The Fool

The Fool
Occupation:	honest to a fault
Appeared In:	Ghostbusters Role-Playing Game - Tobin's Spirit Guide (RPG)

The Fool is a spirit from Ghostbusters RPG's Tobin's Spirit Guide (RPG).

Tobin's Summary

If someone has not said it before, then let me: A fool who knows nothing is not as much a fool as one who cannot make proper use of his knowledge. The ethereal entity who best exemplifies the truth of that adage is called, aptly enough, The Fool-capital letters intentional, because this spirit is truly one of a kind. The most oft-repeated tale describing this spirit comes from the old Kingdom of Armenia. What could have been a wonderful success story turns out to be exactly the opposite... because the hero is an utter fool. It is the spirit of that man, or a spirit with nearly identical qualities, that haunts our world to this day. Just as was the man in the story, he is a helpful and kind individual, willing to go out of his way for the benefit of others. He alone could do much to better the reputation of all ethereal entities... if only he weren't such a Fool. If he appears, it is in the guise of a person his victim has never seen before. He introduces himself and does his best to befriend the victim, as long as that person is receptive to him. If his target is hostile or even standoffish, he politely excuses himself and goes away, and the victim never sees him again. He (or she, is the spirit takes female form) is really quite a personable sort, easy to be attracted to on a platonic level. If the victim allows The Fool to strike up a conversation, he sooner or later makes mention of a great secret that he knows and is willing to share with a good person such as his companion. A great many folk, especially the innately skeptical ones, shy away at this point, either because they suspect their new found friend is leading up to some kind of swindle or because they are wondering if he is escaped from some nearby hospital for the insane. Neither is the case. The Fool is kind-hearted and as sane as you or I, but The Fool is incredibly stupid. He knows a multitude of amazing facts about the world we live in, has some astounding powers, and is willing to share his knowledge-but he invariably expresses himself in a way that makes his assertions seem like lies or impossibilities. Our research on this spirit was as enjoyable as it was interesting. It did not involve poring through dusty books, tiptoeing down dark corridors, or sitting alone all night in the middle of a graveyard. What it did involve was frequenting taverns and other gathering places in all the venues we have visited, talking to the patrons (often with the aid of interpreters), and asking them to share-in return for a drink or two-any weird experiences they might have had with friendly strangers who seemed, shall we say, unbalanced. Of course, we were flim-flammed more often than we were told the truth (some folk will say anything 'to get their mugs filled), but it was fairly easy to sort out afterward the authentic stories from the other sort. The tales we were told could fill pages, but in the interest of brevity here we have set down only those few that Shrewsbury and I consider the most Foolish of all. When necessary, the dialogue has been sanitized and Anglicized, so as to make it more comprehensible to the reading public. The Fool has a lot of knowledge and some remarkable skills; he never says anything that is not true and always does what he says he will do. But when it comes to proving that he knows what he's talking about, The Fool is a total failure. Perhaps you know of a person who acts in much this same fashion. I would be the first to agree that the world is full of people who are, shall we say, a few slices short of a loaf. However, do not forget that someone you know cannot be the spirit in question, because he always appears as a total stranger. That is one difference, although not the biggest one, between a fool and The Fool.