TEXT: The Paranormal Entities of Holiday Present
  An Exciting Holiday Episode for “Ghost Patrol”
  
  2
  The Paranormal Entities of Holiday Present
  About The
  Episode
  This episode is designed as a great starting 
  point for a campaign, or can (hopefully) easily be 
  inserted into a pre-existing campaign. It starts in 
  medias res with the Ghost Patrol out on a normal 
  job: dispelling ghosts that have been conjured 
  and are controlled by Dr. Raymond A. Croteau. 
  That will segue nicely into the Ghost Patrol 
  holiday party, which will introduce the character 
  of Patty Parsons, the Ghost Patrol’s sarcastic, 
  seen-it-all, holding-the-office-together secretary 
  (in today’s bureaucratic hierarchy, she would 
  probably be an office manager, but this was the 
  1980s). If you are dropping this episode into a 
  pre-existing Ghost Patrol Series, add Patty as the 
  secretary the team needs to manage all their 
  appointments. Patty is going to help drive the 
  action for this adventure and maybe, just maybe 
  bring some holiday fun and specialness to your 
  Ghost Patrol series.
  Scene One:
  Ghosts on a Bridge
  The Ghost Patrol is on feet on a busy bridge at 
  rush hour, in mid-December. There are ghosts 
  swirling around everywhere, trying to make the 
  holiday traffic much, much worse, and incite, 
  panic, depression, hysteria, and anger. This is what 
  the ghosts controlled by Dr. Croteau do!
  This scene should be visually interesting, and 
  provide some fun challenges for the Ghost 
  Patrol, as they have to run around on the bridge, 
  dodging traffic, climbing up the supports, and 
  taking all sorts of grief from the angry drivers!
  Don’t linger too long on this scene. Let it be fun 
  – have an obnoxious cabbie chat up one of the 
  characters, have the nerdy character see someone 
  attractive who distracts them, let the whole scene 
  be a combination of action and comedy, and 
  really give a flavor for both the holiday season and 
  the Ghost Patrol series tropes.
  BIG GINGER
  Star Power: 2
  Qualities
    Destructive, Overweight Oaf
   Crunchy!
   Voracious
   Sort of loud... for a ghost
  Traits
  CANNONBALL ATTACK 8 (Action Feature, Devastating)
  GHASTLY ROAR 6 (Area; Oomph-Powered)
  STOMPING 6
  ROLL ALL OVER YOU! 5 
  MASSIVE BODY 4 (Advantage – immune to physical 
  damage, Situational Boost – When used as a reaction) 
  VERY GOOD MEMORY FOR BAKING & COOKING 4
  PINE CONE POLTER
  Star Power: 2
  Qualities
    Plantlike Apparition
   Connected to pines and similar plants
   Careless
   Suffers from “dead plant rage”
  Traits
  PINE’S REVENGE 8 (Area, Devastating; Disadvantage –   
       only after this ghost has received 2 Setback Tokens [this is   
       a last-ditch shock attack], Oomph-Powered)
  MUNCH AND CRUNCH 6 
  ROBUST 6 
  BIG SIZE 5 (Advantage – immune to physical damage) 
  MANIFEST PINE CONES 5 
  SPREAD GHOST SPORES 4 (Advantage – When rolling 
       a natural 11 or 12 for this Trait as a primary Trait, a   
         
       new Goon Squad fighting on the side of the bigger ghosts           
       manifests and buys the bigger ghosts some time; Oomph-  
       Powered)
  GRAB SOMETHING 4
  
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  The Paranormal Entities of Holiday Present
  Scene Two:
  Eggnog & Ectoplasm
   
