THE X-FILES REPORTS

A Scenario Supplement for Quill: A Letter-Writing Roleplaying Game for

a Single Player, by Scott Malthouse
Supplement Written by Tarcisio Lucas

Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International The X-Files Reports is a derivative of Quill: A

Letter-Writing Roleplaying Game for a Single Player by Scott Malthouse
Quill is a roleplaying game for one person – you. In a roleplaying game, players usually
step into the shoes of different characters and, as the word suggests, play out the role
of that character through a story. Usually roleplaying games are played by a group. But
not Quill, and not here. The original book and system of rules was written and developed
by Scott Malthouse, and published by The Trollish Delver.
"The X Files Reports" is a work by a fan, both of the series and the work of Scott
Malthouse, without any profit. If either party feels offended, I will remove this material,
since my intention is in no way to offend the authors and creators in question. This is a
supplement I developed taking the Quill rules into the universe of my favorite TV show,
The X-Files.
The X-Files is an American science fiction drama television series created by Chris Carter.
The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) special agents Fox
Mulder and Dana Scully, who investigate X-Files: marginalized, unsolved cases involving
paranormal phenomena. Mulder believes in the existence of aliens and the paranormal
while Scully, a medical doctor and a skeptic, is assigned to make scientific analyses of
Mulder's discoveries to debunk his work and thus return him to mainstream cases.
Early in the series, both agents become pawns in a larger conflict and come to trust only
each other and a very few select people. The agents also discover an agenda of the
government to keep the existence of extraterrestrial life a secret. In each case
investigated, the 2 agents have to write reports to their superiors from FBI reporting the
ending of the case, giving reasonable explanations about the events they were supposed
to clarify.
This case reports are the main material for this small supplement. RULES To adapt The
X-Files, we need to do some adaptations to the main rules, in order to bring to our times
and reality the concepts of the game. First of all, the correspondence is send by digital
mains. Instead of paper, the agents have to use the internet and the FBI E-mail platforms
to present it to the FBI administration.

Attributes

In Quill, we have 3 attributes: Penmanship, Language and Heart.

On The X-Files Reports, the attributes are:
Structure: this attribute shows how concise and organized was your explanation, at
least, it is what is expected from a federal agent.
Logic: This attribute shows your ability to link the different events that happened during
the investigation into one logical sequence of connected events.
Heart: Determines how much effort you put in your investigation.
In practice, Structure works the same way as penmanship, logic works exactly as
Language, and Heart, of course, is the same attribute from the basic ruleset.

The Characters

When you write your report, the first thing you have to do is to choose if you will be in
the role of FBI agent Fox Mulder, or agent Dana Scully. The most important thing is to
respect the general view that each one of them used to present when investigating
weird cases. So, if you are in the role of Mulder, you should present more supernatural
or alien explanations, while as Scully you must try to be the most logic and skeptic as
possible. Of course, things are not so “black and white”; it can happen that in one
specific case this “positions” change a little, especially if you are following the new
seasons, where we can find an agent Scully much more open mind to unusual ideas and
interpretations.

The Second Report

Once you have chosen a character and written a report, and you don’t succeed, you can
write a Second Report, now with the other character. For example, you wrote as Dana
Scully, and you couldn’t reach score enough to please the FBI superiors, so you can write
a report about the same case as Fox Mulder, trying to make them accept the conclusion
to the same case. And vice versa. In this case, you have to follow some rules:
1- You should keep and respect all information contained in the previous report.
You can’t change any fact or circumstance that happened. However, you can add
new situations, or give different explanations to the facts;
2- 2- It is more difficult to succeed in this Second Report, once the FBI disapproved
the first one, and it is clearly reticent about the case. So you need to have a
higher score in order to succeed. The score required for each case - first report
and second report - will be placed in the cases itself.
Characters

Agent Fox Mulder

Mulder is a talented profiler and strong believer in the supernatural. He is also

adamant about the existence of intelligent extraterrestrial life and its presence
on Earth. This set of beliefs earns him the nickname "Spooky Mulder" and an
assignment to a little-known department that deals with unsolved cases, known
as the X-Files. His belief in the paranormal springs from the claimed abduction of
his sister Samantha Mulder by extraterrestrials when Mulder was 12 years old.
Because of this, as well as more nebulous desires for vindication and the
revelation of truths kept hidden by human authorities, Mulder struggles to
maintain objectivity in his investigations.

