Ghost and Spirit Slave Rules

Wraith Retainers and Spirit Slaves shall use the following rules for their stats in order to simplify the system. Using Wraith the Oblivion can be overly complicated in a vampire game--these rules are meant to help simplify that problem.

Ghost Traits

Ghosts don’t have the range of attributes that physical beings do. Everything they undertake relies on Willpower, Angst, or Pathos. Many possess Tricks, distinct abilities like Disciplines. Instead of health levels, each ghost has an Essence rating, which damage reduces. Each type of trait behaves somewhat differently for ghosts than for creatures of matter.

• Willpower
  • Willpower is used for Physical actions. All Physical actions require a static willpower challenge of varying difficulty. Three traits for easy challenges, six for normal challenges, eight for difficult actions, and ten for near impossible tasks. Willpower also allows a ghost to reduce incoming damage.

• Angst
  • When a ghost hits its target for damage, the amount done is equal to its Angst. Additionally. Those who have a means to attack ghosts must test against the ghosts Angst.

• Pathos
  • Is used for Mental and Social actions for ghosts. Pathos also may be spent to manifest in the skinlands for one turn per trait spent.

• Essence
  • The initial Essence rating for a ghost is the sum of its Willpower, Angst, and Pathos. Any damage Willpower does not reduce removes Essence. A Ghost who loses all Essence enters a Harrowing with a chance of it being destroyed permanently. A ghost flies or floats at (20+ willpower) yards per turn in the shadowlands.

A starting Ghost has 15 points to spend between Willpower, Angst, and Pathos. Each costs 1 point each. Additionally all ghosts also start with one Trick. This is your starting level 1 Ghost Retainer/Spirit Slave. Each additional Retainer level gives 5 additional points to spend on the ghost. These points may be spent as follows

Trait Cost	Power
1	Willpower, Angst, or Pathos per level to a max of 10
3	Tricks cost 3 points per

Tricks

Death of Innocence

This power allows a Ghost to kill a newborn child.

• System: Spend 4 Pathos and engage in a Willpower challenge for a Physical action. Success kills the new born and its soul is lost. This power may only be used on blood relatives to the ghost

Form of the Beast

The Ghost takes an animal form

• System: This power costs 2 Pathos to activate. For the remainder of the scene the Ghost gains +4 to his willpower rating for physical challenges. The ghost also gains an additional level of Essence for health levels only.

Ancestor’s Blessing

A ghost may bless one of it’s relatives.

• System: The Ghost spends 1 to 3 Pathos on this trick. For one point the recipient gains one bonus trait towards an action of the ghosts choosing. For Two Points the recipient receives one free retest on an action of their choosing. And for three points the recipient gains a point of Willpower. The combined pathos expending on this trick may not exceed 3 and only works on the ghosts relatives.

Gift of Secrets

The ghost may tap into a wealth of knowledge.

• System: Spend two Pathos and bestow upon a target 2 additional abilities that the ghost would have possessed.

Distant Whispers

The Ghost may communicate telepathically no matter the distance.

• System: Spend one Pathos and engage in a Pathos challenge. Success results in five minutes of telepathic communication.

Fooled You

This trick allows a ghost to distort a small object from an observer's perception. It may “move” an object two yards in any direction. If the illusion is grabbed it fades.

• System: Spend one Pathos and engage in a Pathos challenge difficulty of 8. If successful the illusion succeeds.

Grave Gardener

The Ghost can create sickly plants to grow anywhere they desire. These are often twisted plants and associated with death.

• System: Spend 1 Pathos and create one square foot of twisted plant life. The plants last one scene or an hour. Any who attempt to remove them suffer one level of lethal damage.

Ghostly Speed

This Trick grants the ghost unnatural speed.

• System: Each Angst spent allows the ghost to take one extra action in combat.

Inspired Dreams

This power allows a ghost to inspire a dream in a target. The recipient will be inspired to create great works of art.

• System: Engage the target in a Pathos challenge. If the ghost succeeds he may spend between one and five pathos traits. The more Pathos spent the greater the piece of art. Additionally, a ghost may harvest Pathos or Willpower from his targets creative vision (1 of one type per level originally spent.)

Mark of Corruption

The ghost looks more repulsive and horrific than normal.

