If you are like me then it all started here, with an Unexpected Party.
December 2012 feels like a long way away.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
I asked, you repsonded!
Earlier today I asked a simple question. "Using only Mundane means how can you kill a ghost?"
here are the responses I got!
Thanks all!
Great post. I guess I was thinking more of attack the ghost itself. But that is a tried and true way to do it.
Trey said...
I think I was thinking more of the attacking kind of Ghost. So yours and Trey's would be to figure out why it is here and use that.
Neat idea. Something that would be perfect for an Occult Poet in Ghosts of Albion to do!
Salt has a long standing connection to the supernatural. It is also simple to get and use. I am sure there is a connection there.
Then maybe they can move on.
I've heard salt before though, but never tried it so I can't tell you if it really works.
Kill it with fire! Always a good choice.
If the ghost believes, an exorcism should send it away.
Well thought out. So a Spirit Zapper or Spirit Trap in a way.
Death echoes could be dispersed by setting up a counter-noise generator - like the ones in noise-cancelling headphones, but on a room- or house-sized scale. Remember those multiroom speakers that transmitted sound through the house wiring? this would be the lo-fi DIY way of implementing this.
Intelligent/Interactive ghosts would be best handled through negotiation. The trick would be to get them to stay still long enough to have a meaningful chat. So I'm thinking EM Pump combined with Carnacki's electric pantacle with Spirit Box as vocal translator. Then have the conversation - what you want, what they want, how to find agreement, that sort of thing...
Poltergeists as rogue PK in children/teens also fits this model, so ground them via conductive jewelry, cutting their hair shorter, and good old patience as they grow out of this phase should work as well.
You said no supernatural, so I'm going to call the "demonic hauntings" of current TV ghost hunting fashion "anomalous idiopathic EM fields" and recommend Faraday cages around the sensitive spots. It doesn't destroy it, but it does contain it...
Cool. I like this approach. I always figured that it was something that you can bring into your home, salt is something that is like life.
Not a huge fan of calling that sort of thinking"mundane only," but salt's about as mundane as you can get.
The Kripke Trinity - salt, iron, burn the bones - works really well as weapons for adventure stories like SPN, though their meaning and uses in traditional ghost stories is quite different...
So if I am facing a ghost, then a fire hose. I like it!
Either destroying the links of the ghost to the mundane world (if possible) or destroy its mortal remains might work.
The whole reminds him/her that he/she is already dead is tricky because I'm not sure a ghost is willing to listen.
Keithboyle pretty much covered the scientific/technobabble angle.
Another option is running water. According to the Celtic tradition large bodies of water (especially rivers and lakes) are doors into the afterlife, for this reason a ghost can't cross running water. If someone can force a ghost close enough to a river or a stream the proximity might do the trick.
I think I was going with "things I have laying around the house or garage". Granted that also rules out fire and the fire hose. I have a garden hose though and a sprinkler that looks like a turtle for my lawn. I am so screwed.
I threw out the Carnacki reference because, frankly, it's Tim who's asking the question. The real-life analog to what Hodgson described is a Faraday cage - aka the shielding & grounding frame inside the computer that you're using to read these words.
Mongo avoids the [tech] like the plague: even if the terms aren't that familiar, they're not entirely meaningless or made-up if I can help it...
That's only good for guys dress in sheets going "boooooo". ;)
Haha!! Scooby Doo for the win!
Be scarier than the Ghosts. Of course! The Doctor Who Offensive.
Thanks all!
Question for my Readers
So I have a great collection of readers and followers here.
I have RPG types, Horror fans and para-normal/supernatural authors and fans. A great group really.
So here is a question for you all that I have been pondering the last couple of days.
Given you have only "mundane" means, how do you kill a ghost?
I was thinking something like a shotgun full of rock salt or something. Silver buckshot? Something else.
What do you all think?
I have RPG types, Horror fans and para-normal/supernatural authors and fans. A great group really.
