Introduction

What is an RPG? What is a micro-setting?

A role-playing game (RPG) is a wonderful blend Each of the 11 settings in this book is a
of storytelling and gameplay, in which a group playground for you and your friends to explore
of people agree to imagine a world together, over 4-10 sessions, using whichever RPG system
inhabit characters within it, and narrate or you like best. They all contain a small, but fully-

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act out the actions of those characters, their realised world, with player character suggestions,
decisions, their emotions, and the challenges locations, NPCs, secrets and a manageable
they face. The world and the challenges are campaign of 3-4 pre-written adventures that
usually determined by the particular RPG being can be expanded with adventure seeds.

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played, and an RPG system (set of rules) tells
the players how to define their characters, and Micro-settings are intended to provide an
what to do when their actions could lead to alternative to most RPG settings, which focus on
multiple outcomes (usually roll dice to see if providing huge worlds that can support an epic
they succeed or fail). Their story can be a short campaign lasting years, or to be burned through
affair, told in one 3-4 hour session of chaos and in a frenetic one-shot adventure. In contrast,
glory, an epic saga spanning weekly sessions the campaigns in Odd Jobs are intended to sit
over multiple years, or anything in between.
e somewhere between the fast-paced energy of
a one-shot and the slow-burn drama of an epic
In most RPGs, all but one player will take the campaign. The scope of the micro-settings is
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role of one specific character (Player Character, also tightly-focused, with the player characters
or PC) within the world, while one player will taking specific roles or jobs within them, so that
be the gamemaster (GM), guiding their friends less time is needed establishing the character’s
through the setting, placing obstacles and situation, and the players can dive right in.
opportunities in their path, and playing any other
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characters they meet on their journey. All the The settings within this book are also ‘system-
settings in Odd Jobs assume that one player will neutral’ – there aren’t rules or mechanics
be the GM, and include secret information for intended to interact with a specific RPG system.
that player to read (although they can also be None of them include instructions to take
played with many GM-less systems if you like). specific mechanical actions, such as ‘Roll your
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Diplomacy skill’, ‘Take 2 Wounds’ or similar.

If you’re new to RPGs, welcome aboard! The Instead, we hope you’ll take these stories and tell
worlds in this book should keep you busy for them using whatever system you and your group
quite some time, but you’ll need a system to play feel most comfortable with. This may mean it
with as well. There are countless great options, requires some extra preparation in terms of
so try a few and see what works for you. Don’t working out the necessary numbers, especially
worry too much about making mistakes at the if you’re using a more stats-focused system, but
start – after all, it’s just a game! And whether we promise, even if you just jump right in and
yours are wildly hilarious or heartbreakingly make it up on the fly, you’ll have a great time.
beautiful, there’s nothing quite like the feeling
of collaboratively creating stories with friends.

6 | INTRODUCTION
What system should I use? system of clue-distribution works excellently if
the game is big on piecing together mysteries.
This is a tricky question without a single answer.
Different RPG systems work best for different Powered by the Apocalypse and Forged in the
playstyles, and some are designed with a Dark are amazing systems and work beautifully
particular tone or genre in mind. If you already with most micro-settings, but do require quite

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have a system you know you like, that one’s a bit of preparation from the GM, who will need
probably a good choice. That said, we do have either to find an existing hack that matches up or
a few suggestions about some you might like put together their own hack specifically for the
to try out, especially if you’re new to RPGs. micro-setting. Many GMs (like us) really enjoy

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putting that sort of thing together, but be aware
Fate Condensed is a good story-focused system it requires both a lot of time and a firm grasp of
that’s very flexible and light on rules. It’s a lot the games. If you’re keen to try, though, Forged
more beginner-friendly than the full system, in the Dark could make a great basis for a darkly
but still gives enough structure to support comedic Not Far to Bermuda or Start-Up Culture.
new players. It’s also generic enough that it
requires almost no changing, or rules-hacking If you want a game that’s more overtly
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to make it fit any of these micro-settings, and comedic and doesn’t need someone to GM,
its flexible character creation make it a great putting together a small playbook for Fiasco
choice for settings with unusual PCs, like Fixer can be a worthwhile investment in chaos and,
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Upper. And if a group likes it and wants to though it may only work for single session
dive a bit deeper, the chunkier version of the adventures, it can produce an amazing game.
system in Fate Core should give plenty of scope A Fiasco playset for Wizard’s Staff or Guardians
for that. Another great pair of options if you would make for a fantastic one-shot.
want to avoid too many rules are The Black
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Hack and The Cthulhu Hack, which work well Finally, we can’t avoid mentioning the elephant
for conflict- or investigation-focused games, at the game table: Dungeons & Dragons 5th
respectively (we particularly recommend The edition is many people’s first RPG system, and
Cthulhu Hack for Duskhollow or Guardians). the one they’re most comfortable with. It may
be tricky to make D&D suit some of these
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For groups willing to do a bit more up-front micro-settings, as it’s a system that is heavily
learning, Cypher System can support almost combat-orientated. That said, with a little bit
any setting without too much adaptation, of work and an adaptable group, it should be
and if the GM is comfortable improvising and able to work, especially for micro-settings
taking charge then the game is very easy for which can be made a little bit more combat-
the players to get a grip on. Savage Worlds is heavy, such as Twisted Rails or Ghost Ship.
also an excellent generic system with more of a
pulpy, adventure movie feel to it, which would Ultimately, while some RPG systems might
work for any of the micro-settings that are more be better or worse for specific micro-
action-focused, such as Primetime Colosseum settings, the most important thing is to
or Twisted Rails. GUMSHOE is also a good choice find one you’re comfortable with, and that
for a slower, more investigative setting, as its will let you get down to the business of
spending a good time with friends.

