History TabletopGame / GeistTheSineaters

* FightingSpirit: The Phantasmal Marionette allows a Sin Eater to plant their mind into a plasm-copy of their Geist's body, allowing them to physically manifest and control the Geist in a manner quite similar to a [[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure Stand]] or [[Franchise/ShinMegamiTenseiPersona Persona]]. The higher level the manifestation, the stronger said said body can be. Once level 3 has been hit, the option of flight is present, making it easy to become a FlyingBrick.

A second edition was successfully Kickstarted and is in pre-production.

* LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards: In first edition, a Sin Eater got a unique effect for each dot of a Manifestation per Key they had access to. This meant that each purchase for either a Manifestation or a new Key multiplied the abilities a player character has on hand. [[TropesAreNotGood Unfortunately, this very reason was why only one new Key and Manifestation were made in first edition’s entire run]]; any new Key or Manifestation would have to take into account all the base powers, creating at least ''fifty'' new powers for a single new addition. This also caused issues where different Key/Manifestation combinations resembled each other, and didn’t come off as equal choices.
** This is very much averted in second edition. Any Haunt can be unlocked with any Key but, outside of additional plasm and dice that can be used for the Haunt, any differences from the Key are strictly visual.

* LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards: In first edition, a Sin Eater got a unique effect for each dot of a Manifestation per Key they had access to. This meant that each purchase for either a Manifestation or a new Key multiplied the abilities a player character has on hand. [[TropesAreNotGood Unfortunately, this very reason was why only one new Key and Manifestation were made in first edition’s entire run]]; any new Key or Manifestation would have to take into account all the base powers, creating at least ‘’fifty’’ new powers for a single new addition. This also caused issues where different Key/Manifestation combinations resembled each other, and didn’t come off as equal choices.

** Geists have typically long abandoned human morality, and the only thing the Kerberoi care about is the enforcement of the Old Laws. This tends to put them at odds with humans that retain a more traditional system of morality.

* BreadAndCircuses: The entire point of Oppia, one of the Dead Dominions. The food is made from raw [[{{Mana}} Essence]] and is [[EvilTastesGood extremely addictive]], and the Kerberos of the Dominion makes sure that there are always plenty of ghost slaves on hand to attend to his visitors' every whim. [[spoiler: This is partly because said Kerberos enjoys nothing more than ''[[ImAHumanitarian eating]]'' his visitors, who are typically so crazed from [[ThisIsYourBrainOnEvil vice addiction]] that they can't even fight back.]]

** Many Geists, if not all of them, can also qualify. They're at the very least half ghost, half EldritchAbomination. Ghosts that have forgotten what it means to be human also qualify.

* FateWorseThanDeath: When the player characters are immortal, you have to [[AndIMustScream step things up a notch.]] mes that are merely spiritual in nature, and do little damage to the living. This is [[PlayingWithFire not the case]] with higher level Manifestations, however.

** The result of reaching [[KarmaMeter Synergy 0.]] Your geist hijacks your body, and you're helpless as you watch yourself do your geist's bidding, even as you're forced to come back from death after torturous death.

* FateWorseThanDeath: When the player characters are immortal, you have to [[AndIMustScream step things up a notch.]]
* FauxFlame: The lower ranks of Pyre-Flame Manifestations tend to produce flames that are merely spiritual in nature, and do little damage to the living. This is [[PlayingWithFire not the case]] with higher level Manifestations, however.

* WhyWontYouDie: After [[TabletopGame/PrometheanTheCreated Prometheans,]] Sin-Eaters are among the toughest [=NWOD=] creatures to permanently put down. Even before taking Manifestations into account, their Geist will keep them awake even when they should have fallen unconscious, the Plasm in their blood makes them resistant against diseases and poisons and they can also use their Plasm to [[ManaShield reduce any type of wound into Bashing.]] And when they're close to death, they can heal themselves by destroying their Mementos or by murdering another person in cold blood. And when you ''do'' kill one, their Geist can bring them back to life by shunting off their death to someone else.