Structure: good
Logic: poor
Heart: average
Agent Dana Scully

Agent Scully is a foil for Mulder in this regard. As a medical doctor and natural
skeptic, Scully approaches cases with complete detachment even when Mulder,
despite his considerable training, loses his objectivity. She is partnered with
Mulder initially so that she can debunk Mulder's nonconforming theories, often
supplying logical, scientific explanations for the cases' apparently unexplainable
phenomena. Although she is frequently able to offer scientific alternatives to
Mulder's deductions, she is rarely able to refute them completely.

Structure: average
Logic: good
Heart: poor

Choose your skill

Now you have chosen your character, you need to select a skill. Skills can be used
once per case, potentially giving you an advantage when writing your report.
There are three skills in the game:

Technological Help: Gain +1 dice to a Structure Test

Evidence Pattern: Gain +1 dice to a Logic Test

Personal Involvement: Gain +1 dice to a Heart Test

Important: You should show, through your writing, elements that justify you
choice about the Skill. It must be part of the narrative elements and events…try
to integrate this mechanics with the story told.

THE X-FILES REPORTS – THE LOST SEASON CASE 1

The abduction of Linda Sparrow

In the city of Las Cruces, New Mexico, there is a religious community that bases
its beliefs on New Age concepts and supposed aliens who watch over human well
being. This community has recently moved and worried the local authorities,
demanding the attention of the FBI. The Community leader Linda Sparrow
announced about 1 month ago that the time for the Space Brothers' arrival had
finally come, and that the end of the world was near, and that the aliens would
begin to take the chosen ones. Since then, 9 people from the community have
disappeared, all in mysterious circumstances. People from the city speaks of
thunders when the sky is clear, in strange lights in the night sky, and tall, big-
eyed, gray-skinned humans, seen in the distance, in the mountains. The last
person who disappeared was the leader herself, Linda Sparrow, who was found
dead with strange marks on her body 3 days later.

Rules of Report: The whole city, especially the religious community, will tell you
little about the things that are happening there. There is no modifier in this case.
Ink Pot

Aircraft/ UFO
CIA/ Government agency
Prophet / visionary
believers/ followers
planet/ galaxy
universe/ cosmos
Men in Black/ mysterious men
Taken/ abducted
Crop circles/ strange signs
Explosion/ bomb

Consequences

Less than 5 points (6, if Second Report): The FBI superiors get very upset with
the lack of reasonable explanation in your report. They immediately ask you to
return to the headquarters, and send other agents to keep the investigation.

5 to 7 points (7 to 9, if Second Report): The FBI was not entirely happy with your
conclusions, but they decide to accept it, considering the investigation ended,
with an inconclusive denoument.

8 to 10 points (10 to 11, IF Second Report): Thee FBI considers you did a good
work, but due to the difficulty of the case itself it was impossible to find a better
solution. You will receive the compliments from your co-workers and superiors
when you return to the headquarter.

11+ points (12 +, if Second Report): The FBI considers you solve the mistery in a
very professional way. The people from the city will always think of you with
respect and admiration.
CASE 2 - The Dead Man from Louisiana

In New Orleans, in a fairly marshy region known for its legends related to ancient
witchcraft, people are saying that a man named Greg Simpson is being seen
wandering around the former Antebellum-style properties and houses there,
terrorizing families and ranchers . Detail: Greg Simpson was a farm worker from
Farm Lafayette who died, people say, killed by his employer Thomas Jacob, 15
years ago. Greg Simpson, or whoever or whatever could be, has already made 3
victims, all powerful landowners in the region. - Every night that Greg Simpson is
seen, people can hear the sound of drums all over the region. Some say they
hear, in addition to the incessant beats, voices singing in some unknown dialect.

Rules of Report: Local people and local workers know all the stories in the area,
and are willing to share this with FBI agents. Get +1 die on all Logic tests.

Ink Pot

Swamp/ black forest

Old house/ mansion
Rich man/ miser man
Zombie/ ghoul
Vampire/ bloodsucker
Voodoo/ ancient magic
Witch/ evil woman
Regret/ remorse
Promise/ debts
Freedom/ absolution
Consequences

Less than 5 points (6, if Second Report): The FBI superiors get very upset with
the lack of reasonable explanation in your report. They immediately ask you to
return to the headquarters, and send another agent to keep the investigation.

