[Playable] Ghosts And You!

[Urahra 5359]

Ghosts and You

 
Hello, LOTC!
 
So in my two years or so playing on this server, I’ve seen a couple of times where people will RP playing ghosts of dead characters.  That’s pretty neat, so I figured I’d write some lore and rules for it because why not? Seems like fun.
 
So let’s get right to it!
 

WHAT IS A GHOST?

 
We’ve all heard the scary stories. The creaking footsteps on the old staircase, the candle suddenly blown out by a sudden gust of wind. Is it me, or did the temperature in the room suddenly drop? I’ve got goose bumps. And those strange white lights outside the window at night – what are those? All of these mysterious occurrences are said to be signs of the supernatural. There’s definitely a ghost in that spooky old house on the hill.
 
Actual ghosts don’t quite match the stories the people in Anthos have made up about them, though. There are several different stages of ghost, all of which “evolve” from a base ghost. All ghosts are the souls of dead characters left behind to wander the mortal plain. Ghosts are most often created when a person dies unnaturally or dies without being baptized into a religion. Either way, for whatever reason, they cannot find peace and pass into the arms of the Creator. Some ghosts may find comfort and move on eventually while others never will. Some ghosts choose not to move on, preferring to stay on the mortal plain. Ghosts are still individuals with individual consciousnesses.

 
There are three evolutions of the ghost:
 

Level 1 – Haunt

Above: Gisela, a level one ghost.

 
A level one ghost, like Gisela above, is depicted with a black and white, desaturated minecraft skin with blank, white eyes. They lack irises or pupils. The most tragic thing about ghosts is that none of them initially realize they are dead. Death is extremely shocking, traumatic, and difficult to deal with, especially when you are the one dying. People have a natural ability to block out traumatic memories and that ability carries over into death. Haunts are unaware of their deaths and will try to go about their lives as they would normally.  They cannot float, phase through walls, or shift appearances due to the fact that they still believe themselves to be alive. They will often appear exactly as they did at the moment of their death, which can make some of them look especially gruesome. Haunts are not always visible to the people around them. They become more visible/less visible depending on how aware they are of the current world. They exist in a sort of delusional haze that is half reality and half constructed of their memories. Phantasms are not always unhappy – sometimes their half-dream world is very pleasant for them to live in and they would prefer to exist that way. For instance, the Haunt of a farmer may still “wake up” at dawn and tend the fields as he always did. Even though he cannot physically interact with the world around him, he may believe himself to still be doing hard work thanks to his delusions. Haunts cannot affect the world around them. They cannot often be felt, seen, or heard. They may BELIEVE they are interacting with the world, but it is all part of the elaborate delusion of believing they are still alive.
 
However, as I said, Haunts may start to break out of their delusional world and see more of the real one. This may occur when they start to encounter things that no longer fit with the delusion. Returning to our farmer mentioned above – perhaps he had a wife that he loved very much. Every night, he laid down beside her and fell asleep. However, since his death, the wife has remarried and a strange man is lying in the bed he used to share with his wife. The Haunt, which can sense the real world beyond their delusion, becomes confused and upset by the presence of the new man. As the delusion starts to break, the Haunt will begin to manifest itself in a way that living people can sense. They may manifest as strange sounds, voices, or visible entities. Often, they will try to interact with the people they sense around them. However, since the Haunts still believe they are alive, it is difficult to speak to them. They will often speak in delusional and deeply confused ways. Their voices are often distorted and vague. They will often refuse to accept the idea that they are dead. They will interpret most new information within the framework of their delusion. For instance, the farmer will believe that his wife no longer loves him and has started an affair – not that he’s died and she’s remarried.
 
If you can break through to a Haunt and present them with incontrovertible proof that they have died, they will break out of their delusional state and evolve to the next level of ghost.
 

Haunt's List of Abilities

-Mostly intangible

-Can interact with the environment in a very limited way, such as opening unlocked doors.

-May fade uncontrollably between visible/invisible

 

Level 2 - Revenant 

Above: Gisela has manifested as a Revenant

 
Revenants look quite a lot like Haunts, but their eyes have changed. They now have pupils and irises. Becoming a revenant is a very important stage in the “death cycle” of a ghost. This is the point where the ghost has become aware that they are dead and now exist as spirits. Ghosts may react to this in a number of ways that may influence their development, as you will see below.
 
Because they have now become aware of their ghostly presence, Revenants may develop the powers that we typically associate with ghosts. Namely, they will be able to shift between visible and invisible at will, float, and shift appearance. However, these powers are extremely difficult to master and may take some years as a revenant to fully master. In order to access these powers, the spirit in question must start to forget his or her ties to mortal laws of physics and mass. In order to float, they must be able to realize and believe in their own weightlessness and the idea that, even if they step off a high cliff, they will not fall. Because these ideas are so deeply ingrained in the mortal psyche, they are extremely difficult to get rid of. Thus, most haunts and revenants will still walk on the ground like ordinary people. A newly awakened revenant will have no access to ghostly powers and will still react to things as if it were a physical entity, even if they cannot touch or be touched by anything.
 