* '''The Stricken''': ''The Ravaged Ones'', death by disease, poison, or other forms of illness. In defiance of their death, these Sin-Eaters become hardier. The knowledge that they beat death, however temporarily, gives them an extreme ego boost, and are often driven to ghosts to show that they can overcome the Underworld, too. Their patron is The White Horseman. Their affinity Keys are Tear-Stained (water and drowning) and Phantasmal (hallucinations and ephemera).
* '''The Forgotten''': ''The Lightning-Struck''. Death by random shit. Deaths are completely random, anywhere from struck by lightning ''while indoors'', to crushed by a giant ''Franchise/HelloKitty'' figure. Tend to be gamblers. Also tend to be the most fun loving, and the happiest. Their patron is the Grey Horseman. Their affinity Keys are Industrial (technology) and Pyre-Flame (fire).

** In another Dead Dominion, the Junkyard, all the ghosts have become mechanized and are constantly replacing "parts" to improve themselves to win a Dominion-wide battle royale. If you're willing, you can raid the junk piles for [[ReplacementLimb Replacement Limbs]] or, possibly, you can [[PoweredByAForsakenChild steal a ghost's power core to power your own devices.]]

* RomanticizedAbuse: ''Book Of The Dead'' is about realms of the dead. One of them is a very friendly place called Oppia, that offer a abundance of food and {{sex slave}}s. Of course, it's very easy to break a rule and get enslaved yourself. Some of the slaves chose to remain slaves after they served the term of their punishment. Of course said slaves actually enjoy being prostitutes, and they're willing: ''actual'' slaves, on the other hand, are literally prohibited from receiving pay or even food for their work, and in the case where you coerce an obviously unwilling one into the act...[[WhatTheHellHero well...]]

* SecretArt: The Stygian Key cannot be learned easily. You have to journey to the Underworld and drink from 3 of its river (gaining benefit and losing something in the process). And then you have to find one of the creatures of the Underworld to teach you; ghosts can't provide this service, so you have to seek one of the [[EldritchAbomination Kerberoi.]] ''Then'' you go back to the world of the living, and sacrifice ''something'' that takes an awful long to recover from. You've gotten the Stygian Key finally.... but [[HumanResources to use them...]]

* EnemyWithin: So, so averted. There's nothing about Geists that's inherently malevolent towards Sin-Eaters, and for the somewhat...[[PsychoForHire morbid]] desires many of them have, the Sin-Eater can just tell them to shut up. In fact, it's specifically stated that Geists are rather protective of their other halves, and thus rarely push them into situations that are blatantly suicidal. In addition, you might get lucky and end up with a Geist who might actually be helpful in your day to day life (like giving advice, or maybe they notice something you don't-- it IS in their best interest to keep you alive, after all.)
** However, the core book says that some geists do torment their hosts for various reasons. Some do it in an attempt to break the Sin-Eater's will and make him/her more likely to do what it wants to do, or [[ForTheEvulz because they think it's funny]]. A few are just so insane that they think [[TalkativeLoon constantly screaming nonsense in their host's ears]] or making their host see half-decayed children dancing in the street and singing songs by the Beatles are normal things to do. One of the sample adventures, ''Dem Bones,'' features a Sin-Eater who has been driven to the verge of madness by the eponymous geist, who keeps singing the same snippet of the same song. Over and over. The opening snippet makes it abundantly clear that poor Regan has resorted to ''repeated suicide attempts'' just to get Dem Bones to ''shut up so she can sleep.''
** It's also noted that Geists aren't "just" ghosts anymore, that they're "part spirit," having replaced a ghost's Anchor with a concept. A Geist of car crashes causes car crashes. . . not because it wants to, not because it thinks it's fun, not because it wants to hurt people, but because ''that's what it is''. Bound are accorded respect due to the kind of Geist they're bound with: someone keeping a Geist of vengeance in check is a badass, but a Bound keeping the actual Spirit of Vengeance itself in check must have cast-iron cojones.

