MNEMONIC GHOSTS A game by Andrew Seiple Feedback Group: Epsilon Ingredients Used: Currency, Drug, Memory BACK COVER SUMMARY: Mnemonic Ghosts is a game of horror, for mature players. The player-characters take the part of secret agents, who have sacrificed their bodies to gain the ability of possessing other people through chemical means. Through this drug-based possession, they do black operations in a steampunk world to earn their bodies back from their masters. INTRODUCTION Your body is gone, perhaps forever. But your soul and mind remain, distilled into liquid form. Even a drop of it, injected into a host, is enough to bring you back to active life once more. Your mind and soul are contained in a parasitic drug called Veritas, and you are this way by design. It is a terrible life where you do terrible things, but it must be done. For you owe a debt that can be repaid no other way. With each mission measured in hard gold, one day you will buy your freedom. And then, perhaps they will give you your humanity back. Never eat the food. Never drink anything but pure water. Never become attached to a host. And above all, NEVER Taint an already Tainted host. HISTORY Your tale begins on the world of Ashalan. A world not unlike Earth in structure, the people of Ashalan are much like humanity. They live, love, and fight as do humans everywhere. The prime difference between Ashalan and Earth, is that society has developed a little differently on this world. Ashalan is a small world, and has long since been charted by cartographers. Most countries worth the name exist on the central landmass of Aren. There are a few islands in the western seas, but most of those are united under the banner of Trantos, one of the lesser nations. The few free islands are pirate strongholds, and their anarchy can cost you your life if you step unwisely there. The nations have been warring with one another since the dawn of time. Territories have expanded and shrunk constantly, but it is rare that a nation is eliminated, or a new nation is created. Too many rulers among the existing nations enjoy the status quo, and seek to preserve it at the cost of their people's welfare. As the nations have constantly warred and traded among themselves, technology and science have grown at equal rates throughout most of the continent. Indeed, the advent of the steam engine fifty years ago revolutionized Ashalan, as now networks of trains, steam powered manufactories, and vast steam-and-clockwork driven differential engines have brought about a new age to this now sooty world. Advances in chemistry and medicine have eliminated many once-common diseases, and allowed advances into explosives, manufacturing, and industry in general. Truly, it is a grand time to be alive... So many think, at any rate. THE GREAT WAR However, grand or not, it was almost the end of the world. Ten years ago two of the great nations, Midguard and Guilder, went to war. Armed with new steam-driven engines of destruction, clockwork airship bombers, and terrible, lung-melting gas, they devastated a good part of Aren, killing many in the crossfire. Frightened, the other nations scrambled to stop them, and for wreaking such havoc, declared a moratorium on war for the next twenty years. No fighting for twenty years. A hard commandment, for hard times... But the alternative seemed to be destruction. In the end, it was a good one. The nations declared peace, and they prospered with trade. They rebuilt, and now all people enjoy the fruits of a new golden age. And that is what most of the world believes. But you know it is false. You know better than to believe the lies, and there are those who will hate you for it. Never forget that you know the truth! THE TRUTH The truth is that the rich have ever ruled the poor. The truth is that the Great War was ended not because of the innocents caught in the crossfire, but because it was bankrupting the countries involved. The truth is that the rulers of every country have released drugs, poisons, and other chemical substances into the food and drink of their lands, subtly controlling their populations and turning them into addicted, spineless shells. They have been doing this for decades at least, and they are not likely to stop, ever. And the final truth is that the fighting never stopped, it simply moved onto a different battlefield. Espionage and Sabotage are now the weapons, and every nation fields their spies in the aptly-named Great Game. You are one of these spies, but you are no longer human. THE PROBLEM Each country drugs its inhabitants with a different chemical mix, referred to by those in the know as Ambrosia. There are many differences between each the composition of each nation's Ambrosia, but there are a few universal commonalities between every one. The Ambrosia usually suppresses the willpower of those who ingest it, and negates any desire to travel. Most subjected to Ambrosia find themselves enjoying the familiar things the most, and feeling disgust and apathy towards other lands, and travellers. Xenophobic riots are not uncommon, when confronted with something highly different from their usual, day-to-day surroundings. This is a great problem, when attempting to infiltrate agents into an enemy country, or even do business with new potential traitors. The unfamiliar faces are regarded with suspicion and hostility, and can even be accosted or assaulted for no reason beyond their foreign appearance. There is a larger problem, however. The Ambrosia of any given country usually reacts poorly when mixed with the Ambrosia of another country. Usually, the result is toxic and/or fatal to those who end up taking new types of Ambrosia into their system. So, if a person from one land eats the food in a different land, or even drinks a cup of foreign wine... The results can be deadly in extreme cases, debilitating in most others. Not everyone is so affected, of course. The rich can afford specially-raised food that does not have any Ambrosia in it. The Rulers of each country are rich, and they know what they are putting in their nation's food, so they can ingest chemicals to counter it or eat untainted food, as they wish. And some people are simply paranoid, or have allergies to their nation's Ambrosia mix. They have found ways to purify the food and drink they ingest, or simply eat less of the Ambrosia-laden material. Even so, it is difficult to obtain purified food, for the average agent. A few bites of the wrong substance could spell doom for anyone. Until recently, this was an insurmountable problem. But the solution would prove to be far more amazing... VERITAS It is a drug called Veritas. It is a high secret, and those nations who know of it keep it quiet at all costs. Those who know how to make and use it, are even more silent. Put simply, Veritas is a drug that records the mind of those injected with it. It reacts differently, depending on whether it is Pure or Tainted. Pure Veritas wipes the mind clean, condensing all memories into liquid, and gathering the liquid in a pair of glands at the base of the user's throat. The user then falls into a mindless coma, and dies if unattended. The liquid in the user's glands can be extracted, as Tainted Veritas. Tainted Veritas does not put the user into a coma. The user of Tainted Veritas, (Called a Host, by those in the know,) after recieving an injection of the substance, merely falls asleep. Then the Tainted Veritas spreads throughout the Host's mind. It temporarily overlays the host's memories and personality with that of the original user of the Pure Veritas! It is chemical-based possession! The Host's original personality is suppressed and unknowing while this is happening. After a few days though, the host's body starts breaking down the Tainted Veritas, and the original personality returns as the memories fade. This effectively kills the mind of the Pure Veritas user, so it is a fate to be avoided at all costs. Of course, the only way to avoid it is to drain the Tainted Veritas from the glands at the base of the host's neck. This also weakens the hold of the occupying mind, so it is good to have a confederate or other contingency plans on hand to ensure that the resulting liquid is properly stored, or taken to safety. Once removed from the host, the Host usually wakes up later, feeling weary and sick. Usually, they only remember flashes of what their bodies did over the last few days, and the entire thing seems like a distant dream. The Tainted Veritas retains all memories, both from its original user, and the memories gained from time in Hosts. You are stored in a bottle of Tainted Veritas, when you are not stealing a body. You are a living drug, a ghost in the brain of those who are your Hosts. You are a Ghost of Memories. And you do terrible things, so that one day you may be human again. VERITAS - THE BASICS A Ghost's entire existence is dependent upon this drug. It benefits any Ghost to know exactly how it works. To that end, most Ghosts know the knowledge recorded below, though those with poor memories might not remember all of it at any given time. The exact chemical composition of Veritas is a mystery. No matter a character's chemistry skill, he will not be able to whip up a fresh batch, or increase the amount of an existing batch without destroying the liquid's properties. Veritas is fragile, as chemicals go. It has a shelf life of about a month, though that can be extended to four months if it is stored in a cool, dry place. Veritas crystallizes, eventually, if it is not processed through a host. Once it crystallizes, the Ghost contained within is effectively dead. THE SPOOKHOUSE The term for an intelligence agency or organization that handles a Ghost's existence and their work, Spookhouses usually have a physical location, where Ghosts are stored between missions. There are often chemical labs at this location, as well as guards and agents. One key factor of Spookhouses is their need for bodies... Ghosts not used for Files need to be put into Hosts every now and then. Usually the hosts are political prisoners, though a really unlucky Ghost may find himself temporarily in a vagrant's body. The location of a nation's Spookhouse is usually a deep secret. Most Ghosts are thus kept in the dark about its true location. THE AGENT NETWORK Mortal agents in the Great Game have limited use. The existence of Ambrosia, and the non-compatibility of different types of Ambrosia, mean that deep infiltration is near-impossible. An agent of a foreign country must have access to food without Ambrosia in it, and either Ambrosia-less drink, or pure water. These things are not easy to get ahold of, and are often watched by counter-espionage forces. This is why Ghosts are of such great value... Nonetheless, each country maintains a limited and high-risk mortal agent network. Whether it's infiltrators who only spend a few days in an enemy country, deep infiltrators who hide in the city's forgotten parts or the few wilds around, or people greedy enough for gold to shrug off the effects of their native Ambrosia, these agents are of prime concern to the Ghosts. Mortal agent networks are delivery systems for Veritas. They do the difficult work of kidnapping or ambushing the target Hosts, and injecting them with the Tainted Veritas. But there's a bit more to the process than that. TAINTING Agents carry four vials, normally. One is a vial of fast-acting knockout drops, that renders a target unconscious for 1D6 minutes when injected or slipped into a drink. One is a vial of an Ambrosia-purging chemical, tailored to work against the particular enemy country's Ambrosia. The other two are vials containing the Tainted Veritas of a Ghost. Both vials are from the same Ghost, usually. Once the purge is injected, the Host vomits up any Ambrosia currently in their stomach, and sweats out as much as possible from their system. It is messy, and the first conscious act of most Ghosts is to clean themselves, if the agent doesn't do it for them. Once the purge is finished, the Agent injects the first vial of Tainted Veritas. It takes about five minutes for a Ghost to spread through a Host's brain in this time... This is the process known as "Tainting". The Agent stays and watches. If at the end of ten minutes the body does not stir, then the Agent cleans up any evidence, leaves, and tries to find a backup host. If no host is available, sometimes they are required to inject themselves. In this case, they usually leave a note for the Ghost to read. If the second injection does not take, then the Agent withdraws and reports back to the Spookhouse. If a Ghost successfully taints a host, then the agent notifies the Spookhouse of success, and destroys any other vials of that Ghost's Tainted Veritas that he can access. The Spookhouse keeps a third vial of the Ghost's Veritas in secure storage. In the event that a Ghost fails to taint its two hosts, the vial is kept for future use. The character does not die and may be played again, but racks up a charge to its bond for the expenses ruined by his failure of will. When the Spookhouse recieves word that a Ghost has successfully tainted a host, they destroy their backup vial. EXTRACTION Once a Ghost's business is finished, they need to depart a Host's body. This is fairly easy to do, if a little painful. About eight hours after a Host is tainted, a pair of glands swell at the base of its neck. The fluid within the glands is Tainted Veritas, and can be