Jan. 5, 2018
Aw, y'all are sweet.
Today I got some of the basics down for the character sheet -- I'm using playbooks, but this is only intended to be a single-session game, so the term doesn't feel like it fits when they're just half a page.
The final version will be in pen, but pencil works for now.
Stats I have in mind (may be renamed):
- Knowledge of life: this can only go up, as there's no way in-game to get amnesia once you become a ghost.
- Stealthy/Interactive: These are opposed to each other; as you become more stealthy, it's harder to interact with the world, and vice versa.
- Spooky/Friendly: How much you scare people vs. your ability to communicate.
- Progress to goal: This needs some tweaking, but the thought is that when your progress gets all the way to the end, you've fulfilled your dying wish. It'll take different forms for the different playbooks.
My thought is that there will be four playbooks for the jam version, differentiated by their dying wish (again, may be renamed):
- The Vengeful: Someone wronged you in life, and you want to make sure they suffer for it. The person who wronged you may be your murderer; I'm still working that out. You win by scaring the person out of their skin.
- The Shadow: You don't remember who you used to be. You win by learning your true identity.
- The Victim: You remember a lot about your life... except how you died, and you really need to find out. You win by learning your cause of death and whether it was murder or an accident.
- The Lover: You have someone you need to take care of in the land of the living, and not in the way the Vengeful might! You win by ensuring your loved one knows you're at peace.
Now, these goals don't have much in common with each other. How is anyone supposed to progress?
Here's how: everyone also plays a side role for another player, and those interactions facilitate progress. There may also be opportunities to progress by interacting with other ghosts; who's to say at this point.