INTRODUCTION | 7
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8 |
Ghost Ship
GHOST SHIP
There are few things deadlier than space.
From the first moments humanity hurled
itself out into the dark, people have died
in that cold and lonely void. But there is no
rest to be found among the stars. Beyond
the edges of our planet, spirits cannot
pass on, and the spectres of explorers
past now haunt every corner of the solar

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system. That’s where you come in. It’s your
job to find these ghosts: to contain them
and bring them home to Earth. It’s dirty,

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thankless work filled with danger and more
than a few ghosters find themselves joining
their quarry. Still, it’s a living. e
Background
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It’s the year TS-19. Humanity has long since Either way, the fact of the matter is that
been able to travel beyond our own planet and when a person dies on Earth their soul simply
we have found... nothing. No alien beings to vanishes, silent and invisible. But out in space,
war against, no lush worlds to colonise: there is it apparently has nowhere to go, and eventually
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only dust and radiation and silence. Any newly coalesces into a wandering spirit: a ghost.
discovered lifeforms are either microscopic or
a billion years dead, and the few settlements And this causes a lot of problems. Even ignoring
that have been established are bleak and the existence of more powerful spirits able to
industrial: tiny pockets of humanity existing cause mischief or violence, having mournful
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only to extract resources that can be shipped shades wandering a space station is pretty
back to Earth, or push the edges of science. It’s bad for morale. The dead need to be collected
a hard life off-world, and death is only ever a and taken back to Earth, where they can be
busted valve or torn piece of polymer away. released and allowed to pass into whatever
existence – if any – is beyond this mortal coil.
But dying in space is different. The Gaianic The people who do that collecting are called
church preaches that we are all ultimately ghosters. It’s a rough job, and few can stomach
born of the Earth, the true and physical god, it for more than a year or so. If a ghoster is
and we can only pass into the afterlife upon lucky, it’s boring and depressing: hoovering up
her soil, while Energists believe that the spirit compliant Class-Is after illnesses or industrial
to be just another form of physical energy, accidents. If they’re unlucky, they might have
a natural part of some deeper ecosystem. to deal with something more interesting.

GHOST SHIP | 9
 Most ghosts are faint shapes in the air, thin and and abandoned spirits. These ships offer a
weak reflections of their former selves, unable substantial but very dangerous pay-day for
to interact with the physical world around the crew that clears them, and several ghoster
them. But some are stronger: more grotesque captains will often coordinate with each other
in appearance and able to manifest more fully. to deal with them, splitting the money.
These spirits are often capable of affecting
objects or people directly, and sometimes they You are a crew of ghosters. You have a battered
display even stranger abilities. Ghosters generally old space ship, enough vacuum tubes for about
split their quarry into five broad categories: two hundred souls, and plenty of spirit wands
and harpoons. Your ship has a top speed of
Shade, shadow, hoover job.
0.5AU, meaning you can get from Earth to Mars
Class I Standard pick-up; no real

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in a day, but it takes almost three months to
personality or will.
reach Pluto. Your ship isn’t armed, but neither
Lost soul, weeper. is any ship you will encounter. Ship-to-ship
Class II Reluctant; does not want to combat in space is too risky and destructive

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return to Earth or pass on. even for pirates, as it’s almost certain to destroy
Phantom, trickster. any cargo of value. Your ship can’t survive
Class III Disruptive; not malicious, but re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere or land on
can be hazardous to catch. any stellar body. You have a small shuttle that
can take you to facilities attached to moons,
Friendly. Retains will; actively
Class IV asteroids or planets, as well as space stations,
wants to help or return to Earth.
other ships, or the huge Green Hill facility
Class X
Spook, geist.
e
Hostile. Malicious. Very dangerous.
orbiting earth where you hand over your
“passengers” to be checked and released. You’re
contractors, not employees, and don’t report
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Because of the expenses incurred by the directly to Green Hill, although they’ll probably
ghosting industry, it’s mandatory for anyone be the ones handing you jobs unless you’re
heading into space to get ghost insurance offered a lucrative private-insurer contract.
before they leave orbit. This is usually covered
by an employer, but those going for their own Ghosting is a sad, lonely business, and
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reasons have to pay the exorbitant fees out whether you chose the job or the job
of their own pockets. Many companies offer chose you, this is your life now. Travelling
ghost insurance policies, but by far the largest the black emptiness of space, grudgingly
and most widely-used is Green Hill Insurance. shepherding the dead to their final reward.
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Green Hill does business with almost every

space-faring industry, and has negotiated a
generous government rebate for any uninsured
ghosts found and returned to them.

Uninsured ghosts tend to be leftovers from

an earlier age of space travel, before the
realities were so well known. Sometimes a
ghoster crew may even receive word of a
necropolis: one of the massive colony ships
sent out from Earth in the early days of cosmic
expansion, now long-dead and filled with lost

10 | GHOST SHIP
Ghosting
There are two ways to catch ghosts:

THE EASY WAY: If a ghost is willing to come with

you, or simply doesn’t have sufficient will to
resist, just touching them with a loaded spirit
wand and pressing the button will transfer
them into the empty vacuum tube inside. The
now-occupied tube is then removed and the

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wand reloaded. Occupied tubes are usually
transferred to storage on the ship and then
handed over to the insurance company when
returning to Earth. Most Class-Is are dealt

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with this way, and even Class IIs or IIIs might
go the easy way if they can be talked down.

THE HARD WAY: If a ghost refuses to depart

willingly, or becomes violent, they have to
be weakened sufficiently to allow the spirit
wands to capture their souls despite this active
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resistance. This is usually done with harpoons:
long alloy rods connected to a special generator
with a reinforced cable (and usually a backup
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generator as well). The charge reacts with
the spirit energy, holding the harpoon inside
the ghost and disrupting their essence. This
causes the ghost great pain and weakens them
significantly, hopefully allowing them to be
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captured by the spirit wand. In many cases a

single harpoon is enough, but every veteran
ghoster has a story of that one spook which
took a dozen or more before it dropped. Most
ghosters use pressurised launchers to fire their
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harpoons, but some prefer to get a little more

personal and throw them by hand, often arguing
there’s less danger of causing a hull breach.
When the team decides their prey is sufficiently
stunned, one of them has to get in and catch it
with the spirit wand. This is the most dangerous
part of the hunt: if they’ve miscalculated, or
the ghost is just pretending, then the poor soul
on wand duty is going to have a really bad day.
Class X spectres only ever go the hard way and,
once caught, are usually stored with plenty of
extra padding around their fragile glass tube.

GHOST SHIP | 11
 Character collections to see them through. Whether
a character is out there trying to get rich or
just needs to leave life on Earth behind, one

Suggestions thing’s for certain - no-one can live this close

to the afterlife without it changing them.
Ghosting is not an easy profession. Quarters are
close, comforts are sparse and jobs are either GAIANIC PRIEST. You love the Earth. Of course
deadly dangerous or deadly dull (ghosters differ you do. She’s the true and physical god. But
on which is worse). Almost everyone’s chasing there are lost souls out there, unable to make
a big pay-day, but most crews have to rely on their way back to her embrace. You’ve taken
the small but steady income from individual it upon yourself to leave the Earth behind, to

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find these poor spirits and help usher them
home where they can cross over in peace.
I mean, sure, maybe you had other reasons
to get away, but this is a religious mission, a

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holy calling. And you’re happy to be out here,
really you are. You just weren’t expecting quite
so few home comforts. Or to encounter so
much reluctance from the dearly departed...