drained at any time. Once the Veritas is drained, the Ghost's mind is transferred out of the host. A shadow mind remains active in the Host for (Mind + Heart) minutes, carrying out the Ghost's last wishes. This shadow mind is a dim duplicate of the original Ghost's mind, it cannot use Gnosis powers and starts to get drowsy as its time comes to an end. Once its time is up, the Host falls into a deep sleep, and wakes hours later. After a Ghost leaves a Host in this manner, it has a chance to learn something from its experience. (See EXPERIENCE) If a Ghost is not drained from a Host after a variable amount of days, then the Ghost dies as the Host's body breaks the Veritas down, and the Host becomes violently ill at the end of the period, either dying or recovering after a few more days. The amount of time a Ghost can safely spend within a Host is a roll equal to (Heart + Logos - the host's Build) dice in days. (Minimum 1 die.) The GM makes this roll unknown to the Ghost, and only lets him know that his time is drawing near after half his days have expired. AMBROSIA REACTIONS Ambrosia is inimical to Veritas. If a Ghost taints a Host that has too much of it in his or her system, then the Tainting process might be compromised. This can range from a minor to a major reaction, depending on the composition of the Ambrosia and the amount involved. Minor problems are things like a constant fever, or allergic symptoms. Major problems may include brain damage to the host, or crippling of the Ghost's abilities. Even if a Host's system is initially clear of Ambrosia, it may not stay pure. Eating Ambrosia-laden food, or ingesting Ambrosia-laced drink can cause a reaction. Since most missions take a day or more, many Ghosts learn to endure the harsh bite of hunger and thirst. Many take pains to obtain pure water from the agent network, or learn chemistry for the sole purpose of making water purification drugs. DOUBLE-TAINTING The ill-advised process of Double-Tainting is accomplished when a Host already carrying a Ghost is injected with another batch of Tainted Veritas. This is forbidden by all Spookhouses, and most Agents won't be a party to it. Still, things happen out in the field. Most Ghosts do not really know what happens if this is done, but the commonly held theory is that the established Ghost and the Tainting Ghost fight for chemical supremacy, and one or the other wins. The winner is usually damaged, according to eyewitness accounts, usually insane and often berserk. There is a persistent rumor that a creature called "Legion" started this way. Though never confirmed by any Spookhouse, experienced Ghosts whisper that it IS out there, and it wants to EAT you... CLONING This is the usually forbidden process of obtaining multiple vials of a single Ghost's Veritas, and injecting different hosts. It is sometimes authorized by Spookhouses in a tight spot, but it is not a good option, as the strain it puts on Ghosts is considerable. Physically, there is little wrong with it. Two or more targets are tainted, and both gain the mind and memories of the Ghost. However, they are effectively different people... No one is quite sure how this is, but they react in slightly different ways to similar situations. Sometimes they end up working against each other, and often mistrust one another's motives. Also, the problem arises that there is only one original body for a Ghost. When the time comes to move on from their Hosts, both are certain to realize that they are different now, and cannot share the original body. Attempting to recombine their Veritas only results in double-tainting, and risks both Ghosts. So then, the only logical solution is for there to be only one Ghost continuing on after the need for Cloning has passed... At the end of things, often the best chance of a Ghost surviving is to destroy its other Clones. Spookhouses also let it be known that their usual procedure after a Cloning operation is finished, is to destroy all but one bottle of Veritas from the subject Ghost. DEATH WHILE IN A HOST If a host dies, it is not necessarily the end of the Ghost. It is a traumatic experience, but one that can be weathered by a strong mind. The only major problem comes when a host dies before the glands swell with Veritas. If a host dies prior to that, then there is no way to extract the Ghost. Death is inevitable, and if a Spookhouse has already destroyed his backup vial, then death is permanent. If it has been longer than eight hours since the initial tainting and the glands have swollen, then once a host dies, the Veritas can be extracted in the normal manner. However, the decomposition of the body speeds up the process of breaking down the Veritas. Instead of having so many days left inside a host, the Ghost now only has an equal amount of hours to be extracted. So if a Ghost had 3 days left in a host, then died, he now has 3 hours left before his Veritas is broken down. TAKING A HEAD If a body is decapitated after death, then the Veritas is spilled and cannot be harvested. This permanently kills a Ghost, unless they have a backup vial somewhere. While it can be an effective method of making sure enemy agents stay dead, bear in mind that most Spookhouses have agents devoted to investigating decapitations... Doing this usually draws notice from people you really don't want to attract. GOING RENEGADE THIS is what Spookhouses fear. THIS is the subject of whispers by Ghosts in the field, when they are in places without prying eyes and inquisitive ears. It's feared because it's possible. And it's something that Spookhouses try to stop at all costs. The problem with going renegade, is that you don't have the support of an Agent network. You either have to transfer your Veritas to a new host almost immediately and depend on your shadow being able to clean things up in a few minutes' space, or rely upon a friend to transfer you. It's usually best if the friend is another Ghost, but you may be able to find a normal person with a strong enough tie to you that you can risk trusting them. If so, do everything you can to protect this person. Usually, the first order a Spookhouse gives is for the other members of the Ghost's team to hunt down the renegade. If they fail, then they face severe debts added to their bonds, or even destruction if they are in enough debt. This harsh order is good at dissuading renegades, but sometimes it has the side effect of making entire teams go renegade. This is a tragedy of EPIC proportions for a Spookhouse. Still, being a renegade is no picnic. THE HAZARDS OF BEING A FREE GHOST The hazards of becoming a renegade are numerous, and all of them are pretty harsh. The foremost hazard is that their former nation will be looking for them, high and low. They'll use the Spookhouse and the Agent network, and any other Ghosts they have available to hunt renegades, and they're pretty good at it. The other hazard is that a renegade is, by necessity, locked into a nomadic existence. They have to keep moving from body to body, and they usually need to travel to stay ahead of their pursuers. This takes either confederates, or a lot of luck, or both. The third hazard is that other nations are rarely kind to renegade spies. Their Spookhouse might adopt a Ghost, (Who then becomes a Traitor and is bound again. Why did you go renegade if you will just end up like this?) but in general their agents will be hostile and their defenses watching for enemy Ghosts. Most nations have been burned before by "Traitors" who turned out to be double-agents. The fourth hazard is betrayal. How well do you trust the people who help you shift from host to host? How much would they have to gain by turning you in for amnesty or a sizeable reward? Are you SURE that they'll help you, no matter how hard it gets? The fifth hazard is only a rumor. Its name is Legion, and it is hungry. It will go after any Ghost if it is hungry enough, but renegades are a particularly juicy target, since they do not have the protection of any Spookhouse. Legion knows the signs left behind by a renegade Ghost. Expect it to find you at some point, and pray to God that you escape, since there are worse things than death. YOU AND YOUR GHOST To play this game, you must create a character. Your character will be a Mnemonic Ghost, someone who has been injected with and absorbed into Pure Veritas. Your character will work with a group of other Ghosts, to advance the cause of your nation, and to earn the currency required to gain your freedom. You will do this through acts of espionage and sabotage, hindering the other nations and protecting your own. To create your character, you must follow 9 steps; 1. Choose a background 2. Figure out a brief history for your character. Determine what his or her name used to be, and what they did for a living, at the very least. 3. Your character's Heart, Senses, and Wits start at a rank of 1. Add 5 points among them, divided any way you like. 4. Your character's Skills start at 0. Add 8 points among them, divided any way you like. 5. Determine your starting Affinities, and add an additional 1 point to any of them. 6. Your character's Pools start at a rank of 0. Add 4 points among them, divided any way you like. 7. Record your background ability. 8. Record your starting Bond. 9. Choose your Operational Alias. BACKGROUND Your character was not always a Ghost. You had a life, once... But for whatever reason you came to the attention of your nation's Spookhouse, and you were "recruited" into the Veritas program. GUILTY You were a criminal, once. One of the worst sort... Put on death row, you expected to be executed when the time came. But instead, the hard-eyed men in the black suits came to you with an offer, and you accepted. Now you are working off your crime by stealing the bodies of others. The Guilty were hard men and women before becoming Ghosts, and they retain that mindset even in the brains of others. The Guilty are not very good at cooperating with their hosts, but they can commit terrible crimes without risking madness. INNOCENT Some called you poor, but you worked hard for your money. You just needed a lucky break, that was all... Whether a scribe in a counting house or a grease-stained worker in a manufactory, you knew your lot in life and accepted it. Then for no reason you could explain, you were attacked coming home from work one night, and woke up in a dark room. You had a debt to pay to your country, they told you. And they told you how you were going to pay it. Just a few jobs, that's all. A few jobs, and then you can go back to your old life. Your old body... What choice do you have, really? And it'll be alright. They wouldn't lie to you, after all. Would they? The Innocents are wrapped up in their own plights and struggling to maintain their identities, most of the time. They have hard times pulling memories and skills from their hosts. At the same time, they are capable of empathizing with the plight of their hosts. They find it easy to "Submerge" for lengths of time, letting their hosts control their own bodies, unwitting of the presence in the back of their heads. LOYAL A soldier, an agent, a righteous servant of the state, that was you. You followed orders and did what you were told, and you were rewarded for it. They tested you along with several of the others, and told you that a great opportunity awaited... You volunteered, and now you are serving your country in ways you never imagined. The Loyal are behind their country one-hundred and ten percent, and understand the necessity of getting the job done by any means. They are efficient at learning new skills and bettering themselves, the better to take on any and all missions. If the loyal have a flaw, it is that their minds are a little inflexible... Shocking or traumatic events can warp them, faster than any other type of ghost. SEEKER Seekers were either involved in the development of the Veritas process, or heard about it somehow and sought it out of their own accord. What kind of person would willingly go through this disembodied existence? Only a Seeker would trade his or her life for this... The drive to KNOW, to live through many bodies is a lure for certain types of individuals, including those denied a normal life the first time around. Others are researchers whose curiousity overcame their good sense. Seekers have paid for their knowledge, many times over. In fully exploring their transient states, they have enjoyed life after life... And gained insight into the mysteries of Gnosis, at the cost of sanity. Theirs is the only background that begins play with one of the mysterious powers granted by dark knowledge. Hopefully, the price was worth it... TRAITOR So vulnerable, a vial of Veritas at rest. So fragile the contents. Easily ruined by an injection of bleach, easily destroyed by casting it to the ground. Even just leaving it on a shelf for a month would destroy it, as the phosphates crystalized... So when your vial was captured by the enemy, and they put you into a host to let you know that you were theirs, you were entirely eager to negotiate. The good news is that you are a skilled and experienced Ghost, with Strengths and Skills above and beyond the normal measure. The bad news, is that your Bond is high, very high. It will be a long time before you can buy your freedom... And you will never be able to return to your original body. They've promised you a new one, but who knows how that will work out. So in the meantime, you