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| Ghaisten |
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.