  Back at the Ghost Patrol base, they are enjoying 
  the celebration of a job well done as well as 
  getting into the holiday spirit. Patty is putting 
  holiday hats and tinsel on everybody, serving up 
  eggnog, and maybe there is even mistletoe! 
  If the PCs already have a secretary, great, use that 
  person. If they had no plans to get one, have Patty 
  just be there, explaining to the Ghost Patrol that 
  they need to get organized and she is just the 
  person to help them do that, and she is happy they 
  are so happy to have her onboard the team. She is 
  very determined and doesn’t take no for an answer. 
  Patty will likely have cute nicknames for all the 
  team-members, hopefully much to their chagrin.
  As the team is celebrating, Patty will bring up the 
  fact that it is a good thing that the team never 
  accidentally dispelled the ghost of Jacob Marley, 
  along with the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, 
  and Future.
  Uh-oh!
  At this point in time, explain to the “nerdiest” 
  team member that Patty bringing this up triggers 
  something. “Nerdiest” means the member of the 
  YULETIDE CAROL
  Star Power: 2
  Qualities
    Grotesque Female Ghost
   Considers herself a great singer (... she’s not!)
   Unsteady
  Traits
  FLOAT 5 
  HARD TO CATCH 4
  TURN INVISIBLE 4
  SCARE 3 (Situational Boost – When singing, Situational     
       Boost – Against several characters at once)
  SMALLER THAN MOST 3 (Advantage – immune to  
     
       physical damage)
  WAIL LOUDLY 3
  PATTY PARSONS
  Star Power: 2
  Qualities
    Heart and Soul of the G.P. Office
   Super-nosy behavior
   “Seen-it-all” tough gal
   “Yes, I’m just that good”
  Traits
  EFFICIENT DESK WORKER 3 (Situational Boost – used  
       for proper “ghost-filing”)
  CUTE 3
  LOCAL KNOWLEDGE 3
  LOUD VOICE 3 
  OFFICE CLERK 3 
  RUN 3 
  REPAIR EQUIPMENT 1
  GHOSTLY MINIONS (GOONS) 
  One Goon Squad per PC in this scene
  • Goon Rating 1
  • Vicious Assault, Special Attack (see CAH:S3 rulebook, 
          page 122)
  
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  The Paranormal Entities of Holiday Present
  team who is most into science and doesn’t see 
  the world around them. You can write something 
  up and hand it to the player, take them out of the 
  room, or tell it to them in front of everyone else, 
  whatever your style is for conveying information. 
  That Ghost Patrol member suddenly remembers 
  that a week, maybe ten days ago, there was 
  something that seemed familiar about a particular 
  job. There was one ghost with chains, and then 
  there were three more ghosts.
  Eureka, the Ghost Patrol dispelled the Holiday Spirits!
  Patty is very upset at this, and explains that what 
  happens when some old Scrooge type needs a 
  little injection of the holiday spirit and now they 
  won’t get it.
  “Well, that job was for the millionaire CEO of 
  CheepMart, who made all employees show up for 
  work on Thanksgiving so the stores could be open 
  with ridiculous sales.”
  Patty will then ask (and this is very important, as 
  this is one of the ways that the Ghost Patrol can 
  solve this problem), “I mean, what if Dr. Croteau 
  could be made to see the errors of his ways?”
  And as a reply, you have to inform one of the 
  players (choose whichever one would be most 
  appropriate!) that they would know this doesn’t 
  need to happen, as it is a well known fact that Dr. 
  Croteau LOVES the holidays, and is well known for 
  having had one of the most impressive holiday 
  displays in the city, and in the past would always 
  be seen spreading holiday cheer throughout 
  the city. Of course, now that he is kind of a bad 
  guy, you know that whole Twisted Mad Scientist 
  bent on revenge thing, not so much is he visible 
  around the city.
  Yes, this whole thing is very much a railroad 
  adventure, but hopefully, your players will embrace 
  the holiday spirit and go along for the ride.
  The other relevant pieces of information that have 
  to be delivered are:
  • That once a ghost is dispelled, that is it. They are 
  no longer. And nothing anyone can do can bring 
  them back.
  • Dr. Croteau came to prominence for his work on 
  the Time Displacer Cannon.
  And here the railroad turns into a sandbox, as 
  the direction things take are very much up to 
  the players and the GM, but we are going to give 
  you some ideas and even a couple playsets, and 
  hopefully everyone can have a fun time.
  Perhaps Dr. Croteau does indeed still love the 
  holidays, and although he has been hard at work, 
  much of his work since early November has been 
  trying to make the holidays more festive. It was 
  indeed he who sent the Holiday Spirits to the CEO 
  of CheepMart, and the ghosts on the bridge were 
  there to bring some holiday magic to the travelers 
  stuck in traffic.
  Dr. Croteau’s base is decorated for the holidays, 
  but he has no one to celebrate them with, 
  excepting his joyless minions, Ninjacat and 
  Spanglemaker, who are both working to sabotage 
  his best intentions.
  So, can the players just ask Dr. Croteau for help? 
  Yes. But Ninjacat and Spanglemaker will both do 
  everything they can to muck things up.
  The Time Displacer Cannon could be of some 
  use here, as it could send the Ghost Patrol back 
  in time to stop themselves from dispelling the 
  holiday spirits, but, Dr. Croteau explains, they 
  cannot directly interact with their selves, as this 
  would place far too big a strain on the space-
  time continuum. (Of course, who didn’t see this 
  coming?) So, maybe it is the Ghost Patrol that 
  needs to be visited by some holiday spirits, offers 
  up Dr. Croteau. 
  