So here is a question for you all that I have been pondering the last couple of days.
Given you have only "mundane" means, how do you kill a ghost?
I was thinking something like a shotgun full of rock salt or something. Silver buckshot? Something else.
What do you all think?
Monday, December 19, 2011
Krampus for Ghosts of Albion
Krampus is an old legend, but one I never heard of growing up. He/It is a reminder that the Christmas legends of today are part a of a larger variety of Winter Solstice celebrations. Krampus, though is interesting to me this year because he has come up time and time again, from completely unrelated sources. So here he is.
Krampus for your Ghosts of Albion games. I am taking a large number of liberties with this write up. So please keep that in mind.
Krampus, The Christmas Demon
Long ago, long before children would know of the kindness of St. Nicholas there was a demon that tormented the long Alpine winter nights. This demon, know locally as Krampus (from the word meaning Claw) would torment children and punish wrongdoers. Sometimes Krampus would even carry off a child that had been particularly wicked.
The trouble was that Krampus was more or less in a pact with the parents of the region that had used him as a means of controlling unruly children. Over the decades since their un-witting pact Krampus had grown in violence and deceit.
That is till the coming of St. Nicholas.
St. Nicholas was able to confront the demon and was well on his way to dispatching the fiend (Santa was a bit more of a fighter in those days) when the issue of the pact was brought up. The pact made with the demon was strong, and even though not one adult in area had made it an overt one, built up over the centuries with a little tale here, a story there, made it as strong as any pact sealed with a soul. St. Nicholas then employed Krampus as a personal assistant, he could still torment bad children, but now under the eye of St. Nick himself. Krampus also got more children as he traveled with St. Nick. Since St. Nicholas was know as Sinterklass in some areas and Father Chritmas in others, Krampus also received more names such as "Belsnickel" or even "Black Pete".
Sometimes it is even said that his travels with St. Nicholas has tempered his evil. Or he is just bidding his time.
Krampus
Motivation: To punish wicked children
Creature Type: Demon
Life Points: 45
Drama Points: 1
Attributes
Str: 4
Dex: 3
Con: 4
Int: 3
Per: 3
Will: 5
Ability Scores
Muscle: 14 Combat: 15 Brains: 14
Qualities and Drawbacks: Acute Senses (taste, sight, smell), Adversary (St. Nicholas), Attractiveness -2, Cause Fear, Hard to Kill, Honorable (1), Innate Magic, Unique Kill
Manoeuvers
Name Score Damage Notes
Claw 15 8 tries to limit the damage he causes, dead things have no fear.
- Grab 13 - Krampus attempts to grab a child. Only a contested STR roll can let the child break free.
Deflect 17 - Magic defence action
Description
Krampus appears as a particularly nasty looking satyr or demon. He is covered in fur, but is sometimes wearing a coat covered in soot. He has one cloven hoof and one animal-like paw for feet. His legs are like that of a goat and his upper body is human. His hands are human, but end in terrible claws. His face is a twisted snarl of evil, with goat like eyes and a mouth full of sharp teeth. His long tongue lolls out of his mouth and constantly drips saliva. Despite this he can still speak eloquently. He uses his tongue to lick a person, typically their face, to know if they are naughty or nice. His head supports to long curved horns. He smells of burnt coal. He is sometimes seen carrying an old rusted chain. It is not clear if the chain is for himself or for the children he terrorizes. He also carries a satchlel of switches that he uses to beat children with.
His overall appearance is menacing and demonic. He cowers though from any stern word from St. Nicholas.
Krampus does have a weakness. If given a piece of fruit, typically an apple or an orange, by a child, he will sit down to eat the gift, sharing it with whomever is there and engage is polite conversation. Krampus will then leave the area, harming no one.
