Ghost Traits

using shapechange to assume dragon form does not pass immediately to the True Afterlife if slain. The soul determines the result, not the physical body.

GHOST TRAITS

Although ghosts do not need to breathe, eat, or do most other things that living beings do, every ghost has an unusual attachment to one aspect of its former life. Ghosts feel strange urges to eat food they enjoyed when living, to visit people or places they knew in life, or to engage in the same recreational activities they did when living. These urges are not magically induced and are not a curse or a disease that can be removed with magic (although a calm emotions spell suppresses the urge for the duration), but simply an extension and exaggeration of part of the ghost’s actual life. These urges, called ghost traits by the people of

Manifest, usually take the following forms.

Auditory: The ghost has an unusual attachment to a particular kind of sound or noise. A ghost might need to hear the pounding surf, a particular musical instrument played at great volume, or people arguing. Some evil ghosts have acquired a need to hear people screaming, so they kidnap and torture victims to meet this need. Other ghosts have a taste for magically created sounds and hire illusionists or use magic items to create these exotic sounds.

Hunger: The ghost needs to eat large quantities of food on a regular basis. Unlike with the oral trait, the emphasis is on quantity rather than quality, and it’s not the taste that matters. Since a ghost doesn’t feel discomfort from eating too much (without a stomach it’s not possible to feel stomach pains), he is free to gorge himself, and he can only satisfy this urge by eating enough food in one sitting to sate a very large and gluttonous person (typically three full meals’ worth of food).

Flesh: The ghost has cravings for sensations of the flesh. Different ghosts meet this need in different ways—massage, sex, or self-mutilation are common methods—but they always seek intense sensations to overcome their dim senses.

Home: The ghost has an attachment to a particular building or place and must spend at least 8 continuous hours at that place to feel normal. The ghost may haunt the site (if it has appropriate ghost powers), guard it, repair it, or perform any other obvious activity (the trait is about being recognized as part of that place, in addition to merely being there). The chosen site is normally one associated with the death of the person, or some place to which she had a strong attachment in life. People killed far from Manifest rarely acquire this ghost trait, or, if they do, they never make it to the city.

Ocular: The ghost is obsessed with certain sights or images of certain creatures, places, or things. A ghost needs to observe the chosen sight for at least 1 hour without serious distractions (such as participating in combat, magical research, or anything that requires concentration) to satisfy this habit. If the sight is a person, the ghost may be thought to be a malevolent haunt or stalker. People, buildings, landmarks, or a kind of monster are all appropriate targets, as are dramatic visual events such as a popular play, a burning building, or an earnest lethal combat. Sometimes a surrogate obsession (such as a person that resembles the target or an illusion of a burning building instead of an actual fire) is satisfactory for the purpose of meeting this need.

Oral: The ghost fixates on food and needs to eat a significant meal that it can actually taste on a regular basis. Because ghost senses are dulled, this is usually strong and spicy fare and the same kind of food the person enjoyed when alive. For example, a ghost who was fond of steaks in life might feel the need to eat a steak laden with peppers and garlic and marinated in a strong wine. In some cases, the craving is for exotic

pqqqqrs

A GHOST IS NOT A GHOST

The Monster Manual describes a ghost as a restless spirit that for some reason cannot give up its ties to the living and haunts a particular location or item. These ghosts are undead creatures of many different types (humanoids, giants, magical beasts, and so on) and have many strange powers that make them incredibly dangerous combatants. Furthermore, killing them is usually only a temporary solution, for they rejuvenate and return to their old haunts.

The ghosts described in this book are not that kind of ghost.

Ghosts in the Ghostwalk campaign are merely the souls of living creatures (humanoids, with only a few exceptions) existing in another state. They are not tied to one site, do not suddenly gain a suite of fantastic powers, and—most important—are not undead. They are simply people with a slightly different shape.

Whenever this book refers to a “ghost,” it is not talking about a Monster Manual ghost. In fact, because being a ghost is so common and easily achieved, the ghosts described in the Monster Manual are almost unheard of. The few references in literature that speak of these undead ghosts refer to them as “undead skulkers,” “undead haunts,” or “undead spirits,” and have problems differentiating between them and other incorporeal undead such as spectres and wraiths. These references and the people of this world never confuse these creatures with the sort of ghosts who inhabit Manifest. To avoid confusion and preserve the flavor of this campaign, undead ghosts should rarely, if ever, be used in the context of a game. The line between the spiritual dead (ghosts) and undead of any kind is a strong one in this setting, and including an undead sort of ghost blurs that line and reduces some of the impact of all undead being evil. pqqqqrs

foods, such as displacer beast meat, shambler leaves, or the fruit from spirit trees.

