Let’s Play D&D With the Ghostbusters
Don’t cross the streams and watch out for the ectoplasm. This week we’re going ghost hunting when we play D&D with the Ghostbusters.
There are few franchises as beloved and enduring as Ghostbusters. Every now and again it pops back up again with new characters—or sometimes the same characters—but with the same general premise. Ghosts show up and a team has to trap those ghosts in a box. It’s simple, it’s goofy, it’s fun, and it almost can’t help but feel like the 80s.
There’s another Ghostbusters film on its way to us, and let’s be honest… we’re going to watch it. Some of us may wait until it’s streaming, but we’ll be watching. In the meantime though, there are ghosts in the D&D world that need busting so let’s play D&D with…
The Ghostbusters
While the Ghostbusters always consist of a team and those teams usually follow a bit of a member pattern, I’m looking at the average and making a ghost-busting amalgam. They’re pretty smart individuals with custom ghost-busting tech. For the most part, they’re more science aligned and more than a bit nerdy. And perhaps most importantly, they never know what they’re doing to start and aren’t taken seriously until they are.
So my Ghostbuster is a low-level artificer with a few pieces of custom tech that we’ll get to later and a handful of infusions. Their Intelligence and Wisdom are high because they’re book-smart and are likely the only ones to know that ghosts are in fact the cause of the problem. Don’t worry. As they’re taken more seriously and go on more jobs they’ll gain levels quickly. And that’s sure to happen in no time because they’ve got…
Proton Packs
Now we’re getting into what makes the Ghostbusters recognizable. Proton Packs are synonymous with the Ghostbusters as a franchise, so I don’t think I can make one of these characters without them. Sure, we could design an exorcist to deal with ghosts, but that’s different. And much less fun.
Instead, they’d have a non-lethal damage beam slash grappling weapon for weakening and lassoing ghosts… And since there’s a whole bunch of undead in D&D, some of this will definitely work against them as well. It’s not necessarily under the purview of ‘ghost busting’ but it could be helpful to your character.
And of course, since they’re good guys, Proton Packs would be non-lethal to regular, living people. That said, I wouldn’t suggest hitting a normal person with a non-lethal beam; it probably wouldn’t earn your character any friends.
Once they have that ghost weakened and lassoed though…
Ghost Trap
I think this one more or less speaks for itself. We’re trapping ghosts in a box. Free-flying ghosts may have an easy time avoiding and wriggling out of the trap’s clutches. But ghosts restrained by a Proton Pack beam may have a harder time getting away. And after you trap that ghost in a box? Well, you’ve got a ghost in a box! Good luck with that.
How would you make The Ghostbusters or any of their tech for a D&D setting? Which Ghostbusters movie is your favorite? What movie, show, book, comic, or game should we make sheets from next time? Let us know in the comments!
Happy adventuring!
