This weekend I was fortunate enough to have been gifted with a pdf of the next Dark Places & Demogorgons book, The Ghost Hunter's Handbook.
The pdf clocks in at 64, making it larger than the vampire and werewolf sourcebooks and comparable to the UFO Investigator's Handbook. Also, like the UFO book, this one has options for players and GM's. The book fleshes out an important part of paranormal games that I think is tricky rules wise, spectral things. Well I guess it ectoplams out.... errr... yeah... we'll stick with flesh, though it's not the most appropriate terminology. If you've been wanting to play Ghostbusters & Demogorgons this is the book for you.
The book starts with four new classes:
- Clairavoyant - You can see images of the future and past and see things how they truly are. How will you use this gift?
- Parapsychologist - You are fascinated by the idea of life after death and whether it be through occult or scientific means, you hunt ghosts.
- Mystical Ghost Hunter - Whether ghosts are friendly or not, you know they don't belong in the world of the living and use mystical means to send them to the afterlife.
- Nullifier - Ghosts and magic are BS. You've never seen anything. Unbeknownst to you, this is because you were born with an innate ability to negate magic and psychic powers.
What follows that section is a pretty thorough discussion of ghosts in DP&D. What are they and why are they still around? There's a good overview of what it means to be incorporeal in game terms. We're given a d6 random ghost chart with stats for each type. This is followed by a new terror chart specifically for encountering ghosts. This is a brilliant addition to the game.
If you discuss ghosts, you have to talk about where they come from. There's a few page about the Other Side... no not this one. There are some cool ideas to make every trip to the Other Side random and how they will affect mortals and undead.
Ghost bus... I mean hunters need the proper equipment so we're presented with some new ghost hunting gear. While magic items aren't as prevalent in DP&D as they are in other OSR games, we're given some ghost related ones that can be found at Ethel's Antiques. There are also new minor and major spells for your witch characters.
J'town gets a nice expansion with the discussion of the Winter Hills Asylum and Blue Island. Every campaign needs a spooky abandoned mental institution and now Jeffersontown has a detailed one. There are several sites on the island and we get some great tables mentioned rumors and goings on.
K.U.F.O.O. isn't the only group looking into strange occurrences in J'town. We're presented with the Jeffersontown Paranormal Society and it's members (which is led by a Gygax).
Finally the book ends with an plot hook dear to my heart that originally appeared in the Jeffersontown Setting Guide, the Ghost Pug of Ghost Light Road. As I mentioned before, this series of encounters was so much fun I commissioned artwork based on it. You can check that out, here.
This is an incredibly useful sourcebook that tackles a (mechanically) hard topic. The new classes are fun and add some nice elements to the game. The discussion of ghosts and the Other Side is fantastic an immensely useful. The new location is interesting and will definitely become an important part of my campaign. New allies are always good and "Oh dear God, it's Norman!" If you play DP&D this is a book you need. Also if you plan on including ghosts in your Vigilante City game, you're going to want this one too.
The pdf will be available October 2nd, with print options coming shortly after that.
Thank you for all the kind words!
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