EX-GREEN HILL OFFICE WORKER. Remember when

e you had a ‘normal’ job? Sat behind your desk
from breakfast to dinner, with nothing more
exciting than lunch to look forward to? Working
for Green Hill was a decent wage but no matter
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how hard you worked, you just never seemed to
move up. You’d find yourself watching the ghost
ships docking to offload their cargo and think,
that must really be living. So, in a moment of
uncharacteristic resolve, you quit your position
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and convinced one of the ships to take you

on. To be honest, it’s not quite the adventure
you imagined, and lunch is still sometimes the
most exciting part of your day but, hey, at least
you feel like a part of something real now. And
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even the ship’s coffee is still somehow better

than the stuff in the Green Hill canteen.

LIFELONG TRAPPER. You got a job with a ghost

ship as soon as you were old enough to earn a
living, maybe even before. You needed a steady
paycheck and there wasn’t much tying you to
Earth. Plus, the chance for a big score was pretty
enticing. After a few Class X jobs, though, you’ve
started to realise ghosting isn’t always as lucrative
as it is dangerous. These days you take the jobs
you’re given, but secretly you’re on the hunt for a

12 | GHOST SHIP
necropolis ship - if you’re going to put your life in
danger, you want to be sure the money’s worth it. Locations
FRIENDLY GHOST. You don’t remember everything The sheer scale of the cosmos is almost
about who you were before your death - just unthinkable, even just staying within our
odd details here and there. What you know for own solar system. But there are still things
sure is that you died in space and you’re here out there, if you know where to look.
until you finally decide to return to Earth. And
you will go back. Eventually. You need to take GREEN HILL SPACE STATION. Most insurance
care of something first. Maybe it’s looking after companies offer some sort of ghost insurance,
someone, maybe it’s revenge, maybe it’s seeing but Green Hill are the only ones who specialise

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somewhere you were happy one last time. in it. Every major company or nation sending
Whatever it is, something from your old life is people into space uses Green Hill ghost
keeping you tied to it for now. And until it’s done, insurance, and almost all the ghosts you
your crew is glad to have you: it’s handy to have collect will be delivered to their facility - a large

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a ghost on-side when dealing with the dead. space station distantly orbiting Earth - for
processing and transfer down to the planet
HAUNTED EXILE. You used to have a happy life below, where they will be put to rest. The
on Earth. Maybe it wasn’t perfect, but it was space station itself is utilitarian but polished,
yours. Then something changed - you took a with excellent gravity. It’s large enough to be
risk, got mixed up in something bigger than clearly visible from Earth, being roughly the
you. Something bad. You managed to talk your size of a small town. The structure is broadly
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way off-planet just in time, and it turned out elliptical, with solar panels covering much of
that ghosters were the only ones hiring. It’s its surface. There’s a vast hangar for ghost
not the life you wanted and your crew aren’t ships and deliveries at the bottom of the
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the people you left behind, but on a good day station, which is where the crew will enter. The
it keeps you busy, and you’re starting to feel corridors beyond are bland, corporate and
like maybe you’ve found a new family out here. easy to get lost in, but the ghosters are usually
You’re even getting used to the ghosts. But at escorted to one of the canteens where they
the end of it all only one thing is certain: you can get something akin to Earth food while
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can’t go back to Earth in this life, and you’re waiting for the paperwork to be processed.
not so sure about the next one either.
THE RESTING PLACE. There’s hardly anywhere
in the vastness of space that could be called
‘homely’ but, for ghosters, The Resting Place
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comes the closest. Housed in an old cleared-out

necropolis ship, it’s now a floating home-away-
from-home for ghosters, miners, scientists and
anyone else who makes their living among the
stars. The Resting Place started its afterlife as
a simple bar, but over the years has evolved to
include a hotel and a thriving marketplace, all
located in a handy Jupiter orbit. If you want to
meet with another crew, find supplies or parts,
or just want some time off the job, this is where
to go. A barrel-chested man named Orion
Hawke unofficially runs the place and can usually

GHOST SHIP | 13
 be found behind the bar. It’s rumoured he’ll EARTH. Though most ghosters are technically
sometimes take a tubed ghost in lieu of payment, able to return to Earth, few of them choose to
but nobody knows what he does with them. do so with any regularity. The journey down
from the Green Hill station (or any other orbiting
MINING COMMUNITIES. Space is impossibly huge facility that runs surface shuttles) is awkward and
and almost entirely empty, so if people have uncomfortable, and the associated paperwork
gone to the trouble of living somewhere, it’s can be daunting. Some ghoster ships have
usually a potential goldmine (sometimes literally). shuttles capable of re-entry, but here again the
Few individuals can afford to invest off-planet, amount of bureaucracy involved in getting a
and when a company foots the bill they expect landing permit is beyond most captains. Space
a decent profit. Mining in space is a dangerous is largely the domain of private companies,

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and difficult job and involves staying in generally academics and freelancers, and the vast majority
spartan company-owned stations for months at of people still live on-planet, where humanity
a time. If workers are lucky they can often earn continues much as it always has. Nations and
enough to retire early (if they live that long). But politics shift and change, but they’re always

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some find themselves trapped, spending what present and the closer you get to Earth, the
they earn on food and oxygen at the company more important they become to some folks.
store, and many facilities have discontent The major states and institutions are primarily
bubbling just below the surface. Mining stations concerned with what happens on the surface,
are commonly found on mineral-rich asteroids, although there are some loose international
but there are a few on most planets and moons. treaties to make sure space remains fairly
neutral. The Gaianic Church is the largest global
SCIENCE STATIONS. Not everyone who makes
e organisation, but even they are more concerned
a life in space is there for money or because with using space to support their teachings than
they ran out of other options. Sometimes they are with the people who live (or die) up
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they’re looking for knowledge. Most planets there. When all is said and done, Earth goes on
in the solar system have at least one scientific - far away from the distant lights of ghost ships.
facility, either on the surface, a moon, or in
orbit. People posted to a science station will
generally live there for a few years at a time, and
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communities will sometimes last only as long as

it takes to complete a specific project. Others
might continue almost indefinitely as residents
come and go. Most established stations are
attempting some degree of terraforming on the
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world they inhabit, but even the most successful

of these - the apple orchard on Phobos - is still
barely two acres of viable soil. The headcount
of science stations tends to stay low and big
egos can be crammed into tight spaces, so
tensions sometimes run high, but the bonds
between the residents are usually very strong.