work with those who were once your foes, ignoring their distrust and the watching eyes all around you, and concentrate on doing the damn mission... HISTORY What did you do before you lost your body? You don't need to detail every part of your character's life, but a paragraph or two will help you later on. Besides, the memories of their old lives fade as Ghosts jump hosts... Writing this down may save your character's sanity! STRENGTHS Strengths are a character's natural talents. They affect how well you do everyday tasks, and how you rise to the challenge under pressure. There are five of them, but as your character is a Ghost, you only have three. you are dependent on your hosts for the other two strengths. Most Strengths have a human maximum of six, and a minimum of 1. Having a Strength higher than 6 is very, very rare and usually represents some kind of chemical or mechanical augmentation. Having a Strength lower than 1 means that you are crippled in some fashion, and not capable of using anything related to that Strength. The three strengths that ghosts can retain are Heart, Senses, and Wits. The two strengths that only hosts and other physical people possess are Build and Grace. BUILD Build is a person's physique, a measure of how well-muscled and resilient they are. A person with high Build can lift heavy weights, endure a beating, and jog for miles. Build is also the Strength used to beat someone up in close combat. Build 1 people are severely ill, or maimed or crippled in some fashion. They can only walk for a few minutes at a time before becoming winded, and have trouble lifting anything heavier than a book. Build 2 people are average, capable of jogging for a mile, getting around normally, and lifting fairly heavy things for short amounts of time. Build 3 people are athletic, and can jog for a few miles without being tired. They can take flights of stairs without breaking a sweat, and are capable of wielding heavy tools or weapons without straining themselves. Build 4 people are on the same scale as professional boxers, wrestlers, or other low-end atheletes. This also represents people such as miners, factory laborers, or other individuals who work with heavy, weighty tools and objects every day. Build 5 people are either possessed of great natural talent, or are at the peak of human training. They are muscular and fit, and can push themselves to the physical limit without seriously hurting themselves. Build 6 people are both possessed of great natural talent AND trained to take advantage of it. The greatest wrestlers, boxers, and fighters fall into this category, and when they exert themselves few can stand against them. GRACE Grace is a person's dexterity and agility. It measures both how coordinated they are, and how quickly they react to the unexpected. A person with high Grace can dodge out of the way of oncoming trouble, scale high cliffs, and creep silently through the night. Grace is the Strength used to hurt someone with a ranged weapon, or get out of the way of a punch or stab. Grace 1 people are uncoordinated, or affected by something such as old age, or palsy. They shake when they need to be still, or shift and fidget at the worst possible time. Their handwriting is poor, and stealth is a joke. Grace 2 people are typical, they can sometimes move silently if they have to, and throw a ball to someone and catch it in return. Grace 3 people have good reflexes, and are quick to react to surprise. They have some natural talent or practiced ease with hand-eye coordination, and are light on their feet. Grace 4 people move with natural ease, and are a pleasure to watch. Great dancers, martial artists, and climbers, they can sneak as silently as a cat on the prowl. Crack shots with everything from rifles to bows, they usually hit what they aim at. Grace 5 people are so agile, that you barely see them moving when they wish to be fast. They are as good as stage magicians at sleight-of-hand, and can do difficult acrobatics with ease. Grace 6 people are inhumanly quick, supple, and fast. They have been trained to maintain their flexibility, and devote time every day to exercises designed to guarantee their freedom of movement. The best assassins have grace at this level, and their shots strike even the smallest target without fail. HEART Heart is a measure of both a person's willpower, and their overall personality. People with great Heart can move others with stirring oratory or poetry, resist torture and intimidation, and force themselves to stand when times are rough. Heart is a key component of tainting a host... As such, a Ghost would do well to have at least an average Heart. Heart 1 people have low self-confidence, and it shows. Shunned or ostracized socially, they find themselves unable to fulfill their dreams... They dare not try. Heart 2 people are normal. While they may not compose great works of art or be overly eloquent, they can be resolute when they need to be, and are good company after a few beers. Heart 3 people have a gift for talking. They are good-natured, and can be stubborn. Heart 4 people are strong-willed, and have very definite ideas about how they want to change the world. Their natural charisma attracts others to them. Heart 5 people are great artists, or performers. Those rulers blessed with this rank of Heart have the full support of their people, and ignore silly little things like fear, or doubt. Heart 6 people are famed through the land, to meet them is to be in the presence of greatness. No one disobeys an order from this person without a good reason, and even unreasonable requests are given due consideration. Forget about torturing one of these people... their will is unshakeable. SENSES Senses measures a person's ability to process information provided to him by his or her eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and sense of touch. While this is to a degree dependent upon a Host, the presence of a Mnemonic Ghost in a Host with weakened senses tends to enhance their natural ability. It's something to do with the brain chemistry carried by the Veritas... In any case, those with Strong senses have sharp eyes, keen ears, and are rarely surprised. Senses 1 people have to pause and think over every bit of sensory input that they recieve, and miss things in plain sight. Senses 2 people have average sight, perhaps with spectacles. They may have slightly weakened hearing from working by heavy machinery all day, but they use what they have well. Senses 3 people are naturally sharp, and notice things that everyday people miss. They can be a little jumpy, reacting quickly to people behind them. Senses 4 people are trained observers, and keep a constant, subconscious watch for trouble. They can operate in total darkness, manuvering by touch and hearing alone. Senses 5 people are trained detectives, or have exceptionally keen eyesight, or another enhanced sense. They can see even the stealthiest thief in the shadows. Senses 6 people are prodigies. Most, if not all, of their senses are at the human peak. They are almost impossible to ambush, and can read handwriting by touch, as long as it is on paper or something else that retains the indentations of writing. WITS A person's wits are a measure of his knowledge, common sense, and ability to learn new things. Useful to everyone, high Wits can be a boon to Ghosts in the field. Those with high wits are capable of understanding complex machinery, working with the sciences, and know enough not to put their fingers on hot stoves. Wits 1 people are mentally retarded, or brain-damaged in some fashion. They may be skilled with a particular area or field of knowledge, but they tend to have trouble functioning in society otherwise. Literacy is rare at this level. Wits 2 people are average... They may have trouble with complicated math or not be exceptionally deep thinkers, but they get by. Literacy is not universal at this level, but most can at least read and write their name, and recognize words that deal with things they work with. Wits 3 people are sharp. It's rare that one of these people is illiterate, and they can usually remedy that with a tutor and a few weeks of work. They have a head for figures, and a good memory. Wits 4 people have exceptional memory, and a gift for problems. They can decipher most codes and ciphers with time, and balance accounts with ease. Junior scientists are at this level, and it is unthinkable that someone this smart could be illiterate. Wits 5 people are geniuses, top researchers, investors, or other intellectual giants. A ruler with this level of Wits runs his realm well, keeping the treasury full and his debts minimal. Wits 6 people are exceptional geniuses! The inventions of scientists with this level of wits can change the world, and administrators this intelligent run the finest industries on the continent. Challenge their minds at your peril! SKILLS Skills are trained abilities, that indicate a person's competence in diverse areas. Using ranged weapons to assault someone is a skill, as is sneaking through a dark forest, or writing a coded letter. Skills are not much by themselves, they are fully dependent upon the Strengths of the user, and the tools at hand. An invalid with Build 1 isn't going to be much of a wrestler, no matter how high a rating in Grapple the Ghost tainting him has. Skills ratings range from 1 to 5. Note that with the Ghostly trick of borrowing, you can add a host's skills to your own, temporarily. If you do this for skills that you already have, the levels stack. So if you have Brawl 3 and your host has Brawl 4, you can borrow it to give yourself Brawl 7. The following skills are available to Ghosts. Athletics - Running, climbing, jumping, and similar physical getting-around actions. Brawl - The honorable (Or not so honorable) art of knocking people down. Burglary - Breaking and entering. Also includes lockpicking and safecracking. Chemistry - Brewing useful chemicals, and identifying chemicals from residue. Cipher - Coding hidden messages into writing or other communication mediums. Also used to decipher hidden messages. Craft - Creating a particular type of item. Choose one related area when taking this skill. (Examples: Blacksmith, Watchmaker, Stonemason, Candlemaker...) Disguise - Used to cover your form or features with a costume. Opposed by notice. Dodge - Used to get out of the way of trouble. Drive - Piloting a ground vehicle, usually a train, velocipede, or autocarriage. Escape - Contorting your body to fit through tight areas, or escape chains or chokeholds. Falsehoods - The fine art of telling believable lies. Firearms - Perforating a target with bullets. Focus - How well you can concentrate under stress. Gossip - Spreading rumors and influencing people. Grapple - Holding people still with your muscular grip. Hobnob - The ability to socialize with others in an enjoyable manner. Intimidation - Getting others to see things your way, with threats and implied violence. Judgement - The ability to recognize lies, falsehoods, and misdirections. Larceny - Sleight of hand, and picking pockets. Medicine - The ability to speed healing through judicious use of bandages, drugs, and other methods. Melee - Smacking or stabbing people with hand-held weapons. Missiles - Hitting a target with either a bow and arrow, or some sort of thrown object. Notice - Training the eyes and ears to see things others might not. Pilot - Steering either an aerial or aquatic conveyance. Persuasion - Getting others to see things your way, with friendly discussion. Profession - Fulfilling a role in society that is not related to creating things. Choose one related area when taking this skill. (Examples: Physician, Factory Worker, Scribe, Barrister, Prostitute) Sabotage - Wrecking machinery and devices, and figuring out how the best way to do so. Secrets - The art of deducing hidden facts from the evidence on hand. Stealth - Escaping notice via quiet movement and concealment. Streetwise - Finding your way around cities, and surviving in urban desolation. Survival - Finding your way around the wilderness, and surviving in rural desolation. Technology - Figuring out the proper methods to utilize bizarre devices. Wealth - The art of accruing money, and figuring out how money flows. AFFINITIES Affinities are unique to Ghosts. Since they are creatures of almost pure psyche, they deal more with the normally subconscious regions of the brain than anyone else alive. The abilities and insights that this grants make the Ghosts far stronger than anyone knows... Even their masters. Be careful about exhibiting your affinities too openly, but at the same time realize that they can mean failure or success during a tough mission. Affinities start at 0, and can go higher. Theoretically, there is no upper limit to affinities... Perhaps there is one, and no existing Ghost has hit it, yet. If there is such a Ghost, he or she is keeping their achievement very, very quiet. Having an Affinity at 0 means that the Ghost cannot utilize it in any meaningful way. Even an affinity of 1 is better than an Affinity of 0. Starting Affinities are determined by a Ghost's background. The Guilty have a Cognos of 1, a Gnosis of 0, a Logos of 3, and a Persona of 0. The Innocent have a Cognos of 0, a Gnosis of 0, a Logos of 2, and a Persona of 2. The Loyal have a Cognos of 2, a Gnosis of 0, a Logos of 1, and a Persona of 1. The Seekers have a Cognos of 0, a Gnosis of 1, a Logos of 1, and a Persona