Ghost Protocol

So some thinking on the Alycia naming thread, and some thoughts about Link interacting with Ghost Girl, got me here. I don't know if any of this has been discussed already or not, and if it's not something people are interested in, please let me know. :) There's been some talk of Charlotte wanting to advocate for the dead, or taking up their banner in some way. Should that happen, Link has a specific thing he might bring up: "Rook Industries seems like the sort of company who'll kill people who know too much. They wronged me and mine, and I want to take them down. If someone they killed wants vengeance, and was killed because they knew too much, let's get that information, and we can put it to good use." It would be neat to see years of a formerly-effective corrupt corporate tactic (burying the evidence) backfire on Rook. On the other hand, this can come back to hurt us too. How? Two members of this team (Leo, and now Alycia) are the children of people who are responsible for numerous deaths and other harm. While those two might not have personally pulled the trigger, the victims of the Minion Maker or Dr. Chin might not split hairs so finely. Ghost Girl might be asked (or expected) to act against former teammates, defend them against angry spirits, or find her own solution to the demands of the dead.

I wasn't expecting this to pivot into a horror movie, but I could easily see something like that happening.  (Next up: Mike drawing the Zombie Menagerie ...)

*** Dave H. said: I wasn't expecting this to pivot into a horror movie, but I could easily see something like that happening.  (Next up: Mike drawing the Zombie Menagerie ...) Shh, Dave.  You're ruining the Halloween surprise.  :P

It doesn't necessarily have to be pitched as horror. For example, imagine that the ghosts of Revolutionary or Civil War spymasters stayed around, organizing ghosts, using the skills gained in life, keeping track of the living who did wrong to the dead, aiding them in getting revenge or otherwise achieving goals in ways that didn't set off the mystically-minded among the living. A series of casual hauntings might alert a more responsible Magus, or other sorcerers. A bunch of coincidental accidents, on the other hand... Put this way, it works more like an espionage story, but where the participants are literally ghosts, can go anywhere, see anything, infiltrate any security system - the ultimate spy. They're under enough rules (you can't pass through a doorway with the right symbols on them, or whatever) that they can't just take over the world. Some factions might actually be interested in cooperating with the living, plugging into their intelligence apparatus or other assets. Others will be like "pff, we don't need them", and treat the Scooby Gang as meddling interlopers who need to be dealt with.

Oh, I am sure there are a lot of very cool applications here. I'm suggesting for some characters, dealing with the spirits of the dead (especially the unhappy ones) might be a very unpleasant experience.

One thing that Magus noted and Charlotte has observed is that the longevity and completeness of ghosts varies. The strongest ghosts might be the ones with a strong will and unfinished business, or maybe it has something to do with bloodlines. Both would lead to some interesting adventures.