Randolph Carter

Randolph Carter
Randolph Carter is S.T.E.A.M.'s leading scientist on the alien invasion, the eighth member of the team, and the seventh to join the party.

Description
Randolph's in-game description reads:

"Randolph Carter has always been a dreamer, with his head in the clouds as much as in his books. A professor at Miskatonic University, he spends more time with the Necronomicon than he does with any living human. His research contributed directly to the most advanced technology of this age."

Milton on Randolph:
"While I certainly appreciate the considerable body of esoteric knowledge that Carter has amassed, I wonder if another field of study have had a less...worrisome effect upon him. He worsens daily."

Personality
Randolph is very blunt, to the point, and worrisome. His paranoia and fascination with the aliens seems to be unsettling to his teammates, though his knowledge is extremely helpful. Randolph is somewhat cowardly, and constantly makes remarks that he'd rather be in his books than on the battlefield. Despite all of this, Randolph does seem proud when he manages to kill an alien, though he is also fascinated by their ability to sense his presence when he nears them.

Appearance
Randolph is a tall, rather lanky man with messy red hair, that is kept in a ponytail. He appears to be wearing a vest over a long sleeved white shirt, and wears gray pants with long black boots. Randolph always has dark circles beneath his eyes, seemingly because he never sleeps. He also wears goggles on his head, despite also having a pair of glasses.

Story
Randolph is first introduced by voice, when the team successfully clears the alien forces out of the army base in Boston, Massachusetts. Randolph states that he is trapped inside of Miskatonic University by the invasion forces, and that he requires assistance. Once Randolph is rescued, his notes are quickly stolen by Starface, an extremely powerful alien, who drops Randolph and takes off immediately afterward. Randolph deduces that Starface and the invasion forces are going after the Necronomicon, a book that contains many mysteries, and is kept locked up inside the White House.

The team sets a course for the White House, to recover the book before the enemy can do so, and once doing so, Randolph tells the rest of the team about The Great Shugguth, a monstrous alien that resides beneath the South Pole, which is seemingly the aliens base of operations. The team decides to make their way there, after they upgrade the Liberty, but they are ambushed upon landing, and Randolph and the team are forced to fight.

Despite clearing out the ambush forces, Lincoln is still fatally wounded in the aftermath, and is knocked unconcious. Without Lincoln, Randolph assumes the worst, until John suggests that Henry take command. Once Henry assumes leadership, Dorothy appears from seemingly thin air, and takes the team to Oz. Once in Oz, Randolph assists the team in clearing the forces that have invaded the Emerald City, and succeeds in rescuing Queen Ozma, whom in turn, aids in reviving President Lincoln.

Once Lincoln wakes up, Randolph and the team return to Earth, only to find that the entire lower half is entirely frozen. The team finally entires the enemies base, and together they reach The Great Shugguth, who attacks them. However, Lincoln himself self destructs A.B.E. in order to end the war, and destroy The Great Shugguth, but giving his own life to do so. Though he is successful, the team, including Randolph, mourn his loss, though they are happy that the war has come to a close.

Playstyle
Randolph has a total of 130 HP, and is more of a backline defensive unit than anything. Randolph's main weapon deals no damage, and instead serves as a distraction for grunt enemies, seemingly stalling them for one turn to give the team a clear shot on them. Randolph can become the teams tank, but should never be thrown into battle without a clear way of defending himself.

Abilities
Randolph's gun is called the "Unspeakable Lure." The gun fires a frozen piece of meat as a potential distraction for any nearby aliens, and is usually successful in obtaining their attention. Due to its lower steam cost, multiple lures can be thrown out at once. Randolph's special is called "Eldritch Shield." Randolph creates what appears to be a shield made of dark matter, or Eldritch light, and can surround the entire team with its aura, raising each member in the areas defensive stat. Randolph's ability is called "Arcane Lore." Despite not being a fighter himself necessarily, Arcane Lore increases the teams critical attack damage.

Trivia

 * Randolph Carter is based off of the horror writer, H.P. Lovecraft, as the design for the aliens are based on his works.
 * In the original stories by H.P. Lovecraft, Randolph is a student at Miskatonic University, while here, he's a professor.
 * Randolph's gun, the Unspeakable Lure, is based on another name for the Chthulu, the Unspeakable.