Hosts of Freaky Ghosts - Revenants - Part II

 "OK so, to recap what has happened so far; Sebastian Pott gets this mysterious invitation to come to the Houston Zoo in Houston, Texas to check out a possible haunting. Pott finds out the place is known to haunting by its first Zoo Director, a former Circus Animal Trainer named Hans Nagel. The staff of the zoo know about this guy and that his spirit seems to be present in the Commissary Building, Recently, [relative to the events of Pott's notes and journal entries regarding the event we're discussing] another possibly supernatural entity seemed to be active around the newly upgraded Primate House. 

Investigated by Pott with the help of Zookeeper and amateur Photographer Jane Ballard, the duo were surprised by a ghost with a very physical form. How physical? Enough to hurl our man Pott a good forty feet! Thinking fast, Miss Ballard snapped a quick photo, flashing that bulb right in the spooky bastard's face. Excuse my language. Now here's what happened next..."

David Nelson, Ghostbusters Home Office, New York City, NY, October 2026

"I have at this point seen many strange things in my investigations of the paranormal;  unexplained lights, shadows without people to cast them, phantoms appearing and disappearing at will, and yet I found myself completely flumoxed by the sight before me as I had never been before.

This was no vaporous apparition, no glowing orb, or insubstantial shade.This was as solid as myself or Jane, well seven feet tall, massive and muscular, and clearly displayed the complexion and coloration of the deceased. He also bore a truly enviable handlebar mustache. It was both dashing and distinctive. 

He wore what appeared to be a full body leotard, one with a spotted leopard pattern, and a similar looking fur vest. The ensemble immediately reminded me of a Circus Performer, perhaps a Sideshow Strongman, albeit one from the 1930s or early 40s. Circa Hans Nagel's time in the world of sawdust and grease paint perhaps?

I hadn't noticed it first, hurt and petrified with fear as I was, that Jane had moved to cover behind a nearby bush. As the entity started to regain it's sense of sight (note that it appears to see through it's eyes like the living instead of through some psychic sense), it swiveled its head about as if searching for something. It seemed to find it, as it suddenly when stopping off towards who-knows-where. I'll tell you 'who', Jane Ballard. 

"I'll bet he's heading for the Commissary! That's where Nagel's ghost appears!", she shouted.

I forced myself onto my feet, wincing in pain but keeping my wits about me as best as I could. As briskly as I was able, I walked over to Jane and then both of us took off after our Strongman Ghost. Whispering as if our quarry could hear us I asked my companion, "Why do you think it'll be going to the Commissary? Is there some connection between our Strongman and the former Zoo Director I'm unaware of?"

"I just might be whistling dixie but ol' Hans Nagel worked in the circus as a Lion Tamer and animal trainer before becoming the first Zookeeper here. Is it so hard to imagine he might've known a Strongman?," Jane said, clearly excited, scared, and trying to speak quietly at the same time. Her hypothesis made sense, though it brought me no closer to knowing what to do once we reached the entity.

We reached our goal just in time, as I was very close to passing out from a pain in my chest that was making me run short of breath. What I thought was a bruised rib would turn out to be slightly more serious, though clearly not fatal. Thanks to Jane and her zookeeper keys, the two of us were able to enter the facility and look around, almost immediately noticing that something seemed amiss. It was dark, there was no one else there, and yet we could hear footsteps and objects, perhaps feed bags, sliding across the floor. Jane gave my hand a squeeze, which quite honestly caught me by surprise. She then moved to turn on the lights. 

Once the front entry of the Commissary was illuminated, the two of us were shocked to see the Strongman 'Ghost' with his large hands wrapped around another ghost's neck. As the two struggled with each other, Jane stared in disbelief as I scruntized the two 'men's expressions. 

The Strongman wasn't just gritting his teeth and grunting, though he was definitely doing that throughout the conflict. No, there was definitely more going on. He was 'speaking', moving his lips and mouth though no sound could be heard. For his part, the ghost of Hans Nagel was stone-faced and tight lipped. And that, I surmised, was the problem.

I tried taking a deep breath, though I found it more than a little difficult. With what air I could intake I shouted, "Tell'em he's right Nagel! Apologize! Say your sorry!". The Zookeeper's Ghost laughed, though it was just like the Strongman's words; obvious but unheard. I was quickly informed by Miss Ballard that my approach was not going to work. In life Nagel was a daredevil, a maverick, and a man who faced lions and alligators. He was not going to back down. In fact, that is essentially how or at least why he tied; he refused to lose an arguement. 

Understandable. I went with 'Plan B'. "He's trying to kill you! Let him!".

Nagel's spirit stared at me like I'd bitten the head off of a chicken. Then he slowly seemed to catch on to my thinking. He smiled at me thinly and winked. A moment later, the spectral zookeeper went through the motions of flailing, choking, and eventually went limp. As Jane and I held our breath, frozen in place and unable to away, the Strongman looked down at Nagel's 'fallen' figure and began to calm. As his 'breathing' eased, he began to fade away, and moments later he disappeared completely. A few seconds after that, Nagel vanished as well.

Jane and I stood up and slowly approached the spot where the ghosts had manifested a few mere minutes ago. At that moment, I felt a hand touch my shoulder. I nearly leaped out of my skin, looked behind me and saw the Zookeeper's Ghost resting his hand on me and smiling. He nodded to Jane, then did the same to me, and then he once more faded from sight. Shortly thereafter, Miss Ballard contacted a local hospital and drove me there so the doctors there could see to my injuries. They were indeed more serious than I'd estimated but nothing so terrible as to be crippling. I stayed overnight at the medical facility and then Jane drove me to a hotel, periodically checking on me. It seemed to me that she must have had some Nurse training of her own. 

I wrote a detailed report of what had happened to the Zoo Administrator, Garrett Moore. I gave him my contact information, including where I would likely be heading next, and let him know I would speak with him by telephone in two days to answer any questions he might have. I believe what we encountered was a rarely seen type of ghost referred to as Revenant. Unlike a traditional apparition, Revenants are solid. They are more like 'The Risen Dead' then some ethereal spirit. However, they aren't some kind of Vampire, Mummy, or Zombie but most assuredly ghosts. Something, some intense emotion and/or an element related to their death experience, makes them very corporeal indeed. 

I was quite impressed with my 'assistant' on this investigation, Miss Jane Ballard, without whom I might not have made it through the events that transpired fully intact. We have decided to remain in touch."

-Sebastian Pott, June 1950.

