GAKI, Lesser Independent Race.
"Ha, I was a blaze leaping up!
I was a tiger bursting into sunlight.
I was greedy, I was mad for the unknown.
I, new-risen, resurrected, starved from the tomb,
starved from a life of devouring always myself,
now here was I, new-awakened, with my hand stretching out
and touching the unknown, the real unknown, the unknown unknown."
     -New Heaven and Earth, D. H. Lawrence

     The term 'Gaki' refers to any number of spirits from Japanese legend. Some were relatively benign, living on incense smoke or chimes, while others fed on human flesh, blood, or even consumed souls.
     The truth is that Gaki are one of a very broad group that includes vampires, lycanthropes, ghosts, and wraiths. For those familiar with the Pagan Publishing product, The Golden Dawn, all gaki and vampires have their origins as Astral Parasites.
     In brief, Astral Space is a realm in which location is relative, and from which locations in the physical world can be viewed. There are beings, Astral Parasites, that dwell there. Astral Parasites, and Gaki, are only defined by Int and Pow. In Astral Space, they can engage in Astral Combat. They can also be brought into the physical world.
     Vampires, and others, derive from Astral Parasites which made their way into the physical world long ago, and adapted to conditions here. There are many types with wildly varying natures, generally known among their own kind as the Fair Folk.
     Gaki possess a number of abilities that they can learn or develop over time. It is also possible for the spirits of the dead or rare living individuals to learn how to harness them, though this knowledge is well hidden.
     Spirits are 'anchored' to reference points. Reference points may be people, objects, or specific places. A spirit can sense, in a rough way, everything within 100 yards of that point, and can move freely up to 100 yards. Anything beyond is invisible, concealed by impenetrable gray 'fog'. The spirit cannot move further without Travel or Walk abilities.

     Simple abilities require a roll of Int% per day or significant event. Standard abilities require a month of effort and a roll of Int% to learn, or after a week with instruction. Advanced abilities require a year of effort and a roll of Int% to learn, or 3 months with instruction.

Simple Abilities
     Drain: Pow test vs Pow, Int, Con, or Str. This is fixed when the ability is gained, so there are 4 versions of this ability. If successful, target looses 1D3 points from the respective attribute, and the spirit gains them as Magic Points. May cause SAN loss to use depending on circumstances. It is theoretically possible to drain other characteristics, but such variations would be at least Advanced abilities.
     Spirits outside of living bodies do not recover MP naturally, making Drain and Focus (below) vital. A spirit at 0 MP remains in limbo (torpor) until some random occurrence revitalizes it. A spirit drained of all Pow is destroyed, though fragments of its thoughts and memories can be called up with appropriate spells.
     Manifest: If within 100 yards of a being, a spirit can appear as some form of apparition. If the target chooses to 'look through' or see the true form of the spirit, a Pow test determines whether it is successful. The spirit must make an Idea roll to notice that this test is being made.
     The max Appearance is the spirit's Intelligence, the maximum apparent Size of the manifestation is Pow x 5. Horrific visions cause 0/D3, or possibly 1/D6, but may also cause the same SAN loss to the spirit.
     Spirit Combat: Essentially like Astral Combat. Target looses 1D3 MP and 0/1 SAN after failing a Pow test.
     Travel: This basic power allows a spirit to change reference points to any location or person well known, teleporting instantly to that location. In general, Int x N rolls should be made as if in Astral Space, but without SAN or MP loss. (N is a rating of how familiar the location/person is) Keepers may elect to skip this requirement.

