Soshigeist

The half-ghosts born of the elements who cling to this world to fulfill a purpose

Base Racial Traits

Ability Score Modifiers: (+2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma, -2 Strength) Soshigeist are incredibly dextrous thanks to their half-ghost nature and have powerful personalities born of the powerful emotions that made them but they lack strength due to their partial corporeality.
Size: Soshigeist are the size they were in life, but by default they are medium-sized creatures and have no penalties or bonuses because of their size.
Type: Soshigeist are Humanoids with the subtype corresponding to the race they were in life. However, as partial undead and partial ghosts, Soshigeists do not need to Sleep or Breathe.
Base Speed: Soshigeist have a 30ft base land speed.
Vision: Soshigeist have the senses they had in life, plus Lifesense out to 15ft.
Languages: Soshigeist begin play speaking Necril and the Regional Language(See Languages of Zheng-Kitar) they spoke in life. A Soshigeist with high INT can choose from any non-secret language as bonus languages.
Intangible: As half ghosts, Soshigeists are partially intangible, and gain a +2 deflection bonus to their AC due to their partial incorporeality. They may travel through solid barriers such as walls at a rate of 10ft per round so long as they as have a light load or less. They can carry their gear they have on them along through the wall with them so long as they do not exceed their light load. If they increase their load while they are inside a wall or solid obstacle, they are shunted to the nearest open space and take 2d6 points of damage.
Elemental Ghosts: Soshigeists are each tied to one of the Six Core Elements(Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Light, Void), chosen upon their creation. They deal 1d4 points of damage of that elemental type with each melee attack they make, deal an extra point of damage on each die of that elemental damage they deal with spells, and gain resistance 10 to that element(Or channel resist 6 for Light and Void).
Unstoppable Purpose: Though not fully undead nor fully incorporeal, the traumatic energies that create Soshigeists often gives them a purpose to cling to unlife, much like ghosts. They gain a +4 to their CMD and on saves made vs effects that would impede their movement.
Unliving Witness: Having borne witness to the terrors that await life after death, Soshigeists carry knowledge of the beyond with them. They gain Knowledge(Planes) and Stealth as class skills, and gain a racial +2 bonus on one of them(Player Choice).
Reaperseal Mask: Each Soshigeist is "born" into existence with a Reaperseal Mask bound to its face that serves as a powerful anchor to keep their soul bound to their new form. Though impossible to remove or harm by all but the Soshigeist themselves, the mask's power grants all natural attacks or weapons they wield are treated as having the ghost touch weapon special quality.
Half-Undead: Soshigeists are formerly corporeal beings bound to this world by tragedy and loss, and are partially incorporeal undead. They are treated as undead for the purposes of Positive and Negative Energy and gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws versus disease. They also take no penalties from energy-drain effects, though they can still be killed if they accrue more negative levels than they have hit dice. After 24 hours, any negative levels they’ve gained are removed with any additional saving throws.

Basic Information

Anatomy

As half-undead and partial ghosts, Soshigeists lack much of an anatomy, as on the inside they are mostly black-smoke and vague ghostly outlines where organs once were, like hollow puppets with vague outlines of internal anatomy. However, strangely, these outlines stll seem to function for them, and can be harmed as normal, despite their strange appearance.

Genetics and Reproduction

Soshigeist reproduction is a mostly unknown thing, as few Soshigeists appear in general, and even less care to have children. They are believed to be capable of reproduction accordingly to the race they were in life since they are not fully dead, but most of these details are purely speculation.

Growth Rate & Stages

Soshigeists do age, contrary to popular belief, though at a rate almost twice as slow as normal humans. They generally begin "life" fully formed by "returning to life" at or near the sight of their tragic demise, reborn into a fully grown body. They reach middle age around age 60, become old around age 100, and become venerable at age 120 and die shortly thereafter as their corporeal form cannot be held together by the binding of their Reaperseal masks any longer, and vanish.
However, almost no Soshigeists live to old age, and instead pass on once their purpose for clinging to life has been fulfilled.

