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Ghostories Designed by Table of Contents Brett M GhoStories DESIGNED BY TABLE OF CONTENTS Brett M. Bernstein Introduction 2 Part I: Rules of Play 3 WRITTEN BY 1. Characters 4 Brett M. Bernstein, Matt McElroy, 2. Getting Things Done 19 3. Tainted Workings 27 Peter C. Spahn, Mark Bruno 4. Tainted Entities 41 5. The World Around Us 61 ILLUSTRATION BY 6. Expanding the Game 69 Laura Pelick, Paul Daly, Tim Bobko, Part 2: The Stories 77 Anthony Montemayor, Jason Moser, 1. Not Forgotten 78 Mike Vilardia, Marshall Andrews III, 2. Desecration 82 Tom O’Neil, Chris Martinez 3. Web of Seduction 85 4. Dark Tremors 88 ©2002, 2007, 2008 Precis Intermedia. All Rights 5. From the Past 93 Reserved. genreDiversion, Ghostories, Unbidden, 6. Amends 96 Masterbook, Bloodshadows, Impresa, Mean Streets, and 7. The Reverend 98 Active Exploits are trademarks of Precis Intermedia. No 8. The Cup Runneth 101 part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except where noted. 9. Tears of Joy 103 Part 3: Reference 110 Any similarities to people, situations, or organizations are strictly coincidental. The themes, people, situations, and Task Reference 111 supernatural elements presented in this book are fictional Violence Reference 112 and intended for entertainment purposes only. Paranormal Reference 113 Gimmick Reference 114 Blank Sheets 115 WWW.PIGAMES.NET Part 4: Templates 118 Sample Characters 119 ISBN 978-0-9770673-8-1 PLI106 Characters for Tears of Joy 124 q GhoStories Welcome to Ghostories: Supernatural Mystery Roleplaying. Supernatural as Myth This game can be played as a one-shot adventure, series of The supernatural does not exist, but many people still adventures, or as a foundation for your own campaign. And if believe in it. In fact, many probably want to believe so badly you do not care for the included setting material, replace it with that normal events are commonly perceived as supernatural. that of your favorite movie, television program, comic, or novel. Characters involved in the story are seeking to either prove Regardless of your intentions, Ghostories is a toolkit for your or disprove the existence of the supernatural, or are simply own paranormal mystery adventures—designed to be versatile, caught in events that are surprisingly beyond the normal. so that only your imagination can limit your enjoyment. Supernatural as Fantastic The supernatural is real, but most are unaware of it. Characters involved in the story do not have much experience with the supernatural and may or may not believe in it, but it does exist and constitutes real events. Supernatural as Reality The supernatural not only exists, but many people embrace it. Supernatural events occur all the time, but the masses do not recognize it as such. Those who do, understand the potential it holds and seek to learn how to control it. The characters may be part of an organization charged with investigating the supernatural or even developing it, whether for the betterment or detriment of mankind, or even for their own personal profit. They may even possess extraordinary powers. Fundamental Concepts Player Character any role that is portrayed by a player not acting as the gamemaster Non-Player Character any role acted out by the gamemaster What do I need to play? as opposed to the other players All you need is this book, two six-sided dice, some paper, Ability any one of five elements representing a pen or pencil, and two or more friends. And if you cannot a character’s potential and raw talent convince your friends to come over, you can always play via Skill any specific form of training or life the internet using a messenger program, browser-based chat experience that provides knowledge site, message board, or even e-mail. and proficiency to aid a career; One player must be the gamemaster (also known as the whereas abilities determine a director), who acts as referee and narrator. His job is to project character’s potential, skills determine the proper atmosphere, advance the plot, and assume the what he knows or is trained to do role of all characters in the game not controlled by the other Task any attempt to put an ability or players. Basically, he sets the stage for the players. skill to use in order to accomplish a While roleplaying experience is only required for the specific goal gamemaster, it certainly does not hurt the game if other Difficulty the difference between the skill players are also familiar with it. total (ability+skill) and the dice roll Supernatural and the Setting required for a success, represented by the abbreviation DIFF What is the supernatural? Put simply, it is that which cannot be explained by scientific means. By this description, the supernatural may or may not exist—we cannot prove it either way. Ghostories gives you the option to play in a world just like our own, but the supernatural can exist in a variety of ways. Three options are presented below: 2 Supernatural Mystery Roleplaying Part I