An important thing to know about revenants is that they cannot “awaken” themselves. They must be awakened by someone else and they will only be awakened when presented with absolutely undeniable evidence of their death. For some, it is the sight of their own dead body or their own grave. For others, it can be something verbal or physical – like proof that they can no longer touch people or objects. It must be something that the Haunt cannot reinterpret as part of their delusions. Most Haunts find the “awakening” process to be extremely upsetting and disturbing. Upon realizing they are dead, many new revenants will become very upset. This will influence their evolution as ghosts. If they can be calmed down and talked to, this will also influence their evolution.
 

Revenant's List of Abilities

-May fade between visible/invisible

-May potentially learn to float

-May potentially learn to shift appearances

-Can interact with environment in a limited way, such as opening doors.

 

Level 3 – Poltergeist or Spectre

Above: In the third stage of ghost evolution, Gisela may either manifest as a poltergeist (left) or a spectre (right).

 
As stated above, dying is a traumatic thing for both the victim and the people around them. Many Revenants, when made aware of their demise, may become very upset, angry, or react in a strong negative way to their deaths. There are some revenants that will accept their demise with grace, though. It depends on the individual. Either way, being forced out of a pleasant delusion into a harsh reality may be very upsetting. Depending on how the Revenant reacts, they can evolve in one of two ways. It may take many years existing as a revenant to become one of the two – neither transformation happens instantly.
 
If the Revenant reacts negatively to their death and cannot be calmed down, they may turn into a poltergeist. Poltergeists are ghosts consumed by anger and hate. They can be identified by their strong red color, ashy appearance, or completely black eyes. They are often extremely malevolent and must be handled with caution. Poltergeists are to blame for many of the scary or negative things that ghosts cause. Poltergeists have mastered the ability to force their will onto physical people and objects. They will often throw things, destroy objects, scratch or harm people, or wail or make frightening noises. They have mastered the art of changing appearance and will often shift into the form of something horrifying to terrorize their victims. Poltergeists cannot return to the state of being a revenant and their primary purpose is to scare others and cause chaos and destruction in whatever way they can. A poltergeist can be exorcised either by a holy man or woman or by a demon hunter or witcher. For a revenant to become a poltergeist, it takes many years of stewing in anger, hate, denial, or other strongly negative emotions.
 
If the Revenant can be calmed or gracefully accepts their new deceased state, they may become a spectre. Spectres are identified by their luminous blue color. Spectres are benevolent or at least neutral ghosts and are mostly harmless. They’ve mastered the ability to float, turn visible or invisible, and change appearance, but they typically do not use these abilities to frighten or disturb anyone. There can be playful or mischievous spectres, but they are not malevolent and will typically not harm others. The goal of a spectre is to typically find some way to move on into the afterlife, but not always. Spectres are simply mature ghosts that have made peace with themselves and with death. If they seek to move onto the afterlife, they will often ask the help of mortal people to achieve this task. It takes many years for a revenant to become a spectre and they will become one naturally if they learn to accept their deaths.
 
Ghosts don't have to fit neatly in either box, though. Ghosts, whether poltergeists or spectres, are still individuals and will retain their living personalities even into their third evolution. 
 
Because the core of a poltergeist is anger and the core of a spectre is peace, the two level 3 ghost types often find each other highly repellent and try to avoid contact with each other if possible. They do not usually fight one another - simply avoid each other. However, this is not a hard and fast rule. Because ghosts are still all individuals, sometimes individual poltergeists and spectres may not hate each other.
 

Poltergeist List of Abilities

-May float

-May shift appearances (usually to something frightening)

-May interact with the physical world via scratching, throwing objects, destroying objects

-May shift between visible/invisible

-Gives off a soft red glow

 

Spectre List of Abilities

-May float

-May shift appearances

-May shift between visible/invisible

-Can interact with environment in a limited way, such as opening doors.

-Gives off a soft blue glow

 

NO EVOLUTION OF GHOST CAN PHASE THROUGH WALLS. Because that is overpowered and could be abused.

 

GHOST BEHAVIOR

 

Ghosts are mostly solitary and tend to keep to themselves, unless they are actively haunting a person or place. The non-malevolent ghosts tend to be somewhat shy, often actively avoiding people and places that they are not haunting. Interacting with a non-malevolent ghost will often cause them to vanish. Ghosts will typically prefer lonely roads, dark forests, or abandoned structures to busy roads or cities.
 
