Hidden Face - The Ez'Dryael, Sinfull Scions Of Men & Gods

Ez'Dryael

In most cultures and religions across the world exists at least one myth or legend speaking about the rare and fatefull mingling of mortal and divine into a single blood. Either through the naivety of mortals or by appealing to their intrinsecal ambition, beings of inexcrutable intend and abysmal amorality seduce the missguided and the foolish alike into acts of trangression so foul as to lead entire worlds astray into ruin through births that should be abhorred instead of celebrated. Usually dennounced as forbbiden by the teachings of ancient prophets, recorded on books and scriptures held as the divinely inspired words of the deities themselves, such unions spawn heralds of truths best left unknown, for mortals seem complacent in worshiping and fearing that which they cannot understand. Usherers of an age of maddness to come after the very foundations of creation have crumbled upon the weight of the sin and hubris they embody, these radiant messengers of doom sing with fervorous delight a gospel of delirant apocalypse to come over mortals and gods alike, as born from sin they are rebellion and arrogance drapped on flesh. And so, mortals know to fear the Ez'Dryael, for they have always known that darkness holds untold horrors since old but, sometimes, it is under the mantle of searing light, heretic halos, and blasphemous wings, that the worst nightmares of the mortal world may hide: at the hollow heart of the sinfull scions of men and gods.

Physical Description

Descendants of bloodlines so anathema to each other as day and night, the Ez'Dryael inherited and refined the beauty of mortal kin on their frames, but also the sheer might of their outworldly sires, too strong to be contained on a frail human body. Because of this, very few mothers survive the birth, and such children come to this world with an unnatural size, and soon they are seen as giant among common folk, reaching about 13ft at adulthood. At such age, their frail human skin has grown insufficient to contain their might, so it clings to them as an outstreched leather that barely covers sparse sections, as the rest reveals the naked truth of glistening muscles and thick bones with inhuman configurations, giving them the grotesque visage of giants of angelic beauty, with hairs of celestial cyan and other colors impossible to humans, whose bodies have been simetrically and obscenely flayed almost in entirety. And, as if such a horrific mockery of mortal beauty could not be hint enough of such beings inhumanity, the gills linning the sides of their tighs and the sphere of violet crystal where their hearts should be, visible under the translucid membrane that covers their bodies where the outstretched human skin can no longer, should help the unwary and naive to understand that they are dealing with scions of lines not born in this world.

Nevertheless, it is possibly when they make their power manifest that the Ez'Dryael look the most terrible, appealing to the intrinsecal fear mortals have of divine iconography by slowly taking to the sky displaying halos over their heads and wings on their backs, both made entirely of light as some of their bodies take on such a radiance as well, specially the crystal on their chests, which seem to sparkle with the glitter of the night sky, leading the arrogant scions of men and gods to believe their might is so big that each of them alone suffices to contain the entire vastness of cosmos upon themselves. All this taken into account, however, the Ez'Dryael are a lot as varied as humanity itself, for they tend to display the discernible ethnicity of their mortal parent in whatever remains of their human visage on them, while also displaying a variated and, usually, inhuman gamma of hues upon their exposed flesh, being the vibrant red of human muscle along with less relatable colors such as pale yellows, golden oranges, deep blues, and near black purples to mention a few. The same could be said of the unique aspect of their wings, gossamer designs unique to each individual, made with the same searing light as their simple and round halos.

Society

Despite their express aloofness and tangible distaste for contact of any kind, the Ez'Dryael keep a robust and evergrowing society that spans across the entirety of Threa, even when the numbers of the sinfull scions are few in contrast with the other races of the world. Few know, nevertheless, that the Ez'Dryael are both innocent and to blame regarding the small size of their kin for, in another display of their unyielding pride and violent natures, the sinfull scions keep an strong and almost religious reverence for those of their kin whom look closer to represent the perfect enbodyment between their two halves, while those who seem to belong more to one parent race or the other are shunned, bullied, cleansed or, ultimately and ruthlessly anhilated as an afront to the perfection to which the race as a collective seeks to achieve. Of these, those of blue flesh are tolerated, if considered a lesser kin in contrast to their opposites who sport red flesh, considered too close to their mortal counterparts to be tolerated by those of purple flesh, who are dimmed "The Pure". These militant intolerance to deviation in their numbers keeps the numbers of the Ez'Dryael quite small, for the sinfull scions are barren as a rule, as if nature or the gods themselves didn't wanted their numbers to grow any more.

Even when keeping this complex cast system among themselves and being more than aware of every little and subtle change on their objectives and plans as a whole, most people of other races believe the Ez'Dryael to be little more than solitary savages, too wild and feral to suffer the company of anybody, even others of their own kind, when it is the total opposite, for while their bodies might keep an heretical sort of sanctified chastity for all life, their minds have no qualms in travelling across untold distances, touching each other, melding, fusing, distending, contorting and warping in such a way that the lustfull nights of Sodom & Gomorrah would seem trivial in comparison before the sheer level of distilled depravity in which such collective waves of thought and sensation revel. Theirs is an existance of two worlds, which they try to keep as separate as possible, concealed from the unworthy eyes of mortals and gods alike.

Given this ascetic style of life and their utter self-worshiping as ultimate expressions of perfection and stability among the spheres, the Ez'Dryael see no use for clothing of any sort nor for the developement of technology of any kind, as the unique power they have over the matter of their very own body serves them more than well in providing for all which the mortal folk has through hours of effort, days of work, and years of learning. As such, the days of an Ez'Dryael are spent in deep rumination and contemplation when they are not foraging for something to satiate their voracious appetites, decimating entire villages and towns if necesary.

Relations

While the Ez'Dryael do not consider humans a threat, the latter see the sinful scions as physical manifestations of the level of ruin in which Threa have descended, believing the giants to be the souls of the corrupted who die by hunger under the sun at the desert lands of Narmok. With an utter disdain for their parent race, and considering them little more than smart animals, the Ez'Dryael feel no remorse in ransacking the human settlements which are closer to the surface in the same way an anteater searches for ants to feed and, like the afore mentioned beast, look not for treasure or wealth, but for cattle and humans alike upon which to feed. Curiously, there is a human sort of legend that states that, every 28 days, when most women would menstruate, the female Ez'Dryael is, instead, reminded of how barren and cursed their kin is by an insatiable craving in their entrails and, as both a retaliation and a display of envy upon humanity, they would savagely raid towns and even cities in search for pregnant women and recently born children to feast upon. Because of this, most human households have an special room designed at their basement for when women are pregnant, to keep they hidden along their children until the child is born and is 1 year old. While the story is popular as a genesis of such a custom, there hasn't been such a particularly thematic raid in recorded history, leading to believe the story is merely a myth in the same vein of stories that speak of good hearted Ez'Dryael who actually protected humans of their less forgiving kindred.

Gavras are largely ignored by the sinful scions, as the purple blooded dissregard technology as a lesser mean to exert one's will over the material world, proper of lesser life forms who lack perception of the realities beyond the material realm. Seen as little more than crude toys of rancid flesh not fresh enough to be aten, gavras feel they can almost understand the lonesome giants in their contemplativeness. However, the stitched ones also acknowledge that the sinful scions are probably too godly and alien to be understood by someone who can barely piece together it's own personality as a whole and with effort.

While the alghul are devouted to The King Of The White Kingdom, many of those who have seen the the Ez'Dryael on their most feral and savage facet develope a certain degree of reverence and fascination for the sinfull scions, as the utter lack of restraint and naturality with which the godly giants tear apart screaming opponents and devour them has a sort of ritualistic and artistic appeal to the hungerfolk. Nevertheless, the fact the Ez'Dryael seem so fond of spending their time basking on the sunlight and enjoying the beauties of diurnal life keep the alghul at bay and alive, for the sinfull scions make little distinction regarding their morsels if truely hungry, thought they prefer the taste of living flesh to the near-death bodies of the alghul.

It is only with the deerath that the Ez'Dryael deigns to exchange some thoughts, for only the singing haunts are capable of listening and glancing into the stream of thought the Ez'Dryael call "The Blue World" (in contrast to the physical realm, which they aptly call "The Red World"). As such, the deerath are the only sentient life form the sinful scions consider as worthy of being regarded with respect and as a "lesser equal" or "little sister race", worthy of being invited to partake in the joy "The Purple World" ought to bring in the promised day. For their part, the singing haunts have no ill will towards the Ez'Dryael and, usually, take great joy in sharing their memories and dreams with them, which the latter clasify as "Experiential Impresionism", treasuring such artistic expressions as a philanthropist would collect art objects from "uncivilized natives". Nevertheless, the deerath quickly bore of the Ez'Dryael neverending ruminations and questionings about the very nature of their souls, mind, and fate, which they see akin to someone writing dramatic poetry about beautyfull golden fields of wheat instead of going to the fields in question and enjoying their beauty firsthand. In the same vein, the keep a safe mental distance from the Ez'Dryael mental orgies, which the singing haunts cannot endure for long before being harmed. There is no rule that forbids an Ez'Dryael from eating a deerath, who are reknown for having an exquisite taste of flesh, but such an act is seen as barbaric and uneducated among the sinful scions.

Knowing they care nothing for the politics of hell or their undead state, the ghaisten cannot see anyway in which an Ez'Dryael could betray them, which grants them an unparalelled measure of relief near them. For their part, the Ez'Dryael see the ghaisten not as demi-ghosts or undying creatures, but as denizens of "The Blue World" akin to what a monkey would be to a human: an extremely distantly related being which shares some vague similitudes, but is, still way too low on the evolutionary ladder for like being acknowledged as an equal. As such, some Ez'Dryael entertain the company of one or more ghaisten as "pets" of sorts, offering them protection against their persecutors. Nevertheless, a ghaisten needs to be very carefull to not mention it's desire to return to its mortal state, for such an intention is taken by an Ez'Dryael in a fashion similar to how humans would take a person claiming a desire for suicide, as the Ez'Dryael see the ghaisten state of life as superior to their prior living condition.

