One of the more... unusual... aspects of Ghost Lore (as represented by tales of Fetches and the Japanese Seiryö) is that LIVING beings can have Ghosts too. The existence, nature, and characteristics of Phantasma are at the core of the "Soul vs. Astral Imprint" debate in Magical Research circles, and this issue is covered in more depth in the text (cf). Here we will merely cover the MECHANICS of "Casting" Phantasma. This text adheres generally to the viewpoint that Ghosts are, in fact, the actual surviving "Souls" of an individual, and ties the Soul to the Mortal Aura, but it applies equally well to the interpretation that a Ghost is an astral Pattern imposed subconsciously much as Watchers are created. Whichever Nature the GM determines is "True" (i.e., whether a Phantasm is an actual fragment of its source aura/Soul, or is an ectoplasmic pattern imposed upon the Astral by damage to a Living Being's Aura), different PC's and NPC's should have either, both, or a totally different opini on -- this is NOT an issue that modern magical science within the Sixth World has come even CLOSE to resolving. The Characteristics of the various specific Ghost types are found in the Critters Section, and not reiterated here.
Somewhat self-sustaining fragments of a Sentient Beings Aura (or semi-stable psychic shockwaves, depending on your opinions), Phantasms are formed under extreme physical, psychic, or emotional stress [Any loss of Essence, Necromantic Damage, or emotional distress sufficient to inflict stun damage or 'hysterical amnesia', for instance. Death, being by all reports frequently quite traumatic, is also a prime cause of Phantasm formation]. This process is called "Casting" a Phantasm, and involves a distinct and astrally visible injury to the aura of the being Casting it, as well as the ectoplasmic fragment that results. Casting doesn't ALWAYS occur under these conditions, and even when it DOES, in almost all cases if the Living "Source" Aura is present, the Phantasm re-integrates within seconds unless some outside force intervenes somehow. Any condition causing a partially or wholly fragmented aura makes phantasm casting more likely, more frequent (shocks that wouldn't Cast off a whole aur a DO), and less likely to be re-absorbed. The higher a being's karma reserve (Both Pool and Good Karma), the more likely a Phantasm will be cast as well, as the strength of the Aura tends to radiate more strongly outward.
Under any of the listed occurrences, the GM may decide to roll the Target's Karma Pool + Unspent Good Karma vs. the Target's Essence + Willpower - Necrosis, to see if a Phantasm is Cast.
The Number of Successes on the test determine the Force of the Cast Phantasm, though in practice it's unnecessary to specifically determine any other traits, as IMMEDIATELY after the Casting, the Phantasm rolls its Force vs. (8 - Ess.) of its Source to check for re-absorption. Even a single success on this roll indicates that the Phantasm is re-integrated into its Source Aura, and the event usually has no further effects. Note that this is NOT the case for Phantasms Cast due to Permanent Essence loss -- these Phantasma ALWAYS remain permanently Cast, because the part of the Source Aura that created them no longer exists. In the rare cases where a Phantasm is Cast and NOT immediately re-absorbed, the newly formed "ghost" (more accurately a proto-ghost, but who wants ta get TOO technical, eh?) takes some portion of Life Energy from its creator: the nature of this loss can be determined by the Player of the Sentient Being Casting the Phantasm: The "Caster" loses 1 Good Karma OR 1/10th an Essence point OR 1/10th a Karma Pool Die per Force of the Cast Phantasm. Note that fractional Karma Pool dice are DROPPED. The Phantasm will also carry off some of its Caster's Memory as well... this must be RP'd, rather than having specific mechanics, but in general the amount of memory lost will be reflective of the Force of the Phantasm, and will virtually always center around the CAUSE of the Phantasm's Casting. (This could mean forgetting the literal events, or could involve memories closely associated with the trigger by the Caster's emotions.)
A phantasm, as described in the Critters section, has very little true self-awareness, mostly running and rerunning through the memories of Life that define it. Left to itself, a Phantasm will slowly fade away to such a faint level of energy that even the waxing and waning of ectoplasmic force will fail to revitalize it, so faint as to be undetectable to all but the most powerful and skilled necromancers. A Phantasm can resist this fading somewhat by sharing its memories with Living beings... as long as they are remembered by the living, they never quite fade totally. But besides the karma-hijacking that sustains and sometimes strengthens them, Phantasms can directly absorb plasmic materials into themselves (this happens whether the Phantasm wishes to or not, whenever Karma is Hijacked in the presence of a strong plasm-source, at a rate of 1 "unit" of Ectoplasm per Spirit-Energy point increase from Karma-Hijacking, if any Background Count from ectoplasmic tainting exists, up to 1 Ecto plasm "unit" per Background Count at a time). Absorbed ectoplasm only fades a point when actual FORCE fades, thus even relatively weak Phantasms can have significant stores of ectoplasm laced through them. If both absorbed plasm and Force ever reaches 10 points (ie, 1 full Essence point), the Phantasm stabalizes into a stronger, more self-aware form. Because of the three different forms of ectoplasm existent, this can have remarkably different effects. A Phantasm with a majority of its Plasm reserve composed of Protoplasm will solidify into a Revenant (cf); if its primary composition is Ichor, it will become a Shade (cf); while if normal untainted ectoplasm infuses it, it becomes a Phantom.
Conflagration [Ghosts And Phantasm Reabsorption]Sometimes the energy differential between a phantasm and the aura re-absorbing it is large enough that normal reintegration "short circuits", and the energy generated is dumped much the way it's dumped in normal energy reactions: as heat. The energy difference is the Tgt# the Caster of the Phantasm must roll Spirit Strength against, and is determined by subtracting Spirit Strength from the Phantasm's Force, modified by:
If the Source fails to achieve any successes on this test, they're subject to the effects of a Hellblast spell centered inside their aura and radiating outward. The Force of the Hellblast is equal to the Conflagration Tgt#, and the area of effect uses this same number as "Magic Rating" for determining the area of effect. For low-power conflagration effects, this amounts to a necromantic in-game explanation for cases of spontaneous human combustion. For Necromancers, especially Litches, sleeping (and thus risking fright in a dream sufficient to Cast a Phantasm), is an EXTREMELY dangerous activity.
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