of 0. The Traitors have a Cognos of 2, a Gnosis of 0, a Logos of 2, and a Persona of 2. COGNOS Cognos is the ability to access and utilize the memories and skills of a host. A Ghost with good Cognos can draw upon a skillset not his own, and read his Host's mind like an open book. Moreover, Cognos is used to learn new skills from a Host! This is one of a Ghost's few methods of gaining new skills, as they usually don't have the time in a host to devote to formal classes, or much reading. GNOSIS Gnosis is strange. Though no Spookhouse, and few Ghosts will ever mention it, there is a Dark Secret at the heart of the Mnemonic Ghosts. The very act of being a Ghost opens up new capabilities to a person. Inhuman capabilities... This manifests in the form of strange, inexplicable powers, that are triggered by the exertion of Determination. The closer a Ghost gets to the Dark Secret, or the more exploration they do into their new state, the more their Gnosis rises, and the more impressive their powers grow. Of course, throwing powers around willy-nilly is likely to get one lynched by an Ambrosia-fed, xenophobic crowd, so best use them wisely... LOGOS Logos is a measure of the Ghost's sanity. As such, it represents a Ghost's stability, and their mental fortitude in the face of fear, as well as their ability to accept that the world is a stranger place than they ever knew. Logos is one of the Affinities that is most at risk of falling, due to a Ghost's uncertain and odd state of being... And a Ghost at 0 Logos is very vulnerable. Going into negative numbers here will drive your character mad, and an insane Ghost is a scary thing indeed. Also be warned, that actively seeking to increase your Gnosis is a path that will rend at your Logos. Guard it well! Besides being at risk if a Ghost is too low, Logos is also used to increase a Ghost's Strengths. The higher their sanity and sense of self, the easier they are able to build themselves into their ideal forms. PERSONA Persona is the Ghost's ability to empathize with others, particularly with their hosts. This does not necessarily represent kindness, sometimes it is merely the ability to recognize similarities between themselves and their vessels. A Ghost with good persona can accurately mimic his Host's mannerisms, and react appropriately to even the closest friends or lovers. Few will suspect the personable Host of being anything other than what he normally is. In cases of extreme danger, a Ghost can even step back into a Host's subconscious, and let them operate their own body. Their memories will be a little foggy, but they are amiable to suggestions from the Ghost, and capable of using all their skills. Of course, regaining control can be tricky, if a Ghost does not have the Persona to do it... Persona is also used to push bodies beyond their natural limits. Persona comes into play when a Ghost wishes to increase their Pools. POOLS Pools are a measure of a character's ability to endure struggle, pain, and setback. Pools are depleted as a character takes injuries or over-extends himself, in order to achieve his goals, and regained as time goes on. Two of the pools are influenced by a Host's physical capabilities, but the third one is unique to Ghosts. Every person, PC and NPC, has Endurance and Health. Ghosts have Determination. Points added to Endurance and Health at character creation add to the Character's total when he is inside a host. So if a Host with Endurance 3 gets tainted by a Ghost with Endurance 2, the total Endurance for the Ghost while he is in that host is 5. A person's Endurance is equal to their Build. If a Ghost buys extra Endurance, than it represents the trained ability to ignore pain, and keep going regardless of the host's physical limitations. Bear in mind that pushing a weak Host to its limits can result in physical damage, debilitation, or even death after the Ghost departs. Endurance recharges at the rate of one point per ten minutes, though rest and other recreational activities can speed recovery. A person's Health is equal to their Build + Heart. In this case, the Ghost's Heart substitutes for the person's heart, once the tainting is complete. If a Ghost buys extra Health, then it represents staying alive through sheer force of willpower... If a Host is damaged beyond its natural capabilities, and the Ghost leaves before he ensures that the body is healed, then the Host will surely die once the Ghost's animating willpower departs. Health recharges at the rate of two points per day, though rest and medical care can ensure a quicker recovery. A Ghost's Determination is the reserve of willpower that enables them to transcend mortal limits. Willpower is a precious resource, that can mean the difference between life or death. Determination recharges at the rate of two points per day while in a host, and is recharged fully when a Ghost is returned to Veritas. Only a few things might be capable of increasing this recovery, and most are unknown to beginning Ghosts. BACKGROUND ABILITIES A character's background grants them insight into their condition. Some see it as a blessing, others as a curse. Either way, not all Ghosts are created equal. Each of these abilities may be of use during a session, however... THE GIFT OF THE GUILTY: STAINED SOUL Prison is a hard place, that can change a man or woman. Even the most mild-mannered person finds themselves driven to extremes to survive. What is one more crime, piled upon an already-massive sentence? The Guilty reduce the difficulty of all madness rolls by one, when the roll is induced by something horrible they knowingly perpetrated. THE GIFT OF THE INNOCENT: GUARDIAN ANGEL The Innocent, lost in this game of bodies and minds and spies, find it best sometimes to sit back and let their Host handle business. It's easier just to let them get on with their lives, and jump in only when necessary. The Innocent may automatically Submerge. No roll is required. Emerging, on the other hand, still requires a roll. THE GIFT OF THE LOYAL: STRONGER, FASTER, BETTER The Loyal know that faithful service is well-rewarded, and that their superiors value best the tools that sharpen themselves. So, the Loyal constantly strive to better their skills, in all areas of life. The Loyal gain +4 to all Cognos Growth rolls. THE GIFT OF THE SEEKER: FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE After so much time seeking the truth, the Seekers know best what it looks like. They can follow up seemingly unrelated tangents to find the hidden knowledge, no matter how horrible it may be. The Seeker automatically detects whether or not any information he comes across might increase his Gnosis. THE GIFT OF THE TRAITOR: PROFESSIONAL Traitors live only because they are experienced Ghosts... They are a hot commodity in the Great Game. They are the best at what they do, and their overall skills and prowess reflect that fact. The Traitor gains +1 to his Heart, Senses, or Wits, and 2 points to increase his or her skills. The traitor also gains 1 point to add to any Pool. Assign all extra points now, Traitor! BONDS Veritas costs money. It costs a LOT of money to produce. It costs much money to store safely, and it costs a lot of money to support the networks of mortal agents who ensure that it ends up in the hosts that it should. Naturally, the Rulers of your nation have shifted some of the burden of this cost to your character. A character's Bond is how much money they owe their nation. Every successful mission reduces the Bond... The more difficult the mission, the greater the reduction. On the other hand, equipment and support obtained through the agent network increases the Bond, as a Ghost is personally liable for any support or effort he or she requests. And the higher a Ghost's Bond, the less likely they are to recieve good support from agents reluctant to throw good money after bad... Once a Bond is paid off, the Ghost is free. They will be returned to their body, and granted a pension for the rest of their lives. Of course, not all Bonds are equal... The Guilty have a Bond of $80,000.00 The Innocent have a Bond of $40,000.00 The Loyal have a Bond of $50,000.00 The Seekers have a Bond of $60,000.00 The Traitors have a Bond of $125,000.00 OPERATIONAL ALIAS Your character left his old name behind when he left his body. You have a new name now, one that your agents and fellow Ghosts know you by. And grace willing, one that your enemies will never know... Choose now, and be done! You have finished creating your character! PLAYING THE GAME You require the following things for a game of Mnemonic Ghosts. -2-5 players, who take the part of the Ghosts. -1 player who has no character, but acts as the Games Master, and represents the non-player characters. -A handful of 6-sided dice. -One character sheet. -Writing implements. The game is played in Files. Each File represents a particular mission... The characters, assigned a goal by their nation's Spookhouse, must attempt to complete the mission. Failure of a mission does not necessarily mean that all is lost... But it can mean significant setbacks for future missions, and the irritation of the character's superiors. A File usually begins with a choice of Hosts. The physical agents supporting the Ghosts ensure that they get into the hosts they need, but occasionally mistakes happen. Other times, the Ghosts have no choice which host they taint... Being stuck in a bottle, dead to the world most of the time means being dependant on the whims of fate and others. A File might take more than one session to resolve. If this is so, then be sure to keep track of Pool totals between sessions, and make sure everyone remembers which Host they are currently tainting. Writing these things down makes a GM's job much easier. A File might have such simple goals as "Blow up the red ink manufactory", or "Seduce the Lady Williford, and reveal her indiscretion to Society." Along the way, as Characters move towards that goal, they may come across secondary goals, or find that they have personal agendas to pursue. Once a file is done, each Ghost gets the chance to improve one of their Affinities. Then they may use one of their Affinities to try to improve their other traits, such as Skills, Strengths, and Pools. After that, it's time to wait for the next File. There are ways to break this cycle of course. Anything is possible, if Ghosts are willing to pay the price and take the time to plan. But usually, it is safest to work toward the goal of the File. TESTS AND CHALLENGES The time will come when your character attempts something with a chance of failure. This is called either a Test or a Challenge. You roll dice to see how well you do in these situations. Tests are measured against a Target Number, that is determined by the GM. The more difficult the thing your character is attempting to do, the higher the Target Number. Trials are what happens when your character's action is opposed by an NPC, or by another character. Trials are determined by rolling off against each other. The higher roll wins, and the difference between the two rolls determines how effectively the winner achieves his goal. The number of dice that a player rolls for his character is determined by the Strength in question. And the nature of the Test or Trial determines the Strength involved. If a character is trying something involving Brute force, Endurance, Close-combat, Resisting poison or disease, then they roll their Build in dice. If a character is trying something involving Dodging, Nimbleness, Manual dexterity, Shooting, or Driving, then they roll their Grace in dice. If a character is trying something involving Emotions, Resisting fear and manipulation, or Mentally struggling with an unruly Host, then they roll their Heart in dice. If a character is trying something involving one of the five senses, then they roll their Senses in dice. If a character is trying something involving Intelligence, Common Sense, Knowledge, or Logical discussion, then they roll their Wits in dice. Once a player rolls their dice, then the numbers are totalled together. The total number is compared against either the Target Number or their opponent's roll, to see if his character succeeded or not. Though the GM is free to set the target numbers to whatever he likes, a good rule-of-thumb for target numbers is the chart below; DIFFICULTY OF THE ACTION NUMBER EXAMPLE Trivial No Roll Tying your shoelaces Average 5 Nailing a board over a window Tricky 8 Running a few feet across slick ice Difficult 12 Climbing a cliff Excruciating 16 Walking a tight-rope Nigh-Impossible 21 Lifting an anvil into the air One-in-a-million-chance 30 walking a tight-rope coated with slick ice INSPIRING SUCCESSES AND DISHEARTENING FAILURES A character can be motivated by overwhelming successes... Or thrown into the pits of despair, by bad luck and unfortunate odds. Either way, it affects a character's Determination. If a character rolls over half of his or her dice as 6's, and succeeds at a roll, then they gain a point of Determination! This cannot increase a character's Determination above their natural limit... So it's only truly beneficial after the character has spent or lost a point of Determination. Conversely, if a character rolls over half of his or her dice as 1's, and fails at a roll, then they lose a point of Determination. This has no effect if their Determination is already at 0... you can't go into negative Determination. TOOLS Tools add bonuses