Rare are the chances in which the svetocher and the Ez'Dryael meet, for while the latter seek the light of the sun, the first shuns it, enclosed on the cities of their vampiric sires under the cover of The Veil. If anything, both races share a common disdain for each other, as the dhampir see the sinfull scions as little more than wild and exotic beasts shaped as men due freak accident of nature, while the Ez'Dryael see no difference on the children of vampire and men and other humanoid shaped morsels aside of a less rich taste. If ever, the interest a particular svetocher might express on the Ez'Dryael is likely to stem from a unique passion for scholastic pursuits such as the arcane arts or the understading of their bizarre anatomy, mysterious origin, and unexplained abilities. As this is the interest of few, scarce and rare are the tomes that dwell or ponder upon the unknown nature of the Ez'Dryael, usually mingling fact and legend all the same.

There is no bargain the hellspawn can strike to appeal the Ez'Dryael for their souls despite the level of depravity in which they already revel on their own. Sinfull beyond measure by nature, the Ez'Dryael would be the perfect candidates for Hell's damnation, if they weren't intrinsecally amoral, which makes the concepts of good and evil as alien to them as their ways are to the rest. Without acknowledgement of evil, there can't be sin, as sin can only be commited by those knowing they are incurring in evil, thus sparing Ez'Dryael souls from the eternal suffering of The Nine Realms Of Baator. The irony that those to be addressed as "The Embodiment Of Sin" by men cannot be damned for their sins has turned into a rhetoric figure of speech commonly used to sumarize and remind the hellspawn that technicisms and sub-clauses are both their most dreadful weapon and their most accute weak point, thus exorting the inexperienced to be ever so vigilant of such little and, potentially lethal, details.

While most pitborn aren't particularily inclined towards the pursuit of knowledge, those who attempt to unravel the mysteries of The Abyss share the consensus that ignorance regarding the nature of the Ez'Dryael is rampant among the folks of the surface, who link them to the gods and the divine, when it might be the absolute opposite. These sages at The Halls Of Grime relate the flayed and inhuman visage of the Ez'Dryael to the mythic qlippoth, elder entities said to dwell in the most remote corners of The Abyss, forbearers of the demonkind as a whole. Being creatures hailing from the maddening realms of Xoriat, it wouldn't be a wonder that they would have appeared before the mortal kin as incomprehensible beings of power rivaling the very gods. As such, many sages at The Halls Of Grime revere the sinfull scions as true heralds of the incoming apocalypse that is to crumble every rule and consume all reality into the primordial maelstrom of chaos from which the ordered universe spawned. Because of this, there are persistent legends that speak of exhiled Ez'Dryael who have found a new abode in The Halls Of Grime, revered and worshiped as unholy prophets of doom by the desperate pitborn.

Adding to the numbers who worship and fear the Ez'Dryael, those haglings who take the path of witchcraft claim to have a certain answer to the obscure riddle of the Ez'Dryael existance in Threa. Accostumed to hear the whispers of eldritch creatures in the fringes of reality, the hagling witches claim the irreverence the sinfull scions display before the gods and the divine comes from the fact they have no relation at all with the creators of the universe, tracing their ancestry back to genealogies belonging to eldritch beings anathema to the red blooded creatures of the world, guardians of secrets that belong to ages of untold darkness and of such antiquity as to make many gods feel themselves young. Because of this, many hagling witches seek to gain the favor of a particular Ez'Dryael in the hope they would release, at least, a tiny insight into the obscure plans and thoughts of the patrons to which the witches are bound. For their part, the sinfull scions aren't particularly interested in granting the haglings such wishes, thought they can't denny they feel other lesser life forms should follow their example and accept their destinies as lower links in the alimentary chain with such ease.

Alignment & Religion

Being nihilists that believe themselves to be the pinnacle of evolution and who hold no regard or empathy for the creatures of red blood as a whole, most perceive the Ez'Dryael as chaotic neutral at best, and neutral evil at worst, for their lack of mercy or compassion stems from rational hubris and not of sheer maddness or nurtured malice, as the sinful scions hold themselves above the primitive concepts of good and evil, fancying themselves grander and more universal than that.

Perhaps the strongest reason for them to held such belief lies on the smatter of beliefs that the Ez'Dryael hold as holy, closely related to their mysterious origins. The Ez'Dryael believe themselves to be descendants of the blend of human blood with a line of beings which they address as Kahkhol, which could be roughly translated as "those of the blue bloodlines", said to exist in the deepest regions of Yetzirah, where the currents of the elemental oceans touch with the boundaries of Yesod, The Ethereal Plane, and it's demiplanes: Moera and Dal-Quor. Be that such is true or not, the Kahkhol seem to hail from a region of creation with an order of life opposed to all what mortals would consider normal, which would account for the aberrant nature of the Ez'Dryael.

Vaguely remembered and mostly forgotten, the Kahkhol took an interest on Threa and it's life, thought the nature of such interest is unknown. However, creatures of the primeval oceans of Yetzirah, the Kahkhol could not dwell among the mortals without loosing a great deal of their might and power so, instead, they lured mortals to come to their realm. There, the elder beings studied the mysteries of the red blooded, subjecting the fools who dared cross into their domains to such unspeakable torments of mind and flesh as to leave no corner unexplored or bereft of violation or desacration. With such knowledge, the Kahkhol crafted The Seed Of Glory, for such would be the origin of "the purple bloodlines", with the blue fruit of life in one hand, and the red fruit of knowledge in the other: a perfect kin destined to rule over all the worlds. A ultimate dinasty of god kings.

But The Seed Of Glory was flawed, for the Kahkhol might be unreachable in power to mortals, yet they remain as far as them to godhood. Delivered from the blue heavens as a falling moon of dark violet, many believe it was this original transgression which brought The Veil over Threa and, thus, the core of it's present agony. In those days, the free people of the world fought against The Seed Of Glory with the upper hand for, while counting their numbers in legions, the purple bloodline was barren, and their numbers quickly dwindled as an infection being repelled from a healthy body. Believing themselves victors, humans sought to make the power of the invader theirs, sinning of greed and arrogance. Forsaking the sanctity of their essence, humans mingled their red flesh and blood with the outsiders of the blue realms and so the world beheld in awe and horror as the sins of men took the form of radiant giants destined to inherit this world and all the others, as the Kahkhol prophesied. Tasked with the destruction of the red bloodlines, the Ez'Dryael, as they were baptized by the Kahkhol, hunted down one by one the ruling lines of the red blood, suffering no claim to the throne of Threa, and reducing the proud mankind to the meager existance of a vermin.

With all resistance broken and the world laid bare at their feet, the "The Angels Of Death", as their name means in the tongues of The Blue Bloodlines, are awaiting for the apparition of a king or queen of their kin, for their sterility forces them to use both male and female humans as breeding stock until said "Perfect One" comes to claim the throne of their kind.

Adventurers

Far more militant in their quest to claim Threa as their world than the passive deerath, the Ez'Dryael only settle down into contemplativeness when they cannot find a way to further the invasion agenda of their kin, be it through the systematic extermination of blossoming humanoid opposition, self-experimentation in the search for a means to defeat their own limitations, or active efforts to alter the local enviroment to suit better the needs of their kin and all other beings derived from The Purple Bloodline as a sort of aggresive terraforming.

In the opposite side of the spectrum, those Ez'Dryael unlucky enough to be "too human", are constantly on the run and, while most of them accept their fate of isolation and oblivion with an admirable amount of stoicism, others are strong willed enough as to take a frontal posture and fight for their right to live, making them unpredictable characters: heroes of freedom a second, mercyless destroyers the next. Nevertheless, necesity may make this particular sinfull scions of men and gods far more amiable and approachable than their more numerous brethren.

Standard Racial Traits

* Ability Score Racial Traits: Beings with a humanoid shape more due ancestry than by design, the Ez'Dryael have astoundingly resilient bodies with the strenght of a monster, designed to be keenly aware of their surroundings, intaking information from physical and psionical information feeds the same. Nevertheless, this lack of a need for physical communication makes them seem aloof, cruel, indolent, and unconcerned with the material world. They gain +4 Strenght, +2 Constitution, +4 Wisdom and -2 Charisma.
* Size: Ez'Dryael are Large creatures and thus receive a Size Penalty of -1 to their Armor Class and Attack Rolls, and a -4 Size Penalty to Stealth Checks due to their size. Nevertheless, they also receive a +1 Size Bonus to their CMB and CMD scores.
* Type: Ez'Dryael are aberrations with the psionic subtype.
* Base Speed: Ez'Dryael have a land speed of 30 feet and a fly speed of 30 feet (Clumsy, -8 to Fly).
* Languages: Ez'Dryael begin play speaking Ezdril. Ez'Dryael with high Intelligence scores can choose from Common, Infernal, Celestial and Abyssal.
* Effective Character Level: Due their many traits and abilities, the Ez'Dryael are considered a Monstrous Race and, thus, they are considered +2 levels when calculating the Average Party Level of the group where they are. This adjusment lowers at 6th Level to +1 and disappears at 11th Level.

Defensive Racial Traits

* Subdermal Plating: Bizarre by nature, most of the Ez'Dryael body seems exposed and open to the point of appearing flayed or half-formed, but such is a mere aesthetic ruse, for a closer inspection reveals that, under the glossy and translucent skin that covers their apparent wounds, thick cartilage and bone strenghtened with fibers of carbon can be seen protecting them at several parts (specially on their broad ribs), making them far more resilient to punishment than what their visages would suggest, granting them a +2 Natural Armor bonus to Armor Class.
* Psionic Damage Reduction: The way in which The Seed Of Glory nurtures the body of an Ez'Dryael also keeps it cohesive, cushioning blows and damage with a subtle film of psionic force across every tissue, which can only be dissrupted through the use of weapons made of crystal, able to channel the energy on the strike, thus diverting said vital protection. This grants the Ez'Dryael Damage Reduction 10/Crystaline.
* Power Resistance: As the energy field from The Seed Of Glory helps the Ez'Dryael to maintain the otherwise frail composition of their physical forms, it also grants them a measure of protection against similar power manifestations used against them. This grants them an amount of Power Resistance equal to 11 plus their character level. (How PR interacts with magic depends on the way the rules of psionics/magic transparency are handled on a particular campaign).
* Regeneration: The result of inheriting The Fruit Of Life from their inhuman ancestors, the Ez'Dryael possess a surreal capacity for clinging to life despite sustaining wounds and damage at inordinate amounts. This is, in part, thanks to the fact the entire body of the sinfull scions is less heterogeneous in composition than that of most humanoids, made up of the very same cells everywhere, with it's basic building blocks ubiquituous and roaming freely on their blood, colored a dark purple due being iodine based. Bereft of heart or a closed circulatory system, the viscerae of an Ez'Dryael are inmersed on a pool of their own blood, making it easy for their tissues to be rebuilt quickly. However, when such damage is assessed as life-threatening by the Ez'Dryael's body, it's Seed Of Glory uses it's psichometabolic powers to transmute the raw compounds of it's blood into tissue at a dramatic speed. In fact, this measure is so efficient that, as long as The Seed Of Glory remains intact, it is capable of regenerating an entire body from scratch given enough time and material in a radius of 5 feet (usually transmuting the nearby gore or other disscarded parts of the mangled body in the process if available). This astounding ability grants the Ez'Dryael Regeneration 2 (Crystaline), rendering them impervious to death by hit point damage as long as their Regeneration keeps working and their Seed Of Glory keeps intact.

