| “ | Now, what is the antidote to despair? Well, my friend, it is action. | ” |
—Augustus[src]
Augustus "A Ghost Us" Parsons is a player character in the Dust campaign controlled by Justin McElroy. Augustus is the ghost of a wealthy industrialist who used to own a cashew company and who died under mysterious circumstances, leaving behind his daughter Anna Parsons. He currently seeks to regain control of his company from the current owner, Garrett Althiser, who he believes to be running it incompetently.
He, alongside Gandy Dancer and Errol Ryehouse, works for the Grayson Agency.
Debts[]
Debts in Urban Shadows are used to get NPCs, Factions, or other PCs to do something for you, or vice-versa.
Owed to Him[]
People[]
- Flint Chittles
- For supposedly killing him - 1 Debt
Factions[]
- The Banshee - None
- The Church - None
- Grayson Agency - None
Owed to Others[]
People[]
- Garrett Althiser
- For haunting him - 1 Debt
Factions[]
- The Banshee - None
- The Church
- For looking after his daughter - 2 Debts
- Grayson Agency - None
Powers and Abilities[]
Moves[]
Augustus has access to all of the Basic and Faction moves accessible to all characters. He has not advanced any of those moves, but the Spectre powers he’s chosen have modified how he uses hit the streets, escape a situation, get in someone’s way and mislead, distract, or trick. (See below.)
Let It Out[]
In Urban Shadows second edition, each archetype has its own version of the move Let It Out. The Spectre version allows Augustus to:
- instantaneously travel to one of his anchors, no matter the distance (see below)
- take control of a machine or vehicle by possessing its mechanical form
- let loose a psychic blast of ectoplasmic energy (2-harm near area ap)
- follow an ordinary mortal — no matter where they go
Spectre Moves[]
Augustus' Spectre moves are the same in both editions of Urban Shadows.
- Manifest: Regular people can’t sense or interact with Augustus unless he manifests. He manifests by spending a few quiet moments concentrating and choosing two:
- He can be heard
- He can be seen
- He can touch and be touched by the physical world
- Ghost Town: When Augustus hits the streets (a Faction move used to get information or resources) with ghosts, he takes +1 ongoing to dealing with them.
- “Wall? What Wall?”: Augustus always has an opening to escape a situation (a Basic move; called escape in the first edition). He can choose an additional consequence from the escape a situation list to bring someone with him. On a miss, he attracts the attention of dangerous spirits and ghosts in the area.
- Won’t Be Ignored (added at the start of season two): When Augustus gets in someone’s way (a Basic move which hinders another character’s action), he doesn’t roll - he automatically gets a result of 10+. If he uses an obvious supernatural display to mislead, distract, or trick someone (a Basic move), he rolls with Spirit instead of Mind.
Anchors[]
Augustus is kept in the mortal world by four anchors - places, people or objects that are important to him. Some Spectre powers interact with these anchors; he instinctively knows when any of these anchors is in danger, and can commune with them to ease the trauma of his haunted existence. Augustus can only pass on to the next world when all his anchors are resolved - or destroyed or ruined, which inflicts more trauma on him first.
Augustus' anchors are:
- His daughter, Annacardium Parsons
- The premises of the Augustus Parsons Cashew Company, where he worked
- The Augustus Parsons Cashew Company itself (renamed "Cashewniverse" by its new owner)
- The first dollar he ever made, now hanging in his rival's office
Other[]
- Endless Cashews: Augustus can produce endless ghost cashews from his spectral being.
Fan Art[]