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  The Paranormal Entities of Holiday Present
  Or maybe Dr. Croteau explains that because of 
  their Paranormal Energy and the time relativity of 
  ectoplasmic interference, although he could send 
  the Ghost Patrol back in time, the holiday spirits 
  will still be dispelled. This is the GM’s chance to 
  use their best technobabble, and explain that 
  once a ghost is dispelled, it is gone forever from all 
  time streams. So maybe the Ghost Patrol needs to 
  play the parts of the holiday spirits themselves?
  Or maybe Dr. Croteau has turned into a bit of 
  a Grinch and needs to be reminded what the 
  holidays mean.
  … Mook-level ghosts should be, e.g. as follows: 
  These are the same as in the opening scene above 
  (Scene 1).
  New variants of these lesser ghosts should be 
  given slightly varying stats, just like this: 
   
  Or maybe, just maybe, the players realize that 
  with the Time Displacer Cannon, and some of the 
  gadgets Dr. Croteau uses to summon and control 
  ghosts, the Ghost Patrol can do something so 
  crazy, it just might work, which is aim the Cannon 
  and the Ectoplasmic Inducer and allow the Ghost 
  Patrol to enter the realm of the spirits, where 
  they need to do something so epic it cannot be 
  described. Like, they have to travel through time 
  navigating the ectoplasmic time stream, and 
  unleash even more ghosts, but in so doing ensure 
  that the holiday spirits escape, and “well, at least 
  we can keep ourselves busy for a while.” This is 
  stream-crossing level of insanity, and might be 
  just what your series needs.
  Ultimately, we are saying, go to town and have fun 
  with the whole thing. Here are some playsets, and 
  tell your own stories, and embrace the holidays.
  Lastly, if the players make use of the Time Displacer 
  Cannon, consider giving one of the players a 
  flashback scene near the end of the episode:
  Patty hands each of the Ghost Patrol a present 
  for the holidays and also asks the one player to 
  deliver one gift to Dr. Croteau, because everyone 
  needs a visit from Santa this time of year.
  What is in the box for Dr. Croteau? Does it matter? 
  Some might say a macguffin is inside, I would 
  argue that what is inside is the greatest gift of all, 
  the gift of joy!
  And lastly, what if Patty was Dr. Croteau’s niece 
  or daughter? How epic would that be for your 
  Ghost Patrol series? Don’t necessarily tell this to 
  your players, but in terms of how to portray Patty, 
  consider this option, and go all “method”.
  GHOSTLY MINIONS (GOONS) 
  One Goon Squad per PC in this scene
  • Goon Rating 1
  • Vicious Assault, Special Attack (see CAH:S3 rulebook, 
          page 122)
  “ECTO-GUARDIANS”  
  One Goon Squad per PC in this scene
  • Goon Rating 0
  • Hard to Defeat, Vicious Assault
  “POWER SPECTRES” 
  One Goon Squad per PC in this scene
  • Goon Rating 1
  • Hard to Defeat, Easily Led 
  “WISPY LITTLE WATCHERS” 
  One Goon Squad per PC in this scene
  • Goon Rating 2
  • Vicious Assault, Dependent, Fragile
  
