Welcome to my latest idea, "GB: Ecto-Charge"; aka, "What if Ghostbusters was an anime?" :P (because some of these ideas sound very "Anime", if I'm being honest)
So, the premise is thus:
In the city of Olympia, at the Evergreen State College, a handful of students and a professor find themselves in possession of some unique equipment!
These materials confirm the existence of ghosts! Unfortunately, it was not meant for them, and their purpose was not in the interest of "pure research". A classmate, a genius in their own right, has hostile intentions, trying to use ghosts like attack animals, and the campus is their testing grounds.
With the guidance of their mythology professor, can these students protect their peers, thwart this ghost-lords' plans, and still pass their midterms?
Beneath the hider boxes I'll be sharing more background details to this rp, including some guidelines for character building, details on the gear/equipment, and a sort of system for how Ghosts and Ecto work.
I strongly recommend reading through the material before submitting a character, because, as I state in all my rp's, if a character submission or questions indicate you aren't ready the material I went to the effort of providing, you're not going to play in my rp.
That being said, I will point out that since this is Ghostbusters, there is absolutely room for levity/humor, just don't try to derail the whole thing, alright? Outside of that, (again, per my usual schtick in my rp's) don't expect that there won't be consequences for your actions- escapism is one thing, power fantasy is another. Y'all aren't just here to bare witness to "my story", and I appreciate the same level of consideration from the players for each other.
Important Note: The Setting assumes the players will all be in a Mythology course together, and that's the only GM Mandate I'm issuing (unless it becomes necessary...)
phew, now, I think that's enough of me being so serious! Shpadoinkle. Time to share the details of the setting, and all that jazz!
For simplicity and diversity's sake, every supernatural/paranormal creature/entity will be subsumed unter the moniker of "Ghost", with some exceptions. No, I won't go into detail.
In Ghostbusters, Ghosts are often organized into "classes". Effectively, this reflects their level of overall power and capability, a Class 1 being a Wisp or Orb, while the most powerful apparitions like Gozer fall firmly into Class 7 (and Vigo The Carpathian, briefly, but, we'll get to that...)
For a run down of each class, I'm providing this link.
It will be important to know some of this because 1) because of details in the setting, Ghosts can be powered up to higher Classes temporarily, and 2) Players will, due to the nature of the equipment as described in this setting, be able to occasionally call forth a Ghost to help wear down and capture other Ghosts!
Obviously, Player Characters aren't going to know this right out of the gate, that'll come out through roleplay/exposition, but, it still helps to have this kind of thing clarified.
Earlier I mentioned our boy, Vigo. He seemed to present a serious threat, but, not without a lot of help. Vigo was the antagonist in Ghostbusters 2, wherein the GB's (and Vigo) had discovered a radical build up of psychokinetic residue; a sort of pseudo-ectoplasm. It collected and reacted to powerful psychic energy, such as negative emotions. It had been growing and was thoroughly charged with negative energy, because New York. Vigo used this "mood slime" to artificially boost his Class power up to 7, but originally, he's technically only a Class 4 Ghost, at best.
To put it another, more amusing way? Slimer(Class 5!) is technically more powerful than Vigo! XD
I'll detail how this is relevant to the setting more in the Equipment section, but in this setting, Ghosts produce Ectoplasm, and for purposes of the setting, shed ectoplasm (ecto that's been left on a person or surface) and "Mood Slime" are effectively the same thing, the former being in a somewhat nuetral state, while the latter is charged with positive/negative psychic energy.
To start: The equipment is all essentially 1 device, with extensions that serve different functions! The overall device is The Pack, and each function is facilitated by an Extension.
The CU or "Containment Unit" This is a specialized chamber that contains Ghosts; they can't get in, or out, unless the operator wants them to. But, in order to maximize the limited space (yes, even condensed ghosts have mass), excess/residual Ectoplasm is syphoned into-
The Ecto Chamber This container serves to maximize space in the CU, but primarily stores Ectoplasm as a fuel! It has a limited capacity, and doesn't refill quickly (especially if ghosts' have escaped/been purged from the CU). Ecto get's expended to temporarily release a Ghost and give it visible mass. It get's expended to power-up the Ghost/give the Ghost an "Ecto-Charge" (note: This can be the riskiest expenditure of Ecto, because it uses the most). In negligible quantities it powers other extensions such as the PKE Scanner and the Trap. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, it powers the Proton Projector- the primary weapon.
The Proton Projector This is the part of The Pack that arguably sees the most active use. Ecto-plasm gets converted into raw energy, and the lion's share of that energy goes towards the Blast Attack! It has 2 settings: Blast Mode is the normal default, and it projects a powerful stream of energy that can restrain ghosts! Lower Class Ghosts can be damaged, or even dispersed with this Extension! The second setting is a nozzle that connects directly to the Ecto Chamber- It's purpose is firing Charged Ectoplasm directly into a Ghost! This increases a Ghost's power, and thus it's effective Class. This function is the titular "Ecto-Charge".
The Trap The Trap is pretty self explanatory; it draws in sufficiently weakened ghosts, and deposits them directly into the CU. It can also act as a Tether, preventing a released Ghost from escaping again.
