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[✗] Ghost-Graven Rewrite: Haunts


Zarsies
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Document exordium

 


This rewrite began with a lore team initiative for the shrinking of dark creatures and the remastering of old lore. Because of this ghosts and gravens were brought up into a discussion which led to me writing this proposal. Following the highly misunderstood nature of ghosts and gravens alike by players in the past who played them -- usually for a week of play before being ostracized for their mistakes which led to dropping the characters which contributes to the current total of 42 ghosts and gravens at the time of this being written -- I’m going to try and simplify the groups into as mechanically basic and simplified they can be while still open for extensive creative leeway while keeping a semblance to their old forms. I introduce the Haunt.

Notes: 
-Should this be accepted, all previous ghost and graven applications will need to be revoked and new ones for active Haunts will be necessary to continue roleplaying those characters as the creatures are now fundamentally different. 
-All previous lore referring to ghosts or gravens now refer to Haunts as a whole.
-Haunts are a functional replacement of ghosts AND gravens. They are open to players through natural formation and through mysticism.


P.S. This document is majorly dry of “flavor” and other such savory word-morsels you’d see in lore quivering to be enjoyed when the actual material and substance of the lore is intertwined, leaving much confusion to interpretation (looking at you, Swgr. :] ). People seem utterly disillusioned with elaborate language in lore recently which I can relate to so I’m going to forgo anything “fluffy.”

 

Explanation

 

Like time and space in the material world, the natural laws of existence fluctuate and alter. Creeks and ruins appear from nothingness, hills and knolls are invented where gaps or forests laid before. A hundred years of erosion may translate to four billion in other regions, and a moment’s peace and quiet on the sea may become a bubbling volcano in a blink. The world and its laws, magical or otherwise, are inconsistent. Change and primordial chaos is all that is the same and with that much alters. Phantoms are not safe from the hands of nameless gods.

 


Formation

 

Haunts are the remnant shadows of souls whose lives were left incomplete or purloined by darkness. Be it their work -- an elderly alchemist on the cusp of his newest brew murdered by a competitor -- their lives -- a pregnant mother-to-be claimed by illness in the night -- or their innocence -- a child bereaved by dark sorcery in a blood ritual; should a life be ended untimely, early, or through occult means, a Haunt may rise and take on the debris of the life they left. Some souls are too stubborn to fade and some too driven to rest.

 

Upon rising a Haunt takes up a purpose; a calling, an obsession, a reason to continue. To some it is known and others not. These take two forms: episodic or eternal. As above, the old alchemist (if episodic) may complete his elixir in death and once finished will find peace and, in doing so, shall die forever. Should the alchemist’s purpose be eternal then he may attempt to create his perfect brew but shall never succeed and result in an unending pursuit filled with failed attempts and byproducts and thus the man shall never rest peacefully or die on his own terms. Were the mother described above to have an episodic purpose she could hunt for her corpse, find the skeleton of her unborn child, and be laid to rest. Were it eternal she may never be able to come to terms with finding her baby and instead hunts forever for it, perhaps willing to find it at any cost and take any baby as she may not recognize it. These sad lives either live until they are fulfilled or go on in endless cycles.    

 

Ectoplasm, the cradle for Haunt soul shadows, is a substance derived from the coalescence of mana and lifeforce then processed through a superior soul -- a mortal one -- during the hammering of death. This event has a chance to generate the macabre stew needed to host an ethereal and broken soul shadow like a Haunt’s, enabling them to exist whilst offering abilities latent with phantoms and the sphere of spectral entities hinged on the controlling mind of the Haunt. An episodic Haunt is by birth but may transition into an eternal one upon their soul rejecting rest, choosing to remain. Their purpose there alters into an eternal one juxtaposed to the previously episodic purpose.

 

To renew a Haunt’s supply of mana and lifeforce -- both perpetuated by the mind -- they rely upon the pursuit of the phantom’s goal. At no point may a Haunt go without a purpose lest they slowly expend their ectoplasm through the expression of their state and, over time, degrade into a frail spirit on the verge of anemia-induced dormancy or even outright death. Only active attempts to further the Haunt’s purpose shall their stores of ectoplasm replenish due to their goal-oriented existence. This feeding can be staved off however through acts of consuming lifeforce as mana perpetuates itself naturally but lifeforce does not in the dead; consuming food as though a mortal may or through acts of a necromancer’s or mystic’s benevolence with a reverse tether or Hindering liturgy may both weakly subside a Haunt’s thirst for sating their purpose and allow them a moment’s breath of free will. Consistent use of these alternative methods make them less effective; a year of feeding not done through goal-chasing makes the effort fruitless.

