I've decided it's time to have a bit of amusing fun here on the EnWorld boards, and what better way than to play a little Ghostbusters RPG! To be honest... I only kinda sorta remember the Ghostbuster d6 rules (and really couldn't care less what they actually are anyway), as this game will be more about being silly, making bad jokes, and having our action go completely haywire. I want this basically simple and funny... and anything that stops the game from being that is not going to be used.
Think of this as a bunch of bad Saturday Night Live characters working together to solve sci-fi scenarios that normally get lambasted by the gang at Mystery Science Theater 3000.
So for all those of you who are interested in being a Ghostbuster, here's da rules I'm using:
You have four abilities: MUSCLES, BRAINS, MOVES, and COOL
Each one starts at a 1 and can go to a maximum of 5. You are given 7 points to distribute amongst the four abilities. These numbers will be the amount of d6's you roll to accomplish something. So if you put 3 points into Brains, you have a total of 4. You will roll 4d6 on any Brains checks to reach a target number (TN) to accomplish something.
Each ability has 3 points worth of skills (which you select to be a bit more specific under each ability). Each point in a skill gives you another d6 to add to your ability roll when making a check that falls within the skill's perameters. You can choose one skill at 3 points, two skills at 2 points and 1 point each, or three 1 point skills. Thus, if the character above selected MYTHOLOGY as their skill under BRAINS and put all 3 points into it, they would roll 7d6 (4d6 for Brains plus 3d6 for Mythology) any time they wanted to find out something about ancient legends, myths, stories etc.
When rolling dice, one of the dice you roll is always the infamous "Ghost Die". This die has the Ghostbusters logo where the six pip would have been. If you roll your dice and a 1-5 appears on the Ghost die, you add that number to your dice total as normal. If however the Ghost logo appears, you do not treat it as a six, but rather that it means an amusing Complication has arisen. If you still suceeded in your check even with the Ghost appearing, then it's a small complication for amusement's sake. If you however MISS your target number AND roll the Ghost logo... then a BIG complication has occured. All this does is pretty much assure you of lots of humorous complications (since 1 in every 6 dice rolls will have the Ghost appear).
Your final character choice is your Goal - why is it you are becoming a Ghostbuster. These include things like Money, Fame, Serving Humanity, Soulless Science, Sex, Adventure, etc. Every character has a Goal that he or she tries to obtain while busting ghosts, and when you roleplay your character that way, you get more Brownie Points (the XP of the Ghostbusters game).
Brownie Points are the catch-all for anything special you choose to have happen as you play. If you make a bad roll, you can spend a Brownie Point to re-roll. If you want to get something special (like equipment or stuff), spend a Brownie Point and it'll somehow fall into your lap. If you got a Ghost on a roll, spend a Brownie Point to make the Ghost disappear. If you succeed in a terrific, amusing, outstanding action that never should have worked... spend a Brownie Point and I might raise your relevant ability or skill up a point (or give you a new skill altogether) Etc. Etc.
You'll also be given Brownie Points for amusing the GM through character interaction. The more your writings amuse me, the more Brownie Points I'll give you. This game is all about writing smart and funny.
So that's the basics of the rules. For those who'd like to play, the character creation and selection will be as follows: write a short couple of paragraphs which describe your character's arrival at Ghostbusters Headquarters with the want-ads in hand, looking for a job as a new Ghostbuster. Think Winston arriving in Ghostbusters I. I want a sense of who your character is, what is special about him, perhaps what his Goal is for coming here looking for a job, and anything else you think'll be fun to write. Remember... this is a comedic sci-fi action game we're playing here... I want the wackiest bunch of goofballs that you'd find in the movie Stripes.
All interactions with HQ will be with Louis Tully (and NOT Peter, Ray, Egon, and Winston), so if you want to deal with someone in charge, Louis is it. (And for those who submit character arrivals AFTER others have submitted theirs, keeping continuity amongst the posts and characters will be looked upon favorably).
