NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 0 (or 8) See below
MOVE: 9”
HIT DICE: 10
% IN LAIR: 25% (1 Ghost: city graveyard, TPL64:9th, REF3.82) <64=x?>
TREASURE TYPE: [E], [S]
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 ~ 10
DAMAGE/ATTACK: Age 10-40 years
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Age 10-40 years & panic, age 10-40 years per touch, magic jar <replace this with possess in OA>
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Ethereal vs. weapons & spells
MAGIC RESISTANCE: See below
INTELLIGENCE: High
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
SIZE: M
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: VIII | 4050 + 14

SAVES: 8.9.10.9.11

Ghosts are <almost always> the spirits of evil humanswho were so awful in their badness
that they have been rewarded (or perhaps cursed) by being given undead status.

Thus they roam about @ night || in places of darkness. These spirits
{hate} goodness and life, hungering to draw the living essences from
humans. As ghosts are non-corporeal (border ethereal), they are usu. <alt>
encountered by creatures in a like state, although they can be seen by non-ethereal creatures. <i>

Age 10-40 years && panic: The supernatural {power} of a ghost is such,
however, that the mere sight of one causes any humanoid being to age 10 <persons?>
years and FLEE in panic for 2-12 turns unless a save vs. Magic is made.
Clerics above 6th level are immume to this effect,
and all other humanoids <persons?> above 8th level add +2 to their saves.

Ghosts attack by 2wo means:

* Any creature within 6” of one is subject to attack by magic jar spell from the ghost. <possess>
Unless the ghost becomes semi-{material} to attack by other means, it can otherwise only be combatted by
another in the < Border Ethereal > (in which case the ghost has an AC of 8) or by telepathic means.

* If the ghost fails to magick jar <possess> its chosen victim, it will then semi-materialize in order to attack by touch (in which case the ghost is AC 0).
Semi-materialized ghosts can only be struck by silver (doing 50% of normal damage) || magical weapons.
If they strike an opponent it ages him 10-40 years. <(DMG: Aging)>

Note that ghosts can be attacked with spells only from creatures who are in an ethereal state. <MP: border ethereal!>
Any human -- including dwarves, elves, gnomes, && halflings -- killed by a ghost is forever dead. <see Mortality & Immortality in the DDG>

FREQUENCY: Very rare (at night, places of darkness)

FREQUENCY: Very rare ([Cold Civilized Mountains], [Cold Civilized Hills], [Cold Civilized Forest], [Cold Civilized Swamp], [Cold Civilized Plains])
FREQUENCY: Very rare ([Cold Wilderness Mountains], [Cold Wilderness Hills], [Cold Wilderness Forest], [Cold Wilderness Swamp], [Cold Wilderness Plains])

FREQUENCY: Very rare ([Temperate Civilized Mountains], [Temperate Civilized Hills], [Temperate Civilized Forest], [Temperate Civilized Swamp])
FREQUENCY: Very rare ([Temperate Civilized Plains])
FREQUENCY: Very rare ([Temperate Wilderness Mountains], [Temperate Wilderness Hills], [Temperate Wilderness Forest], [Temperate Wilderness Swamp])
FREQUENCY: Very rare ([Temperate Wilderness Plains])

FREQUENCY: Very rare ([Tropical Civilized Mountains], [Tropical Civilized Hills], [Tropical Civilized Forest])
FREQUENCY: Very rare ([Tropical Civilized Swamp], [Tropical Civilized Desert])
FREQUENCY: Very rare ([Tropical Wilderness Mountains], [Tropical Wilderness Hills], [Tropical Wilderness Swamp], [Tropical Wilderness Plains])
FREQUENCY: Very rare ([Tropical Wilderness Forest]) <1>

FREQUENCY: Rare ([Dungeon Level VIII])
FREQUENCY: Uncommon ([Ethereal Plane])
 
 

Other Notes

Ghost, Lesser

The stats for lesser ghosts follows:

