Ghost Stories - Spiritual Manifestations to Animate your Campaign

Few subjects are as stereotypically Victorian to me as a Ghost Story, but beyond the appropriateness of setting, ghosts are a terrific add to any adventure for one simple reason: Atmospheric Story Control.

A Game Master can show a ghost to the players, present a cryptic clue, and the ghost vanishes before the players can ask questions or if the players have missed something important, a trail of glowing footprints accompanied by moans and clattering sounds behind the walls can lead the way.

Or if your villain has died partway through the campaign, why not bring him back with the help of séance and a couple willing followers. Everyone loves a Vengeful ghost.

There is no end of unexpected plot holes that ghosts can fill perfectly.

Right now I’m reading “Gazetteer of British Scottish & IrishGhosts” by Peter Underwood and each entry is a great encounter ready to be plugged into a Victoriana Scenario.  I’m only up to the Fs but I’ve already been inspired with loads of scenarios, clues and investigation ideas. This book is terrific.
Before I post a few favorite haunting and the adventure ideas they give me, here is a quick rule to make the ghost a bit more unworldly.

Unless you intend for a ghost to be beaten in combat, I suggest not giving any stats to ghosts. I think that if the players can quantify what the ghost can do, the unnaturalness fades somewhat. Instead if you aren’t sure what a ghost could do, leave it up to the player’s stats.

If a poltergeist throws a painting at a player character, make it a Dodge test to get out of the way.

If a specter tries to scare a player character out of the haunted room, make it a Resolve test to see if they are courageous enough to stay. Add some black dice, if your ghost is more malicious.

That should help ghosts stay mysterious and keep the spotlight on the player’s skills.