* BlessedWithSuck: ''Averted'', [[CrapsackWorld surprisingly]]. Sure, there's a ghost in the back of the Sin-Eaters' heads that has forgotten what it means to be human...But given that said voice brought them BackFromTheDead, and they [[CameBackStrong get all these nifty powers out of it]], [[CursedWithAwesome most Sin-Eaters view it as a fair trade]]. Geists also have an incentive to aid their sin-eater hosts- after all, if you die, it needs to go through the process of finding a suitable host all over again.

''Geist: The Sin-Eaters'' is the seventh game for the TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness, released in August 2009. Despite the name, the writers are on record that Geist is not a direct successor to ''TabletopGame/WraithTheOblivion''; geists, whatever else they may be, are not exactly wraiths or ghosts. It does look to be something of a SpiritualSuccessor to Wraith in that it takes a look at the Underworld and what goes on there. The game, as described through the previews, bears some similarity to two Old World of Darkness games that also dealt heavily with the underworld: ''TabletopGame/MummyTheResurrection'' and ''TabletopGame/{{Orpheus}}''. The former dealt with a recently dead person bonded with an ancient spirit and brought back to life; the latter had (as one character type) a character who would enter a near-death state and become a 'ghost' out of body, gaining strange ghostly powers in the process. Inspiration for the game may well stem from all three sources.

* '''The Silent''': also known as ''The Starving Ones'', death by neglect: suffocation, starvation, heartbreak, or other ways along those lines. The Black Horseman is their patron, and they tend to attract hungry or needy Geists, and always seem to want more things, and tend towards [[TheQuietOne the laconic]]. Their affinity Keys are Cold-Wind (air) and Stillness (shadows and silence)
* '''The Prey''': ''The Eaten and Drowned Ones'', death by nature, be it weather, animals, drowning, or something else along those lines, instilling in them a respect for the cycle of life (namely, how amoral it is). They tend to have the most inhuman geists, and they'd like to hang out with The Pale Horseman. Their affinity keys are Grave-Dirt (earth) and Primeval (nature and animals).
* '''The Stricken''': ''The Ravaged Ones'', death by disease, poison, or other forms of illness. In defiance of their death, these Sin-Eaters become hardier. The knowledge that they beat death, however temporarily, gives them an extreme ego boost, and are often driven to ghosts to show that they can overcome the Underworld, too. Their patron is The White Horseman. Their affinity Keys are Tear-Stained (water) and Phantasmal (hallucinations and ephemera).

* '''The Forgotten''': ''The Lightning-Struck''. Death by random shit. Deaths are completely random, anywhere from struck by lightning ''while indoors'', to crushed by a giant HelloKitty figure. Tend to be gamblers. Also tend to be the most fun loving, and the happiest. Their patron is the Grey Horseman. Their affinity Keys are Industrial (technology) and Pyre-Flame (fire).

* StopHelpingMe: InUniverse, Sin-Eaters tend to take this attitude towards would-be ghostbusting [[TabletopGame/HunterTheVigil hunters]] at best, and usually regard them a lot worse. This is because A: hunters, generally lacking the supernatural powers of sin-eaters, are poorly suited for interacting with ghosts, but they insist on trying to "deal with them" regardless; B: the hunters [[NiceJobBreakingItHero usually make things worse with their incompetent efforts]], and C: [[BreadEggsMilkSquick hunters tend to try and murder Sin-Eaters for being "demon-possessed" or "witches" or something when they realize the sin-eaters have supernatural powers of their own]].

* AncientConspiracy: The Sin-Eater Conspiracies are so ancient, they don't even exist anymore, fragmented or destroyed by the passage of history. That said, it's entirely possible for [=PCs=] to create their own, if they can manage to recruit enough sin-eaters to their krewe.
* AndIMustScream: The result of reaching [[KarmaMeter Synergy 0.]] Your geist hijacks your body, and you're helpless as you watch yourself do your geist's bidding, even as you're forced to come back from death after torturous death.
** Also true of the [[HumanResources soulsteel]] items crafted at the Forge of Orcus. While extremely handy (soulsteel items are considered to be high-powered Mementos while in the Underworld), not everyone will be comfortable with using something made from a ghost that has been beaten into eternal torment.