 

Alternatively, ectoplasm may be purposefully injected into a body to enshroud a soul in the moment of death where ectoplasm would usually form through the use of saturation within mysticism to create a Haunt; in this case the previous conditions for raising are ignored and instead the most appropriate eternal purpose for the character and their personality is adopted.

 

 

Behavior

 

Haunts lie upon the phantom spectrum, a wide continuum including Apparitions, paleknights, and lost ghosts and gravens of yore. For its loose definition, Haunts include the range left in the wake of ghost and graven metamorphosis, a span of likened creatures reformed by a change in material law. This span covers two major families, each creatures born of the same state, but each of different influences. Both of these families of Haunts are spectral undead, giving them the traits ectoplasm instills: a severe aversion to aurum, an affliction where weapons formed from gold may make sharp work of a Haunt whilst mere dust linings upon floors are enough to create insurmountable barriers to the entirely metaphysical. Haunts too are susceptible to the punishment of holy magic, the divine power of clerics and paladins able to forcibly lay these phantoms to rest, they may have the mana of their ectoplasm undone by alterationists or Fi’ practitioners as with their lifeforce towards necromancers, and lastly shamanic spirits may reach into the ethereal plane and tear the Haunt apart. Because of their wide variety of susceptibilities Haunts generally act shy and introverted to avoid conflict with such forces lest they be vanquished and undone forever or forced to regenerate after demanifestation as per their persistent nature. 

This duo may transition from one state to the other as their soul finds most appropriate; it is an unconscious decision to remain in one state or the other and most often times depends on the skillset required to fulfill the eternal or episodic purpose of a given Haunt. Such a transition is a matter of temporary dormancy where the phantom must rest for a season (IRL day) to metamorphosize -- a Haunt crumples into a balled position in a dark and quiet place where they may transmute into their new form. The following year the phantom is unable to transition again until the same date comes again. A Haunt may transition as many times as their soul deems appropriate but most find what is suits their needs after a number of years. The two families are as follows:


Transient Haunts


Transient Haunts are cousins to the older spectrum’s definition of a ghost but with stark contrasts. A Haunt of this orientation may appear quite regular and ordinary, a usual person at a quick glance but perhaps a bit paler, slower moving, or wide-eyed. An individual could live their life not knowing that the elderly alchemist across the way was truly a Haunt due to their lonesome behavior and common appearance; the lack of ethereal flesh, a transparent body, and ghastly decay and wounds go unseen in passive situations. A conversation could even be held with a Haunt of this sort without the mortal side even recognizing an abnormality; transient Haunts appear as odd folk, often labeled hermits, madmen, the lame and stupid, or simply people with handicaps and ailments. These phantoms are physical when in a passive state -- they may hold objects, open doors, even be cut by blades (albeit they bleed inert blood not suitable for blood magic rituals) but all to little effect. Haunts cannot carry much weight, rarely over something beyond ten pounds, they may only open doors in areas highly frequented by the Haunt, and wounds sustained by a Haunt through normal means -- ferrum weaponry or other physical attacks -- serve to only temporarily injury the ghostly entity before the damages seal, undo, and regenerate. Transient Haunts of this sort may carry perpetual wounds and more frightful appearances when they become upset, distorting.

 

Distorted transient Haunts are the apt depiction of what ghosts are known to be; degraded with rot, whirling with mirage-like stirrings, and addled with lunacy. When throttled into episodes of mania, depression, or otherwise disturbing emotions by events of the present -- usually when the Haunt comes to some kind of upsetting realization such as if the old alchemist realizes he is dead and that he never succeeded in creating his final brew -- they transform. Haunts lose opacity, weight, and their temper. In this state a Haunt may float freely, phase through physical objects that do not obstruct their entire body such as a door or wall may, and harness a boon in telekinetic prowess. When a transient Haunt becomes distorted they are wild, nigh feral, and become the mad creatures previously known as ghosts; while not necessarily malevolent or violent, in this disturbed state the Haunt is capable of much more intentionally than they are in their settled forms. Within mastery over objects within a Haunt’s six meter (block) sphere of influence they may practice telekinesis but as well household magic; candles can be extinguished, food can be scorched, darkness and shadow can be extended, and other such flavorful but non-mechanically impactful powers are at the Haunt’s disposal. Telekinesis is equivalent to a tier 4 arcane user. 

