Geist: The Sin-Eaters
cover of Geist: The Sin-Eaters
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| Designer(s) | Ethan Skemp |
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| Publisher(s) | White Wolf |
| Publication date | August 2009 |
| Genre(s) | Personal Horror |
| System(s) | Storytelling System |
Geist: The Sin-Eaters is a tabletop roleplaying game and setting for White Wolf Game Studio's World of Darkness line released in August 2009. "Geist", in this context, refers to a spirit bound to a once-dead human, resulting in a Sin-Eater.
A Geist is a kind of spirit that was once a ghost but has given up their mortal identity. Instead they have become an embodiment of the ideas and imagery of their own deaths.
Players portray Sin Eaters who have died and returned to the world of the living. Unlike vampires, however, Sin Eaters (also called the Bound) are not undead, but rather living beings bound to fundamental forces of death. Upon the first death, every Sin Eater is approached by a Geist, an embodiment of an aspect or personification of death. In exchange for being returned to life, Sin Eaters allow the Geist to accompany them, effectively merging into each other in a symbiotic relation with the "human" in control. Upon this return to life, the Bound discover that they can see and interact with the restless shades of the dead, and must choose what to do with their second chance at life. In all instances, Sin Eaters are forced to deal with the dead, whether through altruism, greed, or just the plain fact that the dead will not leave them alone.
Every Sin Eater has a Threshold, relating to the way in which they died. Thresholds can be somewhat fluid, depending on what aspect of death the Sin Eater-to-be focused on at the moment of death. For example, someone who drowns could be either one of the Prey, who are killed by nature, or one of the Silent, who die from deprivation (a lack of oxygen), or even one of the Torn, if they are held under water. There are five Thresholds.
A sin-eater's archetype refers to their personal views on what has happened to them and how they are going to deal with it.
Psyche is the power trait of this venue, and it is a measure of the combined will of the sin-eater and their geist, and the strength of the bond between them. As with other power traits, it can be added to contested rolls against supernatural powers. Psyche is increased by constant work with the dead, resolving fetters, and traveling to the Underworld. High psyche sin-eaters require anchors to tie them into the mortal world, and regular visits to the Underworld to maintain their connection to the dead.
Plasm is what sin-eaters use to fuel their powers. It can be collected at Haunts, cenotes ("low places" with a connection to death, such as a graveyard), and Avernian Gates. It can also be gained by eating the corpus of a ghost, but few sin-eaters will ever resort to this. Death masks are a type of memento that naturally collects Plasm, and wearing one allows the sin-eater to access that plasm. Acting in resonance with one's threshold to the point of jeopardizing one's health or synergy can generate plasm. Finally, releasing a ghost from its anchors and helping it move on will completely refill a sin-eater's plasm bank. The amount of Plasm a sin-eater can hold and spend in a turn is determined by their Psyche rating.
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