"My very first encounter with the supernatural was when I was serving with the US Marines, operating in the Middle East in the late 1980s. After my unit defeated a terrorist cell and started heading back to our command post, a lone insurgent attempted to hand out a little payback. Two other Marines and myself trapped our attacker in an abandoned buildling. Spotting him or at least his shadow, I called in my position and started to pursue. I quickly came across the fellow, who I was absolutely certain had been killed over five hours earlier during our initial confrontation with the terrorists. I was sure of it. I remembered his face. He was young, younger than me at least, and had very distinct eyes. They looked different now, hollow, but were clearly the same eyes. 

As he attempted to reload his weapon, it seemed it had jammed or something, I walked closer, my weapon pointed right at him until I got within 15-20 feet at most. I quietly but clearly said to him, "You're dead, man. It's over." He froze, looked at me - hell, through me if you know what I mean - and whispered a curse word in his native tongue. His face fell and his shoulders slumped and then he just disappeared. He just faded away until he was gone. 

Even after all this time with the Ghostbusters, that first time really haunts my dreams. For lack of a better word.

All this to say, be extra careful if you establish that the entity you're facing is a Revenant. They are ghosts but that are 100% solid. If they punch you, it hurts. If they have a firearm, they can shoot you. A Revenant knife with cut you and yes, you're gonna bleed. This isn't getting slimed, my friends.

Often, they are trying to accomplish something that they failed to do in life. If you can figure out what it is and help the Revenant complete their goal, it is very likely they'll 'move on'. Many, though not all, are susceptible to some material or energy which hurts them and through which they can not pass without suffering 'injury'. They are usually Class IVs and are best identified as Spectral Masses or Corporeal Undead, even though they kind of bend those definitions."

David Nelson, Ghostbusters Headquarters, New York.

Ghostbusters Inc., International.

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Hosts of Freaky Ghosts - Revenants - Part I

The following entry, Pott's notes on the subject, and the related 'Curious Case', changes the Professor's outlook on the supernatural and the mood of his writings. Since this is a experience of significance, I thought it best to call in a specialist on this type of entity among the Ghostbusters.

It is my pleasure to introduce one of my oldest friends; David Nelson, former U.S. Marine and Ghostbuster since 1989. Nelson has worked at the Home Office in New York City and is considered the absolute backbone of 'Team 2'.

David, take it away...

"Thanks Adam. Hey there, yeah, so this entry revolves around Revenants. They're, well they're bad news. As Prof. Pott points out, the name itself comes from French words for 'Returning' or 'To Come Back', but I've come to connect it with 'Revenge'. That's not scientific or anything, it's just been my experience.

In fact, my very first encounter with the paranormal was with a Revenant. I'll talk more about that after Pott's part but man, I can totally see why he felt the way he did after he met one. 

"I have received an anonymous tip via letter that it would be of interest to me to contact the Houston Zoo of all places. I am unsure of what to expect. If its an Animal Ghost or Native Spirit in Animal Form that would be interesting. Most of the sightings and claims I have responded to regarding those sorts of hauntings have been inconclusive at best and often sadly lackluster. I hope this will be something more intriguing."

Sebastian Pott, June 1950

"After a telephone conversation with one Mr. Garrett Moore, a Zoo Administrator, I am stunned to discover that they do indeed have a reoccurring ghost of some kind and that it isn't animal related.

In 1941, the Zoo's first Zookeeper, an interesting and colorful fellow by the name of Hans Nagel, was shot six times by a Hermann Park Police Officer over a dispute between the two. In some versions of the story, Nagel was spying on teenagers in a parked car in the Zoo's parking lot and there was an argument between the Nagel and Officer Warren over who had jurisdiction in policing the area. Their quarrel turned deadly when Nagel reached for his sidearm and Officer Warren drew his in response and killed the Zookeeper. The officer was aquitted by a grand jury.*

The paranormal entity in question is believed to be the spirit of Hans Nagel. We shall see."

Sebastian Pott, June 1950

Planned map of the Houston Zoo's layout published in the Houston Chronicle,

January 7th, 1925

Curious Case #27: The Rage of the Revenant Wronged.

"Shortly after arriving on site at the Houston Zoo, I met and spoke with Garrett Moore again, this time at length over a surprising good cup of coffee. He confirmed much of the same information I'd found in my research, with a few minor differences to the story naturally. He also had knowledge about other tales with which I was unfamiliar. 

While most of the strange and unexplained occurances at the Zoo are attributed to the ghost of it's former and first director, other employee experiences have not matched the sort typically attributed to the late Zookeeper. Nagel's ghost always appears close to or within the Zoo's Commissary Building, which stands on the site of the man's demise. The reported interactions with the haunting include employees hearing disembodied voices, feeling phantom touches, seeing fleeting apparitions, and objects, some quite heavy, found to have been moved without anyone's knowledge or notice. 

The recent manifestation appears near the new Primate House, the 'Monkey Mansion' opened only recently. Claims describe a Human or Human-like figure with an odd gait who moves quite quickly despite that. Strange noises and loud 'gurgling' have been heard. Lastly, one employee who quit soon after his encounter, said a shadowy figure threw bags of fruit and vegetables at him one evening. Nagel's spirit tends to appear in the early morning hours. 

My first thought was, 'a primate escaped'. A chimpanzee or some such creature is loose and that's all this is to this. I say 'all' as if that isn't a terrifying situation in its own right. At this point in my exploration of the supernatural, I'm far more frightened by the probability of running afoul of an errant ape then I am some mischievous vapor. 

Postcard Image of the Houston Zoo Entrance from 1950

I brought up this potential possibility to Mr. Moore but he insisted that could not be the case. Aside from all the Zoo's primates being accounted for, footprints in crushed fruit and juice was found exactly where the ex-worker said his assailant had launched his attack from. "Footprints?", I asked. "May I see them?" I was informed that it was all cleaned up but photos were taken by another staff member, a young woman named Jane Ballard.

I met with Miss Ballard an hour or so later and she was just a lovely young lady, very helpful, a skilled photographer, and just very pleasant to speak with. She showed me her photos and indeed those were the shoe prints of a Human, one likely wearing sandles of some sort. I explained what I would be doing to confirm this entities existance (such as it is) and identify the nature of this being. I also showed her how I obtained voice and sound recordings and took photographs of my own using my 'Spirit Camera'. She was extremely attentive and asked to tag along. I cleared it with Moore and Jane became my assistant for the evening. 