PlayERS, STOP HERE!

14 | GHOST SHIP
 GM ONLY
⃠
The sections from this point on contain secrets, NPCs
and campaign/adventure information that are intended
for the GM’s eyes only. If you’re planning to play through
Ghost Ship in any other role, do not read any further.

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Secrets
might just be the single most powerful ghost in
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Class X ghosts are far more dangerous than even
professional ghosters suspect, and many are existence. And he has a plan. Taking control of
fully capable of possessing human bodies on a the ship he escaped on, he managed to locate a
long-term or even permanent basis. While many necropolis, the doomed colony ship Esperanza,
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are simply filled with blind anger, with no plan where he has now installed himself as an undead
beyond immediate chaos, some geists are a lot priest-king. His religious doctrine is simple: the
more devious. Over the last few decades, several afterlife on Earth is nothing but suffering, and
powerful spooks have been gradually taking to rule and conquer the empty spaces beyond
over the executives of Green Hill Insurance its atmosphere is a far better fate. He claims
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and, by the time the game begins, almost the that he has seen beyond the veil of death on
entirety of the company’s upper management Earth and found only pain, and he now seeks
is possessed, staying on the company’s huge to spare other souls from this horrendous fate.
orbiting facility which is just outside the aura He’s even begun to send “missionaries” out:
of the Earth below. Exactly what their ultimate tricksters and lost souls who hide themselves
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goal is, if indeed they have any beyond simply on ships and escape pods, preaching the word
extending their own existence, is not yet clear. of Nostos to any other ghosts they may find.
Nostos’ current aim is to assemble a fleet of
The board of Green Hill isn’t the only spectral dead ships, controlled by powerful geists, and
player out there, however. On Earth, any spirit lead an attack on the Green Hill facility, which
strong enough to still be seen or felt in the he has declared the first and most powerful
physical world (the only sort of ghost people enemy of his people. He sees ghosters as the
knew about for most of history) would be company’s deluded foot soldiers, but he also
incredibly powerful outside the confines of thinks that having a few living allies would be
our atmosphere. And one of them has recently very useful, and is keen to speak to any that he
managed to board an outbound shuttle and suspects might be receptive to his message.
escape. Calling himself Nostos, this spook

GHOST SHIP | 15
 NPCs DALE BARTRAND AND FLINT, JUNKERS.
Dale and Flint were always the best of friends
and even ended up joining the same mining
MATEO FLORES-GARCIA, GREEN HILL AGENT. crew. So maybe it makes sense that when Flint
Mateo is the crew’s main contact at Green was killed in a drilling accident, he came back
Hill. He commissions them for most of their as a Class IV. Not wanting to be apart, the pair
jobs, as well as handling the bulk of the decided that neither of them would return to
offloading and paperwork afterwards. He’s Earth until Dale finally joined his friend and
efficient and polite, but isn’t all that interested they could pass over together. These days
in making friends. He spends his days off they hunt for salvage as close as they dare to
down on Earth with his family and maintains Earth, where the chances of finding something

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a detached but personable relationship with of value are higher. They can often be found
his co-workers when staying in the Green at The Resting Place, eager for any news that
Hill facility. He has absolutely zero interest might point to a valuable score. They’re friendly
in conspiracy theories about his superiors. and good-humoured and will gladly help out

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a ghoster crew if there’s likely to be good
DR JACOB FORREST, RESEARCH STATION STAFF. salvage in it, and as long as the crew prove
Jacob is a communications specialist for themselves to be comfortable around friendlies.
the Mercury II research station (he works
the radio, so will be the one talking to the ARTEMIS COOKE, GHOSTER CAPTAIN.
crew). Jacob is surprisingly extroverted for a The gruff, no-nonsense captain of the ghost
station researcher, eager to chat even if the
crew is just travelling nearby, and is a keen
e ship Marie Curie. Artemis started her career
as a ghoster at just twelve years old, when her
gambler. Although he enjoys the company of father joined a crew and convinced the captain
his team, he is always keen to hang out with to give his young daughter a menial position so
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visitors when he can, especially if they have they could stay together. Artemis took to the
interesting stories or odd things to wager. job quickly and has worked her way up to be
captain of the very same ship she started on.
CREW OF THE MINING SHIP STARTRAWLER. She and her crew can be formidable rivals or
Jung, Myra, Zara, Eve and Sky are on an eight valuable allies. They’ll always help out a crew
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month mission to mine nickel and iron from they respect, but Artemis has very little patience
an M-type asteroid in the belt. Zara and Myra for anything she perceives as incompetence.
are sisters and the first to defend each other
if there’s any hint of danger or hostility. Eve
is brusque during work hours but relaxes to
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show a warm soul when she’s had a drink. Sky

is the crew’s mechanic, perpetually covered
in grease, but she loves her home comforts
and won’t head out on a mission without a
supply of good tea and a thick blanket. Jung
is the burly foreman, a massive geology nerd
and, as the only gay man on a crew of women,
flirts shamelessly with any vaguely attractive
guy he might meet (and he has a surprising
number of mineral-based pick-up lines).

