Ghost Physiology
Ghost Physiology shapes a character's supernatural focus, training, and power set.
Power index
Ghost Physiology Powers
42 powers, grouped by tier. The rules needed for quick reference are shown directly in each row.
Tier 0
2
Your hand becomes corpse-cold and half-transparent. Make a melee power attack. On a hit, the target takes cold or necrotic damage, and unattended objects you touch briefly frost, rattle, or dim.
- Action
- Action
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- Melee
- Duration
- Instant
- Effect
- 1d8
- Type
- Cold / Necrotic
- Roll
- Attack
Your outline fades like a dying memory. Until the start of your next turn, add 1d4 to Stealth checks, and opportunity attacks against you have disadvantage if you are in dim light, darkness, fog, ruins, graveyards, or haunted spaces.
- Action
- Bonus Action
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- Self
- Duration
- 1 Round
- Effect
- 1d4
- Type
- Ghost / Stealth
Tier 1
4
Release a brief echo of your death, grief, or unfinished business. One creature you can see makes a WIS save or takes psychic or cold damage and cannot take reactions until the start of its next turn.
- Action
- Action
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- 30 ft.
- Duration
- Instant
- Effect
- 2d6
- Type
- Psychic / Cold
- Save
- WIS
Move up to 10 ft. through a creature, loose curtain, unlocked door, cracked wall, fog, smoke, or shadowed threshold. You cannot pass through sealed solid barriers with this power.
- Action
- Bonus Action
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- Self
- Duration
- Instant
- Effect
- 10 ft.
- Type
- Movement / Ghost
Choose one creature that can hear whispers or echoes from you. It makes a WIS save or has disadvantage on its next Perception, Insight, or concentration check before the effect ends.
- Action
- Action
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- 60 ft.
- Duration
- 1 Minute
- Effect
- 60 ft.
- Type
- Fear / Haunting
- Save
- WIS
Loose objects, doors, shutters, chains, books, candles, or furniture within range shake violently. A creature in the area makes a DEX save or takes bludgeoning damage from the disturbance. This cannot perform precise manipulation.
- Action
- Action
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- 30 ft.
- Duration
- Instant
- Effect
- 2d6
- Type
- Bludgeoning / Poltergeist
- Save
- DEX
Tier 2
4
Enter or haunt a Tiny or Small unattended object. While inside, you can see and hear from it, make it twitch, whisper, or move up to 5 ft. per round, but cannot attack or perform precise tasks.
- Action
- Action
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- Touch
- Duration
- 10 Minutes
- Effect
- Object
- Type
- Possession / Utility
You attune to death traces. For the duration, you can sense undead, spirits, corpses, hauntings, and places of violent death within 60 ft. unless blocked by consecrated, warded, or lead-lined barriers.
- Action
- Bonus Action
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- Self
- Duration
- 10 Minutes
- Effect
- 60 ft.
- Type
- Sense / Spirit
You hover inches above the ground and drift like a spirit. Ignore nonmagical difficult terrain, leave no tracks, and can move across liquids or fragile surfaces as long as you end your turn on solid support.
- Action
- Bonus Action
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- Self
- Duration
- 1 Minute
- Type
- Movement / Ghost
Make a melee power attack with a translucent hand, claw, or weapon. On a hit, the target takes necrotic damage and must make a CON save or have its speed reduced by 10 ft. until the end of its next turn.
- Action
- Action
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- Melee
- Duration
- Instant
- Effect
- 3d8
- Type
- Necrotic
- Roll
- Attack
- Save
- CON
Tier 3
4
A cold presence pours out of you. Creatures of your choice in the emanation make CON saves, taking cold damage on a failure or half on a success. A creature that fails also has disadvantage on its next attack before the end of its next turn.
- Action
- Action
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- Self (15 ft.)
