Night's Pawns: Sourcebook -- Genus Teneblemurae Ghosts [Nephelim]

Free Spirits related to Loa Achete, steeped deeply in a vile corruption from deep in the Astral Metaplanes, Baka are the perverse and twisted dark reflection of the powerful Loa Achete. They follow all rules related to Free Spirits (Grimoire) as well as those related to their Ichor-based nature (c.f.). The True Names of Baka can only be acquired from their Dark Masters in the Nethermost Depths of the Labyrinth, Guinee's Nether-corrupt reflection. Such Names are only given at THEIR whim, and only in the furtherance of their dark plans. As with most Free Spirits, all individuals will not possess all Powers: rather, the Powers list includes various commonly noted abilities of these highly individualistic spirits (1 Power per Force). Lower-Force Baka Achete are formless astral forces, much like the bound Brollachan they spring from... as they gain in Force, they gain solidity as well, after a fashion -- skeletal-like figures formed from desiccated fungi and crystalized slime slo wly accreting within their core as they grow to embody more and more the vile anti-material-reality nature of the Labyrinth, they find Manifestation IN Material Reality increasingly difficult (Manifestation rolls Willpower vs. Force to succeed), until they eventually lose all ability to connect with the material, and take their place within the swirling delirium of the Masque at the Labyrinth's core.

Blood Spirits
(Teneblemurae Cruoredax)

Habitat:Range:

Nature:

Astral

w/in Fx100m of Sentients

Aztlan Territories

Bod	Qks	Str	Chr	Int	Wll		Ess		Reaction
F+1	(F+2)x3	F-2	0	F	F		F		1D6+F+1

Attacks: F Dice (F)M Melee Attack

Powers:

Alienation, Essence Drain (14 Max Ess), Fear, Guard.

Weaknesses:

Essence Loss (1pt/Day).

Blood Spirits often appear as clouds of blood-red mist or hideous humanoids with claws, wings, and hooked beaks. Like Vampires, Blood Spirits must drain the essence of living victims to maintain their existence, regardless of weather they are conjured, bound, free, allies, or toxics. They are not truly Spirits Of The Restless Dead, rather Spirits of Death itself. No PC Necromancer may summon or control such spirits, and even the blackest of corrupt NPC Necromancers generally know only rumors about such beings.

Gheisrheid
(Teneblemurae Catervae)

Habitat:Range:

Nature:

Astral

Under Open Sky

Worldwide

Bod	Qks	Str	Chr	Int	Wll		Ess		Reaction
F/2	FxF	F/2	0	F	2xF		1ea		Fd6+F

Attacks: (F)M + Special

Powers:

Inhabit *, Elemental Effect *, Animal Control, Astral Gateway, Fear, Manifestation, Perceptive, Weather Control, Search, Invulnrability, Momento Mori.

Weaknesses:

Allergy (Sunlight, Extreme), Obsessive/Compulsive, Blocked/Dispelled by "Holiness, Bloodlust.

"My name is Legion. For we are many." Toxic Ghosts of madness and bloodlust, the Gheisrheidi are unique among ectoplasmic entities in that they do not manifest singly... the Ichor of which their forms are made is shattered and fractured into myriad pieces. While they will function in most ways as a single Spirit of the given force level, they actually occupy individual forms of Force 1 each, 1 form per force of the composite Gheisrheid Spirit. Each "individual" within the pack uses the Attributes listed above (i.e., use the Force of the Pack for Attributes, rather than each individual's Force of 1) with the exception of Reaction... the Reaction rolled is for the pack as a whole, on any given action, the Hive Mind may determine WHICH individual body of the pack may act. Each "body" of the hive mind must remain within F² m of all other members of the Pack, or the straying individual dissipates, subtracting 1 from the Force of the Pack. Note that while the Pack counts as a single boun d spirit for the purposes of limits, if it Berserks, the Conjuror must make an opposed Willpower roll vs. DOUBLE the Pack's Force to avoid it going Free. While a Gheisrheid Pack normally manifests as spectral hounds or wolves, certain necromantic magics can bind them into physical forms. This is the ONLY case where they may use their Inhabit Power (which functions otherwise exactly like the Inhabit Power of the Loa). The Elemental Effect Power infuses a Manifest Gheisrheid pack-member's physical attack with a secondary elemental effect, following all rules for such from the Grimoire. When Conjured, the specific elemental effect is determined and locked in (Storm-related spirits might manifest Electrical effects... other possibilities are Impact, Acid, Cold, and very rarely flame). In general, Gheisrheid Packs can use one Power per Force rating of the pack.

