Geist

A geist is a translucent spirit frozen as its living self looked at the moment of death, still in the same clothes, perhaps with a broken neck or mortal wound, perhaps unmarked if death was gentle or came by poison. It has no scent and cannot move objects; even its image and voice exist only in observers' minds, so anyone protected from mental attack cannot perceive it. It picks who sees and hears it, and speaks the mind's universal language.

A geist cannot fight; speech is its weapon. Its AC 10 matters only because people swing at it, and blows pass straight through, as do its own pretend attacks. Witnesses usually take it for a ghost and must pass a Fear Check or flee; a gruesome one may warrant a Horror Check. It seems to teleport by vanishing and reappearing elsewhere, and moves through solid matter, though magical wards bar it.

Divination learns nothing about a geist, not even its alignment or truthfulness. True seeing shows a blurry white form even when it hides. Dismissal, banishment, abjure, holy word or wish lays it to rest; all other magic fails against it.

Found in any climate, a geist normally haunts the spot where it died, rarely beyond one building or a small patch of ground, though some roam farther. Its personality and alignment in life shape its manner: some help, others spread lies.

Geists arise from traumatic deaths, usually with something left undone or a penance owed, when the spirit will not leave the plane or demiplane of its death.

A greater geist can create illusions with sound, though these always look translucent and fool no one. It can appear solid, alter its clothes or body (carrying its own severed head, say) but cannot take another person's likeness, and usually keeps its death-moment form.