 

While a transient 
Haunt who is distorted has these abilities at their disposal they as well have mastery over the abilities of settled transient Haunts without the incognito and mortal-like look. These powers include the abilities to become utterly invisible -- something unparalleled in other entities -- and a knack for possession. Possession is a trait common among metaphysical phantoms who may, over a duration of time, take control of a physical body. Transient Haunts are able to ‘seed’ individuals over the course of a four seasons (IRL days) following their final state of possession. Haunts may cease possession at any time. Such a feat occurs in the following order:

-The Haunt, distorted or settled, frequents a single location or area. This could be an abandoned tower, a cavern, a rotten dock, a grove of trees, and so on that holds significant emotional value to the Haunt; this is the same area in which a Haunt may be exorcised. Within this area, should a mortal being fall asleep or become unconscious they will experience the beginning of the seeding process for possession. This begins with nightmares and night terrors followed by forgetting the content of these dreams upon waking but remembering the emotions linked to the dreams. These dreams may be forgotten or deemed not noteworthy by the individual but occur regardless.


-The following stage of possession includes sleepwalking. The mortal will have no recollection of events whilst sleepwalking unless they are awoken by force and will wake to remember the time only through the lenses of dreams. Sleepwalking is inspired by the Haunt attempting to assume control, beginning to ‘feel out’ the body and soul so they may prepare themselves a seat within for later possession. At this point the mortal will feel enervated, tired, and will begin to develop bruises, exaggerated veins, paler skin, bags under their eyes, restlessness, numbness, scratches, or emotional fatigue.


-The third stage of possession incurs the opposite of sleepwalking; the inability to sleep becomes a strong, unrelenting urge over the mortal. No amount of soothing, calm, or serenity can spare them of their restlessness so long as they remain within the area of possession while, conveniently, most mortals who are being seeded for possession are too tired or too comfortable to leave the place (most likely their home) and do not recognize the situation as a spiritual infection but rather as a physical sickness to be overcome with medicine and alchemy. In this state mortals often hallucinate, lose keen motor skills, appear deathly ill or diseased, and are able to see the Haunt at all times and even when they are not around.


-The fourth stage ends in complete possession. The mortal loses all control upon their body and becomes a horrified observer of the events to follow. Attempts to reach the person such as a wife calling out to a husband to be strong and grasp reality will shake the Haunt’s control. Through contests of willpower (a win of three /roll 20’s) or exorcisms performed by clerics, shamans, or Fi’ practioners targetting the phantom may the possession be ended lest the mortal be driven to kill themself willingly to which end the mortal shall rise as a Haunt and the possessive Haunt will lose its carriage. In the event of an exorcism or if the possessed individual dies the Haunt is ejected from the body and seeks the closest, weakest-willed individual and restarts at the second stage and, through the Haunt taking the final brunt of force to eject their soul, the mortal is instead left alive assuming their injuries are not too severe. When possessed a transient Haunt will attempt to appear normal as though the mortal had become well and overcame their sickness and will then pursue their purpose or goal to what ends they could not before without a permanently physical body or the identity of the individual. 

 

 

Art:

 

 


Transient haunts:
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Distorted transient haunts:
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Primal Haunts


Primal Haunts are cousins to the older spectrum’s definition of a graven but with stark contrasts. Where a transient Haunt may appear to be no more than the lame, dumb, addled, or woesome, an undead beast such as the primitive alternative is much more revealing of their true nature and broken, black hearts. Primal Haunts are entities of emotion, physical manifestations of feelings or concepts. In contrast with their transient siblings, primal Haunts are constantly tangible and, unlike the personal and unique qualities of the ghostly, elemental and generalized. A primal Haunt takes after one of five natural elements -- earth, fire, water, air, and lightning -- and this element themes their manifestation, allowing them a stipend of tier 3 equivalent evocation at the cost of their very being. Casting primal Haunts are limited to the same level of magic a mortal caster may, however instead of running out of mana a primal Haunt would exhaust themself of ectoplasm and die. Their evocation must be used carefully lest they burn themselves out and demanifest accidentally. This elemental inclination also does not inhibit the form of primal Haunts, meaning they are not necessarily humanoid in all regards; additional limbs, animalistic parts, and other mortal-like or creature-like parts may be amassed in an amalgam of flesh to form the body of a primal Haunt. A pirate may be murdered in cold blood and form a seastar-affixed, barnacle-ridden, hammerheaded, fanged, shell-having spirit who drips and leaks waters at all times, bend on plundering the sea. A pyromaniac who burned to death in their own fire may take on a demonic appearance complete with embers and soot falling off them alongside twisting, corrugated bone structures of cavern dwellers and volcano living creatures bent on committing arson. An engineer researching steam and mechanics may take on a thin, spindly body like a spider charged with lightning and streaks of electricity, bent on crafting and forging the perfect steam technology. 

