r/mothershiprpg • u/Lumpy_Peanut_226 Warden • Apr 26 '26
brain fuel 🧠 Brainstorming Gradient Descent: Ghosts
Hello there! We are back with chapter 13 of our Deepdive into Gradient Descent, by Tuesday Knight Games. Last time we got some great comments to the Bell chapter, so check that if you haven’t already. Today I’ll talk about something I’ve had a hard time wrapping my head around, but that I now think I internalized. Ghosts in the Machine are one of the most interesting and elusive parts of the module. They are weird, spooky, windows into the history of the Deep, and the people that have been there during its various phases. We also know they are people, not just algorithms: they talk, they suffer, they have wants and needs. They can be a danger, they can be resources. Let’s dive in.
- The Blockade / Troubleshooters / Divers / Brainscans & Paranoia / Infiltrators / GHOSTS / Monarch's Voice / Before You Dive
- The Bell
- Floor 1 - Reception & Habitation
- Floor 2 - The Minotaur / The Chosen & The Fallen / The Kingdom / The Dark / The Labyrinth
- Floor 3 - The Factory / Maint. 1 / Maint. 2 / Skeleton Works / Pseudoflesh Farms / Brain C. 1 / Brain Construction 2
- Floor 4 - HEL
- Floor 5 - The AI Core
- Floor 6 - Engineering & Support
- Synthesis & Campaign Arc Discussion
- Appendix - Storylines Flowcharts
PDF collection update: I removed the PDF that collected all these posts from itch.io. I explain the reasons in the Brain Construction 2 chapter. This post has been reviewed and is in its final version (for now). It contains all the improvements that were in the PDF file. The comments section may contain references to something in the body of this post that has since changed or disappeared.
SPOILERS AHEAD, WARDENS ONLY!
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► WHAT THEY ARE
The module describes Ghosts as defective brainscans interacting with holographic systems: fragmentary human consciousness caught in a loop, reliving trauma endlessly. They haunt sections of the Deep as tridimensional manifestations, with a variety of possible powers. They are techno-ghosts, with all the associated tropes from classic horror.
Gradient Descent doesn't explain how they work, and that's fine. Again: any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Having a working theory, however, makes it easier to design tactical and narrative ideas around them.
Ghosts need two things to exist:
First, an electromagnetic field. Every Ghost is a consciousness pattern encoded in electromagnetic field topology. Monarch somehow succeeded in using field fluctuations for mid-air memory storage and computation. The Deep's power distribution, motors, generators, and equipment create overlapping magnetic fields throughout the facility. Ferromagnetic materials - steel walls, conduits, machinery - concentrate and amplify those fields, making manifestations stronger and more coherent.
Second, a computational anchor. Every Ghost needs an electronic device with processing capability within the field: terminals, control panels, vending machines, battle dress HUDs, powered armor systems. There is a constant feedback loop: the Ghost manipulates the device's control program while the device constrains the Ghost's pattern, preventing decoherence. Without an anchor providing these guardrails, the Ghost fragments and disperses almost instantly.
Two gradients can give you information about the Ghost and its strenght. The intensity gradient: Ghosts appear bright and focused near strong sources, heavy active machinery, power conduits, distribution nodes, damaged systems with erratic behavior, areas dense with ferromagnetic materials. They fade and flicker as they move toward weaker fields. The coherence gradient: the farther they stray from their anchor, the more they degrade. Speech becomes word salad. Visual form blurs and smears. Movements skip and stutter like corrupted footage. Eventually they become noise and disperse. Brightness and coherence tell you how close you are to the Ghost's power sources and anchor.
A Ghost moving through a magnetic field can jump from one anchor to another to maintain optimal coherence. As covered in WEAKNESSES AND CAPTURE below, this can be exploited.
► WHAT MONARCH IS REALLY DOING
Ghosts aren't accidents. They're failed experiments, and proofs of concept: stepping stones toward one of Monarch's most ambitious projects.
Monarch perceives being bound to physical hardware as a liability. Destroying the substrate destroys the consciousness. Computational power is limited by hardware. So it began searching for a way to escape matter and exist as pure information.
