Materialization

From Mizahar Lore

This article is about a racial skill that is only available to certain races and characters.

Materialization is an ability of ghosts and other ethereal undead. It allows the ghost to take on a more tangible form for brief periods. Materialization is not needed for the ghost to be visible, but it is required for the ghost to look solid and be able to directly touch another creature or object. At low levels, the ghost will still be recognizeable as such, with faded edges, the occasional flicker and limited substance, but once fully mastered the entity can look and feel real as long as it can maintain this appearance.

Ghosts can learn how to materialize by concentrating on the soulmist shroud that makes up their ethereal shells. If they pay conscious attention to their form, they can stabilize it until it looks and feels more solid. When in materialized form, ghosts can damage the living with their touch, though the living can also hit them back while in this state. Being struck in this fashion can cause a ghost to shred a part of its soulmist, which is painful and weakens it.

It should be noted that the ghost does not actually acquire mass when materializing. Any damage caused by its touch comes from the energy of the soulmist; there is no weight being moved. This means ghosts cannot move or pick up items with Materialization - they need to use Soulmist Projection instead. Moreover, ghosts can only materialize one of their usual forms; they cannot make up new ones on the spot.

Progression

Novice (1-25)
	An inexperienced ghost can acquire a semblance of a solid shape for a few minutes before it needs to rest and recuperate. This form is far from perfect, and will be recognizeable by the worn edges, flickering and other flaws, though it is not transparent anymore and can transmit the sense of touch. The ghost can discharge minimal energy from its body; the amount can cause little more than some pricking.
Competent (26-50)
	With a decent amount of experience, the ghost learns to get rid of the more glaring defects such as the flickering. It still looks somewhat out of place, like an old oil painting in the middle of someone's field of vision. For the rest, they walk convincingly and their voice comes from the right place, though their figure still looks a bit stylized and lacks some detail. Their touch can be uncomfortable at this level.
Expert (51-75)
	The ghost looks almost real and could probably fool the average person in the average scenario. They may still arise some suspicion in broad daylight, but their materialization is almost flawless indoors or under poor lighting. They can maintain this façade for a longer time and with less concentration than before. Their touch is about as harmful as their punch could have been while alive (though in a different way).
Master (76-100)
	A master of materialization is utterly impossible for the naked eye to tell apart from a real person. The only way to tell is through an action physical enough to reveal their limited substance, such as a pat on the back. A ghost with such a mastery can exist in a constant materialized state without a problem. Their touch is debilitating at best, deadly at worst, and they can even regenerate a little soulmist in the process.