RPGaDay 2026: Day 04

4. CHARM

Samantha Stefánsdottir
Domestic Witch

Brains 3 (Witchcraft 6)
Muscles 3 (Toiling 6)
Moves 2 (Juggling the Mundane and the Magical 5)
Cool 4 (Charm 7)
Goal: Bliss
Notes:

• Is rumored by neighbors to be a witch.
• Has an unerring ability to perceive the supernatural.
• Is allergic to ectoplasm.
• Her charm has nothing to do with witchcraft.

N.B. This is a character (player or non-player) suitable for use with Ghostbusters: A Frightfully Cheerful Roleplaying Game.

[For more information on #RPGaDay (or #RPGaDay2026 specifically), read this.]

RPGaDay 2026: Day 03

3. POISE

Patience Posey
Catalogue Model and Dancer

Brains 3 (Photography 6)
Muscles 3 (Standing Still 6)
Moves 4 (Dancing 7)
Cool 2 (Poise 5)
Goal: Financial Security
Notes:

• Is often taken for granted, but is a keen observer of everything around her.
• Is frequently mistaken for a mannequin when standing still.
• Is light-hearted, but frugal.
• Especially enjoys the Charleston dance.

Hypothetical Casting: Goldie Hawn

N.B. This is a character (player or non-player) suitable for use with Ghostbusters: A Frightfully Cheerful Roleplaying Game.

[For more information on #RPGaDay (or #RPGaDay2026 specifically), read this.]

RPGaDay 2026: Day 02

2. STATURE

Wade Wellington-Worthington
Funerary Director, Obsessed Sculptor

Brains 3 (Monument Trivia 6)
Muscles 3 (Bladder Control 6)
Moves 3 (Sculpting 6)
Cool 3 (Funerary Salesmanship 6)
Goal: Stature
Notes:

• Will ignore any biological requirement to make a sale or expound on the merits of monuments.
• Deeply concerned about how his place in society is perceived.
• Fantasizes about a world of monuments honoring him.
• Drinks nothing but bottled spring water.

Hypothetical Casting: Jeffrey Combs

N.B. This is a character (player or non-player) suitable for use with Ghostbusters: A Frightfully Cheerful Roleplaying Game.

[For more information on #RPGaDay (or #RPGaDay2026 specifically), read this.]

RPGaDay 2026: Day 01

1. DISCIPLINE

Ruthifer Hadlock
School Principal

Brains 3 (Administration 6)
Muscles 5 (Wrestling 8)
Moves 3 (Hitting Things 6)
Cool 1 (Containing Rage 4)
Goal: Enforce Discipline
Notes:

• Experiences flashbacks frequently and dramatically.
• Has zero patience.
• Often wears gloves.
• Rumored by students to be a cyborg.

Hypothetical Casting: Stephen Fry, Samuel L. Jackson, Daniel Day-Lewis

N.B. This is a character (player or non-player) suitable for use with Ghostbusters: A Frightfully Cheerful Roleplaying Game.

[For more information on #RPGaDay (or #RPGaDay2026 specifically), read this.]

RPGaDay2026 Is Nigh

RPGaDay2026 is nigh, and this year I shall be observing it exclusively (probably) through Decidedly Six-Sided by interpreting each daily prompt as part of the description of a character (player or non-player as the reader chooses) for Ghostbusters: A Frightfully Cheerful Roleplaying Game.

Perpbusters!

Lest I get too far ahead of myself, I am considering Judge Dredd for my next x via Ghostbusters conversion. When EN Publishing ceased publication of Judge Dredd & The Worlds of 2000 A.D., I considered coverting it to a number of different systems, but none of them felt quite right (q.v.). Savage Worlds would be too labor intensive, Sherpa is too obscure, ACE! RPG is too silly, and The D6 System 2nd edition will be much bulkier than I had hoped it would be. The answer, clearly, is to convert it to Ghostbusters: A Frightfully Cheerful Roleplaying Game for maximum efficiency and fun. Unless I get sidetracked, it will probably be my next project after Doctor Who via Ghostbusters.

Going Nowhere Slowly

As a brief update, I have at least one more article to write for the Doctor Who via Ghostbusters series—possibly more than one. Health circumstances have made it difficult to accomplish anything outside of work and survival, but hopefully I will be feeling better and will be able to give more time to my hobbies again. As soon as I can, I must make time to run another Ghostbusters adventure. It's been far too long since I last ran it, and my players deserve medals for their patience. Once we resume it, we must keep the momentum going. It's too fun a game to allow it to languish. And then we need to try these x via Ghostbusters games I've been writing about, the results of which should provide useful material for future blogging. Perhaps we can manage to go somewhere if slowly.

Doctor Who via Ghostbusters: Beings, Organic and Inorganic

Our Doctor Who role-playing game based on Ghostbusters: A Frightfully Cheerful Roleplaying Game (q.v.) is focused on the original television programme that aired from 1963 to 1989 and featured the first eight incarnations of the Doctor. All beings, organic and inorganic, conform to those depictions. Some Powers are used in conjunction with governing Traits. Powers are not stackable with Talents. Most Powers confer 4 bonus dice. Powers ranked as Tremendous confer 6 dice. Typically, beings have as many Limitations as they have Powers.

Human
Powers: Nil
Limitations: Nil

Time Lord
Powers: Voluntary Suspended Animation (Intellect), Extreme Temperature Resistance (Physique), Regeneration (Coordination), Extended Lifespan
Limitations: ?