<

NO. APPEARING: ARMOR CLASS: 3 MOVE: 18" HIT DICE: 3 % IN LAIR: TREASURE TYPE: NO. OF ATTACKS: 0 DAMAGE/ATTACK: SPECIAL ATTACKS: Minor possession SPECIAL DEFENSES: Silver || magic weapon needed to hit, turned as shadows; MAGIC RESISTANCE: INTELLIGENCE: ALIGNMENT: any SIZE: LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: 100 + 10 per HP SAVES:

NO. APPEARING: 1 ARMOR CLASS: 0 (or 8) See below MOVE: 9” HIT DICE: 10 % IN LAIR: 25% (1 Ghost: city graveyard, TPL64:9th, REF3.82) <64=x?> TREASURE TYPE: [E], [S] NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 ~ 10 DAMAGE/ATTACK: Age 10-40 years SPECIAL ATTACKS: Age 10-40 years & panic, age 10-40 years per touch, magic jar <replace this with possess in OA> SPECIAL DEFENSES: Ethereal vs. weapons & spells MAGIC RESISTANCE: See below INTELLIGENCE: High ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil SIZE: M LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: VIII | 4050 + 14 SAVES: 8.9.10.9.11

^scaffolding^
>

"Not really.

What I was referring to are lesser ghosts.
They're merely restless
spirits whose passing on to the next
world is prevented for a number of reasons:
 
 

Thus, it remains on the PMP,
unable to REST until the
{message} is delivered or the task completed.
In another case, the lesser ghost
may, as true ghosts, be angered over its
betrayal && murder in life, and the
creature cannot REST until the one who
committed the crime against it is properly
punished.

"A lesser ghost might also, through its
own misbehavior in life, find itself
bound to an unhappy existence
between worlds until it finds some sort
of way to {atone} for its deeds. Lastly, the
relatively weak spirit might remain
under the {domination} of a greater
ghost, free from obeying it, but tormented
and unable to REST until the
creature is destroyed."

"Unlike true ghosts, lesser ghosts
always resemble themselves in life,
appearing as transparent figures, often
dressed as they were at the time of
death or in what they were fond of
wearing prior to that. The visage of
such creatures, while possibly unnerving,
certainly doesn't even approach
the horror of that belonging to a true
ghost."

"As true ghosts, lesser ghosts likewise
are limited to staying near the AREA of
their original demise. They may, however,
wander about the general vicinity,
although their weakness makes it difficult
for them to make their presence
known.
In some rare <11%?> cases, lesser ghosts have been known to be tied to particular objects -- usually something it was fond of in life --
accompanying the object when it is removed elsewhere."

"During their wanderings, lesser
ghosts are entirely invisible, for it is
only at the location where they died, or
where their body lies, that they may
become visible to the living. Their presence
might otherwise be noted through
a gentle wafting of air as they pass by,
and some individuals seem able to even
sense their presence."

"One clue that lesser ghosts are about
the AREA is through encountering certain
sounds that are obviously out of
place to their surroundings. Somehow,
perhaps unconsciously, these creatures
project the sounds that the spirit
enjoyed in life. This can range from the
sounds of children at play to the merriment
of balls && dances, to good-natured
<s=x>wordplay. In all cases, such
noises will be heard coming through a
wall || closed door -- and they will
always cease when the living enter the
AREA in {?question?}, lending credence to
the idea that such phenomena are not
consciously created, but instead occur
through some natural process while the
creature's thoughts wander back to
happier times it once knew. <luv>

"Lesser ghosts have no real attack
forms, other than perhaps acting in a
threatening manner when their lair is
penetrated," the halfling replied.

"They may, however, possess objects for up to about 10 minutes, causing, e.g.,

Unlike true ghosts, these creatures lack
the {strength} to actually cause physical
harm through haunting an object, and
such phenomena are at worst
poltergeist-like.

