Courtyard > Enemies > Apparitions Greetings, apprentice. Come to see our little rogue's gallery, have you? Yes. Well, after all - why not? It's important to know about those that might harm you, and there are certainly enough individuals in the City who would wish to harm us. The ones who don't know about us see as a threat, and the ones that do know of our existence - well, sometimes I think they almost see us as trophies. At any rate, best you'd learn their weaknesses before they find yours.

Apparitions

Classification: Undead Location(s): varies Variations: numerous Known Weaknesses: holy water, flash bombs, fire

Description:

One of the three primary categories of Undead, Apparitions are the opposite of Haunts and Zombies. Whereas those two possess a body with no life, an Apparition is a spirit with no body. The result is a being which resembles the body it once inhabited yet is nearly transparent and often quite insane.

The foremost living experts on the Undead is currently the Order of the Hammer. The Hammerites have made it part of their mandate to destroy the Undead wherever found. For this reason many in the priesthood of the order have studied the Undead to great length. Unfortunately, even such experienced knowledge maintains the edge of religious fervor, for the Hammerites teach that the Undead are the result of a sinful death. For an unbiased account, me must turn to The Journals of Morgan - a book authored by Morgan, a hunter of Undead from nearly two generations ago.

Morgan was not of the Hammers but accumulated much knowledge of the Undead during his lifetime. Before his death, he recorded what information he could in the tome we now speak of. According to Morgan, apparitions were often the result of a premature death, or perhaps at least an unexpected death before the person had completed some goal in life. This may sound confusing at first, but put simply it states that if a person sets some goal in life - say, the completion of a novel - and dedicates themself wholly to that goal but then dies before finishing it, there is a good likelihood that the person will return as an apparition.

In practicality, apparitions are usually quite insane. Most can be found walking around mumbling and talking to themselves in nonsensical gibberish. They are sometimes difficult to spot, especially in dark areas, due to their semi-transparency. And, lastly, many apparitions possess the ability to summon projectiles which can be fired at an enemy. The type of projectile appears to depend on the life led by the apparition previous to its death. A Hammerite apparition, for example, may fire ghostly green hammers or even skulls whilst a former librarian will cast forth ghostly books.

Weaknesses:

Apparitions are vulnerable to the same weapons and tactics as any other Undead. They can be destroyed with holy water, flash bombs, or fire, but cannot be harmed with the blade. Upon the second death, Apparitions simply fade from existence.

Threat Assessment:

Apparitions, like all Undead, are a constant threat when tombs and ruins must be ventured into, although they are not seen as often as the other Undead. Before venturing into any such location, it is recommended that one reads The Journals of Morgan - an excellent manual for fighting the Undead. Because of their relative rarity as compared to Haunts and Zombies, apparitions are assigned a threat assessment of low.

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