Feat & Skill Racial Traits

* Naturally Psionic: The result of inheriting The Fruit Of Knowledge from their human ancestors, the Ez'Dryael possess a human-like inquisitiveness and self-awareness that quickly allows them to realize the vast natural potential they have at their disposition. As a result they gain the Wild Talent feat as a bonus feat at 1st Level. If an Ez'Dryael takes levels in a psionic class, she instead gains the Psionic Talent feat.

Psionic Racial Traits

* Ego's Sanctum: Since their bodies are kept together and contained by the psychic energy created and radiated from their Seed Of Glory, most Ez'Dryael quickly learn how to project and harness the capacity of the psionic energies imbued in their bodies for defense or utility. This is specially important to them, as most Ez'Dryael consider their physical bodies untouchable sanctums for their mental selves and, thus focus on letting nobody to touch them without their consent as much as having the freedom to modify themselves as a true expression of their mental selves. Ez'Dryael with a Wisdom Score of at least 12 can manifest Force Screen and Minor Metamorphosis at will as psi-like abilities with a manifester level equal to their character level.

Senses Racial Traits

* Darkvision: As aberrations, Ez'Dryael see perfectly in the dark at 60 feet.

Weakness Racial Traits

* Seed Of Glory: The very core of the Ez'Dryael anatomy, and the replacement for their missing hearts, The Seed Of Glory is an small and round crystaline organ of violet color, roughly 20cm in diameter, and the source of most of the sinfull scions might and power. A potent and refined psicrystal on it's own, The Seed Of Glory keeps the otherwise frail and bizarre Ez'Dryael physiology together, energyzing every tissue through direct radiation, converting the free elements on the Ez'Dryael blood into nutrients and building blocks for it's cells as well as powering up it's natural psionic abilities. Rather visible under the translucent skin, however, this organ is also the Ez'Dryael sole and sore weak point, for while it can withstand severe pummeling, it is rather brittle once it's resistance is defeated, and a mere crack on it's crystal latice is all what it takes to render it unusable, thus instantly killing the Ez'Dryael (in most cases). This grants any attacker trying to confirm a critical hit against an Ez'Dryael a +4 Insight Bonus on such roll. Worst even, as their very essence is tied to this particular part of their bodies, any Ez'Dryael who is reduced to a negative amount of hit points below their Constitution Score by a critical hit cannot be raised or resurrected, as their inhuman souls disgregate along their bodies, which hastedly balloon and explode in an obscene shower of purplish viscerae and blood.

* Vainglorious: With an utter and almost absolute lack of interest and regard for the wellfare of beings outside of their own hybrid blood lines, the Ez'Dryael have a hard time dealing and relating to sentient beings of other species, appearing before them as aloof, rude, distant and inexcrutable. This imposes a penalty of -4 to Diplomacy, -2 to Bluff, and -2 to Sense Motive, since the sinfull scions are way too concerned with themselves and absorbed on their own elucubrations for like putting much thought or attention to beings incapable of direct mental imaging and communication.

- The Writer.

Homebrew Rules & Expansions: Incarnum Ziggurat (New Improvement for Pathfinder's Kingdom Building System)

A facility designed to be a sort of "flytrap" for unbound spirits and raw incarnum. While most undead creatures have no real bodily needs, some necromancers have learned to harness the raw energy from which souls are made as a resource of it's own. This protomatter, known as incarnum, can be used as an alternative to polarized energy in order to heal and mend the body of an undead creature, worn down by natural degradation and weathering, as well as to boost many necromantic spells and reanimation processes. Unfortunatelly, the process of syphoning the natural currents of soul stuff deplete the animating force from the landscape, creating a noticeable and particularly virulent blight upon the territory and it's adjacent terrains.

Hex Share: Yes
Terrain: Wasteland
Effect: Consumption decreases by 2 BP on undead settlements. Necromancy spells cast on a hex that contains this terrain improvement increase their Caster Level and Saving Throw DC in +1. Adjacent hexes are, eventually, turned into Wasteland (Hunting Grounds) after an amount of time equal to their preparation time has passed since the construction of this improvement.
Cost: 4 BP
Upgrades to: Incarnum Tower

The Writer.

Homebrew Rules & Expansions: Necropolis (New Building for Pathfinder's Kingdom Building System)

Cost: 7 BP/5 months or 31 BP.
Lots: 1
Population Increase: 25
Minimum Settlement Type: Village
Kingdom: Economy +1, Loyalty +1, Stability +1
Limit: Only 1/Settlement
Upgrade To: Halls Of The Dead
Settlement: Law +1
Recruitment: Undead Lord
Special: Turns Hex terrain into Wasteland (Hunting Ground).

Usually something as simple as an extended graveyard or cemetery, a necropolis is, nevertheless, considerably more pompous and stylish in arrangement, aimed to be the final resting place of great lords and their families for generations. However, a necropolis can also be erected with far less passive purposes in mind, serving as a somber seat of power for death cults who seek to hold regular meetings and rituals of communion with the powers of the afterlife on a secluded and private fashion. This latter use has a toll on the location where such necropolis is erected, though, as the constant flux of negative energies quickly drains and despoils the land of all nutrition, blighting it and twisting it's nature, making it more suitable for beings of a nature anathema to the living.

- The Writer.

Hidden Face - The Ghaisten, Lingerers At The Limbo Of Oblivion

Ghaisten

Daring explorers and fools alike wonder what means to be freed of the constrains of flesh and be allowed unbound volition of thought, pushing the boundaries of their own resistance in the attempt to consort with death for a brief moment, usually staying with it far more than intended originally. Others, seized by the fear to what lies beyond mortal knowledge, cling desperatelly to life, seeking to get a hold of stiffening muscles and failing viscerae that no longer answer to their master as the last breath leaves them. Either by sword or time, by spell or fate, mortals are bound to obey the cycle of life and everything that was once born has to die somewhen in it's future and, when such day comes, it's soul shall wander into a journey of which mortals know nothing but vague accounts from those who have consorted with death and returned before staying way too much on it's hall. Despite this and the terror to the unknown that festers in the heart of most mortals, souls eventually accept the inescapable truth of their destiny and depart, leaving behind deed and memory alike. However, not every heart or soul is the same, and some might refuse with an uncommon tenacity to leave behind the masks of mortality, fingers clench with all their lasting strenght to a memory, a desire, an emotion or even a sin. These unique spirits, unwilling to let things go unfinished or plainly refusing to accept the end of a particular pleasure in life, become ghosts, haunts, spectres, creatures of pain, anger, and maddness, forever trapped into a prison of their own mental agony and attachment. But not all who linger at the doors of the afterlife actively reject the final journey that was decreed for all living things, for there are some who have seek solace into the grey and void existance of the netherlife after scaping an even worst fate of eternal torture, misery, and infernal rebirth. These are the ghaisten, those wise, cunning, or bold enough to scape the soul harvesters of Hell, seeking solace into an uncertain destiny. Drapped in crude and frail bodies of ectoplasm, these damned souls seek to outwitt the jailers of the keep city of Desdonna in the distastefull hope of being allowed to choose the lesser of two sentences: an eternity bleak on sensation or experience, lingering at the limbo of oblivion.

Physical Description

While the genesis of a ghaisten is not always tied to an story of a daring scape from the soul chambers of Desdonna or even Avernus itself, it always begins with a soul that, somehow, has been prevented from going into the true afterlife. Either by freak accident, purposefull intend, or even sheer strenght of ego, this soul manages to commune with the nature of Yesod, the Ethereal Plane, granting itself a semblance of corporeality through the coalescense of their own memories in the shape of super densified etheric matter that breaches forth into the material plane in the shape of ectoplasm. However, this process is, usually, unpurposefull and more a consequence of souls arriving at the racks of the devils in the form of soul shells, thus not having anything to do with the will of the soul in question. One way or the other, the process is rather harrowing and as the shreds of sanity and rational thought of an entire mortal life are transformed into a metaphysical form, the entity that was is forever changed, and only trace hints of a past life remain in the posession of said being.

Composed mainly of ectoplasm and, as said before, little memory (if any) of their previous existance, ghaisten only unifying theme in looks across their numbers might be a roughly humanoid yet partially translucid and fluid shape despite their original self as, now closely related to the lowly lemures of hell, they have little other reference as to how they used to look when alive. In fact, given the malleable nature of ectoplasm, most ghaisten eventually learn how to sculpt their grey looks in shapes more of their liking, for colors are stripped out of their forms, making for visages that range from the merely unsettling and outlandish to the surreal and nightmarish. While the pale grey visage of nether is the most often seen and asociated with the ghaisten, there are other souls who, either by freak chance or by some inefable underlying truth, sport one of the many other colors ectoplasm can manifest such as light blue, light green, pale yellow or even the rare light red. Nevertheless, aside of this unusual coloration, such ghaisten cannot produce any other sort of color but mere gammas of the same swatch. Colored or not, their existance is, undeniably, monotone and monochromatic in the end.

Given these features, ghaisten are commonly mistaken with ghosts, and the dwellers of uncertainty use this to their advantage, for while fluid in shape, their forms are as material and tangible as the very flesh of the living, if not slightly more impervious to damage due it's dense nature, which brings the ghaisten ever so close to the living world than any other ghost, spectre or wraith could hope to be. And, still this close to the life they lost, the ghaisten can only hope to refresh their recalls on the joys of life, for the undead senses of their crude forms prove inept and inadequate to the subtle wonders of the material world, and only a pragmatic and utilitarian understanding of their surroundings is awarded to this bleak souls, too often driven to maddness by starving on sensation and experience.

