Ghosts

**Ghost**

Token cost: None

Requirements: Only magical humans are capable of leaving a ghost after dying.

Ghosts are the spectral imprint of a deceased witch or wizard whose desperation to avoid death, or preoccupation with unfinished business in the real world, caused them to leave an echo of their former selves behind as they passed away.

**Roleplaying a Ghost:** Ghosts are partially static remnants of their former selves. Whilst they are capable of acquiring new memories and remembering their lives after becoming a ghost, they are not quite capable of of fully incorporating this knowledge into their personalities or behavior - the personality, opinions, and outlook of a ghost invariably reflect the person as they were at the point they died. Ghost habits are also very difficult to change, although not impossible - most find themselves haunting a single location or individual tied to them.

**Becoming a Ghost:** When making a graduate starter character, you may choose to be a ghost without applying. You may also apply to turn one of your player characters into a ghost. Becoming a ghost requires you to give up all worldly possessions, including purchased magical items and pets - these are typically inherited by a next of kin (who, if a player, must still pay token costs to claim them). **Any individual with an incomplete soul due to the creation of Horcruxes cannot become a ghost whilst their soul remains mutilated.**

**Ghost Abilities:** Ghosts are capable of moving through solids and liquids as though they weren't there, as well as flying unsupported. They may choose to exude a cold aura around themselves, which causes flames in their presence to turn blue. They are also capable of physically interacting to a limited degree with liquids and gases, disturbing a flame briefly by passing a hand through it, or causing a splash in water when passing through it.

**Ghost Drawbacks:** Ghosts cannot purchase or possess items, pets, or powers. They cannot interact with the physical world in any way except those mentioned above in **Ghost Abilities**, with the exception of those who possess the **Spectromancy** ability, and **no longer possess the magic they wielded in life**. Most crucially of all, becoming a ghost is an **irreversible** process: they are but an echo of their original self.

**Ghost Quirk:** Some rare few ghosts can use their spectral nature to replicate a certain element of their past and character of immense personal significance. When creating a ghost character, you may choose **one** of the following special Ghost Quirks to possess.

* *Ghost Animal:* Your self-image is so strongly tied to a beloved pet or animal companion that the image of that creature follows you into death. This ghost animal is an extension of your own nature, rather than a true separate ghost, and does not require the pet in question to be dead as a result. It cannot stray too far from you, and behaves much as you remember it to behave. It is otherwise subject to the same limitations and constraints as a typical ghost.
* *Signature Magic:* You may select a single power that you possessed in life, or a mastered spell, with a visual element. Although you no longer possess the magic to use the power or spell, you can replicate its visual effect **with no ability to affect the real world or people in it in any way, or gather information from it** - for example, a gifted firestarter might be able to produce spectral flames by taking Incendio as their signature magic. The visual effects of this ability fade rapidly if you are no longer present.
* *Signature Item:* You may select a single magical item that you possessed in life of such significant personal importance that a spectral echo of it manifests upon your person. It retains none of its magical abilities except for visual appearance - for example, a magical Weasley clock's hands would spin according to the ghost's perception of the state of each family member, rather than objective fact.