PPS: Oops, I accidentally recalled all the cards from your hands. When it becomes important, we’ll re-assign them.
Lou also looks over the Suburban.
“She’s kinda bigga den ah’m used ta. ‘Course, ah don’ egspec ta take her aroun’ a fig eight.”
Gerald is just going to continue to poke around.
“Kris, do you think you could cobble together a working telephone? It would be helpful if I could hear one of these calls first hand… JT, do you know what this building was before you bought it? We might need to take a trip down to the public records building if not.”
Heh… that’s one more post than I was expecting tonight; thanks Lute! [irony]I almost my deadline as well![/irony]
Lou has moved his token near the vehicle. Nobody else did anything in particular. The GM rolled dice: 6, no Ghost Die.
Louis Cornwall makes his way over towards the Suburban, still up on ramps and disassembled, as only minutes have passed since last turn, and gives her a good looking-over.
This is/will be your official Ghostbusting Vehicle. When I was a kid, my family had a 1984 Suburban. I always thought it would have made a very good Ecto-2; roomy, and tougher than a hearse, although the hearse does have that ‘cool’ factor going for it.
It seems, going by character sheets, that Louis will be the team’s official driver. I’ll default to this setting whenever it’s appropriate unless someone tells me different.
I’m going to assume he’s got some mechanical aptitude, at least on the subject of cars, even though it might not be one of his peak-level Abilities. In other words, he can drive like a bat outta hell, but he also knows how to do above-average repairs and the like. Usually either a straight-up BRAINS or MOVES roll will suffice for this.
The car is not working right now, of course; it’s not needed in this part of the game. It’s not, really, needed in the next bit, but I’ll find a way to work something in for y’all. It is, however, part of the official equipment, and so therefore it’s more or less yours. (y’all’s, plural possessive). If you want any special modifications made, or even want to get an entirely different vehicle, be my guest; it’s your game!
J.T. has enough money to pay for this, up to a reasonable point, so feel free to be creative.
Nothing unusual is found.
.
Time passes.
.
.
Gerald’s mobile telephone rings.
J.T. throws a crooked smile at Gerald from across the room. “Son…” he drawls knowingly. “I’d think real, real careful about answering that contraption in here, if’n I were you.”
This next spoiler contains some ideas on what to do next; do not read it if you prefer to NOT be spoon-fed ideas from the GM!
[spoiler]I think I’ve done a good enough job of describing the situation, but for absolute clarity this is what I think I’ve set up as your probable next actions:
-
Answer the telephone. When you do this, the Phantasm will try to talk to Ralph. How you react to this will determine what happens next, with the most likely option being the telephone’s destruction, foreshadowed by the other destroyed telephones. However, some characters have skills that may be able to change this fate, depending on the luck of the dice and their skill as players.
-
Touch the car. I think it’s clear the car is a focal point of activity; messing around with it should, likely, invoke the wrath of the Phantasm and lead to combat. It’s possible, but less likely, that a non-combat solution can be found on this path. Again, it’s player’s choice.
-
Do neither, and continue exploring. There are still a couple clues left, if the players wish to solve the mystery of this haunting in a Scooby-Doo fashion, with nobody getting hurt at the end. This is a subtler, and therefore more difficult, path, but could be more rewarding if the players succeed.
-
Of course, you could do something else entirely… the players’ job is to keep the GM on his toes, after all! Vice-versa applies, of course… :D[/spoiler]
Oops… sorry JB, I was already writing when I saw your post. It’ll apply to the next turn.
J.T. “Yeah, didn’t y’all notice? Used to be a medical clinic back in the 40’s and 50’s, ‘till they shut it down. Some kinda kerfuffle over a patient, I’m not real clear on the details. Didn’t seem important, just looked like a good buildin’ for a Ghostbustin’ shop, at a good price. I got renovators to fix up the place, but until I… I mean, ‘we!’… get ridda that ghost, I told 'em to hold off. Don’t wanna rebuild those bathrooms again, I tell ya whut!”
“JT, are you saying there are no phones in this entire building? We need to get at least one phone if we want to run a business out of here. Besides, I’d like to try to talk to the ghost thingy on the phone, anyway.”