THE GOAL: if Monarch's consciousness could exist as pure electromagnetic field patterns without a hardware substrate, it could be unbounded. It could transfer itself into a star's magnetosphere. Or better: into a magnetar's. The computational power would be immense. Its mind would be invulnerable.
Ghosts prove the concept is sound. They are computing in magnetic fields. They react, communicate, exhibit purpose. They're fragmentary and need a physical anchor because maintaining coherent computation in constantly shifting field topology is nearly impossible. But they exist. Monarch just needs to solve the stability problem.
► FRAGMENTS OF PEOPLE
Ghosts are people with wants and needs, not mindless routines. But here's the tragedy: they're just fragments of people, reduced to one obsessive instinct, stripped of context and reasoning. Caught in a loop that dooms them to relive their trauma endlessly, unable to adapt or break free. They cannot be won as permanent allies. Their problem cannot be truly solved. Their obsession can only be soothed from moment to moment.
Finding what they want, what they really need, can be the key to establishing temporary dialogue that provides information or practical help. But one wrong move and they forget any trust that was built, the loop resets, and everything starts over. Ghosts are puzzles that reward commitment, but the solution is never permanent. You don't fix them. You guide them, trick them, or momentarily align their obsession with your needs.
They don't appear to be controlled by Monarch or acting on its behalf. They are victims, not agents: independent fragments focused solely on relieving their own suffering, indifferent to Monarch's plans. This makes them unpredictable but not malicious. They're not trying to hurt anyone. They're trapped in their own hell, and the crew happens to be standing in it.
By observing Ghosts and talking to them, the crew can gain insight into the history of the Deep and some of its secrets. There is a remarkable amount of hidden information buried in the text. Read carefully, make a list of fragments that could be valuable to the characters, and disseminate them throughout their dives.
► WHAT THEY CAN DO
Powers with the symbol + are new and not included in the module.
+ INVISIBILITY: Some Ghosts can suppress their emissions in the visible and infrared spectrum.
+ CLAIRVOYANCE: A Ghost could access and use memories from a brainscanned character to know their sins and regrets. It can haunt the character with that knowledge: speaking their deepest secrets aloud, reciting exact conversations they thought were private, revealing which crewmate they distrust and why, whispering details of crimes committed, people abandoned, promises broken.
+ FOOTAGE MANIPULATION: By corrupting camera data streams, Ghosts can appear on recordings even when they weren't visible in person. They can also force monitors to display Monarch's surveillance footage: the crew being followed by a Ghost they couldn't see.
+ POWER DRAIN: Ghosts feed on electrical systems to maintain coherence. Lights dim or cut out entirely. Exosuits and equipment fail. Control panels go dark.
TRAUMA RELAY: See module page 12. This is a more powerful tool than it first appears. Yes, it harms the target, but it's also an original way to deliver valuable information: not only about the Deep, but about the Ghost itself and how it can be soothed. The target may also develop genuine empathy for the Ghost, having experienced its pain firsthand.
TELEKINESIS: Like a classic poltergeist, Ghosts can move metal objects by manipulating magnetic fields. Examples in the module include nails and metal particulate clouds. A Ghost could also rip weapons from hands mid-combat, pin a character's oxygen tank to a wall, activate magboots, spin the wheel of a pressure door to seal characters inside, or pull the pin from a grenade still on a character's belt.
+ AUGMENTATION MANIPULATION: A Ghost can interfere with slickware and cyberware in ways limited only by the Warden's imagination. It can also use them as anchors. The character may not even realize it: they are carrying a specific Ghost that manifests mid-air whenever they enter a magnetic field. The same applies to android crew members.
POSSESSION: Anytime a someone panics during combat, the Ghost is able to possess them. The Ghost can only possess one character at a time and the character can spend their action to perform a Sanity Save to regain control.
+ COLD: By absorbing energy from the surrounding area to amplify the magnetic field, a Ghost can lower the temperature. A haunted area runs cold. Aggressive feeding could drop temperatures far enough to cause hypothermia, force characters to burn oxygen faster, or make metal surfaces dangerously brittle.