Krampus may be a demon, but he is fair and impartial. "Good" children have nothing to fear from him, "Bad" children are only punished in relationship to the severity of their "naughtiness". Of course Krampus will attempt to use any trick he can to get someone onto his naughty list. For truly evil children he carries a sack to put them in. He will either drown them or take them off to Hell.
It is suspected though that he is fact feeds on the children's fear and the tales told by the parents.
Krampus is most often seen during the first two weeks of December. All other times he is bound to his cave somewhere in the Alps. There is no known way to dispatch of Krampus permanently. Like many of the supernatural creatures associated with Christmas, as long as one child believes then he will return next year.
Edited to Add:
More Krampus at
Krampus for your Ghosts of Albion games. I am taking a large number of liberties with this write up. So please keep that in mind.
Krampus, The Christmas Demon
The trouble was that Krampus was more or less in a pact with the parents of the region that had used him as a means of controlling unruly children. Over the decades since their un-witting pact Krampus had grown in violence and deceit.
That is till the coming of St. Nicholas.
St. Nicholas was able to confront the demon and was well on his way to dispatching the fiend (Santa was a bit more of a fighter in those days) when the issue of the pact was brought up. The pact made with the demon was strong, and even though not one adult in area had made it an overt one, built up over the centuries with a little tale here, a story there, made it as strong as any pact sealed with a soul. St. Nicholas then employed Krampus as a personal assistant, he could still torment bad children, but now under the eye of St. Nick himself. Krampus also got more children as he traveled with St. Nick. Since St. Nicholas was know as Sinterklass in some areas and Father Chritmas in others, Krampus also received more names such as "Belsnickel" or even "Black Pete".
Sometimes it is even said that his travels with St. Nicholas has tempered his evil. Or he is just bidding his time.
Krampus
Motivation: To punish wicked children
Creature Type: Demon
Life Points: 45
Drama Points: 1
Attributes
Str: 4
Dex: 3
Con: 4
Int: 3
Per: 3
Will: 5
Ability Scores
Muscle: 14 Combat: 15 Brains: 14
Qualities and Drawbacks: Acute Senses (taste, sight, smell), Adversary (St. Nicholas), Attractiveness -2, Cause Fear, Hard to Kill, Honorable (1), Innate Magic, Unique Kill
Manoeuvers
Name Score Damage Notes
Claw 15 8 tries to limit the damage he causes, dead things have no fear.
- Grab 13 - Krampus attempts to grab a child. Only a contested STR roll can let the child break free.
Deflect 17 - Magic defence action
Description
Krampus appears as a particularly nasty looking satyr or demon. He is covered in fur, but is sometimes wearing a coat covered in soot. He has one cloven hoof and one animal-like paw for feet. His legs are like that of a goat and his upper body is human. His hands are human, but end in terrible claws. His face is a twisted snarl of evil, with goat like eyes and a mouth full of sharp teeth. His long tongue lolls out of his mouth and constantly drips saliva. Despite this he can still speak eloquently. He uses his tongue to lick a person, typically their face, to know if they are naughty or nice. His head supports to long curved horns. He smells of burnt coal. He is sometimes seen carrying an old rusted chain. It is not clear if the chain is for himself or for the children he terrorizes. He also carries a satchlel of switches that he uses to beat children with.
His overall appearance is menacing and demonic. He cowers though from any stern word from St. Nicholas.
Krampus does have a weakness. If given a piece of fruit, typically an apple or an orange, by a child, he will sit down to eat the gift, sharing it with whomever is there and engage is polite conversation. Krampus will then leave the area, harming no one.
Krampus may be a demon, but he is fair and impartial. "Good" children have nothing to fear from him, "Bad" children are only punished in relationship to the severity of their "naughtiness". Of course Krampus will attempt to use any trick he can to get someone onto his naughty list. For truly evil children he carries a sack to put them in. He will either drown them or take them off to Hell.
It is suspected though that he is fact feeds on the children's fear and the tales told by the parents.