Personal: This trait is similar to the ocular trait with respect to a person as the target, except the interest goes beyond simply watching the target. The ghost collects objects the person has touched or owned, lingers near his home or workplace when he isn’t around, dresses in a similar manner as the target, and so on. Rarely does the ghost seek to communicate with or harm the target, and sometimes a ghost has been known to come to the aid of the target if trouble occurs.

Scent: The ghost becomes particularly attached to a particular scent. The ghost surrounds herself with that scent, places scented objects in her home, and prefers to visit places that have that scent. Since a ghost’s senses are muted, this means that nonghosts in the vicinity are nearly overwhelmed by the strength of the scent. Typical odors favored by ghosts are flowers, tea, mint, cinnamon, meat, and fruit.

Thirst: Similar to the oral trait, except that the emphasis is on beverages rather than meals. To satiate this need, the ghost must drink at least 1 gallon of a drink it can actually taste. With a ghost’s dulled senses, this is usually a hot, intoxicating, or spiced drink, and some ghosts have developed an odd taste for conventional poisons (which are harmless to ghosts).

A ghost who does not indulge its trait at least once a week takes a –1 penalty on attack rolls, saves, and skill and ability checks. Upon indulging the trait, this penalty goes away and does not return until the ghost has gone without for another full week. A trait does not keep a ghost from being subject to the Calling, and in fact, if the ghost avoids indulging his need for more than 1 month, he must make a Wisdom check every day (DC 15 + number of weeks spent avoiding the need + ghost’s number of levels in the eidolon class) or immediately succumb to the Calling.

A person who shifts between being a living person and a ghost (as some adventurers do) usually, but not always, ends up with the same trait he had the last time he was a ghost. When a ghost’s trait changes, it is usually because the manner of death was closely associated with the ghost’s previous trait. For example, a former ghost who had the oral trait or hunger trait that is killed by being swallowed whole by a monster probably would have a different trait upon becoming a ghost, and a former ghost who had the ocular trait might return as a ghost

pqqqqrs

ETHEREAL, INCORPOREAL, OR MANIFESTED FULLY

When an intelligent humanoid dies, its soul becomes a ghost in one of three possible physical states. A newly dead person’s soul initially appears on the Ethereal Plane and lingers as an ethereal ghost while she decides whether to pass on or remain. While in this ethereal state, another creature that exists on or enters the Ethereal Plane can interact with her normally, as if she were a solid creature. To creatures on the Material Plane, ethereal ghosts are invisible, insubstantial, inaudible, and scentless. A ghost in an ethereal state follows all the rules for ethereal creatures (see the DUNGEON MASTER’s Guide). While an ethereal ghost can remain on the Ethereal Plane indefinitely, most eventually choose to manifest on the Material Plane (the Ethereal Plane is a dangerous place, after all).

Once an ethereal ghost manifests on the Material Plane, it exists in one of two possible states: incorporeal or fully manifested. An incorporeal ghost is the default state of existence, and it follows the rules for incorporeal creatures (see the DUNGEON MASTER’s Guide). A ghost can exist in a fully manifested state only while within the Manifest Ward or with the aid of certain magic items, spells, or feats.

In the Ghostwalk campaign, once an ethereal ghost manifests on the Material Plane, it cannot become ethereal again without the aid of magic.

THE MANIFEST WARD

The city of Manifest is built over a place called the Veil of Souls— a supernatural door that separates the world of the living from the world of the dead. The Veil is the weakest point along the barrier between these two worlds, and there are substantive effects near it. A phenomenon known as the Manifest Ward extends from the Veil itself (several hundred feet below the surface) to the land’s surface, and outward to the ring of ancient trees that surround the city. Within the Manifest Ward, a ghost is forced to become solid on the Material Plane, a state that is called fully manifested. Certain spells, magic items, and feats duplicate the effects of the Manifest Ward on a limited or temporary basis, allowing ghosts to manifest fully in more remote locations.

FULLY MANIFESTED CREATURES

A ghost or other incorporeal creature that is forced to manifest fully is solid, has weight, and is no longer insubstantial. She can be harmed by normal weapons, and she loses her incorporeal miss chance and all other benefits and abilities of being incorporeal, including her natural deflection bonus from her Charisma bonus. She is still an outsider and a ghost and takes damage from ghost poisons and ghost bane weapons. She can manipulate and wear normal (non-ghost touch) and magic equipment just as easily as a living character can.

Any incorporeal creature that is forced to manifest fully gains a natural armor bonus equal to the deflection bonus it naturally had when it was incorporeal. For example, a ghost with a 13 Charisma would normally have a +1 deflection bonus to Armor Class when incorporeal. When manifested fully, the ghost instead has a +1 natural armor bonus. Likewise, a shadow normally has a +1 deflection bonus to its Armor Class but, when manifested fully, it loses its deflection bonus and instead has a +1 natural armor bonus to its Armor Class. Deflection bonuses from spells, magic items, or any other source other than the creature’s natural state do not translate to natural armor bonuses.

pqqqqrs