Supernatural Guide

'Souls Beliefs?

'Souls does not have an official stance as to whether or not there are gods and goddesses or a singular god in the game -- characters are free to adhere to any belief system or none at all. Belief in nature gods/goddesses, various personal religions, as well as human religions, have been popular in the past. Religious and spiritual beliefs are not scrutinized or terribly important in-game, but they may be central to an individual character. There is no predominant belief system at 'Souls.

Realism is Key

While it may seem counter-intuitive given the title of this guide, 'Souls is not a game in which overt and heavy supernatural or magical elements are tolerated. Despite the existence of werewolves and rather liberal application of pseudo-scientific elements, the core of 'Souls has always been a mostly realistic game. Your character cannot be a spell-casting mage or control the elements or anything like that -- when we incorporate supernatural elements into the game, it is done in the most underhanded manner possible.

Mysticism, shamanism, and so forth are tolerated and accepted in game to some degree. As a writer, you are free to have your character pursue religious and spiritual pursuits in-game. However, this is a somewhat delicate issue. The vast majority of "magical" elements allowed in game are presumed to be "powered" by that particular character's faith or belief rather than actual, literal magic and spell-casting -- in other words, it is your character's sincere belief that they are performing magic and your ability as a writer to bend the universe (slightly) to suit the situation.

For example, while it is perfectly acceptable to have a character who is into witchcraft and performs spells, this cannot have an actual and literal effect on the game. Your character can't cast a rain spell and have rain show up because of the spell. Elemental control and supernatural abilities to this extent are prohibited within the game.

However, there is nothing stopping your character from casting this rain spell and for a rain storm to come about naturally and for your character to believe they caused the rainstorm. In essence, you as a writer are controlling the situation to fit your character's expectations, thus leading them to believe they are the cause of the rain. Of course, if you repeatedly have things work out perfectly to your character's spells' expectations, even if these things are innocuous and natural as rain, this may be considered powerplay of the world, and you may be asked to tone it down.

Where this is concerned, it is natural elements of the world or an element of the character's psyche that are malleable and able to be changed, not your character's actual ability. For example, while a spell-caster can call in a rain storm, it would be against the game rules for the character to call in fire sprouting from their fingertips, as such a thing is completely unnatural and cannot realistically happen.

Similar examples include characters that believe they are being possessed by a demon, but where such possession is a personal delusion as there are no canonic in-game gods or demons, and the character who believes they have predicted the future by interperting tea leaves and the prediction turning out to be true. For the latter, players are again reminded to be careful so as to not step into the territory of "too many coincidences," which may be considered powerplay.

Spectral Beings

There are three types of spectral beings in the 'Souls canon: minor spirits, ghosts, and spirit guides. Only ghosts can be played as actual characters. Minor spirits and spirit guides are restricted to NPCs. Spirit guides are further restricted to current and past members of AniWaya.

• Minor spirits, or lost souls, are weaker creatures that don't remember who they were in life. They tend to have very minimal visual representations, often appearing very transparent or not at all, only manifesting as a voice or a breeze. They were very close to the "afterlife" and are often unable to tell if they are speaking to other dead or the living. Minor spirits tend to be unstable and unable to maintain a long presence in the "living" world.
• Ghosts are the ethereal forms of specific, once-living individuals. They are capable of limited visual representation, often appearing in a semi-transparent form, and are generally halfway between the "afterlife" and the "living world," with a limited ability to traverse between the two. Ghosts have a tendancy to drift with little control over their destination, though many will find themselves tied to physical locations that were important to them in life. Ghosts are much more stable than minor spirits, but are still rather limited in their abilities.
• Spirit guides are transcended souls with little or no ties left to their once-living self or specific life. They exercise great control over their visual representation and are capable of limited physical representation. Spirit guides are firmly entrenched in the "living world" with no desire to interact with their fellow dead. Spirit guides as companions/NPCs are restricted to current and past members of AniWaya though they are capable of interacting with any character.

Not all creatures become spectres upon death. An individual does not necessarily choose to return as a spectre, but various motivations may contribute to it. Creatures returning to the living world as minor spirits or ghosts tend to have unfinished business -- they may return out of a strong desire to see or comfort loved ones, to guide descendents, or to hurt enemies. After many, many long years, often centuries, some minor spirits and ghosts may graduate into spirit guides, which are benevolent, ancient souls who have since given up their grievances and let go of their burdens from life. These spirit guides will ground themselves in the living world, remain there to help the living, and grow more powerful than other spectres.

Spectral beings can be of any species, though herbivores and prey animals more often become minor spirits, while canines and other carnivorous predators become ghosts, if they become anything at all. Both minor spirits and ghosts may eventually become spirit guides, so the species of spirit guides widely vary.

