HARDNOVA turned out to be more than just a bare-bones system. Mark Bruno and Brett Bernstein provided a game with unexpected depth and flexibility, a no-nonsense toolkit for a variety of science fiction styles. Though the earthbound horror genre is inherently more limited in terms of scope, GHOST STORIES tries to do the same thing. The end result is another satisfying game with the potential for more than one night’s fun.
The genreDiversion system is straightforward, as would be expected for a product designed to be used quickly. For those players who absolutely must have more crunchiness in their roleplaying diet, there are optional rules for increased complexity/realism. On the chargen side, players create characters for GHOST STORIES by spending points on various attributes, skills and powers. Some won’t want to spend the time doing this, particularly for a throwaway session, so a handful of archetypical characters are included. Simply add a name and go. Even the characters’ basic equipment is already in place.
Unlike Deep 7’s SHRIEK, to which GHOST STORIES will probably immediately be compared, GHOST STORIES is interested primarily in atmospheric scares rather than splatterpunk horror. This sensibility is reflected in character generation. The usual mundane types are there, but allowance has also been made for dabblers in sorcery and those gifted with ESP. Interestingly enough, though, a character must select the background trait “Medium” in order to gain access to extrasensory (and genre-appropriate) abilities such as psychometry and telepathy, but there appears to be no provision for a medium to act as an actual medium and thereby communicate with the dead.
GHOST STORIES rounds off with a quartet of creepy scenarios. Three of them are quite effective, with the fourth a somewhat disappointing change of pace. The first is a straightforward haunted house story, the next a tale of a murderous possessor spirit, and the third – easily the best of the bunch, thanks to its bizarre premise – is about a cult leader who binds his followers to him through murder and necromantic resurrection. The fourth scenario deviates into murder mystery territory, with the characters tracking a killer who’s stealing the life essences of others with the help of a magic chalice. Something about the story doesn’t sit well in company with the others, and GHOST STORIES ends on that sour note.
One shaky scenario aside, GHOST STORIES is a solid value at $4.00 for a 36-page PDF. Like HARDNOVA before it, GHOST STORIES sets modest goals and exceeds them easily, giving the gamer more than he or she might have expected.