RULES OF PLAY Ghostories provides all the rules and information you need to get started, while keeping it simple and not overwhelming you with tons of needless words. But it does not end there. Once you get accustomed to the rules and your friends want more, expansion is simple—there is plenty of room for customization. You can add your own twists to the game by designing new roles, pursuits, skills, gimmicks, entities, and mysteries. Plus, the rules are versatile enough for you to borrow elements from other games and adapt them as needed. And if you are looking for a different type of gaming experience, Ghostories is compatible with Active Exploits Diceless Roleplaying for a truly diceless style of play or even the more-advanced genreDiversion Third Edition rules for more detailed and expansive play. GhoStories CHAChapterRac OneTERS We start here, because characters are the driving force behind the game. While task resolution is also important, reading about it first would be pointless without understanding the components making up a character—ability, skill, role, pursuit, gimmicks, and health. Character Abilities Character Skills Abilities describe the areas in which a character has talent. Skills describe a character’s general knowledge, training, A rating of zero (0) reflects a disability—unless a player and fields of study. Each skill is associated with a single ability wishes his character to be disabled, one (1) is the minimum and rated from one (1) to eight (8). Any skill may be attempted permitted rating. Five (5) is the maximum rating allowed by untrained except for those listed with this symbol: U—these player characters. represent advanced studies which are too complex for even guessing without formal training. A list of skills is presented Character Ability Ratings later in this chapter. 0 disability 1 low average ability Character Skill Ratings 2 average ability 0 untrained 3 high average ability 1 passing knowledge 4 noteworthy ability 2 undertrained 5 gifted ability 3 novice 4 solid training 5 proficient Fitness the character’s strength, agility, and 6 seasoned physical resistance 7 professional training 8 expert training Awareness the character’s sensory ability, power of observation, and intuition Creativity the character’s spiritual, personal, Character Gimmicks and artistic affinity Gimmicks are special properties possessed by characters Reasoning the character’s mental ability— and are, essentially, special abilities. Unlike abilities and skills, logical deduction, memory, and however, they do not use a rating system and their effects are mental resistance either automatic or modify tasks in certain situations. A list of Influence the character’s social standing, gimmicks can be found at the end of this chapter. charisma, and popularity 4 Supernatural Mystery Roleplaying GhoStories Detective Character Roles The character has a driving urge to protect and serve the people of his city. He does just that as a local detective (or Every character has a purpose in life, whether as an even government agent), but the job is mixed with exhilaration, innocent or of the tainted. This purpose is called a role, and danger, stress, and monotony. To survive, the character must it represents what a character does in order to get by in the be perceptive yet physically and mentally proficient. This role real world, whether menial or professional employment, or is particularly suited to the Empathy pursuits, since their even alternative lifestyles. A number are included, but the reliance on one’s intuition is paramount. gamemaster can create his own roles should the need arise. The character possesses the law enforcement contacts and legal authority gimmicks, and either the street contacts, Athlete medical contacts, or mental health contacts gimmick. The The character thrives on competition in all its forms. He is a following skills are recommended: brawling, driving, firearms, professional athlete, displaying his physical prowess as part of interrogation, investigation, general knowledge, negotiation, a team (baseball or football, for example) or as an individual street cred, and composure. (boxing, running, or cycling). Famous athletes are likely to be sought for endorsements and commercial work. This role is Dilettante particularly suited to the Vigilantism pursuits, since they often As one of society’s upper crust, the character lives a push themselves to physical extremes. comfortable and privileged life. Moving from one hobby to the The character possesses either the musclebound or media next out of sheer boredom, the character possesses a wide contacts gimmick, as well as either the prestige or sure-footed range of skills, but with only a basic aptitude. This role is not gimmick. The following skills are recommended: athletics, specifically suited to any one pursuit, but the diverse set of general knowledge, performance, and composure. basic skills can sometimes come in handy.
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