Jane Ballard, Zookeeper and Amateur Photographer

Houston, Texas 1950

After the end of day, when the Zoo was closed for the evening, Jane completed her responsibilities and met me near the Monkey Mansion where I had placed my various equipment for detecting ghosts, if that was what it was. Ballard suggested she sit on the opposite side of the Primate House, directly across from where I would be situated, with her own camera at the ready. I agreed but made it clear that I'd prefer she stay visible. I all but insisted she not be completely in the shadows. She agreed but it was clear on her face that hiding in a dark spot had definitely been her plan. 

The night was warm as I recall. Much warmer than was expecting or accustomed to. The evening was far from quiet. A constant background sound, a quiet roar of buzzing, chirping, and gurgling water was like the crashing waves on a nearby shore in the otherwise still Texas Summer night. It is for this reason, perhaps, that I didn't notice the large, dark figure moving comparatively silently through the shadows behind the Primate House. He, it, suddenly ran forward with remarkable speed, lifted me clear off my feet and tossed me through the air towards Jane. Crouched and adjusting her camera at the time, Miss Ballard was able to easily duck and move out of the way. I went flying into the bushed behind her, accutely aware that I had most likely dislocated my elbow and possibly bruised a rib. 

Jane aimed her camera up, tightened the bulb she had prepared, and flashed the attacker with a brillant burst of light. The figure recoiled from the flash, covering its eyes, and let out a growling scream. What I saw as my own eyes adjusted and I tried to focus past the pain was nothing short of astonishing and for the first time in a long time, I was frozen in fear, unable to act."

This entry continues with Part II...

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David Nelson is the Player Character of my dear friend David Concepcion, first created for our 1986-1989 Ghostbusters TRPG campaign, 'The Home Office'.

Hosts of Freaky Ghosts - Intelligent Hauntings

"'Intelligent Hauntings' is the term given for a category so broad as to render the words descriptive only in the weakest sense. 

I would say my neighbor's dog Rusty is a very Intelligent canine but that is not the same as calling Albert Einstein very Intelligent, now is it?

In point of fact,  I would go so far as to suggest an alternative, more appropriate name for the phenomenon; Interactive Hauntings. The key factor is not intelligence you see but an awareness of the living."

Prof. Sebastian Pott, October 1949.

Not every paranormal claim Prof. Pott responded to and investigated bore fruit. Some were pranks or hoaxes, some were honest misunderstandings easily debunked, and some simply didn't yield enough conclusive evidence. 

Pott's 'Curious Cases' are differentiated from his other explorations in that something came out of them; he had a personal experience backed up by physical, audio, photographic, or some other form of corroborating evidence.

This particular case is interesting to me for two reasons. The first is that it shows a pattern in the Professor’s encounters that he himself would not become aware of for sometime. Second, the entity described here has since been encountered and captured by Ghostbusters Cleveland. As such, I have asked Erica Crawford, the lead Ghostbuster on that case, to add her own observations. 

"I want to start by thanking Adam and Dr. Stantz for letting me participate in this project. Also a heartfelt thanks to my fellow Ghostbusters here in Cleveland for having my back all those times I've done something crazy. So, like all the time. 

Our call to come out to the Ohio State Reformatory/Penitentiary back in 2020 was my first time on a big assignment and I'll never forget it. Adam says I was the 'lead' on this one but I wasn't at first. It just ended up that way. Before I tell you how it all went down, here are the notes from Professor Pott on the subject...?

Curious Case #3: The Innocent Monster of The Ohio State Reformatory

"Just a week or so before my birthday, I was contacted by an army aquaintence now working as a prison guard at the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield. I remembered him well, a handsome and strapping young man when I'd met him, tough as nails and jolly as ol' Saint Nicholas himself. His voice on our call was odd to me; he sounded noticably shaken. Unaware that I was already traveling about investigating paranormal occurances, he asked how soon I could come visit the Reformatory. He'd already cleared things with his superiors. I was in Northern Pennsylvania at the time, so I had no trouble getting to him in short order.

On a cold, rainy October morning I got out of a taxi and saw what I assumed was the medieval keep of some knight sworn to defend his king from a well armed rival nation. The Reformatory...it was a fortress; impressive, ever-present, and terrible. I was met out front by my wartime colleague and he immediately introduced me to another guard and the facility's chief physican, Dr. Watson Herscheal Walker. Dr. Walker is an African-American man and a prominent surgeon who, I would later learn, broke a very fortified color barrier to attain his position and to my understanding those incarcerated there were better for it. 

The three men explained to my that the facility, which had originally focused on young, first time offenders and minimum security risks, was slowly but surely changing into a maximum security operation filled with considerably less savory individuals. The transition had not always gone smoothly, with the two very different populations having difficulty getting along, shall we say. The Reformatory was already known for the presence of the supernatural; fleeting shadow people, phantom smells such as burning wood and hair (attributed to a fire in the 1930), and object vibrating or shaking by themselves.

That is not why I was asked to come take a look. My army friend and his fellow guard were making their rounds in the early morning hours two days prior, when they come upon what they thought was an inmate in a cell that was supposed to be unoccupied. As they came closer, a vaguely human spectre with his back to the guards shouted or loudly moaned...something...then turned to see the two men. Frozen in fear and confusion for an instant, the two men then reflexively reached for their clubs but the entity through open the cell door with such speed and force that the second guard suffered an injury to his right arm. My friend yelled at the creature to halt and it did not. Instead it 'ran' into him, shouldering him backward and slamming him hard against the far wall. The entity then departed, floating down the corridor faster than either of the guards could run. 

Dr. Walker confirmed their injuries, neither of which was all that severe, but was concerned about their mental health; he initially believed they hadn't had enough sleep, enough food, or they'd been drinking. He was also to determine none of those conditions to be the case. Later that same evening, as Walker was departing for home, he saw the being as well. It moaned at him in what he took to be a pleading manner. The Doctor found himself so frightened he couldn't respond. The phantom became angry, violently shaking its head and moaning louder. Guards heard the sound and came running but the entity flew down an adjacent hallway and passed through the wall at the other end. 

After chatting with the men for another short while I set up my various tools-of-the-trade as it were and looked over the areas where the spirit had manifested. It had shown up twice, very early and very late in the day, essentially as dawn and twilight. After a few unsuccessful hours, I decided to depart for lunch, took care of organizing notes from earlier outings, and returned later that evening as the Sun's weak rays, barely able to penetrate the sky's thick gray clouds, gave up on trying to light the world, at least until the next morning. As bright gray turned to a dark purple gray I made my way through the appropriate checkpoints and finally into that area where the entity had first been encountered. Sure enough, there it was, floating just inches above a cott and looking miserable.

