Ok, so I start my first session tomorrow. I’m playing with experienced players (in other games) who have done some of character creation pre-session. All of their stories we will tie together into a crew in session. There were a couple of questions I wanted to throw out for ideas first.
One of my players is from the internal lands of Severos, he’s from a clan and is a ghost hunting whisper. As part of character creation for friend he wants to have a friendly ghost. I obviously don’t want to say no, so have thought about options in the setting. Especially with how I can avoid overpowering a friend (I know I can reveal to them what I see appropriate to any roll but I want to make sure the fiction always seems genuine, so help with setting etc. is appreciated.)
Going by the inherent vengefulness of spirits and the quick speed a spirit will descend into that state, I was left with the following ideas for his friend
a) maybe it could be a reconciled spirit. Although extremely rare, it could be a newer reconciled, separate from the “faction” and not embroiled in their motives. I felt a member of the reconciled possessing a noble would have way too much knowledge too easy to access, possibly killing creativity. Compared to a a player with a pugilist with a few gang connections.
b) was maybe he could tap into the spirit field in a particular place or focus on a place in Severos, and contact/get a vision from a friendly entity but not without risk.
c) He has her bound somehow but she may not always fall under his authority to answer.
Ideas would be massively appreciated and any thoughts on consequences, as i’m still in the complete mind that even as a whisper there isn’t any security regarding spirits.
(Second sub question! What’s the general assumed preaching to common folk from the church of the Ecstasy of the flesh? Understanding that zealots exist, what’s the difference from the extreme to public norm.)
(Also what have your thoughts been on the immortal emperor in your games and where is the empire controlled from?)
That was longer than planned but cheers 🙂
I’d say he has the ghost as a contact. You could say the ghost has the Possess ability, so it needs to murder people by feeding on their essence.
If the ghost is bound to him, he’s responsible for providing the “food.” That would make him a serial killer.
Spirit wards exist in the world of Blades.
I played the Church as preaching physical well being (healthy eating, etc), raising many good children, and doing good deeds that will be remembered after you die. Zealots could be hedonists, or eugenicists seeking to improve humanity by eliminating the weak.
Yeah I like that, from what I gather the ghost could just feed until a new host is found. However what to do with the victims after their possession would be his problem and liable to attract heat.
I wouldn’t want him to end up a slave to his ghost either, having it affect sessions thinking he needs to capture someone to sustain in 🙂
I like the options for narrative progression though if the party were to find it a hollow and learn a ritual to make a vampire etc.
Nyryx (a ghost) is on the Whisper’s contact list. I’d have him mark Nyryx as friend (up tick) and talk a little about how they go back. When Nyryx appears, I think it’s reasonable to say that he isn’t struck with supernatural dread (as he’s become accustomed to this one spirit) but his crew probably would be. (You could of course also change the name if you like).
In a game with a number of ghost allies our whisper is currently struggling with watching them turn more violent and ravenous. You might play Nyryx as reconciled, but if the player is really into this story of having a ghost companion (maybe they were lovers or best friend with Nyryx was alive, or maybe Nyryx is the price he bears to honor an old oath) then watching the ghost turn feral and possibly trying to stop it could be a lot of fun (especially for a whisper who ostensibly has the means to do something about it).