Sneak Peek: Specters (Patreon)

A specter is defined as a spiritual entity that is of mortal origin that lacking a soul. When mortals experience emotions, they can leave behind powerful imprints in the astral realm.  These imprints can sometimes take on a mind of their own, becoming specters.

Emotions in the material world can taint places in the astral realm. If enough of any specific emotion is experienced frequently and intensely enough in any given location that emotion can congeal as a sort of astral miasma, permeating even the physical world to a degree. From this mass of emotion, specters can take shape.

Sometimes, in death, mortals also leave behind an imprint, filled with the emotions of their final moments. These spiritual footprints become ghosts and phantoms, the snapshot of the dead mortal, left to wander the astral realm.

Depending on the circumstances of their creation, shades can boast a wide array of intelligence, ranging from bestial and primitive to as complex as any human. The emotions that spawned them also dictate their general behavior and attitudes, with those formed from negative emotions being parasitic, hostile and malicious, while those formed from positive or melancholy emotions can be curious, shy or child-like.

All specters are incorporeal by nature and tend to stay within the astral realm.  However, some of them, particularly those created from human deaths, can manifest with an exertion of will and power. Typically, the only way to force specters to manifest is by providing them a large source of mana, which allows them to take corporeal form. While corporeal, specters can be harmed slightly by conventional means.

Specters, both corporeal and incorporeal, are harmed by wraithbane and the material is definitively solid to them. Even passing contact with wraithbane can cause severe pain or even kill some specters. Wraithbane amulets can likewise be used to protect an individual from direct attack from specters.