sin-eaters
A sin-eater is a person who has died and been resurrected but not undead, but bound to the forces of death. It can be anyone, and any kind of death could bring you there. Upon the person dying, they are approached by a geist (a spirit that is now no longer humanoid. see geist below) and offered a deal. They can be resurrected and continue living, while merging with the geist in a symbiotic relationship with the human in control. When the person is resurrected, they find that they have become a medium and can speak and see the dead. It comes at a price however, because the dead are drawn to the sin-eater like a moth to a flame. And they will never stop coming and asking for help, asking for favors, or anything at all. The sin-eater is more than just tied to ghosts. They are also sensitive to where a person died and can tell where something dreadful has happened.
It's up to the sin-eater what they want to do with their second chance at life. Or their third, or fourth. That's the thing with this medium. Each time they are knocked back down, they get up again. Never ending life, but with all the pain of being mortal.
It's up to the sin-eater what they want to do with their second chance at life. Or their third, or fourth. That's the thing with this medium. Each time they are knocked back down, they get up again. Never ending life, but with all the pain of being mortal.
geists
A geist was once a person, a person with a life and a death. Though unlike the sin-eater, the geist eventually lost all of their humanity. They became something that resembles the way that they had once died, but monstrous and terrible. They are beyond humanity and are only looking for one thing. To bind themselves to a person who has recently died, and in a manner that was similar to how the geist died. For instance a geist that died in a war might seek out someone who has died by being gunned down in a robbery. The geist wants the bond. The reason is not really known, and truthfully the geists don't really understand either. They only know that they must find someone like them.
Most believe that a geist just want to remember what being human was like. It takes an incredible amount of power for a geist to take control a sin-eater that it's bound to, much more than most geists have. That doesn't stop the geist from putting in their opinion though. In any case, they do share their powers with the sin-eater, giving them the ability to see and talk to ghosts. Being able to gain insight from objects, knowing where all the local haunted spots are. Saving the sin-eater from death over and over and a few extras.
Most believe that a geist just want to remember what being human was like. It takes an incredible amount of power for a geist to take control a sin-eater that it's bound to, much more than most geists have. That doesn't stop the geist from putting in their opinion though. In any case, they do share their powers with the sin-eater, giving them the ability to see and talk to ghosts. Being able to gain insight from objects, knowing where all the local haunted spots are. Saving the sin-eater from death over and over and a few extras.
threshold
Sin-Eaters are broken up into thresholds. A character's death determines their threshold. However a certain type of death could be taken many different ways.The Torn - These Sin-Eaters are ones who are victims of violence and are quite often traumatic or damaging deaths. They attract angry or vengeful geists to bond to.
The Silent - These Sin-Eaters die from neglect and deprivation. Starvation. Suffocation. Heartbreak. They attract hungry and needy geists to bond to.
The Prey - These Sin-Eaters are victims to mother nature, or left to the elements. Torn apart by dogs? Drowning? Freezing? All belong to this geist, who is the least human and elemental.
The Stricken - Anyone with this threshold died of disease, illness or poison. Geists bound to these sin-eaters are very tough in defiance of their death. They rage on the most.
The Forgotten - Victims of the shitty accident. Did it seem like the world was just out to get you? A sin-eater is attracted to a geist who believes the world is random and chaotic. These types of geists often want to play a game of chance for the sin-eaters soul.
For example, if a person was to die by drowning, their thresholds could be prey, for obviously reasons. they also could be silent, as they suffocated technically. they could also be torn, if someone had drowned them on purpose.
ghosts
About A Ghost Ghosts to sin-eaters are mostly a giant pain in the butt. They want things, and since barely anyone can see them, they cling to mediums in general. A ghost is tied to the living world by anchors. And it isn't until all those anchors are gone, can they move on. An anchor could be anything tying a ghost to an item, place or a person. Sometimes a ghost will try to possess a sin-eater but that never ends well as they are already bound to a geist. It's pretty easy for a sin-eater to find someone who is possessing a real live human. Sometimes a ghost doesn't know it's a ghost, and will refuse to move on. There are many different types of ghosts that sin-eaters and mediums in general have to deal with in a number of ways. But sin-eaters almost always do deal with the ones who need anchors destroyed and ghosts moved on.
powers
Mediumbeing a medium is being able to see and talk to ghosts or spirits that have not moved on and are still here. the ghosts are very often drawn to a medium/sin-eater as they are one of the few that can comminucate with them directly. it also means the sin-eater can sense when they are at a place where someone has died recently (in the last year), and when a place is haunted.
Psychic Powers
when a person becomes a sin-eater, they have some latent psychic powers. this could be many different types. telekinesis, telepathy, psychometry etc.
Geist Abilities
depending on the type of geist that the sin-eater is bonded to, they can call on their geists powers to boost them in certain ways. this can be elemental powers, control of technology, controlling emotions, creating hallucinations or illusions, controlling of plants or animals, controlling ghosts, being extra stealthy, control over decay and more. this should be tied to how the sin-eater and the geist died. try to find something appropriate.
Immortality
because they have already died, it's nearly impossible to fully get rid of a sin-eater. if a sin-eater dies, their geist will resurrect them at the next sundown. they don't have fast healing though, and it will take a while to be back to normal. plus they still feel everything that they go through. now no one's really seen what happens if you put a sin-eater in a meat grinder, but besides that, they're sticking around.
weaknesses
sin-eaters can be hurt, or maimed and they feel all of it. some are addicted to that, in order to feel more human. they see death everywhere, especially in the places that they wish they didn't see it, like with love ones. while a sin-eater is bound to a geist, some geists make a sin-eaters life complicated. some are searching for ways to take over completely. geists are not human, and they only want to consume. a geist that is not bound is very dangerous, desperate to find the perfect sin-eater.if a sin-eater dies and comes back the next day, somewhere and sometime, death chooses a replacement. someone dies in the sin-eater's place to balance the world. it could be a random stranger, or .. it could be a loved one.
besides the medium parts of their powers, a sin-eater's other powers are pretty low-level. they're certainly not all powerful or anything like that. the control a sin-eater has over some people and creatures is fairly minimal and cannot make the creature do anything that would cause it to die, or hurt another regular person.