching the film in high school, the reaction to Pris among friends was definitely some spin on ‘disturbing’ so I imagine you nailed the tone and characterization of the setting with a report like that~
4 August, 2026 at 07:48
I think I saw an opening night in 1982. Or close to that. Both it and The Thing got creamed by ET that year I was overstruck not just by the visuals, but by the tone of the piece. As a kid, I’d never really watched any noir films. Now it’s become one of my favorite genres, although I like it best when it’s blended with something else like science fiction. I even liked the original theatrical release, although the directors cut and final cut are far far better. I even liked Villaneue’s sequel, although it does detract from the idea that Decard may be a replicant.