- Duration
- Instant
- Effect
- 4d8
- Type
- Cold
- Save
- CON
Your body becomes partially incorporeal. You have resistance to nonmagical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage, and advantage on checks or saves to escape grapples, restraints, manacles, webs, or nonmagical bindings.
- Action
- Bonus Action
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- Self
- Duration
- 1 Minute
- Type
- Defense / Ghost
Your spirit makes the area hostile and wrong. Hostile creatures of your choice in the emanation make WIS saves or become frightened until the end of their next turn. A creature alone in the area has disadvantage on the save.
- Action
- Action
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- Self (30 ft.)
- Duration
- 1 Minute
- Effect
- 30 ft.
- Type
- Fear / Haunting
- Save
- WIS
When a creature you can see moves, attacks, opens a door, or manipulates an object, violent spirit force interferes. It makes a STR save or is pushed 10 ft., knocked prone, or forced to drop one held object.
- Action
- Reaction
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- 30 ft.
- Duration
- Instant
- Effect
- 10 ft.
- Type
- Force / Poltergeist
- Save
- STR
Tier 4
4
Move up to 15 ft. through nonmagical stone, wood, plaster, loose earth, doors, or walls. If you would end inside solid matter, you are shunted to the nearest open space and take force damage.
- Action
- Action
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- Self
- Duration
- Instant
- Effect
- 15 ft.
- Type
- Movement / Incorporeal
One creature you can see makes a CHA save. On a failure, you briefly ride one limb or movement impulse. You may force it to drop one object, take one step, fall prone, or make one harmless gesture.
- Action
- Action
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- 30 ft.
- Duration
- 1 Round
- Effect
- 30 ft.
- Type
- Possession / Control
- Save
- CHA
You release a dead scream. Creatures of your choice in the cone make WIS saves, taking psychic or thunder damage on a failure or half on a success. A creature that fails cannot speak above a whisper until the start of its next turn.
- Action
- Action
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- Self (30 ft.)
- Duration
- Instant
- Effect
- 6d8
- Type
- Psychic / Thunder
- Save
- WIS
When you take damage, briefly vanish into a death-memory. Reduce the damage by 4d10 + your CHA modifier and become invisible until the start of your next turn or until you attack or force a saving throw.
- Action
- Reaction
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- Self
- Duration
- Instant
- Effect
- 4d10 + CHA
- Type
- Reduction / Ghost
Tier 5
4
Bind your presence to a room, grave, mirror, weapon, portrait, doorway, or personal object. While within 300 ft. of the anchor, you know when creatures enter its space and can project a whisper, cold spot, or minor rattle through it.
- Action
- 10 Minutes
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- Touch
- Duration
- 8 Hours
- Effect
- 300 ft.
- Type
- Haunting / Anchor
Objects, debris, chains, furniture, or spectral fragments hurl themselves through a 15-ft. radius area. Creatures in the area make DEX saves, taking bludgeoning or force damage on a failure or half on a success.
- Action
- Action
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- 60 ft.
- Duration
- Instant
- Effect
- 6d8
- Type
- Bludgeoning / Force
- Save
- DEX
Make a ghostly touch attack. On a hit, the target takes necrotic damage and makes a CON save. On a failure, it cannot regain hit points and has disadvantage on death saves until the start of your next turn.
- Action
- Action
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- Melee
- Duration
- Instant
- Effect
- 6d8
- Type
- Necrotic
- Roll
- Attack
- Save
- CON
Become a gliding wraith. Gain a flying speed equal to your walking speed, but you must end each turn no more than 5 ft. above a surface, creature, object, or shadow unless another effect holds you aloft.
- Action
- Bonus Action
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- Self
- Duration
- 1 Minute
- Effect
- Fly speed
- Type
- Movement / Wraith
Tier 6
4
Choose a structure, room, graveyard, battlefield remnant, or ruin within range. For the duration, you know the direction of moving creatures inside it, and doors, loose objects, curtains, and lights may rattle or slam as rough haunting effects.
