GURPS 4th - Ghostbusters.pdf - SUCS

sciences were at a standstill.Venkman: I love this part – this theoryis straight out of Thrilling Wonder Stories.Spengler: Uh — yes, As I said before,PKE works through micro-scaledisturbances in the foamy structureof quantized space and, at this scale,the observer has a direct impact on thesystem, a fact long established in quantumphysics. This being so, the humanmind, as a conscious observer of thewhole system, can in fact manipulatePKE energy directly.Venkman: All I know is that lovelyyoung coeds often display amazing powers.Their other kinds of energy manipulationaren’t bad either,Spengler: Precisely… I think. At anyrate, Schrodinger’s gedanken experimentwith the cat is illustrative —Stantz: I’m allergic to cats,Spengler: Ahhh… the point is thatthought, coupled with emotion, canbring about changes in the physicalworld. The extent of these changes islimited only by the amount of extra-dimensionalenergy the individual mindcan tap.Zeddemore: So you mean I can turnsomeone’s hair white, win at the races,or move a six-ton safe just by thinkingabout it?Spengler: Yes, although it’s a littlemore complex than that, Winston.Indeed, the theory necessary to permitsuch dramatic changes is still far froma complete formulation, but the factis that such phenomena do exist innature. Of course, since everyone hasthis ability to a greater or lesser extent,people also have defenses. Turningsomeone’s hair white if they don’t wantyou to, can be very difficult.Stantz: And yet, people have been doingthat sort of thing for a long time.Spengler: Certainly. Primitive magic— such as the use of sacrificial virgins,voodoo, trance magic — is an attemptby the unsophisticated to harness PKE.Great resources can be tapped by thosewho know where to find them.Stantz: Right! Like the time we battledGozer the Gozerian! Zuul asked us tochoose a form for our destruction and Ichose the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Manand we all almost died... uhh…Spengler: Correct, Ray. You chose theform, and the PKE necessary to completethe manifestation was suppliedby Gozer. Nowadays, with the toolsafforded us by modern parapsychologicaltheory, we can affect paranormalphenomena in much more sophisticatedways.Venkman: They’re talking aboutproton packs and ghost traps, folks! Ilove these guys — they always get to thepoint so fast! Ray, start us off with yourclassification system so everyone willknow what we’re talking about.Stantz: Gosh, thanks Peter. First, letme just say that Egon and I shouldshare the credit — strictly speaking, theclassification of paranormal entities isEgon’s —Venkman: Thank you, Ray. Now, whatwas that great system you had?Spengler: Let him finish, Peter,Venkman: Later, Egon. Go ahead, Ray.Stantz: Right. The first step in classifyingany dimensional cross-nexusmanifestation is deciding its physicalrepresentation. For instance, a ClassI specter is defined as an undevelopedform, insubstantial and difficult tosee. Interaction with the environmentis limited and enigmatic, like spectrallights, voices or sounds. Most of theseare capable of travelling through wallsand other physical objects — anythingthat can do that is called a vapor.Zeddemore: Sounds like they’re reallyhard to chase, ‘cause we can’t gothrough walls to hunt them down.Stantz: That’s true. Fortunately, mostghosts are focused. That means thatthey can’t leave the area or building orwherever they first appear. That makes iteasier.Zeddemore: You mean they can’tmove?Stantz: No, no. A ghost that can’tmove at all is called a non-roamingphantasm, as opposed to those thatcan move, which are full-roaming. Soa non-roaming ghost is focused, but afull-roaming ghost can be focused orunfocused. Get it?Zeddemore: Yeah… sure.Venkman: And how do you get rid ofthem once you find them’?Stantz: A proton pack stream/ghosttrap combination is usually effective,although you’ve got to know where thething is in order to hit it, and a lot ofthese babies just sort of seem to be...somewhere. Now, a Class II ghost isreally creepy — that’s where they start tohave actual physical characteristics andcan physically manipulate things. ButClass II forms are vague or inconsistent,like hands or lips just floating there,Venkman: And removal?Stantz: Again, proton streams areusually effective... uh, sometimes,Venkman: Don’t hedge, Ray.Stantz: Sorry. What I was about tosay is that you have to be careful ‘causesome Class II’s can fight back. And ifthey’re vapors too, they’re really tough totrack down!Venkman: So a Class II can be avapor, too?Stantz: Oh sure, All these specialmodifiers can apply to any Class. So,like I was saying, a Class II vapor istough, but Class III’s and IV’s are evenworse! They’re actual distinct humanforms, although they can change theirshape sometimes.Zeddemore: Like that ghost you guysmet in the New York Public Library.Stantz: Right! And the only differencebetween a Class III and a Class IVis that no one knows who a Class IIIghost used to be. As soon as investigationreveals the former identity, theghost is reclassified as a IV. This alsomakes it a lot easier to talk to and,ultimately, to get rid of,Zeddemore: So, who was the ghost inlibrary? After you investigated?Venkman: We don’t talk about thathere, Winston. Sorry, Ray.Stantz: That’s okay. One other thingabout Class III and IV ghosts is thedistinction between half and full torsoapparitions. Full torso apparitions arereally rare — usually a Class III or IVghost is indistinct from the chest ondown.Paranormology 101