I addressed it, "Spirit, I am Sebastian Pott. I am not a guard nor an inmate but merely a curious observer. Is there anything I can do for you?"

The creature looked puzzled initially but then it came to the bars and wrapped its hands around them as if they could hold such a being; as if it were confined like any other prisoner. It moaned, a haunting and disturbing whimper really. As described by Dr. Walker, it shook its head from side-to-side repeatedly. I asked if it was injured or sick. No response. Frightened? Nothing. 

I finished with, "What did you do if I might ask?" This was, it turns out, the wrong question. The entity howled, clearly enraged, and came through the bars and flew right at me. It lifted me up by my jacket lapels, a good three feets off the floor, and moaned loudly, it's maw only inches from my face. I suddenly realized I was in pain. I'd been forced against the wall before I was lifted, hard enough to have hurt my right shoulder blade. Thankfully, the spectre dropped me and took out down the hall light a shot, moaning and screeching all the way. 

I, along with at least four prison guards, tried to give chase, as ridiculous a notion as that is. Over the next two hours I caught a glimpse of the ghost three more times, though never I could never get closer than fifty or sixty feet before it darted through a door or a wall. I was about to get one somewhat decent photo of it however. 

Later on, I sat with Dr. Walker and my old army buddy and told them what I had seen and experienced in great detail. I had a feeling about the entity based on nothing more than my own intuition. It was the spirit of a former prisoner, that much was certain, but one that may have been wrongly convicted. It seemed to be moaning its plight, asking for help, perhaps even calling out for justice. We three men sat there with this idea for some time before I departed."

-Sebastian Pott, October 1949

"The Ohio State Penitentiary (formerly Reformatory) was shut down in 1990 after decades of severe conditions such as overcrowding, aging equipment and structural integrity, and a history of inmate abuse, riots, and extreme violence in general. Following inmate lawsuits against the state of Ohio in the 1970s and 1980s, the facility was decommissioned. 

In 2020, practically ten years to the day after the Ohio State Penitentiary closed, members of the The Mansfield Reformatory Historical Society contacted the Ghostbusters (Ghostbusters Cleveland) claiming their attempts to convert the site into a museum where being thwarted by a 'violent, Human-like figure in an old, striped prisoner uniform'. We went in to investigate with Charles Moore in the lead and three other employees including myself. After an hour of looking around the facility, Moore and I found traces of Ectoplasm and damage to some doors leading to the East Cell Block section.

PKE readings suddenly went off the charts and as Moore placed his Ectogoggles down over his eyes, a glowing green Class IV-V entity came through a door and struck Charley square in the chest. He was thrown off his feet, flew backward about fifteen feet or so, and landed hard on his back covered in a thin layer of slime. I immediately radioed the rest of the team to come to our position, then changed the plan to have one of the other come around to head off the escaping spook. I checked that Moore was OK, waited a bit for our people to get in position, and then I ran forward and into the corridor the entity had fled to. I saw it, called out for my teammate and they let a Proton Stream fly that hit the thing in the lower torso area. I followed up, zapping it with a Capture Stream from behind. It wasn't a easy catch. It was pulling and pushing and trying as hard as it could to get away, all the while moaning and screeching. Finally Charles and our remaining team member came up from my rear, spread out a little, and fired capture streams of their own.

Designated as a Flexible, Full-Torso, Repeating Phantom or

a Class IV or V Full-Roaming Fog by Ghostbusters Cleveland

For reasons I couldn't even tell you, I looked at the thing's face and saw...sorrow? Exhaustion? Whatever it was, I yelled out, "It's going to be OK, we're trying to help!". With that it looked right at me, hell through me, and stopped struggling. Slam, bam, one in the can as Moore dropped a Ghost Trap, activated it, and caught the phantom. Initially everyone cheered but then they all looked at me and asked why I'd said what I'd said. Well, I didn't really know but felt there was more to this ghost than just random violence. As it turned out, I was right. 

Using modern research methods and coordinating with the Ghostbusters home office, we found out that this entity was most likely the spirit of someone wrongly accused of a crime, jailed, and later died at the Reformatory. It is also possible it was a psychic...oh man...gestalt? Yes! A gestalt of thoughts and emotions from many such individuals.

WIth the help of a local judge and minister, we took the entity out of our Containment Grid, released it into an open field, while exhonorating it and giving last rites (non-denominational)  The entity changed from its previous appearance into a bright white light before dissipating before our eyes. 

Felt good but man, this job is nuts."

Erica Crawford, Ghostbusters Cleveland.

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The film 'The Shawshank Redemption' was filmed at the Ohio State Reformatory. 

There is a real organization called The Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society, which purchased the site from the State of Ohio for $1. It is now owned by the City of Mansfield. 

Easter Eggs from Hosts of Freaky Ghosts - Certified Genius or Authentic Wacko?

'Sebastian Pott's' is an anagram of 'Tobin's' and 'Spate's'.

Pott's birthplace of Amityville, NY is a reference to The Amityville Horror (1979)

Pott's mother being Wendy and an 'aspiring novelist' are references to The Shining (1980)

Sebastian's Uncle Jack's final visit eludes to the plot of Rosemary's Baby (1968)

Sebastian's assistant and friend Nancy Strode is a homage to two of the great 'Final Girls'; Nancy Thompson from A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and Laurie Strode from Halloween (1978).

Meretown was inspired by the Twilight Zone TV Series episode A Stop at Willoughby (1960).

To Our Fallen Champion

It is with profound sadness that I must announce the passing of one of my oldest and dearest friends, William Corpening.

William Corpening

1969-2025

My friend of nearly 40 years, William passed away on December 20th from complications related to cancer.

An extremely inventive and quick-witted individual, William remains the greatest Gamemaster I have ever had the pleasure to play under. This is especially true when it comes to his favorite game, Champions. His original Superhero universe, Champions Earth - Wilcox Charlie-1 or more properly, 'The Age of Champions', was the single most enjoyable experience I've had as a player. I learned so many things that improved my own GMing by watching, listening, and talking to him about game design, theory, and our personal views on the subject of the craft. 

Readers of this blog will be very familiar with Will's talent even if they might not immediately recognize his name:

He created the Champions 'Age of Champions' setting I use to run most of my Champions campaigns. You find the history of his world here and here. 