"Lesser ghosts may for several minutes
possess an individual in order to
communicate. The host usually must
allow physical contact to be made,
although the creature may attempt to
touch a TARGET, gaining temporary possession
of his body if successful. The
duration for such possession is up to 10
minutes, after which the ghost will
depart, leaving the host none the worse
for the xperience."

"Hmm. They don't sound as nearly as
nasty as their cousins."

"No, indeed. It is also much easier to
deal with lesser ghosts than their
greater counterparts. If communication
is established, the creature usually
is more than willing to impart what
may be done to lay it to REST.
It otherwise may be turned as easily as a shadow by clerics,
and may be slain with silver || magical weapons."

Creature Notes

"Ah! I knew it was here some . . . " The
old hobbit, coattails flapping nearly up <subrace?>
to his head as he lost his footing upon
the bookcase ladder, landed with a thud
behind his desk.

The elf leaned forward and peered <gold elf?>
over the desk. "You all right, Desmore?" she asked.

Still clutching the leather-bound tome
as he lay on the floor, the halfling lifted
his powdered wig from the front of his
face, properly replacing it upon his
head. "<Yes>, quite," he managed, pushing
his spectacles back up upon the bridge
of his nose. "We Wigheads are a family
used to falling from heights."

He made it to his feet and placed the book on the desk before her.
"In fact my father once made it almost to the top of an old pyramid in the desert" he continued.

"I should preface that by saying,
however, that he found it quite by accident
when a camel he had purchased -- <what kind of camel?>
which I should add was actually the
property of a certain sheik, who was <Arabic font>
renowned . . ."

"You say this deals adequately with the subject of ghosts, Desmore?"
the elf broke in, <what kind of elf?>
thumbing through the tome.

"What? Oh, <Yes>.
It does mention quite a bit about them."

Delsenora slowly thumbed through
the yellowed pages of the {old} work,
shaking her head. "Whoever wrote this
obviously was no adventurer, but was
repeating tales heard from others," she
sighed. "I see a few mistakes about spirits
I've observed firsthand in the Greycloaks.
Still, it looks fundamentally
adequate. How much?"

"Ah, well, for a friend such as you,
only 10 golden crowns."

"Fine." She reached into her purse,
dropping a small pile of golden coins
onto the mahogany desk.

"If I might apologize for prying," the
halfling said, "why are you so interested
in ghosts" Planning on an adventure
someplace? Might there be a chance of
some rare books being found that you
wouldn't want? As you know, I'm ever
in the market for . . .?"

She tucked the book under her arm.
"Nothing like that, Desmore," she said,
stopping the halfling before he really
got going. "I've an apprentice planning
to xplore the haunted mansion outside
of town, and I wanted to get her some
detailed info about ghosts."

"
Oh.
Well, if you want to know about
ghosts, you have come to the right
place. For instance, the very word
ghost has always conjured up the image
of the spirit of a departed individual.
Yet, as is well known, there are many
different types of spirits, ranging from
the true ghosts to lesser cousins such as
haunts, poltergeists, etc.

"Now true ghosts almost always
began as powerful humans who during
life possessed both an evil disposition and
 
 

How exactly such a
person actually does become a ghost
remains a mystery, but one recurrent
factor seems to be that their passing
from life is marked by great anger || hatred."

"Whether or not this ultimately
results in the spirit's being unable to <soul, correctly>
REST, or whether the departed "earns" its
status as a result of its earthly misdeeds
isn't really known, and perhaps both
likelihoods are possible. All true ghosts,
though, keep the powerful wills they
had in life, and often they are possessed
of a singular purpose--usually revenge
on the living. It's said that this driving
purpose causes the ghost, even if chaotic
in life, to tend toward an organized
evil to accomplish its particular goals.

"Few things faced by adventurers are
more frightening in appearance than
true ghosts:" the halfling continued.
"Such creatures resemble white-hued,
semi-transparent humanoid shapes,
often with distorted features revealing
the true awfulness of the soul during
life. In connection with this, true ghosts
may bear spiritual chains && weights--
which some, I might +add+, believe to be a
warning by the gods to the living that
such a fate awaits them if they follow
the same sort of path as the wretch
before them was foolish enough to do.