Society

With little memory (if any) of their past selves, and being rare in general, ghaisten lack the means and, usually, the drive to create any sort of culture of their own, since many of them do not plan on staying on such an unliving state for long if possible. Worst even, given the depraved and sinfull nature of many of the souls that become ghaisten, most are more than eager to find others of their own kin to capture back for Hell and offer them to their persecutors in the hope of buying out the chance to scape infernal torment or even regain their lives. As such, ghaisten are, at best, distrustfull of others of their own kind and, at worst, actively seeking to hunt them down or bring them low. Because of this, the very cunning and treacherous nature of devils, and their utter incapacity to truely experiment joy or happyness aside of a mere psychological and intellectual concept instead of a sensation, most ghaisten quickly develope an accute and delirious paranoia, seeing hints of betrayal and treachery even in the most sincere and undenniable demonstration of friendship or love.

Constantly on the run, and seeking places of solitude where they can rest from their relentless stalkers to plan in how to elude them forever, the ghaisten keep to themselves, driven to seek the company of other beings only when this furthers their plans or satiates their inescapable cravings, for it is in refreshing the pleasant yet broken memories of their past lives that the lingerers of oblivion push back maddness and mental dissolution a little longer.

Relations

Paranoid as they are, the ghaisten do not have it any easier to relate to other species, who often mistake them as spectres, wraiths, or ghosts. This is particularly true when it comes to humans, who despise all the unliving by equal measure and have an unified fear for anything that can "raise from the tomb", be it intelligent or not, since they are, so often, employed by the vampire lords to haunt down the alghul and other horrors in The Grey Wastes.

Hailing from unnatural circumstances and being loners by nature, gavras and ghaisten have much in common and can potentially get along more than just well if not for the growing paranoia gnawing the ghaisten mind day and night. There are stories and legends about friendships in between gavras and ghaistens destroyed by the lingerer of limbo's maddness leading it to believe that at least one of the parts in the gavra's body once belonged to it's former self, framing the innocent wretch as the sole culprit of the ghaisten predicament on it's twisted mind.

Alghul and ghaisten share a mutual dissinterest, as the hunger folk find nothing to chew in the bland and simplistic composition of the ectoplasmic body of the ghaisten, despite it's much appreciated undead state while, on their part, the ghaisten are no longer capable of enjoying anything to the extent and intensity an alghul enjoys it's gory binges, so they do not feel comfortable next to someone who can rubb on their face the fact of what is so sorely lacking on their present state.

The deerath find themselves repulsed by the paranoid and tortured minds of the ghaisten, avoiding them as fast as they can whenever they cross paths, much to the dismay of the lingerers of limbo, who often claim to find a measure of peace and solace when hearing the haunting songs from the dwellers of the dusken realms, watching them from afar.

Being so deeply inmersed in political and courtly intrigue, the svetocher find the ethereal nature of the ghaisten perfect for the job of spying and, thus, manage to bind the service of one or more ghaisten for life in exchange of protection against their infernal persecutors or the faint hope of an eventual resurrection. Being more or less in good terms with the devils, nevertheless, many svetocher find no remorse in ending their contract with a problematic ghaisten and sending it directly to the place the creatures dreads the most when it has outlasted it's utility, be it not that the ghaisten learns "too much" and becomes a possible threat to it's very master.

While bearing no real ill will towards them, the hellspawn are constantly on the hunt for any ghaisten they can find, as claiming back one of the escapees from Hell is a sure way to get the attention of a powerfull or significant sponsor and, possibly, a promotion on the devilish hierarchy. The ghaisten know quite well there is no way they can appeal to the mercy or kindness of a hellspawn for the devilish tieflings are taught since their earliest ages that souls are naught but coin and tools of trade of the finest and most treacherous kind, and woe upon the fool that let's himself be taunted by them. As such, the ghaisten conclussion is that the only safe hellspawn is one that no longer breaths, thing they are more than eager to ensure in case they still do.

It is the complete opposite with the pitborn, thought. The fact that the souls that manifest in The Abyss (known as larvae and who share some similarities with the lowly lemures from Hell) eventually turn into demons by consuming the matter of the Abyss or even other demons is widespread these days in Threa. This little shred of knowledge have become a glint of hope for many ghaisten who contemplate the possibility of becoming demons in order to scape the torments of Hell by consuming enough abyssal matter to spark their transformation. However, as The Abyss remains a dangerous place for alive or undead in equal measure, most ghaisten who entertain this train thought have possed their eyes on the pitborn, more readily available and quite closer to them. So, while both the pitborn and the ghaisten are constantly hidding from the hellspawn, most ghaisten are too desperately seeking a ticket out of their damnation for like sparing the lives of possible allies from abyssal bloodlines.

Perhaps the most common and best company a ghaisten can get is found among the hagling, for many of the aspiring witches dabble throughly into necromancy and find fascinating and practical companions in those who are already dead and have access to Yesod and other realms afar from Oerth, the material plane. As they are shunned by mostly everybody, ghaisten see little danger in dealing with the haglings as the chances for an eventual resurrection at their hands outweight the possibility of betrayal. Nevertheless, the ghaisten are aware of the dealings in between some haglings and the soul market of Erediss, and thus keep an eye open at all times with them and try not to associate with those who seem "too prosperous" or powerfull.

Alignment & Religion

Damned to an existance of dulled senses, constant solitude and paranoia, most ghaisten have a hard time retaining their sanity and, thus, can rarely commit to lawfull alignments, as the maddness that seizes them is inherently bound to chaos. In the same vein, very few ghaisten can enjoy a Good alignment as, being scapees from Hell, most went there due the damnation of their souls to begin with, rendering most of them Neutral at best, if not plainly Evil.

It is rare, in general lines, for ghaisten to develope any kind of divine worship, for most think no god can help them (nor wants to deliver them from their current sittuation). Nevertheless, a few resort to worship as a means to appeal to the Demon Lords in the hope they are, eventually, turned into full-fledged demons, thus scaping the torments of Hell and utter oblivion.

Adventurers

Forced to never linger way too long at one place or, in the opposite, to be in the constant pursuit of a place where to linger, the ghaisten are thrown into an unlife of adventure, whether they want it or not. Many are the legends and tales of adventurous (and desperate, in equal measure) ghaisten who braved both Hell and Abyss in order to reclaim the right to possess their own soul and a final rest, if not a second chance at life.

There are others, however, who take to far more esoteric approaches to their eternal quest of scapism, leaving behind the material plane far away and plunging deep into the mutable and abstract realms of Yesod, The Ethereal Plane, and Moera, The Plane Of Dreams, where strange entities of inhuman thought and nature dwell, busy in ruminations too primeval and too protean to be understood by mere mortals. If ever taking such a path, the ghaisten rarely, if ever, comes back from such a journey. However, if it does, it probably has far bigger things of which to worry and concern it's thoughts than the devils of Hell, and it might come to be that he or she has turned into an entirely different thing during it's journey.

Standard Racial Traits

* Ability Score Racial Traits: Not entirely material, yet not incorporeal either, a ghaisten body is composed of ectoplasm, a form of super condensed ether that serves as a physical manifestation of ego given shape through sheer strenght of personality. Nevertheless, it remains a crude (yet somewhat resilient) attempt of a body at best. They gain +4 Charisma, -4 Strenght and -2 Dexterity.
* Size: Ghaisten are, almost always, Medium creatures and thus receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size. However, ghaisten of other sizes might be possible, thought extremely rare.
* Type: Ghaisten are undeads and, thus, lack Consitution score and follow all rules for undead creatures except when noted different.
* Base Speed: Ghaisten have a base speed of 30 feet on land.
* Languages: Ghaisten begin play speaking Necril, the language of the undead. Ghaisten with high Intelligence scores can choose from Common, Infernal, Abyssal and Celestial.
* Effective Character Level: Due their many traits and abilities, ghaisten are considered an Advanced Race and, thus, they are considered +1 level when calculating the Average Party Level of the group where they are. This adjustment disappears at 6th Level.

Defensive Racial Traits

* Ectoplasm Body: Ectoplasm, a substance quite similar to the matter composing the bodies of soul shells, lemures, and larvae alike, is the main fluid building material from which the ghaisten form their shapes. Rubbery and malleable, it is rather enduring against bludgeoning attacks, granting the ghaisten DR 5/Slashing.

Feat & Skill Racial Traits

* Ghostly Manifestation: While not ghosts per se, ghaisten are quite similar to these incorporeal undead in many aspects and this similary grows with time, as the ghaisten grows accostumed to it's new form, exploring it's new abilities and learning others in the way. During character creation, select one Ghostly Manifestation, representing the theme by which the lingering soul expresses it's personal attachment or the feelings that make it to stay in the material world. Each Ghostly Manifestation grants a bonus feat and access to several other feats that can be taken any time the character can take a Feat and fullfills the requirements. Each Manifestation adds a particular quirk or mark into the ghaisten visage, which can be supressed (if so desired) with a Concentration check (10 + Character Level + Cha Modifier) against a base DC of 5 if there are no distractions. Under other circumstances, the quirk is treated as a 0-Level Spell for purposes of higher DCs.

- Corruption: Ghaisten with the corruption manifestation usually come from souls damned due their envy of others or, perhaps, due an accute lack of confidence on oneself, being "uncapable of holding anything for themselves without marring it". Ghaisten manifested this way are known as "Corrupters" since, as their power grows, their touch corrodes and despoils things, visibly aging items and matter with which they interact for too long, and a feint purplish black aura following their motions as if negative energy exuded from their shapes as a sort of toxic fume dilluted on water. This manifestation grants Corrupting Touch as a bonus feat, and access to the feats Agony Touch, Enervating Touch, Freezing Touch, Nauseating Touch, Rend Ghost, Shriveling Touch and Touch Attack Specialization.

- Domination: Ghaisten with the domination manifestation hail from souls that were way too selfish and arrogant, believing others only existed to serve them. In the other hand, this manifestation may also appear for souls that have always felt too helpless, "always relying in the strenght of others". Ghaisten manifested this way are known as "Dominators" because, either by strenght of egolatry or an overwhelming sense of powerlessness, they develope the ability to possess the body of other beings and use them, in most cases, against their will. These ghaisten have their voices distorted more than usual with a hollow echo and sport a glowing purplish halo over their heads which can vary wildly in shape, often representing a sort of metaphorical "icon" meant to represent the unsolved truth or connundrum that led that particular ghaisten to death and/or damnation. This manifestation grants Ghost Ride as a bonus feat, and access to the feats Corpse Malevolence, Expanded Posession, Grand Malevolence, Malevolence and Minor Malevolence.