Standard Abilities
     Apprehension: The ability to see the physical world with perfect clarity. This ability extends beyond the normal 100 yard limit. It also enhances the ability to Travel to locations within sight, improving the Int multiplier by 1. This will also allow spirits to see spiritual forces from within a Vessel or body.
     Bud: The spirit spends 2 Pow and generates a bud, a child spirit with 2 Pow and 0 Int. Over time, the bud will grow and learn, generally following in the pattern of its parent. It is possible for two spirits to work together to form hybrids, each spending 1 Pow.
     Focus: The spirit has learned to gather free-flowing MP from the environment. Each Focus ability concentrates on a particular environment, setting, or skill. 1 MP is gathered per hour of rest in the environment or spent performing the skill. Skills can include meditation, artwork, or mathematics. Common environments could be a particular shape, within the earth, within water, on a windy summit, in the presence of a loved one, a family home, and so forth.
     Possession: Enables a spirit to enter a living body. The spirit spends as many MP as desired. The host spirit, or any other spirit occupying the body, then tests Pow vs. the MP. If successful, the spirit enters the body. In a living body, a spirit will regain MP like humans do. The original spirit of the body may work freely, but if it lacks abilities like Spirit Combat or Drain, its options are limited.
     It is possible for savvy spirits to convince hosts to voluntarily let them in. If so, the spirit must not lie, but may mislead. A volunteer is at Pow/2 for the Pow test.
     Repair: A specialized form of Shape (see below) that enables a spirit to restore objects to working order. One MP is needed per point being restored. HP damage to a Vessel requires 2 MP per point of repair. Living matter can be repaired at 1 MP per HP, but a Con check is needed to avoid system shock and death.
     Quicken: By spending 1 Pow, matter becomes alive. If the target is a dead body being reanimated, there is a chance of it dying when Quickened again. Con x 5 chance of living if the body is recently deceased and in good shape, x 3 if dead for some days or weeks and fairly damaged, x 1 if old or very damaged.
     Vessel: 1 Pow turns matter into a Vessel. The total effective physical attributes (Str, Con, Siz, Dex, and App) of the Vessel are limited to Pow x 5. The matter could be a dead body, several bodies sewn together, clay golems, manikins, or even animate pillows, if desired. A Vessel has the wound characteristics of Zombies. If the Vessel looses all its HPs, it is destroyed and must be refashioned and another Pow spent. The Shape ability can be used to 'heal' damage to a Vessel. Possession is needed to actually occupy a Vessel. It is given that the Vessel can grapple, punch, kick, and so forth, or equivalents.
     A temporary version of Vessel may be learned, requiring one MP per round that the Vessel is animate.
     Walk: Allows the spirit to move freely in the physical world, without reference points. Mov rate is Powx5.