Grim
(Teneblemurae Vigilaeses)

Habitat:Range:

Nature:

Astral

Special

Worldwide

Bod	Qks	Str	Chr	Int	Wll		Ess		Reaction
A+F	A+F	A+F	0	A	A		F		A+1d6+F

Attacks: As Animal, but w new Str

Powers:

Guard, Home Ground, Invulnrability, Emanation, Manifestation, Momento Mori, Perceptive, Search.

Weaknesses:

Allergy (Sunlight, Extreme), Bound to Home Ground, Must Defend Home Ground.

An artificially formed animal "ghost"... Grim are seldom overtly evil unless they somehow go "Free", and even then tend to harass and attack already corrupt/tainted individuals (waylaying them on dark roads in swamps or mountainsides seems a favored tactic). They appear astrally as a jet-black animal of whatever type they were derived from, but with glowing eyes and mouth. Typically, they are set to guard locations (especially graveyards) via Necromantic Conjuration/Enchantment.

Incubus
(Teneblemurae Impudicas)

Habitat:Range:

Nature:

Astral

Any

Worldwide

Bod	Qks	Str	Chr	Int	Wll		Ess		Reaction
F	F+2	F-2	Fx3	F	F-1		F		1d6 + F

Attacks: Special

Powers:

Masking, Dead Weight, Oneiromancy, Essence Drain, Invulnrability, Influence, Manifestation, Possession, Corruption (Influence).

Weaknesses:

Allergy (Sunlight, Extreme), Amnesia (Total), Essence Loss (1 F/Week), Obsessive/Compulsive.

Spirits of lust of all sorts (not just sexual), their origin is unknown, but the ichor flowing through them marks them as toxic ghosts. Incubi (or in female form Succubi) take the form of heart-stoppingly beautiful men (or women), and are notable for the fact that their Essence drain proceeds in an odd manner... whenever their target succumbs to lustful fulfillment with the Incubus (a junkie sharing drugs provided by an Incubus, for instance, or food to a glutton, etc.), the incubus infuses the victim with a shade (ichorous Phantasm) cast by the incubus. The victim then makes an opposed roll of their Essence vs. the Force rating of ichor infesting their aura... if they have more net successes than the Force of the infestation, they take no effect, and the infestation dissipates in 1 day per rating. If they have more net successes than the Incubus, but less than the rating of the infestation, there is no effect, but the ichor only fades at 1 force per month. If the Incubus has mor e net successes, the victim loses 1 essence per net success to the Incubus. Note that Essence thus invested by the Incubus is sustained by the aura of the victim, and not subject to Essence loss, though if the incubus is reduced to ONLY this essence remaining, they can no longer physically manifest, and will be ravenous with hunger, though the invested essence does serve as an astral link for the Incubus to use its powers. Unconfirmed reports have indicated that certain rare Incubi have skill in sorcery or necromancy as well.

Mora
(Teneblemurae Cthonirae)

Habitat:Range:

Nature:

Astral

Any

Worldwide

Bod	Qks	Str	Chr	Int	Wll		Ess		Reaction
N/A	N/A	N/A	2*F	F	F+3		F		1d6 + F

Attacks: Special

Powers:

Astral Gateway, Masking, Oneiromancy, Essence Drain, Home Ground (Dreams), Invulnrability, Influence, Momento Mori, Corruption (Essence Drain).