Ghosts tend to avoid each other, being solitary and sometimes quite territorial. They can interact with other ghosts, but they typically choose not to. A ghost's haunting area is a very personal space and the presence of other ghosts can be upsetting. As such, they have no real leadership or organization. Ghosts move independent of each other and do not often come in contact or exchange ideas.
 
Most ghosts are neutral toward people. While they can be terrifying to look at, most are non-malevolent and will not harm others unless provoked. Poltergeists can be harmful, but there are few cases where they actually kill other people. Most of the time, their intent is to terrify rather than murder.
 
Ghosts have a sort of gloomy, depressive, "bad luck"-inducing aura that will start to affect living people if they hang around a ghost for too long. The presence of a ghost, even a benevolent one, can cause depression, thoughts of suicide, unpleasant physical sensations such as coldness or itching. In extreme cases, the presence of a high level ghost can give the haunted person negative luck.

 

 

HOW DO I BECOME A GHOST?

 
Because the ghosts have very supernatural and sometimes very powerful abilities, we must naturally regulate who gets to become a ghost and why. Which is why I am proposing this as a magical subtype with two sub-branches (being Poltergeist and Spectre). Thus, to be a ghost, you must write an MA. In order to get a ghost app accepted, you must naturally have a character who is deceased and a solid reason for him/her to remain on the mortal plain as a ghost. Ghosts should only be characters that have already lived full lives. Creating a character and killing them for the express purpose of making a ghost app should be looked down upon and provide grounds for denial.  Once a ghost app is accepted, the person will be given license to RP as a Haunt and eventually as a Revenant. I believe that a mini-MA should be written if the ghost player wishes to move on and become a spectre or a poltergeist, seeing as they are both advanced sub-branches.
 
ALTERNATELY:

If people would like for me to create my own ghost application process and oversee a sort of loose "ghost faction," I think that's something I could manage. I use the term faction very loosely because there wouldn't be an IC "ghost leader," there would only be like five ghosts, and, since ghosts are mostly solitary, there wouldn't be a government system. I'd just OOCly oversee the four or five people who I choose from the applications. 
 
Would like to remind everyone that I was an M-team member for a while and I graded apps very harshly, so I wouldn't let any baddies slide through. If people think this is a suitable alternative to ghosts being a Magic subtype, I'd be open to managing that.

 
I would, however, like to state that I do NOT think this should be an E-Team only faction. I designed the ghosts to, as you can see, have a very RP-heavy progression that is dependent on RP interaction with non-ghost players. To see them reduced to a race used only for events would be going against the lore I designed and I would find it very sad.
 
I PLAN, IF ALLOWED TO CONTROL GHOSTS MYSELF, TO LIMIT THEM TO FOUR OR FIVE GHOSTS. Each applicant would be rigorously screened and given outlines of what they can and cannot do.

OKAY GUYS
 
GHOSTS ARE NOT GOING TO BE EVERYWHERE
 
I AM LIKELY GOING TO ACCEPT MAYBE FOUR OF THEM, IF I GET CONTROL OF THE LORE
 
FOUR.
 
MEANING YOUR CHANCES OF BEING A GHOST ARE VERY LOW
 
BECAUSE THIS IS A PROBLEM PEOPLE KEEP BRINGING UP AND I AM SICK TO DEATH OF REPEATING MYSELF
 
THERE WILL NOT BE GHOSTS EVERYWHERE.
 
A FEW SELECT PEOPLE WILL GET TO BE GHOSTS
 
AND BY "A FEW", I MEAN FOUR OR LESS

 
HOW TO DEFEAT A GHOST
 
Ghosts of all colors have a strong aversion to both bright light and magegold. If a house is afflicted by an unwanted ghost, the spirit can be driven out with either of those objects. To completely banish a ghost forever, one can summon a cleric or a shaman to perform an exorcism. It is not necessarily possible to "kill" a ghost, but one can force them into the afterlife they deserve.
 
Most ghosts, however, are fairly harmless. Since they can be chased out by magegold or light, it is often not worth it to call upon a cleric or a shaman. Haunts and Spectres are often not actively malicious. Revenants can be malicious, but not always. Poltergeists are usually the ones that require exorcism, as they are the most actively malicious and actively perform harmful deeds.
 
Most ghosts stick to a single place or person when they haunt. Most ghosts will haunt the places and people they remember from their lives before they died. Sometimes, a ghost will haunt an object and move where the object moves. Ghosts do not usually congregate in groups and don't have government systems. While ghosts can interact with one another, they are mostly solitary. 
 
