Here's a bit of new text from the book, regarding what happens to dead relationships:

Consequences

Relationships can be damaging to the people involved. If a re-roll based on a relationship fails, no matter how the whole series turns out, the person in question will wind up at one “consequence” level worse than the Stranger does, whether or not the relationship is physically present during the conflict. The player narrates how the consequences of the conflict (or related fallout, revenge, etc.) result in harm to the relationship.

So, a relationship character (or place or thing, even) can die as a result of a failed conflict. If the Stranger is incapacitated during the conflict, and the relationship was used for a re-roll, the relationship dies and becomes a Ghost (see below). Even if the relationship is with a long-dead mentor that only gives the Stranger advice in flashbacks, it is still considered “dead” and it becomes a Ghost to haunt the Stranger.

Ghosts

A Ghost is a dead relationship. It haunts the Stranger and must be laid to rest. To do so, the player stakes the ghost on a situation. The player says what situation the ghost is interested in. The Director says why the ghost is interested, and what outcome it demands. If the situation comes out the right way, the ghost is free to rest, and the Stranger is no longer haunted. The dead relationship is removed from the character sheet. The player may also choose not to stake the Ghost, once its demands are known.

A haunted Stranger cannot form new relationships, and cannot use current relationships for re-rolls. However, the connection to the spirit world makes magic easier. A haunted Stranger can use the Ghost relationship to re-roll magic failures any number of times during a session.

Hmmm....  I definitely like the basic notion of people you get killed converting to ghosts that haunt you.  It's perfect for the setting.  I'm not sure how I feel about shutting down new relationships though.  Needs some playtesting I think.  And what happens if you use a ghost for a magic reroll, fail it, and become incapacitated.  Is the ghost double dead?!? ;)

rafial wrote:
Hmmm....  I definitely like the basic notion of people you get killed converting to ghosts that haunt you.  It's perfect for the setting.  I'm not sure how I feel about shutting down new relationships though.  Needs some playtesting I think.  And what happens if you use a ghost for a magic reroll, fail it, and become incapacitated.  Is the ghost double dead?!? ;)

Hey John,

Are Strangers the only ones who get haunted?  Or the only ones who can deal with Ghosts?

Just an interesting thought concerning your setting there and the role of Strangers.

Chris

Dude, the ghost's soul has been entrapped by evil - or maybe devoured.

The player may also choose not to stake the Ghost, once its demands are known.

Oooh. Devoured. That has a nice ring to it. I think the Stranger should have to resolve a situation to be rid of the Ghost, though. That's really their main point in the game system -- to give the player something to stake on an outcome. But maybe something bad should happen when a Ghost is "incapacitated" or "killed" by a conflict. Maybe they freak out and go poltergeist, wrecking stuff and scaring people.

I think Strangers are the only beings who can deal with Ghosts, yes. Other people or places can get haunted, though. To solve a haunting, I think the Stranger has to take the Ghost relationship on to herself first.

Wil, you're right, my wording is off. Once the demands are known, you can choose not to put the Ghost to rest with this situation, though you have the option to choose a new situation later.

John wrote:
I think Strangers are the only beings who can deal with Ghosts, yes. Other people or places can get haunted, though. To solve a haunting, I think the Stranger has to take the Ghost relationship on to herself first.

I think in my world whenever a ghost is devoured, The Wild gets larger.

"Hoy Mort, were those tendrils reaching over the wall yesterday?'
"Don't think they were, Don."

philaros wrote:
This makes the "ghost house" map tile all the more interesting...

Hi John,

When we're talking about ghosts in this game, are you nailing them down to one definition, or are you leaving it open ala DiTV "demons"?  For example, a "ghost" might just be a Stranger's personal inability to move on until having dealt with a particular relationship ("Mezzajul died, never seeing her work completed...").  In that sense, too, you could see Jackie-boy from Sin City as haunting Dwight.

Chris

Phil: Yes!

Tony: Oh man... can't wait to see those tiles!

Chris: Bingo. Nailed it one.

John wrote:
But maybe something bad should happen when a Ghost is "incapacitated" or "killed" by a conflict. Maybe they freak out and go poltergeist, wrecking stuff and scaring people.

For incapacitated/"killed" ghosts, I like both John's suggestion that it causes bad effects to others within the city, and Tony's suggestion that it causes the Wild to expand/intrude upon the city. Perhaps you should just put both in as suggestions for how to handle the situation.

Here's a thought- whether we're going with the berserk ghost or the Wild creeps in idea- just pick a whole map tile and that entire area is affected...

Chris

...a number of map tiles equals to the scale...