What is a Ghost?

A soul is something that almost all things in Creation have, but the texture and potential of that soul differs. Animals have souls, but not the same type that human beings have whose souls are potent engines. Of all the beings in creation the only ones that do not have souls are angels. Even demons can be said to have souls, corrupted as they are.

A Ghost is a soul whose physical body has died. Usually, the souls of humans get taken to Heaven for those souls that have lived with kindness and compassion or to Hell for the unworthy in order to be cleansed of sin so that they might eventually get to Heaven. Souls are escorted to these afterlives by Reapers, beings which end the pain and suffering preceding death and guide the soul to their destinations. A ghost then, is a soul that refused to go with their Reaper and instead stayed in the Shadowlands. The reasons for doing so vary, but each Ghost has a reason which combined with the emotions tied to it, keep the Ghost anchored to the worlds of the living and the dead.

Ghosts no longer have bodies of flesh and bone, but rather are comprised of a material known as Plasm. Plasm, in many respects, is similar to flesh, but far more malleable, flexible, and far less frail.

Ghosts of supernatural creatures, or those with supernatural powers (mages, psychics), do not generally retain their abilities after death.

Types of Ghosts

Drones
Not all ghosts have the spiritual strength to awaken fully after refusing to go with their Reaper. Those that remain unawakened are known as Drones, and are typically used as beasts of burden and fodder for the Soulforgers to turn into other more useful items or objects.

Lycanthrope Ghosts
Also referred to by the werewolf-specific term of Munin, lycanthrope ghosts are those that have been bound to their pack or social group and are a part of living memory that the group can call on at need. This post-life connection is established by ceremonial consumption of the deceased's remains, usually the heart or brain, by the living members of the group.

Ghosts that were once lycanthropes do not retain any facility with their former powers, but if called upon by a Lycanthrope with the "Call the Dead" power the Munin can loan the Caller one of its former powers and provide energy to the Caller and the group.

Lycanthrope Ghosts are harder to destroy than other types of ghosts and the connection the ghost has with the Pack/Pard/Etc. counts as a Fetter. Only killing the leader of the group and then burning the bones of the lycanthrope can destroy a lycanthrope ghost.

Vampire Ghosts
Often considered to be one of the most pitiful wretches to exist, a vampire that becomes a ghost has bested death not once, but twice. Such ghosts do not retain any of their former powers, but their level of knowledge and their understanding of vampire society and culture makes them assets to those learning to navigate those waters.

Magi, Psychics, Alerans, Necromancers
Humans with enhanced abilities or special powers often become ghosts, in part because their power failed to protect them and they resent it, but also because their souls are very strong. Such ghosts are generally respected, but the lack of their former power makes such ghosts unpredictable, and often Vengeful as they try to reclaim what they lost.

In the Shadowlands

Ghosts in the Shadowlands are physical entities and interact with each other in the same way that the living do with one another. They cannot walk through walls or obstacles in the Shadowlands, cannot fly, float, or hover. They can however, use their abilities there just as they can in the Skinlands. Ghosts in the Shadowlands can be slain there permanently.

In the Skinlands

When a ghost comes into the Skinlands it does so in one of two ways: by manifesting or by materializing. When a ghost is manifested, it appears in the way that most people experience ghosts, wraithly figures that are transparent to some extent, insubtantial with no weight, mass, or physical presence.

They can float through walls, fly and cannot be affected by physical objects or means unless the object is made of iron or salt. They remain vulnerable to magic, psychic, necromantic, or other powers that do not require a physical manifestation. They cannot be killed in the Skinlands without the use of Soul Magic, Necromantic Powers, or salting and burning their bones and Fetters.

Final Destinations

There are only two possible endings to existence as a Ghost: Ascent/Descent and Oblivion.

Ascent is when the Ghost is able to resolve all of its remaining issues and lets go of its ghostly life, moving upwards into the realm of Heaven.

Descent is when the Ghost has not atoned for its sins, or has only made new ones in its ghostly life, descends into Hell after relinquishing its ghostly existence. Demons are particularly fond of these types of souls, as they make the best and easiest converts into demons.

Oblivion is perhaps the least understood option. Oblivion is what happens to a ghost when their souls are destroyed in the Shadowlands or by necromancers and/or necromantic magic. The souls simply cease to exist. Whether they have another type of existence beyond or not, it is unknown and unknowable.