As most Ghostbusting gamers know, characters in Ghostbusters: A Frightfully Cheerful Roleplaying Game have four Traits and one Talent for each Trait. If you didn't start as a Ghostbuster, how are you supposed to gain Ghostbusting skills?
This is where New Talent Acquisition comes in. Once someone without a background in parapsychology or occult studies gets hired as a Ghostbuster, that new employee will have a chance to develop a new career-related Talent. They may, upon completing orientation and beginning training, designate one (1) Ghostbusting-supportive Talent to a single Trait (in addition to whatever Talent is already assigned to that Trait). The new Trait will start at 0. After the employee's first mission, the Trait will increase to 1. After the second mission, it will increase to 2. Upon completion of the third mission, it will increase to 3 and remain as a full-fledged official Talent.
Likewise, experienced Ghostbusters who started with four Traits may choose one (1) new Ghostbusting or non-Ghostbusting Talent to develop at the same rate of improvement, starting at 0 and advancing to 3 as they complete missions. (Non-Ghostbusting Talents are developed as the experienced Ghostbuster takes advantage of paid time off and vacation time.)
The above optional rule occurred to me as I was creating characters for the RPGaDay2026 challenge who could be used as either player characters or non-player characters. If these characters could become Ghostbusters, I asked myself, how could their characteristics adapt to reflect their new training? The simplest way, it seems to me, is to let them gradually gain an extra Talent relevant to their new Ghostbusting role. Hopefully, it reflects their growth without granting them excessive power.