16 | GHOST SHIP
Mini-Campaign: communicate, introducing herself as “Jolly Jane”
and telling them if they betray their friends, she
will take them to “Nostos, the one who can save

LAst Rites you from the agony of the grave”. She will give
no more details unless they agree to join her.
These adventures deal with the undead
conspiracy within Green Hill, the coming of After both Kurt and Jane have been dealt
Nostos, and their dramatic confrontation. with, the remaining shades come quietly.
They can be played one after another Just before they are tubed, one of them asks
for a short, punchy story, or spaced out plaintively “Are you taking us to Nostos? Jane
with jobs from the Adventure Seeds. said we could go to Nostos. She said Nostos

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will save us.” The crew should not yet have
Adventure One: any idea who, or what, Nostos is. As they’re
Commit Their Body loading up the tubes for storage, they might
to the Ground notice that they captured fourteen ghosts,

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but there were only thirteen corpses.
The crew receives a job on Tethys, a moon
orbiting Saturn. They’re informed there has Adventure Two:
been a generator accident at a Genatex-owned Earth to Earth
deep-core mining facility, leaving 13 dead. When
they arrive, they’re met by Methuselah “Mitch” While passing through the asteroid belt heading
Khan, the care-worn overseer of the facility.
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He’s visibly shaken by the loss of his people, and
to or from another mission, the ship begins
to pick up an odd transmission from deeper
informs the ghosters that, while the radiation within the belt. It seems to be gibberish, but
has been successfully flushed from the accident running it through several different filters
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site, that whole wing of the facility is still under reveals letters being spelled out one at a time:
lockdown. When asked why, he pales slightly N.O.S.T.O.S. Travelling to the source reveals an
and simply tells them that “Kurt went wrong.” unmanned transmitter attached to an asteroid.
If the ship attempts to communicate, it sends
Kurt Valan never told his fellow engineers why a direct message: What do you believe?
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he left Earth, but the rumours flying around

about it were pretty bad. He was unpleasant, Responding to this message with any variant
unliked, and had to be written up several times of “Nostos will save us” or “Nostos saves”
by Mitch for getting into fights. In death, Kurt results in the transmitter sending a set of
has become a nasty Class X, who appears as a coordinates to a patch of completely empty
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burning red shadow with four limbs sharpened space opposite Jupiter’s current orbital
to a razor edge. He is unable to affect or damage position, about ten days’ travel from Earth.
inorganic material, but his claws cut flesh just
fine. He can speak and communicate normally, If the crew are unable to correctly answer the
but doesn’t see anything to talk about. question, the transmitter keeps beaming out its
message, and the next time they visit The Resting
While hunting Kurt, it becomes clear that the Place, every ghoster in the joint has heard it. The
ghosters’ efforts are being hampered by a Class bar is abuzz with rumour and speculation about
III trickster, which tries to trip them up, close who or what Nostos might be. After a while (and
doors, or turn off their harpoons’ generator maybe some other adventures) another ghoster
at the worst possible moment. If there’s a captain (preferably one the crew are on good
ghost on the crew, the phantom attempts to terms with) decodes the message and, believing

GHOST SHIP | 17
 the coordinates will lead to a necropolis ship, If the ghosters agree, Nostos is genuinely
approaches the crew to help follow it up. grateful, and grants them the freedom of the
Esperanza. He requests that any ghosts they
When the crew arrives at the indicated spot, they find be brought to him and released, instead of
find a small fleet of ships, all powered down and being sent to Green Hill. If they refuse, Nostos is
seemingly dead: two cargo trawlers, a transport disappointed, but not angry, and has them sent
liner, a science ship covered in pirate markings, off his ship. Any attempt to attack Nostos results
a few shuttles and, bizarrely, dozens of escape in him immediately disappearing through an air
pods from many different vessels. The ships duct, tearing free of any harpoons with ease.
are clustered around the Esperanza, which was The rest of the ghosts flee as well, and the ship
once a massive colony ship. As they approach, begins to depressurise, venting air from each

e
the airlock of the Esperanza powers up, clearly room in order, driving them back to their shuttle.
prepared for a shuttlecraft to dock there.
Whatever the situation, as they leave, the
Upon boarding, it becomes apparent that each crew is confronted by a spook that calls

fil
section of the ship the ghosters walk through herself Rana. This Class X appears as a cloud
is being powered up and pressurised in turn. of choking purple smoke, and violently
After about ten minutes of silence, they’re disagrees with Nostos’ decision to involve the
met by a pale grey weeper, who introduces living. Even if the crew became Nostos’ allies,
himself as Nicholas Oak. Assuming he’s not there is little they can do to prevent Rana
immediately attacked, Nicholas offers to escort attacking, and Nostos is understanding about
the crew to meet Nostos. On the way, they the ghosters’ need to defend themselves.
pass through several large atriums, where a
e
strange ghost society seems to be developing, If they agree to help, the crew can return to
with spirits going about a slow imitation of the Esperanza at any time, and Nostos will
pl
their life before. The crew should note there thank them profusely for any ghosts they
are several Class X ghosts here, just in the bring. Each time they turn up, they notice a
parts of the ship they’re being shown. Nicholas new ship or two in the fleet. If they refuse,
explains they exist here in peace and quiet, or at any point betray Nostos’ trust, the fleet
and though it is perhaps a sad and lonely way leaves, and is completely gone the next time
m

of being, it’s better than the alternative. they (or anyone they tipped off) try to find it.

Finally, the crew meets Nostos. He is a towering Adventure Three:

pillar of pure black dust, with several spots of Ashes to Ashes
glowing blue inside him that pulse when he
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speaks. Nostos is polite and cordial, explaining At some point, Green Hill discovers the crew’s
his history, beliefs and goals. He doesn’t yet interaction with Nostos. If they reported the
detail his plans to attack the Green Hill facility, situation to the company, this is very simple;
though he talks freely about the company as otherwise, they eventually discover it through
the enemy of the dead, condemning souls to an NPC: another captain; someone who has
an eternity of suffering. He positions himself overheard a conversation in The Resting
as a freedom fighter, and asks the crew for Place’; even one of the ghosts the crew
their help, to be his human hands beyond the delivers to Green Hill – anyone who might
Esperanza. If the crew came here with another have discovered the details of their encounter.
captain, that captain immediately refuses point If they captured and handed over Rana, she
blank, expecting the crew to do the same (and snitches on them without hesitation. However
losing a lot of trust in them if they don’t). it happens, at some point the information