• System: Spend one Pathos. For the remainder of a scene or hour, the ghost gains two bonus traits in all challenges related to intimidation.

Reinforce

The trick allows a ghost to strengthen an object.

• System: Spend one to three Pathos traits and engage in a Pathos challenge. If successful the object gains a number of health levels equal to the Pathos spent. This will make even mundane objects difficult to break.

Scripture

This trick allows a ghost to communicate with the lands of the living by writing on any surface it chooses. This often takes the form of blood on the walls or words written on a window with steam or ice.

• System: Spend 1 Pathos. A Ghost may write a message for as long as it wishes. The moment it stops writing however this power ends and must be used again.

Shadow Senses

This trick allows a ghost to manipulate light, sound, smell, and touch. The effects used are often typical of those associated with ghosts. Lights flicker, rooted meat can be smelled etc.

• System: Spend two pathos, for the remainder of the scene a ghost may affect one room as described above.

Summon Angry Ghosts

This power allows a ghost to lash out and summon other vicious ghosts to its aid.

• System: Spend between one and three Pathos and engage on a Pathos challenge at a difficulty of 8. If the ghost succeeds a corresponding number of ghosts arrive. The time it takes and their power level are decided by the storyteller. This Trick may be used once per scene.

Tell Me What Happened

A Ghost may peer into a victim's mind and drag up a specific memory. The memory is invoked by asking a specific question, and it does not matter if the target can hear the ghost or not.

• System: Spend One Pathos and engage on a Pathos challenge difficulty of 8. If the ghost succeeds the memory is invoked. Memories over a year old may not be invoked.

Temptation’s Whisper

This power makes the ghosts dark desires seem like a good idea to its victims. Victims often begin to indulge in torture, murder, and other horrendous acts.

• System: Spend One to Three Pathos Traits and engage in a Pathos challenge at a difficulty of 8. Success results in the victim engaging in horrible acts of cruelty. For one pathos the victim will indulge in the act if was already inclined to do so. Two Pathos traits will cause a victim to engage in act that does not oppose his nature. For Three Pathos the victim will engage in the act even if it goes against his nature. The victim has no idea that this impulse was not his own. Additionally, the victim may spend 1 willpower to suppress the urge.

Armed and Dangerous

This Trick allows a ghost to create a melee weapon from nothing that has the same effects as a real one.

• System: Spend Two Pathos Traits and the ghost may manifest any melee weapon they choose that lasts a scene or an hour.

Dark Pet

This Trick allows the ghost to summon a ghostly animal to serve it. Typically a raven, rat, or other animal associated with death will come.

• System: The Ghost spends 2 Pathos and summons a ghost animal to serve him. The ghost can hear and see through the eyes of the ghost animal. The ghost animal lasts for one scene or an hour. If it is destroyed, Dark Pet may not invoked for one week.

Dead Men Tell Tales

This power allows a ghost to gain information from a corpse.

• System: The Ghost spends two pathos and engages in a Pathos challenge difficulty of 8. If he succeeds the Ghost gets the memory he seeks form the corpse. This Trick has no effect on corpses more than a year old.

Killer Toys

This Trick allows a ghost to animate several small objects, such as a toy collection or a jar of pencils, or a screwdriver set.

• System: Spend 2 Pathos traits and engage in a Pathos challenge difficulty of 8. Success allows the ghost to animate the objects. The objects use the Ghosts stats to attack, but only do half of the Ghosts Angst in damage. The objects may only perform action befitting their nature. This Trick lasts as long as the ghost concentrates and does nothing else. Getting attacked will interrupt their concentration.

Look At Me

This Trick allows a ghost to override the mental defenses of a target.

• System: The Ghost expends Three Pathos traits and then engages in a Pathos test of a difficulty of 8. If he succeeds the target sees the ghost and all other supernaturals for the monsters they are. The victim will not flee unless they choose too, and at the end of the scene or hour when the effect wears off the victim gains a temporary derangement of the storytellers choice (which may also be permanent if the ST decides its was particularly horrific).

Mirror Monster

This Trick turns a mirror into a horrifying weapon. Thus afflictied do not see their reflection but instead sees her greatest fear given form.