Dalek
Powers: Powerful Weapons (Coordination), Powerful Armour, Self-Contained Survival Apparatus
Limitations: Hatred of All Life, Total Vulnerability sans Armour, Wheeled Accessibility Only*
* Except for Daleks equipped with jetpacks.

Cyberman
Powers: Remarkable Strength (Physique), Hivemind (Intellect), Unshakeable Determination (Composure), General Invulnerability
Limitations: Slow Mobility, Lack of Personality, Fatal Vulnerability to Gold Dust

Sontaran
Powers: Remarkable Strength (Physique), Fanatical Bravery (Composure), Extremely Low Sleep Requirement
Limitations: War-Obsessed, Vulnerability to Coronic Acid, Weakness: Probic Vent*
* A weak point located at the back of the neck.

Rutan
Powers: Shapeshifting (Physique), Hivemind (Intellect), Electrical Manipulation (Coordination), Environmental Adaptability, Amphibious
Limitations: [pending further study]

Zygon
Powers: Shapeshifting (Physique), Remarkable Strength (Physique), Venom
Limitations: [pending further study]

Ice Warrior
Powers: Bio-Mechanical Armour (Physique), Bio-Mechanical Sonic Weapons (Coordination)
Limitations: Slow Mobility, Vulnerability to Extreme Heat

Mechonoid
Powers: Robot
Limitations: Robot, Bulky

Quark
Powers: Robot, Built-in Energy Weapon
Limitations: Robot, Small

Auton
Powers: Animated Plastic Mannequin (Physique), Hivemind (Intellect), Built-In Firearm (Coordination)
Limitations: Animated Plastic Mannequin

Movellan
Powers: Remarkable Strength (Physique), Remarkable Durability (Physique), Hivemind (Intellect), Android
Limitations: Exposed Power Pack, Android

Doctor Who via Ghostbusters: Talents

Following are some of the Talents that might be available to characters in a Doctor Who role-playing game based on the rules of Ghostbusters: A Frightfully Cheerful Roleplaying Game (q.v.). (Categorisation is flexible. In many cases, different characters could have the same Talent associated with a different Trait depending on how that Talent manifests for them personally.)

Intellect-Related Talents: Administration, Anthropology, Archaeology, Astronautics, Camouflage, Cartography, Collecting, Computer Systems, Connoisseurship, Construction, Criminology, Cryptanalysis/Cryptography, Cybernetics, Demolition, Earth Sciences, Economics, Electronics, Engineering, Farming, Fine Art, First Aid, Foraging, Force Field Systems, History, Horticulture, Inventiveness, Law, Life Sciences, Literature, Mathematics, Mechanics, Medicine, Music, Nursing, Philosophy, Physical Sciences, Politics, Sailing, Scrounging, Social Sciences, Space Sciences, Surveillance/Countersurveillance, Survival, Tactics, TARDIS Systems, Teaching, Temporal Science, Tracking, Transmat Systems, Trapping, Trivia, etc.

Physique-Based Talents: Climbing, Endurance, Hand-to-Hand Combat, Health, Jumping, Kicking, Lifting, Running, Spelunking, Sprinting, Swimming, Wrecking, Wrestling, etc.

Coordination-Based Talents: Acrobatics, Balancing, Catching, Concealment, Cooking, Dancing, Dodging, Escapology, Hiding, Juggling, Knot-Tying, Lockpicking, Marksmanship, Piloting, Riding, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Throwing, etc.

Composure-Based Talents: Acting, Bluffing, Carousing, Coolness Under Fire, Counselling, Debating, Diplomacy, Disguise, Double-Talking, Etiquette, Flirting, Gambling, Haggling, Interrogation, Intimidation, Leadership, Mimicry, Oratory, Posing, Singing, Ventriloquism, etc.

Doctor Who via Ghostbusters: Character Basics

Previously, I asked what a Star Trek role-playing game based on Ghostbusters: A Frightfully Cheerful Roleplaying Game might look like. This time, I ask that question about Doctor Who (the classic version). Let's take a look!

Traits

Companions start with 13 points to distribute amongst four Traits. Time Lords start with 15 points. Each Trait must have at least 1 point. Instead of Brains, Muscles, Moves, and Cool, characters have:

• Intellect
• Physique
• Coordination
• Composure

Talents

Companions have one Talent per Trait, plus one additional Talent. Companions who select fewer than five Talents may assign them later, even during play, but they must explain how they came about that Talent in character.

Time Lords have eight Talents, but no more than four Talents may be assigned to a single Trait, and at least one Talent must be assigned to each Trait.

Each Talent adds 3 dice to its related Trait roll.

(Examples of Talents may be forthcoming.) [Edit: Here.]

Powers

Characters of certain species may possess Powers at the expense of certain Limitations.

For example, Cyberman Powers would include Remarkable Strength (Physique), Hive Mind (Intellect), Unshakeable Determination (Composure), and General Invulnerability. Cyberman Limitations would include Slow Mobility, Lack of Personality, and Fatal Vulnerability to Gold Dust.

As a standard rule, each Power confers a bonus of 4 dice to relevant Trait rolls. (This may vary. Powers described as Tremendous grant 6 dice.) Powers are not stackable with Talents.

Luck

Instead of Brownie Points, characters have Luck, which functions identically. Each character starts with 20 points of Luck.

Advancement

When characters achieve Mission Goals (such as restoring temporal equilibrium) or Personal Goals, they are awarded Luck points that may be used in the same manner as Brownie Points: they can be saved, used as bonus dice, expended to reduce injury, or spent to increase Traits.