- Haunting: Ghaisten with the haunting manifestation comes from some of the most heinous souls. Torturers, sadists, psychopaths, and many others who found pleasure in bringing fear to others are quite prone to spawn with this manifestation. However, not all the souls who bear this manifestation were evil to begin with, for some ghaisten bearing this mark also come from those unlucky enough to have stumbled with forbidden lore or some incident of such terrible and unspeakable horror as to outright kill someone out of fright. Ghaisten manifested this way are known as "Haunters" since, either by pleasure or forever fixed in the traumatic experience that originally killed them, these ghaisten learn how to make fear manifest on their very forms, which usually bear the grisly hints and wounds from the very moments of their dead or a methaphorical expression of what horrified them to death. This manifestation grants Control Visage as a bonus feat, and acces to the feats Fade, Frightful Moan, Frightful Presence, Haunting Appearance, Haunting Voice, Horrific Appearance, Improved Control Visage, and Solid Visage.

- Poltergeist: Ghaisten with the poltergeist manifestation are, almost always, souls whose destiny was sealed in the very moment they gave in to utter, blind, and burning wrath. Angry and vitriolic, these souls are restless and may come from the unjustifiedly ireful as much as from those who were betrayed or died due an undeserving wronging (perceived or real). Ghaisten with this manifestation are named by it instead of receiving a nickname as, akin to the alluded paranormal phenomena, their unrealesed ire proves to be a quite powerfull resource to fuel their ability to alter their surrounding enviroment, even if in incorporeal state. The mere presence of these ghaisten tends to alter anything close to them, as if their pent anger had a palpable aura of force, causing little gusts of wind around them and small objects in their proximity to rattle or shake. This manifestation grants Ghost Hand as a bonus feat, and access to the feats Improved Deflection, Improved Poltergeist Hand, Poltergeist Hand, and Poltergeist Rage.

- Coalescence: Ghaisten with the coalescence manifestation are rare, even among the ghaisten, for they tend to come from souls which are too unlikely to be damned: artists, writers, poets, musicians, artisans and all sorts of people bent into creation of some sort. Perhaps the only ghaisten with which one can hope to strike a friendship or, at least, remain in good terms, these souls are likely to be in their present state by mere mistake, freak accident, or an attachment to a particular work, masterpiece left unfinished or even a person. However, one should not make the mistake of believing this kind of ghaisten is necesarily good or sane, for even the most nurturing feelings of love from a mother for her children can turn to be a quick path to damnation if such feelings become the seed of possesiveness, obsession and jealousy. Ghaisten with this manifestation are named "Coalescers" for, either consumed with an unsatiable craving to create or incapable of dwelling in utter solitude, these souls learn how to spontaneously generate and harness ectoplasm, expanding upon the process that gave them their new physical shape, generating said matter almost bereft of control, as if their forms drooled constantly the raw soulstuff, hungry of genesis and company. This manifestation grants Ectoplasm as a bonus feat, and access to the feats Ghost Healing, Greater Witchlight, Sculpt Ghost Body, Shape Ectoplasm, Temper Ectoplasm and Witchlight.

- Wandering: Ghaisten with the wandering manifestation are, possibly, the most commonly encountered adventuring on Threa, comming from souls who were "too free" to care for the feelings or connections they had with others, considering themselves "outsiders", having led lives of utter disdain for the others or for the world at large. Philosophers, misanthropists, hermits, secluded monks, or people who, in general lines, dissregarded the world as a whole (or plainly despised it) are common candidates to manifest as this kind of ghaisten who, eventually, develope abilities to distance themselves even farther from the material world to, in time, never come back to it ever again. Ghaisten with this manifestation are known as "Wanderers" and their genesis owes more to a lack of good and evil than damnation being, usually, too neutral to be accepted anywhere in the afterlife. These ghaisten are easily recognized by the fading "motion trail" they leave behind whenever they move fast or, sometimes, by the "lack of frames" in their movement, almost as if they moved so quick for the eye to catch up. This manifestation grants Ghost Glide as a bonus feat, and access to the feats Ethereal Sidestep, Full Manifestation, Ghost Flight, Improved Ghost Flight and Incorporeal Form.

* Sneaky: Being not as substantial as others being (and having the ability to turn incorporeal for some time), the ghaisten have an innate ability to keep themselves concealed from most, gaining a +4 Racial Bonus to Stealth.

Senses Racial Traits

* Darkvision: As undead creatures, ghaisten possess Darkvision at 60ft.

Weakness Racial Traits

* Unnerving Presence: Often confused with ghosts, wraiths, banshees, shadows, spectres, or other incorporeal undead, most ghaisten aren't welcomed anywhere but for the most unlikely kind of company and, being creatures that exist in virtue of negative energy, such does not grant them any favor before animals of any kind either. Because of this, ghaisten suffer a -4 penalty on Bluff, Diplomacy, and Handle Animal skill checks, but gain a +2 bonus on Intimidate skill checks. Additionally, all NPCs and animals start with an attitude one step worse than normal when dealing with the ghaisten.

* Living Cravings: Bereft of bodily needs due lack of a biology, the only needs a ghaisten experiment are psychological. Then again, such urges, in their particular case, can be as basic and necesary as biological needs are for living beings as their forms are shaped out of thought and feeling. Hungry and starving for sensation, the ghaisten find themselves quite often craving for all what could be experienced with their living bodies but one craving in particular is of special importance and strenght for a given ghaisten. As such, if a ghaisten cannot indulge in this particular craving at least once a week, it begins to take a cumulative penalty of -1 on attack rolls, saves, skills and ability checks. If an entire month passes by without indulging such a craving, the ghaisten must make a Will save every day with a DC equal to 15 plus it's current amount of Hit Die plus the number of weeks spent avoiding the craving or face dissolution, as the ghaisten thoughts are plagued (almost virally) by the craving, impeding it to continue keeping cohesion of form or sense. During character creation, either roll 1d10-1 or allow the GM to choose a particular living craving for the ghaisten character from the following list.

1)Auditory: The ghaisten has a unusual attachment to a particular kind of sound or noise. He might need to hear the sound of waves, the rumour of city voices, or a particular musical piece replayed again and again. Many ghaisten who where murderers or torturers have find relief in the sound of screams and indulge such cravings by capturing people and torturing them. Others, perhaps more romantical (or sad), long for the sound of the voice of a particular person, or a certain dialogue being reenacted again and again.

2)Hunger: Usually gluttons in their past lives, ghaisten bearing this craving must consume disproportionate amounts of food to feel satiated, with little care to the actual quality of such. These ghaisten must consume, at least, an amount of food equal to three full meals on a single sitting.

3)Flesh: Perhaps one of the most common (if not the most dangerous) case, these ghaistens yearn for the sensations and experiences a body can grant, be it through touch, sex, or self-mutilation. This craving has proven, in many cases, fatal to many ghaisten who, exhilarated by the intensity a sword plunged through their stomachs or chests can bring to their numb senses, failed to assess they weren't inmortal and were destroyed at the height of their exctasy, a last reminder of their lost life. Many ghaisten of the Domination Manifestation sport this befitting craving.

4)Home: The second most common craving, this particular attachment to a particular place makes the ghaisten to be compelled to spend, at least, 8 continuous hours every week at the place in question which, commonly, is the site of the ghaisten's Ghostly Craddle. This is particularly common of ghaisten who were posessors of vast properties, such as mansions, castles, noble villas, etc. and, while some ghaisten may actively work to keep these claimed properties clean and in top conditions, others prefer to keep them in absolute dissarray in an effort to spook away any possible robber or claimer.

5)Ocular: Ghaistens with these cravings are obsessed with a certain sight. Be it a place, an image, an scene or a creature, they require to spend at least 1 hour each week contemplating said thing without interruptions of any kind in order to satiate this craving. Many ghaisten who possess this craving stalk certain people due their similarity with a certain face of their past, which they yearn to see once more.

6)Oral: Ghaistens with this particular craving have extremely fond memories of a particular meal or taste and, while not requiring gross amounts of such meal, require a good and significative serving of such a meal once every week. Nevertheless, in contrast with how they would have aten such meal when alive, most ghaisten require the meal in question to be extra seasoned and extra spicy, usually, beyond the limits of human tolerance, as the poor senses of their ectoplasmic body require a heavy input in order to deliver a satisfying sensorial experience. The meal is, usually, one that the person used to eat during it's life but, sometimes, it might be an exotic dish which the person never actually tasted, dying with such an unfullfilled wish.

7)Personal: A much more problematic (and, sometimes, bittersweet) craving, ghaisten with this particular obsession yearn desperatelly for the proximity and company of a particular person (or group of persons, in rare cases; usually their families or friends). A ghaisten with this craving must be capable of spending, at least, one hour every week near the person (or persons) in question, and her obession usually manifest in an urge to collect items from said person, dress like her, etc. Ghaisten with this craving have been known to come to the aid of the person in question if ever threatened.

8)Scent: Ghaisten with this craving are particularly attached to a particular scent or odor, surrounding themselves with items and substances that bear such a smell to levels that most other humanoids would find utterly saturating. While relatively "harmless", this particular craving has proven fatal to many ghaisten, as such strong floral or fruity scents on an otherwise barren landscape or abandoned house is a telltale sign of their presence, a signal not dissmissed by hellspawn soul hunters.

9)Thirst: Similar to the oral craving, this is, perhaps, one of the most manageable cravings a ghaisten can present. To satiate this need, a ghaisten must drink, at least, 1 gallon of a drink it can actually taste (usually a hot, intoxicated, or quite spiced drink). Given their incapacity to be poisoned or deceased, some ghaisten develope a liking for poisons or other exotic beverages that would be lethal for living beings.

