From as far back as first edition spells and effects such as chill touch and energy drain were said to be attacks that affected the spirit of a being, but ended up simply doing hit point damage just like any other form of attack. As these forms of attack are by their description different from say, a fireball, it would follow that their effects would differ in nature as well. Thus I present this method for dealing with attacks to the spirit by life force attacks as an alternative to simple hit points damage.

First thing needed is a measure of spirit so that harm and healing to it can be followed. The use of an aura to denote a life force and its type and strength is an old idea that will be employed, using both size and colouration to show the condition of a spirit as shown on the chart below. Essence is determined by taking the base taking half of a creatures natural Constitution score, adding its constitution modifier and an additional two per level. Damage to Constitution does not affect essence, as it is stated the base Constitution is used not the current. Although with a Constitution score of four or less can lead to zero essence or less due to the modifier penalty, a creature is still entitled to one essence minimum.

Attacks that do damage to spirit simply do that damage to essence instead of to hit points, with the following effects shown on the table below. Those that deal damage via level drain will be calculated by draining experience points instead, allowing a greater range of drain strength for both low and high level play.

The column Essence Enhancement denotes the number by which the individuals base essence is multiplied by. As the characters gain essence the thickness of the aura increases in relation. These colours can be attained by taking the Feat Breath of Spirit Deepen, although some creatures may naturally have superior spirits. An important example of beings with above average spiritual vigour are females or other beings who's spirit must be able to divide in order to provide their offspring with spirits of their own. This is reflected by a one colour step bonus (from blue to violet for example, acting much like an innate Breath of Spirit Deepen feat) for females. The spirits of males are typically incapable of this division and so are not gifted.

The Drain Reduction Column denotes how much of an essence damage attack can be resisted. This acts much like damage reduction but only against such attacks as chill touch and essence theft by certain forms of zelengorsk. The amount of loss taken can be reduced to zero should the reduction match or exceed the severity of the attack.

The Buffer column states the level of protection against the drain of experiences. The buffer acts as a separate pool of experience that is attacked first, before any is applied to the characters actual personal total. Once the buffer is exhausted all subsequent loss is applied as normal. The buffer will slowly replenish at a rate of equal to the character's Charisma Modifier per day, while the essence pool recovers at one point per level or hit die per day.

½ Base Constitution + Con Bonus + 2 per Level = Essence Pool