Krampus is most often seen during the first two weeks of December. All other times he is bound to his cave somewhere in the Alps. There is no known way to dispatch of Krampus permanently. Like many of the supernatural creatures associated with Christmas, as long as one child believes then he will return next year.
Edited to Add:
More Krampus at
- http://nevermetpress.com/merry-krampus-let-the-carnival-begin
- http://www.colinfbarnes.com/2011/my-fiction/a-christmas-krampus-conundrum
- http://www.stargazersworld.com/2011/12/19/krampusnacht/
- http://trollitc.com/2011/12/its-an-rpg-holiday-blog-carnival-with-special-guest-krampus-the-npc/
- Art above, http://www.stevenaustinart.com/
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Half a millon hits
Sometime, maybe about an hour ago I reached 500,000 page views.
Not too bad really.
Thanks everyone for the interest!
Not too bad really.
Thanks everyone for the interest!
Zatannurday: RPG DC Heroes (Mayfair)
DC Heroes used Mayfair's MEGS system, Mayfair's Exponential Gaming System who's DNA I can still see in Mutants and Masterminds.
Now I did love the Magic supplement that later came around and thought it was one of the better magic books for an RPG I had seen in a very long time.
I was flipping through them all recently and thought I'd post some stats for Zee for anyone still playing this game.
And given when this book came out let's use her costume from about that time.
These are not the same stats that appear in the books...mostly.
| DEX: 6 | STR: 2 | BODY: 5 |
| INT: 7 | WILL: 4 | MIND: 5 |
| INFL: 12 | AURA: 14 | SPIRIT: 14 |
| Initiative: 19 | Hero Points: 80 |
Powers:
Mystic Link:
Air Control: 12, Earth Control: 12, Flame Control: 12, Flame Projection: 6, Fog: 12, Ice Control: 12, Lightning: 12, Plant Control: 12, Water Control: 12, Weather Control: 12
Limitations:
Power Limitation: All spells must be spoken backwards.
Skills: Artist (stage magic) 6, Gadgetry 4, Occultist 10, Scholar (Magic) 7
Connections:
Justice League, Supernatural, United Nations (high level)
Motivation: Responsibility of Power
Wealth: Affluent
Job: Stage Magician, Adventurer
Race: Human (Homo Magi)
Origin: Mystical Heritage (Major)
Alter Ego/Aliases: (none) Zatanna Zatara, The Witch
Base of Operations: Shadowcrest; San Francisco, CA
I think I should give Raven a try next.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Willow & Tara: DC Heroes
DC Heroes from Mayfair Games was one of the "Big Games" for me back in the day. One of those games that was like entering into an entire sub-culture, not just a game. You know like old World of Darkness, Call of Cthulhu, Rifts or Exalted. One where they have their fans and they are very loyal and the entry seems to be a bit high.
I loved DC comics at the time, though I was slowly going over to Marvel. I never got into DC Heroes. Villains & Vigilantes seemed easier to get into coming from D&D and when I finally got back around to Supers, it was Marvel Super Heroes. I feel I missed out on something though to be honest.
DC Heroes has a certain style to it. A certain elegance I see now on the other side of several graduate level statistics courses. It is a game I'd love to give another chance too. Course parts of it seem pretty dated too. Tables with "column shifts" and exploding doubles. Course that sounds exactly like the kind of thing that would get the OSR's blood pumping. I also like it because in many ways DC Heroes is the antidote to "grimdark" and "gritty", not that you can't do those with this, you can rather easily, but DC Heroes was about being a hero, being the good guy.
I have not done a lot of posting of Willow and Tara in a while. When "Season of the Witch" died down and "Generation HEX" never took off I had run out of creative juices. Plus I had moved on Ghosts of Albion by then and other games. Though Gen HEX was going to be my supers/animie/comics game. I still have great plans to run each "issue"/episode/adventure with a different rule set. But I am not likely to get to it all now. More's the shame. In any case here are my girls, in their Generation HEX best.