Yet I should add some notable sages,
such as the renowned Thomas of Cormyr,
who it's said was a fanatical lover
of horses amongst other things,
although in my own perusal of his
works, I tend to think his love or
equines was more or less a hobby.
But it is true that he owned one of the finest stables in this part of the . . ."

"You were talking about the appearance of ghosts, Desmore?"
Delsenora prompted.

"What? Oh, Yes. Just as often, true
ghosts may also display a gaping wound
or a headless form, illustrating the manner
of their ultimate demise.

"The visage of a ghost is made even
more terrifying by the fact that the
creature usually materializes with surprise from
a wall, floor, ceiling, etc.,
which may so startle those who see it
they flee in terror from the AREA -- with
a few extra white hairs.

"It's said that only those clerics who
during their early years of training
have received the proper instruction on
the undead are able to stand for certain
against the sudden horrible sight of a
true ghost and the supernatural awe it
inspires. And even battle-hardened
adventurers are known to have found
the vision so horrible that {friends} and
comrades have been temporarily abandoned
in their {haste} to MOVE away from
the AREA!"

Delsenora nodded, pondering the
halfling's words. "I guess a ghost is a
tougher customer than I thought. Is
there any way to tell if you're nearing
the heart of a ghost's lair?"

"As a matter of fact," the halfling
answered, "the lair of a ghost is always
near the spot at which it died, and the
surroundings invariably betray the fact
that the living have long since abandoned
the AREA. Thus, it cannot be disputed
that some psychic tie binds the
restless spirit to the vicinity of its original
demise."

"True ghosts possess the ability to
wander about the AREA without losing
any of their powers, and so they can
indeed be encountered by happenstance.
Their sojourns are limited, however,
to a particular level of a dungeon,
or the grounds of a castle or manor
they might be haunting. Naturally,
because of their unceasing wandering
and ability to penetrate solid spaces, a
ghost will have perfect knowledge of
the dungeon it inhabits."

"I've seen spectres, and the like -- and
I know what they can do, and how they
do it," Delsenora said. "Does a ghost
behave any differently when it attacks
than other spirits?"

"Well, to some extent" the halfling
answered. "As I mentioned, true ghosts
have a singular drive to revenge themselves
upon the living. The most obvious
way in which they accomplish this
is by shifting from the Ethereal Plane
and fully materializing on the Prime
Material Plane to make their dreaded
touch, which draws away the life force
of the ghost's unlucky mortal opponent,
withering and aging him. This horrid
attack is known to sometimes be such a
shock to the system that a non-elf can
die from it.

"A more subtle means of allowing the
ghost to accomplish its goals is through
an attempted magic jarring of a TARGET
-- usually one of the same profession as
the creature in life. Should this be successful,
the creature may, for instance,
utilize the spells of its host against its
enemies. The new shell also permits the
ghost egress from the AREA to which it is
tied. The creature may then wander
forth to continue its plan for revenge.

"When a ghost is in

possession

of a body,

it may speak, but the voice,
which is that of the ghost in life, comes from deep inside the victim.
Certainly there is no detectable movement of the tongue || jaws.

"The hapless shell possessed by the
creature retains its HP. But as the
ghost takes no steps to obtain nourishment,
the host weakens progressively,
suffering the normal consequences
from starvation and dehydration until <links: wsg>
the spirit is forced to abandon it. The
creature thereafter is free to wander
about until it finds another prospective
host to inhabit."

"Hmm. So a ghost may as likely seek
to possess someone as kill him."

"Yes, indeed. But ghosts may also possess
objects to aid them in causing mayhem.
Most frequently they limit
themselves to, for example, causing a <>
chandelier to fall upon a TARGET below,
or a bookcase to topple over upon
someone examining it. At other times,
the creature may even possess a weapon
such as a crossbow or spear, causing
it to strike out at a victim. The {duration}
of such possessions is always very
short, usually along the line of a few
minutes."