He created Kineto.

He created the Parallel and Alternate Earth Naming/Cataloging System I still use for my Superhero campaigns to this day. 

As a player, he portrayed a host of fun and memorable characters including Robert 'Robbie' Stadler in our Ghostbusters: The Home Office campaign and Vulcan First Officer and Tactical Officer Commander Sovik in Star Trek: Renown. 

This only scratches the surface of all the incredible characters, events, concepts, and locations Will came up with over the years. I could go on and on about my friend and his amazing ability to bring his ideas to life. 

I will end here for now but this will not be the last post that mentioned William Corpening. Not by a long shot. 

Rest in Peace my brother. You are gone but you'll never be forgotten.

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Who's Who and What's That

Variation of the Ghostbusters Logo based on

the operning of 'The Real Ghostbusters'

Design by That's Art Folk

The book 'Who's Who and What's That' - an up-to-date copy of which is located in the Ghostbusters Firehouse Library; specifically in the second bookcase, third shelf, dead center - is a resource for the occult and paranormal community that is more accessible to the layman than the rarer and more obscure Spate's Catalog or Tobin's Spirit Guide. 

The tome serves as a highly useful reference to those interested in identifying the wide variety of spectral entities and supernatural miscreants one can encounter in the defense of our world from theirs. With Halloween approaching, it is very likely your Ghostbusters franchise is about to get really busy. The information in this book should be be quite helpful, so we here at The Home Office would like to point to a few key entries that our research tells us are likely to pop up...

It has been established in our own Ghostbusters canon that the weeks leading up to Halloween get busier and busier, often culminating in a major incident around October 31st. While you never know what might manifest during this time, there are certain beings more likely to appear than others. 

***

Note that Who's Who and What's That introduces some additional and alternative Descriptors applicable to the Ghostbusters CDI System.

Conditional: A wide ranging Descriptor that covers any entities who manifest when a specific condition is met. The criteria can be nearly anything, from 'Appears in the evening of the first day of Autumn, usually at sundown, every year', to 'Whenever someone says the ghost's name three times'. Sometimes referred to as Triggered, this Descriptor can be seen in the description of The Fall Bearer (aka The Ghost of Rottinghume Manor), as well as below. 

Paired: Most PKE Manifestations appear singularly, one being appearing by itself. On occasion, multiple ghosts will appear simultaneously or come into being separately and then gather together. In specific instances, there will be ghosts that only appear in a group; none of the individuals can or do appear without the others. This type of manifestion receives the Descriptor Grouped. A less common but notable variation of this is Paired; when two entities appear together and only together. Paired Ghosts have a connection with each other that makes tougher to deal with in unison. Remember the Scoleri Brothers? They're a perfect example of Paired paranormal beings.

Tempered: Rare Descriptor indicating a spectral being who places a self-imposed limit on the nature or amount of damage and chaos it causes. This sort of entity will only create mayhem up to the point of its own choosing. 

Examples of this would be a ghost who tries to terrify everyone except small children, whom it shows kindness towards, or one that screams and throws things so long as no one is looking at it.

Sometimes the criteria it has set for itself is subtle or at least not especially obvious at first (such as Sweet Tooth - see below).

These beings should not be confused with those who deserve the Descriptor Constrained or [less commonly] Restricted. These ghosts are limited by some being or condition outside themselves. 

***

The Halloween Hater

AKA: The Ghost of the Grand Market Mall T-Mart, Foresaken Clerk

CDI: Focused, Conditional Repeating Phantom or a Class IV Full-Roaming Fog.

The Halloween Hater is a ghost with a grudge against the holiday and her goal is to take the fun out of the spooky season every year it comes around. In life it is believed she was a Puritan Woman by the name of Foresaken Clerk (an earlier version of the name Clarke, generally referring to a scribe). She was critical of her Irish and Scottish neighbors, specifically angered by their annual All Hallow's Eve celebrations. Each year she would dress up in festivity appropriate garb and sabotage the holiday activities. She was finally caught by a young Irish girl who pointed out Foresaken was participating by pulling 'tricks' on her kinfolk, all while in disguise. Flustered and infuriated, Foresaken ran back home but accidentally fell in a ditch, hit her head on a rock, and died. 

Fast forward to modern times and the popular discount department store T-Mart, taking up a large portion of the Grand Market Mall, is haunted by Foresaken's ghost, which appears every year as soon as Halloween themed candy and costumes go on sale. Her main goal is to either damage the display and merchandise or frighten away customers. Things have escalated in the last two years as a new manager thought of using Foresaken's presence as a means of bringing people in to the store. 'Don't be a Halloween Hater!', say signs showing an illustration of Foresaken, 'Come to T-Mart, your one-stop Scary Fun Shop!'.

Foresaken is not amused.

The Halloween Hater appears as a full-torso apparition that looks like a Puritan Woman in her early 20s. She wears clothing typical of New England Puritan women of the late 16th or early 17th century. The ghost has no clear feet, as is typical of full-torso entities, and instead 'ends' in a dimly glowing fog. Her head covering hides the exact spot where Foresaken's skull collided with the stone that did her in. The horrible wound beneath is visible when Foresaken uses her Frightening Visage ability. One important detail is that she appears with a journal or diary of some kind, one which she will do anything to protect. The Halloween Hater will not let anyone touch this book, whatever it is. 

In addition to transitioning into a Terrifying Visage and being able to Physically Push things, Foresaken has a rather limited but strangely effective psychokinetic ability, Psychokinetic Trip. This causes anyone targeted to trip over nothing and fall prone if the Halloween Hater gets more Successes than the person's Athletics Attribute. Note, this is not 'if she gets more Successes than the target does when they make an Athletics roll'. This is more Successes than the target's stat. For example: If she tries to trip Professor Gabriel Zimmerman, she needs to roll 3 or more Successes, as his Athletics stat is 3. He does not get an Athletics Defense Roll as the attack is invisible and essentially comes from nowhere.

Now, if he knew an attack was coming and he decided to run, Foresaken would have to get 6 or more Successes as Zimmerman has the Signature Skill 'Run' at 6 Dice and that would be an appropriate defense. Again, not a Defense Roll but a better chance of avoiding the attack and its effects. It's less about distance and more about Foresaken being able to concentrate on a clear target. 