Since these are very seasoned vets of many battles they are starting higher than your average character.
Willow Rosenberg
Mystic Link:
Empathy (Will) 2, Magic Blast (Spirit) 6, Magic Shield (Spirit) 6, Mystic Shield (Will) 5, Telekinesis (Will) 7, Telepathy (Int) 5 (9 with Tara), Teleportation (Will) 4, Truesight 3
Limitations: Since the events in "Season of the Witch" Willow has no limitations on her powers.
Skills: Detective 2, Gadgetry 5, Medicine 1, Occultist 7, Scholar (Supernatual) 7, Scientist 5
Connections:
Business (high), Supernatural (high)
Motivation: Learn more about her power
Wealth: Affluent (maybe a bit higher, but not Multimillionaire)
Job: Semi-retired software designer and CEO, teacher
Race: Human (Homo Magi is what she would be in the DC universe)
Origin: Mystical Heritage (Major)
Alter Ego/Aliases: none
Base of Operations: Boston, MA
Tara Maclay
Powers: Mystic Link:
Empathy (Will) 6, Heal (Spirit) 4*, Magic Blast (Spirit) 2, Magic Shield (Spirit) 3, Mystic Shield (Will) 2, Telekinesis (Will) 4, Telepathy (Int) 5 (9 with Willow), Truesight 5
(*Heal is not in the rule book, but something Tara can do. At 4 AP she can heal 4 AP of damage per touch)
Limitations: Since the events in "Season of the Witch" Tara has no limitations on her powers.
Skills: Animal Handling 2, Artist (dancing) 4, Artist (singing) 5, Artist (painter) 4, Occultist 6, Scholar (Witchcraft) 7
Connections:
Supernatural
Motivation: Responsibility of Power
Wealth: Affluent
Job: High school art teacher, girls counselor
Race: Human (Homo Magi)
Origin: Mystical Heritage (Major)
Alter Ego/Aliases: none
Base of Operations: Boston, MA
Willow and Tara in Generation HEX
In Generation HEX we pick up a few years after the events from Season of the Witch. Magic is outed and the first generation of magic using children are reaching high school age. One of which is their own daughter. Tara is an art teacher and girls counselor at a school for magical teens. Willow, having sold off her software firm is also teaching. They relocated to Boston, MA and despite being older, there is still plenty of adventure left to have.
Willow and Tara in the DC Universe
Personally I would think that the girls would have fared much better in the DC Universe than in others. I can easily see them both joining the Teen Titans, or depending on when we do this, Young Justice. Though Willow would need something else to do than turn evil since that was already done by Raven.
Given their backgrounds I would expect they would be viewed as resources into the occult and supernatural worlds the same way that Zatanna, Doctor Fate and Madame Xandu are. Only less dangerous to deal with. In the DC universe though, the nod has to go to Zee. I am assuming a more magic-rich world than the 1st edition rules laid out, maybe something closer to what we saw in the 3rd ed DC Heroes.
In either case the girls work as a team. Willow is the heavy hitter, but Tara has a greater store of power and more subtle powers.
I loved DC comics at the time, though I was slowly going over to Marvel. I never got into DC Heroes. Villains & Vigilantes seemed easier to get into coming from D&D and when I finally got back around to Supers, it was Marvel Super Heroes. I feel I missed out on something though to be honest.
DC Heroes has a certain style to it. A certain elegance I see now on the other side of several graduate level statistics courses. It is a game I'd love to give another chance too. Course parts of it seem pretty dated too. Tables with "column shifts" and exploding doubles. Course that sounds exactly like the kind of thing that would get the OSR's blood pumping. I also like it because in many ways DC Heroes is the antidote to "grimdark" and "gritty", not that you can't do those with this, you can rather easily, but DC Heroes was about being a hero, being the good guy.
