LogFAQs > #967890136

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34. Rover

I know I said I was pausing the comic relief characters for a bit, but Rover was originally higher than this and I realized I couldnt really justify him ranking that highly, so I bumped him down, and now hes much closer to the block Radio Tuner/Dewormer/Mike the Rooster/Toyman. Anyway, Rover is a good boy. Perhaps the best boy. Whos a good boy? Rovers a good boy. And Rover (aka Dumbass, a loving nickname provided by his owner, Alice) is always great for a laugh, or just an injection of emotionality into a scene. Alice is a rough customer, and shes had some bumps and bruises over the course of the campaign thus far, so its good to have a pet that it fiercely loyal and loving, no matter anything else.

But a pet is one thing. Weve got Data 7, who is a talking dog and is able to have various scenes with the numerous animals in the campaign. And with Rover, maybe Alices little nickname isnt entirely inaccurate. RoverGod bless him, hes trying his best, but hes a bit slow. Hes a classic dog, and he loves to play ballbut he doesnt like the version of ball where said ball is thrown, and you have to retrieve it. Instead, he prefers just having the ball and holding it, and thats how he plays ball, passing it back and forth to himself. Data 7 enjoys teasing Rover by shrinking down and curling up into a ball himself, and frustrating the hapless dog by refusing to play ball the way Rover likes playing. Also, Data 7 used Rover once to try and make Pixie (another dog) jealous, which only served to make her think Data is gay. Rover, of course, he no idea what was going on. Hes adorable.

Beyond just interaction with Data though, Rover is a beloved mascot of the campaign almost. Hes close with Alice, and Alice has a lot of interactions with PCs, so therefore Rover is usually around. Pepper especially loves Rover, because she has a dog back home, and Rover is very much your standard dog (a little dopey, but sweet and good-intentioned). His loyalty to Alice, particularly when shes sad and lonely, is so sweet, and Pepper wishes she had something like that; shes kind of latched onto Rover in that regard. As mentioned with Half-Life, having a sense of normalcy in that regard is very soothing in an otherwise chaotic campaign.

But beyond his presence as a lovable goofball, I have to mention one of my favorite Rover moments with regards to Pepper. In the very first session of the campaign, Pepper found a Superman frisbee as a weapon, and that partially influenced her efforts to become proficient with thrown weapons. But when interacting with Rover, if hes a normal dog, then you can play frisbee with him and have a great time, right? Well, Rover didnt like the offer and instead shied away for some reason, making Pepper sad. However, this is all explained by a Data 7 conversation. Beyond Rovers thoughts on ball, he also believes that a frisbee is only a frisbee in the park, and anywhere else, its a lie. So thats a callback where Peppers trying to play frisbee in the hallways of Zonn Zorr, and Rover is incapable of thinking this is a true event happening to him. His most memorable quote comes either from this, or from another Rover misinterpretation as a result: Its a mistake.

Hes just such a wonderful doofus, and every time he shows up alongside Alice, he makes for adorable scenes. Whether hes keeping watch outside Alices room when shes upset, or keeping watch at her bedside when shes in the hospital, or getting left behind because hes too slow to make it into the elevator in time, Rovers just provides great, brief moments of physical comedy. Plus, even though hes a dumbass, I think he helps soften Alice and humanize her a little bit, which in turn improves her character as well.

Hint for #33: Has the same name as another character in the campaign, and makes me confused whenever that other character is the one referred to instead.