geistnet | Canon Class: Sin-Eaters.

Sections of this guide have been lifted from the White Wolf Wiki.

WHAT ARE SIN-EATERS & GEISTS?

Sin-Eaters, also known as the Bound, are mortals who have died, but made deals with strange, alien spirits called Geists to return to life. This does not come without a price; they must share their body, mind, and desires with the Geist, and often spend as much time confronting the death around them as well as appeasing their new "friend" as they try to continue their own life.

Geists, on the other hand, are a special kind of spirit who are former ghosts that have separated themselves from their mortal identities, embracing the ideas and imagery of their deaths, coming to embody those images. They are capable of making special pacts with humans near death, combining with them to create the Bound.

Because two personalities and mind are inhabiting the same body, the human Bound and the Geist must learn to work together to somehow obtain their goals, making them prone to weakness when the two halves just don't get along. Psyche describes the bond that Geists and Bound share with one another; the stronger a character's Psyche, the more will each half of the Bound is willing to contribute to a goal.

THE THRESHOLDS

A Threshold is the category of death that the Bound place themselves under. While not used as a social group in the same manner of Krewes, a Threshold is an important aspect of a Bound's existence, usually dictating what type of Geist they will attract during their moment of death. Once revived, a Sin-Eater will carry their marks of death throughout their lives, using them as part of their personal identity. In addition, at least one of a Geist's Keys will be one of the two keys most commonly associated with a particular Threshold.

There are five Thresholds; each is fairly broad in scope and power, and some Bounds' manner of death may technically fall into more than one; usually, their personality dictates the final choice. Someone who starves to death would obviously be Silent due to denying their body food, but a suicide might also fall into this category, neglected by someone that drove them to the act. More often than not, the Geist they join with originally came from the same Threshold, though there are exceptions to that rule.

These are the five Thresholds recognized by Sin-Eaters.

The Torn, also called the Bleeding Ones, who were victims of an act of violence. They manipulate the Keys of Stigmata and Passion.
The Silent, also called the Starved Ones, who died due to neglect of the body, soul, or both. They control the Keys of Stillness and Cold Wind.
The Prey, also called the Eaten Ones or Drowned Ones, who met their ends at the hands of Mother Nature. They lord over the Keys of Primeval and Grave-Dirt.
The Stricken, also called the Ravaged Ones, who were claimed by fatal illnesses. They are masters of the Keys of Phantasm and Tear-Stained
The Forgotten, also called the Lightning-Struck, who died by accident, fire, or a simple twist of fate, or by a method so unusual it does not fit into the other four Thresholds. They hold the Keys of Industrial and Pyre-Flame.

POWERS & ABILITIES

When one of the Bound has their near-death experience, also called a Threshold, it also gives them an affinity with a certain Key; this Key taints the way that a Bound can use their powers. This also ties into their Keystone, a special artifact reflecting the manner of a Geist's death.

A Manifestation is the power a Geist can channel. They are fueled by Plasm, the residue left over by encounters with ghosts.

SIN-EATERS IN TODAY'S VIGIL

While Cards have found themselves increasingly occupied with the Dark Hour, Sin-Eaters all around the world have had to deal with the fallout that comes with wide-scale destruction and human conflict. The issues that the Bound now face are similar, in spirit, to their “brother and sister” Cards, only aggravated by the fact that in this new world, the dead, indeed, do not rest easily. Furthermore, the fact that Sin-Eaters are not nearly as long-lived as Cards and can be – in many ways – much more fragile than most other supernaturals has proven to be a disadvantage when more resentful parties decide to target them. The Bound have also found themselves troubled with the international cult of suicide on all fronts, because it doesn’t just mean an increase in Sin-Eaters who probably made the Bargain for the wrong reasons: it also means dealing with the ghosts of the ones who failed.

Sin-Eaters are also threatened by interest groups who – based on shaky scientific findings – believe that by experimenting on Sin-Eaters, they might discover the secret to eternal life. They’re also constantly bothered by mortals who – armed with that dangerous amount of too-little knowledge and a whole lot of misguided resolve – seek the Bound out in order to help them settle unfinished business for so and so dead relative or significant other, or seek to solve their own unfinished business by having a Sin-Eater summon who-knows-what for them from the Underworld. Once again, the Order of the Grateful Dead is doing everything they can to protect the Bound, but if things continue to worsen, one can only wonder if there’s anything that can be done about the situation at all.

NOTABLE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN WHITE WOLF SIN-EATERS AND WAKING THE DEAD SIN-EATERS.

There aren't any notable differences at the moment. We'll fill this in if something ever comes up.

GOT QUESTIONS?

This is a canon class of White Wolf. Players who are interested in playing a Sin-Eater may refer to the rulebook and other reference links from White Wolf in order to learn more about them.

We will, however, have a guide on how to stat a Sin-Eater up soon! For the full document on general character creation, download our guide here.