[Playable] Ghosts And You!

[Wobbajack 119]

This is a great idea. I would love to see a few ghosts haunting some homes or something. It could make for some very interesting RP.

[Mish_ 101]

I love it, I would want to make a character a ghost, and just float through the world explaining my death to people on roads (When the ghost found out) +1

[SirSnowMan 318]

This looks awesome! +1

[Supremacy 3357]

The issue I'm seeing right now is that if we permit players to RP as ghosts, pretty soon no one will be even mildly shocked at the sighting of a ghost. Eventually you wont see people in Oren shouting "A witch has cursed me" but rather you will see people sitting in bars having a drink and a chat with a ghost.

 

This is where this lore becomes problematic for me, I don't want to see a ghost become a common or even not disturbing thing. People will hang around those they roleplay with, their characters will grow to have a ghost friend... Problem? Perhaps.

 

If someone made a ghost their main character... Or even played it semi-often you would lose the power of 'woah' which a supernatural event has IC: "What? That mage can make a fireball? Pah! My friend is a ghost..."

 

Really what I'm getting at is that if someone wants to play a ghost hanging around the same people is... Eh... Really, I'd try my hardest to avoid people getting to know your ghost at all. but even then it is a bit iffy.

 

So yes, I think it is interesting lore. Yes, I think it is well written... But it comes down to the level in my head that supernatural events become 'Harry Potter' if everyone can see and sees a ghost... Or even if a few people become familiar with one. Jasper the friendly ghost on LoTC? Eeeeeh, I'd like to avoid him personally.

 

Which then brings us to a few options in my mind:

 

• No ghosts at all (Preferably avoidable)
• Very few ghosts, those who exist roam and try to avoid becoming familiar with people at a RP level. 
• Bind ghosts to a location. Make them only come out for specific people (who in turn aren't going to make a ghost their best buddy and invite people around to meet 'Jasper')
• Only the ET and a VERY select group of people RP ghosts. They aren't played consistently and thus only come about on occasion.
• Ghosts become terrifying when they are present in a room i.e. They exude terror in some form. Poltergeists abuse this to cause more chaos (They aren't making friends anyway) while the other ones are driven away by those who fear their 'aura'. Ghosts go live in a specific haunted house... And haunt people to defend their little home. Unsuspecting travelers take shelter in the home at night during the rain... Bad things happen.
• Jasper the friendly ghost and his pals colonize LoTC. They spread joy, cheer and have dinner with Godfrey on thursday nights. No one fears the supernatural.
• Edit: Keep it as is and see how it works (Given a little thought after writing this... I'm kind of in favor of this).

Again, I really like the lore and will say it is very well written but from a "What will the outcome to general RP on LoTC be?" perspective, I can't say that it will be too great. This is making this lore a bit of a "Yes" and "No" thing when I think about it. Great lore... But it has the potential of making everyone happy-friends with a ghost.

 

This all being said, Urara/Tannith/Dragon did run the Frost Witches who had to keep themselves secret... So... I don't know... Again... It becomes a complicated issue.

 

Bottom Line: If you think this works and can be limited to a few people to the degree we don't end up with Jasper-The-Friendly-Ghost on LoTC, then I like it. If not... Well... Ehhh...

[Cappy 1599]

Once again, Urara, you do not disappoint! Outstanding job.

I do agree with Supremacy in that they shouldn't become common or everybody's BFF.

One question I have is how would their invisibility work in-game?

[JtPv 140]

Responding to the issue of them becoming normal,

The myths surrounding ghost are still burned into the minds of everybody. Even if this ghost was a good or even your best friend, you would still be scared. Now, imagine that on somebody they barely know. They would probably call some sort of priest/scientist/shaman/etc to come and get rid of it ((Or just run away flailing their arms in the air while the ghost becomes invisible...)) If people roleplay this right, it works out.   

[cmack1028 548]

Once again, Urara, you do not disappoint! Outstanding job.

