DESIGNATION: PSYCHIC TYPE — PHANTOM CLEARANCE: PUBLIC ARCHIVE: BASILICA PURGATORY

Phantom

Gifted — Psychic

Psychic Invisibility & Psychic Vampirism — Unseen and Draining

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Overview

Phantoms combine Psychic Invisibility — making themselves unnoticeable to other minds — with Psychic Vampirism — draining emotional and spiritual energy from others. What unites these is presence: the Phantom controls whether and how much they register in the minds of those around them, and sustains themselves on what they take. They're the most dangerous Psychic type in social environments — and the one most likely to become something genuinely terrible if they lose themselves in the addiction.

Starting Attribute Priority

Category	Priority	Starting Points
Social	Primary	7 points
Mental	Secondary	5 points
Physical	Tertiary	3 points

Masking Practice

Phantoms typically mask as Wayfarer Sorcerers — carrying small personal items touched before becoming unnoticeable, and performing brief private rituals before draining interactions.

Psychic Vampirism is genuinely addictive — see the Weakness section below. Players choosing this type should be comfortable exploring that arc with intention, not just as flavor text.

Abilities

Choose one option at each level as you advance. The choice at each level is permanent.

●○○○○ Level 1 — Choose One

Option A — Overlooked: Witnesses need +1 difficulty to notice the Phantom and +2 to recall details afterward. Always active.

Option B — Emotional Leech: Passively recover 1 Willpower per hour of casual social contact with 3+ people. Undetectable.

●●○○○ Level 2 — Choose One

Option A — Social Shadow: Observers need a Perception + Alertness roll (diff 7) to notice the Phantom, then forget almost immediately. One scene. Roll Manipulation (diff 6) to activate.

Option B — Focused Drain: Eye contact drains one target: they lose 1 Willpower, the Phantom gains 1. Roll Manipulation + Empathy (diff 6).

●●●○○ Level 3 — Choose One (1 Willpower)

Option A — Complete Invisibility: Overlooked by anyone not actively searching for them specifically, including electronic surveillance. One scene.

Option B — Psychic Drain: Target loses 2 Willpower and 2 dice on Social rolls for 24 hours; Phantom recovers 2 Willpower. Roll Manipulation + Empathy (diff 7) vs. Willpower.

●●●●○ Level 4 — Choose One (1 Willpower)

Option A — Crowd Fade: Undetectable to an entire space at once, degrading as the Phantom interacts directly with someone. One hour.

Option B — Soul Leech: Target loses 3 Willpower, -2 dice on all rolls for a week; Phantom recovers 3 Willpower and heals 2 Bashing. Roll Manipulation + Empathy (diff 8) vs. Willpower.

●●●●● Level 5 — Choose One (2 Willpower)

Option A — True Invisibility: Supernaturally undetectable for a full hour; active supernatural search needs a diff 10 roll.

Option B — Soulstealing: Target loses 5 Willpower and their Willpower maximum permanently drops by 1 (irreversible by mundane means). Roll Manipulation + Empathy (diff 9) vs. Willpower. Once per target.

Strength & Weakness

Strength: The Invisible Predator	Weakness: The Addiction
Extraordinarily difficult to find, follow, or defend against socially — some of the Basilica's most effective intelligence gatherers.	Genuinely addictive. Self-Control roll (diff 6) weekly to avoid seeking a drain after the first one; daily if drained at Level 4–5. Repeated failure drifts toward predatory behavior.