GURPS 4th - Ghostbusters.pdf - SUCS

een carried out and the goal is to captureand punish the suspect, and thosewhere the plan is in progress and thegoal is to prevent its completion.Something has to keep the plan secret.In a world with functioning magic,this can be difficult; one successful divinationcan ruin a scenario. Either limitwhat magic can reveal, perhaps to a fewwords, or give the suspects their ownmagical concealments.However, there should also be clues;that is, the suspects’ actions should leavetraces for the investigator to uncover. Incoming up with clues, it’s dangerouslytempting to work out a complete listand try to point the PCs toward findingthem. This approach can feel contrivedand could provoke resistance. Be preparedto improvise new clues; often theinvestigators’ methods of learning thetruth can provide useful ideas.An important variant on investigationis magical investigation: trying to identifythe powers, or the origin, of a magicalobject, or trying to learn the source ofand how to counter or reverse a spell.Making a single investigation thetheme of an entire campaign is difficult.In a typical Ghostbusters campaign theplayers will come up against a successionof cases, some may be the work ofthe same master villain or agent of evil,whom they may never touch… unless,perhaps, that is the climax of the wholecampaign!Adventure SeedsThe AtheistHerbert Dorsey was a man without faith, but a very rich man who neveroverlooked any risks no matter how unlikely. When Dorsey died, the dictatesof his will were put in abeyance. It stipulated that before the estatecould be distributed, the Ghostbusters were to be paid reasonable compensationto come out to the cemetery and “check up on him”.The PCs will arrive at the grave, accompanied by Dorsey’s lawyers, hischildren, and his brother (each having a stake in the dormant will). Usingecto-goggles and special video recording equipment, they will indeed beable to prove that Herbert Dorsey may have died, but he hasn’t moved on.The players will now find themselves as the center of a tempest causedby dead man with no legal rights, angry would-be inheritors and ineffectuallegal council.Now that he’s dead; his soul in question, what will Herbert Dorsey do?Will he give his money to a church, or find some creative way to take it withhim? Certainly his spendthrift son and shiftless brother will have somethingto say about that. And what is his legal status? Either way, the Ghostbusterswill most assuredly be called upon to provide evidence at any subsequenthearing. Just how much money would it take for a Ghostbuster to zap, trapand forget about Dorsey?The InheritancePansy Ackerman was a queer old girl. She talked with ghosts (she said)and claimed that her strange meandering mansion was full of them. Shewas tickled, then shocked when she heard of the Ghostbusters who talkedto ghosts, and sometimes trapped them for money.Pansy’s relatives were appalled to find that her will named the localGhostbusters franchise her sole beneficiary; if they can spend one entirenight, from dusk till dawn in her rambling ghost-filled home. (Perhapswithout their equipment?)Both relatives and resident ghosts will not want the Ghostbusters to stayfor their allotted time. And then there are also rumors that Pansy had hiddencash and other valuables all around the crumbling manor.The house should be a character in this game. Secret passages, paintingswith eyes that move, rooms that change at the pull of a coat hanger, andmore should all be a part of this adventure.For inspiration, research the “Winchester Mystery House” or view Abbottand Costello’s Hold That Ghost.ConfrontationsConfrontations often occur at theconclusions of larger scenarios. Whenan investigation finds the true evildoer,or a dungeon crawl penetrates the innersanctum… it’s time for a grand, climacticbattle. In fact, one way to design avariety of adventures is to work out thefinal confrontation and then arrangeother matters to lead up to it. But it’salso possible to cut the preliminariesshort and get to the fighting as quicklyas possible. An adventure can even beginwith an open challenge.Confrontations are mainly a dramaticdevice; ghostbusting, with its focus onaction, is a most natural home.A confrontation needs an adversary,or perhaps a group of adversaries. Thebest adversaries are almost as powerfulas the heroes; that way, there’s a challenge,and even a real chance of defeat.A confrontation also needs a battlegroundor arena. Ideally this should befairly clear and open, to keep attentionfocused on the struggle and not on suchconcerns as rescuing innocent bystanders.At the same time, it’s a good thing tohave objects scattered about that a clevercombatant might turn to good use.Participants need something to fightover. This could be a treasure, someoneto rescue, or access into our dimension.In some settings, confrontation andcombat may be a game, performedbefore crowds of spectators. Fighters’motivations may include wealth, knowledge,or the chance to test their skills.Gladiatorial contests offer obvious examples.Magical duels between wizardscould have the same appeal in a worldof commonplace magic. A Ghostbustermight be brought to another world toduel a champion.A campaign’s structure can formaround a series of confrontations. Thisformula is common in super-heroiccampaigns, where each adventure culminatesin a battle against a new villain.If single combat between champions actuallysettles major disputes, adventur-Adventures97