5 to 7 points (7 to 9, if Second Report): The FBI was not entirely happy with your
conclusions, but they decided to accept it, considering the investigation ended,
with an inconclusive denoument.

8 to 10 points (10 to 11, IF Second Report): The FBI considers that you did a good
job, but due to the difficulty of the case itself it was impossible to find a better
solution. You will receive the compliments from your co-workers and superiors
when you return to the headquarter.

11+ points (12 +, if Second Report): The FBI considers you solve the mistery in a
very professional way. The people from the city will always think of you with
respect and admiration.

CASE 3 – The curious case of Benjamin Horshack

A retired former military man, Benjamin Horshack, knocked out and kidnapped
3 FBI agents. It is not known how he accomplished this feat. The fact is that
Benjamin later contacted the agency, demanding that agents Mulder and Scully
be sent to talk to him. The meeting place chosen by him was an abandoned
factory, which the FBI found to be a property owned by Bejamin himself. The
meeting, which was monitored by a huge battalion of agents, was extremely
strange. Benjamin, visibly nervous and anxious, said to be a traveler from
another universe, an alternate reality where Mulder and Scully, as well as the X
Files themselves, are nothing more than a television program, a TV show of
fiction. The odd thing is that he revealed quite personal details of the two agents,
leaving them rather perplexed. Suddenly, shouting things about an "impending
alien invasion that will devastate everything," he pulled a revolver, firing himself,
dying immediately. The kidnapped agents were not found there. It's up to
Mulder and Scully to investigate Benjamin's background in order to find leads
that lead to the missing agents.

Rules of Report: The agents will have the entire help from the high command of
the Agency. +2 dice in all Heart tests.

Ink Pot

Famous/ Well- known

Tree House/ Shack
Magazines/ reports
Strange artifacts/ odd things
Others/ Strange People
Cult/ Religion
Interference/ static
Portal/ entrance
Parallel reality/ multiverse
Accident/ unforeseen

Consequences

Less than 5 points (6, if Second Report): The other FBI agents are found dead,
and no explanations are discovered.

5 to 7 points (7 to 9, if Second Report): The FBI agents are found dead, but the
explanation about the motivations behind Benjamin’s actions was accepted as
true by the FBI.

8 to 10 points (10 to 11, IF Second Report): The FBI agents are found alive, but
with no memories of the last days. The FBI superiors considered you worked well.

11+ points (12 +, if Second Report): the agents are found alive, and corroborate
the theory presented in the reports.
CASE 4 - The Slender Man

In the small city of Eastport, Maine, strange and dark facts are happening. A
series of disappearances, only of children and adolescents, has terrified the
inhabitants of this small coastal region. All the disappearances are somehow
related to the forest that takes a good part of the city territory. Since ancient
times, this forest has been the cause of rumors of unexplained and supernatural
facts. The young students of Sir Walter Horton's school, the only school in the
entire city, speak rumors about the "Slander man," an urban legend born within
the internet in the last decade. Even though the “Slender man” is nothing more
than a media creation, this rumor has spread even more terror among the
citizens of Eastport. The FBI was called after the last disappearance, when a
group of six friends, all aged between 12 and 15, entered the forest to investigate
the rumor themselves. Among the missing ones is Hillary Dustin Maccoy,
daughter of the city's mayor.

Rules of Report: The federal agents will have great support from local
authorities, since the mayor is personally taking care of the case. Get +1 die on
all Heart tests.

Ink Pot

Echoes/sounds
Rituals/ceremonies
Poor people/beggars
Trees/bush
Shadows/silhouettes
Lights/ flashes
Cave/ hole
Young lady/girl
Corpse/ dead body
Wild animal/ creature

Consequences

Less than 5 points (6, if Second Report): The FBI superiors get very upset with
the lack of reasonable explanation in your report. They immediately ask you to
return to the headquarters, and send another agent to keep the investigation.

5 to 7 points (7 to 9, if Second Report): The FBI was not entirely happy with your
conclusions, but they decide to accept it, considering the investigation ended,
with an inconclusive denoument.

8 to 10 points (10 to 11, IF Second Report): Thee FBI considers you did a good
work, but due to the difficulty of the case itself it was impossible to find a best
solution. You receive compliments from your co-workers and superiors when
you return to the headquarter.

11+ points (12 +, if Second Report): The FBI considers you solve the mistery in a
very professional way. The people from the city will think of you with respect and
admiration.