Page 209 - World of Darkness

Merits: Danger Sense, Fast Reflexes 2, Iron Stamina 2 Ghosts do not have Skills or Merits unless they pos-
Willpower: 9 sess a living body (see “Numina,” below). Nor do they
Morality: 7 have a Size trait in the conventional sense. A ghost is a
Virtue: Justice being of ephemera, a sort of spiritual matter. As such, it
has a “body” of sorts, but one that is insubstantial to ma-
Vice: Wrath
Initiative: 8 (10 with Fast Reflexes) terial beings and things. For the purposes of forming this
spiritual body, or Corpus, a ghost’s Size is the same as it
Defense: 4 was at the time of death (5 for an adult human). Rather
Speed: 12 than Health, a ghost has Corpus dots that represent its
Health: 8 spiritual essence. Corpus dots equals a ghost’s Resistance
+ Size.
Ghosts ghost’s Corpus are blessed or enchanted. Blessed items,
The only weapons with which a mortal can affect a

Ghosts are the spirits of mortals that linger in the bearing holy power, deliver aggravated damage to ghosts
physical world. Some are mere echoes of the dead, the (see “Blessed Items,” below). Some enchanted items (such
residue of a soul repeating a simple pattern of actions over as an ensorcelled baseball bat) might inflict bashing
and over again like a looping videotape. Others are true wounds, while others (a bewitched sword) could inflict
spirits that have become “lost” after death. Unable to con- lethal.
tinue on into the spirit realms, they haunt their old homes A ghost’s Defense is applied against another ghost’s
or workplaces, growing ever more lonely and frustrated assault. Its Defense trait is equal to its Power or Finesse,
with each passing decade. Still others cling to the physi- whichever is higher.
cal realm through sheer force of will, unable to leave be- When ghosts or other spirits engage one another in
hind unfinished business or an unsolved crime. combat, they deliver bashing damage (unless they have
This section provides basic rules for including these Numina that allow them to inflict lethal or aggravated
different kinds of ghosts in your stories, detailing their damage). Roll Power + Finesse. Each success delivers one
natures, goals, abilities and powers. The methods that point of bashing damage to the target’s Corpus. A ghost’s
mortals can use to combat these spirits or lay them to rest Defense is applied against another ghost’s assault.
are also covered, as well as a selection of sample spirits Ghosts regenerate Corpus in the same amount of time
ready for use. that mortals heal damage (see p. 175). If a ghost suffers as
The following rules for handling ghosts are written many points of aggravated damage as it has Corpus dots,
with mortal, living people — like the players’ characters the ghost is destroyed.
— as spirits’ enemies or rivals. Yet these rules could also Ghosts have other traits similar to a mortal’s. A ghost’s
apply to other supernatural beings whom players can por- Initiative is equal to its Finesse + Resistance. Its Speed is
tray, such as vampires, werewolves and mages. Ghosts can equal to its Power + Finesse + 10 (species factor).
turn their powers and tricks on those character types, too, Ghosts have a Morality score and Virtues and Vices
often using the very same rules presented here. Each of just like living characters do, reflecting spirits’ sense of
Vampire: The Requiem, Werewolf: The Forsaken and morality at the time of death. Ghosts are subject to de-
Mage: The Awakening also posits other systems and re- generation just like mortals are (see Chapter 4: Advan-
lations that can apply between ghosts and supernatural tages, p. 91), but unlike mortals, they cannot increase their
characters. Mortality scores. A ghost cannot grow or improve, only
decline over the course of time.
Ghost Traits Ghosts also possess a Willpower score (Power + Re-
sistance) and Willpower points may be used for them just
Ghosts have Attributes similar to living characters, as they are for mortals. Ghosts regain Willpower by act-
but they are abbreviated to the three general categories of ing in accordance with their Virtues and Vices, just as
Power, Finesse and Resistance. Power represents a ghost’s living characters do. Additionally, they automatically re-
ability to affect its environment, from throwing objects to gain one point of spent Willpower at the start of each day.
opening and slamming doors. Finesse represents a ghost’s Finally, ghosts have Essence points that are spent to
capability in interacting with or manipulating elements activate their Numina. Most ghosts can have up to 10
of its environment, from noticing the intrusions of tres- Essence points (truly old ghosts can have even more).
passers into its “home” to terrifying someone with horri- Ghosts regain spent Essence at the rate of one per day
fying illusions. Resistance represents a ghost’s ability to when near their anchors. They can also regain Essence
withstand forces that could banish or destroy it, from whenever they are remembered by the living, such as when
prayers to exorcisms to physical attacks with blessed ob- someone lays flowers on their graves or — even more po-
jects. These Attributes can potentially range from 1 to tent — if their ghostly form is identified by a living per-
10, although only very old and powerful ghosts have traits son. The Storyteller awards Essence whenever he thinks
higher than 5.
an appropriate instance of momento mori occurs.

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Chapter 8- STORYTELLING