18 | GHOST SHIP
reaches the ears of the company’s executives, notice Tara’s own reactions and expressions
and they are very, very keen to discuss what seem a little bit strange or forced - at one point
the ghosters might know about Nostos. she spills hot coffee on herself, but only reacts
with pain when she notices it has happened.
If the crew are still turning in ghosts to Green After a full day’s interrogation, the crew are
Hill, they find themselves flanked by some moved to a ghost-proof holding cell, where
very heavy-looking security personnel after a the living members are fed and left to sleep.
standard drop-off. These bruisers escort them,
as gently as the crew will let them, to some At some point during the night, the door
securely locked interview rooms. If the crew unlocks, opens, and a pale yellow ghost enters
are no longer on good terms with Green Hill, the room. She introduces herself as Marjani

e
then the next time they get any closer to Earth Rose, Tara’s wife, and begs them to give her
than the asteroid belt, their ship is pursued by passage off the station. She says she has all the
a massive state-of-the-art Green Hill vessel, security access codes to the Green Hill facility,
the Nakoming, which very politely requests and is willing to provide them in exchange for her

fil
their presence at the company’s facility. If they escape. The crew can attempt to escape without
try to escape, the Nakoming will deploy heavy her, but they have none of their equipment and
magnetic clamps to disable their ship and simply this is a side of the station they’ve never seen
tow them there. The Nakoming outclasses the before. It’s poorly lit and crawling with weepers,
ghosters’ run-down ship in basically every way, tricksters and geists. These spirits aren’t on the
but if they do manage to escape, Green Hill puts lookout for intruders, and as long as the crew
out a fugitive notice for them, accusing them have all the right access codes, getting past
of theft, and offering a hefty enough reward
e them is tense, but not difficult. Without the
that even long-time allies might be tempted. codes, the ghosters are in for a rough time.
pl
One way or another, Green Hill’s power and On the way, Marjani explains what’s been
reach is such that the crew eventually find happening with the board of Green Hill,
themselves in the secure interview rooms, being how they were possessed one by one, until
grilled one at a time by a slender, sharp-faced even her wife Tara was taken over. When
woman in a suit. She calls herself Tara Rose and Marjani noticed something was wrong, they
m

claims to be director of operations for Green had her killed (there were no new geists to
Hill. Tara interrogates them on every aspect of possess her at the time). She’s been hiding
their interactions with Nostos, as well as any ever since, using her knowledge of the
other jobs they may have accepted which could station’s security to avoid detection. Now the
be considered suspicious. She begins under executive section of the facility is a haven for
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the assumption that the crew are willing spies the board’s spectral allies. She doesn’t know
for Nostos, and it takes a lot of work to shift what they’re doing with the other ghosts.
that belief. She also grills them relentlessly on
their own lives and pasts, openly comparing Once they’re back on their ship, Marjani can
their answers to the company’s personnel transmit the proper code to allow departure
files on them. If any of the characters have (sneaking onto the ship to do so if necessary),
secrets, now’s a good time to reveal them. Tara and the crew escapes out into space.
does not torture the crew, but she isn’t above
threatening to ship a ghost character back to
Earth and, once or twice, pricks living characters
with a small needle, observing their reactions.
Throughout this whole process, the crew may

GHOST SHIP | 19
 Adventure Four: TWIST ONE - THE PRODIGAL: Nostos has been
Dust to Dust lying from the start. He was never on Earth and
has no idea what the afterlife might be like.
Willingly or not, Marjani Rose has hitched a ride He used to be one of the geists possessing
on the crew’s ship off of the Green Hill space a Green Hill executive named River Oliveira,
station, and it doesn’t take the executives long and was part of the conspiracy until he made
to notice. A notice soon goes out circulating a bid to take over and failed. Forced to flee,
both Marjani and the crew’s descriptions he’s used his faux-religious message to build
and accusing them of kidnapping. Sanctuary up support, but his real goal has always been
becomes hard to find, and any jobs they take revenge, aiming to punish those he believes
have to be extremely hush-hush, and only to be traitors, and take over Green Hill for

e
from the most unscrupulous of clients. himself. This twist can be revealed during the
battle or, if the crew returns to the facility,
After a few days, Green Hill will attempt to Tara can explain it to them moments before
contact them and offer clemency if they simply Nostos’ fleet arrives. The crew will have to

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return Marjani. The crew also receive a message decide which of the two evils to fight for, or
from Nostos who, regardless of their previous how they plan to simply escape with their lives!
dealings, will send an offer of safe haven if
they deliver Marjani to his protection aboard TWIST TWO - THE TRUTH: Nostos has been
the Esperanza, along with the coordinates in completely honest the whole time. The afterlife
the asteroid belt where his fleet is mustering. is an awful place full of suffering, and he is
e
Nostos’ fleet is ready, thirteen ships full of
legitimately trying to liberate his fellow ghosts
from this fate. Green Hill have been allowing
ghosts, and he’s all set to descend upon Green those ghosts that swear allegiance to them to
Hill, but the security details Marjani knows would remain, and sending any that don’t down in the
pl
make his victory almost assured. If the crew full knowledge of what is going to happen to
delivers her to him, Marjani is reluctant to trust them. During the attack, the turning point will
Nostos, but will give the information willingly, be whether or not Nostos’ forces invading the
and he insists they all remain aboard and help station can release the sealed ghosts currently in
with the assault. If they return Marjani to the storage, as they will rally to his cause. This twist
m

company, Nostos’ fleet attacks while they’re still can be revealed after the battle is won or lost,
on the station, leaving the crew caught in the or sneeringly admitted by the possessed Tara
middle, unable to break through the blockade. Rose at its height. Be aware that this is a very
bleak twist, and any “happy ending” that may
At this point, depending on their interactions occur afterwards will feel bittersweet at best.
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with the story so far, one of three different

twists is revealed for the finale. Which TWIST THREE - THE FEAST: Nostos has been
one is up to you, and should be based on partially lying. He did escape from Earth, but has
whichever you feel will create the most fun no memory of what the afterlife was like, or if
and interest at the climax of your campaign: there even was one. After his escape, however,
he found himself on the Green Hill space station,
where he discovered a terrible secret: ghosts
can consume other ghosts, and the executives
have been devouring the essences of the spirits
delivered to them in order to increase their
own strength and retain control of their hosts.
Enraged, Nostos snuck onto a departing ghoster

20 | GHOST SHIP
ship and began to recruit an army of his own,
using the rhetoric of doom and suffering to
motivate ghosts that he believes would have
been otherwise unlikely to take action. This
can be revealed by Nostos during the journey
to Green Hill, or during the final battle as the
executives crack open vacuum tubes and devour
their contents to gain the terrible strength to
fight back against Nostos’ spectral army. This
twist is best for a group that likes a big boss
fight, as the spook inhabiting the body of Tara

e
Rose can devour ghosts to empower herself
into a terrible radiant star of ice and lightning.