Scenario Idea: A local female celebrity of some kind (influencer, musican, politican)  comes into the T-Mart to buy some Halloween stuff for herself and maybe some friends or her kids. The Halloween Hater goes crazy! Foresaken keeps tripping the woman and anyone she's with, frightening them and pushing displays on top of them. Turns out the woman is a descendant of the Irish girl who pointed out Foresaken's hypocrisy almost 200 years ago. 

Sweet Tooth

AKA: The Candy Counter Ghost

CDI: Focused, Tempered, Non-Terminal Repeating Phantasm or a Class V Free-Roaming Vapor

First appearing in Brooklyn, NY around the end of the 19th Century, the 'Candy Counter Ghost', later dubbed 'Sweet Tooth', became the bane of the numerous immigrant candy makers who established New York as the [now unsung] capital of the candy world. As more and more confectioners came to New York City and set up shop, the menace of the gluttonous Sweet Tooth ghost grew greater and greater.

This Phantasm traditionally appears and wrecks havoc in candy stores or sweets factories, eating everything in sight from jujyfruits to junior mints, then suddenly stopping and disappearing once again. This has been its pattern for decades.

A few renowned occultists in the late 30s surmised that this particular Vapor ate as much as it liked but never so much as to completely eliminate its food source. That is to say, it never consumes so much candy that any of the confection crafters is preys on are forced to go out of business. Still, it haa hurt the livelihoods of a great many people and continues to do so whenever it reappears.

Personally, I would lean into this and have the entity wrestle with the paradox; it loves candy and will consume all it can but not too much 'cause then there won't be any candy and the candy makers will go away. At the same time, there is sooo much candy! Why not eat it all! Oh wait... It's enough to drive a Reoccurring Phantasm mad! 

Many of Sweet Tooth's appearances across the past 100+ years have been random, however it's guaranteed to show up during candy focused holidays such as Christmas, Easter, and especially Halloween.

The Candy Counter Ghost resembles a typical Class V Vapor upon first manifesting; the entity is off-white in color and appears to be made of soft chewing gum, taffy, or stale marshmallow. As Sweet Tooth consumes candy he begins to take on blotches of color as if stained by the lollipops and gumdrops he's eaten. Sweet Tooth also gradually increases in size during its treat consumption rampage.

Another side effect, and one that relates to Sweet Tooth's only unique supernatural ability, is that its Ectoplasmic Residue becomes thicker than average, turns pink and/or lime green, and extremely sticky. The Phantasm uses this syrupy slime to hinder or trap pursuers. In addition to passing through things and leaving Ectoplasm behind, Sweet Tooth is able to project it forward, downward, or backwards out from its lower torso. (Opponents Slimed are at a -1D penalty to all rolls for one round per Sweet Tooth's Successes using Extra Sticky Slime in addition to normal Slime rules). 

While Sweet Tooth always appears during Candy-centric holidays, it isn't considered 'Conditional' because it appears randomly at other times as well. 

Scenario Idea: A posh new Candy Pop-Up Shop opens and its taking a lot of customers and money away from a veteran, Mom-and-Pop confectioner whose been around since the early 20th century. The latter finds an incantation in an old book that enables them to summon Sweet Tooth and sick'em on the competition.

Trick and Treat

AKA: The Terrible Trick or Treat Twins

CDI: Paired Non-Terminal Repeating Spectres or Class Vs Free-Roaming Masses

These two peculiar paranormal perps were difficult to classify but were eventually given the designation of Class Vs (Class Five-'S') They seem to manifest as sentient, mobile Halloween costumes, usually simple bedsheet ghosts, roughly the size of middle school children. They possess a faint green glow (like glow-in-the-dark' toys from the 80s) that is much more easily seen at night (like glow-in-the-dark toys from the 80s). Note that they have feet and wear rubber soled boots or perhaps high-top sneakers. In addition to their costumes and footwear, the 'Twins' (as they are often called) carry plastic Jack O' Lanterns often filled with candy. Note that these are real, not Ectoplasmic, though everything else about them is. 

The exact origin of these two entities is a mystery. They first started to appear in urban and suburban areas along the Eastern Coast of the United States during the mid-to-late 1930s. They disappeared following the Great Depression, with no known reports of them again until well after World War II. Since the early 1970s they appear in a far wider range of geographic areas, though exclusively within the continental USA. 

When the Sun begins to set on the night of October 31s, these two ghosts will appear amid all the other local trick or treaters and try to blend in with the crowds. They will never go more than a few feet from each other, tend to lag behind largely groups, and rarely speak or interact with anyone durings these times. When they do their voices sound like raspy male children around 12 years of age. They keep their sentences short and use a limited vocabulary. 

Trick and Treat's M.O. is to wait under there is no one else in front of a house or apartment and then knock on the door saying, 'Trick or Treat' in unison. If they are given candy, they give the person a nod or slight bow before leaving to the next house. On occasion, Treat has even been known to say thank you.

If they are given anything else...fruit, money, chapstick..they will stand in front of the person for an awkwardly long moment in complete silence before slowly walking off. Trick will then egg the house, throw toilet paper all over it, or some other suitably childish 'revenge'. Now, if they are given nothing, the consequences can be much more severe. Trick has been known to let all the air out of someone's tired, stick rocks up their tailpipe, leave flaming ectoplasm poop on the person's doorstep, and in one instance 'he' dropped fireworks down their chimney into an active fireplace.

The response is also effected by how the person in the home is perceived. If they give nothing but explain they are poor, retired and can't easily get to the store, or some other reasonable excuse, Trick is much more lenient. If the person in the house is nasty to the pair in any way, Trick's actions will scale up accordingly. 

On some occasions, Treat will feel bad for someone who has very little but gives the pair some sort of candy, even if its a single chocolate kiss or life-saver. When this happens, he will leave them candy! Usually it is a lollipop or candy bar. 

Both Trick and Treat have the ability to Manifest Objects from seemingly nowhere and can Physically Move things roughly equivalent to what the average adult Human can lift and move. 

Scenario Idea: Trick and Treat enter an area where no one seems to be home. Trick wants to wreck havoc, Treat wants him to wait. Finally they discover a Halloween Party for the neighborhood kids and their families being thrown at your Ghostbusters HQ. The Twins will knock and if invited in, they'll participate in the fun a little before disappearing and leaving behind a bunch of candy. If barred from entering, scrutinized, or otherwise made to feel unwelcome, Trick will cause all manner of chaos - up to and including shutting down the Power Grid!

That's all for now. Remember Ghostbusters, Another Ghost, Another Dollar.

Who ya gonna call?

