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[DG]

I feel that ghosts in DF lack mystery and a sense of the supernatural. This is largely due to the near omniscience of the player in fort mode compounded by the rigid ghost creation parameters. Ghosts either are or aren't there. You know when they spawn, why they're there and you know how to deal with them. In effect they are a simple math equation.

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dead dwarf* + no memorial = possibility of ghost*_{not restricted to dwarf}

Which is much the same as:

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vermin remains + no refuse hauling = possibility of miasma
Ghostly hauntings deserve to be much more interesting (fun) than rubbish collection. I've had vague ideas for a while, but with the most recent evolution in individual personality/goals and rumour system now seems a good time to put them into a post. Here're three things I think would help:

• Make ghosts (Ñ) invisible to the player in fort mode.
• Diversify ghost rules of manifestation and banishment
• Allow dwarves to be mistaken or to lie about ghosts

The first point is fairly obvious. There is little room for mystery if you can simply see whether or not a ghost is there.

The second makes ghosts less simple. Properly following the burial traditions and superstitions of a civilization should account for most spirits (otherwise why would they have become traditions in a world with real ghosts) but not all cases. It is a common theme for a ghostly spirit to become angry and manifest if it's remains are not interred or a disturbed, but it's just as common a theme for spirits to be more concerned with the unfinished business of their mortals lives. It would be sad if the only things dwarven spirits care about is their bodies burial.

The third point is where the fun is, the first two are largely so that the player has a chance for interesting mystery rather than immediately knowing everything. So the ghosts would always be invisible to the player, but not to dwarves they choose to show themselves to. The dwarves are the ones that make the player aware of a possible haunting. This could be done by some sort of announcement along the lines of "Urist cancels carve yak bone: claims to have seen a ghost!"

I say possible haunting, because it's important that dwarves can mistake mundane things (sounds etc) for ghosts or, if their personality (vivid imagination etc) or situation fits (in mourning etc), convince themselves of it. Depending on the progenitors personality and reputation the existence of a ghost may become accepted by more of the population. A charismatic dwarf or one who is trustworthy or one who is simply liked by a lot of people is much more likely to be initially believed (irrespective of whether there really is a ghost). Once the idea of the ghost is sown, it's legend can evolve or peter out from there.

I'm running out of time, so here are a couple of quick examples to give an idea of the sorts of things could come of this (I can expand later, these two are just involving false ghosts):

• Urist is walking along and hears a strange noise, almost like a footstep. He looks around but sees no-one near. Urist is an excitable fellow and remembers that three years ago little Bomrek died close to this hallway and so immediately jumps to the conclusion that it must be the child Bomreks spirit aimlessly wandering. Meanwhile the skulking goblin snatcher slinks away and later kidnaps a child and escapes. The dwarves decide that the imaginary ghost is responsible for the kidnapees disappearance.
• Coggan likes Urists bedroom. Coggan knows that Urist is excitable and gullible. Coggan makes up a story of a ghost to scare Urist out of his bedroom. Coggan moves in.