Hi, I have a question about the special ability Iron Will : does a Whisper need it to face a ghost ?
The text page 14 says no, but the description of Iron Will and Compel (where it’s precised that the Whisper does not fear the ghosts they compels, kinda implying that it’s not the case otherwise) has sown some doubts in my mind.
Page 14 says “sometimes,” I think. Page 213 says “Ghosts, demons, and summoned horrors can be terrifying to behold. They cause most people who see them to freeze up or flee. PCs may resist these effects. See page 14.” which says: “By default, the standard effect is to either paralyze a person with fear or panic them into fleeing from its presence. A PC can choose to freeze up or flee or make a resistance roll with Resolve to ignore the effect. Characters with lots of exposure to spirits, such as Whispers, Rail Jacks, and occultists become less susceptible and only face fear or panic from exceptionally powerful entities.” (So that everyone doesn’t have to go check their books.)
To me, that says the Whisper is fine staring down an average ghost, and can probably shrug off the effects of more powerful ghosts, as their character progresses toward Peak Whispery-ness. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew might be okay, or might have to resist, on a case-by-case basis (depending on the characters’ background, how often this happens to the crew, the spirit in question, the tone of the campaign, etc.)
But sometimes even the whisper should have to resist, say perhaps against the oldest and most powerful of the Reconciled, or the particularly terrifying feral spirit of their old rival, whom they murdered, and who has been hunting them down ever since.