Weaknesses:

Allergy (Sunlight, Severe), Body Ties, Obsessive/Compulsive, Essence Loss (1 F/Month).

The Ghost formed by a person who dies dreaming. The flare of ectoplasm signalling the creation of the Mora converts the corpse to inert protoplasm at a cellular level. While normal autopsies will not immediately detect this, the Mora's Corpse will not decay. The Body is, however, tied to the Mora, and cremation will break the bond and disperse the Mora. The Mora feeds by terrorizing its target in dreams... using its Oneiromancy Power, the Mora enters the dreams of its target, and transforms them into shocking nightmares... if its victim fails in a Will vs. Will test, they lose a point of essence to the Mora, take one box of Stun damage, and gain no rest from their sleep. A Mora's Astral Gateway power will only function to draw people into the Metaplanes of Dream, not into the normal "etheric" astral or any other Metaplane.

Nephelim
(Teneblemurae Nephelementae)

Habitat:Range:

Nature:

Astral

Any

Worldwide

Bod	Qks	Str	Chr	Int	Wll		Ess		Reaction
B	F	B	F	F	F		B		1d6 + F

Attacks: Melee, Engulf

Powers:

Alienation, Astral Gateway, Engulf, Invulnrability, Manifestation, Necromancy (Varies), Oracle, Timeslip, Weather Control.

Weaknesses:

Allergy (Sunlight, Extreme), Vulnrability (Silver, Iron).

Surely the oddest and most inexplicable of ichorous beings, the Nephelim appear to be the Ghosts of Elemental or Nature spirits. Somewhat more likely is that they are nature or elemental spirits tainted with ichor much the way ordinary toxicity creates Toxic Nature Spirits, but they appear in one form or another in folkloric accounts -- "Ghosts" of earth, or fire, or water, or air... or perhaps Land, Man, Waters or Sky... little observation has been done on these rare manifestations, but they appear to manifest by animating and vaguely anthropomorphisizing whatever materials are in their vicinity, and are invariably encountered in areas saturated with death-energies. Any given spirit can only manifest through a single natural or elemental source at a time, being forced to discorporate and reform in order to cross domain or material boundaries (i.e., a Nephelim manifesting within a stone form would be forced to stop and realign its material nature before it could cross onto a wooden floor... at which point it would be composed of wood.) The time honored transformation trick has been reported to have both succeeded and failed on different occasions (i.e., a Nephelim's quarry retreats across a paper floor, tricking the Nephelim into manifesting through paper, and in its weakness, become easily defeated. But it just as often DOESN'T work). A Nephelim can only manifest through materials with barrier ratings between 1/2 and 2x its Force rating... if its Force rating isn't great enough to manifest, it remains astral, if it's TOO great, the Force of the Manifestation drops to be within the boundary zone. An entry of "B" in the Attributes indicates the Barrier rating of the material basis of the Nephelim's manifestation. "Pure" elemental manifestations (un-worked earth, open water, open sky, or large fires) can travel 1 m per Force rating from their source, which must meet the Hermetic requirements for elemental conjuration. In these cases, "B" is taken as equal t o Force.

Reaper
(Teneblemurae Sanglais)

Habitat:Range:

Nature:

Astral

Cemetaries & Surrounds

Worldwide

Bod	Qks	Str	Chr	Int	Wll		Ess		Reaction
F+6	(2*F)xF	F+2	0	F	F+6		2*F		(F/2)d6+F

Attacks: F/2 Attack, [F+6]L Dmg, Reach

Powers:

(2*F+3) Combat Pool, Manifestation, Essence Drain, Fear, Alienation, Movement, Influence, Scourge *.

Weaknesses:

Body Ties, Essence Loss (1/wk), Obsessive/Compulsive, Unstable Ectoplasm, Bloodlust.