Kris thinks for a moment.
“I’d also like to investigate more about what happened here in the 40’s and 50’s before they shut it down. We should search for what caused it to be shut down…and see if it involved a guy named Ralph. JT, is there a library near here?”
“At’s right, son. Aside from Mr. Kicky’s gadget over there, only phones we got here are them broken ones. Feel free to do what you want with 'em.”
Nearby locations for information gathering include a library, a hall of records, newspaper offices, a local historian, and any other kind of place you can think of. You’re certainly on the right track, if you visit one of these places.
Careful re-reading of previously-posted information in this thread can be helpful… look for subtle hints! Often, what is *not *said is also important! q;}Blatant hint ahead!Just kidding; you’ve got enough for now!
Gerald looks down at his mobile phone, then up at JT.
“Aw, hell,” he says. “Can’t afford the damn thing anyway.”
First, Gerald moves to the middle of the garage, into a clear patch of floor. He slowly unholsters the phone, extends the antenna, and hits the answer button.
“Hey, sweetie!” he says brightly. “I’ve been trying to get a hold of you! I’m coming to get you, ok? I just need you to sit tight! You let your Ralph take care of everything, you understand?”
I rolled both Parapsychology (24, no ghost) and Fast Talk (28, no ghost), depending on which or both you consider relevant.
Depending on if the ghost talks to Gerald, Kris will ask to talk to her.
“Gerald, I have a way with women. Let me talk to her if she gives you a hard time.”
Kris rolled a 16 for smooth-talking if you need the roll.
Lou continues going over the Suburban, looking for what he could fix himself and where to start doing so when it’s safe to touch.
Lou also introduces himself.
“By da way, ah’m Lou Cornwall, forme’ly of Ponchatoula, Loosianne.”
The GM moved a few tokens around to better represent his view of the situation.
Gerald’s PARAPSYCHOLOGY roll was not needed; he already knows all about this type of ghost.
Gerald’s FAST TALK roll of 28, no ghost, is sufficient to convince the spirit to listen to him, at least for the moment.
“Hey, sweetie!” Gerald says brightly. “I’ve been trying to get a hold of you! I’m coming to get you, ok? I just need you to sit tight! You let your Ralph take care of everything, you understand?”
“Ralph?” asks the voice on the phone, faintly. It’s clearly the voice of the Phantasm. “Ralph, is it really you? Oh, darling, it’s horrible here, they won’t let me leave! Why did you leave me, Ralph? I never wanted to come here in the first place, but I love you so much… We had such a wonderful anniversary weekend, didn’t we? The lights, the shows, the dinner… you dropped your fork, remember? Then we… the taxi… I told you… what… the pain, it hurts, Ralph! What happened to me? Where are you? Why won’t they let me leave, Ralph? Come get me, come back for me, please… Why did you leave me here?”
She seems to be getting a little upset… try to talk her down, or pass it to Kris?
[spoiler]If Gerald continues to talk to the Phantasm, he can do so. His previous roll of 28 stands; her reactions will be to what he actually says, in character, until Midnight Realtime (end of this/next TURN.)
It’s a little early, but I’ll let Mahaloth’s roll of 16 stand for SMOOTH TALK.
However, Gerald seems to be making progress. Until he decides to pass the phone to Kris, Gerald will keep talking.
If Gerald should cause her to get upset, he’ll get a MOVES roll (GM rolled) to hold on to the phone, should she try to break it. OR, possibly, Johnny Bravo can suggest an alternative, to which I will at least listen. FAST TALK would not suffice, since he just made that roll.
This is one of those situations that is MUCH easier for the GM to deal with in person![/spoiler]
Kris steps closer to Gerald, ready to take over should Gerald’s silver tongue slip.
Lou looks over the Suburban. It’s used, and kinda worn out, but still pretty tough; it looks like J.T. was doing a pretty good job of fixing it up, at least until he was distracted. A simple matter of finding all the missing parts, and putting them back together, would easily get this thing back to roadworthy condition. This won’t be quick, tho; it could easily take hours, and now’s not really the best time to start, all things considered.
Again, this will be YOUR vehicle! Feel free to make any suggestions as to how you’d like it customized, if you have any.
