Unbound Spirits
Overview
Description
When the new-born world of Ashandri was transported into the Braythian Void, it was cut off from the afterlife for five days. The souls of those who died during this time were captured in Ashandri, unable to pass on to their next state of existence. They turned into Unbound Spirits, a type of undead that is unique to Braythe. These ghost-like entities are solely created in the days a world is cut off. As soon as new conduits open, and the souls of the dead can move on to heaven and hell (and everything in between), no new Unbound Spirits are created in a world-island. While these beings appear to be not much different than ghosts and apparitions, there are three major distinctions. First of all, any kind of soul could have become an Unbound Spirit. This includes animals and even plants, funghi and mindless oozes. There are entire areas that come "alive" with these ghostly beings at night, like a hidden world that reveals itself only in darkness. The most infamous example for this is the Bloodhaunt Forest. Second, an Unbound Spirit cannot be released. Despite extensive research, nobody has found a way to allow these lost souls to enter their deserved afterlife. Unbound Spirits are only created during the first days of a new world in Braythe, and even after the world itself reconnects to other planes, these incorporeal entitities stay disconnected. This also led to their name: Sages from The Arcanists believe that every soul is inherently bound to other planes, and this link is the reason why mortal souls end up in heaven or hell. The Unbound Spirits, though, miss such a bond to other planes. Even divine intervention cannot help such a spirit to pass on. Some of them are lost in an eternity of suffering, others adapt and lead their unlife as good as they can. They still seem to be bound to the reality of Braythe, leading to heated discussions about the name "Unbound" among sages. The third great difference to regular ghosts is that most Unbound Spirits are very close to how they were before their death. Many of them, especially those with semi-sentience and below, don't even understand they are dead, and try to live their life as they did before. While many typical undead are evil or at least dangerous, Unbound Spirits don't change their alignment or develop a sudden bloodlust. They are simply lost souls trapped in the mortal world. They usually keep their previous abilities and knowledge, and can even learn new skills or change their world-views as they make new experiences. There seems to be no method to permanently kill an Unbound Spirit. A few ways to banish or imprison the lost souls have been found, but none of these truly destroy or release such a spirit. If an Unbound Spirit is somehow killed, it vanishes in violet smoke, only to reform and reappear in the following night.Creatures of the Night
With a few exceptions, Unbound Spirits only appear at night. In Ashandri, the Sky Emerald turns into the emerald moon at night. During the day, the lost souls aren't just hidden - they enter some kind of trance or dream world. Arcanists believe this is connected to the Sky Emerald itself, possibly a hidden dimensional layer of Braythe - but these are just theories. At dusk, they remember little to nothing of the hours before. They appear in the world as semi-corporeal entities. Physical objects and creatures pass through them, but they can still be felt, almost as if moving through cold water. They are translucent, but clearly visible, and they can speak with others (if they are capable of speech). Unbound Spirits that are at least semi-sentient (minimum Intelligence score of 3) can decide to become fully corporeal. They are still semi-transparent, but they can touch objects and living beings, and can be touched by others, as well. This also makes them vulnerable to normal physical damage. They can fully interact with the world and with other Unbound Spirits. When they disappear at dawn, any items they might have taken are simply left behind.Unbound Spirits appearing at day
Some Unbound Spirits are stronger than others - a few even have the strength to appear during the day. To be able to perform such a task, the spirit has to have at least 10 hit dice or levels, and an Intelligence and Wisdom of at least 8 (for each attribute). If these prerequisites are met, an Unbound Spirit can make a Wisdom Saving Throw at dawn. The check has a difficulty level (DC) of 10. If successful, the spirit can appear for some hours during the day. The number of hours equals either the being's Intelligence or Wisdom score (whichever is higher). The Unbound Spirit can decide at which time during the day it appears. But once it is manifested, it has to stay, or it cannot return during that particular day.Possession and symbiosis
An Unbound Spirit is capable of taking over a physical body. Most often, this means that a sentient soul forces itself into the living body of an unwilling victim, imprisoning the real "owner" in the depths of its own mind. But there is a wide variety of other cases. Spirits that take over objects, for example, and even symbiotic possession: Both souls exist within one body at the same time, working as a team.Object manifestation