I have not done a lot of posting of Willow and Tara in a while. When "Season of the Witch" died down and "Generation HEX" never took off I had run out of creative juices. Plus I had moved on Ghosts of Albion by then and other games. Though Gen HEX was going to be my supers/animie/comics game. I still have great plans to run each "issue"/episode/adventure with a different rule set. But I am not likely to get to it all now. More's the shame. In any case here are my girls, in their Generation HEX best.
Since these are very seasoned vets of many battles they are starting higher than your average character.
Willow Rosenberg
| DEX: 2 | STR: 1 | BODY: 3 |
| INT: 9 | WILL: 4 | MIND: 5 |
| INFL: 11 | AURA: 13 | SPIRIT: 12 |
| Initiative: 22 | Hero Points: 20 |
Mystic Link:
Empathy (Will) 2, Magic Blast (Spirit) 6, Magic Shield (Spirit) 6, Mystic Shield (Will) 5, Telekinesis (Will) 7, Telepathy (Int) 5 (9 with Tara), Teleportation (Will) 4, Truesight 3
Limitations: Since the events in "Season of the Witch" Willow has no limitations on her powers.
Skills: Detective 2, Gadgetry 5, Medicine 1, Occultist 7, Scholar (Supernatual) 7, Scientist 5
Connections:
Business (high), Supernatural (high)
Motivation: Learn more about her power
Wealth: Affluent (maybe a bit higher, but not Multimillionaire)
Job: Semi-retired software designer and CEO, teacher
Race: Human (Homo Magi is what she would be in the DC universe)
Origin: Mystical Heritage (Major)
Alter Ego/Aliases: none
Base of Operations: Boston, MA
Tara Maclay
| DEX: 2 | STR: 2 | BODY: 3 |
| INT: 8 | WILL: 5 | MIND: 4 |
| INFL: 10 | AURA: 14 | SPIRIT: 12 |
| Initiative: 20 | Hero Points: 20 |
Powers: Mystic Link:
Empathy (Will) 6, Heal (Spirit) 4*, Magic Blast (Spirit) 2, Magic Shield (Spirit) 3, Mystic Shield (Will) 2, Telekinesis (Will) 4, Telepathy (Int) 5 (9 with Willow), Truesight 5
(*Heal is not in the rule book, but something Tara can do. At 4 AP she can heal 4 AP of damage per touch)
Limitations: Since the events in "Season of the Witch" Tara has no limitations on her powers.
Skills: Animal Handling 2, Artist (dancing) 4, Artist (singing) 5, Artist (painter) 4, Occultist 6, Scholar (Witchcraft) 7
Connections:
Supernatural
Motivation: Responsibility of Power
Wealth: Affluent
Job: High school art teacher, girls counselor
Race: Human (Homo Magi)
Origin: Mystical Heritage (Major)
Alter Ego/Aliases: none
Base of Operations: Boston, MA
Willow and Tara in Generation HEX
In Generation HEX we pick up a few years after the events from Season of the Witch. Magic is outed and the first generation of magic using children are reaching high school age. One of which is their own daughter. Tara is an art teacher and girls counselor at a school for magical teens. Willow, having sold off her software firm is also teaching. They relocated to Boston, MA and despite being older, there is still plenty of adventure left to have.
Willow and Tara in the DC Universe
Personally I would think that the girls would have fared much better in the DC Universe than in others. I can easily see them both joining the Teen Titans, or depending on when we do this, Young Justice. Though Willow would need something else to do than turn evil since that was already done by Raven.
Given their backgrounds I would expect they would be viewed as resources into the occult and supernatural worlds the same way that Zatanna, Doctor Fate and Madame Xandu are. Only less dangerous to deal with. In the DC universe though, the nod has to go to Zee. I am assuming a more magic-rich world than the 1st edition rules laid out, maybe something closer to what we saw in the 3rd ed DC Heroes.
In either case the girls work as a team. Willow is the heavy hitter, but Tara has a greater store of power and more subtle powers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)