Power Archetype: The Ghost

Every breath you take
Every move you make
Every bond you break
Every step you take
I’ll be watching you

Every Breath You Take, The Police 

Before we start, lets define our Ghost, we are not looking at spooks or specters, rather we broaden our definition to those that move unseen through the shadows, be they assassins, or ninjas, even actual ghosts. Comics are laden with Ghosts, from Sue Storm, to Shadow Thief. Of course, we should probably mention Batman, and Black Widow, as powers are not required to disappear. 

Power Framework 

At the heart of our Ghost is the ability to avoid being seen, and garnering as many advantages as one can from that. Because of this, we are going to focus on General Boons to illustrate how the hero leverages concealment. 

 General Boons 

• Combo: Move – Strike – Move 
• Combo: Stealth – Strike 
• Critical Skill: Stealth 
• Acrobatics Supports Defense 
• Stealth  Supports Offense while Hidden 

The heart of our Ghost relies on stealth and maneuverability. Acrobatics allows the hero to mitigate terrain penalties, and bolster’s their Defense. While hidden the hero also gains a bonus to Offense. More so, on attacks with two or more 6s the hero can trade their Critical Damage Bonus to automatically hide. Finally, we add a pair of Combos, one to hide and then strike a foe, and another to allow them to move through the battlefield with relative ease. In addition to Acrobatics and Stealth, consider adding the Movement Talent to make navigating the area easier. 

Building from our General Boons, lets look at the Infiltrator, lacking powers they make up for this in martial training and gear, the  Specter, an ethereal being displaced from the physical world.  

The Infiltrator 

Fighting Style: Ninjutsu 

• Parent Attribute: Dexterity 
• Primary Role: Offense 
• Secondary Role: Initiative 
• Specialty: Attacks Versus Surprised Defense 

General Boons 

• False Identity (Multiple Disposable IDs)
• Surprising 
• Tools: Actual Tools, Bug, Escape Clause, Elevator, Hidden Weapon, Tracer

Fast and deadly, the Infiltrator strikes from the shadows and fades away. The Infiltrator cares only about eliminating their target, relying on their stealth for protection. False Identity allows the Infiltrator access, and adding the Disguise Talent helps them to blend in almost anywhere.  They are quick, allowing them to Surprise others with a free additional action once per session. Perhaps most importantly though are the Tools the Infiltrator can bring to bear. Actual Tools provides a basic bonus to a Talent Roll, this might be a disguise, lock picks, or anything else they may need at the time. Bug and Tracer allows the Infiltrator to spy on a potential target.  Elevator and Escape Clause aid in covering ground or getting away under any circumstances. Finally, their Hidden Weapons means that the Infiltrator has a number of other tricks up their sleeves from bolos to throwing knives, whatever the job might need. 

The Specter 

Power: Specter 

• Parent Attribute: Mental 
• Primary Role: Support: Stealth 
• Reduced Detection 
• Insubstantial
• New Movement: Levitation
• Secondary Role: Defense (Full Role) 
• Defends Against: All 
• Passive Defense 
• Phased  

Drawback

• Not Skill Power: Stealth 

Almost impossible to detect the Specter fades not just from sight, but the physical world. Able to pass through solid objects, they can ignore many attacks as they simply pass through them. Even if an attack would strike them, the Specter may opt to have it Phase through them. The Specter still relies on the element of surprise, but is far more defensive than the Infiltrator if caught off guard. Unfortunately,  not all their Talents come from raw training or natural ability. Abilities that drain or negate powers will affect their Stealth as well. 

Common Talents 

• Acrobatics 
• Disguise 
• Stealth 

There’s probably no real surprise in the Ghost’s Talents. For that reason, lets add the following: 

• Subterfuge 
• Tracking 

Subterfuge arguments the hero’s ability to fit in anywhere and the Talent’s Advantage pairs with Surprise Attacks. Tracking also fits with the common group role the Ghost will fill and helps prevent them from being caught off guard. 

Common Weaknesses 

• Frail 
• Vulnerability 

We are going with a pair of Weaknesses. Because the Infiltrator is potentially a normal human they may not have the durability of other heroes. on the other hand, the Specter may be Vulnerable to attacks related to their nature.  Should they be actual ghosts, Magic may be far more deadly, while a character out of phase with reality might be weak against dimensional or gravity based attacks. 

Overall, the Ghost is a solid archetype, pardon the pun, for creative player. Oddly, the Ghost’s powers can fit in almost any flavor of superhero game from a low powered gritty street campaign, to action packed interstellar adventures.  

The hero Flux from the Out of Time Actual Play is an example of a Ghost.