to rolls that they can assist. Also, some tools are needed to take actions... Without them it's simply not possible. For example, to brew up a chemical mix you need a supply of chemicals, and to shoot someone you need a gun. In most cases, the bonus is represented by a number. A poor quality screwdriver (+1) adds 1 to the total of all sabotage or burglary rolls (And a few relevant craft rolls). A regular screwdriver (+2) adds 2, and so on. Most tools stop at around 5, though a few exceptional devices can go beyond that. Bear in mind that their bonus does not add dice, just a flat number to the total of the roll. SKILLS Skills are used to reroll failed rolls. A character can activate a skill after a failed roll, to reroll all his or her dice. The skill activated MUST have a use related to the roll. i.e. you can't use Profession-Lawyer to reroll a failed Falsehood test, no matter how tempting. When a skill is used, its level is temporarily reduced by 1. Once a skill reaches 0, it can no longer be activated. Skills return to their original ratings after the Ghost gets a good night of rest, or returns to the bottle. DETERMINATION Determination can give outmatched Ghosts a fighting chance, no matter how tough the task! A player can spend Determination before he rolls the dice. Each point of Determination spent adds 1 to the amount of dice that he or she rolls. These dice are treated the same as the dice provided by the Strength, for purposes of counting 1's and 6's. And like the other dice, they get rerolled as well if the Ghost uses a Skill to reroll. A Ghost can also use Determination to catch a "Second Wind". By spending a minute doing nothing and mustering its willpower, the Ghost can spend a point of determination and restore 1D6 points of Endurance to itself. Bear in mind that repeated usage of this ability may have negative effects on the Host... COMBAT Sooner or later, violence is going to happen. Either the characters will see it as the most expedient way to resolve their situation, or someone is going to try to hurt the Host they're in. Either way, things can get deadly fast... When combat begins, when someone takes a shot or swing at another PC or NPC, then everyone involved rolls Initiative. They roll their character's Grace + Wits, and write down the number for future reference. Then the GM calls down numbers, counting down until he reaches a PC or NPC with that initiative. Then that character gets to act. Combat goes in rounds. Each round is roughly ten seconds, and things like talking or drawing weapons can be accomplished without taking significant time from a round. There are four options that a character can take during Combat... 1. Attack: The character chooses a target and rolls his Build or Grace, depending on whether he is using a melee attack, or a ranged attack. He adds any appropriate bonuses from any weapons he might be using, and compares the total to his enemy's defense total. If he succeeds, then he deals damage to his opponent. The damage is to his opponent's Endurance if he is using a non-lethal weapon or bare hands. If he is using a lethal weapon, then the damage is to his opponent's Health. Note that the various combat skills, Brawl, Melee, Firearms, and Missiles can be used to re-roll as desired, so long as one of the applicable methods of attack is being used. (You can't use Brawl to re-roll an attack roll if you're stabbing someone with a knife.) In the event that all of a character's attack dice come up 6's, then he has scored a critical hit. The target takes damage to both his or her Endurance and Health. The character who scored the critical hit can choose to decline activating this effect, as it has a good chance of killing the target. A character need not use his or her full Build or Grace to attack. 2. Total Defense: The character forgoes any attack or retreat, and desperately tries to avoid being struck. He uses his Grace + Mind as the base for defensive actions, but forgoes any chance to deal damage to his attacker. 3. Retreat: The character rolls Grace, in an attempt to flee the scene. Anyone who wishes to stop them must use their next action to pursue. If they cannot beat their Grace roll in a trial, then the character has escaped... For now. 4. Other Actions: The character can activate a Gnosis-based power, or pull a lever, or try to grab a weapon out of someone's hand, or hold a door shut, or some other action that requires a Test or Trial. The GM is the final judge of what a character can do within a round. After the round is finished, everyone still standing or in the fight rolls initiative once again, and the cycle starts anew. Combat is over when the Ghosts are all either out of danger, or have fallen. DEFENSE If someone tries to attack your character, then you have the opportunity to try and hurt them right back! Unless you've elected for total defense, but that will be covered later. When you are attacked in melee, you may roll your Build to fight back. If your roll is higher than your opponent's, you take no damage and he takes damage based on your weapon. If it is a draw, then neither of you take damage. If you are attacked by a ranged weapon and you have a ranged weapon, you may return fire by rolling your Grace. Again, if you beat your opponent's roll, they take damage. If you don't have a ranged weapon you may roll your Grace to dodge and take cover, but if you win your opponent takes no damage... You merely avoid being damaged, yourself. If your opponent is in closed quarters with you, and using a ranged weapon, then you may use a melee attack against him. If you succeed he will take damage... It's hard to shoot someone when they're punching you in the face. You can attempt to defend yourself as many times as you are attacked during a round. The problem is that each attacker beyond the first makes defense a little harder to accomplish. For each successive attack you take during a round, you lower your dice pool for rolling by one. So if your Build is 4 and you are jumped by 3 thugs, you roll 4 dice to fend off the first one, 3 dice for the next, and 2 dice for the last. Even the best fighter can be swamped by numbers! Remember this... TOTAL DEFENSE Total Defense gives you an increased chance of defending, most of the time. The downside is that your successes only prevent you from being damaged. They never deal any damage to your opponents. The Dodge skill can be used here, to re-roll as desired. Also, like regular defense, you lower your dice pool for rolling by one for every successive attack you take during a round. DAMAGE Damage taken from an attack or defense is determined by the weapon used. Bare fists and unarmed attacks deal 1D6/2 damage, rounded up. Clubs can deal lethal or nonlethal damage, and do 1D6 damage. Knives are lethal, and deal 1D6. Sabres, hatchets, and pistols deal 2D6 lethal. Axes, rifles, and other large weapons deal 3D6 lethal. ENDURANCE DAMAGE Endurance represents a character's ability to withstand bruises, minor injuries, and blunt trauma. Once a character is reduced to 0 Endurance, they are knocked out. Damage that is greater than their Endurance has the remainder applied to their Health. It is possible to kill someone with a punch meant only to knock them out, if you are not careful... Example: Theodorus takes 6 points of damage from catching a thug's fist with his jaw. Unfortunately, he only had 2 points of Endurance left. He takes 4 points of Health. Not enough to kill him, but enough for him to decide that the thug just broke his jaw. In any case, he is now unconscious and in trouble... HEALTH DAMAGE Health damage is bad. It represents major cuts and injuries, that take a day or more to recover from. When a character is reduced to 0 Health, they die. This is not necessarily the end of a Ghost however... See the Veritas section for ways of surviving a dead Host. HEALING Left to their own devices, a Ghost's pools recharge at a steady rate. Endurance recovers at a rate of 1 point per ten minutes, and Health recovers at a rate of 2 points per day. There are ways to speed this, however. Stimulants and determination can be used to restore Endurance, 1D6 for every point of Determination spent, or rating of the stimulant taken. This method takes a full, uninterrupted minute to complete. A character can also be tended to by someone with the Medicine skill. This can be done once per injury taken by the character, and regardless whether or not the attempt is successful, may not be attempted again. The tending character takes ten minutes, and makes an unopposed Wits roll. For every 5 points scored on the roll, the subject being treated gains 1 Health point back. A character's natural healing rate is also doubled, if he spends over 80% of a day in bed. It is tripled if he is in a hospital. MADNESS Madness is a result of trauma... It is a danger to everyone, but to Ghosts moreso. The living can mourn and feel guilt... While a poor Madness roll might render them temporarily insane, they will recover with time and relaxation. Ghosts don't have that luxury. They are a little more resistant due to their nature, and the things they've already been through, but when they snap it can be terrible. A Ghost loses Logos when they fail a trauma roll. While the Logos can eventually be regained, each lost Logos makes it harder to resist further Madness checks. Logos rolls are always a Trial, against the rating of the trauma encountered. The GM rolls the trauma dice, and the Ghost resists with his Heart + Logos in dice. Non-Ghosts resist with their Heart, only. See the chart below, for a list of traumas and ratings. Note that a Ghost doesn't have to roll against trauma constantly, or even immediately... Once a scene is finished, the GM selects the highest trauma inflicted against the Ghost, and requests a roll when he or she feels it is appropriate. So the end result from a fight wouldn't be a Trauma check for every time the character was assualted, but one for the most traumatic part of the battle, overall. RATING TRAUMA TYPES 1 Being attacked with a non-lethal weapon, finding out that someone you trusted told you a serious lie, encountering a madman, watching brutal violence, committing harmful crimes against the deserving. 2 Being attacked with a lethal weapon, being attacked by a madman or non-human, enduring brutal violence, finding out that someone you trusted has betrayed you, enduring serious pain, committing harmful crimes against the innocent, Killing someone accidentally. 3 Being attacked by a madman with a lethal weapon, perpetrating brutal violence, finding out that your best friend has betrayed you, withstanding non-permanent-damage from torture, committing malicious crimes against the deserving, enduring the death of a Host. 4 Being attacked by something monstrous, perpetrating torture, finding out that your lover or parents have betrayed you, withstanding permanent damage from torture, committing malicious crimes against the innocent, Killing someone in cold blood. 5 Finding out that a group of friends or companions betrayed you, experiencing death by torture, killing innocents for no good reason. 6 Finding out that your life has been a lie from beginning to end, killing someone with torture, causing widespread destruction or death for no good reason. These trauma types are all guidelines. A GM is free to adjust their ratings up or down as the situation demands, and need never require a roll. Also, the Characters will doubtless encounter situations that fall outside of the chart above... The GM is the final judge of the rating of any trauma. The amount of Logos lost from a failed trauma roll varies, by how much the character failed the roll. For every 6 points of difference, or fraction of 6 between the failed character's roll and the trauma roll, they lose a point of Logos. So if character 1 rolls a 7 against a trauma roll of 11, then he loses one point of Logos. And if character 2 rolls a 4 against a trauma roll of 11, then he loses 2 points of Logos. Characters that lose two or more points of Logos from a single trauma develop a temporary insanity related to the nature of that trauma. The GM decides the nature of that insanity, but they may collaborate with the player, if they wish. If the loss of points reduces a Ghost to 0 Logos, then the insanity is permanent. If a Ghost has a Logos of 0, and then loses a Trauma roll, then he or she has gone Mad. This is the end of the Player's use of that character... he should turn in the character sheet, and the mad Ghost becomes an NPC. GHOSTLY TRICKS POSSESSION The initial possession of a host is called Tainting. A Ghost taints a host, when the host is first injected with Tainted veritas. Once Tainted, the Host's body belongs to the Ghost, and the Host's original mind is comatose. The initial Tainting is never certain... If the host's system is not cleared of Ambrosia, then the Veritas may be damaged, resulting in an imperfect copy. Also, strong-willed hosts may be able to fight off the tainting. The Ghost's player rolls their Heart + Cognos to gain possession of a host. The Host resists with their Heart + the level of Ambrosia in their system. Failure on the Ghost's part means that the Host becomes horribly sick for a few days, and the Ghost is destroyed. All is not lost, however, as only a few drop of Tainted Veritas is needed to Taint a Host, and the mortal agent administering the dose can try again, assuming he can find a different Host, and has enough Veritas