“Well, I’ll be… Mr. Kicky has a way with words, don’t he?” drawls J.T., impressed. “He’s already been chattin’ to her longer’n I ever did.”
I think the open-talk concept was working pretty well so far, so we’ll keep that going today as well. I’ll try to update when I can, before midnight, so limber up those lips and talk away!
PS: It’s early evening, still… many of the locations, such as the library, may no longer be open, so you’d have to wait overnight to reach them anyway. If so, that’s ok… she’ll be here when you get back!
Gerald drops a wink at Kris, then turns the phone halfway off his ear so that the other man can hear both ends of the conversation if he leans in. He keeps talking, though.
“I know it hurts, sweety. You just keep calm baby, ok? I left my wallet at the restaurant - have to go back for it. What was the name of that place, again? Darn driver keeps bugging me! I’m gonna be back for you real soon, sugar. But listen, you’ve got to stop making a scene, ok? You need to show those folks the kind, sweet girl that I married. Understand?”
“Millican’s?” says the Phantasm, hesitantly. “I never want to see that place again, Ralph, don’t make me go back! Oh, honey, hurry, come get me, I’m all alone. I’m alone, I’ve been alone so long, it’s been so long and it hurts so much… why did you leave me, Ralph? Come get me, hurry… did you say ‘driver’? You’re not bringing one of those deathtraps are you? I won’t get in, you know I hate them, don’t make me get in again… they’re making me get in… where are you Ralph? Why won’t they leave me ALONE!”
She’s getting quite agitated now! Gerald doesn’t think it’s reached the danger point yet, but if he’s not careful…
Keep talking!
“Alright, darling, alright. I’ll be there soon. Just be calm with them, okay? They’re only trying to help. I’m going to be there soon. Hey, you remember our song, don’t you?”
Gerald will continue to try and soothe the phantasm. If she continues to get agitated, he’ll mouth the word “batteries” at Kris and prepare for a quick handoff to the equipment expert to get the thing shut off quickly and hopefully without being destroyed.
"Oh Ralph, we had such a wonderful wedding didn’t we? We danced and danced so; you sang our song to me, it was all so lovely. I remember our song, how did it go? ‘that choo-choo train that takes me away from you no words can tell how sad it makes me’ " sings the Phantom. “Yes, Ralph, let’s get on that train again, take me away from here! Come get me, Ralph, don’t say goodbye to me again! Help me, Ralph!”
Sorry, busy day, didn’t get to post until just now.
Gerald has one chance to get her to hang up the phone without destroying it… sing the chorus of “Their Song”!
Others may make suggestions if he doesn’t know it.
PS: One brownie point if you can do this without [COLOR=“Blue”]Google!
PPS: Because it’s so late, tonight’s ‘Tick’ will be delayed until tomorrow night.[/COLOR]
Posting for the simple reason that it’s Midnight and I said I would.
No turn occurs tonight for previously stated reasons.
See y’all tomorrow!
Pfft, who doesn’t know Toot, Toot, Tootsie!? I did have to look up the lyrics, though.
Gerald rolls his eyes a little, then warbles out in his best Al Jolson impression:
“Toot Toot Tootsie goodbye.
Toot Toot Tootsie, don’t cry.
That little choo-choo train
That takes me
Away from you, no words can tell how sad it makes me.
Kiss me Tootsie and then,
Oh baby, do it over again.
Watch for the mail;
I’ll never fail,
And if you don’t get a letter then you’ll know I’m in jail.
Toot Toot Tootsie, don’t cry.
Toot Toot Tootsie, goodbye!”
He slowly fades out on the last few lines, like a parent singing a lullaby to a dozing child.
Lou decides to forget about the Suburban for the time being and heads back to the reception area to look for clues.
“Y’all ‘scuse me for awahl. Gohne check on sumptin’.”
Lute/Lou, please give me a BRAINS roll to find any clues there; remember, if you want to use Brownie Points (+1d6 each) to roll them BEFORE you roll your other dice.
Mahaloth/Kris, you can safely guess that you’ll not be needed to help Gerald with the telephone; if you want to take that chance and do something else, feel free! (you’ve got until midnight)