The PKE Scanner This device folds over the shoulder, and over one of the user's eyes! It allows the user to see weaker Classes of Ghosts that can't normally manifest on the visual spectrums, or are hiding from sight deliberately. It also reads the energy levels, allowing the user to identify the Class of the creature, and it also acts as digital registry of all Ghost's currently in the CU. That last function let's the user single out and select a specific Ghost if they intend to release it temporarily. Lastly, it can act as a general proximity alarm, detecting when there's an uncaptured Ghost within it's passive scanning range.
The Location As the rp progresses, I'll open up the setting to include locations in the rest of the city, perhaps even further? For now, however, I'm limiting the map to the main campus:
Character Sheet Character Name: Age: Major: Personality: Background: Favorite Ghost: (This one can be left blank at first, or it can be filled out and inform plans I make so that a Ghost matching this closely can be encountered) Do You Believe in UFO's, Astral Projections, Mental Telepathy, ESP, Clairvoyance, Spirit Photography, Telekinetic Movement, Full Trance Mediums, The Loch Ness Monster and The Theory of Atlantis?:
Please apply by sending me a proposed CS, expressing interest and discussing ideas in the OOC is fine with me!
Gender: Man (Male would be "Sex", if that's what you meant)
Appearance:
Personality: Dane is motivated both by a legacy of duty, and atonement. He's trained his whole life for "fighting the good fight". He originally had a background in science, so while his weapons and powers are magical in nature, he's not lost in conversations relating to scientific matters. His Masters was in Physics, but he's also proficient in a variety of advanced sciences and technologies.
Powers/Abilities: Swordsmanship, hand to hand combat, scientific knowledge and experience. Horsemanship as well By the magic imbued in him, he enjoys mildly enhanced physical abilities, and some minor mystical abilities such as seeing through magic illusions.
The Ebony Blade, a magical sword forged from a meteor (vibranium??), passed down in his family along with the mantle of Black Knight. It's wielder is bonded to the blade by their very soul, allowing it to be summoned back to them if it should be lost, along with a laundry list of other traits: shear through any physical substance with the exception of other enchanted weapons and extremely strong metals like adamantium. cleaves mystical barriers deflect energy when angled correctly absorb all forms of energy discharges force of its own bypass intangibility protection from mysticism bestows an incredible healing factor
He also built a Light Shield into his left gauntlet, a scientific device that creates a shield of solid light to protect from physical attacks.
He rides his winged horse into battle, enabling him to fight on land as well as from the sky. He's been developing leadership skills, as well as strategic and tactical skills.
History: Dane comes from a long line of Black Knights, starting with Sir Percy of Scandia under the reign of King Arthur. His Uncle was the first in the current era to take up the mantle. Unfortunately, he did this under the direction of Hydra. His misdeeds were ultimately what led to his demise, being mortally wounded during the Hydra/SHIELD conflict by Iron Man, and he repented with his last breath as he begged forgiveness to Dane, passing on the title to him. With his uncle's death, he also inherited Castle Garret, in England, where he promptly relocated. There, he met the spirit of Sir Percy, himself, and was magically granted The Ebony Blade, becoming his primary weapon, as well as his winged steed, Aragorn. There was an early struggle when he reintroduced the world to The Black Knight, and people didn't realize he wasn't his uncle. The Avengers came to investigate the alarm that an Agent of Hydra was alive and well, resulting in a battle, but they eventually realized their mistake. He happily accepted the offer to lead an Avengers team, viewing it as an extension of his service as The Black Knight.
Alright, I'm looking to put a game together to play Deadlands, aka Weird West!
My search to put a group together actually started on Reddit, and I've got 2 players so far, hoping for 2 more.
I'm providing a link to that post rather than copy-pasting, and I won't respond to applicants that didn't read the provided material, especially the op in the link, and comments, both of which should answer multiple questions, so please read carefully before commenting with questions. I don't like repeating myself.
Ok, so I'm meant to be playing the character already established?
Alright, I'll make adjustments where necessary as you've defined, and ping you when it's done.
@Martian Update: ok, so, going to be more changes than you're originally asking for. Considering the lengthy history of the character, I'm narrowing the focus to his time with the Avengers, and working that into the setting. I still want to Use the Evil Uncle bit, did you want me to stick to canon as close as possible, or can I retcon so his Evil Uncle bit was a part of the Hydra problem, like, he was an Agent of Hydra?
So how different will the tech be from the movie's tech? Having to fiddle with the quirks and flaws of makeshift proton packs and ghost traps sounds really interesting.
It's different in a way that I'm keeping as a surprise, but is at least superficially similar to the Real Ghostbusters equipment.
Bios are stupid; oh, sure, everyone can [i]see[/i] them, but I bet nobody reads them.
Rude hand gestures and shpadoinkle, there.
No, I wasn't drunk when I wrote this, but I [i]was[/i] very tired.
<div style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Bios are stupid; oh, sure, everyone can <span class="bb-i">see</span> them, but I bet nobody reads them.<br><br>Rude hand gestures and shpadoinkle, there. <br><br>No, I wasn't drunk when I wrote this, but I <span class="bb-i">was</span> very tired.</div>
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