Ecology and Habitats

Soshigeists can be found anywhere and everywhere, as tragedy and loss that leads to creatures dying with regrets and unachieved dreams or goals is universal.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Soshigeists have no need to eat, but retain the preferences they had in life.

Biological Cycle

Soshigeists lack much of an outward body to show signs of age, and even up until the moment of their demise their smoky, barely corporeal form shows no signs of aging. They simple reach a point where their Reaperseal Masks can no longer bind them to the material plane, and vanish, their souls returning to the beyond.

Additional Information

Facial characteristics

Soshigeist faces are invariably covered by their Reaperseal masks, powerful artifacts that form with each Soshigeist and bind to them, serving as the Focii that binds their soul back to the material plane. It is unclear if Soshigeists even possess a face anymore, but from what can be see their faces and heads appear smoky and indistinct, as if barely bound to existence through the power of their Mask.
The Reaperseal Masks that appear on each Soshigeist can vary wildly in appearance and are completely unique to each individual, varying wildly in both size, shape, color, and design.

Average Intelligence

Soshigeists can vary wildly in base intelligence depending on the race they were in life, as unlike with most all undead their personality and intelligence is left wholly intact absent any mindless rage or murderous tendancies towards the living.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Soshigeists keep the sensory capabilities they have in life, but their new half-ghostly form allows them to see the very essence of life in a short radius around them.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Soshigeists names are generally those that they had in life, but should they be reborn with amnesia or not care to retain the same name they often pick a simple, easy to remember epithet or simple name with little thought given to anything besides ease of speaking and remembering, as they care only about achieving the reason or goal that has caused them to cling to life.

Alternate Racial Trait List:
Soshigeist Alternate Racial Traits

Racial Feat List:
Soshigeist may take any racial feat they qualify for from the race they were in life. Please consult your GM to discuss this, or to discuss another feasible race to take feats from if your race does not have racial feats.
Soshigeist Racial Feats

Lifespan

125 Years. However, many Soshigeist "Pass On" once their purpose for clinging to this world has been fulfilled.

Conservation Status

Soshigeists are incredibly rare, as they form in essentially in the same way as ghosts but only when a creature has an extreme and overwhelming regret or goal they could not see achieved in life, and is willing to return to a life of corporeality to see it done. They appear very sporadically throughout Zheng-Kitar, and are an uncommon sight anywhere.

Average Height

Dependent on the race they were in life.

Average Weight

Dependent on the race they were in life.

Average Physique

Soshigeists can vary wildly in average physique depending on the race they were in life, as they are brought back to corporeality almost completely indentically to how they appeared at the moment of their demise, or rarely the prime of their life if their dying state was too gruesome, frail, or etc.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Soshigeist bodies look the same they did in life, though their skin is invariably tainted black as pitch with a uniform, oily appearance but that feels solid and smooth like metal to the touch. Their hair is often similar to how it was in life, colored black, white, or silver, with bone white being the most common. Rarely, they may retain their hair color from life or even have smoky, indistinct hair.

Spirits of the Long-Dead

A race most mysterious, Soshigeists have long been a topic of heated debate among scholars and planar theologians - the nature of how and under what conditions a creature that has died returns to life as a Soshigeist rather than a normal ghost has long been a secret that has puzzled many researchers of the undead. Because unlike normal undead, Soshigeists are one of the few types of undead that do not come back with a burning hatred for all life - for reasons unknown, they lack the traditional hatred of the living most all other undead have and instead posess mostly identical personalities, memories, and identities to what they had in life, making it incredibly hard for many to distinguish between them and their living counterparts without magical aid.
Whatever the case may be, Soshigeists have always been the subject of curiosity by many, as they often do not 'live' their full lifespan - once they finish the tasks or purpose that kept them anchored to this plane of existence, they are wont to vanish, their purposes spent...few linger around for extremely extended periods of time and thus the 'lifespan' of a Soshigeist is anecdotal at best.