Possession

 

The following are some thoughts about possession. How the mechanics of a possession work is described in some of the official supplements so I won't go into that but here I touch on different types of possession, how they work and affect those involved. The detail isn't too high but it should beat having nothing. I intent to add some text to the rules, hopefully soon if given time.

Possession
Levels of Possession
Driving Possessor Out
Liches


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Possession:

Possession is when an entity forces itself inside the body of a creature, taking full or partial control of it's body and/or mind. Possession can be attempted by etheral undead creatures and some daemons when in spirit form, as well as spellcasters armed with the right spell. Possession is usually attempted when the entity in question needs to fulfill some task or quest and either needs a host to accomplish that or that it increases its chances. Sometimes a possession is the last chance for a creature to survive. There are several different levels of possession. Some creatures can use all the different levels, others cannot. The levels differ in how much control the invader and the host have. Also, here is also suggested that any etheral undead creature can attempt a spirit combat. There are several different levels of possession, Dormant, Struggling, Controlling, Dominant and Overwhelming and below each of them in turn will be described.

 

Levels of Possession:

Dormant - The character is strong enough to keep the invader down and is fully in control of his actions and thoughts. Yet, the invader sleeps within and whenever the host suffers a reduction in WP, repeat Spirit combat as by the official rules. If the host loses, then the invader just upgraded his possession level to Struggling. A dormant invader can rest within a host without ever being detected. The hosts psychie will get damage by an invading spirit. How damaged it will get depends on the power of the invader, the level of possession and the time which the invader occupies the body. This is all up to the GM but can be anything from insanity points to disorders to disabilities to stat loss to alignment change, and anything there between.

Struggling - The invader and the host constantly struggle for control of the body. When the invader first enters the body, he is in control. He can move the body at will but he cannot enter the mind of the host. Every turn thereafter, the host must make a WP test. If successful, he is in control for the next turn, if failed, the invader is in control. Even if one is in control, there is constant struggle between them which surfaces in his expressions.

Controlling - The invader gains full control of the hosts body, but cannot access his mind. There is no struggle between the invader and the host, the latter is completely suppressed and knows not what is going on.

Dominant - The invader in in total control, both over the body and mind of the host. He can use any abilities the host had, skills and spells included and he can also access the memories of the host.

Overwhelming - The invader totally overwhelms the host, destroying his psychie. This means that the invader cannot access the mind of the host. If the invader is ever driven out, the body left behind will become lifeless.

 

Driving Possessor Out:

Now, anyone who is possessed will most likely want to drive the invading entity out. Unfortunately, he often doesn't have a choice in the matter as he is not in control. Still, he might be able to seek some help, either with the assistance of others on on his own accord. There are basically three different ways to drive out an invading entity and those are described below. Note that there might be other possible methods. Also note that these are no rules, they are just (loose) thoughts on the subject.

Strength of Will - The possessed character somehow finds the will to drive the spirit out on his own accord. This results usually in a long struggle between the invader and the host and often results in the invader ripping some of the psyche of the host with him as he is expelled, causing the host permanent damage to his psyche.

Divine Aid - The possessed character gains the help of a divine being to drive the spirit out. This can occur after praying, gaining help of a cleric or possibly on its own. The last only if the character has been devout in his faith and usually only to men of the church. The host usually escapes without any harm from the expelling.

Exorcism - Exorcists are specialized wizards that can drive out an invader. Their job is dangerous and their services expensive. How successful they are depends both on the power of the exorcist and the power of the invader. The will of the host can also be a factor. How damaged the hosts psyche will be after the expelling depends also on the success of the exorcism.

 

Liches:

As well as some daemons and etheral undead, I suggest that dying liches have also the ability to attempt spirit combat. That is, when a liche is killed, it can for a short amount of time attempt to take over the body of another creature to continue in its state of undeath. This time should be just a few minutes, 5 at the most and the spirit of the liche should remain within 100 feet of the liche corpse. If it leaves that area, it becomes subject to instability, to be checked for each round. If it is successful, it has taken over a new body and can continue it's life in undeath. If it fails, the spirit of the liche is destroyed, or at least sent to the warp. This makes liches even more dangerous than before as if someone manages to kill it, it can take over his body to extend its "life".

 

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