One post per character is fine. And you can also feel free to submit a "character sheet" as well at the bottom of your post if you think it'll help give a better impression of your character (although it isn't necessary). Important things to remember when filling out a character sheet:
Character names TEND to be an innocuous first name, and a really odd last name. Peter, Ray, Winston... conected with Venkman, Stantz, Zeddemore. You don't find many with names like "Jones" or "Smith" or "Taylor". However, a swap of a really odd first name coupled with a normal last name might be an interesting swap.
Skills can be anything you can think of under each of your four abilities. As this is a humor game, do not think of this as needing to min/max, but rather select skills that are goofy and fun to play. Muscles skills might be things like Lift Heavy Objects, Jump Far, Eat Anything, Run For a Long Time, Break Stuff, Punch People Hard. Brains skills might be Mythology, Build Things, Comic Books, European History, Pop Culture. Moves might have Dodge, Fire Proton Pack, Breakdance, Skateboard, Slide Down Poles. And Cool would have skills like Seduction, Con Artist, Being Impressive, Annoy People, Resist Anger etc. Make up, pick, and choose your skills that are going to round out your character from a roleplaying perspective. Some can be useful D&D type skills... some can be obscure "character-enhancing" skills that might very well get used during the game. Like having your character able to speak Klingon.
Here is a sample character sheet:
So hopefully this interests a bunch of you. I think in some ways I'll treat character selection almost like the Living worlds in that everyone who writes their character arriving at GBHQ will have their character sitting in the waiting area until I select them to go on a mission. If they aren't selected for the first one, they can hang out at HQ until the group comes back and then I might select them for the next one. We'll see how it goes. And for those of you who are wondering about things like combat, selecting equipment, etc... we'll worry about getting you up to speed when you go on your first mission. It's not like Winston had any idea what he was getting into when he arrived at the firehouse now, did he? Thanx guys! Post your character arrivals in this thread, as well as any questions you might have.
Think of this as a bunch of bad Saturday Night Live characters working together to solve sci-fi scenarios that normally get lambasted by the gang at Mystery Science Theater 3000.
So for all those of you who are interested in being a Ghostbuster, here's da rules I'm using:
You have four abilities: MUSCLES, BRAINS, MOVES, and COOL
Each one starts at a 1 and can go to a maximum of 5. You are given 7 points to distribute amongst the four abilities. These numbers will be the amount of d6's you roll to accomplish something. So if you put 3 points into Brains, you have a total of 4. You will roll 4d6 on any Brains checks to reach a target number (TN) to accomplish something.
Each ability has 3 points worth of skills (which you select to be a bit more specific under each ability). Each point in a skill gives you another d6 to add to your ability roll when making a check that falls within the skill's perameters. You can choose one skill at 3 points, two skills at 2 points and 1 point each, or three 1 point skills. Thus, if the character above selected MYTHOLOGY as their skill under BRAINS and put all 3 points into it, they would roll 7d6 (4d6 for Brains plus 3d6 for Mythology) any time they wanted to find out something about ancient legends, myths, stories etc.
When rolling dice, one of the dice you roll is always the infamous "Ghost Die". This die has the Ghostbusters logo where the six pip would have been. If you roll your dice and a 1-5 appears on the Ghost die, you add that number to your dice total as normal. If however the Ghost logo appears, you do not treat it as a six, but rather that it means an amusing Complication has arisen. If you still suceeded in your check even with the Ghost appearing, then it's a small complication for amusement's sake. If you however MISS your target number AND roll the Ghost logo... then a BIG complication has occured. All this does is pretty much assure you of lots of humorous complications (since 1 in every 6 dice rolls will have the Ghost appear).
Your final character choice is your Goal - why is it you are becoming a Ghostbuster. These include things like Money, Fame, Serving Humanity, Soulless Science, Sex, Adventure, etc. Every character has a Goal that he or she tries to obtain while busting ghosts, and when you roleplay your character that way, you get more Brownie Points (the XP of the Ghostbusters game).
