Eidolon

All Eidolons appear differently depending on the Souls they have absorbed. The only common factor amongst Eidolons is their Core, which appears as a glowing blue-white orb with yellowish tendrils like spider-silk floating about them.

Eidolons are created from the presence of a strong desire for perfection upon death. This presence need not be from the person dying, but can come from the one instigating the death via methods such as premeditated murder or Sarcomancy. Regardless of method, an Eidolon Core is not specifically created from a Soul, but is a manifestation of that intent for perfection through the shattering of conscious willpower; it is a piece of a Soul, rather than an entire one. This Core, created from the shattering of a Soul, then consumes the nearest Soul to finalise its manifestation. When this is done by a person's death, it is their own Soul that the shattered piece consumes. If it is a shattering of a perpetrator, the Core consumes their most recent victim's Soul.

Eidolons do not need to eat nor drink, but are driven to "consume" or "absorb" the Souls of others, including other Spirit-type Undead, in order to become stronger. This need, driven by the desire for perfection, pushes Eidolons to seek out other, weaker Spirits in order to absorb them. Eidolons can consume weaker Eidolons, so most Eidolons avoid interaction with each other.

Typically solitary in nature, and driven by a desire for perfection, Eidolons are predatory manipulators who will use a target's own memories, fears, and traumas against them. They are, in a way, psychologically abusive; having no remorse for their actions nor any care for the damage they leave behind. However, this lack of empathy originates from a lack of true Sapience; Eidolons are not complete Souls to begin with, and the conflict of the multiple Souls they have absorbed being constantly repressed by the desire for perfection results in a creature that does not understand emotion.

Eidolons, like the majority of Undead, are negatively impacted by the presence of Divine magic, and will avoid it as much as possible. If those with Divine power are caught within an Eidolon Trap, the Eidolons will focus the majority of their attention on those individuals first, wearing them down with unrelenting attacks that leave them unable to use their power.

Because of their nature of consuming Souls, Eidolons are traditionally seen as a major target of the Shade Host. As they tend to naturally go into hiding in the presence of more powerful Souls, they are never active during Deadhallows. They are deeply afraid of Death Gods and Psychopomps.

Eidolons typically exist alone, and tend to avoid others of their kind. It is not known why this is their typical behaviour, but it is suspected that Eidolons have at least some basic form of self-preservation, which prevents them from working with creatures that could potentially end their search for perfection.

On the rare occasions that they do gather, Eidolons will only work with others of similar strength, and they have been shown to operate in tandem with each other while also exhibiting a competitive mentality. While they will work together to entrance large groups of people, once subdued, the Souls within are fair game, and the Eidolons will compete to see who can get the most power. Once the feeding is over, Eidolons will generally disperse quickly, with the newly weaker ones fearing absorption by the strengthened ones.

Eidolons can occur wherever violent or sudden deaths take place, but are dependent on the presence of strong desires for perfection within or near an individual upon death. Eidolons most often surface at the murder sites of artisans, actors, and socialites, though some have been known to arise after the deaths of Weavecrafters, Natural Philosophers, and Adepts. Additionally, they have been linked to the presence of Sarcomancers, where the desire for perfection comes from the Sarcomancer, and not the deceased.

Eidolons have never been found in the Silver Wastes; it is thought that the inherent nature of the Wastes means it is not the kind of place that strong desires for perfection are found.

Eidolons are not considered Sapient, instead operating on natural instincts and desires imprinted within them from their formation. They possess basic desire to feed and become stronger, fueled by the overwhelming need for perfection, and have the ability to formulate basic strategies.

Eidolons are capable of detecting the living from up to a mile away, and their "Life Sight" cannot be blocked by anything except a solid sheet of 3" thick lead, or the presence of Moonlight Thorns. Additionally, they possess Ethereal Sight, allowing them to see 60ft into the Ethereal Plane while in the Material, and vice versa.

Biological, Magical and Supernatural Abilities

Eidolons possess the ability to view the thoughts and memories of others, which it then uses to lure and entrap the living into a form of mental prison, where it torments them with their darkest memories, drives them mad, and ultimately kills them. While this ability can be resisted, when used by a large group of Eidolons, it is near impossible to evade and must instead be escaped. This collective ability sends victims into a trance-like state, with their consciousness transported into a form of mental prison known as an Eidolon Trap. Within this trap, bad memories are relived in front of all the victims, exposing their traumas for all within to see. This is then used to whisper and taunt straight into the victims minds, driving them into psychotic breaks and eventually shocking them to death.

Eidolons predominantly inflict psychic damage with their mental abilities, but when confronted directly will lash out with spectral claws that deal necrotic damage. They have the ability to cause fear within their living foes, and can absorb nearby Undead Spirits, such as Ghosts, to heal themselves.

Combat and Eradication

Combat Considerations

Eidolons are resistant to physical damage that does not come from a Silvered weapon, as well as damage with the properties of Lightning, Sonic, Cold, Fire, and Acid. They are completely immune to Poison and Necrotic properties.

Additionally, due to their Ethereal nature, Eidolons cannot be charmed, poisoned, paralyzed, or petrified. Likewise, they cannot be grappled, knocked prone, or restrained, and do not feel exhaustion.

Expulsion Techniques

Eidolons must be cleansed by Divine Magic, otherwise they will reform close to the place they were "destroyed". Cleansing an Eidolon will release the Spirits that it consumed and allow them to pass on, as well as dispersing the spirit remnants containing the desire for perfection. To cleanse an Eidolon completely, its Core, must be identified, isolated, and then ritually cleansed.

The Core of an Eidolon is only exposed within an Eidolon Trap, or when the Souls absorbed by one are removed from it by Turning or Purification. Souls can also be dislodged from a Core using magic that has the Radiant damage property.