Homebrew Ghost Species Details
History
Ghosts were the souls of a deceased sentient creature that had been bound to haunt a specific area, object, or creature that held significance to them when they were alive. Often this state of existence was because of a soul having been horrendously evil in life, their deaths being tremendously emotional, being denied a proper burial, or because they had unfinished business.
Attitudes and Beliefs
A ghost's behavior is typically similar to the personality they had in life. But in some cases, their personalities were altered by the process of death. Some seek meaning in their undeath. Some Ghosts know why they are still bound to the material plane. Ghosts come in all beliefs and attitudes, but most of the time their beliefs changed to an a little less serious version of themselves when they became undead.
Ghost Names
Ghosts often take the name they had before their death. However, some take on the name of the goal they are trying to achieve in their new unlife.
Ghost Traits
Ghost Traits Death is less permanent than you think.Ability Score Increase.
One of your ability scores increases by two, and one other increases by one. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Ethereal Sight.
You can see into the Ethereal Plane, all out to a range of 30 feet.
Undead Nature.
You do not need to eat, drink, or breathe.
You do not need to sleep. When you take a long rest, you must spend at least six hours doing light activity rather than sleeping.
You are immune to being poisoned and you are immune to poison damage.
(optional) You are immune to necrotic damage but vulnerable to radiant damage.
Ethereal Form.
Thanks to your ethereal form, certain advantages and limitations have been granted to you. You may now move through any creature or object as if it were difficult terrain, taking 1d10 force damage if you end your turn inside a creature or object. In exchange, you can only carry ten specific items on your person, which you must spend a long rest trying to incorporate into your ethereal form with any kind of armor equipped taking up four, and clothes as one of these limited item slots. It'll take a short rest to remove an item from your form, the item returns to its original physical form, freeing up an item slot.
If you are not holding anything else, and you are not concentrating on a spell, you are also able to concentrate on holding a single item you have not incorporated into your ethereal form for a limited amount of time. (As you and your DM see fit)
Interacting with objects can lead to difficult situations for a ghost. Even pulling a lever or catching a ball can be troublesome since your form is only slightly able to stop, pull or push things before phasing through it. You might be able to stop a ball midair, but not to hold it for more than a few seconds as the ball splashes against your hand, crushing it like water or ectoplasm and sliding down your form, unless you really concentrate.
Mundane Tasks like that can require you to roll any kind of ability check. If your DM decides you have to roll such an ability check, you roll them at disadvantage.
Incorporeal Fortitude.
You have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks. Weapons just slide through you, only ripping small parts of your ethereal form with them as if they were hitting some kind of slime or thick air.
Pull of the Ethereal.
When you drop to 0 hit points you are pulled towards the afterlife. When this happens your death saving throws become wisdom saving throws with a DC of 12. On three successes you immediately regain one hit point, and the DC for the death saving throws increase by 5. On three failures you are permanently pulled into the afterlife, and you cannot be revived with anything short of a resurrection spell. On a long rest, the DC resets to 12.
Comments