left to administer a second dose. (Or third, for weak-hearted Ghosts...) BORROWING A Ghost can exert itself, and read its host's mind like an open book. A Mind + Cognos roll against the Host's Mind roll reveals the Host's relevant skills to the Ghost. After that, he can reduce his Cognos by 1 temporarily to gain use of one of his Host's skills for 24 hours. After 24 hours, the memory fades and the Ghost's Cognos recharges by 1 point. Alternatively, a Ghost can use a point of Determination, rather than Cognos for this purpose, with the same effect. A Ghost can also call up the Host's memories... The deeper and more secret the memory, the more difficult the task. This requires a Mind + Cognos roll, versus a Test number generated by the GM and may produce false or incomplete memories if the roll is too low. A Ghost may only call up a host's memories on a particular subject once per day, unless he spends Determination. One point of Determination allows a second roll to try for a previously failed memory. RIDING Some situations are too critical to be resolved through borrowing. There are times when a Ghost may want its Host "Behind the Wheel". In events like these, a Ghost can Submerge. The Ghost basically wills its Host back to consciousness, and lurks in its subconscious, able to make minor suggestions and watch, but not take direct control. To submerge, the Ghost must first spend a Determination point, then roll their Mind + Persona against their host's Mind. Failure means that the Ghost could not coax its Host's mind awake. While submerged, the Host will have no memories of the time spent possessed by the Ghost, but will rationalize the lack of memories away. The Host will follow any agreeable suggestion made by its Ghost, but will resist any suggestion that is against his or her nature. The Ghost may try to force the issue, but it is difficult... This is a Heart + Persona roll against the Host's Heart + Mind, and success runs the risk of traumatizing the Host. Traumatizing a Host while the Ghost is submerged is painful, and the feedback rips at the Ghost's mind... It causes an automatic loss of a point of Logos. Such is the price for crimes by proxy. The Ghost may attempt to Emerge from the subconscious at any time. If successful, this returns control of the body to the Ghost, and sends the Host back to their comatose state. This requires a Heart + Persona roll against their Host's Mind + the amount of hours spent submerged. If a Ghost fails a roll to emerge, they must wait an hour before mustering the strength to try again. If a Ghost stays too long submerged, they run the risk of never coming out again while in that host. Their Veritas can still be drained, though, so hope is not lost. GNOSIS Gnosis is knowledge bought at great cost, but the powers gained cannot be explained by modern science. Spookhouses tend to react poorly to exhibitions of these powers, so Ghosts are urged to keep them secret unless the need is dire. Display too many frightening powers, and you may "Disappear". All Gnosis powers use the Focus skill for re-rolls. A Ghost gains a Gnosis power when he gains a point of Gnosis. He or she may choose a power from a level equal to his Gnosis, or he may choose any combination of lesser powers that equals his new Gnosis rank. Most powers cost Determination to activate. This is noted in their Cost, immediately after the name of the power. Powers with Cost - 0 can be activated at will, while powers with Cost - N/A are always active, or are triggered for free by specific circumstances. Note that the powers below are NOT common knowledge to every Ghost. A Seeker might know the existence of a few of these powers, but until he reaches an appropriate Gnosis level, he won't know exactly what's possible, and what is outside his reach. Players are asked to play their characters without foreknowledge of the sections below. LEVEL 1 POWERS Bottle Dreamer: Cost - N/A The Ghost has strange and disturbing dreams when stored in Veritas form for at least 24 hours. The dreams may be prophetic, giving hints to the future... But they are always disturbing. Ghost Sight: Cost - 1 The Ghost may activate this power to view the world through a cold, unearthly light. The user sees every living person or animal as a physical form overlaid with how phantom image of how they see themselves... The most practical use of this power is to determine if someone is Tainting a Host. Ghost Sight lasts for (Senses) minutes when activated. The power can also be used to detect the mad, as a madman's self-image is a horrifying thing. The user is also capable of seeing living beings in complete darkness, while this power is activated. Lethe's Warning: Cost - N/A The Ghost automatically detects any Ambrosia-laced food or drink that passes his or her lips. Mental Movement: Cost - 1 The Ghost may move small objects (Less than 2 grams) by force of will alone. This power has a range of (Mind * 5) feet, and may not hold things in the air, it is useful only for dragging them along surfaces, or throwing them briefly. The force exerted is slight, and brief. (It cannot turn a key in a lock, for example.) He may only use Mental Movement on things that he can see. Mind over Matter: Cost - 0 The Ghost may spend a point of Determination to heal 2 points of Health, by willing his host's body to heal quickly. This usually leaves the Host body hungrier, as fat cells are burned for this purpose. LEVEL 2 POWERS Bottle Sight: Cost - N/A The Ghost is semi-awake when stored in Veritas form. He may see things going on outside his bottle, but his visual range is limited to (Senses) feet. Darkness does not exist for the Ghost for the purposes of this power. Detachment: Cost - 2 The Ghost may ignore one Trauma roll by putting it out of his mind, it simply isn't important in the grand scheme of things. The cost is paid before the Trauma roll is made. Endless Stare: Cost - 1 The Ghost summons forth his most negative feelings, and glares at a target, who must be able to see his eyes. The Ghost rolls Heart + Mind against his target's Heart + Logos... Success means that the target must flee if possible, and falls into a gibbering heap if impossible. Either way, the target now knows that something is very, very WRONG with the Ghost. Mental Reinforcement: Cost - 0 The Ghost may use his force of will to bolster his borrowed body. By paying 1 point of Determination, he adds 2 points of Health and Endurance to his Host's body. This may bring his Health and Endurance above their normal maximum. The effect wears off in one hour, and if this reduces his total in either to negatives, the Host either falls unconscious (If Health is negative,) or dies (If Endurance is negative). Spontaneous Combustion: Cost - 1 The Ghost may cause small fires to spring up, using only the force of his will. This will only ignite flammable things, and has an operating range of (Mind * 5) feet, but the fires burn fiercely and take at least a round to extinguish. (Or more, if they are given time to spread.) If used to attack someone, this is a Mind roll, rather than a Grace roll opposed by an opponent's attack or defense. LEVEL 3 POWERS Freezing Cold: Cost - 1 The Ghost can lower the temperature in an area by force of will alone. The temperature can be lowered to just below freezing, and the area covered is equal to (Heart) number of feet in radius. The range of this power is line-of-sight. Though it does not cause any damage to living targets, it can shock or frighten them, and can be used to extinguish fires, kill plants, or ruin bottles of delicate chemicals, such as Veritas... Gaze of Pain: Cost - 2 The Ghost focuses his hatred, and glares at a target, who must be able to see his eyes. The target is assaulted with an overwhelming burst of his most painful memories... He rolls his Heart + Logos against the Ghost's Mind + Heart. If the Ghost succeeds, then the target is immediately reduced to 0 Endurance and falls unconscious. If the target succeeds, then he is merely discomforted. Liquid Taint: Cost - 2 The Ghost can take limited control over his Veritas form, and move it around for (2 * Mind) minutes when this power is activated. The liquid must remain in a cohesive mass however, any parts split off or severed from the main mass die. While animated, the Liquid yearns to find a Host. It will attempt to Taint any living thing it touches, seeping through the skin and into the blood of the potential Host. The Liquid has a Strength and Grace of 1 while animated. Poltergeist: Cost - 2 The Ghost may control objects of up to (Heart * 2) pounds in weight by force of will alone, lifting them and moving them as needed. This power has an effective range of (Mind * 20) feet. This can be used to make Missile attacks (Using Mind for the attack roll), or he can muster his force over a longer period of time, performing fine operations. Scrutiny of Truth: Cost - 1 The Ghost may activate this power to view the world in a cold, unearthly light. The veins and arteries of anyone he views while this power is active become visible, as the flesh is seen as clear smoke. The Ghost can examine a target for traces of Ambrosia, or traces of Veritas. Both the age and the intensity of these two drugs can be determined. LEVEL 4 POWERS Bone Stories: Cost - 2 By laying his hands upon a corpse, or skull, the Ghost can rifle through its memories in a method similar to Borrowing from a host. If the former creature died painfully, then the Ghost may need to make a Trauma check, so be wary... Gaze of Madness: Cost - 3 The Ghost focuses all his doubt and glares at a target, who must be able to see his eyes. The target knows fear so deep that he risks madness! The Ghost rolls his Mind against the Target's Heart + Logos... If he succeeds, then the target is treated as having failed a Trauma roll. Know Pain, no pain: Cost - 3 By turning off his host's pain receptors, the Ghost becomes capable of withstanding hideous damage to his host without dying or falling unconscious. His Host is now incapable of falling unconscious, and may take (Mind * Total Health) in damage before dying. Using this power is no light act, however, as the Host takes brain damage after the Ghost leaves, and either dies or becomes a mental vegetable for the rest of his short life. Ride the Lightning: Cost - 2 The Ghost has a strange effect on electromagnetic fields... He may generate static electricity at will, discharging it at a touch, and may let any amount of electricity flow through him without harming his host. The Ghost may produce a ball of lightning and throw it at anything within (Mind * 10) feet in range, using his Mind as an attack roll. Conversely, he may keep himself charged with static electricity, emitting a glow and a strange hum that causes all normal people who see him to make Rank 2 trauma checks. This also has the side effect of illuminating the area around him. Whisper Song: Cost - 1 The Ghost may initiate telepathic contact with any other Ghost he knows within (Mind) miles. This telepathy only sends words, not emotions, and both parties must concentrate to send messages back and forth. The contact lasts for (Heart) minutes, and neither Ghost needs to physically speak to send messages. LEVEL 5 POWERS Into the Ether: Cost - 3 The Ghost detaches from its host, who falls into a deep sleep. The Ghost assumes an incorporeal, mental form, visible only to people who have some method of seeing Ghosts. It can then stroll around, unseen and intangible. While it cannot fly, it moves very fast and can walk through any solid object it chooses. The Ghost may stay in this form for (Heart * 10) minutes. It cannot go beyond (Mind) miles from its body, and may not use any other Gnosis powers except for Whisper Song while in this form. It automatically gains the benefits of Ghost Sight while incorporeal, though. After time is up, or the Ghost wishes to cease this power, it returns to its host (Or its bottle, if it activated the power while in Veritas form.) Gaze of Death: Cost - 4 The Ghost summons its hopelessness, and glares at a target, who must be able to see his eyes. The Ghost then rolls his Heart + Mind against the target's Heart + Logos... If the Ghost succeeds, then the target immediately drops to 0 Health and dies of system failure. (Heart attack, stroke, organs bursting, etc.) Hell Sight: Cost - N/A As per Ghost Sight, but the power is now permanently on. Mind Storm: Cost - 3 The Ghost moves vast amounts of weight by mind alone. (Heart * 100 pounds) This power has an effective range of (Mind * 100) feet. This may be used to make Missile attacks (Or area attacks, if the Ghos wishes to gather up surrounding sharp items and throw them at people), or may be sustained over a period of time for forceful manipulations. Shell of Veritas: Cost - 5 The user causes his Host to exhale, expelling the Veritas from his system, and breathing out a simulacrum of the Ghost's self-image, that grows to become life-size. This simulacrum is made out of Tainted Veritas, and is treated as the Ghost's new Host. (It has Build and Grace equal to the Ghost's Mind). The Simulacrum may move as normal, and can attempt to taint the first living thing it touches. Success means that the Ghost enters the new host, Failure means that the Ghost is driven out of its prospective body, and takes 2 Health of damage. The Simulacrum lasts for (Heart) minutes. The Veritas is all of one color and slightly see-through... There is no mistaking it for a normal human, and it