Xia: Parchment Eating Phantom

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Description

Most ghosts encountered are the spirits of dead humans, whose descendants failed to show proper respect for them, or whose graves were desecrated. However, human ghosts are not the only sort.

It is also possible for ghosts to form from the destruction of animals, or even things. The Parchment Eating Phantom, foe example, is a ghost of lost knowledge, created when a repository of rare knowledge (such as a famed library) is spitefully and purposefully destroyed.

The phantom, when visible, has a vaguely humanoid form and could be mistaken from a distance to be an elderly scholar. The scholar will show some marks of how the knowledge was lost. As an example, if a library was destroyed by fire (which is most often the case) then the scholar would have burnt skin.

On closer approach the phantom is more clearly not human. In place of eyes it has gnashing sharp teeth in its eye sockets, and the ghostly gauze from which it is made is semi-transparent.

Parchment Eating Phantoms are feared because they seem driven to repeat the process of their own destruction, and thus multiply their kind. An arson-born ghost, would therefore seek to burn libraries, while one born of a flooded scroll-store would summon torrential downpours that ruin scrolls and books.

Traits

• Physical 2
• Mental 3
• Social 1

Demon Trigrams

• Hell 2 (equivalent to Heaven)
• Chaos 2 (equivalent to Fire)
• Storm 2 (equivalent to Wind)
• Lightning 2 (equivalent to Thunder)
• Mud 2 (equivalent to Earth)
• Blood 2 (equivalent to Water)
• Smoke 2 (equivalent to Mist)
• Bone 2 (equivalent to Mountain)

Demon Trigrams can be channelled in the same way normal "natural" trigrams can (i.e. Hell for Accuracy, Chaos for Power, etc.)

However, they provide none of the other benefits that the natural trigrams normally do. For example, having a high Blood Trigram doesn't give protection against Fire-based Trigrams in the same way that a high Water Trigram would. Also, significantly. Demon Trigrams don't provide Yang Chi or Yin Chi.

Chi Pools

• Demon Chi 12

Demon Chi is spent to activate monster powers and to channel Demon Trigrams. It is not interchangeable with Yang Chi or Yin Chi.

Resilience Pools

• Physical Resilience 12
• Mental Resilience 16
• Social Resilience 14

A Hungry Ghost is immune to physical effects of most sorts - weapons and fists just pass straight through them! To harm a hungry ghost in physical combat requires a weapon blessed by Tao Alchemists using the Burn the Hungry Ghost spell.

A Xia with a ghost-banishing spell of some sort can engage in Mental Conflict to try to return the ghost to its grave, where it will sleep and become a restful ancestor again.

For Xia without recourse to such spells, Social Conflict is the best bet, cajoling, intimidating or persuading the ghost into leaving them alone. Ghosts don't really respond to human social cues though - the best tactic is to convince the ghost of promises of offerings to its grave, or to remind it of the man it used to be. A successful Social Conflict will persuade the ghost to leave, though it may return again another night.

Kung Fu Secrets

• Manifesation

A Hungry Ghost can choose to be invisible or manifest at the start of each round, at no cost. If manifest, it can make physical attacks (though it remains immune to them). If invisible, it cannot make physical attacks, though it can still perceive its surroundings, and can still speak audibly. Striking physically at an invisible ghost is at -4 Accuracy. This penalty can reduce Accuracy to 0.

The spell No Mind allows the elementalist to see the ghost as if it were visible. The spell Reveal True Form will force an invisible ghost to become manifest, and prevent it from becoming invisible for the rest of the conflict. To use Reveal True Form the elementalist need only know that the ghost is present - exact location is not needed.

• Energy Drain

As an action, a Hungry Ghost can make a mental attack. Instead of dealing mental resilience damage, however, it steals 1 Yang Chi per point of damage, converting it into the same amount of demon chi. It can only use this attack while manifested.

• Creeping Fear

As an action, a Hungry Ghost can make a mental attack that deals mental resilience damage. It can use this attack while manifested or invisible. This attack power's forms vary, for example: blood dripping out of walls, items flying about or just a creeping sensation of unnatural dread. A target reduced to 0 Mental Resilience by this attack is overcome with unnatural fear, and will run hysterical and screaming from the ghost.

Credits

Asklepios 03:58, 13 January 2009 (PST)