- Action
- Action
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- 120 ft.
- Duration
- Concentration, 10 Minutes
- Effect
- 120 ft.
- Type
- Haunting / Location
Become mostly incorporeal. You can move through creatures and nonmagical objects as difficult terrain, resist nonmagical weapon damage, and cannot manipulate objects heavier than 10 pounds. If you end your turn inside an object, you take force damage and are expelled.
- Action
- Bonus Action
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- Self
- Duration
- Concentration, 1 Minute
- Type
- Incorporeal / Defense
One creature that can hear you makes a CHA save. On a failure, you may speak through its voice once before the end of each of your turns. The words are obviously unnatural to close companions unless you succeed on a Deception check.
- Action
- Action
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- 60 ft.
- Duration
- 1 Minute
- Effect
- 60 ft.
- Type
- Possession / Voice
- Save
- CHA
Make a ghostly attack against one living creature. On a hit, it takes necrotic damage and makes a CON save. On a failure, you gain temporary hit points equal to half the damage dealt and the target's speed is halved until the end of its next turn.
- Action
- Action
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- Melee
- Duration
- Instant
- Effect
- 8d8
- Type
- Necrotic / Temp HP
- Roll
- Attack
- Save
- CON
Tier 7
4
Reveal your true ghostly form. Hostile creatures of your choice in the emanation make WIS saves or become frightened. While frightened this way, a creature cannot regain hit points and has disadvantage on checks to perceive anything except you.
- Action
- Action
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- Self (60 ft.)
- Duration
- 1 Minute
- Effect
- 60 ft.
- Type
- Fear / Ghost
- Save
- WIS
One humanoid or living creature makes a CHA save. On a failure, you enter its space and partially control it. While possessed, you can force its movement on your turn, but cannot make it directly harm itself. It repeats the save when damaged or at the end of each turn.
- Action
- Action
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- 30 ft.
- Duration
- Concentration, 1 Minute
- Effect
- 30 ft.
- Type
- Possession
- Save
- CHA
Make two ghostly melee attacks. Each hit deals necrotic or cold damage. If both hit the same living creature, it must make a CON save or suffer disadvantage on STR and DEX saves until the end of its next turn.
- Action
- Action
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- Melee
- Duration
- Instant
- Effect
- 4d8 / 4d8
- Type
- Necrotic / Cold
- Roll
- Attack
- Save
- CON
When you would drop to 0 hit points, name an unfinished purpose: protect, reveal, avenge, escape, or return. Drop to 1 hit point instead and become incorporeal until the start of your next turn. This fails if the triggering effect was divine, radiant, or specifically exorcising you.
- Action
- Reaction
- Use
- 1/Long Rest
- Range
- Self
- Duration
- Instant
- Effect
- 1 HP
- Type
- Survival / Ghost
Tier 8
4
Your body becomes almost fully spectral. You do not breathe, eat, drink, or sleep, resist nonmagical weapon damage, can move through creatures, and have advantage on saves against grappled, restrained, paralyzed, poisoned, and prone.
- Action
- Bonus Action
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- Self
- Duration
- 1 Hour
- Type
- Ghost / Body
- Save
- CHA
Move up to your speed through creatures, objects, walls, floors, ceilings, graves, mirrors, fog, or shadowed thresholds. During this movement, you do not provoke opportunity attacks. You cannot end inside solid matter.
- Action
- Action
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- Self
- Duration
- Instant
- Effect
- Speed
- Type
- Movement / Incorporeal
A 30-ft. radius area becomes haunted. It is difficult terrain for enemies; creatures of your choice entering or starting there make WIS saves or take psychic or cold damage and become frightened until the start of their next turn.
- Action
- Action
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- 120 ft.