* BazaarOfTheBizarre: A krewe can organize a Market gathering, although due to the logistics required, this tends to be limited to the most influential krewe. Also from the Dead Dominions, Dead Man's Hand have ''anything'' for sale if you look close enough, and The Forge of Orcus sells items made of ghosts that are especially effective in the Underworld.

** As a result of being human/geist fusions, Sin-eaters have a KarmaMeter called "Synergy" that replaces the human Morality, and it is very alien, focusing mostly on appeasing the deathly entity inside of them. Accidental murder is still bad for them, but destroying a Momento is just as bad, and planned murder is no problem at all. About the only things sin-eaters and humans are equally bothered by are torture and serial killing.

* BodyHorror: Again, Stigmata Caul. One of the high level powers is the ability to ''detach your own arms and control them as they fly through the air.'' Snap someone's neck from fifty yards away? ''Yes please.''

* {{Determinator}}: Common trait among Stricken, those killed by disease. It's how they came back, often.
** Sin-eaters in general. You don't come back as a sin-eater unless you ''really'' don't want to die, and once they've taken the Bargain, [[ImplacableMan good luck putting them back down again.]]
* DyingDealUpgrade: The Bargain between sin-eaters and their geists, and all of the cool powers that come with it.

* EnemyWithin: So, so averted. There's nothing about Geists that's inherently malevolent towards Sin-Eaters, and for the somewhat...[[PsychoForHire morbid]] desires many of them have, the Sin-Eater can just tell them to shut up.
** In fact, it's specifically stated that Geists are rather protective of their other halves, and thus rarely push them into situations that are blatantly suicidal. In addition, you might get lucky and end up with a Geist who might actually be helpful in your day to day life (Like giving advice, or maybe they notice something you don't, it IS in their best interest to keep you alive after all.)
*** However, the core book says that some geists do torment their hosts for various reasons. Some do it in an attempt to break the Sin-Eater's will and make him/her more likely to do what it wants to do, or [[ForTheEvulz because they think it's funny]]. A few are just so insane that they think [[TalkativeLoon constantly screaming nonsense in their host's ears]] or making their host see half-decayed children dancing in the street and singing songs by the Beatles are normal things to do. One of the sample adventures, ''Dem Bones,'' features a Sin-Eater who has been driven to the verge of madness by the titular geist, who keeps singing the same snippet of the same song. Over and over. The opening snippet makes it abundantly clear that poor Regan has resorted to ''repeated suicide attempts'' just to get Dem Bones to ''shut up so she can sleep.''
* EnlightenmentSuperpowers: The krewe-binding ceremony gives all participating sin-eaters a spiritual vision that reveals some truth about the nature of the world, the nature of Death and the purpose of the sin-eaters. It also grants access to a number of powers they otherwise could not possess, and their powers only grow stronger as they attract more sin-eaters to their krewe.
* EquivalentExchange: As mentioned above, a Sin-Eater can be brought back from death by his geist, but the geist has to shunt that death off somewhere else. So, some poor sucker will die so you can live. And you have no choice in the matter. (You ''can'', however, ask your geist not to resurrect you in the first place... but there's no guarantee they'll agree. Or keep their word, even if they do.)

* TheFettered: A sin-eater can get back [[{{Mana}} plasm]] any time they fulfill their Virtue or Vice, in addition to getting back willpower, so long as they do so in accordance with their Archetype. Just like with willpower, however, fulfilling one's Vice grants only a single point of plasm; by fulfilling one's Virtue, however, a sin-eater can ''completely refill'' their plasm pool. Naturally, this makes the more principled sin-eaters some of the most terrifying, since they're more likely to be walking around with a full pool of plasm.
** In the same vein, a sin-eater can completely refill their plasm by helping ghosts to pass on peacefully, as opposed to the few points of plasm that can be scavenged from devouring ghosts.
* FinalDeath: When your maximum Synergy hits 0 from repeated resurrections, this is the ''best'' possibility -- the worst is covered above under CameBackWrong.
** [[BittersweetEnding Or you die of old age]]. Even a Geist can't bring back the geezers who lived a long and happy life already.
*** It seems to be implied that dying of old age generally doesn't cause a ghost to be left behind at all (even in the Underworld). This might suggest that a person who dies like that has no reason to reject their death, and so gets to move "on" peacefully. What might become of them after that is unknown.
* FirstEpisodeResurrection
* FlyingBrick: the Phantasmal Marionette allows a Sin Eater to plant their mind into a plasm-copy of their Geist's body, and the higher level the manifestation, the stronger said said body can be. Once level 3 has been hit, the option of flight is present, making it easy to become one of these.

