Etheria: Health for Horrors Etheria represents excessive strain and the resulting weakening of a horror’s spiritual energy. All horrors can gain etheria, but only those specially noted can gain injury and/or fatigue. When a horror has sustained five grades of etheria, it can no longer interact with the physical world unless it is in possession of a vessel. Etheria can be decreased at the gamemaster’s discretion based on the needs of the story, however, making a horror’s disappearance far from being final. Etheria is represented by the abbreviation ETH. A penalty is applied to all interaction tasks when a horror has sustained more than one grade. Just as armor can protect against fatigue and injury, the umbra gimmick protects against etheria.

Interaction: A Special Skill Horrors without a physical form can assume a presence in the physical world for short periods of time by using the interaction skill. Once manifested, the horror can substitute the influence ability and interaction skill for fitness-based tasks. The type

of manifestation and duration is determined by an interaction task—challenging or harder tasks inflict 1ETH (a damage roll is required). While difficulties are listed below, the gamemaster should interpret most uses as automatically successful to fit his vision of the story. Additionally, an interaction can be in effect for as long as needed, but new interactions require a new task. Once in a corporeal form, the horror can receive normal injury—if it sustains five or more grades of injury or if the total number of dice rolled against it for injury is greater than its influence rating, it becomes incorporeal again. Video and camera equipment can assist in detecting manifestations marked with an asterisk () on the table below, providing a bonus of -2DIFF on relevant investigation/awareness tasks. Etheria GRADE ETHERIA INTERACTION PENALTY

Ghosts Ghosts are the spiritual remnants of deceased mortals and animals. They stay attached to the physical world, because they feel a need to fulfill typically-unobtainable goals. Being disembodied spirits, ghosts are effectively immortal unless

they can somehow complete their goals. Ghosts also do not require sleep or physical sustenance, and are bound to one geographical location, specific person, or household. These poor souls are often viewed performing the same events repeatedly as if they were trapped in a loop of time. While ghosts are not dangerous in and of themselves, some can affect the physical world, capable of causing harm by way of material objects. Weaker ghosts are often called apparitions, while those more capable of interacting with our world are termed poltergeists. It is a commonly-held belief that poltergeists are malevolent spirits, but this only a myth, as ghosts do not purposely cause harm. The following special rules apply to all ghosts: • They cannot perform fitness or reasoning-based tasks. • They use the awareness ability and interaction skill to sense events, characters, and objects in the real world. • They use the influence ability and interaction skill to cause physical manifestations in the real world, whether sound, appearance, or kinetic force. Any character with a Second Sight gimmick can automatically see and hear ghosts when they make such a task, whether or not it is successful. • They use the creativity ability and interaction skill to recall memories once possessed from the real world yet lost to them as ghosts. • They may possess other skills based on how well-connected they are with their past lives, but this is rare. • They possess the aura, broken mind, evidence (drastic temperature drop), evidence (electrical power drain), incorporeal, unearthly, and unrelenting gimmicks. • They are freed from their life of limbo by fulfilling their ghostly mission.