WHICHEVER TWIST IS CHOSEN: if Green Hill wins

fil
the day and Nostos is captured or destroyed,
the company simply sends the crew on their
way with a knowing wink (and a hefty reward
if they chose to fight for the company). It’s
up to the crew how they decide to live with
what they’ve learned, but nobody believes
them if they try to talk about it and their
few confidants beg them to keep quiet.
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If Nostos wins the day, the Green Hill space
pl
station is overrun by ghosts, and all the living
who survive are shipped back down to Earth.
Over the next week, Nostos’ forces take over
all orbiting facilities of any size or importance,
essentially cutting off Earth’s access to space.
m

Some nations send up missiles, destroying a

few stations, but there’s nothing they can do to
the fleet itself, and it rapidly becomes apparent
that Nostos is there to stay. Depending on
how malevolent the Nostos of your campaign
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was, he may allow supplies to continue moving

throughout the solar system, or he might simply
decide to cut off everyone already out in space
and wait for more ghosts to join his strange,
lonely kingdom. Exactly how the characters
engage with this is up to them (you may allow
an epilogue adventure where they and their
allies try to defeat Nostos himself) but, one way
or another, space now belongs to the dead.

GHOST SHIP | 21
 Adventure Seeds was on a ship that went missing 9 months
ago (the errand could also be something
related to a player character’s backstory).
THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD. Phobos, Mars Orbit.
The crew are dispatched to a research station LAST ORDERS. The Resting Place, Jupiter
to transport some ghosts after the resident Orbit. An accident with another ghoster
scientists have finished conducting some ship releases a cargo hold full of ghosts into
ethically-dubious experiments on them. The Resting Place, including a particularly
While they’re there, however, an accident dangerous Class X. The players must work
releases the ghosts into the facility. with other crews to clear the place.

e
DEATHSTYLES OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS. THE PARTING GLASS. Mars Surface. Called to
The ‘Solitude’, Venus Orbit. A lucrative private deal with a single ghost in what should be a
insurance job comes in from one of the standard pick up job, the crew discover their
smaller companies. The policy was taken out would-be passenger is an NPC they’ve previously

fil
by Demetrius Slate, a rich, eccentric hermit met and been friendly with. Depending on
who has just passed away. Unfortunately, their earlier interactions, they may be a Class
Demetrius died before disabling any of the II who’s reluctant to return, or a Class III
security measures or boobytraps he’d set up keen to play tricks on their old friends.
to ensure his privacy. The ghosters are going
to have a hard time just getting to this spirit. WHO GOES THERE? Ceres, Asteroid Belt. The crew

TUBE DELAYS. Asteroid Belt. While returning

e are sent to deal with a single hoover job at a
mining station but when they arrive, they just
from a successful hunt, the ship is impacted find a corpse, with no sign of the ghost. Before
by a piece of space junk, smashing some of long, someone else is found murdered, and this
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the fragile vacuum tubes. Whichever ghosts time they do leave a Class I. It soon becomes
they caught in the previous adventure are clear there’s a Class X loose, possessing living
now let loose into their own ship. If played as members of the mining crew and causing them
a one-shot it’s a pair of furtive Class II ghosts to kill each other before jumping to another host,
that are released, as well a tricky Class III. leaving the killer with no memory of their actions.
m

BREATHLESS. Triton, Neptune Orbit. The crew FIFTY FIFTY. The Resting Place. The crew is
are called to deal with a single trickster on a far approached by the captain of another ghoster
out moon near Neptune. Unfortunately, by the ship with the offer of a lucrative necropolis job
time they get there, the ghost has managed to they need help with. If the players are able to
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depressurise the entire base. The crew must clear the necropolis without too much difficulty,
capture the Class III, as well as the new ghosts it the captain turns on them and tries to kill
has created, all while the facility has no oxygen. them in an attempt to keep the full payout.

LIVING WILL. Morritz Refuelling Station 756, ROUND TWO. Any Location. The crew are
Umbriel, Uranus Orbit. The crew encounters attacked by a living antagonist - a rival ghoster,
a Class II in a refuelling station, hiding in a a rogue Green Hill agent or someone from
tank of unstable fuel so it cannot be captured a character’s backstory. If they kill their
by force. The ghost agrees to come willingly, attacker in self-defence, the antagonist then
on the condition that the crew helps it fulfil immediately manifests as a vengeful geist.
a personal quest first. It wants them to
deliver a love letter to its former partner, who

22 | GHOST SHIP
Bonus Adventure: bursts causing widespread voltage control
problems, complete loss of radio contact, and
extreme radiation hazard not limited to EVAs.

The Vortex That’s if you get lucky. This is a warning.”

By Amanda Lee Franck If the crew continues onward, towards

the wrecks, they will be in The Outflow.
The vortex is easy to miss, just a patch of space
that looks emptier than usual. Inside, a few If the crew retreats, the strange effects will
wrecked ships drift in the outflow of the storm. diminish and a space station with a huge
Venture past them, and an invisible cloud of radio antenna will come into view. The crew

e
intergalactic medium and weird physics refracts will receive a message from the station: Juliet
whatever falls in like light through a calcite Levy invites the crew to stop and have some
crystal. It creates an apparition, and then draws coffee. She’s got a job for them if they want it.
it together with its double into the piece of a

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dead star at its heart. A ship half-hidden inside JULIET LEVY. Juliet is the only surviving member
its own ghost and haunted by its own crew of the team of four scientists sent to explore the
doesn’t have a good chance of making it back vortex, and she’s responsible for the accident
to regular space. But ghosters might pull it off. that killed the rest of the crew. Desperate to get
more data from one of her own experiments,
BAD WEATHER. While traveling to a job, the she concealed a dangerous instability in the
crew begin to have problems with their ship’s
e
systems. Lights flicker, a text file displays every
magnetic storm. When their ship was pulled
deep into the vortex, closer every minute to an
letter twice- and over the course of the next identical ship that swam into view alongside, she
half hour things get worse. Electrical devices ran to the escape pod and ejected it in a panic
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give off painful shocks, equipment turns on before anyone else could get in. Her double did
without being touched, and crew members the same, and now they both live on the space
begin to see white-blue streaks across their station. They do not trust each other at all.
field of vision. It’s not a ghost, and something
is wrong with all the sensors. Radar and other Juliet’s double wants to return to earth, on the
m