* HellIsWar: The Killing Fields, one of the Dead Dominions, is a constant battleground between 2 Kerberoi, [[StrawVulcan Clockwork]] against [[TheBerserker Dominus]]. When you enter the dominion, you are required to pledge allegiance to one of them, and even other Kerberoi aren't exempt.

* HumanResources: Unlocking a Manifestation with the Stygian Key requires the sacrifice of a living being. The bonus for the sacrifice goes up depending on its Size rating, all the way up to +5 for a Size 5 sacrifice. Incidentally, full-grown humans are usually Size 5...
** Also in the Forge of Orcus, one of the Dead Dominions, you can buy items forged from ghosts. Generally speaking, they only accept other ghosts as payment in return, and by the way, [[BlueAndOrangeMorality haggling is illegal in the Forge.]]

* KnightTemplar: All sin-eaters receive a spiritual vision when they undergo a krewe-binding ceremony. While this tends to be a deeply personal experience for every sin-eater, some become more fanatical than others, believing that anyone who doesn't ascribe to their particular vision needs to die. They're called the Sacrosanct, and are among the greatest foes of other sin-eaters.
** Michael ben Michael is a sin-eater who believes his geist is literally St. Michael the Archangel, who is also his father. He also believes that all other sin-eaters (except his krewe-mates) are servants of [[{{Satan}} The Dark One]], ''especially'' other sin-eaters that claim to have angels for geists. So far, he's killed three "blasphemous" sin-eaters, including one that claimed to have channeled Michael, and all signs point to him continuing his killing spree.
* TheLastDance: The Wings of the Moth ceremony lets you give one to a ghost by temporarily granting them a corporeal form, so that they can resolve their UnfinishedBusiness.
** A weaker variant exists in the One Last Song ceremony. Heals a dying person to full health for one hour; after that, they go away for good.
* LighterAndSofter: Compared to Wraith, its spiritual predecessor.

* {{Masquerade}}: Surprisingly averted. The Sin Eaters are the only TabletopGame/{{new World of Darkness}} species who do not enforce a full-blown masquerade. Not that they really need to, since their powers are generally subtler than those of the other supernaturals.
** Well, except Rage Manifestations, but that's usually only going to come up when you're fighting something...Usually, that Pyre Flame Rage really DOES come in handy for [[MundaneUtility lighting Cigars and starting barbecues]]

** Stygian Marionette allows you to possess corpses. You can raise zombies with Stillness Marionette, but Stygian Marionette gives you a lot more control over said corpse, even allowing you to tap its knowledge and skills it acquired when it was alive.

* ResurrectiveImmortality: So long as their geist is willing to bring them back, a sin-eater cannot die permanently. However, every resurrection comes with a drop in Synergy, and after enough resurrections, [[FateWorseThanDeath they may not want to come back.]]
** There's a couple of caveats, though. First, a geist can't bring back someone who has died of old age. Second, there must be enough of a sin-eater's body left to repair with plasm; this means that if their head is destroyed, or if their remains are scattered into enough pieces, there's nothing a geist can do.

* RomanticizedAbuse: ''Book Of The Dead'' is about realms of the dead. One of them is a very friendly place called Oppia, that offer a abundance of food and Sex Slaves. Of course, it's very easy to break a rule and get enslaved yourself. Some of the slaves chose to remain slaves after they served the term of their punishment.
** Justified and semi-subverted: Said slaves actually enjoy being prostitutes, and they're willing. ''Actual'' slaves, on the other hand, are literally prohibited from receiving pay or even food for their work, and in the case where you coerce an obviously unwilling one into the act...[[WhatTheHellHero well...]]