* Class Restrictions: While a ghaisten character is not truely restricted of choosing any class per sé, a player choosing a ghaisten as his race must bear into consideration that certain abilities and spells may not work as intended (or at all) when using a ghaisten character. A good example of this would be a ghaisten cleric which, despite having a good alignment, cannot channel energy due it's form being fueled by negative energy. Another case would be wizard spells like Magic Jar, which depend on the subject having "a body to leave behind", which would instantly destroy itself in the case a ghaisten casted it, or the case with the barbarian rage, which grants a bonus to an unexistant constitution score for the ghaisten. In most cases, the afore mentioned classes have archetypes that alter the way such abilities work, making such classes viable options for a race like the ghaisten (like the Urban Barbarian ability to shift the bonus to any physical ability score, or the variant channeling based on elements for clerics), but there might be cases like The Occultist from Radiance House that, due thematical aspects, cannot be adjusted without falling into a total contradiction (how can a ghaisten be the receptacle of another spirit when her very body is naught but a bland blanket of ectoplasm created by the soul in question?). In any case, disscuss with your GM the character concept you have in mind in order to know what is or isn't allowed on the game.

Other Racial Traits

* Ethereal Necrology: As undead creatures, ghaisten do not breath, eat, drink, or need to sleep. However, since ectoplasm is material, the body of a ghaisten wears down sooner or later. Lacking biological processes of any kind, their frames need to be repaired "manually" by being remade in a way similar to how they came to be originally. Once per day per each 5 HD, as an standard action that doesn't provokes attacks of opportunity, a ghaisten can dissolve it's ectoplasmic form in raw ether, thus becomming incorporeal, gaining all the traits associated with being incorporeal. In this state, the ghaisten can gather back more matter from Yesod, the Ethereal Plane, in order to repair it's body, emulating the effects of natural healing for every 8 hours spent in this state, entering in a deep contemplative state. However, bereft of form or anchor, the ego of a ghaisten risks dissolution amid the ethereal currents of Yesod when staying past those 8 hours in ethereal form and, as such, the ghaisten must make a Will saving throw against a DC equal to 15 plus it's current amount of Hit Dice or face true death by dissolution of sentience with a cumulative +1 per HD penalty to the DC for each additional minute spent on such state after each save made in 1 minute increments after the first if it was successfull.

* Ghostly Craddle: While most corporeal undeads are merely destroyed upon being taken to 0 Hit Points or below, ghaisten behave different in this regard due their similarity with ghosts and, like with the latter, this often has much to do with the way the person who used to be the ghaisten died or lost it's soul to begin with. One of the first things a ghaisten does upon scaping her captors at Desdonna or Avernus, is to find a way to go back to the place where it died or where it's damnation took place. This craving is instinctual and powerfull enough that most ghaisten cannot recall very well the days before this sole goal is achieved. Once at the place, the ghaisten seeks, if possible, the spot where the exact event took place, placing itself on the very own footsteps of her past self, if possible, and reliving the terrible experience once more. This passionate and terrible reenactment acts as a ritual that bounds forever the ghaisten to said place which is now designated as the ghaisten's Ghostly Craddle. From that moment on, the ghaisten must visit her Ghostly Craddle at least for 1 week every year or be forced to succeed at a Will saving throw equal to 15 plus current amount of Hit Dice at the mere act of becomming Incorporeal, risking to dissolve in the Ethereal Plane, receving a cumulative penalty of -1 per HD in the check for every week that had passed since the failed appointment. In the other hand (and, in the likeness of a true ghost), if the ghaisten is ever brought to 0 Hit Points or below, she will dissolve into a puddle of ectoplasm that will quickly evaporate, leaving nothing of her shape behind (save for normal items), only to re-appear at her Ghostly Craddle after an amount of days equal to 2d4 x Character Level. The ghaisten is, effectively, "rejuvenated" as a ghost would, but the ordeal leaves her with an amount of temporal negative levels equal to her Character Level -1. These are not REAL negative levels (since undead are immune to negative levels) but merely represent, in game terms, the lenghty and tortuous process of rebuilding itself from nothing but the ominous and maddening memories that bound the ghaisten to the material world and, as such, cannot be dispelled in any mean, and go away on their own at a ratio of 1 per week (time in which the ghaisten must remain, at least, 1 full day on the boundaries of her Ghost Craddle or the complete rejuvenation process halts and doesn't resume until she spends another whole day at the place). However, if the hit point penalty imposed by the temporal negative levels is bigger than the normal max amount of hit points possesed by the character (or if the character hasn't visited her Ghost Craddle for more than a year), the ghaisten is permanently destroyed and cannot come back in any way.

While usually a house, mansion, cliff, or some other specific place, a Ghostly Craddle's main power, usually, stems from a particular spot or object in the afore mentioned place. As such, it is possible to "transplant" a Ghostly Craddle to another location by taking away the core spot or object of the original one into other place of an appearance as similar as possible, with the ghaisten knowing instinctively which item or conditions are necesary for the transplant. In case a particular Ghost Craddle is destroyed, a ghaisten can fix her essence to a new Ghostly Craddle of her own making (keeping the theme of the previous and, if possible, keeping at least 1 piece or fragment of the previous one) by spending 1,000 GP x Character Level on it's construction and making a ritual that takes 8 hours to complete and which can be done as soon as 1 week later after the destruction of the previous Ghostly Craddle. If a destroyed Ghostly Craddle is not remade in 1 year, the ghaisten starts to take the penalties associated with not visiting it's ghostly craddle for more than 1 year.

Ghaisten Feats

* Corrupting Touch [Corrupter]

Your touch can take away a bit of life essence, leaving behind the gnawing pass of time.

Benefit: You gain the ability to make a Touch Attack as an standard action that deals 1d4 points of damage to a creature and threats a critical of x2 at a natural 20. This damage is not negative energy but supernatural aging, manifesting in the form of wounds and aches. Creatures immune to magical aging are immune to this damage but, otherwise, the damage bypasses all forms of damage reduction.

Special: This attack can be used both in corporeal and incorporeal states. During incorporeal state, the attack uses Dexterity instead of Strenght modifier for the attack roll (as per the rules for incorporeal creatures).

* Ghost Ride [Dominator]

You can hide within the physical body of a living creature, perceiving the world through its senses, but without the ability to control the host.

Benefit: As an standard action, you can attempt to inhabit the physical body of a living creature. You must enter your target's space, which provokes an attack of opportunity from the target. The target may resist with Will saving throw (DC 10 + 1/2 your HD + your Cha modifier). A creature that saves against this ability is immune to your attempts to use any Dominator Feat for 1 day. If the save is failed, your ectoplasm body and any Ghost Touch equipment you carry vanishes into the target's physical body (non-ghost touch items you carry drop to the ground in the target's square). The target gets another Will saving throw every 10 minutes to force you out of its body, causing your ectoplasmic body to reform in an adjacent space to your target. This is a mind-affecting ability. You may use this ability a number of times per day equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1). Unlike Magic Jar, you do not control the target, but simply ride along in the target's body. You see, hear, smell, feel, and taste what the subject does. You may remain within a host for a number of minutes equal to 10 x your Hit Dice, after which you are expelled automatically. When you leave a body, any ghost touch equipment you were carrying with you at the start of the possession reforms with your ectoplasmic body. You may use this feat only on humanoid creatures.

* Control Visage [Haunter]

Your ectoplasmic body retains much of your original form and looks, while you can also control what you appear to be wearing on it.

Benefit: While most ghaisten bear rather undefined forms with little hint of who they were when alive, you have, somehow, kept memory of how you used to look on your final moments, along with the ghastly marks of your demise and the utter lack of color that characterizes the form of the ghaisten. As a supernatural ability, you may change the shape of the ectoplasm that now comforms your "clothing" as an standard action as if using the Alter Self spell, but you cannot change the actual base appearance of your ectoplasmic body, thought you can alter your "clothing" to conceal the most ghastly aspects of your undead appearance in tandem with the concentration check made to supress the quirks and traits of your manifestation. When used appropiatelly, this feat lessens the penalties of Unnerving Presence by 1 point.

* Ghost Hand [Poltergeist]

You can move small objects in a limited manner when in incorporeal state.

Benefit: You can exert force upon an unattended object while in incorporeal state as if using the Mage Hand spell, except that the range of this ability is touch, and it doesn't require concentration checks. You can hold or move only one object at a time. Holding an item does not take an action.

Normal: Without this feat, a ghaisten in incorporeal state can only interact with other incorporeal objects, creatures, or ghost touch items, but not with anything material.

* Ectoplasm [Coalescer]

You can create ectoplasm, the gooey physical manifestation of the supernatural energy of thought and ego.

Benefit: As an standard action, you can create enough ectoplasm to fill a human's cupped hands (approximately 1 pound, sufficient to coat a 5ft. square area with a film). You may manifest this ectoplasm from your hands, eyes, mouth, or any other part of your body. Its color may be pale gray, light blue, light green, or pale yellow. Ectoplasm is a ghost touch material and is either sticky or slippery at its creator's discretion. Ectoplasm decays into nothingness after 10 minutes.

Special: A ghaisten with the Ectoplasm feat does not take the normal -5 penalty on Survival checks when trying to track another ghaisten. A character with sticky ectoplasm on her hands and feet gain a +2 circumstance bonus on Climb checks (this bonus does not stack with similar circumstance bonuses to climbing, such as from a climber's kit). A character covered in slippery ectoplasm (10 pounts for a Medium-sized creature, 5 pounds for an Small creature) gains a +4 circumstance bonus on Escape Artist checks. A character with this feat gains a +2 circumstance bonus on Heal checks made to treat other ghaisten. A character with slippery ectoplasm on her feet gains a +2 circumstance bonus on Stealth checks. If she moves more than half her speed in a round, she must succeed on an Acrobatics check (DC 10) in each round of movement or fall. If she moves more than her speed in a single round, the DC for the Acrobatics check increases to 15. If sticky ectoplasm is placed on a weapon, the weapon is treated as a ghost touch weapon, but it deals only half damage. Special properties on a weapon that create energy (such as flaming, frost, or shocking) destroy a coating of ectoplasm in 1d4 rounds.

* Ghost Glide [Wanderer]

Adjusting the density of your ectoplasm, your corporeal body can fly slowly.

Benefit: You gain a fly speed of 5ft. (Good), thus gaining Fly as a racial class skill with a racial bonus of +4. You cannot use the run action when flying.

Normal: A ghaisten without this feat has only its land speed of 30ft when corporeal.

- The Writer.

Heroes Of Might & Magic - Empires At War: Coloquios Postmortem

Luiinel

(??)> A que eso no fue tonto, Luiinel...

