You once were living, but that time has long since passed. Spirits are the dead who were so wronged in life their souls cannot rest, or the ones who weren't particularly ready to let go. Most of these souls wander alone, though a select few individuals that have gone through extreme hardship or have felt severe loss can hear and interact with them. These spirits who are found by the living tend to attach to the one that first heard them, either to offer them help to avoid a demise similar to their own, or to feed them poor advise to lead them down a deadly path in bitter disdain for the living. A few of your ability scores no longer provide the same purpose as they did in life, and to your DM's discretion, they should change to mean the following:
Strength: How easily Spirits can interact with real world objects, and possess things.
Dexterity: How must finesse Spirits can control real world objects with.
Constitution: A spirit's ability to temporarily manifest a physical form, which can only been seen and heard by a Medium, and if there are other Spirits present, the ones with higher Constitution are more readily heard than those with lower scores.
A few of your skills change as well, which are listed as the following:
Intimidation is now a Constitution roll, and can be used to suppress other Spirits.
Survival is now a Constitution roll, and is used to determine if you can manifest a temporary physical form. You must roll a 15 or higher to succeed, and the physical manifestation only lasts for ten minutes unless you can make a successful Strength saving throw. After this time runs out, you must rest to use this again.
History determines how well you can remember events from your past life; On occasion, Mediums may ask you about your life, and on these occasions, you must make a 15 or higher on a History roll to remember a few details. It is up to your DM how vivid and how long these memories are.
Your other skills and proficiencies stay the same, and you retain the proficiencies you had in life.
- Skill Proficiencies: You can pick one out of the changed Spirit abilities, in which you are doubly proficient. (Add your proficiency bonus twice). Intimidation, Survival, or History.
- Tool Proficiencies: You retain the tool proficiencies you had in life, even though these tools no longer hold use to you.
- Languages: You can pick one extra language, which you learned from either a Medium or another Spirit.
You can add this in your character backstory, and can design this around your character's life and past.
The living cannot see or hear you. You wander alone, save from the occasional company of other Spirits, trying to find a new purpose in your un-death. Those who serve as Mediums, whether they're aware of it or not, are the only ones that can hear you. These Mediums can help you recover your past, and give you new purpose. Over time, your Spirit may finally be able to rest, and oftentimes, acceptance of death or completion of unfinished business is the only way to go about this. Mediums can assist you greatly with this, as they are mostly your only means of communicating with the living, and the physical world.
Suggested Characteristics
Oftentimes Spirits are either confused, depressed, or angered over their death. A spirit's life alignment usually helps determine how they view their demise, and how they decide to interact with Mediums and the real world. Some wish to either help the living (Good), simply find a way to rest(Neutral), or hurt the living; after all(Evil), misery loves company.
| d6 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I simply want to find peace so my soul can finally rest. |
| 2 | I try to befriend the few Mediums I meet; After all, they can help me. |
| 3 | Through Mediums, I try to offer advice to others. |
| 4 | I am in denial that I'm dead, I still try to interact and speak to those who still have life. |
| 5 | I haunt a specific Medium, for a specific reason, even if I do not yet know it. |
| 6 | I get bored easily. Oftentimes I try to interact with the physical world to confuse the living. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Help. The dead that hang around should use their extra time to help those who are not yet dead. (Good) |
| 2 | Acceptance. Spirits have already passed on. We shouldn't interfere with the living, unless to receive help from a Medium. (Lawful) |
| 3 | Enjoyment. Spirits have lived their lives, and now in death should be free to do as they wish. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | Anger. Spirits should bring as many of the living down with them before they lose touch with the physical world. (Evil) |
| 5 | Denial. I will return to life, by whatever means necessary. I shouldn't've died when I did. (Any) |
| 6 | Rest. Spirits deserve to be able to rest in peace, and so do I. (Neutral) |
| d4 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | I know I had a family, but I have no idea where they are. One day, I hope to see them again. |
| 2 | I will exact my revenge on those that wronged me in life, be it the person who killed me, or anyone that ever crossed me. |
| 3 | I have unfinished business. I know what it is, and it is what I strive to complete. |
| 4 | I am determined to help the living avoid a fate similar to my own. |
| d4 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I struggle to fully trust Mediums with my past. |
| 2 | I often forget the brief memories I worked so hard to recall. |
| 3 | I've spent so long as a Spirit, that I have a hard time relating to the plights of the living. |
| 4 | Sometimes I forget that I have passed on, and become panicked when others around me do not acknowledge my presence. |
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