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  The Paranormal Entities of Holiday Present
  Villainous Playsets
  THE TIME DISPLACER CANNON
  Technically, this playset breaks the standard playset creation rules mentioned on pg. 123 of the 
  CAH:S3 rulebook. So, be very careful with it in play and make sure that the bad guys do not have full 
  access to two playsets at the same time. Also, this cannon is very likely not going to be used as a 
  “weapon” and Dr. Croteau is also not painted as the chief villain in this story. 
  You could also easily lower the cannon’s Trait ratings if that makes it fit better in your version of this episode.
  Note that we were still thinking of the Time Displacer Cannon as a single stationary object, i.e. a 
  “thing” and not a building like most playsets probably are.
  Traits:
  TIME DISPLACEMENT 10 (Disadvantage – Requires at least one round to power up, Disadvantage –  
       Always requires “expert” supervision, Fickle, Oomph-Powered)
  SEE OTHER PLACES IN TIME 8 (Fickle)
  BIG SIZE 8
  HARD TO DAMAGE 7
  HEAVY 7
  ELECTRIC DEFENSE SYSTEM 6
  BRIGHT MULTI-COLORED LAMPS 4
  DR. CROTEAU’S BASE
  This version was created assuming that the Ghost Patrol PCs will have a total of 30 points for their 
  heroic playset. In other words, it uses exactly 30 points, also.
  Traits:
  HUGE 5
  HUGE COMPUTER (or maybe make that “HUGE EIGHTIES COMPUTER”) 4
  POWER GENERATOR 4
  SECRET PASSAGES 3
  TRAP DOOR 3
  SECRET TASER FIELD 2 (Area, Oomph-Powered)
  GHOST LIBRARY 2 (Situational Setback – Hard to use when you are rushed)
  ELEVATOR 2
  GARAGE 2
  STUDY ROOM 2
  TIDY LIVING ROOM 2
  
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  The Paranormal Entities of Holiday Present
  Heroic Playsets
  GHOST PATROL – LOCAL BASE
  The following is meant to serve as an example for an instantly usable playset for the Ghost Patrol 
  PCs. It uses a total of 30 points, after accounting for adverse Special Rules (as explained in CAH:S3 
  rulebook, pg. 123). 
  This write-up is not meant to be the only true or “offi cial” Ghost Patrol HQ. The organization may 
  have many franchises that include variations. If your players have ideas for their own Ghost Patrol 
  playset that you want to use instead, by all means do so. A single, medium-sized Ghost Patrol 
  playset may have vastly different stats. 
  Traits: 
  DISPELLING UNIT 6 (Action Feature)
  POWER GENERATOR 6 (Situational Setback – When powering something other than specifi c Ghost  
       Patrol equipment)
  SOLID BRICK WALLS 5 (Advantage – Also keeps ghosts out as long as the POWER GENERATOR is not  
       Deactivated)
  CONTAINER SPACE 4
  CENTRAL COMPUTER 3 (Situational Setback – Slow and ineffective in an action scene)
  PATTY’S OFFICE 3
  ARCHIVE 2 (Disadvantage – Requires expert knowledge and several rounds to use)
  GARAGE 2
  
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  The Paranormal Entities of Holiday Present
  Sample G.P.
  Player Characters
  These characters are all Human Tier, 18 Trait 
  points. Quite intentionally, they do not include 
  stats for the hero Jamie Harris, who may yet 
  appear as an official character in a later Ghost 
  Patrol book for CAH:S3. 
   