I do agree with Supremacy in that they shouldn't become common or everybody's BFF.

One question I have is how would their invisibility work in-game?

 

Maybe use PermissionsX (or PEX or whatever) to change everyone with an accepted MA/VA or whatever is required to allow them to use vanish, but if they're caught abusing it on another char or anything they'll get revoked?

[Urahra 5363]

I would be extremely disappointed if ghosts were limited to E-Team only. I'll admit that I did make this lore for selfish reasons - namely that I want to play a ghost myself. (I used one of my own characters for the example ghost, so I guess that was obvious.) She wouldn't be my main character due to the fact that I have three characters on my plate already, but I can see how having a ghost main would be an issue.

I see the problem of ghosts becoming common and not special. My solution, I guess, would be to keep it restricted to no more than five or so individuals? I remember in the Frost Witches, I kept the coven size initially limited to six. That only got problematic when I had somehow selected six people in wildly different timezones who couldn't RP together (but that won't be a problem with ghosts since they're solitary). And the witches also lost mysteriousness and influence when they started doing some very non-witchy things (like having affairs with Oren nobility instead of being misandrist killing machines).

If you like, I can screen potential ghosts myself and establish a limited number of ghost slots. And I'll interview people so that they have the right mindset to play a ghost.

As for their powers, I'd just handle it with emotes or with my name. Like change my name to "[Floating] Gisela" or "[invisible] Gisela."

[Supremacy 3357]

 And the witches also lost mysteriousness and influence when they started doing some very non-witchy things (like having affairs with Oren nobility instead of being misandrist killing machines).

Precisely what would be the problem with ghosts. But I suppose if you can keep people from becoming Jasper and make sure people actually fear the supernatural floating thing in the room, all will be fine. That being said, if a character who has never seen a ghost or anything mildly like it starts trying to have a chat with one... Then that is also an issue :\

 

Either way, it may just work.

[LaCabra (Soda) 1516]

Oh my gosh, this is really outstanding Urara! You have no idea how much I've wanted to RP a spooky ghost since I joined the server (I've actually RP'd the Ghost of the Singing Maiden several times in Branborough, she fits the definition of a Revenant, I believe.) But really, this would be so fun to see and do, I'm in all out support of it.

[Urahra 5363]

Precisely what would be the problem with ghosts. But I suppose if you can keep people from becoming Jasper and make sure people actually fear the supernatural floating thing in the room, all will be fine. That being said, if a character who has never seen a ghost or anything mildly like it starts trying to have a chat with one... Then that is also an issue :\

 

Either way, it may just work.

 

I am thrilled to death to hear this!

 

Ehehe...pun not intended. 

 

I can't control how people will react to the ghosts. I would hope that seeing a ghost or being haunted by one would be very frightening and people will react appropriately. However, I can, with possibly some help from the staff, control who becomes a ghost and make sure they have the right mindset for what they're getting into.

[Lago 2570]

You could write in some particulary nasty consequences for getting too familiar with a ghost.

[Supremacy 3357]

I quite like that idea.

[Urahra 5363]

Hm...Well, I don't want to make them out to be entirely malevolent bad entities, because they're not. Spectres are often benevolent or at least neutral. Levels 1s are mostly just confused and delusional. And Revenants can be dangerous, but not ALWAYS. I think having them all be evil bad guys would just be boring. If I made the ghosts TOO horrible, they wouldn't get any RP. People would just run when they saw them. This is meant to CREATE RP, after all, not discourage it!

 

What if ghosts had a "bad luck" aura that affected people who hung around them too much? I feel it's a mild enough punishment that it wouldn't hamper ghost RP and it would create conflict for they people who hang around them.

[MonkeyCoffee 516]

To add onto what Cmack said, in Sethbling's most recent map, Ghost Squadron, he somehow made the people in your team transparent. It looks really awesome, and maybe somehow it is also able to be implemented in here, but only for the ghosts of course.