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Barking Alien

Solo Ghostbusting - 'Computer Glitch' - Part I

Scenario I, Session 1:

Phase 1: Introduction / Opening

Fumiko Magari was sitting at her desk, randomly scrolling through a dating app on her phone wondering why she was scrolling through a dating app on her phone. She was weird by Japanese standards and (kind of) proud of it. She wasn’t going to meet anyone on this thing. She turned to look at her co-worker and friend Michio Tsumura who seemed to have a new girlfriend every few months. He was asleep at his desk with an unfinished report on his computer screen. 

The door to the Boss’s office opens quickly to reveal the ‘The Old Man’, Mr. Kori Koarishi, standing there with his customary frown. As those in the office turn to see what’s up, Koarishi nods at Miss Aya Nakamura in General Affairs and motions her into his office with a sharp movement of his nose. Nakamura enters without a word and a few moments later exits holding a folder. She walks between the desks of Fumiko and Michio and reveals that that she has a Project for them.

  

“Ghostbusters: Ningyotoshi Ghost Research has gotten a call from Hiroshi Taniguchi, the Head Network Engineer with Seijitsu Soryūshon (Sincere Solutions). Several members of his department, including himself, were experiencing computer issues with no discernible source or explanation. Eventually, a couple of them saw a Desktop Computer, complete with Tower, Screen, Keyboard, and Mouse, moving on its own about the office. When pursued the Computer ran away and seemed to disappear. He finished with ‘Please help Ghostbusters! We have numerous projects and sales reports due’!”

Happy to have some action (really anything constructive to do), Magari and Tsumura suit up. As they enter the Gear Locker room, each takes a Proton Pack with a Neutrona Wand, a Ghost Trap, and a Walkie-Talkie. Additionally, Fumiko takes Ecto-goggles. As they enter the garage, Kenji Boudreux tosses Michio the keys to the Ecto-NT 1 (a 1985 Toyota Land Cruiser).  Michio adjusts the seat and mirror and then reaches for the siren but Fumiko gets to it first and sticks her tongue out at him, then smiles wide. Michio smirks and shakes his head as they drive off to their destination.  

Miss Nakamura calls them while they’re enroute to let them know she will be their Manager on this Project if they need anything from headquarters/the home office. 

Project #1: 

Project Name: Computer Glitch

Number of employees required: 3 people

Number of phases: 3

Recommended skills: None

Client: Hiroshi Taniguchi, Network Engineer Manager at Sincere Solutions

Ghost: Class V Animated Phantom Tsukumogami – Computer Spirit

Phase 2: Investigation

The team of two arrives at the office building and head upstairs to the 5th floor (really the 4th, an unlucky number in Japan). Upon stepping off the elevator they are able to locate Mr. Taniguchi easily as he was hiding…I mean waiting for their arrival. “Thank goodness you’re here!”, shouted Mr. Taniguchi, a lot louder than was necessary. Yes, there was noise in the background – yelps and gasps from employees, falling chairs and coffee cups, etc. – but he was no more than a few feet in front of the Ghostbusters. 

Michio started to ask for the current details about the situation but Mr. Taniguchi shouted, “Excuse me? Speak up please! The ruckus caused by this…whatever it is is very loud!”. 

Fumiko exchanged glances with Michio and then leaned in close to him and whispered, “I’m thinking something made a loud noise near his head. He might be temporarily hard of hearing until he…”, but before she could finish the client stamped his foot and pointed at her with a frustrated face and finger.

Fumiko makes a Task Roll using her Brains to figure out why Taniguchi appears hard of hearing. She gets a Success with Trouble, taking 1 point of Mental Damage and 1 point of Environmental Damage. She is embarrassed and thinks she might be reflecting poorly on her company. 

“I said PLEASE SPEAK UP! Don’t whisper. Whispering is obviously the opposite of speaking up. My goodness, I thought you all were professionals! I…”

Michio stood up straight, puffed out his chest, and moved quickly into Taniguchi‘s ‘personal space’. Tsumura put on a frown and a furrowed brow and his message was quite clear. Mr. Taniquchi backed up, took a deep breath, and apologized. “Terribly sorry young lady. I think I’m having trouble hearing, I am at my wits end with this…situation…and again, my apologies.” 

Fumiko gave a polite bow. “Completely understandable!,” she shouted, actually catching Michio off guard and startling others in the area. “My fault entirely. I should have realized I was being impolite. Can you tell us exactly what’s going on?”

Taniguchi proceeds to describe what began as a normal if busy day but one which changed dramatically just after lunch/midday. Various computers in the office started having issues, including not saving work, sudden shutdowns, going onto naughty sites of their own accord, and other strange activities. As the issues spread, Taniguchi and some of his best people checked the servers, ran diagnostic programs, and even investigated the buildings electrical systems. Nothing seemed wrong and the problems made no sense. 

Finally, someone in the main offices screamed and a small, almost robot-like figure appeared. It seemed to be made up of computer hardware from an older model desktop. It began running around and as it passed people’s desks even more network issues and IT problems erupted. Taniguchi and others tried to catch it but it made a Laptop on someone’s desk explode and then disappeared in the chaos. 

Fumiko asked how the ‘Computer Boy’ blew up the laptop. While no one knew exactly, someone nearby said she saw it press a button on the laptop’s keyboard before the item exploded. “We should take a look at the remains of that device”, said Michio. Fumiko agreed. 

Mr. Taniguchi escorted the Ghostbusters duo through the office as concerned company personnel looked on. He brought them to the desk of a young woman named Arai Hotaru who stood beside her chair looking very frightened. A charred, open laptop sat on the burnt surface of the desk, bits of metal and plastic scattered across the area like confetti. Taniguchi introduced Miss Hotaru to the pair of Paranormal Investigators and Michio noted she had some minor burns, cuts, and her hair was all frizzy. 

“Are you alright Miss Hotaru?”, asked Michio in a purposely slow, warm manner, with a calm and kind tone. The woman blinked and looked up at him as if she had just that moment noticed that anyone was there. 

Miss Hotaru said in a quite and shaky voice, “I moved away from the laptop as soon as I heard it sizzle and smelled smoke but …I feel hot and there’s a tingle…”. She trailed off unable to focus. Tsumura placed one of his large hands on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring look. He nodded to Magari with a particular expression she knew quite well. 

