When by thy scorn, O murd’ress, I am dead
And that thou think’st thee free
From all solicitation from me,
Then shall my ghost come to thy bed,
And thee, feign’d vestal, in worse arms shall see …
Been watching Lockwood & Co. with my wife. This is rare, as I never watch TV, but this show has got me. Here goes. This is for Everythings.
Maybe spoilers for the show. Lots of ideas stolen, but they are stolen from my fever dreams about spooky London. I’m sure I have tons of details wrong even if I meant to rip it straight.
SETTING:
The Problem started four decades ago. No one knows why, but regardless the dead have become dangerous again. Violent death, suicide, or sufficient trauma result in persistent ghosts. They are invisible to most and their touch is lethal. The same year, talents started emerging. Sight, Listening, Touch. Perhaps they already existed, there just weren’t any ghosts before. Perhaps they share a cause with the Problem. The Bureau was founded to study and combat the new threat.
A decade ago, a powerful Listener had a *conversation* with a Type III ghost. It has never happened before or since, but as a result she discovered Sources. Every ghost has a source, and if it’s destroyed or secured, the ghost cannot manifest and is rendered “safe”. She used her fame to start one of the two great firms, Trotter & Throckmorton.
A year ago the Problem got worse. Rumors began circulating of the walking dead. Soon after, a curfew was set and stories stranger things yet began populating the evening news. It got so bad that occultists, priests, and psychics were being hired to handle jobs the Duopoly was too busy for. In response, The Bureau opened liscencing to firms who could prove they were capable of handling psychical incidents and coloring within the lines. All the Talented that could be found were trained and graded. Enterprising individuals, or those unable to secure employment at either of the grandfathered firms could strike out on their own. Oh, and you discovered you have a talent.
A month ago your first job went sideways. Bad info and a touch of hubris sent you and your scrub team on a collision course with a Type II. Most of your team was Touched and your closest friend Ghost-Locked. They are in a psych-ward at the Bureau. It’s rare for anyone to come out of the ward.
Yesterday, you were acquired by a cut-rate firm desperate for work and reliable employees.
REMEMBER YOUR TRAINING:
Talents emerge during puberty and fade with age.
All ghosts are spiteful and extremely lethal. Pure metals, salt, running water. These are the common things capable of discouraging a ghost.
Ghosts are weak during daylight hours and are unlikely to manifest. They get stronger as night passes.
A Type I can be discouraged with a line of salt, a blessed iron chain, a spark of magnesium, an iron sword.
A Type II are powerful enough to frequently break the rules. Be prepared.
The remains of the dead are the most common Sources. Covering them with a silver net is the quickest way to secure them. A hand grenade is a decent alternative.
There are those who use the waking dead for their own gain. Their activities are illicit and unsanctioned by the Bureau; relic-men, ghost cults, soothsayers and mediums.
CLASSES:
Talented:
Stats: as a teenager
Equipment: an Iron Rapier, a Practitioner’s License, and *something special*
You are sensitive to the disturbances caused by lingering spirits. Most of the time this means you can see them if you are in their presence, like a glowing form. You have an additional aptitude. This takes one of three forms. Listening, Sight, Touch.
Listener:
You can hear spirits well before others. When in their presence you can make out their insane tortured ramblings.
Their ramblings become clearer, corpse-sources give off the sound of a beating heart.
Somehow, they can hear you back. No ghost understands you, but if you scream they are pushed out of earshot in an instant.
Wait, did that ghost understand you?!
Sight:
You can see Death Glow, a lingering sillouette left when someone dies. You see ghosts clear enough to make out their face.
You can see trails very recently left by the supernatural and Sources just hidden behind one layer of concealment leave a faint glow you can detect if not distracted.
Relics now glow to you as well. Once per night you can see 15 seconds into the future.
If you hold a relic, you can see the scene which caused it to be so.
Touch:
You feel the presence of a spirit as temperature change at a fair range. In proximity, you detect their emotion.
The first time you touch a ghost, you don’t die.
Iron you wield or place is twice as powerful.
Touch a source to briefly banish a ghost. Touch someone Ghost-Locked to give them another save. These only work once per target.
SPOOKY SPIRITS:
Combat is as GLOG with the following exceptions. Ghosts follow the rules unless they expend power to break them. Ghosts have a starting power level and gain 1 power every hour after sunset. Type II ghosts gain 2 power each hour.
Power is spent by the GM (ghost-master) to break rules. Pass a salt line, break a chain, re-manifest after defeat, spring a trap.
If a ghost hits on an attack roll the target must Save or Die. On a sucessful save, they are Ghost-Locked. “Fight the ghost” is never the correct plan.
If a ghost is defeated enough times to deplete it’s power or its Source is destroyed/secured, it is rendered safe.
Items have a quality that indicates their power. The thrice-consecrated rapier Le Coup De Foudre is a more powerful weapon than the mass produced stick of iron given to you upon graduation. The default rapier has no damage bonus against a ghost. An iron chain costs more power to pass than a ring of salt.