• System: The Ghost Spends Three Pathos and engages in a Pathos challenge difficulty of 8. Success means the victim sees her greatest fear reflected in images of themselves instead of their reflection. This results in the victim receiving a Temporary defragment of the storytellers choosing. This power effects one reflection at a time, and if used multiple times in a night on a victim results in the derangement becoming permanent.

Once More, With feeling

This Trick forces a victim to relive a moment of their lives.

• System: Spend Two Pathos and engage in a Pathos challenge difficulty of 8. Success causes the victim to relieve a memory of the Ghosts choosing. This may result in the victim becoming catatonic or simple mime out the memory. Either way for the victim they fully relive the moment. The ghost must also successfully touch the victim to use this power.

Pack Attack

This Trick allows a ghost to summon a horde of ghost animals.

• System: Spend One Pathos Trait and summon one ghost animal, a maximum of five ghost animals may be summoned. The Ghost animals have their own stats decided by the storyteller and under the complete sway of the commanding ghost. This power lasts as long as the ghost concentrates and does nothing else; even getting attack disturbs this trick.

Change of Heart

This Trick allows a ghost to enter a new idea into a victims mind or remove an idea they already had. Love can be turned to hate, Someone who once agreed with a plan will instead start to poke holes in it, etc. The victim is unaware they are being tampered with. The victim must also be touched for this power to work.

• System: The Ghost expends Four Pathos and engages in a Pathos challenge at a difficulty of 10. Success means the ghost twists the desires of its victim. They can implant a new idea into their mind or remove one the victim had.

Cloak of Dreams

The ghost summons a death shroud from thin air.

• System: The Ghost expends one to five Pathos, each trait spent confers one level of armor for the ghost. This Trick may be used once per scene.

Dark Twin

This Trick allows the ghost to create a dark twin of itself. The Ghost twin is identical in all ways to the original ghost save that it is more darker and more malevolent.

• System: Spend Four Pathos and summon a Twin ghost of yourself. The Dark Twin has the same stats as the original ghost but only half as many Tricks decided by the storyteller. Additionally the Dark Twin is far more evil than its creator and may very well act out or lash out against the creator. It is a separate entity with its own goals and desires. The Dark Twin lasts for four turns.

Detective’s Denouement

This Trick allows a ghost to pull a memory from one person and show it to another.

• System: Spend Three Pathos and engage in a Pathos Challenge at a difficulty of 10. Success results in every person in a ten yard radius to see the selected scene played out in their mind. The vision is viewed instantaneously and does not result in those viewing going comatose or vulnerable.

Death Storm

This Trick allows a Ghost to pull the storms of the shadowlands into the skinlands. The real world goes dark, lightning crackles overhead, blood rains from the sky, and winds whip around sending bone fragments about.

• System: Spend six Pathos traits and unleash the storm within ten yards of the ghost. The storm lasts six rounds and all those within it suffer one automatic level of lethal damage each round they are within the storm. The ghost himself who summoned it may not move and is not immune to this damage.

Emotional Overload

The Ghost floods his victims mind with powerful emotions so strong they are unable to move or act.

• System: Spend four Pathos and engage in an Angst challenge at a difficulty of 10. If successful the victim is stunned for one round and may not act, but may defend himself normally. If used twice in a night or in a combat the victim also loses a permanent mental trait. If effected for a third time in a night or in a combat, the victim gains a permanent derangement becoming addicted to the sensation of the heightened emotions. Ghosts may also feast off the victim during the time he is affected and gain one Angst each time they feast on the affected victim (which takes one action and a Angst challenge difficulty 6).

Impostor

The Ghost Materializes and appears as someone else

• System: The Ghost spends five pathos and manifests with the appearance of his choosing. This power lasts 5 minutes and may be extended for an additional five minutes per pathos trait spent.

Sleepwalk

This power allows a ghost to possess a body. The body must be sleeping, in a coma, or a trance. This lasts as long as the ghost takes no sudden actions and no loud distractions occur.

• System: Spend Three Pathos and engage in a Pathos challenge difficulty of 10. Success grants the ghost possession of the host under the above conditions for one round for each additional pathos trait it spends. If the victim awakens or takes any sudden actions the possession ends. This power only works on mortals.