Editing DFRPG Ghosts:Echoes and Phantoms (section)

==Haunts==

While Echoes nearly always suffer from restrictions on their manifestation, such as a specific time or place, this is fairly rare for Phantoms.  Some Phantoms, however, suffer the problem of too ''much'' attachment; so much so that they have little freedom of movement, forever tied to a particular person, a family line, a specific place, or an object like an heirloom.

These Phantoms are called Haunts (or "Haints", if you are in the Southern US), and the subjects of their attachment are variously called by terms such as anchors, fetters, or bindings.  They are tragic entities, as they are trapped much like an Echo, but with the misery of being able to wish otherwise. 

'''Note: An active Haunt is probably not a good choice as a player character, given how restricted they are, but an ''exorcised'' Haunt might be.  Just make it like an ordinary Phantom with an appropriate background.  And of course Haunts work just fine as NPCs.

It's worth noting that a Haunt has a deep magical bond with whatever anchors it to this world, a bond that can sometimes overcome the Thresholds that affect most supernatural creatures:

* A Haunt that is tied to a static place with a Threshold is automatically "invited" across it.
* A haunt fettered to something mobile, such as a person or an object, will have an automatic invitation across whatever Threshold the Anchor resides in at the moment of the Haunt's death.  They will not, however, automatically be invited when the subject enters a new Threshold.  Still, this is only a temporary obstacle to the Ghost; if the subject spends any extended time within any Threshold (cumulatively), that Threshold will gradually lose its effect over the ghost.

Exorcism is a bit of a last resort for a Haunt. The ideal (and only positive) outcome, assuming the ghost doesn't want to cease to exist, is that it severs the connection with the thing they haunt entirely, basically turning them into a normal Phantom.

Another possibility is that exorcism will strengthen a Threshold and "disinvite" the ghost, which isn't kind to them.  They are driven out and left stuck "on the outside looking in", compelled to return, but unable to accomplish it.   If the Phantom remains fettered to the subject of the exorcism, this is usually only temporary, but it is rather heartbreaking.

Unfortunately, the most likely outcome is that an exorcism will disperse a Haunt entirely, or turn it into an Echo.  Magic may alter the odds somewhat in the Ghost's favor, but it'd take quite a bit of time, effort, research, and dangerous experimentation for each case to sever a Haunt's ties without some risk of harming it.