Fate Game: Ghost Train in Finland

Intercom: “Uh, hello passengers. I’m your uh… driver.” Silas: “Bullshit.”

A regular train ride into the north of Finland turns into an indefinite ghost ride. Holiday-ing passengers - insurance broker Desmond and biker thug Silas - have a day of work ahead of them helping a supernatural hunter solve this solemn case… if they want to arrive at their intended destination.

I got into playing the tabletop system Fate with some friends a few years back, and before we committed to a full game, we tested it out with a one-shot. My dear Silas got a little bit of fresh air this way, who had a good excuse to damage train property because… you know… ghosts? It’s fine, Desmond was there, he can give a legally sound excuse for him.

A holiday turned into a dilemma

Both Silas and Desmond were on a break, travelling into the north of Finland to get a bit of reprieve. Silas was looking forward to the fabled saunas, and while you can’t call his thug life a ‘job’, it’s rough enough even he gets tired of it.

But along the way, the train is plunged into total darkness despite being broad daylight, and no matter how many hours pass, it stays that way. People are knocked out, fast asleep. When someone who, moments before, was serving at the canteen announces they’re the train conductor, both Silas and Desmond know something’s up.

The ‘train conductor’ turns out to be Helmi, a monster hunter, who also just wanted a break from her stressful job. Speaking of a working holiday, huh? She enlists the thug and insurance broker to assist her, since everyone else on the train seemed to be out of it.

Silas is reluctant to assist, since he’s not the generous sort, but eventually it becomes clear there’s no easy escape this time. When they explore the various areas with the help of Helmi’s energy signal device, they come to the children’s playground on the second floor of the train, where Silas can hear the voice of a girl, even though only a boy is playing there.

The voice is shy, distant, and untrusting especially of ‘bad men’, asking about where her family is. Quickly it becomes clear the train is haunted by this ghost girl, and Helmi informs them they need to either resolve the reason she’s stuck here, or destroy the anchor she’s tied to.

Silas goes elsewhere and discovers that a tragic attack happened along this trainline many years ago, where people were killed. Too lazy to go all the way back to Desmond to inform him, he uses the intercom like Helmi did to share it with Desmond. But his heavy, deep voice frightens the ghost girl, especially the mention of the attack, and she screeches like a banshee, summoning some of the unconscious people to her aid like puppets.

If they don’t find a solution soon, they may fall to the same song.

While Silas distracts the girl by embodying the ‘bad man’, destroying property while keeping the puppet people at bay, Desmond discovers a music box and an old lady among the passengers. It turns out her family is the same as the girl’s, and with that realisation, the girl is released. And so is the train.

In the aftermath, Helmi offers both her helpers a position at the monster hunting team she’s a part of, which they take into consideration. But, for now, they can continue their planned holidays, and Silas can avoid being sued or arrested for property damage with Desmond’s help.

Desmond is Inkwurm’s character, Silas is mine, and all other NPCs belong to my GM.

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