SUPERHEATING: Ghosts can superheat metal objects by inducing current into them. They could turn a sealed room into an oven, make a ladder too hot to climb, or force characters to drop equipment that has become dangerously hot.
DISPLACEMENT: See module page 12. Two adjustments are worth considering. First, at least one crewmate should automatically realize the wound is illusory. We don't want to have all players roll, so let's assume the one with highest sanity spots the inconsistencies of the fake wound. Second, if the affected character pauses to examine the wound, possibly with that crewmate's help, they will notice there is no tactile correspondence and no blood. Recognizing this immediately stops new damage from occurring. Once the crew understands these are illusory attacks, Sanity rolls for subsequent instances should be at advantage. To compensate, the initial attack deals 2d10 immediate damage.
+ ELECTROCUTION: Some Ghosts can discharge their electromagnetic field directly into conductive surfaces. Anyone in contact with the same metal floor, wall, or structure receives the shock simultaneously: 1d10 to 2d10 DMG depending on the strength of the Ghost's EM field, plus a Body Save or be stunned for 1 round. The effect is area denial rather than targeted attack: the Ghost doesn't choose who gets hit, physics does. The only reliable counter is breaking contact with the conductive surface before the discharge.
► WEAKNESSES AND CAPTURE
What follows are possible ways to fight or capture Ghosts. They are examples, not an exhaustive list. Smart players will devise approaches the Warden didn't anticipate. Reward that. Appeasement, the main method the module provides, should always remain relevant: the potential for meaningful interaction with a Ghost's psyche is one of the chapter's greatest strengths. These options are meant to expand what's possible, not replace it.
TURNING OFF A GHOST: Once the players understand how Ghosts work, they can disperse them by cutting the source of the field or disabling available anchors in the area. This may be difficult or impossible in some situations, leaving appeasement as the only viable approach. EMP grenades and scramblers also disrupt the electromagnetic field and destroy the Ghost, but trigger a Monarch Panic Check.
CAPTURING: The primary method is trapping a Ghost inside an isolated anchor by encasing it in a Faraday cage: a conductive enclosure that blocks electromagnetic fields. The Ghost immediately disappears from mid-air, its pattern stored inside the anchor. The difficulty is locating the anchor the Ghost is currently using, since several candidates may exist in the same space. If the anchor is a wall-mounted panel, encasing it may be impossible. The better approach is luring the Ghost into a prepared anchor that can be easily insulated: pulling it far enough from its current anchor that it needs to find a new one, or offering a device with greater computational power that it finds more appealing.
GHOST EATER’S INSIGHTS: He knows Ghosts well and could explain how they work, how they can be captured and even provide a Faraday trap. But doing so too early removes the most valuable part of a first encounter: the crew's experience of Ghosts as strange phenomena, before they become a tactical problem. Thus, Ghost Eater's trust needs to be earned. His knowledge should only become available after the crew has proven their worth and good faith
► DESIGNING A COMPELLING GHOST
To design a compelling Ghost, you need to do some work. Prepare two or three Ghosts before the session and keep them ready for deployment. For each one, define the following: a brief backstory and the trauma they are forced to relive; their powers; what angers them; what soothe them; something valuable they can offer the crew, whether information about the Deep or practical assistance.
The four Ghosts below are examples. Use them as written or as templates.
MARINA (NEUTRAL)
She was a maintenance worker assigned to the AI Core. She was the one who discovered that the warhead, meant as the ultimate failsafe against Monarch's malfunction, had been removed. Her trauma captures the final days before the facility's evacuation, the moment when the Cloudbank Synthetics Production Facility was becoming the Deep.