induces Trauma 3 checks in every normal person who sees it. EXPERIENCE Ghosts learn, with every Host. Every time they pass from out of a body into their liquid form, they have achieved some degree of knowledge, gained some sense of achievement. Completing a File has the same effect... It boosts a Ghost's confidence, and allows it to make a breakthrough. Though the effects of experience may not be immediate, they will help a Ghost eventually. Whenever a Ghost inhabits a Host, the significant actions that they take while inside the Host determine which of their affinities got some use during the inhabitation. A significant effort in a particular affinity is called a Deed. GMs are the final judgement on whether or not an action was a deed. DEEDS If a Ghost concentrated on the mission, and the majority of the Host's actions were used to that purpose, then they committed a deed of Cognos. If a Ghost followed a trail of secrets to reveal a Dark Truth about his or her condition, then they committed a deed of Gnosis. If a Ghost took a fair amount of time to relax, engage in recreational activity, or socialize in a comfortable setting, then they committed an act of Logos. If a Ghost investigated his host, treated it with care and took time to solve its problems, then they committed an act of Persona. Ghosts can commit multiple deeds, during their time in a host! But when they leave their Host, they choose one of their Deeds. (Usually the most significant.) They then roll their current score in the related Affinity. This is called the Deed roll. If any of the dice from the Deed roll come up 1's, then there is no change. But if no dice come up with 1's, then that Affinity increases by 1! But, there is more to a Ghost's life than raising affinities... After a Ghost checks to see whether or not he has raised an Affinity, he immediately rolls as many dice as he now has points in that Affinity. This is then turned into experience points, which are assigned to one of three areas, depending upon which Affinity he rolled. This roll is called the Growth roll. Points scored from a Cognos Growth roll are assigned to skills. Points scored from a Gnosis Growth roll are assigned to the player's choice of skills, strengths, or pools. In addition, if the player gained a point of Gnosis from the Deed roll, then he gains a Gnosis power. (See the rules on Powers for a list.) Points scored from a Logos Growth roll are assigned to Strengths. Points scored from a Persona Growth roll are assigned to Pools. USING GROWTH POINTS Growth points can be spent as soon as they are earned, or saved for later. Points unspent can be added to with future Growth rolls... The character may only spend them between files or between hosts, however. Points are used to raise the ratings on Strengths, Skills, and Pools. RAISING POOLS A Ghost may only spend Growth points assigned to the Pools area to raise Pools. Raising a Pool to the next level costs a number of points equal to 3 times the Pool's new rating. So to raise Determination from 1 to 2 would cost 6 points. RAISING SKILLS A Ghost may only spend Growth points assigned to the Skills area to raise Skills. He may only raise Skills that his last host knew, and he may not raise a skill higher than the level at which the host knew the skill. For example, if the Ghost's last host was a dockworker with the Brawl skill at 2, and the Ghost already had the Brawl skill at 2, he could not raise it to 3 at that point in time. If he later Taints a host with the Brawl skill at 3, then after he returns to liquid form he can spend points to raise the skill to 3. Raising a Skill to the next level costs 2 times the new Skill's rating. So to go from 0 to 1 in a skill costs 2 points, while going from 3 to 4 in a skill costs 8 points. RAISING STRENGTHS A Ghost may only spend Growth points assigned to the Strengths area to raise Strengths. Raising a Strength to the next level costs a number of points equal to 4 times the Strength's new rating. So to raise Wits from 2 to 3 would cost 12 points. As always, a Ghost may not raise Build or Grace, since they have no physical body of their own. BOND A Ghost owes its existence to its nation. Harsh as it may sound, that existence costs money to maintain, and the Ghost bears part of the burden of the cost. This is known as the Ghost's bond. Once the Ghost's bond is paid off, he will be returned to his original body permanently, or given a new one in the case that something has happened to his old one. After that, he will be given a pension, and sworn to secrecy for the rest of his life. RETIREMENT Part of the retirement package is that they never see their Spookhouse, or their associates ever again. Some retired Ghosts find they enjoy the business, and turn down retirement to stay in the Great Game as mortal agents. These people are exceedingly rare, but they are some of the best agents that a nation could ask for. Some of them even end up running or maintaining Spookhouses. PAYMENT Files are the most common means of working off a bond. Files are rated by the number of Hosts a Ghost must transfer between to complete a mission. 1 Host Files are typically worth $1000 2 Host Files are usually worth $2000, and so on. Also, the nature of the file adds to the base payment. Files involving a minor matter, or embarassment to their home nation add $250 to the payment. Files involving a serious matter, or an enemy nation, add $1000 to the payment. Files involving a major matter or an extended action abroad add $2500 or more to the payment. Completing side-goals and finding things of worth to your Spookhouse are also ways to earn additional payment. Rescuing a mortal agent in peril, for example, is worth about $750. Uncovering a traitor is perhaps $1500 or more, depending on the severity of the treason. Stealing secret documents can go from $200 to $2000, depending on the information contained within. Of course, there are ways to increase a bond, as well. BOND SERVICES Requesting special equipment, such as steam technology, drugs, or currency from the Spookhouse or the Mortal agent network can add to your bond. Specialized tools run around $100 per rating, while concealable or bizarre scientific devices (Often known as Bond gadgets) run $500 per rating or more. Getting support from the agent network also costs, but it varies depending upon the service required. Transferring from host to host is generally free, as long as the Ghost identifies the new host and briefs the agent about him or her in advance. Transferring to a random host, or whoever's available runs $200 for the inconvenience this causes the agent. A good rule of thumb, is that the more danger an action puts an agent in, or the rarer the device requested, the more the cost added to the Ghost's Bond. BOND PENALTIES A Spookhouse or agent network always has the option of refusing a request from a Ghost. The likelihood that they will do this increases with a Ghost's Bond. This is put into place to stop abuse, and to make it harder for possibly treacherous Ghosts to go renegade. In the case that a Ghost's request is refused, he is encouraged to speak with his fellow teammates, and get them to back the request. If multiple Ghosts submit the same request, it usually gets approved. There are exceptions, such as when the entire team has large bonds. THE BOND ROLL To convince a Spookhouse or agent network that he needs a particular device or service, the Ghost makes a Heart + Mind roll. The target number of the roll is set by the GM, who does not need to inform the player of what he must roll to succeed. (Spookhouses have their reasons for what they approve and deny, reasons which they rarely share with Ghosts.) A penalty is applied to the roll, which varies by the bond of the Ghost making the request. The penalty is generally -1 for every $15,000 or fraction thereof within a Ghost's bond. So for example, a traitor with a Bond of $125,000 would recieve a -9 to his roll. FOR THE GM The information below is not necessarily known to the players, when they start a game of Mnemonic Ghosts. Read it, and decide what their characters would know. Change whatever you see fit, and alter to your tastes. If something doesn't work for you and your group, then leave it out. If you are a player and you read the information below, please refrain from spoiling the surprise for other players. THE WORLD OF ASHALAN With the exception of a few islands to the West, Ashalan consists of one large landmass, called Aren. Aren is a patchwork of nations. Some of them are vast, others take but six hours to cross from border to border. All of them are wary, and on guard against each other. THE MAJOR COUNTRIES OF ASHALAN These are the large countries, with set borders that rarely change. There are countless minor countries among and between them, but they change with each generation. Some merit their own place in the Great Game, but others are as meaningless as mayflies. BANIA Recently held in the throes of civil war, Bania lies on the far south of Aren. A dispute over rulership of Bania has lead to the former king's three brothers declaring themselves the true heir, but the moratorium on armies prevents them from settling matters for quite some time. In the meantime, lesser lords declare loyalty to different brothers, making the once rich land of Bania a crazy-quilt of arguing neighbors. And though no armies move, much happens in the cover of the night that could be called war... GUILDER A coastal nation in the southeast of Aren, Guilder's ports do booming business. A few families control the sea trade, and they do well enough to feed the sailors on their steamboats food with only minor amounts of Ambrosia in it. Guilder is fairly open-minded, willing to tolerate most behavior that doesn't harm others... As long as you're willing to pay the fine, for anything that breaks one of its countless laws. Guilder's noble houses are still recovering from the costly war against Midguard. Many once profitable businesses are at risk, and seeking any advantage to stay afloat. MIDGUARD A zealous country that occupies most of the north of Aren, Midguard practices a harsh and stern worship of God. The High Bishop rules both the church and the country, and the wicked are stoned to death on a regular basis as the police of Midguard turn a blind eye to the doings of the faithful against the heretics. Midguard lost millions of its young men in the war against Guilder, a loss that is still felt in the empty, deserted towns throughout its rolling steppes. SERRAMATA Known for its soaring mountain peaks, Serramata shares a border with Guilder, and lies to the west. Defended from most attacking armies in the past by its soaring mountain peaks, the invention of the airship has Serramata concerned. To this end, they are attempting to build a great armada of airships... They are being hindered in this by sabotage, and busy trying counter-espionage. TRANTOS A nation spread out over the islands of the west, Trantos is the other main seafaring nation. They supplement their income by sending "Privateers" out to "Make the seas safe" for others. It's amazing how many "Pirates" a Trantos privateer turns up on a regular voyage... Trantos is one of the poorer nations, having a shortage of metal and food, most of the time. Their rivalry with Guilder hurts their legitimate trade, preventing their economy from growing too far above a certain point. VORM Just Southwest of Midguard and north of Serramata, the hardy nation of Vorm suffered greatly through the Great War. With its borders diminished by post-war treaties and its traditional rivalry with Midguard, the Kaiser of Vorm looks at the now mostly-empty lands in Midguard with hungry eyes. Everyone knows that he is building his army, but no one can say when he will strike... THE SETTING Ashalan is a civilized world. Much of its wilderness has been plowed under in the name of progress, and train tracks and paved roads now fill the landscape. Houses, apartments, manufactories and other buildings spring up daily, as the rich get richer and the poor find their taxes rising again. Most towns and villages that you see look much the same. Cities are different from each other by design, but in many cities the old monuments and other things that set them apart are being torn down to make room for new buildings. Very few people travel any more, so few care so much about the past. The fact that all countries are on the same continent means that technology has advanced mostly equally among nations, with a few differences here and there. Electricity remains a mostly unexplored science, but steam technology is in its heyday. Clockwork is still useful, as well. The real power comes from chemistry, as drugs exist that can do amazing things, and research breaks new ground daily. Truly, if man is to become as a god, it will be through chemistry that he works his miracles... Speaking of God, religion was once a major cause of conflict throughout the continent, and differences in doctrine were cause for the changing of borders. In the last century or two, however, a series of reforms and laws have humbled the church. Now it acts as a source of comfort for any who seek it out... Well, any who aren't suspicious foreigners, at any rate. Priests can rarely afford quality food, so most are thoroughly dosed with Ambrosia. More and more people, especially in the larger cities, are finding that they have little time for religion. Atheism is on the rise, and