The rest of this section will concentrate exclusively on ghosts. For more information on spirit guides, please see the information on AniWaya's website.

Strength

Ghosts have a source of power, usually derived from a strong connection to living individuals or a particular area of land. For example, a ghost with strong ties to its pack may experience the most strength within its packlands; a ghost with strong ties to its family may experience the most strength while in close proximity with its relatives. Ghosts may also derive power from other ghosts or specific inanimate objects.

Ghosts may find it more difficult to manifest and exert themselves when separated from their power source. For all ghosts, appearing visibly to the living, speaking with the living, and any other such interaction with the living world requires energy. As this is a finite resource, eventually a ghost must take time to recharge itself. Different ghosts will have different abilities -- some are only able to appear for a brief time, and cannot communicate with the living. Others are able to fully possess the living.

Appearance

Ghosts' ability to manifest themselves visually can vary -- some cannot be seen at all and remain invisible to the living. Others can only manifest themselves to believing individuals, very spiritual individuals, or individuals with whom they share a strong bond, as it takes much less energy to do so. Many ghosts appear semi-transparent, but others may be strong enough to appear completely solid. A ghost's appearance is generally the same as it was in life, though this can also vary. Most ghosts will appear as they were at their time of death, though some may also appear younger. It's very rare for a ghost to appear older than when they died, but not impossible. A traumatic event may cause a ghost to change its appearance and take a considerable drain on its energy.

Death and the Afterlife

Recently deceased ghosts that manifest in the living world may not immediately realize that they are dead. They may be confused and uncertain of their own identity for a while, and their knowledge of the passage of time is hazy. Months can pass like minutes, and it can be difficult for them to identify their location. It can take some ghosts a long time to acclimate to the idea that they are dead while others adapt almost immediately. Ghosts are essentially spectres with one foot in the spirit world and one foot in the living world, and they may languish in the living world for years, only occasionally drifting into the "afterlife." Eventually, most ghosts will disappear back into the "afterlife" for good.

The afterlife itself is required to remain vague. Ghosts are not allowed to definitively state what the afterlife is like, or if there is one at all. 'Souls has no official stance on the afterlife, and we'd much prefer that ambiguity remain.

Communication with the Living

Ghosts can choose to communicate with the living in a variety of ways. Most speak telepathically, with the ability to broadcast spoken word, as well as images or general ideas, to other ghosts or the minds of the living. Such speech is not actually heard outside of the mind, though individuals may still interpert the words as having been spoken. The living cannot reply in this manner; they must communicate with the dead with their vocal cords as they would any with living being. A living individual's level of belief and spirituality may determine their ability to understand and interpert a ghost's communications, though the ghost's strength also factors in.

Possession

Very strong ghosts are able to possess the living -- however, this requires an extremely strong ghost with a very close tie to the character intending to be possessed or an open invitation to the ghost from the individual in question. Most ghosts find it extremely disorienting to be in a living body at first -- they may not be able to speak or stand at all, and it generally takes several minutes for the ghost to become accustomed to a live body. This is extremely draining and cannot be sustained indefinitely. OOCly, permission for possession must be cleared with the intended possessed character's player.

Restrictions

1. Played ghosts must be former played characters. NPC ghosts are allowed within reason. See the first example.
2. Ghost characters are not permitted to definitively state what the afterlife is like, or if there is one at all. See Death and the Afterlife.
3. Anyone playing a ghost wishing to take possession of another living character must obtain permission from the character's player.

Examples

• Stormy encountered two ghosts on Storm's territory named Agatha and Seth. They had lived in Storm's territory a really long time before Storm was Storm. These ghosts became recurring NPCs, and showed up a few times. The ghosts were unable to communicate with speech -- instead, they communicated by broadcasting "images" and thoughts. Their touch did not provide sensation, rather a vague coldness. Agatha ends up showing Taaktuq Piqaluyak some disturbing images of her mother, causing a minor freak-out. ^{1, 2}
• When Rashmi dies, Stormy returns as a ghost to come and get her and take her away. Stormy scares someone in the former Haunted Forest territory and thinks it's some kind of "opening" between worlds; she mentions she has not seen her dead family in the afterlife and they went to different places. Though Stormy is in the presence of all the other living Storm wolves, no one sees her, and Stormy can't really understand what they are saying, either (their voices are very faint). ¹
• Ruby, Rashmi, and Voidfane, all dead members of various Bleeding Souls packs, returned as ghosts. At first, Ruby does not realize she is dead nor does she know who she is. Voidfane speaks of having gone to a place other than Ruby and Rashmi in death; Rashmi mentions that she and Stormy were in the same "place" after her death, together. ¹
• Damian de le Poer returns as a ghost to find his former mate, Misery, on Chimera's territory; at first, he does not realize he is dead. Damian also cannot smell. ¹