* ShoutOut: The Quick Start Demo mentions that those of the Forgotten Threshold are usually the people who go through life unaware until [[DeadLikeMe they look up to see part of a disused satellite plummeting right towards them]].

* {{Shinigami}}: The concept of the game seems partially influenced by the recent influx of shinigami tropes coming into the US via anime and videogames. According to WordOfGod, the writers were unaware of the Shinigami tropes while working on Geist. The game can be used to emulate them, but it's not intentional.
** It may also have to do something with [[NewerThanTheyThink Shinigami being imported from Europe to Meiji Era Japan, being based on the]] GrimReaper.
* SoulJar: Higher level sin-eaters need to construct anchors to sustain their extraordinary Psyches. However, destroying the anchors doesn't harm the sin-eater, it just forces them back down to a lower power-level.
* SoulPower: All sin-eaters in general, but those with the Stigmata or Stygian Keys are particularly dangerous in this realm.
* TheSoulless: The Vacant, sin-eaters that have had their spiritual link to their geist severed, either willingly or otherwise. They have a Synergy/Morality score of 0 and a driving urge to join with a geist to fill the hole that's been left by the departure of the geist. One of their favorite tricks for getting a new geist involves finding another sin-eater and forcibly severing their link, thereby creating a new Vacant and starting the process anew.

* StopHelpingMe: InUniverse, Sin-Eaters tend to take this attitude towards would-be ghostbusting [[TabletopGame/HunterTheVigil hunters]] at best, and usually regard them a lot worse. This is because A: hunters, generally lacking the supernatural powers of sin-eaters, are poorly suited for interacting with ghosts, but they insist on trying to "deal with them" regardless; B: the hunters [[NiceJobBreakingItHero usually make things worse with their incompetent efforts]], and C: [[BreadEggsMilkSquick hunters tend to try and murder sin-eaters for being "demon-possessed" or "witches" or something when they realize the sin-eaters have supernatural powers of their own]].

* TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive: The call lives inside your mind / soul. Further more, even if the Sin-Eater lucked out and has an agreeable geist 'partner', ghosts can still recognize sin-eaters and tend to bug them to help them with their UnfinishedBusiness (see below).
* ThisIsYourBrainOnEvil: Indulging your Vice in the Underworld feels even better than it does in the living world, granting double the normal willpower bonus. However, it can result in vice addiction, which makes other sensations feel hollow and encourages you to indulge your Vice more and more.
** This is even worse in Oppia, where [[spoiler: everything has been set up to make you dependent on Oppia's food and luxuries,]] so that it's even easier to make you a slave or [[spoiler: turn you into a dish for Oppia's Kerberos.]]

* TranshumanTreachery: One of the very worst sorts of ghosts a Sin-Eater can expect to come across in the course of their duties is the type that reasons that [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveSupernaturalPowers since they're dead,]] [[MoralEventHorizon human morality no longer applies to them.]] This is to say nothing of the ghosts who've spent so long in the Underworld that they've [[EldritchAbomination lost almost any semblance of humanity.]]

** Polydegmon, the Kerberos of Mictlan, is also known as The Collector of souls. If you can gain his favor however, he will be willing to ''give'' you the soul of anyone who has died. Even FinalDeath is no problem for him, and while there's theory that Polydegmon just created a copy of the soul, no one could tell the difference from an actual soul anyway. If you can provide the soul with a physical body, it may even be possible to return the person back to full life. This power combined with his [[GeniusLoci Geognosis]] is what sets him apart from other Kerberoi, and he might even be a [[AGodAmI Deathlord.]]

* YourSoulIsMine: Type Two B; Sin-Eaters can ''eat ghosts''. No-one is sure what actually happens to a ghost that's eaten, but this is one of the more disturbing possibilities.

** The act of [[YourSoulIsMine ectophagia]] is known as "huffing" amongst Sin-Eaters, and the book pretty much states they got the term from ''Expiration Date'' by TimPowers.