Death - Not nessecarily the end!

One of the cooler ways our roleplay deviates from strict realism is in the inclusion of dead characters as ghosts if they so choose. Characters die. Sometimes they're murdered, sometimes they fall prey to sickness or other natural causes. But what happens afterwards? Nobody knows! But here at Renascentia, two things can happen.

Your character passes on, from this world fully to the next.

Or...

Your character lingers on this world as a ghost.

Maybe your character had unfinished buisness. Maybe someone killed them and they want revenge. Maybe they desperately wanted something. Maybe they just sort of "woke up" as a ghost with no idea how or why. Either way, the result is the same - a pale shadow of what was once your character lingering on the mortal plane, unable to interact with most things, a watcher between the worlds.




Ghosts can't be seen by everyone. Only characters who have had a close bond with a particular deceased character, are spiritually sensitive or have come very close to death can see ghosts. The ability to percieve spirits can be gained, rumor has it, by taking psychoactive herbs. But then, they're psychoactive - are the users really seeing ghosts or hallucinations? Much about the afterlife is unknown. Not even the dead seem to know.

Ghosts, while able to go pretty much where they please and phase through living things like trees, plants and other animals, don't really have any way of affecting the physical world. They can perform small feats of illusion, interact within the dreams of sleeping characters, and cloak themselves from sight. Ghosts come in many forms and many do different things - the phantoms can appear as they were at the time of death, or any form from when they were born to when they died as well as some others that don't really make sense. Nobody's sure how or why some ghosts take dramatically different forms - You could have two different Smilodon ghosts. Both could have died of old age - but one could take the form of a creeping mist, while the other takes the form of the cat in its prime.


Ghosts cannot interact with most physical objects. They can climb upon inanimate ones, but will simply pass through all living things, from a blade of grass to another animal. The only exceptions occur when the ghost is extremely angry or strong willed - these spirits, often referred to as poltergeists, can pick up and throw things around. But only the kind of thing they'd have been able to lift in life - no tossing trees or boulders around like nothing.


Ghosts may linger for eternity or for only a short period of time. It's unclear why. Usually, ghosts who linger because of an unfulfilled desire or unfinished buisness will pass on when they're "satisfied". Others might stick around out of worry for another being and only leave when they know they are safe. It's up to you, really!



Your average intelligent haunt CAN:

- Project memories onto living characters
- Project emotions onto living characters
- Be a really annoying sentinent cold spot
- Phase in and out of living things
- Scuff dirt, dust and sand around
- Create dark and light spots





Ghosts can't generally beat the living around (unless they are mediums - see below) - but they CAN smack each other around! Ghosts can interact with each other as if they were physical, but things that would result in maiming or death on a living creature don't quite hold the same effect. A limb ripped off of a ghost will likely simply reform, for example. You can't kill something that's already dead, after all.

Ghost battles are an exercise in stubbornness and willpower more than anything - since a ghost is not constrained by the laws of nature, a battle could essentially rage on for all of eternity, but will usually only go on until they get bored. If the level of strength between the combatants is heavily skewed in the favor of one, they can attempt to "poof" the other, which will banish them from the physical plane for a short length of time that might range from minutes to days.





For the sake of clarity, "medium" here applies to any characters that are ESPECIALLY close to spirits. These are the shamans, the bona fide death priest/esses. Characters like the wolf Kouden would be considered mediums. These characters can see, hear, even feel pretty much every spirit unless it deliberately hides itself.

Why am I clarifying mediums from most characters? Because here's the fun thing - Ghosts can totally fuck around with mediums.

For a character that is tied closely to the death and what lies beyond, it's not just a one-way link. Wheras most characters might only be able to SEE or HEAR spirits, and a few others would be able to feel a chill to denote their prescence.. Things are a lot less clearcut with mediums.

What the limit is depends on the individual medium and their willpower or level of training. A very powerful spirit might be able to even physically interact with a talented medium as if they were both physical, living creatures. For the average medium, they might not be able to physically touch you - but they CAN sap your strength and energy. If it's a particularly powerful spirit and a weak-minded medium, maybe even more than that... Oh yes. I'm talkin' Possessions.




Work out what you want the limits of this being with the other players. Possession is very taxing on both the host and the spirit - probably lasting a few days at most. Usually.