Odem

This undead spirit possesses the living. Normal eyes cannot see it; those who perceive the ethereal see a pale vapor, the same look it has on the Ethereal Plane, and when it rides a host they see a white glow around the face, strongest at the eyes and mouth. It is silent unless in control of a body, and then speaks the languages it knew in life, not necessarily its host's.

Free of a body, it never fights, and while unhoused it stays invisible and ethereal, untouchable by any physical or magical attack. Banishment, dismissal and similar spells that expel extraplanar beings work normally if the caster can see it, though in the misty dread realm they only drive it from its host and out of the area. Priests cannot turn it.

It enters any living humanoid through an opening like the nose, ear or mouth. Inside, only wish or magic jar affect it, and either can force it out and return the caster's spirit to its receptacle. Mind-affecting spells fail on the host, since the odem's mind rules, but the body is easily hurt; killing it simply sends the spirit off to find another. It passes through solid matter but not magical barriers, so imprisonment, temporal stasis or trap the soul seal it in its current body.

Odems drift at the edge of the Ethereal Plane, watching the Prime Material for people with deep wells of fear, rage or hate. The victim is neither killed nor dulled: think of a coach whose driver has been tied and gagged while the odem takes the reins. The owner sees everything, cannot act, may speak to the spirit telepathically, and is himself again once it is driven out.

Cruel or murderous people of great will sometimes become odems at death. The spirit lives for chaos and feeds on the hatred, terror and fury it stirs, treating hosts as disposable. Its favorite tricks are picking fights with insults or blows and stealing from one person to plant the loot on another.