detection just disappear somewhere and report off chance that this will allow her to pass on to a
nothing back. View screens are fuzzed out normal human afterlife. Juliet wants her to stay,
with distortion. If the crew looks out an actual because she needs help keeping the warning
window they will see an utterly starless black. system running until the vortex wanders out of
In the distance, a few wrecks are drifting. They the solar system. It’s the only way to atone for
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look strangely distorted or elongated. The closest their failures. When it’s all done they’ll drive the
wreck seems to be two identical ships that have station into the heart of the vortex together and
been fused together. Its lights are still on. find out what’s really in there. Both are willing
to sacrifice others to get what they want.
The only sign of life is an intermittent but
powerful radio signal, broadcasting the EREBOS EXOCOMET 3I/ROEMER BORDER
following transmission: “Warning: You are OBSERVATORY STATION. A metal cylinder
approaching a magnetic storm currently overshadowed by the huge, rotating dish
centred† at RA 02h 47m 50s DEC +15°43’17.0” of a microwave radio antenna welded to
with an approximate radius of 1200km. Ships one end. Stars waver dimly behind it. Inside,
that do not retreat immediately will encounter plastic is draped over dark computer screens
magnetic disturbances and level-8 radiation and partially disassembled equipment. Juliet

GHOST SHIP | 23
 Levy is hospitable, eager to please, and clearly doubles of their ships only with difficulty. The
uncomfortable. She seems to appear out of ghost catching equipment will work, though.
nowhere, and will not always remember names
or parts of conversations. The coffee is bad. EREBOS I. A large, comfortable spaceship, with
a well-stocked laboratory, four cabins, a huge
Juliet will tell the ghosters that a sudden shift in storage area with rows of metal shelves holding
the outflow wiped out the rest of her team. She scientific equipment and, outside, a robotic arm
watched them get pulled into the dark, unable for retrieving probes. Inside, one half of the
to do anything to stop it, and then rigged up the ship is perfectly normal. The other half looks
radio antenna to try to keep it from happening fine at first glance, but the rooms are smaller
to anyone else. She doesn’t want to go back and the walls are at weird angles. Sometimes

e
to earth - they’ll just send more scientists out a wall cuts right through a piece of furniture.
here to die. And she doesn’t want anyone to The ghoster crew can pass through these walls,
know about this place either: they’d be all over although they cannot see through them. There
it looking for scrap or worse. She’s going to stay are three regular ghosts on board - two Class

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here and keep the warning running for anyone I’s, and a Class II, devastated that she’s been
who blunders in until the thing moves out of to a part of space where physics itself breaks
the solar system. She always liked being alone. down and it didn’t feel like anything at all.

Juliet will point out the wreck the crew saw The crew will find the bodies of the three dead
earlier, the one that looks like two ships melded scientists in the merged half of the ship. They
together. “They washed back out last year. I know have been laid out carefully and covered with
e
they’re all dead, but if they’ve left ghosts in there sheets on the floor of a cabin, behind a ghost
it would be good to know they’ve gone home.” wall. They don’t seem to have been dead for
As far as money goes, they were generously very long. While the crew are in this area the
pl
insured. And if the ghosters can get the ship double of one of the scientists will appear,
running they can have it - she’ll just need to walking through a wall that the ghoster crew
get some old equipment off first. If the crew cannot. If they attempt to capture her using
asks why the ship looks that way, she’ll say she their spirit wands she will not resist, but the
doesn’t know. Some of them come back weird. remaining two scientists will retreat to their side
m

of the melded ship - which is in outer space to

THE OUTFLOW. Darkness swallows the stars, and the ghoster crew. If the ghosters suit up and
the wrecks become the only point of reference. follow them, they will be able to travel freely
The ship’s systems fall prey to glitches and through all the walls and surfaces. The last
radiation damage. As the crew continues into scientist will try to escape on the ghosters’ ship.
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the vortex, they will see a third ship approaching.

It is identical to their own ship, and the farther If the crew speaks to the double of the dead
in they go the closer it gets. If the crew stops scientist, she will tell them what Juliet did. She
at the Ghost Ship, it will also stop. If they are understands that she doesn’t belong here,
able to retreat, it will move away at the same because the other scientists died in the vortex
speed and disappear. If the crew is pulled in - from radiation, mostly - and the team on her
farther, the ship will begin to merge with theirs. ship didn’t. She will ask the ghoster crew to try
When the ships overlap, doubles of the crew to power up Erebos I and drive it backwards,
will be there as well. They will be certain that while her team does the same on their ship.
they are the real crew, and will act accordingly. Maybe they will end up back where they came
The ships and crews are like ghosts to each from, if they came from somewhere at all.
other. They can affect their doubles or the

24 | GHOST SHIP
 e
fil
e
pl
m
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Twisted
Rails GHOST SHIP | 25
 No-one knows how it started or what
went wrong, but a generation ago
something broke in reality. The world
stopped making sense, replaced by a
swirling chaos where nothing is anything
without straining to be something else.
The Twist. The best way to survive is
to stay in the bubbles: tiny pockets of

e
stability where humanity just about
hangs on. And there’s only one way
to travel between bubbles: riding the

fil
turning, shifting rails in heavily-modified
armoured trains, designed to push
through the worst the Twist has to offer.
Trains like yours.
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Background
pl
It’s been 30 years since the chaos came. No or architecture that is colourful, diverse and
one knows exactly where it hit first, but most irregular. After the change hit, these places
survivors remember when the world around became beacons for wandering survivors and
m

them simply stopped working. The changes are now the centres of human existence.
spread from town to city, to country, to
continent. Churning waters became rivers of ash. Wander too far from the centre of any bubble
Cliff faces eroded as millennia passed for them and you’ll find yourself in the Twist, a constantly
in an hour. Grass turned to ice, then to clay, then changing dreamscape where you can’t rely on
Sa

to rolling fields of smoke. The Twist was born. anything to remain itself from one moment to
the next. In the thin band between a bubble and
There’s no consensus on why the laws of reality the Twist proper, the changes are slower and
have managed to hold on in some places. more predictable, gradually turning anything that
Bubbles of stability emerge and collapse stays there to a single material: glass or wood,
constantly, but there are some that have for instance, or even music. These edges are
remained more or less stable since the break. known as ‘beaches’ and, though dangerous, they
Their inhabitants have spent years searching for can often be quite beautiful or provide a useful
the reason these small bastions of order have resource. But while plenty of people might enjoy
lasted, but all they’ve found are a few common a short trip to the beach, if you want to venture
features that seem to keep the Twist at bay: a further and survive, you’ll need to ride the rails.
dense presence of complex life, and scenery

26 | T WISTED R AIL S