agnosticism tends to be prevalent among the upper classes. Still, the ruck and run of the average laborers believe in God, and the rulers of the nations prefer it that way. As a side note, the religion of Ashalan is not Christianity, Buddhism, or anything anyone from Earth would recognize. The trappings are similar to Roman Catholicism, but the doctrine and gospel is completely different. The church does not sponsor any particular prophets, instead all things are seen to serve God. Virtues like humility, obedience, trust, honesty, hard work, and compassion are rewarded. Vices like arrogance, lying, cheating, cruelty, and laziness are punished. For the most part, anywhere you go in Ashalan looks like much of the rest of the world. The sky is grey, stained with soot from countless manufactories. The clatter and noise of steam vehicles is constant, and airships fill the sky. The country has a few patches of wilderness left in it, but much of that is given over to farmland or lush estates for the rich. The people are under-educated, with many barely able to read, and over half the world's population not knowing letters at all. Even the rich conform to each other's standards... By trying so hard to stand out, the rich slavishly follow the latest fashions from across the continent. They gossip and laugh and lie and screw, while outside their rich manors children die in manufactory accidents, men work 16 hour days to die penniless and in debt, and women prostitute themselves so their children might one day hope to be prostitutes to nobility. It is a bleak, depressing world where the true rulers of the land are rich, bloated industrialists, and the poor are drugged into compliance. Hope dies here, and things are much the same forever because those with power like it that way and fear change. There were two defining events within the last century, one publicly known and one secret. The publicly known event was the Great War of Midguard and Guilder. The secret event was the development of Ambrosia. AMBROSIA, OPIATE OF THE MASSES Ambrosia was developed over 50 years ago. The nationality of the first chemists to uncover its secret are unknown, and it ceased to be relevant as the formula was passed around throughout universities and testing grounds all across Aren. At first seen as an inferior poison, the scientists assigned to study Ambrosia quickly found that it could be tuned to subtly affect the human brain. With a few switched ingredients, different emotions could be inspired, heightened, or produced. And best of all, it was nearly-impossible for a subject to tell of their own volition whether or not they had been drugged. Ambrosia and its developers were quickly snapped up by the rulers of the Great nations, and the lesser nations followed suit. The rulers of the nations had been hearing rumblings of discontent across the continent lately, and Ambrosia seemed like a perfect way to quiet the masses. After all, they didn't need their subjects having things like free will or clarity of unbiased thought, they just needed them happy, working, and willing to trust their nation. To that end, Ambrosia performed well. At first, it was simple things that it inspired, like loyalty to their countries, and their rulers. That went easily enough. So the nations went in for a little more complexity, and started killing the urge to travel in their subjects. Combined with a few chemical additions that would guarantee Ambrosia mixed poorly with other Ambrosia, and they guaranteed their subjects would not flee to other countries, no matter how bad things were at home. That went well... And it also restricted trade with the outside to a few people who didn't eat Ambrosia, namely the rulers. The rich got richer, once again... After that, different nations started adding different things. Devout nations mandated faith in God, and atheists became believers through the miracle of chemical conversion. Tyrannical nations added in a cringing fear of authority, and the worst rebels became cowards paralyzed by indecision. Countries with a strong manufacturing base added in an inflexible work ethic, and others threw in mistrust aimed at their traditional enemies. It was this last one that backfired... THE WAR TO END ALL WARS More than anything, this event changed the face of Aren. The actual war started when a Duke of Guilder was assassinated by a Midguard agitator. Midguard claimed that the assassin acted on his own without official sanction, but by that time the airships were crossing the border and the steam tanks were rolling. The tension and anger was aided and abetted by Ambrosia-fueled nationalism. The rulers of Midguard and Guilder watched in horror, as the armies started marching of their own volition, and frantically tried to recall their forces, to no avail. They had dosed their soldiers thoroughly with Ambrosia to ensure loyalty, and so no cooler heads remained to defuse tensions. Some tried, but were branded as "Liberal scum", and even lynched on a few occasions. The smart kept their mouths shut, and told themselves it would be over soon. Everyone thought the war would be over by Yuletide. But as more and more countries joined in to support either Midguard or Guilder, the war dragged on nearly ten long, terrible years. The middle countries were devastated by war, while even the far provinces felt the sting of rationing, and heavy taxes. In the end, Guilder claimed victory, and Midguard could not resist. Midguard paid reparations, and the world tried to go back to business as usual. THE WINTER OF THEIR DISCONTENT Tried, and failed. The returning soldiers from the front lines found that they had no jobs waiting for them. The economies of every nation were drained, and times were rough. Food was scarce. And worse, the chemical supplies of every nation were low... This inspired a hotbed of revolt. The rulers of the nations, complacent in their formerly-Ambrosia fueled security, were utterly shocked. Open riots in the streets! Calls for reform! People trying to upset the government, even doing things like saying the nobility were obsolete! They realized that a large part of the problem, was with limited food intake came limited Ambrosia intake. The rulers had in fact hooked themselves with Ambrosia... They had to keep providing it, or things would change. And with change would come chaos, perhaps even the loss of their fortunes or status. They solved the problem by making a great show. The nations collaborated, and signed a massive treaty, buying time for themselves. They made the grand show of outlawing war for twenty years... A treaty that none of them expected to last long at all, but would last long enough for the countries to rebuild, and replenish their Ambrosia supply. It worked, to a point. No one wanted to speak out against peace, not after the horrors of the Great War. Public outcry was quieted. But not all nations were as quiet as they could have been about Ambrosia. And most of the nations were making changes to their Ambrosia mixes as they started mass-creating them again. Changes that were a little more noticeable to the people that had gotten by with lessened Ambrosia for a few years... THE HORROR In the end, a resistance organization was born. Figuring out the truth of Ambrosia and the lies perpetrated by their nation, they tried to bring it to the world's attention. They failed. They lost many good people in their attempt, only to find to their horror that the entire continent was soaked in Ambrosia. That the rich willingly and knowingly held down the poor, and filled their heads with lies and false emotions. And worst of all, that this was a universal practice among ALL nations of Ashalan. They took the name of "The Horror", for the despair that even the stoutest felt, when the extent of the truth was revealed. And since there were no heroes in this game of nations, they vowed to fulfill that role. It did not go well. THE GREAT GAME The rulers of the nations, greedy as they were, knew that the others would not keep to the treaty. And so, they started a different war... One of spies and saboteurs. The Horror was a pawn in this game, and paid the price many times over. Eventually they learned... Trust no one, and keep the cells of the resistance hidden, even from each other. That succeeded to a degree, and the Horror rebuilt to the extent that it could. There were minor setbacks, but for a few years the Horror expanded to the point where they were able to become a minor player in the Great Game. They were somewhat effective, but all that was curtailed five years after the war. Something new had entered the playing field... THE COMING OF VERITAS It had originally been developed as a merciful drug. One that would let terribly-scarred veterans experience temporary life in the bodies of willing donors. That basic idea didn't last long. The stretched intelligence agencies of the large countries, already taxed with working around the Ambrosia restriction, realized the true potential of the mind-swapping serum. Its impact on the intelligence community was enormous. The early successes were astounding... As were the problems that arose. And the amount of agent turnover became a problem. Ghosts were fragile, mentally. It was also easy for Ghosts to go rogue... Soon it got to the point where one in three Ghosts sent into the field went mad or simply disappeared, or both. Even with the turnover rate as high as it was, the Ghosts became the major force in the Great Game. The Horror, devastated by a few major losses, withdrew to lick its wounds. With Ghosts sorting through the memories of their hosts like scholars reading a book, the last leaders of the Horror knew their time was limited. And then, the last hope of the Horror was saved by an entirely unexpected force. IN VERITAS, LEGION It met them in a genderless body that was stunningly beautiful, and they feared to see it but it spoke in all languages at once, and smiled upon them. It told them that their cause was NOT in vain, and that it had decided to help them... For a price. It would shield them from Ghosts and let them grow. But in return they would let it feed on any Ghost that it could catch. ANY Ghost. NO exceptions. What choice did they have, in the face of destruction? They agreed. And Legion laughed, as they trembled. In the years since they have come to regret this, even as they've grown again. Some cells have attempted to recruit their own Ghosts, defying Legion's will, but it always finds out. The Ghosts always become its dinner, and the cells always are left holding their heads in their hands. Literally. Legion is the closest thing to a devil upon the world of Ashalan. THE PRESENT DAY After Legion joined the Horror, the agencies of the nations knew they had to guard themselves well, both on and off the field. The Spookhouses were developed, and instead of being sent into the field alone, Ghosts were trained to work in teams. This has met with greater success, and most Spookhouses are safe against the predations of Legion. WHAT DO GHOSTS DO? Put simply, Ghosts go out on missions called "Files", to earn money to pay off their debts. Occasionally, when they do well enough or their controlling agent determines that they need a break, they are put into a recreational host to cool off, and enjoy themselves within the confines of the Spookhouse, or some other controlled "Vacation" zone. Some Ghosts may wish to work against their Spookhouses. This is a perfectly allowable action, but it makes for a very dangerous game. Let them know the risks that they are undertaking. Some Ghosts may decide to help The Horror. Again, this is a dangerous game, but can make for a fun and memorable one. Some might wish to pursue their own agenda, or do something like go after Legion. Who knows? If they have a good enough plan, and build themselves up for the task, and the dice fall right, then it could happen. Let them have a well-earned victory, and continue with the story. And some Ghosts may even wish to dig into the Dark Secrets of Veritas, Legion, Gnosis, and whatever other weirdness is out there. Practice smiling in a sinister manner, GM. You'll need it. THE TRUTH BEHIND THE DARK SECRETS OF MNEMONIC GHOSTS ...Is not going to be printed here. Players read books too, and this is one where the temptation to read the player-forbidden section may be overwhelming. Put simply, and stepping into first-person voice for a minute, I like surprising my players. I like springing weird and horrible things upon them. And this is a horror game, when all is said and done. I'd rather not spoil the secrets for a potential player, just because they were curious. If you want to know the secrets behind Mnemonic Ghosts, you have three options; Option number 1 is to make them up yourself. This gives you the most flexibility, but it can be tough to make it awesome and creepy enough. What horrifies one player makes another yawn, sometimes. And it's aggravating as hell when the smart player guesses the secret and announces it four sessions before your planned "Big Reveal." Option number 2 is to listen to your players speculate, and have the most interesting speculation be the truth. This can take a little work to get it into the plot, but as long as they don't catch on, it can be awe-inspiring. And it saves you a lot of work. Option number 3 is to email me, and ask me to tell you the Dark Secrets. ( Hidanzu@aol.com ) I'll tell you my ideas, and you may use them or ignore them as you wish.