- Duration
- Concentration, 1 Minute
- Effect
- 8d8
- Type
- Psychic / Cold
- Save
- WIS
Choose one creature you can see. It makes a CHA save. On a failure, you partially haunt its body. At the start of each of its turns, you may force it to choose between taking psychic damage or losing either its action, bonus action, or movement for that turn.
- Action
- Action
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- 60 ft.
- Duration
- Concentration, 1 Minute
- Effect
- 8d8
- Type
- Psychic / Possession
- Save
- CHA
Tier 9
4
Choose a building, ruin, graveyard, battlefield, shipwreck, or other enclosed haunted site within range. For the duration, you know when creatures enter or leave, can project whispers or cold spots, and may use Ghost Physiology powers as if standing at your anchor within the site.
- Action
- Action
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- 300 ft.
- Duration
- 1 Hour
- Effect
- 300 ft.
- Type
- Haunting / Domain
When you would die or be destroyed, bind your spirit to a prepared anchor on the same plane. If the anchor remains intact for 24 hours, you reform adjacent to it with 1 hit point. Divine, radiant, exorcism, or Tier 9+ effects may prevent this if they destroy the anchor.
- Action
- Reaction
- Use
- 1/Long Rest
- Range
- Self
- Duration
- 24 Hours
- Effect
- 1 HP
- Type
- Survival / Anchor
You are immune to suffocation, starvation, dehydration, mundane disease, and mundane exhaustion. You resist necrotic, cold, psychic, and nonmagical weapon damage. Effects below Tier 9 cannot trap or destroy you unless they are divine, radiant, exorcising, or tied to your anchor.
- Action
- Passive
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- Self
- Duration
- Permanent
- Type
- Ghost / Sovereign
- Save
- CHA
Release a storm of shrieking spirits and cold memory. Creatures of your choice in the emanation make WIS saves, taking necrotic and cold damage and becoming frightened on a failure, or taking half damage only on a success.
- Action
- Action
- Use
- 1/Long Rest
- Range
- Self (120 ft.)
- Duration
- Instant
- Effect
- 16d10
- Type
- Necrotic / Cold
- Save
- WIS
Tier 10
4
Become an apex spirit. You are immune to poison and necrotic damage, resistant to cold, psychic, and nonmagical weapon damage, can move through objects and creatures, and your Ghost Physiology powers deal or prevent extra damage once per turn.
- Action
- Bonus Action
- Use
- At-Will
- Range
- Self
- Duration
- 1 Minute
- Effect
- 4d10
- Type
- Ghost / Apex
- Roll
- Attack
A door, mirror, grave, wall, or memory becomes a passage for the dead. Creatures of your choice in a 60-ft. radius make CHA saves. On a failure, they are pulled partly into a ghostly threshold, taking psychic and necrotic damage and becoming restrained until the end of their next turn.
- Action
- Action
- Use
- 1/Long Rest
- Range
- 300 ft.
- Duration
- Instant
- Effect
- 20d10
- Type
- Psychic / Necrotic
- Save
- CHA
Merge with a structure, graveyard, shipwreck, battlefield, or ruin within range. For the duration, you perceive throughout it, can speak from any point, and may use one Ghost Physiology power each round from any wall, floor, mirror, doorway, grave, or shadow inside.
- Action
- Action
- Use
- 1/Long Rest
- Range
- 300 ft.
- Duration
- Concentration, 1 Minute
- Effect
- 300 ft.
- Type
- Haunting / Domain
- Save
- WIS
Declare a mythic haunting tied to a mansion, battlefield, bloodline, murder, shipwreck, city district, forgotten road, or unfinished vow. It can create a legendary haunt, bind a ghostly domain, or make a place remember the dead forever. It can be opposed only by Tier 10 ghost physiology, divine intervention, exorcising miracle, or a story condition set when declared.
- Action
- Action
- Use
- 1/Ever
- Range
- 1 Mile
- Duration
- Until Resolved
- Effect
- Unique
- Type
- Ghost / Story
- Roll
- Varies
- Save
- Varies