 

Primal Haunts follow three laws; they are elemental and of that which best defines their character unless forced through creation, they are at least partially humanoid and have no mechanical advantage because of their shape, and they are perpetuated by the same episodic or eternal purpose which drives fellow Haunts. Akin to transient Haunts the primal variant may also possess mortal beings but instead only if they are willing. Should a willing individual be of an agreeing disposition to the personality and goal of the Haunt, they may undergo the same possession process but instead of being puppeteered the phantom lends itself to the living mortal, under the implication that what is done furthers the Haunt’s purpose; should this bonding not feed into the furthering of the Haunt’s purpose they will be starved of ectoplasm and in turn demanifest. This bonding allows for a mortal individual to exercise tier three evocation of the appropriate type as the Haunt but to no wear and instead the Haunt is what withers; most often the phantom ceases gifting power to the mortal in order to spare their own lives or, worse, become unstable due to emotional throes and leave the mortal, relinquishing them from possession. Bonded individuals experience the same weaknesses as Haunts and may only exercise their power when the Haunt is present and ‘awoken’ (online). 

 

As briefly alluded, primal Haunts are just that, primal, and their emotions are volatile. Reasoning is weak against how a Haunt feels, their cognitive barrier overwhelmed by feelings and their power. The intensity of these emotions inform their physical abilities respectively; if distorted, a primal Haunt is sturdy, strong, and robust while some are agile, precise, and all animalistic. A raging primal Haunt cannot possess a mortal and their sense of reason leaves them entirely; their limbs become imbued with vigor, their elemental aspects intensify to tier 4, and their minds blank with raw, limitless emotion. These fits are exceptionally dangerous but do not lend to the alignment of a character in the state of a primal Haunt albeit the safety of others or the Haunt’s self are not guaranteed.

 

Art:

 

 


Primal Haunt


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Distorted primal Haunt
 

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Expulsion

 

True death of such a Haunt is described as an exorcism, an act of expulsion from the material plane. Usual deaths result in the phantom becoming temporarily undone before reforming miles away from their point of death as though they had drifted in the wind; they awaken without memory of their death and continue their drab cycle from there. Exorcisms however are final acts of Haunts, deaths where their cracked and darkness-enwreathed souls cannot rebound to the mortal plane again and go finally released; clerics, shamans, and Fi’ practitioners are able to conduct a ritual dusk to dawn in an area possessed by the phantom -- their home if one exists -- and with an object of sentimental or emotional value to the phantom. Purifying the object and area by use of holy symbols spread throughout the area, scented thuribles, and displays of radiant light may exorcise a spirit by Tahariaen clerics and lay the soul to rest. Shamans may follow a similar pattern by scattering the bones of dead animals about the premises, erecting totems and fetishes of spirits, and invoking the names of shamanic spirits in Old Blah. Fi’ practitioners may also follow this practice by laying about bowls of milk, clear glass vials and bottles, and a mana crystal which may have its arcane power sapped at dawn by the users. Each of these rituals require at least three practitioners to lay the Haunt to rest. Such an exorcism may be known to the Haunt who shall attempt to uproot the ritual and end it; should the phantom be dispelled in the process and die they will be unable to halt the ritual and shall be laid to rest permanently.  

 

 

Citations

 

Graven lore links

Ghost lore links

General spectral creature lore links


 

To-do changes:



-Remove elemental magic

-Remove expulsion

-Remove location restrictions

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I didn't like the fact that gravens had the ability to use fire evo and telekinesis due to having seen a few of them not understanding how the magic works due to not being mages previously, and this just adds more problematic stuff to the mix (especially with a combat oriented magic such as electrical evocation). Unless these haunts are all going to be personally taught by you or others with knowledge in the magics, I am strictly against this addition.

 

Another issue is possession. I'd like to see clearer guidelines on what can and can't be done (e.g. they won't be capable of FTBing with mortals as that'd go against one of the current server rules) along with suicide attempts and whatnot.

 

Not to mention the "frequenting of a single area" bit is rather restrictive as Jentos below has mentioned. I don't really see the point in a number of these changes other than making stronk ghosts for mystics to use.

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I think if they are taught in the after-life or before they died it is ok for them to use magic however, being able to innately use magic does cause room for concern, apart from that this seems pretty neat. 

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As someone who is eventually planning on playing a former character as a ghost, I would rather not see these changes passed.

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I legitimately love this article and feel it'd make a beneficial change to ghosts as a whole on our server. +1

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Possession **** sounds entertaining as all hell.

 

The primal haunts being a representation of a primal element is dope as all hell but their is the obvious problem of skipping past the mage learning process. While some people can quickly pick up the ability to play a magic, for others it doesn't exactly stick. With a haunts ability to occur in what is effectively a spontaneous nature it is also natural that munchkins could jump on this for HELLA FREE MAGIX YO!!

