Re: [DL] my group the update

["David L. Hoff" <dlhoff1@charter.net>]

Justin Baldwin wrote:

> i've done that. I was actually kind of fun. Everytime one of the 
> players missed a roll or did something dumb there was a ghost yelling 
> "You suck!"

Although that sounds funny, I think a more serious tone may be necessary 
for the group. Rather than a whole bunch of ghosts, just use one. Make 
it be someone whose death was truly unjustified. Start off slow. At 
random points during an adventure, have the party members roll 
cognition, but unless they go bust, tell them they feel like they are 
being watched. Searching will find nothing. Later, at night, have 
whoever is on watch see something out of the corner of his eye. When he 
turns his head, it is gone. During the next watch, that person actually 
gets a glimpse of a man (or woman, depends on the NPC you chose) 
watching from the edge of the firelight. But if they make any moves 
towards the figure, it backs away from the light, and when they reach 
the spot where the figure was standing, there is no trace of them, not 
even footprints. During this same time, have one of the players have a 
nightmare where they relive the scene where the NPC was killed. In the 
dream, just as the NPC is supposed to die, the player finds himself in 
the NPC's body. Describe in detail the feeling of being shot, the 
intense pain, followed by the numbness, and then the cold feeling as 
their blood and life spills out on the ground... They should wake up 
screaming, and feeling unnaturally cold.

Let a day or two go by without any more ghost problems. (Keep in mind, 
that this should all be going on during some other adventure, so 
whatever stuff would happen in that adventure still goes on as planned.) 
After waiting a day or two, start up with the feeling like they are been 
watched again. This time, wait for one of the characters to be looking 
at something reflective; a pool of water, a shaving mirror, a storefront 
window. In the reflection, besides seeing themselves, they see the NPC 
standing behind them. If the NPC was someone who would have a weapon, 
then in the reflection, the NPC is aiming the weapon at them. If the NPC 
wouldn't normally have a gun, then in the reflection, they are reaching 
up as if they are going to strangle the character. When the character 
spins around, there is nothing there.

Keep this pattern going for a while, where first they feel like they are 
being watched, then the apparition appears. Make it happen more and more 
often, until the whole party feels like they are constantly being 
watched, sleeping only brings nightmares,  people skip shaving in the 
morning so they don't have to look in a mirror, etc. The key is to not 
simply give their characters Night Terrors, or a Phobia of  mirrors, but 
to actually *describe* things well enough so that the *players*  get 
freaked out. Don't get me wrong, you should still hand out the 
hindrances as you see fit, but you want to make the players "feel" the 
hindrance, instead of having it just be another piece of information on 
their character sheet and a TN penalty that needs to be factored in.

For example, lets say a character gets a Phobia of mirrors. Instead of 
saying to them something like "There is a mirror on the wall of the 
saloon, so Fred, you have a -2 penalty for this scene", say to Fred "As 
you walk into the saloon with the others, you nervously scan the walls, 
hoping that there won't be one in here... but as your gaze moves over to 
where the piano player is sitting, a cold shiver runs down your spine. 
There on the wall, above the piano, is a mirror. It's cold, silvery 
surface makes you feel uneasy; afraid that *he* might be in there, 
watching you. Regardless of what else is going on in the saloon, you 
keep glancing towards the mirror, afraid to let it out of your sight for 
too long... "

Hopefully, after a while of this, your players will "get it", and try 
and make up for what they did. Maybe the Indian can have his Guardian 
Spirit come to him in a dream and explain how the tortured spirit of the 
NPC can be laid to rest, but only if the characters change their ways. 
But if your players are stubborn and keep doing the same sort of bad 
stuff, then I have no idea what you can do other than to just stop the 
game and have a long talk with your players about what they are doing.

I hope this helps.

--David