The origin and exact nature of these horrifying ichorous spirits are unknown: The three leading theories are that they represent particularly malignant Corrupt Charos, the artificially created ghosts of more predatory shapeshifters, or the toxic ghosts of mass murderers. They are predatory in the extreme, delighting in and feeding on terror and death. They appear to be robed and hooded figures with a "body" under the cloak that shifts form, size, proportion and skeletal structure in disturbing ways. They must manifest "within" a material object, just under the surface. By burning a point of essence, they can escape from the manifestation interface, ripping through to full manifestation. Their Essence Drain functions when an influenced living sentient murders another by a resisted roll of Force vs. victim's Essence, with the net successes pts of essence going from the loser to the winner. The Reapers OWN victims can not be used as a source of Essence. **The Reaper 's "physical" att ack is the manifestation of their ability to "tear" astral reality. In most cases, it appears to take the form of a large scythe, but this is by no means necessary for use of the power. If the Reaper determines to make the attack at F Power and with no Pool Dice added, the attack is handled as the Necromantic spell "Scourge". This attack may or may not be manifested physically as incidental damage at the Ghosts whim.

Shade
(Teneblemurae Umbravitiare)

Habitat:Range:

Nature:

Astral

Dark Places

Worldwide

Bod	Qks	Str	Chr	Int	Wll		Ess		Reaction
N/A	N/A	N/A	0	F	F		F/5		2d6+(2*F)

Attacks: Special

Powers:

Fear, Invulnrability, Momento Mori, Possession, Plasmorphosis.

Weaknesses:

Allergy (Sunlight, Extreme), Amnesia (Partial), Reduced Senses, Obsessive/Compulsive.

The Corrupt reflections of the Loa Travail or Apparitions, these "Work Baka" are the summoned servants of corrupt Bokor. Dark and twisted, nearly mindless Shades are Loa Travail or Phantoms in whom the ectoplasmic base of their being has soured and been corrupted for one reason or another, and turned them evil. Shades are generally, though not always, directly in the service of the Labyrinth and the Baka-Bokor and Sluagh who obey its dictates, and follow all general rules related to both their "physical" stats (which are identical to Watchers) and their Ichorous forms. When Bound by Congo-Vodoun Necromantic Rites into a Physical shell, a Shade devours the soul of its target and becomes a Brollachan (cf). Note that while rare, some Shades ARE formed spontaneously by tainting of an Apparition (in most cases, an Apparition converting to Ichor de-stabalyzes and disintegrates) -- such Shades are just as evil and mindless as their Baka counterparts.

Wraith
(Teneblemurae Metusumbra)

Habitat:Range:

Nature:

Astral

Varies

Worldwide

Bod	Qks	Str	Chr	Int	Wll		Ess		Reaction
F+6	(F+8)x3	F+2	F	F+1	F+6		12		1d6+F+3

Attacks: Special

Powers:

Confusion, Fear, Invulnrability, Influence, Magical Resistance, Magic Sense, Manifestation.

Weaknesses:

Allergy (Sunlight, Extreme), Amnesia (Partial), Reduced Senses, Obsessive/Compulsive.

Wraiths appear as an amorphous black or dark gray spirit, commonly taking one of two forms. In astral space, it appears as a cloud of black or deep gray mist/smoke roughly one meter in diameter and illuminated from within by a deep violet or ultraviolet light. In astral space the wraith moves by stretching a tendril of its "mass" in the direction it wishes to move, then flowing through the tendril. Wraiths manifest as either a "cloud" as in the astral form, or in an anthropomorphic form bearing a distinct resemblance to a tall, dark figure wearing tattered robes. A faint light (again in the deep violet to ultraviolet range) shows within the "hood" but does not distinguish features. Wraiths are generally free spirits (see pg. 76, Grimoire 2), and as such use a Spirit Energy Rating. The wraith's Spirit Energy begins at 0, then increases by 1 point for every box of Stun or Physical damage a victim under its influence does to another living being or inanimate structure. The wraith can have a maximum Spirit Energy Rating equal to twice its Essence.