Brownie Points are the catch-all for anything special you choose to have happen as you play. If you make a bad roll, you can spend a Brownie Point to re-roll. If you want to get something special (like equipment or stuff), spend a Brownie Point and it'll somehow fall into your lap. If you got a Ghost on a roll, spend a Brownie Point to make the Ghost disappear. If you succeed in a terrific, amusing, outstanding action that never should have worked... spend a Brownie Point and I might raise your relevant ability or skill up a point (or give you a new skill altogether) Etc. Etc.
You'll also be given Brownie Points for amusing the GM through character interaction. The more your writings amuse me, the more Brownie Points I'll give you. This game is all about writing smart and funny.
So that's the basics of the rules. For those who'd like to play, the character creation and selection will be as follows: write a short couple of paragraphs which describe your character's arrival at Ghostbusters Headquarters with the want-ads in hand, looking for a job as a new Ghostbuster. Think Winston arriving in Ghostbusters I. I want a sense of who your character is, what is special about him, perhaps what his Goal is for coming here looking for a job, and anything else you think'll be fun to write. Remember... this is a comedic sci-fi action game we're playing here... I want the wackiest bunch of goofballs that you'd find in the movie Stripes.
All interactions with HQ will be with Louis Tully (and NOT Peter, Ray, Egon, and Winston), so if you want to deal with someone in charge, Louis is it. (And for those who submit character arrivals AFTER others have submitted theirs, keeping continuity amongst the posts and characters will be looked upon favorably).
One post per character is fine. And you can also feel free to submit a "character sheet" as well at the bottom of your post if you think it'll help give a better impression of your character (although it isn't necessary). Important things to remember when filling out a character sheet:
Character names TEND to be an innocuous first name, and a really odd last name. Peter, Ray, Winston... conected with Venkman, Stantz, Zeddemore. You don't find many with names like "Jones" or "Smith" or "Taylor". However, a swap of a really odd first name coupled with a normal last name might be an interesting swap.
Skills can be anything you can think of under each of your four abilities. As this is a humor game, do not think of this as needing to min/max, but rather select skills that are goofy and fun to play. Muscles skills might be things like Lift Heavy Objects, Jump Far, Eat Anything, Run For a Long Time, Break Stuff, Punch People Hard. Brains skills might be Mythology, Build Things, Comic Books, European History, Pop Culture. Moves might have Dodge, Fire Proton Pack, Breakdance, Skateboard, Slide Down Poles. And Cool would have skills like Seduction, Con Artist, Being Impressive, Annoy People, Resist Anger etc. Make up, pick, and choose your skills that are going to round out your character from a roleplaying perspective. Some can be useful D&D type skills... some can be obscure "character-enhancing" skills that might very well get used during the game. Like having your character able to speak Klingon.
Here is a sample character sheet:
Code:
[B][COLOR=DeepSkyBlue]DOUG MICKLETERWILIKER[/COLOR][/B]
[B]Muscles[/B] 3
Knock Stuff Over 2
Twist Open Stuck Jars 1
[B]Brains[/B] 2
Physics 3
[B]Moves[/B] 2
Throw Things 2
Moonwalk
[B]Cool[/B] 4
Give Winning Smile 1
Gladhand 1
Pass The Buck 1
Goal - FAMESo hopefully this interests a bunch of you. I think in some ways I'll treat character selection almost like the Living worlds in that everyone who writes their character arriving at GBHQ will have their character sitting in the waiting area until I select them to go on a mission. If they aren't selected for the first one, they can hang out at HQ until the group comes back and then I might select them for the next one. We'll see how it goes. And for those of you who are wondering about things like combat, selecting equipment, etc... we'll worry about getting you up to speed when you go on your first mission. It's not like Winston had any idea what he was getting into when he arrived at the firehouse now, did he? Thanx guys! Post your character arrivals in this thread, as well as any questions you might have.
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And her skills are too useful. She's built like an actual d20 Modern RPG character, not someone who would stand on a rooftop covered in melted marshmellow about to make a sarcastic retort to Bill Murray. That's what I'm looking for... and character selection will be based primarily on how much fun and how funny you are with your character and their desire and arrival to be a Ghostbuster. Thanx Frukathka!