Using her cellphone, Fumiko called the Fire Department and explained the situation*. She followed that with a quick call in to Nakamura back at the GB: NGR office to fill her in on the information they had so far, which wasn’t a lot. Nakamura let her know that as Project Manager she can coordinate with the Paramedics at the local hospital and can send back-up Field Operatives if needed. Magari nodded (even though Aya couldn’t see her) and let Nakamura know they hadn’t yet encountered the entity, so don’t send reinforcements just yet. Fumiko recommended Aya keep them on stand-by. 

*Fumiko calls the Fire Department and not an Ambulance or Paramedics. Why? Well, in Japan it is the Fire Department that handles transporting injured people to medical facilities. They are trained with basic Paramedic skills. Once at a hospital or emergency clinic, full Paramedics respond to the patients and get them to doctors and nurses in the facility as necessary.

Michio and Mr. Taniguchi helped Miss Hotaru get around her desk and Taniguchi walked her towards the elevators. Tsumura grimaced, narrowed his eyes, and looked about the place as if he could simply sense the entity they were searching for. Thing is…he could. He had always had this knack for feeling the presence of spirits and the supernatural. Here…

Michio makes a Task Roll using his Spirit Perception Skill. I made the Difficulty Number 8, Slightly Difficult, as I wanted this first entity to be hard to locate. Why? Something to explore later. I rolled a 6. Instead of a Success with Trouble I decided that Michio straight up fails in his attempt.

When this happens, the character takes 1 Point of Damage, in this case Mental, and also gains 1 Point of Overtime. He can now activate his Overwork Skill once by spending the point of Overtime. Going to save that for later.

Tsumura let out a sigh. Nothing. He almost felt like there was some sort of 'background noise' making it really difficult to sense this thing. He turned, hoping to locate Magari and continue with their investigation of the premises only to virtually slam right into her. "Eh?! Fumiko, were you right there the whole time?”

For her part Fumiko was standing barely a foot in front of him, almost on her tippy-toes, grinning widely, and holding the burnt laptop to her chest with both hands. “I think I’ve figured something out!” 

I decided to have Fumiko’s ‘Player’ ask the following question(s):

1) Can I determine what caused the laptop’s battery to explode and is there any connection between this cause and the other issues Sincere Solutions have been experiencing due to this entity. 

Hmm. I’ll use an alternative system here. To answer the first half, ‘Can I determine what caused the battery to explode…’, I rolled a D100 (Two 10-sided dice read High/Low) and consulted the chart ‘Ask The Gamemaster’ in the One-Page Mythic GM Emulator. I’ll expend a use of her Super Search Technique Skill to accomplish this. 

I rolled a 40 against the Difficulty Level of ‘50/50 or Unknown’. This results in a Yes! Cool. 

For the second part, ‘is there any connection between this and the other issues Sincere Solutions have been experiencing?’, I roll again on the same chart, this time applying Fumiko’s Office Chair Detective Skill. The roll is 17 – Yes again! OK. So, what is that connection?

I got it!

“Electricity! That’s the key! After a thorough analysis of the damaged laptop I discovered that the battery had been overloaded. Other evidence pointed towards an electrical surge as the cause. Then I thought about the other issues the employees have experienced and wondered, ‘If the electricity going into the other computers…um…hiccupped…wouldn’t that cause the computer to do strange things like fail to save documents, shut down suddenly, etc.?’”

Michio considered this. It all made sense though he would be the first to admit he was no computer specialist. On the other hand, Fumiko was and so he had faith she was on to something. He nodded and said, “OK, let’s go with your theory.  So the entity can control electricity or at least it can transfer it into technology to cause glitches…or worse”, he said motioning toward the ruined laptop. “How do we stop it? Ground it? How do we do that?”

Fumiko’s big grin shrank, then faded even further as she spoke, “I’m not sure actually. Thing is…Mr. Taniguchi reported that he and several other people had seen what appeared to be an old computer walking around looking somewhat like a person. This would indicate a spirit possessed item or an item that’s developed a spirit. Like a…um…”

“A Tsukumogami”, said Tsumura. He then waited for his friend to continue.

“Right! A Tsukumogami! Wait…don’t those take a really long time to form? I mean, there isn’t going to be a hundred year old computer in this place.” Michio nodded to confirm as she put her index finger on her chin. Then she snapped her fingers and her eyes brightened, “What if its pretty old, a classic model, and someone has been turning it on and using it off and on. Suddenly, for whatever reason, they’ve stopped and the spirit is upset?”

“If someone were really attached to it, their feelings might have accelerated the formation of the spirit within. That could be. Hmmm.” Michio trailed off, a lot of questions still running through his head. 

Suddenly, a loud, grating noise blared through out the offices. It was awful! The Ghostbusters tried to cover their ears – Difficulty 7. Michio, using Physical Skill rolls a 7. Just made it. Fumiko using Brains rolls -holy smokes – a 7 as well! 

Can either member of our team recognize the sound? Difficulty ‘50/50 or Unknown’ for Michio and Likely for Fumiko. Percentile Rolls. 16 for Michio and 44 for Fumiko making it a Yes for both of them!

“A dial-up modem?!?” exclaimed Magari.

“Make it stop!!!” shouted Tsumura.

 

To be continued...

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Barking Alien

A key factor in my enjoyment of this exercise in Solo Gaming is the speed at which it moves, which is basically 'as fast as I want it to'.

 
I've mentioned in the past that my old games progressed really quickly compared to the ones I've run over the past decade or so. This is largely do to playing the majority of my games online and the limitations of the medium.

That isn't the only reason though. Now I apologize as I get a little ranty. 

It's also the fact I have been gaming with players unaccustomed to my rapid fire approach; most people didn't grow up gaming at the breakneck pace I find 'normal'.

I get it, it takes time to process what the GM has said, ask questions to get a clear idea of situation the PCs are in, and to define the details of the scene's setting and environment, etc.

I don't have to do any of that when I'm gaming Solo. If I randomly roll up that there's a 'Large Crowd', thats 'Gawking' at something in the 'Fish Market District',, I know EXACTLY what that looks like. I can instantly see it in my head.

I can further dispense with the [usually] unimportant questions most players will ask at that moment like 'how far away are we from the crowd', 'are there any fisherman or sailors there?', or 'what kind of fish do I see?'.

Since the answer to these types of questions is always the same, 'What does that $^#&ing matter?!?', I can get right to having my characters actually do something. This is how it always worked with my Grade School, High School, College, and New Jersey crowd but these days people seem to need everything spelled out to commit to a course of action. Honestly, it's weird.

Obviously that's not the case when playing solo.