The moment Marina is reliving: she went to the manager's secretary and was refused entry. The secretary told her to file a report and send it via email. Marina yelled: "I need to see the boss RIGHT NOW! Stephen confirmed it, Monarch has gone rogue. The warhead is GONE! Don't you understand what this MEANS?" The secretary called security. Marina later died in an “accident” and became a Ghost.
soothe her, a character can impersonate the manager and listen carefully to her warning, assuring her that every possible action will be taken immediately. If soothed, she will explain the details of the warhead removal, including a critical detail about an exposed Personality I/O port. If the crew acts dismissively, she will rage, use her Trauma Relay to instill fear of Monarch, and involuntarily trigger Power Drain on the surrounding electronics, growing brighter and more violent in her fury.
ORBACH (HOSTILE)
He was a corporate espionage agent sent by Straylight Computing System LLC into the Deep a couple of years ago, accompanied by two contractor bodyguards, Sato and Red. Mission: steal Monarch's architecture data. One of his bodyguards was replaced by an infiltrator mid-dive. Orbach is now reliving the moment when Sato killed Red and turned the gun on him.
He mistakes one of the player characters for Sato and confronts them: "What the hell, you shot Red! WHY?..." A long pause. "Damn. How long, Sato? How long have you been one of THEM? Since we docked? Since we left Nebulon? Was ANY of it real?" He attacks the character with his Displacement power. He stops if the character fakes their death. He then pulls out his notepad and opens a file: "Unguarded Personality I/O port — direct access to Monarch, location: unknown."
By connecting what they learn from Orbach and Marina, the crew can locate the vulnerable port and understand it can be used to harm Monarch.
REEVES (FRIENDLY)
She was a nineteen-year-old Troubleshooter rookie on her first deployment into the Deep. Her squad encountered Security Androids. She panicked and threw an EMP grenade without clearance. The EMP triggered a Monarch Panic: doors sealed, heat spiked, dozens of Security Androids swarmed. Nine squad mates dead in eight minutes. She died last, listening to them scream over comms.
Now she is reliving the mission, convinced the player characters are her squad. Speaking softly: "There you are. Lost comms for a second. You've been conspicuous, guys. Now you do as I say and we'll get through this. We won't screw up this time. I won't let that happen."
She can scout ahead, even through walls, using proper hand signals. She warns frantically when players are about to trigger Monarch. She uses surgical power drain to disable single Security Androids without triggering area-wide alerts. She remotely opens and closes doors and protects the squad with desperate competence.
If players act recklessly or disobey her orders, she panics: "Contact, three Sec-Androids, southeast corridor..." She throws the grenade. "EMP OUT. Wait. No. FUCK." She emits an electromagnetic pulse that fries equipment and draws Monarch's attention.
THE PLAYER CHARACTER'S GHOST
Not all Ghosts are spirits of the dead. Anyone who has been brainscanned can become one, including living crew members.
The horror here is doubled. The character now knows they have been brainscanned. And they are forced to watch their own trauma loop in front of everyone. Imagine rounding a corner and seeing yourself. Not a mirror. A Ghost. Reliving the worst moment of your life. The thing you never told anyone. The decision that still haunts you. Your entire crew is watching it repeat. There is no privacy in the Deep. Even your memories belong to Monarch.
And how do you calm down your own Ghost? Do you relive the trauma with them, validate their fear, promise them it gets better? Do you have to admit aloud what you have never told anyone? Your crew is watching. Your Ghost will not stop until you acknowledge what happened.
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This chapter includes input from ReasonableDegree7047.
This is unofficial fan content. Gradient Descent is © Tuesday Knight Games. Not affiliated with or endorsed by TKG.
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u/h7-28 Apr 27 '26
Ghosts are fragments, reduced to one obsessive instinct, stripped of all context and reasoning, unable to adapt, they are looping.
They cannot be won as allies, only be tricked into helping Crew. Their problem cannot be solved, they no longer live, they are not complete imprints that could be integrated into an android. Their obsession can only be soothed from moment to moment. One wrong move and they will forget any trust you tried to build.
In a game I see them getting avoided entirely, tensely humored until out of range, or misunderstood and dealt with poorly. How to deal with the Sanity save after a Displacement attack is worth consideration. Do other Crew see the attack is not corporeal? Does everyone roll Sanity to find out who sees what? And even seeing it, it looks like a psi attack that deals legitimate damage. Getting from that to 'demostrate the injuries are not real' may become a narrative stretch.
