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Spooktacular: A Cheerfully Spooky Role-Playing GameClick to magnify
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Spooktacular: A Cheerfully Spooky Role-Playing Game

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“Who’re you going to ask for a quote through their website? Wraithzappers!”

Spooktacular is an updated retroclone of a forgotten gem of 1980s RPG design, letting your play out the hilarious adventures of paranormal investigators who use dodgy science, possibly dangerous bleeding-edge paratechnology, and sheer chutzpah to capture ghosts and make a living.

In addition to all the rules you need to play this new take on an elegantly simple hidden classic of RPG design, this book includes:

  • Archetypes that give each character a nifty special ability, and optional Weird Archetypes so you can have an esper, witch, or other weirdo join the team.
  • A selection of wacky ghost-hunting gear. In addition to the basic etheric ray throwers and such, there are things like the Ghost Punchers (special gauntlets that do in fact let you punch ghosts) and Etheric Grenades (special grenades that blow ghosts up).
  • Three sample ghost-hunting companies (Wraithzappers, Ghost Rooter, and Phantom Finders) in various states of funding and legitimacy, as well as simple guidelines for making up your own company.
  • Short guides to ghost-hunting in the cities of Albuquerque, London, Orlando, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington D.C.
  • Sample story ideas and a story generator table.
  • A selection of premade ghosts, ranging from the nagging Ancestor to the absurdly dangerous Ghostzilla.

To play you'll need some pencils and paper, a bunch of six-sided dice (with at least one in a different color to be the Spooky Die), a few friends, and a few hours to play. Green novelty beverages are recommended but not required, especially since they haven't made them in a while now.

  • Want to make your own game derived from the core rules of Spooktacular, or just get a sneak peek of said rules? Check out the Sixtacular SRD!
  • Want to make a Spooktacular character for an upcoming game or just for the heck of it? Click on Full-size Preview above if you don't mind dealing with having the words "Sample file" getting in the way a bit!
  • Have the game but wish you had handy reference cards for it? Guess what? Thanks to DTRPG offering POD cards, there's a set of Spooktacular Reference Cards for $7.99 plus shipping!
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Reviews (2)
Discussions (5)
Customer avatar
Paul B December 08, 2022 3:50 pm UTC
PURCHASER
I just want to clarify the intent of something in the rules.

The Badass Archetype reads as follows:
You’re a badass, and generally not someone people should
mess with. Once per session you can spend 3 Awesome
Points to roll an extra die for all Action rolls for the rest of
the scene.

Meanwhile, the Monster Archetype reads as follows:
As it so happens, you’re an actual supernatural creature, if one
that can pass most of the time. You can spend 2 Awesome Points
to reveal your true nature and increase your Action stat by +2
for a few minutes.

As written, Badass is vastly inferior to Monster, so I assume the intent was for Badass to add +1 die to ALL rolls for a scene, not just the Action stat. Is that a correct interpretation?
Customer avatar
Benjamin B April 28, 2020 12:37 am UTC
PURCHASER
I heard about this game a year ago from free RPG day 2019, a person had the book and I played a game of it, loved it, but forgot about it until today.

I purchased a printed version with the pdf, will it come with the cover art as is displayed above?
Customer avatar
Ilias L January 18, 2019 4:18 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Would really appreciate a cover so I can print this.
Reply
Customer avatar
Andrew M January 10, 2020 4:34 pm UTC
PURCHASER
The preview image enlarges to a reasonable resolution
Reply
Customer avatar
Andrew M January 14, 2020 6:28 pm UTC
PURCHASER
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/images/5198/232762.jpg
Reply
Customer avatar
Andrew M April 15, 2022 5:38 pm UTC
PURCHASER
This image on the official Amazon listing seems to be of higher quality:
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71+7pZ6Zg3L.jpg
Customer avatar
Andrew M May 02, 2018 10:14 am UTC
PURCHASER
I just picked up the pdf and started reading. Is it only b&w without the picture/colour cover?
Reply
Customer avatar
Ewen C May 02, 2018 2:03 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
That's correct. I normally do B&W interiors in my games, especially when I'm also doing a print version.
Reply
Customer avatar
Mark P May 21, 2018 6:13 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Is it possible that those who purchase the PDF could get a file for the cover?
Customer avatar
Chris D February 13, 2018 11:23 pm UTC
Is this a retroclone of the first or second edition of a certain RPG based on a blockbuster action comedy film that will go pointedly unnamed?
Reply
Customer avatar
Ewen C February 16, 2018 3:45 am UTC
PUBLISHER
It mostly derives from the first edition, but has some elements drawn from the second added in a much simplified and less cumbersome form, plus some wholly new elements. I released the basic rules as a separate OGL SRD (the "Sixtacular" system), so if you like you can get a bit of a preview that way: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/233609/Sixtacular-SRD-10
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Product Information
Electrum seller
Author(s)
Rule System(s)
Pages
68
File Size:
5.97 MB
Format
Original electronic Click for more information
Scanned image
These products were created by scanning an original printed edition. Most older books are in scanned image format because original digital layout files never existed or were no longer available from the publisher.

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For printed books, we have performed high-resolution scans of an original hardcopy of the book. We essentially digitally re-master the book. Unfortunately, the resulting quality of these books is not as high. It's the problem of making a copy of a copy. The text is fine for reading, but illustration work starts to run dark, pixellating and/or losing shades of grey. Moiré patterns may develop in photos. We mark clearly which print titles come from scanned image books so that you can make an informed purchase decision about the quality of what you will receive.
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Original electronic format
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File Last Updated:
January 30, 2018
This title was added to our catalog on January 30, 2018.
Publisher
Yaruki Zero Games
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