Harry Dresden vs. Ghostbusters International... Crossover Madness!

[Pbartender]

My sincerest advance apologies for my rambling verbosity.

So, my players and I are looking to take a break from 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons once we end our latest campaign.  After mulling over our options, one of my players requested that I run a Dresden Files game.  Those of us not entirely familiar with Dresden are already familiar with Spirit of the Century and FATE, so it's a go. 

Now, I'm only partially familiar with the Dresdenverse...  I've seen all twelve episodes of the television, and I've just begun reading the novels and the RPG books.  Please, bear with me -- I'm catching up as fast as I can.   

Anyway, I'm thinking over ideas and options I'd like to use for the campaign I intend to run.  Firstly, we all lie on the suburban frontier of Chicago, and so we'd like to use Chicago as our city of choice.  However, as with any game that based on an already established setting, that would feasibly put the player-characters directly into the shadows of the heroes of the novels the game is based on.  As I'm trying to reconcile the problem without resorting to the usual tricks and cliches (No, they aren't proteges of Harry! And no, he's not missing so they have to go find him and rescue him!), a brilliant idea hits me...

Back in the late '80s, WEG published a Ghostbusters RPG, which I'd played a few times in junior high school. The premise of the game was that the original Ghostbusters created a corporation called Ghostbusters International and were selling franchises to people who wanted to start Ghostbusting in other cities.  Why not use the same idea here?  There's really nothing in Ghostbusters that contradicts anything in the Dresdenverse, and vice versa.

So, the conceit is that the Ghostbusters actually exist in Harry Dresden's world, they'd effectively be clued-in mortals, perhaps bordering on minor talents, but relying more on (pseudo)science than magic.  My PCs would begin the game by opening a new Ghostbusters international franchise in Chicago, bringing them into direct (and open!) competition with Harry Dresden's business.

I'm really liking the idea of using Harry and Karrin as occasional rivals and foils with goals that are generally compatible with the PCs, but perhaps conflicting values and methods.

What do you guys think?  Could it work?

[admiralducksauce]

ABSOLUTELY.

That idea is epic win.  The Ghostbusters and Harry even have the same predilections for starting accidental fires, being constantly short on cash, and getting entangled with the wrong women. 

[Richard_Chilton]

It could.

In some of the later books Harry tries to organise minor talents into Paranet, but during the first several years no one is really looking much at minor talents.

You'll have to decide what to do about the White Council - they take the seven laws of magic very seriously so you'll have to be careful about how the PCs interact with ghosts.

If you don't mind a spoiler, in book three Harry consults a "ghost expert" named Morty who has a write up in Our World - I'd recommend you check that out for a Ghost Busting bit.  And as you're reading, book three is the first one to really deal with ghosts - who don't really appear in the novels again until Dead Bead.  After Dead Beat, I could be wrong here but I think that the next book to have much on ghosts in it is the most recent one Ghost Story.

Ghosts, Spirits, other things from the Nevernever - all of them could be targets of Ghost Busters.

Richard

[sinker]

Another thing to think about is that if they're only partially clued-in (I.E. they know about ghosts but not necessarily about other things) then they may see everything within that frame of reference (with interesting and often hilarious results). Who's to say what's a ghost and what isn't? What's the difference between ghosts and fairies anyway? Etc.

[Pbartender]

You'll have to decide what to do about the White Council - they take the seven laws of magic very seriously so you'll have to be careful about how the PCs interact with ghosts.

That's actually an interaction I look forward to exploring...  From what I understand, up until now, the White Council effectively had a monopoly on magic wielded by mortals, and without anyone organized to oppose them.  I figure that a background theme of this campaign will be focused on organizations other than the White Council being founded for investigation and control of supernatural abilities and creatures.  And while their ultimate goals may coincide, these organizations may or may not recognize the authority of the White Council.

Ghostbusters International is, of course, what happens when a private business venture attempts it.  The Bureau of Paranormal Reasearch and Defense (Hellboy!), which I will also be adding into the background, is what will happen when a government agency tries it.

Let the hijinks ensue!

On the other hand, I can't see many of the Seven Laws causing problems terribly often.

[admiralducksauce]

Who's to say what's a ghost and what isn't? What's the difference between ghosts and fairies anyway? Etc.

Not much, not when you're slinging particle beams at them. 

Your comment about frame of reference is golden, though.  Ghostbusters are going to look at things from a mad scientist's perspective, just like Harry looks at the Alphas from a wizard's perspective and Murphy looks at Harry from a mortal cop's perspective.

Also, you could probably rip off a ton of plot from Eureka.