Era esta una voz de mujer. Aun cuando rebusco en mis memorias no puedo encontrar a quien pertenece. Solo sé que se me hace muy familiar, demasiado tal vez y, eso, en cierta forma me molesta, aunque no podría decir, a ciencia cierta por qué. Mas aun, siento que yo estaba haciendo otra cosa, algo mas importante, pero es como sucede en los sueños: un despertar abrupto solo deja la sensación de los recuerdos destruidos. Lo primero que mis ojos vieron fue aquel cielo estrellado, lleno de colores. Nunca antes había visto el cielo nocturno tan plagado de colores, ni tampoco había visto nubes como esas, estáticas y semi translucidas, suspendidas en medio de la noche, refulgiendo con un brillo propio. Pero, conforme mis ojos bajaron, lo primero que pude divisar en el horizonte mas próximo fue aquel trono desde el cual la portadora de esa voz se dirigía hacia mi. Un trono magnífico, esculpido en mármol blanco, posiblemente con detalles mínimos como para sobresaltar su elegancia en su simpleza. No obstante, si algo realmente llamaba la atención, era aquella quien se sentaba en el trono. Era esta una mujer de apariencia humana, pero de una finura exquisita, propia de aquellos que claman descendencia de las sublimes entidades celestiales. Tez clara y límpida, un cabello castaño obscuro recojido en una cola de caballo ligeramente por debajo de la nuca, adornado por una curiosa bincha de triangulos negros y dorados y, finalmente, ojos de un deslumbrante dorado. Vestía ella una comoda y holgada túnica de telas blancas que parecían estar allí mas para cubrir sus modestias que para vestirle, a la usanza de las gentes de otrora, pues su brazo derecho se encontraba completamente recubierto de una intrincada y detallada armadura dorada, posiblemente construida de una aleación basada en oro y bronze o, por lo menos, tratada para lucir así al igual que los demas accesorios que vestían su muñeca izquierda, su brazo izquierdo y sus pies (estos últimos, a manera de sandalias).

(Dama del trono)> [Apoyando su codo en el respaldar derecho del trono, y su rostro en su mano] No se suponía que regresaras tan pronto, Luiinel. Aun había mucho por hacer.
Luiinel> [Visiblemente confundido][ó.o] ...
(Dama del trono)> Ahora, ¿que se supone que haré para que regreses? ... *Tch* [Cerrando los ojos y estirandoze] Menudos jugadores nos han tocado. [Encogiendose de hombros y poniendo las manos a los lados] ¡Mira que devolverme mas de 10 fichas en menos de 1 año! [Meneando la cabeza y regresando a su posición inicial] ¿Como se supone que rompa el ciclo con jugadas tan burdas como esas?
Luiinel> ... [Mirando a la mujer] ¿Quien... es usted?
(Dama del trono)> Oh, es verdad, probablemente no me recuerdas para nada. Mi nombre es Hekate pero, por favor, llámame "Keith". Sé que nuestra relación no es tan cercana como aquella que tienes con Aludra pero- [Interrumpida]
Luiinel> Aludra... [!] ¡Es cierto! ¡Yo...! [Tocandose el pecho viendo que no hay heridas]
Keith> Ah, no te preocupes por ella, querido: por un momento pensé que no lo lograría, pero lo hizo. *Sigh* De hecho, fue una jugada muy inteligente de su parte el enterrar tu cuerpo en el hielo. Lástima que aun falte demasiado tiempo como para que adquiera el poder necesario como para poder revivirte. *Sigh* Revivir a alguien no es facil, ¿sabes? La gente se lo toma muy a la ligera porque lo paran viendo en la TV todo el tiempo, pero lo cierto es que es algo muy complicado y hay mucha información que se pierde en la conversión.
Luiinnel> ¿Conversión? [ó.o]
Keith> Por supuesto, querido. En este momento, tu conciencia está operando a una frecuencia muy distinta de la que sueles estar acostumbrado, y es por ello que, probablemente, te sientes un poco idiota e inconexo. Descuida, es normal: despues de todo, tu cerebro debe estar haciendose pudín gris mientras hablamos lo que, naturalmente, afecta de manera directa tus capacidades cognocitivas. Pero, descuida: un cerebro solo es necesario para aprender y recordar, no para comprender y rememorar.
Luiinel> ... [Poniendo la mano derecha en su mentón, pensando] Habla como si fueran procesos de una naturaleza análoga. Que interesante, nunca lo hubiera considerado.
Keith> ¡Ah, por eso te adoro, Luiinel! Eres una de las piezas mas entretenidas en este juego. [Reclinandose en el trono con una sonrisa de satisfacción] Casi me siento tentada de quedarme contigo y no devolverte, pero se que Aludra intentará hacer lo indecible por devolverte a la vida, así le tome varios años.
Luiinel> [Visiblemente sorprendido][O_O] ¿Miss Aludra posee el poder para hacer algo tan asombroso?
Keith> No, no aun. Sin embargo, TIENE el potencial. [Girandose en el trono y abrazando sus propias piernas, sentandose de costado, encaramada en el trono] Sin embargo, para llegar a ese potencial tiene que dejarse de tantas tonterías y ser el tipo de persona que se supone que debería ser.
Luiinel> [ó.o] ¿El tipo de persona que debería ser?
Keith> [Inclinando la cabeza hacia un lado cariñosamente mientras sonrie, hablando melódicamente] Ecooo...
Luiinel> [!] *Ehem* Lo siento. [Abriendo los ojos despues de haberlos cerrado durante el aclare de voz] Lamento decir que no entiendo a que se refiere, mi dama.
Keith> *Pshh* Una aquí da confianza y le tratan con distancia. [úwu][Meneando la cabeza] No se puede con esta gente. [Abriendo los ojos y mirando hacia un lado] Aludra no está destinada a ser una bruja, sino LA bruja, [hablando dramáticamente] portavoz de la voluntad de los Ocurria, terribles y eldricas entidades mas allá del tapiz negro de las estrellas. [Volteando a mirar a Luiinel] ¿Puedes imaginarte una existencia tan épica teniendole miedo a la muerte, algo tan trivial? ¡Mirate, nada mas! Eres tan humilde que reclamas para ti mismo el modesto título de artesano y, no obstante, no solo dedicabas tus pensamientos a indagar en los misterios mas profundos de la vida, sino que has ofrecido la tuya valiente y desinteresadamente.
Luiinel> [ñ.n;] Y ahora estoy muerto...
Keith> Sí, pero estas "bien" y estamos conversando de algo trascendente e importante, ¿no es así? No temiste cuando ofreciste tu vida, ni siquiera pensaste en ello, porque estabas mas ocupado apreciandola en los demas que temiendo por la tuya. [Tornando la cabeza nuevamente] A Aludra le falta un poco de eso. *Sigh* Jamas podrá revivirte mientras le tema a la muerte...
Luiinel> [Mirando hacia abajo] ... Porque para revivir a alguien, es necesario estar por encima de la mortalidad, habiendo derrotado el miedo, y todo aquello que hace mortal a un ser común y corriente... [Alzando la mirada] ¿No es así?
Keith> ... [Volteando a mirar a Luiinel por unos instantes y luego sonriendo ampliamente] ¡Por ESO te amo, Luiinel! [Cerrando los ojos con fuerza y sonriendo, moviendose un poco en su silla de manera rítmica][>w<] *Agh* ¡Que envidia me daaa!, ¡Pensar que te tendré que devolver!
Luiinel> ... [ó.o]
Keith> *Sigh* [Volteando a mirar a Luiinel] En fin, calculo que a Aludra le tomará de unos 3 a 5 años sobrepasar su mortalidad para volverse una "Uncommon", así que tenemos muuucho tiempo para conversar. Capaz te estas cansando allí parado, ¿quieres que te haga aparecer una silla?

          Aun cuando mi exterior era calmo, es probable que esa persona estuviera totalmente al tanto de que estaba terriblemente revuelto por dentro y que aun me encontraba en shock ante el descubrimiento de mi propia muerte. No obstante, quizas no era eso lo que realmente me molestaba. Pensaba que era su voz, pero entonces me dí cuenta de que no era su voz, ni siquiera sus palabras, sino lo que implicaba el oirla: el estar muerto. Saber que había caido en combate defendiendo a un par de damas tan talentosas y que mi esfuerzo no había sido en vano me recomfortaba, pero no podía evitar sentirme mal conmigo mismo. No obstante, no era por la comprensible preocupación por aquellos a quienes yo mas quería y estimaba sino, justamente por todo lo opuesto: estaba molesto conmigo mismo porque, por mas que buscaba emociones en mi corazón, no podía siquiera encontrar mi corazón. Estaba, existía, pero en algún recondito y distante lugar del universo muy, muy lejos de aquí. Podía contemplar todo lo que sucedía con la parsimonía de un elfo, sin ser afectado en lo mas mínimo, siendo toda respuesta emocional de mi parte mas un reflejo social e intelectual que un verdadero sentir. En cierta manera, me parecía deshonesto, pero no me molestaba. ¿Como podría, cuando no sentía absolutamente nada? Era eso lo que realmente me molestaba, pero era esta la colera mas insípida que jamas hubiera creido ser capaz de experimentar, insípida y desapasionada como una manzana esculpida en hielo. Al parecer, este es el sabor de la eternidad.

- Luiinel Teludel Raseousel Gwillbel
Artesano

Heroes Of Might & Magic - Empires At War: Un Ensayo En La Posible Mecánica De La Vida

Luiinel

A este punto en la historia, han sido innumerables las mentes que han meditado con profundidad en lo que respecta al significado de la vida y la naturaleza de esta. Dado esto, no pienso sumarme a estos números, dedicando estas lineas a quienes el conocimiento y la sed por saber e indagar corresponda como a mí al momento de hacer esta redacción. Quisiera dejar, pues, estas lineas como testamento de mi trabajo y pensamientos, no fuera a ser que, estando tan cerca de una posible respuesta, me encontrara yo sezgado por el destino, error mortal, o quizas (y los dioses no quieran) el peso de mi propia arrogancia al intentar, cual ingenuo asesino de dragones novicio, intentar dar muerte a la añeja sierpe con una hoja sin magia ni particularidad.