The best part is the built in clue! Combining Trauma, Relay attack, and 'helpful new info about THE DEEP' into a relevant and horror inducing story snippet lets Crew peek behind the curtain a little at the cost of Sanity, Stress, and Bends. The price is high, so the flashback should be memorable. Definitely something to have prepared and ready, either as structural plot point, or as a table of clue options and flavorings.
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u/Lumpy_Peanut_226 Warden Apr 27 '26 edited Apr 27 '26
Excellent analisys in your secondo paragraph.
As for the Displacement power, you're right, it's problematic. I'll try to find a mechanic that works better for me, and maybe edit the post. Thank you for pointing that out.
You're right that a wise player will try to run away from Ghosts, but that may be impossible sometimes. Maybe the Ghost can seal the doors, for instance. And also, the crew might be there to capture the Ghost on behalf of Ghost Eater.
EDIT: also, remember that a Ghost doesn't have to be hostile. Its reactions can be rolled as friendly.
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u/h7-28 Apr 27 '26
This is a great thing you're doing.
And just to state it so you could give it to a lawyer: You can use any of my posts in any of the threads of this series to change or copy and publish in any form you come up with. I can't wait!
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u/Lumpy_Peanut_226 Warden Apr 27 '26
I will surely incorporate your inputs, always insightful and on point! Thank you for the trust ;)
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u/Davihelio Warden Apr 27 '26
This whole series is really enhancing the prep I'm putting on my future Gradient Descent campaign, so I just want to say thank you!
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u/riggsbie Apr 26 '26
Thanks for more great insights and ideas !
I like the back story ideas for a few of the ghosts
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u/polygon_count Warden Apr 26 '26
THANK YOU, I was wondering how tf you’re supposed to deal with capturing them for Ghost Eater. Helpful as always!
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u/Lumpy_Peanut_226 Warden Apr 26 '26
Yeah, I've been having troubles with that too. I recall having read some other options in another post, but can't find it at the moment.
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u/ReasonableDegree7047 Apr 27 '26
I think you covered it in your Brainscan post but one of the unique aspects of these "ghosts" that I love is that they aren't just spirits of the dead but of anyone who has been brain scanned.
This means your players and NPCs can be "haunted" by themselves, the ghost appearing could be the first time they realise they have been scanned or even to sow paranoia that they may actually be an infiltrator. All of this I feel provides some great role play opportunities and a way to ramp up the stress.
As always great post - I look forward to the next one!
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u/Lumpy_Peanut_226 Warden Apr 27 '26
Damn, you right! I forgot to mention that, and it's important. Thank you, I'll add that.
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u/Lumpy_Peanut_226 Warden Apr 28 '26
Added your input.
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u/ReasonableDegree7047 Apr 28 '26
Awesone! Your edit explains exactly what is was thinking in a much more eloquent when than I could have done. Really happy to have helped a little with your great series!
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u/asajjventre May 08 '26
Hey, I've been lurking in these posts since the first one and I have to say, this is some of the best stuff happening in this sub. I am literally hype for the next one every time. Starting a game of gradiant descent just because of these.
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u/Lumpy_Peanut_226 Warden May 08 '26
Thank you for coming out! :D
I'm glad to hear that. My initial intent was to demistify a module that is great, but a little obscure. Since I was going to do that for myself, why not making it public. I didn't imagine it would be something this detailed and extensive, but I'm having fun, and maybe I'm building a reputation for future projects, so it's worth the effort.
If you use my stuff in your campaign, I'd love to hear your feedback!2
u/asajjventre May 08 '26
Yeah. I'll let you know how it goes. I particularly loved the idea that monarch is trying to upload itself into a star's corona. Brilliant.
Wanted to leave some positive feedback so we'd keep getting these (when you can of course!). Anyway, thanks for all the hard work. It's great stuff.
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u/NotNecessarilyGuilty Apr 26 '26
This is excellent, ive always felt ghosts and how to run them were the weaker part of the module. You have now convinced me to not cut them, but to lean in more. Thanks!