PLAYER'S MANUAL A THRILLING PASTIME for Ladies and Gentlemen of an IMAGINATIVE DISPOSITION to role-play ma a!re stories of LOVE and DEATH" In l#din$ some information of an O#tra$eo#s and Startlin$ nat#re" %ritten and desi$ned !y Daniel &ames Hanley 'it( editorial ontri!#tions !y %endy Rosals)y Released #nder t(e terms of t(e Open Game Li ense" Intended for Mat#re A#dien es" Optimi*ed for s reen +ie'in$" Special Thanks to: Stan Rosalsky, Faith Bianco, John Gaunya, Jeanette Torres-Hanley, Jason Bianco, Wendy Rosalsky, Tony Clappsy, Jennifer Black-Hanley, and Willia Fischer, for playtestin!, and hours of quality ga in!# Bri!id Burke, for co entary and criticis on the te$t. Ji Kaelin, Stacey Kaelin, and Jennifer Cali, for support and encoura!e ent. '(eryone on the Troll Lord Ga es, R*Gnet, and Dra!onsfoot Forums who ga(e support, co ents, and - ost i portantly) criticis of the material throughout its e(olution% All the blo!!ers and podcasters who noticed and supported the !a e early on% All the co entators on “The 'n!ine of Oracles3 ,ho ga(e feedback and criticis % '(eryone who made the ga e 0etter by pointin! out proble s and errors in the syste and te$t. Anyone I5(e absentmindedly ne!lected to mention% '$tra Special Thanks to: Jeanette, for lo(e and support throu!hout the pro6ect. Ghastly /ffair is dedicated to the e ory of the 1Snakedaddy3, John *atrick Hanley% 't in /rcadia e!o% DISCLAIMER Ghastly Affair is meant to 0e enjoyed 0y adults who kno, the difference 0etween fantasy and reality% The author does not endorse or condone any of the follo,ing 0eha(iors: highway ro00ery, the use of controlled su0stances, e$ploring unsafe a0andoned structures, piracy, 0lack agic, ar ed re0ellion, 0anditry or 0riganda!e in !eneral, a0use of any drug, necro ancy, gra(e ro00ing, the consu ption of ercury, 0leeding to treat any disease, the drinking of hu an 0lood, or any other ille!al or potentially life-threatening acti(ity% +escription of an acti(ity for ga e purposes should not 0e construed as pro otion of that acti(ity in real life. Also, va pires and werewol(es do not e$ist% 4t would 0e i possi0le to enu erate e(erything that i!ht 0e a trau a tri!!er for e(ery possi0le person. Be aware that Ghastly Affair is eant to e ulate pre-Victorian Gothic fiction, and therefore contains so e material of a potentially distur0ing nature% '(erythin! that follo,s is intended for entertain ent purposes only% WELCOME TO GHASTLY AFFAIR Ghastly /ffair is a Role Playing Ga e where players assu e the roles of characters in a Gothic story, in the style of classic works such as Mary Shelley's 1Frankenstein” or John Polidori's 1The Va pyre3% Together the players create a plot invol(ing their characters, uch like an ongoing tele(ision series or soap opera% 9nlike reading a no(el or watchin! a show, howe(er, the players can actually change the course of the story. They are not spectators to the action; rather, the plot re(ol(es around the characters they play% The world of Ghastly Affair is characteri;ed by monsters and adness, desperate lo(e and i placa0le hate% 4nnocent da sels are i periled 0y the desires of ,icked en, while creatures of ni!ht are lurk in the dark corners of the world. )o(ers are torn apart 0y twisted custo s and pitiless laws. +ark castles hide the horri0le secrets of ancient no0le fa ilies% 20sessed en of science create a0o ina0le ne, for s of life% Brutal 0rigands lurk in dark forests% Gra(e ro00ers despoil churchyards for profit% Worst of all, the dead are said to walk 0y night, and certain en are cursed to wander the oors as wol(es% / character ight enga!e in a for0idden ro ance ,ith a 0rooding poet, 0attle an infestation of Va pyres in a lonely gra(eyard, or play cards with +eath in a secluded coffeehouse% Characters could wield dark sorcery atop a 0are ountain, sell their soul for wealth, or run fro a forced arria!e to the freedo of banditry. The !a e can feature as uch thrilling action and dra atic role-playing as the players want. Dark drea s i possi0le in the real world can 0e li(ed in Ghastly Affair% )ike all ga es, Ghastly Affair has so e rules% These rules are designed to pro(ide structure and suspense to your stories% They are not designed as e$a ples of athe atically perfect odels of undane reality, nor do they e$ist to 0e argued o(er for their o,n sake% 4f a rule i pedes en6oy ent of the ga e, rather than facilitates it, the rule should be ignored. Ghastly Affair utili;es the Open Ga e )icense% Many of the ter s and concepts of the ga e ,ill therefore 0e fa iliar to those who ha(e prior e$perience ,ith Role-Playing Ga es% On the other hand, Ghastly Affair is definitely its own syste , and is not intended to 0e directly co pati0le ,ith any other ga e% /0o(e all, Ghastly Affair is not a ga e to 0e 1won3% The point of the ga e is chronicling the outra!eous catastrophes e$perienced 0y a circle of characters% Players !et the thrill of (icariously e$periencing tragic deaths, unsol(a0le ro antic tangles, and irre(oca0ly shattered li(es% There are unspeaka0le horrors to e$perienced, and foul curses to 0e suffered. Horrific deaths and adness are ore co on than happy endings% 9nlike real life, ho,e(er, the Players can walk away unhar ed at the end of the ga e% 4f nothin! terri0le e(er happens to a character, there is no story% TABLE OF CONTENTS DIS,LAIMER"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" - %EL,OME TO GHASTL. A//AIR""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 0 ,HAPTER ONE1 THE 2ASI, GAME"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 34 A GOTHI, GAME O/ ROMANTI, HORROR""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""35 THE GHASTLY AGE""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 35 History and t(e G(astly A$e""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 3- GAME SESSIONS6 A//AIRS6 AND SAGAS""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""3- PLAYER AND PRESENTER""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 30 THE BASI, PRO,ED7RE""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 30 ROLE PLAYING"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 38 THE DI,E"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 38 ,HARA,TERS"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 39 LEVELS"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 3: THE SI; 2ASI, ABILITIES"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 3: ,LASSES"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 3< PERVERSIT."""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 3< ASSETS AND A//LI,TIONS""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 4= A,TIONS AND ABILIT. ,HE,>S""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 43 Sa+es""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 44 A!ility ,ontests""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 44 BON7SES AND PENALTIES""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 45 TIME1 T7RNS AND RO7NDS"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 4- Down-Time"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 4- PLAYER ABILITIES VERS7S ,HARA,TER ABILITIES""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""40 ,HAPTER 41 ,HARA,TER ,REATION6 ADVAN,EMENT6 AND DEGRADATION""""""""""""""""48 THE PRO,ESS O/ ,HARA,TER CREATION""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""49 Step One1 ,(aracter Inspiration"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 49 Step T'o: ,(aracter ,lass"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""