Ghosts
Ghosts are the souls of those that died and got stuck in purgatory. It is not uncommon for the souls to be vengeful and have an unfinished agenda that they left when they crossed into the astral plane. Before it was known that spirits could take over the bodies of other humans, there was a widely spread phenomena where people would be themselves one day, and the next they would be abandoning their life to go pursue people and things they were previously not aware of. A hysteria then broke out among humans once possession was recognized, and people became paranoid and hypersensitive to any changes in their loved ones. Exorcisms became the norm with all different cultures having their ways of trying to banish the spirit from the body. Unfortunately, the host's soul died upon possession in the first place, so returning their loved ones was a futile goal. Ghosts who are not vengeful generally adapt well enough into the new times and cultures, seeking only a new shot at life. However, most opt to flee and start a whole new life rather than fit into the old life of their host.
There were, however, those that actually shared a body. Souls of the supernatural that are unable to kick the body of a human out of it, and instead coexist with their host. These souls are known as geists, and their existence is a rather complicated one.
Ghost Posession
Strengths and Weaknesses
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Phasing: The possessed are able to phase between their human shell and their true form. When they leave the host shell, it collapses where it is and will not reanimate until the possessed comes to reinahbit it. Failure to reinhabit after 24 hours will result in banishment to the astral plane. In their true form, they cannot pull strongly from the astral plane and can only cast weakened versions of their magic.
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Planar Communication: The possessed may communicate with the other plane to acquire basic and vague information. However, this ability cannot be used to metagame and OOC consent must be acquired if there are plans to use it against another player.
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Telekinesis: While in this plane, the possessed can use up their energy in order to move and manipulate small objects around. The heavier the object is, the more it'll wear down the possessed. If they manipulate things for too long (no more than 3 things through the RP) the possessed will find themselves cast off from the plane, and the host proceeds to die. It's for this reason that the possessed are very careful with what they manipulate, and when, and how. (Objects can not be more than 10 lbs. Each post will count as a different hold).
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Invisibility: Ghosts are able to go invisible for a maximum of 3 post rounds. During this they will be undetectable visually, but will still make sounds if they are not careful.
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Poltergeist: Ghosts are actually able to interact with the physical world when outside of their host.
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Anchored: The possessed can only exist in this world for as long as they are anchored to their human shell. If they leave it for too long or if it dies, they will be banished back with little to no chance of returning. There are ways to claim new hosts, but it is a very long, complicated process. While anchored to this plane, the possessed are non corporal. This means that they're not able to interact with things around them like other humans would.
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Weakened Abilities: While on this plane, a possessed cannot draw from the sources they normally would back on the astral plane. So when they are in their true forms, they cannot act in full power as they do there. That is not to say they are weak, for the possessed are very much at the same level as other supernaturals. However, their power is a mere fraction of what it is on their home plane.
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Fragile Host: While capable of magic in their human shell, their host is ultimately nothing more than human. This fragility leads many possessed to be super protective and cautious when it comes to their host bodies. Many will actually plan to be in their true form for most conflict to avoid endangering their anchor to this world.
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Non Corporal: While in this plane, the possessed are non corporal. This is why they need a host to exist. They are not able to interact with anything around them but magic outside of their host.
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The death of a host expels the entity from the body immediately, regardless of natural or supernatural causes (yes, illnesses and old age can kill the body even if it's possessed). If this happens and the entity wishes to remain in the mortal realm, in the expand of 2 hours (rp time, not real life), they must find new host body that "willingly" gives itself up, and a necromancer to perform the soul switch. The soul of the other body would then be sent to the astral plane instead of that of the entity, thus prolonging the stay of the entity in this plane.
Geists
Geists are souls of supernatural beings (with the exception of vampires as they are soulless) that are looking for a second chance at life. Unlike ghosts, who are mortals that take over a body for a second chance at life, the Geist must share a body with the mortal (sin eater) being as the natural law does not allow them a second supernatural existence to occur.
Returning to the mortal world requires the Geist to find a sin eater to die on the same way they did. Once they do, there is a pact made between the two, the mortal will live again as long as they share the body with this being. In a period of 24 hours, the body will slowly begin to heal itself in preparation for its return to life, though traces of their deathly embrace will forever remain with them.