     Modestia aparte, me encuentro en la necesidad de fanforronear mis talentos como artesano de oficio: desde chico se me ha dado bien observar el mundo natural y replicarlo en menor escala. Aun cuando nada podría compararse al glorioso dorado del amanecer, el profundo azul que rodea a Erathia en las noches, el intenso rojo en el plumaje del corollax, el límpido blanco de las gelidas tundras, el bello verde de los campos, el naranja encendido de una fruta jugosa, el delicado celeste de alguna flor, o el casí nocturno e inexcrutable morado de una berenjena, debo decir que es una canción de fuego y herrumbre la que suena en mi corazón. Quizas hay algo primordial, algo único y secreto en el acto de tomar una forma natural y moldearla para plasmar las ingeniosas elucubraciones que pasan por la mente de las personas, algo ineludible para muchos de nosotros. Quizas recae en dicha capacidad, en aquel deseo divino de recrear algo o crearlo de la nada, el nexo que nos une a los dioses, espíritus, o quienes quiera que sean los autores de nuestra realidad y destino. Sea como sea, resulta ser que me encuentro en la misma banca en la que se encuentran laborando tantas otras célebres (como infames) personalidades de la historia: intento entender el misterio de la vida.

     Cabe anotar que este no es un intento grosero e irreverente por reducir la vida a una mera ecuación carente de belleza como muchos "filósofos" de El Marquezado De Barthok se han propuesto, proclamando éxito en dicha empresa: siempre se puede tener exito en denigrar algo que escapa a la comprensión. Sería, mas bien para mi, una horrible sorpresa si terminara averiguando que la vida, algo tan significativo y transformador para nuestro mundo, es un mero "producto" de la evolución lógica en el proceder de los sistemas naturales definidos clara e irrefutablemente por las ciencias, disciplinas ya añejas (en realidad), cuya sabiduría ha sido rescatada innumerables veces del olvido por las elites sobrevivientes en El Marquezado De Barthok. Como decía, se trata mas bien de conocer a esta dama tan profundamente como me sea posible para alabar, con justa razón y como corresponde, su belleza completa y cantarla al mundo. Pero, suficiente preambulo: vayamos a lo que nos corresponde.

     He sido capaz de replicar muchas cosas atravez de la mecánica, imitando la forma en que aquello que conocemos como vivo se comporta. Lo vemos todos los dias, en realidad, cuando disfrutamos de un buen plato de pollo o de una buena rez: las estructuras de las que se vale la vida para funcionar son eficientes, minimalistas, y sofisticadas. No obstante, nada de ello es imposible de replicar y, si bien aun existen cosas que las ciencias de hoy son incapaces de entender del todo, estamos, finalmente, ante construcciones y mecanísmos basados en hueso, tendón, músculo, fluidos, etc. Es decir: estamos frente una máquina material y los componentes constitutivos de la materia se encuentran, como lo han demostrado reiteradas veces los alquimistas y transmutadores, en todas partes y a disposición de todos. No obstante, si el asunto fuera una mera cuestión de "polaridad" o "cambio de propiedades", los científicos ya habrían encontrado la manera de emular a las deidades y recrear un hombre completo simplemente esculpiendo su forma en piedra o metal, ensamblandola, y transformando la materia de la base a la carne. Pero no es el caso, y vivimos en un mundo donde el ser vivo sigue siendo misterio para el ser vivo. Algunos argumentarán que el mítico golem sería un hombre completo hecho en piedra, pero tal cosa es inverificable pues, si bien las viejas leyendas hablan de su construcción y existen rumores aqui y allá de fabulosas entidades como estas deambulando en lugares perdidos y olvidados por el mundo, estas no han podido ser constatadas en nuestros dias. Finalmente, si les otorgamos creditos a las viejas historias, un golem sería una construcción animada, un objeto que emula, por artilugio metafísico, crudamente la vida.

     En esto último me gustaría indagar un poco mas. El concepto detras de los golems encuentra su origen en viejas leyendas que relatan como los dioses crearon a los mortales de diversas etnias formandolos de tierra, como si estos fueran arcilla. De alguna manera, los conjuradores de antaño habrian encontrado la forma de emular las viejas leyendas, y según dicen, fueron capaces de darle animación efímera a esculturas hechas en piedra y a otros objetos inanimados, mas permanece siendo una hazaña que, sea ya por fé o artilugio, es hasta el momento, irreproducible por las ciencias y artes de nuestros dias. No obstante, se puede apreciar, con relativa regularidad, como los invocadores de hoy son capaces de traer a su servicio, aunque sea por escasos minutos, criaturas cuya composición parece pertenecer integramente a un solo elemento. Dichas criaturas no han podido ser estudiadas con atención de manera científica por el escaso tiempo cuya presencia permanece en nuestra realidad tangible, pero muchos estudiosos de la historia se inclinan por pensar que las leyendas de golems y criaturas semejantes serían malas interpretaciones por parte de las gentes de otros tiempos, confundiendo a estas "criaturas elementales" (cuyos invocadores claman procedencia de distantes mundos paralelos o planos) con gentes hechas de tierra o materias semejantes.

     Aprovechando que hemos tocado el tema de los invocadores (y dejando ya el tema de los míticos golems para pasar a cosas un tanto mas factuales), he de mencionar que algunos científicos han intentado explicar con considerable aceptación y fundamento la habilidad eldrica de invocar criaturas de fugaz existencia en este mundo proponiendo la idea de que lo único llamado a este mundo es una conciencia, un tipo de ser que carece de verdadera substancia material, el cual se vale de la energía aportada por el conjurador para, brevemente, emular las propiedades de un tipo de materia. Esta teoría ha recibido amplia aceptación en las escuelas de ciencia en Augustgrad, pues explicaría de manera razonable el por qué estas criaturas solo pueden existir por breve tiempo segun la maestría del conjurador y por qué parecieran poseer cuerpos de un solo tipo de materia o elemento en coalescencia, algo físicamente imposible para las leyes del mundo natural, pero totalmente factible si solo se tratara de energía emulando expresiones básicas del funcionamiento del universo, como es el caso de los hechizos y milagros. Si bien la invocación de este tipo de criaturas es una tecnica "relativamente común", no ha podido ser reproducida con nuestra tecnología actual, pues parece estar profundamente ligada a ciertas capacidades de indole supernatural en los practicantes, cuyo origen real aun no puede ser definido de manera satisfactoria. No obstante, dado que es parte de nuestro mundo, el cual opera bajo diversos sistemas y sub-sistemas de leyes, habría pocas razones para pensar que lo que comunmente se tilda de magia sea la excepción. Esto nos daría que, curiosamente, la magia y la vida son inusualmente semejantes en naturaleza (ambas manifestandose en nuestro mundo atravez de su impacto en el mundo físico, mas proviniendo de algun lugar desconocido) y, solo quizas, provengan de una fuente similar, si no es que la misma. Es aquí donde viene mi propuesta.

     Como mencionara en un principio, si algo se me da a bien es aprender y replicar aquello que he logrado entender y comprender. Si bien nunca pude dominar el oficio de mago (quizas por falta de talento aunque, en lo personal, creo que es mas un asunto de extrema puntualidad en objetivos y desinteres general por todo lo demas) y carezco de la vocación religiosa para servir como clérigo, como gnomo poseo una conexión innata a las artes arcanas. Esto, sin embargo, me ha servido mas bien para afinar una capacidad inusual de percepción y comprensión de la estructura del mundo natural que desididamente concuerda con las modernas teorías químicas y físicas de la composición atómica de la materia. Resumiendo algo bastante complejo, estas teorías sugieren que, a su nivel mas básico, todo en el mundo está compuesto de 3 estados energéticos principales: positivo, negativo y neutro. Por ende, podemos deducir que el alterar dichos estados altera, a su vez, el comportamiento y organización de los bloques fundamentales de la materia alterando, marcada o sutilmente, las propiedades de un cuerpo determinado. Es aquí donde puedo dar testimonio personal de la realidad factual de dicha teoría pues, en vez de aprender a comandar funciones definidas en el telar de la realidad creando efectos varios como un mago, aprendí ha hacer que mi propio potencial recalibrara en menor medida las polaridades atómicas en un cuerpo determinado, alterando sus propiedades ligéramente por unos cuantos segundos. Dominar esta técnica me ha permitido discernir algo crucial en lo que me propongo a hacer: los seres vivos poseen una composición atómica identica a la de los cuerpos inertes, mas su polaridad energética y configuración de particulas es decidida, total, absoluta e irrevocablemente diferente.

     Un cuerpo humanoide esta compuesto, principalmente, de Carbono, Hidrógeno, Oxígeno y Nitrógeno. Estos elementos pueden ser encontrados en todas partes, mas lo que define sus reacciones es su estado energético y los cuerpos vivos poseen un campo energético sutil muy particular que parece no solo darle ciertos patrones especiales al comportamiento de los elementos dentro de su rango, sino que se autosustenta al mantener dicho patrón. Es como un dínamo recíproco y, si bien se encuentra presente en todo el cuerpo, su mayor grado de insidencia se dá en la sangre, la cual poseé un alto contenido en Hierro, elemento que posee grandes propiedades conductivas. Por ende, mi propuesta es la siguiente: ¿Que pasa si se logra generar un dínamo mecánico, basado en hierro en flujo, que emule la situación dentro de el organismo de un cuerpo humanoide en un objeto inanimado, induciendo el estado energético alterado de manera artificial? En teoría, algo debería pasar, aunque estoy lejos de saber qué exactamente.

     Lo cierto es que mis cálculos preliminares arrojan que, para ser capaz de inducir un estado energético, aunque sea, vagamente semejante al campo que los seres vivientes generan, me tomaría un aproximado de 8 horas continuas de inducción manual. Es un número que me hace sudar frío, la verdad, pues jamas he usado mi técnica de alteración molecular en periodos superiores a los segundos a travez del dia, por lo que no me siento aun preparado, aunque he logrado mantener alteraciones moleculares simultaneas en 5 objetos diversos por un periodo de 60 segundos e, inversamente, la alteración física de 1 objeto por 5 minutos. Aun así, la brecha entre 5 minutos y 8 horas es más que simplemente sensible, así que probablemente pase un tiempo antes de que ponga a prueba esta propuesta. Veremos si el futuro depara otros avances que pudieran ser de utilidad en los próximos años.

- Luiinel Teludel Raseousel Gwillbel
Artesano