Homebrew Ghost Species Details

Ability Score Increase.

Your Charisma score increases by 3 and either Intelligence or Wisdom score increases by 2.

Age.

A ghost can "live" for a very long time as they can remain on the Material Plane as long as their willpower allows them, though they usually pass on after they fulfill a goal they could not accomplish in life.

Alignment.

Alignment. Trying to complete the pendant goal they have, most ghosts have a lawful neutral alignment. Anyway, it is not unheard of Chaotic ghosts. Although ghosts tend to retain the moral alignment they had in life, it is not rare that some of them change alignment into good or evil, specially those with goals with extreme moral charge, like domination of nations, discovery of cures or important secrets; or vengeance.

Size.

Ghosts have no weight and are as tall as they were in life. Your size is usually Medium, although small ghosts are frequent.

Phantom Walk.

While untethered to a vessel, you can move rather easily, as though made of air. You have a flying speed of 50 feet, though you cannot fly higher than 5 feet off the ground.

Ethereal Sight.

The ghost can see 60 feet into the Ethereal Plane when it is on the Material Plane, and vice versa.

Undead Nature.

Your creature type is undead instead of humanoid. You do not need to eat, drink, breathe, or sleep. You are immune to necrotic damage.

Ethereal Form.

Your ethereal form grants you a host of benefits. Your Armor Class is calculated using your Intelligence instead of your Dexterity. While unarmored your Armor Class is equal to 14 + your Intelligence modifier. You are resistant to non-magical bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage.

Ethereal Existence.

You may be physical, but you lack any real organs or blood. You do not bleed, and you are immune to poison damage, diseases and being poisoned.

Incorporeal Movement.

Like most Ghost, physical structures do not impede you. You can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. You take 1d10 force damage if you end your turn inside an object.

Poltergeist.

You know the thaumaturgy cantrip. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for it.

Vessel Claim.

As a Ghost, you can form a contract to claim a vessel, or host, for yourself. As part of a short or long rest, you fuse your being with that of a willing creature, forming a powerful bond between you both. While you have a host, you can benefit from the effects of healing spells and potions. Additionally, you and your host can communicate telepathically and you are aware of each other's locations at all times. However, you cannot leave more than 30 feet from your host or this contract is broken.

Undead Form.

As a form of undead, if you die, you are sent to the astral plane for 1 day and then return to where you died.

Original Mind.

You recall things you can do in your past life, even if your body may be a bit different. You retain proficiency in one skill of your choice from your past life.

Vessel Merge.

Vessel Merge. As an action, you grant your host a rise in power with their passions for 1 minute. You teleport to your host's square and occupy their space for this duration. Your host gains the following effects for the duration:
•They are resistant to non-magical bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing.
•They ignore difficult terrain.
When this effect ends, you are ejected from your host, appearing in an unoccupied space adjacent to them. You can use this trait a number of times equal to half your proficiency bonus, regaining use when you finish a long rest. You may only use this trait while you have a host via your vessel claim trait.

Withering Touch.

Melee Weapon Attack Reach 5 ft., One target. Hit: 4d6 necrotic damage.

Etherealness.

The ghost enters the Ethereal Plane from the Material Plane, or vice versa. It is visible on the Material Plane while it is in the Border Ethereal, and vice versa, yet it can’t affect or be affected by anything on the other plane.

Horrifying Visage.

Each non-undead creature within 60 feet of the ghost that can see it must succeed on a DC Wisdom saving throw or be frightened for 1 minute. If the save fails by 5 or more, the target also ages 1d4 × 10 years. A frightened target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the frightened condition on itself on a success. If a target’s saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the target is immune to this ghost’s Horrifying Visage for the next 24 hours. The aging effect can be reversed with a greater restoration spell, but only within 24 hours of it occurring.

Possession.

One humanoid that the ghost can see within 5 ft. of it must succeed on a DC Charisma saving throw or be possessed by the ghost; the ghost then disappears, and the target is incapacitated and loses control of its body. The ghost now controls the body but doesn't deprive the target of awareness. The ghost can't be targeted by any attack, spell, or other effect, except ones that turn undead, and it retains its alignment, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma, and immunity to being charmed and frightened. It otherwise uses the possessed target's statistics, but doesn't gain access to the target's knowledge, class features, or proficiencies. The possession lasts until the body drops to 0 hit points, the ghost ends it as a bonus action, or the ghost is turned or forced out by an effect like the dispel evil and good spell. When the possession ends, the ghost reappears in an unoccupied space within 5 ft. of the body. The target is immune to this ghost's Possession for 24 hours after succeeding on the saving throw or after the possession ends.

Indefinite Madness. As a type of ghost, the process of returning to the realm of the living has taken its toll on you. As such you have been afflicted with one of the following indefinite madness's. This madness cannot be cured.

d12	Flaws
1	The character feels compelled to repeat a specific activity over and over, such as washing hands, touching things, praying, or counting coins.
2	The character suffers from partial amnesia. The character knows who he or she is and retains racial traits and class features, but doesn't recognize other people or remember anything that happened before the madness took effect.
3	I keep whatever I find.
4	I try to become more like someone else I know-adopting his or her style of dress, mannerisms, and name.
5	I must bend the truth, exaggerate, or outright lie to be interesting to other people.
6	Achieving my goal is the only thing of interest to me, and I'll ignore everything else to pursue it.
7	I find it hard to care about anything that goes on around me.
8	I don't like the way people judge me all the time.
9	I am the smartest, wisest, strongest, fastest, and most beautiful person I know.
10	I am convinced that powerful enemies are hunting me, and their agents are everywhere I go. I am sure they're watching me all the time.
11	I can't take anything seriously. The more serious the situation, the funnier I find it.
12	I've discovered that I really like killing people.

Life Drain.

Melee Spell Attack: Cha to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 3d6 necrotic damage. The target must succeed on a DC Constitution saving throw or its hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the damage taken. This reduction lasts until the creature finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0.

Create Entities.

The Ghost targets a humanoid within 10 feet of it that has been dead for no longer than 10 minute and died violently. The target’s spirit rises as a Ghost in the space of its corpse or in the nearest unoccupied space. The entity is under the your control. The Ghost can have no more than seven entities under its control at one time.

Telekinetic Thrust.

The Ghost targets a creature or unattended object within 30 feet of it. A creature must be Medium or smaller to be affected by this magic, and an object can weigh up to 150 pounds.
If the target is a creature, the target's DC Strength check. If the Ghost wins the contest, the Ghost hurls the target up to 30 feet in any direction, including upward. If the target then comes into contact with a hard surface or heavy object, the target takes 1d10 damage per 10 feet moved.

Languages.

You are able to speak, read and write Common and one extra language of your choice. This is usually one of the languages you knew before death.

Ghost Traits

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. These spirits typically resembled how they had in life. However, some ghosts had an altered appearance due to the nature of their demise. Others were known to be capable of changing their appearance to suit their current disposition. Often this altered appearance was due to the alignment they had in life.