Advanced Abilities
     Astral projection: See The Golden Dawn. Allows a being to project the spirit into the Astral plane.
     Implant progeny: Spend one or more Pow on a seed, that is placed in a host. Every day, the seed makes a Pow test with the host. If successful, 1D3 of Pow are absorbed from the host. When the host is down to 3 or less Pow, the child will then target Edu or Int, until both are gone. At this point, the remaining Pow is drained and the child takes over ownership of the body. The identity and memories of the host are worn by the child, though the true instincts and nature of the child remains true to its lineage.
     SAN of the changeling is Pow x 5. Any skills below 100%-((changeling's Int + Edu) x 2.5) are at default, not strong enough in the identity of the host to be retained.
     Merged forms: Two or more Vessels or living bodies can be merged, 1 Pow per additional form. Multiple living bodies still have normal needs, that can manifest as high metabolism and food intake from one of the bodies. Damage from one body transfers to others, which is potentially dangerous. A being with multiple bodies and no familiarity with spirit abilities will be stuck if one of the bodies dies. It takes one round to swap forms.
     A Spirit form can be one of the forms, which allows the being to evaporate the merged forms and function as a spirit, or reform the merged bodies as desired. However, damage taken manifests as missing MP in the Spirit form, so long as damage exists in the forms overall.
     Multiple forms: Same as merged forms, but costs 2 Pow. Also, damage taken by one form does not transfer to others. A spirit form can be part of the list, also without suffering from transferred damage.
     Shape: Spend 1 MP to move one point of an object's attribute to another attribute (or another object's attribute). Without Splinter, the spirit must be merged with or touching the item, with no other spirits contesting. If another spirit is contesting, this requires Pow test and MP expenditure. A failure wastes the MP.
     Very simple shapings take 1 round per MP needed, basic shapings take 1D3 rounds per MP, standard shapings take 1D6 rounds per MP, complex shapings take 1D3 minutes per MP, and very complex shapings take 1D10 minutes per MP.
     Living things can be changed by up to its HP in shaping points per hour, nonliving objects have no limits (though the Keeper may decide that some objects are delicate and require more time). This ability can be used to craft interesting items, unlock doors, sculpt items, and so forth.
     Generally, for objects, App is an estimate of the fine quality of the item, Con of its structural integrity, Str of its ability to do work (for clockwork or vehicles), and Dex of the precision of its motion (if it is capable of such).
     Shape <>: A specialized form of shaping, to accomplish one well practiced type of shaping. Hands can be formed into claws and back again, knives formed from air, and so forth. These shapings can be done very quickly. Each ability handles one specific result. MP costs are the same as regular shaping.
     Very simple shapings can be done instantly, basic shapings take one round, standard shapings take 1D3 rounds, complex shapings take 1D6 rounds, and very complex shapings take 1D8 rounds.
     Solidify: Similar to Manifest, but takes on physical substance, of any sort desired, can Fly at 12 Move (in addition to normal movement). Appearance can be up to Int, Dex = Int/2, Con and Str both = Pow/2, and Siz can be up to Pow/2. Although Siz is limited, the spirit can become more diffuse or more dense. Zombie rules apply for damage, any damage being done removes MP.
     Another level of Solidify can be learned, which has Drift at 5 Move (in addition to normal movement). Attributes at 1/2 are now at full. Normal (human) rules apply for damage, damage taken from MP.
     Splinter: Divide Int and Pow into multiple beings, capable of functioning as one whole as long as all are in 100 yards of each other. Further, they can carry on simple actions, depending on Int.

Combinations
     Shape + Vessel: Vessels can be reworked into bizarre new shapes, either on demand or carefully over time. For 1 point out of the Pow x 5 of the Vessel, an attack can be raised by 2 max. That is, a punch can be made 1D5+db with 1 point used. For 1 point the range of a personal attack can be extended by one meter. For 5 points the Vessel can be given 1 point of armor.
     Quicken + Shape + Vessel: Bodies can be warped in truly novel ways. The more unusual the shape, the more unlikely it is to be viable. Viability can be judged, however, without sinking in the Quicken's 1 Pow. Int x1 to x5 is rolled, depending on experience. Easy projects can be rolled once per week, less understood per month, very unusual per season, and truly novel forms (living glass, and so forth) per year of work. Note that once alive, the Vessel looses its Zombie immunities.

Range
     If the ability is learned at a more skilled level, eye contact is needed for corporeal targets and within 100 yards. Noncorporeal targets only need to be within 100 yards and perceived in some way.

Horror
     Spirits attempting to horrify others must produce high App scores. 0 App manifestations of Vessels are generally featureless things.
     Max SAN loss from a horrifying visage is App/2. A horrifying App of 12 indicates a 1/D6 SAN loss. When a Vessel's Appearance is shifted from regular to horrifying visage (or the reverse), MP cost is new App - old App/2, some benefit accruing from the attention to form.

Limitations
     Free spirits are warded by Elder Signs.
     Blessed weapons, often of wood, iron, or silver, are dangerous to spirits. Conventional blessings may or may not work, but the Bless Blade spell definately does.
     Many traditional limits of spirits are due to psychology, misunderstood details about spirits, or tricks on the part of spirits.