When they do congregate in groups, it is usually because something awful has happened. Ghosts are usually created when people die violently or unnaturally. If a large number of people die at once, under certain circumstances, they may form up into an Apparition (http://www.lordofthecraft.net/forum/index.php?/topic/85379-lore-complete-apparitions/page-1). In which case, they become extremely dangerous. However, this occurs under specific and unusual circumstances and does not always happen.
 
The garden variety ghost can be an annoyance, especially if malevolent, but they are usually solitary and usually easy enough to vanquish. Since they are often attached to specific people, places, or objects, a simple solution to a ghost problem may be just to move away from the place/thing/person the ghost is haunting.
 
AREN’T YOU JUST COPYING THE UNDEAD FROM AEGIS?
 
You could draw that parallel, but…not really? The ghosts are VERY different in a lot of ways from the old Undead. Mostly in that they are not servants of Iblees or any God and  they do not have a very large array of powers (ghost powers are limited to floating, changing appearance, becoming visible/invisible, and sometimes interacting with the world by means of throwing or scratching things). They also do not have physical or rotting bodies and cannot cast large spells that affect the physical world. The very  worst even a Poltergeist can do is scratch people, break stuff, and look scary and make scary noises. Compared to the Aegis Undead or even your NPC zombies, they are fairly harmless. The only similarity is that they are both people who came back from the dead.
 
I would also like to say that mages who become ghosts would likely not retain their powers after they die. They will still have the knowledge of how to use magic and can possibly become teachers or advisors, but having intangible flame-wielding ghosts would simply be too overpowered and too much like the Aegis Undead.
 
I HAVE OTHER COMMENTS, CRITIQUES, IDEAS, ETC.
 
Great! Post them. I’d love to see them. I just sort of made this for the fun of it, so I'm open to criticism. Love it, hate it?

[ΚΨΙΞ 710]

Oh.. god this sounds cool. I would really like to see this RP'd aslong as a quarter of the player-base isn't a ghost. Only a spare few should be one.

[Mankaar 166]

Really.. really like this, If you want any help or ideas please msg I would love to help in any way I can! 

 

+1!

[meg 1993]

A marvelous idea, although I do think this should be for only a few people, and I am a little iffy on the ressurection part. Maybe more drawbacks if you are resurrected?

[Tom_Whiteman 949]

O' MY LORDY PANTS!

 

+111111111111111111

[ĔṀĔŔĨĨČĶ 519]

Could be fun to scare the crap out of people. +1

[ski_king3 0]

Hmm, I think you should only really need an MA for the final tier. I see no harm in RP'ing a character's ghosts for the first two, as there is no major advantage, merely enjoyable roleplay. Granted, I did not read the whole thing, but this is just my thoughts. Regardless, this seems super freakin' cool!

[Lago 2569]

I like.

A couple of things:
Firstly, pointing this out: http://www.lordofthecraft.net/forum/index.php?/topic/85379-lore-complete-apparitions/ You may or may not have seen it already.
Second, I have to agree with Megu on the resurrection thing. Really not sure how I feel about that.
Finally, is "witcher" a generic term? I thought they were exclusive to Witcher series of books.

[Polgrath 215]

I like the idea of more ghost RP a lot, I reccomend collaberating with Kalenz and his apparation lore!

[Haelphon 407]

[5:12:55 PM] Haelphon: Yes.

[5:12:58 PM] Haelphon: Yes yes yes yes.

[5:12:59 PM] Haelphon: Yes.

[5:13:00 PM] Haelphon: YES.

 

I LOVE THIS. Support!

 

(EDIT): We'd need applications for this, under a subtype of magic, so that will have to be watched, but otherwise sounds good to me!

[BrandNewKitten 2788]

I agree with what Polgrath said.

 

Since apparition lore is already accepted and those beings are supposed to be immensely powerfully I think you should talk with Kalenz or come up with a different name for the level one ghost.

[Mankaar 166]

Hmm, I think you should only really need an MA for the final tier. I see no harm in RP'ing a character's ghosts for the first two, as there is no major advantage, merely enjoyable roleplay. Granted, I did not read the whole thing, but this is just my thoughts. Regardless, this seems super freakin' cool!

I agree with you in that aspect, It would be great to be able to rp the first tiers without an Ma.

[Evilbanana5757 153]

This is a MARVELOUS idea!

 

However, if it's abused, then it'll turn really bad... So yeah, we'll have to get yet another app :I Still, +1 :D

[hex37 734]

Love everything, save the resurrection buisness, that looks iffy, and I can already see ways to exploit it in more ways than one.

[EboBren' 87]

I really like this, it was clearly well thought out. One suggestion though. Perhaps up to a certain point the ghost should be bound to one place? Once they realize they are dead, maybe there should be some connection that keeps them to some place (be it where they lived, near a loved one, location of death, etc.) until either the second or third stage. Again, great job.