Café de Nuit

I've been planning a Gtohic Earth campaign set in the Utah Territory begin in the year 1890. In particular, I've been working on the initial adventure senerio that will take place in and around the area of Dove Creek. The main antagonist for the adventure is an outlaw who has been hiding out in the area, who accidently awaken the spirit of a little girl who died just prior to the completion of the Transcontental Railroad in 1869 (the criminal uncovered the girl's grave and took a small locket that was burried with her, which severed to keep her spirit at rest, since it was a gift from her mother). The ghost, who died when she was accidently ran over by a wagon while searching for her mother, is very confused and radiates confusion as the spell whenever she manifests. In addition, the ghost has the ability to Phantom Shift (the Ethereal resonance in the area is that of the time near the girl's death and the grand celebration of the railroad completion).

The ghost's confusion ability will initally stand the PCs and other passengers in the area when the train derails (how bad the derail depends on the PCs reaction to clues I give them that something is amiss in the locomotive).

I'm looking to have the ghost story unfold through a combination of the ghost Phantom Shift ability and the recollection of an Irishman who is traveling on the train who was present at the at the location in 1869. By the time the PCs arrive in the storyline, however, the outlaw will have been driven mad by the Ethereal resonsance that he's preceiving (he just can't handle what he's seeing). Since I have one player in my group who is rather action dependent, I'm thinking of having the insane outlaw take pot shots at the PCs at least once while they are in the ghost's girl's phantom shift...initially they might not even realize that the shots are not part of the phantom shift.

Ultimately, the PCs will defeat the Outlaw, and (hopefully) figure out that the locket needs to be returned to the grave of the little girl. Once this is completed ghost girl will rest once again.

Now what I'd like your advice on is this, how would you go about bringing the ghost into the story after the intial train derailment? Would you have the Phantom Shft seem to just appear around the PC at vaious times, with the little girl present, but not obviously the cause? Or would you have the girl manifest in other ways and lead the PCs into the Phantom Shift? Also, any other plot changes or suggestions would be appreciated.

(FYI, my group consists of three PCs, a Irish Immigant (Criminal Class) on the run from someone he offended back east, a female physician traveling to Salt Lake City to take a job, and a Shootist (also traveling to Salt Lake City for a security job)

One idea you can borrow from TV is to have the phantomshift take effect in phases, as the confusion effect strikes at random. Perhaps also play up the violence of the confussion - making some minor combat encounters.

For example, someone might be walking up the length of the track, when they hear faint big-brass band music in the distance. Some other time, someone smells popcorn wafting in from the wilderness. A little latter someone might happen upon a wagon, stopped on the tracks. The upset driver claims he just hit a little girl - and when he and the PC race back to see, they find nothing - at which point the driver and the wagon have vanished.

Perhaps another shift has the players on the train, when a woman approaches them, looking for her daughter. She describes her, and the locket she's wearing. But, when questioned about the train, she inists that the Union pacific train hasn't arrived yet - she's only here to attend the cellebration.

In the mean time, the passengers on the derailed train are snapping. After every instance of phantomshift, one more passenger goes bezerk and attacks the others. Innitially, the behaviour is attributed to alcholoism, rage at being delayed, but quickly it becomes clear that the mysterious hauntings are connected with the madness.

Each phantom shift becomes more elaborate - and appears more suddenly. For example, just after tying up an insane passenger and loking them in a car for saftey, the characters cross into the dining car, finding themselves in the Beer tent at the Celebration.

Eventually, the players are trapped in the Phantomshift, unable to return to the train. This is bad, because the gun weilding outlaw is now also trapped in the shift with them. He can see past the illusion, which is bad because he knows that the players are real - which means he'll come after them. To make things simple, have him be holding the locket in one hand - perhaps its what gives him the ability to see past the Shift.

To keep the adventure on track, every now and then the players can hear the sounds of some little girl calling for her Mommy, then the sounds of horses rearing, a crash, screams, ect....

As the climax of the battle between the outlaw and the PCs, have the outlaw accidentally shoot in the air, behind a wagon, sending the horses racing forward, crushing the little girl. As she lays dying, she reaches out and says "My locket... mummy gave it to me...." When the players give it back to her, they leave tyhe Shift - now they are standing over the girl's open grave, whitch the locket in her corpse's hand.

Thanks for the advice, ScS...your suggestions really bring to life the feeling that I wanted to convey to the PCs in my group.

For this adventure to have the realistic quality I desire, I'll obviously have to have the train the PCs are on as a central piece of the backdrop for the story. If anyone reading this happens to have a good knowledge of the configuration of trains in the 1890's I'd like some confirmation that the following layout would be correct:

Locomotive
Coal Car
Mail Car (Sealed)
Baggage Car
Coach Sleeper Car
Coach Passenger Car #1
Coash Passenger Car #2
Dining Car
First Class Passenger Car
First Class Sleeper Car
Baggage Car
(Caboose) Optional

I ran the adventure tonight and it was a smashing success...the party managed to unify and peace everything togther, just was the outlaw stuck. They defeated him, but sustained some injuries in the process. This event, however, has convinced each of the PCs that there is more to the world than they first through. In particular, the Physician is struck to the core by the spiritual element of the adventure and is contemplating the Spiritualist class and a second class in upcoming levels (i.e. she is going to seek out knowledge of a mystical nature on the next stop of the train)

Thanks again for all the advice ScS! Your help and suggestions made the story go off without a hitch.

No prob

You know, if you want to write up the adventure as a campaign journal, we'd be happy to put it up on the site.