 

Might I suggest an edit where a haunt that has occurred naturally is for some reason weaker and does not get access to HELLA FREE MAGIX or only gets access in an extremely weak/artistic form. You could then add that a haunt that has occurred artificially or has been artificially bound to someone though some sorta ritual or magic *cough cough mysticism cough* is for some reason empowered and gets full access to the magics. Binding the haunt to someone basically entrusts that that members of a dark mage clique should both RPly and OOCly oversee that they are understanding the way magic is meant to be played and aren't being schmucks as well as giving them the power to unbind and stick them with the useless magics.

 

Doing that should fix a few of the issues that may appear from a primal haunts magics.

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I was preparing myself to turn one of my characters into a ghost, but honestly I don't agree with these changes, if ghosts are stuck to be played in the same area all the time, I doubt anyone will play them for long, same with the PK ritual.

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I'll make revisions promptly. I tried to gather as much feedback as I could before posting but nothing of this sort came up.

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I'll try to compile a list of issues I have as well, but I guess one thing I don't quite understand is why do the rewrite in the first place? I know you sort of explained it, but limiting the number of dark creatures isn't happening here since they will still exist, and uhh... ghosts aren't really dark creatures. If nothing else, this rewrite seems unnecessary?

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Maybe it'd be easier to treat haunt CAs much like regular magic applications. If a haunt is being formed naturally treat it like a self teach application where they have to gain an OOC overseer that fully understands the effects of these creatures' abilities, where they're expected to receive screenshots and provide guidance. If the haunt is being formed by a mystic then treat it as normal while expecting the mystic will at least OOCly teach the player of the haunt how the magic works. This obviously just being if people think there's a problem with players not being able to roleplay the haunts' abilities properly.

Does this propose that transient haunts (ghosts) can metamorphose into a primal haunt (gravens), and vice versa? Or is it just referring to shifting between distorted and non-distorted forms?

Also:

13 hours ago, Zarsies said:

P.S. This document is majorly dry of “flavor” and other such savory word-morsels you’d see in lore quivering to be enjoyed when the actual material and substance of the lore is intertwined, leaving much confusion to interpretation (looking at you, Swgr. :] ). People seem utterly disillusioned with elaborate language in lore recently which I can relate to so I’m going to forgo anything “fluffy.”

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

 

EDIT: Seeing your to-do changes, I'd prefer you kept the elemental magics actually. They really add some flare and interest to the creatures in my opinion.

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32 minutes ago, Gladuos said:

Does this propose that transient haunts (ghosts) can metamorphose into a primal haunt (gravens), and vice versa? Or is it just referring to shifting between distorted and non-distorted forms?

 

They can be transitioned between but are the same creature.

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ya blessin us with good lore, sans tl;dr 

 

I'm fine with it, personally, but if the community deems that certain changes should be made in order to create a more entertaining experience, then alright

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I have a few balancing issues with this piece.

 

Due to possession (moreso with transient) being relatively powerful in this adaptation the requirement of three practioneers from any one sect seems like a lot to ask for.

 

Namely because we are dealing with characters who have PKed, were brought back, and are now able to create a variety of negative effects towards other characters seemingly against their will all while masquerading as a normal person(ish). 

 

I would suggest lowering it to 2 or even just 1? Perhaps the number of successful possessions increases the haunts resistence and thus requires more cleric/shaman/fi users? 

 

I am also concerned about haunts forcing character suicide based off OOC grudges one may have (this type of player interaction isn't something we should focus on but will happen regardless of our intentions with this lore) and thus prevenitive measures may need to be detailed, yeah?

 

I do enjoy the feeling of the piece, the focus on continuing/creating RP scenarios rather than playing a haunt just to continue existence. Though it might be rather difficult for the MT to moderate haunts to ensure they are meeting the requirements for continued existence.

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2 hours ago, Sir K Andruske said:

I would suggest lowering it to 2 or even just 1? Perhaps the number of successful possessions increases the haunts resistence and thus requires more cleric/shaman/fi users? 

 

I am removing Expulsion (PK exorcisms) altogether.

 

2 hours ago, Sir K Andruske said:

I am also concerned about haunts forcing character suicide based off OOC grudges one may have (this type of player interaction isn't something we should focus on but will happen regardless of our intentions with this lore) and thus prevenitive measures may need to be detailed, yeah?

 

It'd be murder, not suicide. And the possessed can't FTB because it's at least one of the following by technicality: rape, necrophilia, or orgy.

 

 

I'll make my planned revisions as voiced before friday.

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