Homebrew Ghost Species Details

 

Ghosts are flickering remnants of their past lives, appearing as they did before death, however they are now transparent and have a colored tinge to them that drowns out all color of their body. This tint varies in tone for multiple reasons, from pure white of those that died peacefully to red of those dying in a fire, green if poisoned, blue if water was their ending or yellow if thunder.

Ghosts are very different from most of the undead: the difference to the lich is that they didn't ask for becoming undead, at least not directly. Mummies also have a mission to fulfill, but their corpse got conserved by some mean. Zombies lost their will and are forced to submit to other beings. Ghosts died and lost their body, but the will to fulfill their last pendant was so intense that death could not take their spirit: Ghosts are basically coming to terms with death and rejecting it, just to get a second chance.

Most ghost's appearance tends to reflect how it died. For example, a ghost that had drowned in a previous life may be dripping with glowing water droplets that disappear as soon as they hit the ground. A ghost that died in battle may still have the wounds it sustained in life- open and flowing with silver blood. A ghost that died while sleeping will keep its eyes closed, but will see perfectly.

Similarly, if the ghost instead is more transfixed by guilt or regret at its previous life it is instead wrapped in ethereal chains. This is because the image of a ghost is controlled by its own mental state and such transduction with death or regret manifests in its image on the Material Plane.

It is possible for ghosts to be completely free of regret or transfixed by its death, but it would mean that the only thing tying it to the Material Plane is the ghost's own willpower, which makes its bond to the Material Plane weaker than the other two types of ghosts. These ghosts tend to disappear soon after being formed.

Ghost Traits

Death is less permanent than you think.

Ghostly nature

Ghostly Nature. Your creature type is undead. You do not require air, food, drink, sleep and you are immune to being poisoned, poison damage, and diseases. Your ghostly form still takes damage from various sources as it exacts a mental toll on you, making it harder for you to keep your form planted into the mortal plane.

Ability Score Increase

Your ability scores each increase by 1.

Age

Ghosts "live" for however long it is after it has died as age has no limits.

Size

Humans vary widely in height and build, from barely 5 feet to well over 6 feet tall. Regardless of your position in that range, your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and one extra language of your choice. Humans typically learn the languages of other peoples they deal with, including obscure dialects. They are fond of sprinkling their speech with words borrowed from other tongues: Orc curses, Elvish musical expressions, Dwarvish military phrases, and so on.