Semi-sentient Unbound Spirits and above sometimes have the ability to recreate items of their past. These objects are products of their memories and their imagination, and the objects are always of great emotional importance to them. Only about 1% of all sentient Unbound Spirits have this ability to manifest objects, and they lose it as long as they possess a host body. The effect is similar to a Creation spell, but the item is translucent and can be of any normal matter. The maximum size of the object adds up to a number of 5-foot cubes equalling the Unbound's number of hit dice. Touching a manifested object is possible, but it feels as if there is a thin force field around it. Such items never have any magical or other special abilites, even though some of the lost souls believe they do. There are many different examples of object manifestations: A child's soul that always carries their favorite toy with it, a paladin who manifests an item resembling his holy sword or even a community of ghosts manifesting an entire ghost town.Former abilities and characteristics
An Unbound Spirit usually keeps all the abilities, immunities, vulnerabilities, etc. it had as a living being. Any powers granted by a higher being are subject to that higher entity's decision. Some deities or warlock patrons still grant their followers all their abilities even as Unbound Spirits, while others refuse to do so. Any powers that are meant to harm undead are lost, or replaced with a different ability of similar power.New abilities
Sometimes, Unbound Spirits gain new abilities from their undead state. These are usually, but not always, abilities that would have helped the entity to survive when it was still alive - either in general, or in the actual moment of its death. While some spirits have individual new powers, it is far more common that such traits appear for a whole type of Unbounds. In some cases, the abilities are clearly tied to groups of spirits. The individual, separated from the ghostly "community", does not have access to the new powers. But as soon as a certain number of individuals gather, something switches on the new traits. A good example of this are Spirit Meadows, where the individual plants have no special properties, but the field as a whole has.Favored locations
While Unbound Spirits are not truly bound to any location, many feel as they are. Whether it's the place of their death, a spot of great emotional value or simply their former home, almost all Unbound Spirits stick to these favored locations. It takes a lot of persuasion to convince a sentient spirit to leave such a place, even for short times. A few of these lost souls never had such a connection to any place, or instead feel connected to a person or item. And in some rare cases, Unbound Spirits managed to free themselves of any such bonds.Lone spirits, spirit groups and swarms
Unbound Spirits usually are as social as they were in their previous lives. Unbound Wolves often appear in packs, for example, and many cities are home to several spirits of humans and other intelligent races.Four types of Unbound Spirits
While Unbound Spirits all share a couple common traits, there are four distinct categories depending on what they were before death.Mindless Unbound Spirits
These mindless spirits are proof that all living things have a soul. Unfortunately, these souls are now trapped in the mortal world. Whether they were killed, or died of natural causes, they now appear every night to continue their existence. The most common Mindless Unbound are plants, fungi and animals with little to no Intelligence, like most insects and arachnoids. An Unbound Spirit is considered mindless if its Intelligence score is no higher than 2. They are unaware of their death, and continue their existence as if they never died. Sages speculate that there should be far more such spirits in the world. Many locations where plant life was destroyed during the first days are not "haunted" at all. The most common theory is that these spirits do exist, but they are too weak to break through the veil and appear during the night. If this is true, there might be countless Mindless Unbounds trapped in a dream-like existence, forever hidden from sight for mortals. Some Mindless Unbounds take over the bodies of living creatures, almost always of the same species. Usually, these possessions are symbiotic, but there are known cases of forced possessions, too. These hauntings seem to be hard to keep up for the spirits, and they usually end during daylight. Still, a few cases of permanent plant possessions have been recorded - Haunted Oaks are a more common example. The forced possessions seem to affect spirit and host in very negative ways as both are in a constant battle with each other. The following are examples of Mindless Unbound Spirits. Many more variations exist in Ashandri.Semi-sentient Unbound Spirits
These are the souls of smarter animals and beings with an above-animal intelligence, but not as smart as the regular Human. Intelligence scores range from 3-7. An example of semi-sentient Unbound Spirits are the Roggits - rabbit spirits that took possession of small rocks. Curiously, they break many of the rules that apply to other Unbounds.Sentient Unbound Spirits
With an Intelligence score between 8 an 20, most Sentient Unbound Spirits are humanoids or intelligent beasts like dragons. Some of them try to live their undead existence as if they were still alive, others try to take control of a physical body.Supreme Unbound Spirits
Many powerful entities from other planes roamed Virthys. Whether summoned and controlled or brought into the world through pacts with mortals, or simply having entered through planar portals: Angels, demons, elementals and other such creatures were not completely uncommon in the old world. And as it was true for all beings, some of these supreme beings made it to Ashandri - only to die in the first few days there. After they turned into Unbound Spirits, their connection to their original home plane is cut off so entirely that they do not even count as planar beings anymore.Roggits
Unbound Wolf
Unbound Commoner
Unbound Soldier
Unbound Vengeance Demon
Lifespan
Immortal (ageless undead)
Geographic Distribution
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