Some died. Some were broken. Some were never alive to begin with. But none of them let go.
Spirits are beings caught between life and something else, not truly dead, not fully living. Some once had bodies. Some had names. Others were torn from the world before they could ever define who or what they were. Regardless of origin, all spirits share one truth: they are tethered, to memories, to places, to people, to pain and they endure because of it.
Spirits in Elysium are as varied as the realms they drift through. Some haunt. Some serve. Some seduce. They are remnants, curses, and shadows that refused to fade. And though they are feared by many, not all spirits are malevolent. Many simply want to finish what life wouldn’t let them.
The approved Spirits that can be played without an application are: Ghosts, Demons, and Wraiths.
Any other spirit variant (e.g., soulforged constructs, divine phantoms, cosmic echoes, etc.) requires a character application for approval. If your spirit character wishes to gain magic beyond their racial abilities, it must be earned in-character through a patron bond or staff-guided storyline. To start with such magical enhancements, please submit an application.
General Cantrips (All Spirits)
- Manifestation: Spirits can fade in and out of visibility or pass through non-magical barriers. They can choose to be seen or heard, or remain as whispers, cold spots, or shadows.
- Echo Touch: They can leave behind a spiritual residue: a chill, a feeling, a sound, or a brief memory that lingers in a space or upon an object they’ve interacted with.
- Unseen Drift: Spirits can move silently and impossibly, slipping through cracks, hovering over ground, or clinging to ceilings. This is not true flight or teleportation, but a passive defiance of gravity and physical limitation.
Shared Strengths
- Immunity to Physical Aging: Spirits do not age, grow sick, or suffer from mundane physical ailments. They are not bound by time in the way the living are.
- No True Physical Body: They are resistant to non-magical weapons or conventional harm. A blade may pass through them, a punch may not land at all, unless the attack is divine, magical, or spiritually anchored.
- Emotion Amplification: Spirits can amplify the emotional tone of a space, heightening fear, sorrow, longing, or desire simply by their presence, especially if the feeling ties to their tether.
- Intangible Movement: They can bypass most physical obstructions in their faded form, allowing them to appear or disappear unnaturally and unsettle those unprepared.
Shared Weaknesses
- Spiritual Wards and Sanctified Objects: Salt, iron, runes, holy water, and divine magic all harm or repel spirits. They may be unable to enter consecrated spaces or cross protective wards.
- Tether Vulnerability: A spirit’s connection to the world is everything. If their tether is destroyed, corrupted, or severed, they may lose their form or descend into madness.
- Fragile Essence: Spirits are vulnerable to emotional disruption. Rage, sorrow, betrayal, or despair can destabilize them, causing flickering, screaming, violence, or fragmentation.
- Binding: Spirits can be forcibly bound to objects, names, people, or locations through powerful rituals. Some serve unwillingly under magical command.