Other Realm Ghosts

Spirits from other realms besides the Magic realm can be summoned and bound to a living corpse. If a magus is making a living corpse instead of becoming one, he can decide which type of ghost to summon, bearing in mind that spells and devices must be realm-specific. For example, if he wants to summon and bind a Divine ghost, spells and enchanted devices must be invented to target Divine spirits. All such spells will still be Rego Mentem spells, but a Rego Mentem spell designed to summon a ghost affiliated with the Magic realm (Magic Might) will not work on a ghost affiliated with any other realm.

A necromancer attempting to become a living corpse without assistance also faces the possibility that his spirit will not become a ghost connected to the Magic realm. If his spirit becomes a Divine or Infernal ghost, the enchanted devices he constructed to trap and bind the spirit will not work, unless he has had the foresight to instill powers aimed at a creature of those realms. Because suicide is a sin, it is highly unlikely that a necromancer's spirit will become a Divine ghost, but anything is possible in the ineffable machinations of the Divine.

Specific mention must be made of Faerie ghosts, which are not exactly ghosts but faeries occupying the role of a ghost. Made of glamour, like other faeries, such an entity is not made of the same immaterial substance, whatever that substance is, as other ghosts. It is more theoretically likely that a necromancer's spirit would change into a true ghost — Magic, Divine, or Infernal — than into glamour that then assumes the role of a ghost. But Mythic Europe is by nature mystical, and it could be possible within its ambiguous cosmology for a spirit to change into glamour. Such decisions must be determined by individual troupes, taking into account the nature of the necromancer character.

Divine Ghosts

Classifying Divine ghosts is difficult. They are neither angels nor saints, nor can any theologian state definitively how they fit into the celestial hierarchy. In medieval stories, Divine ghosts often take the form of holy men, which further blurs the distinction between them and saints. While a Divine ghost is not a saint and is not venerated, it usually has similar powers.

A Divine ghost typically can recall all of its former memories. Rather than revolving around an ideal, specific memory, or tragic reenactment, a Divine ghost is usually created to advance God's plan. The most common example is a Divine ghost warning its former loved ones against some evil or impending doom. A player character Divine ghost won't have this heavenly foresight, and may instead act as wise companion or spiritual guide to his former friends and sodales. Due to his Divine nature, he is unable to commit an evil or selfish act.

Use the method described previously to determine the Divine Might of the ghost, cross-referencing the character-lev-

el-role that the ghost will play against the power-level of your saga. Unlike a Magic ghost, a Divine ghost is not able to augment its Might through additional Virtues or Qualities. A Divine Ghost's powers are similar to a saint's and created the same way (Realms of Power: The Divine Revised Edition, page 89). Select powers whose total point cost equals the ghost's Divine Might divided by five.

Infernal Ghosts

An Infernal ghost is a damned soul whose spirit is allowed to wander the material world. Its essence is the same immaterial substance that other realm ghosts are made from, not the "invisible smoke" that makes up a demon's spiritual form. While not originally demons, Infernal ghosts fit within the same Infernal hierarchy and must occupy one of the nine Infernal orders described in Realms

An Infernal ghost has all of the memories and passions that it had in life, allowing the player to utilize every Personality Trait of the character. Unless otherwise commanded, however, an Infernal ghost can only act on the evil Personality Traits, or use his passion to commit evil deeds. This could be a difficult role for a player, who cannot aid and assist his former allies directly, although a clever player could calculate methods to indirectly aid his companions. Being evil doesn't necessarily dictate that the ghost isn't civil, and he could maintain a degree of social interactivity with other magi.

If you need to create an Infernal ghost, determine its Might the same way you would for a Divine ghost. You must then assign the ghost to one of the nine orders; the troupe will need to determine which order best suits the necromancer's ghost, based on the character's past and personality. A wicked magus might fall under the order of the Vessels of Iniquity, a necromancer trying to mimic God's miracles — like creating a type of life — might become a Deluder, and an exceptionally violent necromancer might become a Fury. An Infernal ghost automatically receives the Obsession power (Realms of Power: The Infernal, pages 31–33). Additional powers depend on the ghost's order, including any additional Virtues and Flaws that order may include.

Faerie Ghosts

As mentioned, there is no such thing as a "faerie ghost," only a faerie occupying the role of a ghost. Because faeries are near-perfect actors, this distinction is as immaterial as the faerie itself. A faerie ghost anchors itself around a particular story of the necromancer's past, continually replaying the story for new audiences and hoping to pull participants into the yarn. More cognizant faeries, those who know that changing the story allows them to change, eventually aug-

ment the favorite tale to allow for personal growth.

Even though this is a faerie and not a ghost, it is still bound by the Hermetic enchantments that bind it to an animated corpse, provided that those enchantments are designed to target Faerie realm spirits. A faerie ghost's Form should be Mentem, so the enchantments described previously will still work.

Creating a faerie ghost player character is exactly the same as creating a faerie player character, and the player will need to use the rules provided in Realms of Power: Faerie. A player character faerie's Might always starts at 5; ignore any rules given in this chapter for determining the Might of a ghost. The faerie must take the Flaw Intangible Flesh, but other Virtues and Flaws can be selected as desired. Pretenses and powers should be designed that aid the faerie in the particular tale it wants to re-enact, and the player may focus on certain Abilities and spells that the necromancer had in life, which are now mirrored and amplified with faerie Pretenses and powers.