Geist (GUYst)

A ghostly species, these beings lack physical bodies, existing only on the mind and magic layers.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Although they lack physical bodies, they do have a limited range of influence. Geists only exist as mind and magic, manipulation the physical world via telekinesis. It is debated whether or not their telekinetic abilities are psionic in nature or not. Not much is known about Geists, but based on observations using mind and magic lenses, the shape of them has been discovered. Their mind exists in their center of influence (core) and near the border (shell), connected with light strands on which information and signals travel between the core and shell. When they interact with physical objects, a magic tendril extends from the core, with an identical but smaller mind tendril within. This mind-magic tendril is what manipulates the physical object by moving into the area where its physical form resides, and allocating energy into the tendril until it is enough to manipulate the object's physical form. Outside of their center of influence is a spherical area of thin mind material called the Sensory Field.

Genetics and Reproduction

It is unknown how the first Geists came to be, but Geists mostly reproduce by collecting magic and mind material and shaping it into a smaller Geist. No physical being has been able to mimic this process.

Growth Rate & Stages

Upon being shaped by a mature Geist, a young Geist starts primitive and with a small area of influence. Over time they accumulate more mind and magic, with greater cognitive ability and a larger area of influence.

Ecology and Habitats

Geists thrive in planes of high magical energy, or planes comprised purely of mind and magic, as Geists are able to perceive most, if not all of their surroundings. It has been observed that after multiple generations of Geists living in non-material planes, the ability to effect the material layer wanes in the offspring of a certain lineage. Because of this, it is believed that the ability to manipulate material is a trait that is learned and passed down through generations. However, standard evolution theory cannot be applied to Geists, as they do not reproduce like material beings do, and they lack the material DNA present in all material beings.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Geists do not need to eat or drink like physical beings do, rather consuming ambient magic and mind. Mind has a specific "taste" that some Geists enjoy and some dislike. According to Geists, magic's "taste" varies depending on a multitude of factors, such as density, stability, how recently it was used, and what it was recently used for. Most Geists agree that magic that was recently used in healing spells has the worst "taste" while information-based spells such as Comprehend Languages or Identify result in the best "taste."

Behaviour

Geists are naturally curious. Like humans, sociability varies between individual Geists, with some being more socially motivated and some being more reclusive. Geists process information differently from physical lifeforms. Sensory information is processed much more thoroughly by Geists. Just from their sense of magic in their Sensory field, most Geists can infer extensive information about a multitude of different things. For spells, they can detect which spells were cast, where and when they were cast, the source of magic (e.g. from a warlock's patron, from a sorcerer's natural magic, or a druid's connection to nature), and even the path of the spell's effect (e.g. a magic missile's path to a target or a fireball's travel and area of impact).

Through microdisturbances in ambient magic caused by material, a Geist is able to infer their material surroundings. This can also be applied to waves on the material layer. More acute Geists are able to "read" microdisturbances in magic caused by material-layer waves sent by devices, sound waves, and photons. Through this process, known as "wave-reading," they are able to understand the speech of material beings, interpret data sent through waves between devices, and some Geists even read text on the material layer.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

It is the general consensus that a Geist cannot truly perceive physical objects like physical beings do. Instead, they rely on the disturbances of mind signals in their sensory field. They are able to intuitively sense how dense something is by how great the disturbance is, and the shape of the object by where the disturbance starts and ends. It is known that Geists cannot percieve color, smell, taste, temperature, sound, or hardness. However, there have been some Geists with sensory so acute that they are able to distinguish colors via the microdisturbances that light has on ambient mind, and Geists are also able to "read" sound waves, as the impact they have on mind material is greater than most other wave types. Geists have the ability of telepathy as well, but they do not use it without consent, as it is considered very rude to enter another's mind without permission.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Because material sound is naturally foreign to Geists, a Geist's "name" is the same as their magical signature. Because of this, an average Geist would never meet another Geist by the same "name" although it is possible for two Geists to have the same magical signiature. Because the mind signature is consistent in offspring, it is often treated as a last name. As for naming conventions when interacting with material beings, constanants are rarely used. This is because for most methods that Geists use to communicate with material beings, such as magic mouths or speech synthesizers, vowels are the easiest to create.

Common Taboos

It is known that most Geists possess psychic abilities, including the ability to read minds. However, Geists view the mind as a private thing, and it is considered rude and indecent to read minds without explicit consent. Even with consent, Geists generally view mind reading as something that should never be done.

Scientific Name

Phasmadextus Sapien

Origin/Ancestry

Unknown