Woe betide them if they ever try to Ghostbust Bob the Skull, though!  Oh, dude.  That could be their first crossover with Harry.  Your PCs bust Bob while he's out on a jaunt, Harry comes looking for him, finds their place of business, and accidentally hexes their containment unit.  Instant swarm of ghosts rampaging through Chicago!

[Bruce Coulson]

"We had everything under control until the flaming wizard came in and shut down our containment grid."

Murphy:  "Is this true?"

Venckman:  "Yes; this guy is flaming."  As Harry takes a swing at him, "Well, that's what I've heard!"

[Masurao]

But, would we see the Marshmellow Man return or would another 'cute' mascotte be the form of a returned god? A giant Dora instead?

[Pbartender]

Not much, not when you're slinging particle beams at them. 

Your comment about frame of reference is golden, though.  Ghostbusters are going to look at things from a mad scientist's perspective, just like Harry looks at the Alphas from a wizard's perspective and Murphy looks at Harry from a mortal cop's perspective.

Also, you could probably rip off a ton of plot from Eureka.

Woe betide them if they ever try to Ghostbust Bob the Skull, though!  Oh, dude.  That could be their first crossover with Harry.  Your PCs bust Bob while he's out on a jaunt, Harry comes looking for him, finds their place of business, and accidentally hexes their containment unit.  Instant swarm of ghosts rampaging through Chicago!

"We had everything under control until the flaming wizard came in and shut down our containment grid."

Murphy:  "Is this true?"

Venckman:  "Yes; this guy is flaming."  As Harry takes a swing at him, "Well, that's what I've heard!"

These two posts just gave me a fantastic idea...  Consider this:

A) The Ghostbusters effectively use super-science technology to catch and imprison supernatural entities.

B) The proximity of Harry Dresden (and other wizards) causes any technology more complex than a light bulb to reliably fail in short order.

Dresden doesn't even need to purposefully shut off the containment grid.  All he needs to do is show up for a friendly visit with the new competition.  The lights flicker, the secretary's computer crashes, and suddenly the grid mysteriously shuts itself down.   

Hijinks ensue.   

[Darkling]

I think this is the funniest RP idea I've heard in a long time.

[Darkling]

"We had everything under control until the flaming wizard came in and shut down our containment grid."

Murphy:  "Is this true?"

Venckman:  "Yes; this guy is flaming."  As Harry takes a swing at him, "Well, that's what I've heard!"

  Hehe

[Pbartender]

I think this is the funniest RP idea I've heard in a long time.

Thanks.  Glad to be of service.  I have a rather light-hearted group...  They like tackling epic challenges in RPGs, but at the same time, they have a hard time taking themselves and the game too seriously.

Here's a few other ideas I'm itching to include in the game:

• There'll Be A Hot Time In The Old Town Tonight Somehow*, there is a massive untapped reservoir of Hellfire lying just beneath the reality of Chicago.  The Great Chicago Fire started when an experiment to tap into that magical source of energy went horribly wrong, and a huge wave of Hellfire swept through the city.  The Chicago Fire Academy, now occupies the former location of O'Leary's barn, the sight of the attempted tap and currently the thinnest part of the supernatural barrier.
• The Red Hand Of Doom There are several off-hand mentions about how Wizards interfere with "post-WWII" technology (especially complex electronics).  Hellboy was summoned/born in the midst of World War II...  Coincidence?
• The Chinese Have A Lot Of Hells Lo Pan is a Jade Court vampire, and has been hiding and gathering is strength in Chicago since a humiliating debacle in San Fransisco 25 years ago.
• Weird Science Between budget woes and the new LHC coming online at CERN in Europe, many physicists at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory outside Chicago are worried about their funding, their experiments, and their reputations.  Worried enough to attempt the acquisition of the Ghostbusters' proprietary portable positron collider and high efficiency energy cell technology by any means necessary.

*I'm not entirely conversant on how this would work, exactly, in the Dresdenverse.  Suggestions for possible explanations are welcome.

[The Mighty Buzzard]

The Chinese Have A Lot Of Hells Lo Pan is a Jade Court vampire, and has been hiding and gathering is strength in Chicago since a humiliating debacle in San Fransisco 25 years ago.

Now that is freaking hilarious. I must watch BTiLC again.

[Sanctaphrax]

I would be very interested to see mechanics for the ghostbusters.

[Smith]

I think I now have to write a HellBoy/Dresden cross-fic.

"Hey String-bean!"
I turned around to find myself eye-to-filed-down-horn with the bulkiest demon I've seen in the last decade, wearing a duster of all things! Awesome fashion sense aside, he was reaching back a huge stony fist to put one hell (ba-dump-bump) of a haymaker in my bread-basket. It's at moments like this really only one phrase pops into mind. "Aw crap."