vs. Ghosts by Rick Hershey and Lucus Palosaari is a role playing game supplement published by Fat Goblin Games. The game uses the vsM Engine and, as such, is covered by the Open Game License with some parts considered to be Open Game Content as a result.
The supplement is available from DriveThruRPG as a PDF for $6.95, as a softcover print on demand colour book for $14.95 or as both PDF and book for $15.95. The PDF is the version reviewed although it was purchased at a reduced price during a sale. The PDF has 64 pages, of which two are the front and rear covers, one is the front matter, one the Contents, one a blank character sheet, one the Open Game License and one is promotional.
The opening paragraphs explain that the characters in this game deal with hauntings and unbelievers who try to prevent them from doing their jobs. Inspiration states, to no great surprise, that Ghostbusters is a source to start with, followed by other films, television programs and anything using the word “haunted” – some of these are darker than others.
Characters explains the process of character creation, which is listed then gone into in more depth. Name is self-explanatory, a bio is essentially the player’s vision of the character then attributes are covered. These are assigned using an array (although it states it’s a pool).
Good and bad gimmicks are advantages and disadvantages. For every good gimmick a bad one must also be chosen. Two of each is recommended; more can be taken but each additional gimmick lowers an attribute by one point. Health is recorded next – all characters have the same, modified by gimmicks – then any other traits, which have no game effect.
Actions & Challenges explains the core mechanic of vs. Ghosts, and other vsM games. They are card based, using a standard deck minus the jokers, and characters draw cards for challenges. A second deck of cards, noticeably different, is required for bonus cards. Dice, specifically a d12, can be used, but this alters the probabilities, as with dice they remain constant. Characters can also help others with challenges and actions can also be opposed.
Combat works in a generally similar way, based around the core mechanic; movement and turns are a bit more abstract than in other games. Dealing damage, the effects of damage and recovering health are in this section, as well as some sample modifiers.
Equipment is obtained at the start of each session, with any from the previous one carried over. Players have to draw codes to see if they can get the equipment they want by beating its card score. Equipment is generally more abstract in vsM games, but there is more in vs. Ghosts as equipment is more important. Equipment available is clothing, living space, workspace, transportation, weapons, other equipment and ghost hunting gear. Only weapons and ghost hunting gear have effects that could be considered to be mechanical.
After this is a section on Ghost Mastering, which starts with options for character advancement. Characters can remove a bad gimmick, improve an attribute, add a good gimmick, or receive a bonus card from the second deck, the last being the most likely. The others need a justification, and not every bad gimmick may be removed. Next are the NPCs; Extras, Bystanders and Nemeses. Enemy Hordes are groups of low-powered enemies. Extras also have a few gimmicks just for them. There are several example extras, some rules for creating ghosts and rules on fear.
Dr. Corontze’s Spirit Guide is another, more secret, version on Ghost Mastering, and follows a different layout. There are descriptions on levels of ghosts, ghostly powers and some example ghosts.
Finally, returning to the normal layout, there are some adventure hooks.
vs. Ghosts in Review
The PDF is bookmarked, but the bookmarks are not in order, which makes them rather less useful. The Contents is to a similar level of depth and is also hyperlinked. Navigation is not as good as it should have been. The text is in a full colour format and is either two columns or one, the latter tending to be for when tables are involved, and quite a few minor errors were noticed, which increased in number later on in the supplement. There are a variety of coloured illustrations, which look as if they are custom. Presentation is very good.
With this being based on vsM, it is a fairly rules-lite game and should be simple enough to pick up. It can be used for one-shots, although some of the options will work better with campaigns; there isn’t a lot of point improving characters who are never used again. The tone varies a bit, from being cheerful and kid friendly to a bit darker; Ghost Masters should pick one tone and stick with it. The darker tones are less suited to younger players. vs. Ghosts is a decent supernatural game and it can be found by clicking here.
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