Strengths and Weaknesses
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Return from Death: The basis of a spirit that becomes a Geist is that they don’t want to die - and having the host body die isn’t exactly appealing to them either. Thus, when a Sin Eater dies, the Geist expends some of its energy in bringing their host back to life. The host remains dead for 24 hours, but the Geist succeeds in bringing back their host body as long as there is a body left to return.
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Link to the Astral: Geists are intrinsically linked to the astral plane, and so are their hosts - both, technically, are dead, so they can perceive the astral as if it were layered neatly over the real world. This leaves Geists and Sin Eaters exposed to the existence and influence of ghosts at all hours of the day, but the Geist can actively affect the astral plane.
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Momento Mori: Every geist imparts on their user, as a sign of their contract, a momento mori. This item is resemblance of something significant from their life, but that is also a symbol of the way they died and the being they are now.
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Geists and hosts are both independent being, and are apt to disagree. Infighting between a geist and its host is common, but if it gets severe the animosity can cause a serious strain on the host’s soul and in extreme cases, break the bond and cause both geist and host to be shunted from their body.
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The geist’s momento mori is their contract made physical. The momento mori can never be lost, always appearing at the Sin Eater’s side after 24 hours, but it can be destroyed. If destroyed, the contract is immediately void and both souls are expelled from the body as it is violently destroyed.
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If a geist is destroyed or exorcised, it does not kill the host body, but causes severe mental and spiritual anguish. Sin Eaters who have been removed of their spectral partner are prone to addictions, depression, and even suicidal tendencies - all in the hope they’re chosen by a new partner. Due to their degraded mental state and spiritual state, they very rarely are.
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As a dead being, Geists are suceptible to necromancy.
Types of Geist
The Torn, Death by Violence
The Torn grant their user proficiency with dark magic.
These geists inspire a great, violent wrath in their hosts during battle. This allows them to fight with more ferocity and power, but makes it much more difficult to stop once they’ve begun. The effect lasts for about 5 post turns before wearing off.
The momento mori for the Torn is a weapon of some kind - the Sin Eater is instinctual and acutely aware of how to the use the weapon as if they had been training their whole life, even if they’ve never had a day of training in their lives. The weapon is never more powerful than a small handgun, but blades are the most common.
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Weakness: Torn Geists are quick to anger, and their victims normally carry this trait. When raging, they are completely irrational and will usually lash out and friends and family when in this state. As well, the Geist constantly encourages its Sin Eater to acts of violence regardless of the going ons - all to sate its insatiable desire to cause conflict.
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The Prey, Death by Forces of Nature
The Prey grant their user proficiency with Elemental magic.
These geists inspire a natural inclination to the natural world. The Sin Eater is inherently empathetic to animals and plants, and can exert control over them to a certain degree - for example, calling forth spectral ravens to swarm a foe or vines which grow from the ground and reach out to entangle the unsuspecting.
The momento mori for the Prey are usually something of the natural world - a large broken branch for a club, a bush of fruit at home that is a miraculous medicine (or deadly poison), or a small animal like a squirrel or bird that the Sin Eater can use as a familiar.
Weaknesses: Prey geists are stubborn upon return, and usually prefer to do things themselves and hands on. They have a predisposition against technology, and usually want to remain in the more rural parts of the world. Their personalities become gruff and standoffish, and they try to instill the same attitude in their Sin Eaters, whether they like it or not.
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The Forgotten, Death by Chance
These geists are proficient in occlumency.
The Forgotten can impart the misery of their misfortune on other beings that their Sin Eaters touch. Taking a round to post, the touch causes its victim to become extraordinarily paranoid and miserable, finding it extremely difficult to act as they become acutely aware and terrified of all the various ways they could die - no matter how unlikely. The momento mori of the Forgotten resembles some average everyday item that was present on their person at the moment of death - a set of car keys with a tacky key-chain that can fit and start any car, or a weather almanac that can always precisely predict the weather even where lightning strikes.
Weaknesses: The Forgotten, having died once due to unfortunate circumstance, are not at all eager to repeat this fate. As such, they become extremely paranoid, always looking out for and warning their Sin Eater of every potential and minute danger. There is no such thing as too safe for a Forgotten, and they make sure their Sin Eater NEVER forgets that fact. The Sin Eater, if they don’t succumb to the paranoid antics of their Geist, will still be subject to the constant badgering of the world’s most annoying helicopter mom.