Life and Death: Baptism and Last Rites
     Baptism, whatever the belief system, has the power to protect a living body against spiritual attack or from the spirit within leaving the body. Essentially, any test against the person, if unwilling, is at the person's Pow x 2. Any attempt to leave the body is at 1/2 normal chance.
     Last rites and burial generally subdue a spirit. If a spirit does not escape from a dead body before last rites and burial, the spirit looses MP quickly and goes into torpor. The buried soul makes a Luck roll yearly, loosing 1 point of Pow if it fails.
     The spirits of the dead are generally tethered to their body. A body that is destroyed or killed in a particularly violent way may result in the spirit being tethered to their place of death. If the body or location is destroyed before the spirit learns to Travel or Walk, the spirit is cast into the astral plane and, usually, quickly devoured.
     Ghouls and other creatures that consume bodies of the dead receive some power and sustenance from consuming the quiescent souls of the dead, as well.
     Spirits that manage to escape burial will typically loose about 20 SAN in the long process of adjusting, learning to feed, and so forth. After 20 SAN loss due to various checks, a Keeper should handle the spirit as having learned how to handle its present existence. Loss will still occur for violence and other normal SAN checks, just not from direct aspects of the state of existence.
     The living and the dead have a much harder time of it in the Endtimes. Religion, though still a strong bulwark against chaos and despair, has been abandoned by many. Baptism is rare, and many of the dead are given to the USO for processing. Processing renders the spirit down into MP, or uses Melt to produce ship components.

Reproduction
     Changeling: Gaki employ a variety of strategies like the cowbird or cuckoo to allow other beings to raise their progeny. Some Gaki will sneak into cradles and consume the souls of children, replacing them with Buds of their own. Others Implant progeny in children or fetuses. In some cases, the implanted gaki do not manifest until the child reaches adolescence, or even later. Stories of Dhampyrs, half vampires, are generally cases of late-blossoming changelings.
     Changelings adopt the form and thinking of their mortal parents, but the instincts and powers of their gaki heritage eventually surfaces.
     Embrace: Vampires often convert fully grown humans into vampires. In most cases, despite spinning tales about eternal life, they use the same strategies. Either the soul is consumed and replaced with a bud, or a new vampire is implanted and parasitizes the human's soul.
     Revenants: Some gaki or vampires may actually help foster humans as gaki or vampires. The common process is to slay the human, then use Vessel to make the dead body capable of animation by the original spirit. The original spirit is then taught Shape, to maintain the body, and Drain, to regain lost MP.
     A corpse-Vessel retains 1/2 of any basic damage the body took before being reanimated. Appearance is lessened by at least 1, possibly more, depending on its condition. Systemic damage, like that caused by asphyxiation or poison, may cause a few lost HP and App as well.
     Revenants often avoid sunlight or heat. Sunlight and heat tend to spur decay in what is essentially a lump of dead flesh, requiring more frequent repairs to maintain a presentable appearance. A corpse-body looses attributes over time due to decay.
     Two Con checks are made daily, for App and Con. Under good, cool conditions, 0/1 points are lost. Under normal conditions, minor exposure to sunlight or heat, 1/1D3 points are lost. Under extreme conditions, tropics or a lot of sunlight, 1D3/1D6 points are lost. Once Con hits 0, Siz drops instead as bits fall off. Points can be replaced by MP expenditure.
     With time and experience, a spirit can refashion a body into something that looks alive but is not truly flesh, that requires no maintenance.

Other abilities
     There are many other abilities spirits may develop over time, such as psychic powers, unusual methods of drain, and unusual living forms. Rules for wraiths, vampires, and werewolves indicate some of the other abilities spirit lineages have learned over time.

Gaki PCs
     A player or Keeper should determine base ideas about what sort of Gaki this is, and what sort of parent(s) the character had. At its base, a Gaki is generated by rolling Int, Edu, and Pow. Rules for Fair Folk are helpful, as PC gaki are most likely to be one of them.
     Simple powers cost 5 skill points. Standard powers cost 10 skill points, or 20 if the character has no real ability to learn the power from another. Advanced powers cost 20 skill points or 50 with no training. These points can be taken from occupational or hobby skill pools.
     After picking powers, the player should decide just what sort of physical body, if any, the character has. A possessing entity should roll regular physical stats for the current captured body. Otherwise, physical stats are based on the particular powers the Gaki has.