Ghost, Variant (5e Race)

The Ghost

This content deviates from 5e standards. Its use could dramatically alter campaigns, take extreme care.

Caution - Here there be monsters! This content intends to provide a different experience, or goes beyond the scope of the anticipated subjects and situations, than the 5e rules were intended to handle. Some portions of the content below may not be what you expect from traditional game content. When implementing this content, DMs and Players should read over all the information carefully, and consider the following specific notes of interest:

I know this race is not balanced and very quirky. It is intended to be that way. Many things are sourced from the Ghost and sometimes slightly altered. I intent to use this race on a bard with the college of tragedy with a heavy emphasis on the roleplaying aspect.
Although I do not recommend giving this race to a min-maxer, remember, undead creatures cannot be healed by some magic like healing word or cure wounds.
This is just a heads up to DMs checking out this race. Just be careful as to whom you allow to play this race.

Physical Description

RICH CAREY - https://www.artstation.com/artwork/8lQGZO

Ghosts are flickering remnants of their past lives, appearing as they did before death, however they are now transparent and have a coloured tinge to them that drowns out all color of their body. This tint varies in tone for multiple reasons, From pure white of those that died peacefully to red of those dying in a fire, green if poisoned, blue if water was their ending or yellow if thunder.

Ghosts are very different from most of the undead: the difference to the lich is that they didn't ask for becoming undead, at least not directly. Mummies also have a mission to fulfill, but their corpse got conserved by some mean. Zombies lost their will and are forced to submit to other beings. Ghosts died and lost their body, but the will to fulfill their last pendant was so intense that death could not take their spirit: Ghosts are basically coming to terms with death and rejecting it, just to get a second chance.

Most ghost's appearance tends to reflect how it died. For example, a ghost that had drowned in a previous life may be dripping with glowing water droplets that disappear as soon as they hit the ground. A ghost that died in battle may still have the wounds it sustained in life- open and flowing with silver blood. A ghost that died while sleeping will keep its eyes closed, but will see perfectly.

Similarly, if the ghost instead is more transfixed by guilt or regret at its previous life it is instead wrapped in ethereal chains. This is because the image of a ghost is controlled by its own mental state and such transduction with death or regret manifests in its image on the Material Plane.

It is possible for ghosts to be completely free of regret or transfixed by its death, but it would mean that the only thing tying it to the Material Plane is the ghost's own willpower, which makes its bond to the Material Plane weaker than the other two types of ghosts. This ghosts tend to disappear soon after being formed.

History

Ghosts were the souls of a deceased sentient creature that had been bound to haunt a specific area, object, or creature that held significance to them when they were alive. Often this state of existence was because of a soul having been horrendously evil in life, their deaths being tremendously emotional, being denied a proper burial, or because they had unfinished business.

Attitudes and Beliefs

A ghost's behavior is typically similar to the personality they had in life. But in some cases, their personalities were altered by the process of death. Some seek meaning in their undeath. Some Ghosts know why they are still bound to the material plane. Ghosts come in all beliefs and attitudes, but most of the time their beliefs changed to an a little less serious version of themselves when they became undead.

Ghost Names

Ghosts often take the name they had before their death. However, some take on the name of the goal they are trying to achieve in their new unlife.

Ghost Traits

Death is less permanent than you think.
Ability Score Increase. One of your ability scores increases by two, and one other increases by one. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Age. A ghost can "live" for a very long time as they can remain on the Material Plane as long as their willpower allows them, though they usually pass on after they fulfill a goal they could not accomplish in life.
Alignment. Ghosts vary in alignment and can have any. Most are Lawful though, because they seek to fulfill a goal they couldn't fulfill in life.
Size. Ghosts have no weight and are as tall as they were in life. Your size can either be Small or Medium.
Speed. Your speed is 30 feet. You can hover 1 feet over the ground, but can't fly. If you end your turn more than 1 feet over the ground, you start falling.
Ethereal Sight. You can see into the Ethereal Plane, all out to a range of 30 feet.
Undead Nature.

• Your creature type is undead.
• You do not need to eat, drink, or breathe.
• You do not need to sleep. When you take a long rest, you must spend at least six hours doing light activity rather than sleeping.
• You are immune to being poisoned and you are immune to poison damage.
• (optional) You are immune to necrotic damage but vulnerable to radiant damage.
  Ethereal Form. Thanks to your ethereal form, certain advantages and limitations have been granted to you. You may now move through any creature or object as if it were difficult terrain, taking 1d10 force damage if you end your turn inside a creature or object. In exchange, you can only carry ten specific items on your person, which you must spend a long rest trying to incorporate into your ethereal form with any kind of armor equipped taking up four, and clothes as one of these limited item slots. It'll take a short rest to remove an item from your form, the item returns to its original physical form, freeing up an item slot.

If you are not holding anything else, and you are not concentrating on a spell, you are also able to concentrate on holding a single item you have not incorporated into your ethereal form for a limited amount of time. (As you and your DM see fit)

Interacting with objects can lead to difficult situations for a ghost. Even pulling a lever or catching a ball can be troublesome since your form is only slightly able to stop, pull or push things before phasing through it. You might be able to stop a ball midair, but not to hold it for more than a few seconds as the ball splashes against your hand, crushing it like water or ectoplasm and sliding down your form, unless you really concentrate.

Mundane Tasks like that can require you to roll any kind of ability check. If your DM decides you have to roll such an ability check, you roll them at disadvantage.
Incorporeal Fortitude. You have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks. Weapons just slide through you, only ripping small parts of your ethereal form with them as if they were hitting some kind of slime or thick air.
Pull of the Ethereal. When you drop to 0 hit points you are pulled towards the afterlife. When this happens your death saving throws become wisdom saving throws with a DC of 12. On three successes you immediately regain one hit point, and the DC for the death saving throws increase by 5. On three failures you are permanently pulled into the afterlife, and you cannot be revived with anything short of a resurrection spell. On a long rest, the DC resets to 12.
No Organs. You are not affected by exhaustion and bleeding.
Languages. You can write, read and speak Common and one other language of choice.

5.00

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