  DR. PIERCE HENDERSON
  Star Power: 3
  Qualities
    Paranormal Renaissance Man
   Feisty ghost hunter
   Car enthusiast
   Collector mentality
  Traits
  PATROL BLASTER 4 (Advantage – Entraps and  
         
       immobilizes a ghost that has taken Setback Tokens from it;  
       Accessory)
  CRAFTY INVENTOR 3
  PARAPSYCHOLOGIST 3
  RUGGED 3
  COMPETITIVE CAR DRIVING 2 (Situational Boost – In a  
       modified conventional car)
  ARCHAEOLOGIST 2
  CREATIVE EXCUSES 2
  DOG OWNER 1
  Upgrades: #2, #4, #7
  (As one of his available Upgrades, he took 5 points to 
  contribute to the group’s heroic playset.)
  DR. DANIEL SHAPIRO
  Star Power: 3
  Qualities
    Champion of Paranormal Science
   Exacting ghost hunter
   Absent-minded
  Traits
  PATROL BLASTER 4 (Advantage – Entraps and  
         
       immobilizes a ghost that has taken Setback Tokens from it;  
       Accessory)
  PARAPSYCHOLOGIST 4 (Situational Boost – To locate  
       and identify ghosts)
  LINGUIST 3 (Situational Boost – For languages of the     
       Middle East and Ancient Mesopotamia)
  SELF-DEFENSE 3 
  EYE FOR DETAIL 2 (Fickle)
  MOTOCROSS RACING 2
  RESEARCHER OF THE OCCULT 2 
  KNOWLEDGE OF BUREAUCRACY 1
  Upgrades: #1, #1, #7
  (As one of his available Upgrades, he took 5 points to 
  contribute to the group’s heroic playset.)
  WALTER Q. WILLARD
  Star Power: 3
  Qualities
    Smiling Oddball
   Former TV actor
   Tends to rely on his charm
   From the Midwest
  Traits
  PATROL BLASTER 4 (Advantage – Entraps and  
         
       immobilizes a ghost that has taken Setback Tokens from it;  
       Accessory)
  PARANORMAL STUDIES 4 (Situational Boost – When  
       used to examine a building)
  PHYSICALLY FIT 2 (Situational Boost – When used up     
       close as a reaction/defense)
  ACTING 2
  GHOST KNOWLEDGE 2
  GUN KNOWLEDGE 2
  SHOW BUSINESS CONTACTS 2
  WANNABE COWBOY 1
  Upgrades: #1, #4, #7
  (As one of his available Upgrades, he took 5 points to 
  contribute to the group’s heroic playset.)
  
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  The Paranormal Entities of Holiday Present
  MYRON EMERSON
  Star Power: 3
  Qualities
    Ghost-Controlling Gadgeteer
   Wants to test every piece of equipment himself
   Used to be a security guard
  Traits
  HEAVY-DUTY ECTO-SHOCKER 5 (Accessory, Action     
       Feature, Deplete – affects any obvious physical ghost        
       ability; Situational Setback – Whenever the PATROL   
       BLASTER has already been used in the same round)
  PATROL BLASTER 4 (Advantage – Entraps and  
         
       immobilizes a ghost that has taken Setback Tokens from it;  
       Accessory)
  PORTABLE SPECTRE-METER 3 (Accessory)
  PARANORMAL STUDIES 3
  EXTRA-CONTAINMENT CASE 2 (Accessory)
  ENGINEERING 2
  HANDS-ON WORK WITH ELECTRONICS 2
  Upgrades: #1, #1, #7
  (As one of his available Upgrades, he took 5 points to 
  contribute to the group’s heroic playset.)
  Writen by:
  Barak Blackburn
  Drawn by:
  Patricia Lupien
  Edited by:
  Norbert Franz
  Layout by:
  Cynthia Celeste Miller
  Additional Help by:
  Ellie Hillis
  Happy Holidays from
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Cartoon Action Hour/Season 3/CAHS3 - The Paranormal Entities of Holiday Present.pdf