A new special ability anyone can take:
Meat Lock.
Pay 2 coin to get a tattoo with special inks done by an expert trained whisper, roughly the size of a palm. As long as the tattoo is on the character, the character cannot be possessed by a ghost. The meat lock also counts as a fine item in repelling other supernatural possession effects.
Seems a little OP to me; or at least, it seems like every single person in employ of the Empire worth more than a Coin or two would have this. All the Hounds (not the character class, but the Hounds mentioned in Ghostlines, all exploring the deathlands in the name of the Empire). Rail Jacks above a certain pay grade would all have these. They’d be crazy not to. (OK, so not all of them then.)
I would think it would be more like +1d and +1 effect level when resisting possession. But that’s just my preference.
Sure, that’s a way to go. I think the other way to go is in limiting who knows how to do it. I specified that it needs a trained expert plus special inks to do it. Also, of course, it’s expensive as hell.
In my version of Duskwall, I’m also okay with people who regularly deal with ghosts having ways available to them (for an expense of coin, circumstantial effort of locating people, and also 8 experience for a special ability) of protecting themselves.
Ghosts can still kill them with telekinesis, by possessing others to attack them, with illusions, etc. Just not possess them.
And, of course, all these are optional. This is stuff I’m thinking about for my setting. =)
Fair enough. As long as it doesn’t take the sting out of ghosts! Which, as you point out, it wouldn’t. I wonder if civvies having this would be in hot water with the law. That’s also a fun feature of it.
Charlie Vick Yes, like if it was only given with the permission of the church, and it had religious significance. But some rogue scientist/artists make it more broadly available on the sly.
Another possibility would be to have the ritual tattoo cut into the spirit as well, so it couldn’t be burned out. And also charge 1 Trauma for it.
I would add that this is a cool idea!
My take on it would be if you need to be tattooed with ink that is made of spectral electroplasm stolen from the particular (kind) of spirit in question trying to possess you.
Usually it is very specific.
Thus it only behooves you to have ‘Ghostblood tattoos’ of spirits you most certainly don’t want to be possessed by. As you soon run out of skin.
I like Andrew’s amendment that each tattoo has a stress/trauma cost too.
This also implies a group of whispers that collect said ‘samples’ of electroplasmic blood for the spectral tattoo scene.
Possession is a poor people problem. 😀
Ben Jarvis Damn straight, have to keep the flow of capitalism going after all and you don’t want too good of a product otherwise there is no repeat business. Lets make sure to have those inks fade in time so we can continue to re-apply the tattoo and either charge a maintaince fee or flat out another tattoo cost.