"Adventurers mixing it up with true
ghosts certainly have a difficult time
ahead of them. The creature's overwhelming
hatred of the living, and <reaction modifier: cf. DMG>
urgency to gain revenge, make it an
extremely dangerous foe. Negotiation
certainly is something for which there
is little hope, and in almost every case,
the choices of those encountering such
a creature are limited to either leaving
the area of the ghost's lair or fighting it."

The creature's immunity to spells while
on the Ethereal Plane places a heavy
burden on party fighters to slay the
creature through close melee, thereby
placing themselves at great risk with
respect to the monster's touch attack. A
useful defense, however,
is the protection from evil spell, which prevents the
ghost from successfully making its horrid
touch upon one so protected!"

"You earlier said something about a ghost {dominating} its dead victims.
Do you mean to say a ghost can have other ghosts under its control?"

"Not really.
What I was referring to are lesser ghosts.

"You're a fountain of information
today, Desmore," Delsenora said. "But
tell me -- why didn't you mention all
this before I bought the book?"

"You didn't ask," the halfling
answered with a grin and a ,"  and
I'd have been 10 crowns poorer."

<use some images from Crimson Peak>
<and, yes, I used to believe in ghosts, now i only believe in nothing>
<also, figure out the dual-table for lesser ghosts>

Quote:
Originally Posted by Geoffrey
Gary, how much of a skeptic are you regarding paranormal stuff (ghosts, psychic powers, astrology, the occult, etc)?

I for one am a complete skeptic. Reality is one thing, and FRPGs are another. The only ghosts, spells, telepathy, etc. I've ever encountered have been in fantasy games. If such things were real, why doesn't someone CAST even the equivalent of a mere first-level spell (not to speak of ninth-level spells)? A ring of invisibility would come in handy as well. <laughing>

(Of course, I'm not asking about religious beliefs here.)
 

Well...
I am not skeptical about poltergeist phenomina and ghosts, because I have experienced both.
Also I have had a psychic experience, cognition of something hapening at a distance from me,
sight from a distance of about six feet above my head,
and two possible astral projection experiences.
The potential of the 90% of the brain we con't use is unjknown, /eh?

I don't believe in astrology, magic, or any of the rest of the "occult," though.
I am skeptical and it is in my view pure hokum.

Cheers,
Gary

DMPrata wrote:
Gary, if I may trouble you with two questions that we're debating over in the 1E forum:

1.) Ghosts are listed as having a magic jar attack.
Is a receptacle required, as in the spell of the same name?
If not, where does the possessed creature's spirit go in the interim?
 

The dispossessed spirit goes to that place where the spirit of the ghost resided.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tuzenbach
I was curious about something. What are your views regarding magical aging, both in 1E and how the rules currently work in 3E?
IMHO, today's rules governing magical aging are nothing more than the RPG version of "Affirmative Action" for all races who's lifespan neither meets nor exceeds 160 years.

Back in 1E, I liked the idea that if the party met with a ghost, it was OK for the humans, half-orcs, and halflings to immediately run from it and have the elves and dwarves deal with the foe.
That circumstance made ghosts more frightening and gave long-lived races a certain kind of "specialness".
Granted, 1E held that dwarves and elves could advance no further than 10th or 14th level respectively, but that's neither here nor there. <chk the level limits>
 

I don't care to make comparisons between OAD&D and new D&D.
I will say, though, that I concur with your evaluation of the aging effects in the original game,
and that human and non-long-lived PCs were meant to flee opponents who could age them,
that being more fearsome even than level loss!

As for level limits for demi-humans, there was none on the thief aspect, and in my estimation,
and such PC that hit the maximum levels possible was either playing for a very long time or in a Monty Haul campaign.
It took me five years to work my dwarf  fighter, Zigby, to his level limit.
He didn't go on all that many adventures as my single PC, but he was there getting half experience on many a big-time foray with Mordenkainen and/or Bigby and the rest.