Ask a simple question, get a simple answer - Geist edition.

[SNESferatu]

Hello everyone! I don't know if it's too soon for this kind of topic, but since I'm already working at starting a Geist 2e chronicle and I have questions... why not? Sooo... let's begin!

What actually happens mechanically when a geist gets a higher Rank? There are some things that I know are true: other than Rank being a Supernatural Tolerance trait, the geist is a Bane for ghosts with a Rank two steps lower and they can use more powerful Influence and increase even more their Attributes with Plasm when they gain Rank.

But... do the Attributes change by raising to the limits linked to that Rank? Should the Ban and the Ban be updated? Does their appearance change?

[milo v3]

We've been informed in the comments of the kickstarter that they do not gain increased attributes, but do get the increased influence/tolerance/bane for lower rank ghosts.

[Vent0]

We've been informed in the comments of the kickstarter that they do not gain increased attributes, but do get the increased influence/tolerance/bane for lower rank ghosts.

Did they say why not the applicable Attributes/Numina/Manifestations?

[RaphaTheAscended]

The biggest question today is whether any means of achieving rank 3 changes the rules of the ghost to that of a Geist, such as gaining a Key for example.
What happens to a ghost that misses an anchor and resolves the others or vice versa?
What happens to Geist bound to Sin-eater in Underworld, since there is no Twilight there?
Resolving Catarse put you in Synergy 10 regardless of where it was before it was complete?
Breaking point of the Nickname is only valid for Absents or any Ghost?
Can a Geist use a Memento as a Sin-Eater?

[xiongrey]

The biggest question today is whether any means of achieving rank 3 changes the rules of the ghost to that of a Geist, such as gaining a Key for example.

I don't quite know about the others but the answer is, for the most part, yes since the only real way to become a Rank 3 Ghost is to drink from the rivers. I suppose there might be Mage or something ways, but they say in the book that "Geist" is just another name for rank 3+ Ghost.

I imagine that if otherways were to increase the rank of a ghost, same things would, mechanically, happen to them. They start to become less human and more *just death*.

[RaphaTheAscended]

I don't quite know about the others but the answer is, for the most part, yes since the only real way to become a Rank 3 Ghost is to drink from the rivers. I suppose there might be Mage or something ways, but they say in the book that "Geist" is just another name for rank 3+ Ghost.

I imagine that if otherways were to increase the rank of a ghost, same things would, mechanically, happen to them. They start to become less human and more *just death*.

It actually has other means, like devouring a Doppelganger. Not to mention the temporary ways, which I imagine to be another that also has a lot of doubt.

[Satchel]

It actually has other means, like devouring a Doppelganger. Not to mention the temporary ways, which I imagine to be another that also has a lot of doubt.

One of the example story seeds concerns a mortal necromancer who rises as a geist of at least 4 if he's killed, and the fact that a graveyard's guardian geist need not have left a ghost before in the first place suggests a trend to the non-River-based means of geist formation vis-a-vis "mystical convergences, occult rituals, and similar effects."

Also, it's worth remembering that Döppelgangers are formed from life-changing trauma and ghosts don't form at Rank 2 at two thirds of the Integrity scale, counting the circumstances of their formation — a Rank 3+ Döppelganger is typically going to be the result of someone who has gone through a lot over time, quite possibly in a fashion consistent with the above exceptional circumstances.

[xiongrey]

All the same, I think that a Geist is mechanically (and likely superficially) the same no matter the origin.

That said, I do have a lot of questions that I myself am going to ask but I'll wait until i can mentally unpack (and for other questions before me to get answered).

[Flinty]

Do the Bound still posess a soul or does their Geist fill the position similarily to how a Horror does it for a beast?

[Satchel]

Do the Bound still posess a soul or does their Geist fill the position similarily to how a Horror does it for a beast?

The latter.

[Flinty]

In this case is there any interaction between the Geist and the former soul of the Bound? Does it just pass away (since they just died) or does the Geist merge with it or eat it?

[Tessie]

Not touched upon in the text, but the former is by far more likely.

[xiongrey]

In this case is there any interaction between the Geist and the former soul of the Bound? Does it just pass away (since they just died) or does the Geist merge with it or eat it?

It's not outright stated, but the soul just seems to slip away. Then the Geist and the resident Ghost (you) sit where the soul used to be. Basicaly what you've heard already, but it's not just the Geist that sits where the soul is, it's the bargain that binds the Ghost and the Geist together in the Ghost's original body.

[xiongrey]

My Questions on The Absent

1. What does transferring memories look like? The text said that ghosts see memories physically but did not show what that meant. Like for example, when a place leaves behind a Memory or more at a location, what do those memories look like before you take them? Or, What does it actually look like when ghosts Trade memories?
2. What is Hustle? and is it a mechanical thing or just a statement that Ghosts need really work at not getting dragged to hell. Like it gave something like 15 example hustles between "concerning the living", "Concerning the Dead", and "Concerning the Strange". But I couldn't tell if that was a pseudo-class (as in, you'd write one of those on your character sheet) or if it's just several examples of what ghosts do to survive up top (aka, their focus and aspirations).
3. What actually makes an Absent an Absent?
   1. Are you an Absent as soon as you use a memory on something like Essence bleed?
   2. Are you an Absent as soon as you get a memory that you didn't start with?
   3. Are you an Absent if you don't have any more anchors topside? (From what I can tell, you can play a Ghost with their anchors and never have used memories as a buffer. Honestly that's what I want to do when I play, essentially do everything I can to not have to resort to Memories so I don't have to deal with the mechanic. Meaning I'd want to do as best I can to shore up anchors).
   4. Are you an Absent once you take on a nickname instead of a real name? I don't understand why that would be.

[Jacob]

Also wondering about the Absent, but if I'm reading the rules right, it seems like playable flesh-eating "zombies" and "animated skeletons" are a thing, is that right?