But spectres aren't animals at all...? That's true! But they aren't human and they have souls, existing as a part of the natural environment—thus, they are a candidate for Augmentation. By the standards of the people of Pathos, spectres and such supernatural beings are not sentient the way humans are, and little other than another variety of beast. As they're rarely seen in the wild these days, it'll be difficult to get a second opinion on that.

Spectral-types can include ghosts, vampires, djinn, imps, demons—i.e., traditionally supernatural entities that are largely humanoid in appearance. While their physical strength can be quite variable, their presence is known to be overwhelming—even terrifying. They are not necessarily malevolent, but tend towards being tricksters, easily offended, or vengeful. Many have a predilection for pranks—both cruel and merely whimsical—and are skilled at performing glamours, temporarily altering theirs or another's appearance (but not their underlying shape).

When Shifted, their bodies take on a more noticeably (and appropriately) spectral cast. Any kind of eerie aura will be enhanced, to the point of inflicting panic and dread upon any who happen to share a room with them. Species-specific traits will be similarly pronounced, whether that's horns or wings or fangs, to further aid in their ability to disturb, menace—or feed on their victims. Whether that means consuming blood, flesh, or pain itself, Spectral-types are experts at taking what they need... until dragged into the sunlight, where their fearsome presence wanes.

• Many Spectral-types are some manner of undead, and those that follow that path will undergo a physical death. This will not cause the Natural Soul to take over, as would be the case with other soul types. The process of physical death will be agonizing, and take a good few months to complete. But once they're over the hurdle, it's only up from there!
  • ...And once properly undead, characters will have no pulse if they had one prior.
• Unusual physical temperature. For the undead: cold, possibly even clammy skin, and bodies that are the ambient temperature at best. Others might lean towards being hotter than normal, to the point of inflicting burns when agitated or excited.
• Physical changes such as growing wings, horns, claws and/or sharpened incisors. Any other changes which match the source creature.
• All Spectral-types have some sort of unusual eye-related trait. Usually, it's the color: their irises are commonly red or black, their sclerae black, a luminous cast in the dark, extra eyes... the list goes on.
• Unusual dietary requirements. Vampires (and any others who lean in a sanguine direction), will need to consume blood to survive. Others may require human flesh, minerals, objects, or even abstract things like dreams and nightmares.
• Otherworldly aura. Without trying, Spectral-types exude a presence that can't help but influence others. Often, this is in the direction of fear, but with practice they can inflict other emotions as well.
  • Upon initiating an encounter, Spectral-types often leave their conversation partners startled, daunted, intimidated, or panicked. If deliberately trying to scare someone, a Spectral-type can cause others to totally freeze in fear, unable to run, retaliate, speak, or scream.
• Incorporeality—that is, the physical lack of substance (i.e. being able to pass through walls). This may be a temporary thing that activates only under certain circumstances, or can be a permanent thing, depending on the type of soul.
  • Many Spectral-types can even become totally invisible, so long as they're not in the sun.
• Weakness in sunlight and with it, a corresponding strength at night. While they can go about in daylight without harm, their abilities will be vastly reduced.
  • Spectral-types may find that all of their powers are generally weaker in the daylight, from their illusions to their other magical talents. A healthy, well-fed Spectral-type can often manage this just fine, but a weak Spectral-type may struggle to do more than exist as their plain ol' self.
  • During daytime, Spectral-types may favor remaining indoors to keep out of the sun.
  • Super embarrassing: shining a very bright light on any Spectral-type while they're in the dark can cause them to completely freeze for a few seconds.
  • In contrast to the Carnivora-types, Spectral-types find their nighttime strength is best of all in the absence of the moon, with few exceptions.
• Glamours. Spectral-types can cast a glamour that tricks the eye of others into perceiving an illusion. They can cast this illusion upon themselves, others, or even objects, and can make them look like just about anything they can dream up. This is not a physical shapeshift, but it can only be disrupted if a person not only reaches for something that is glamoured, but finds that its texture does not match what the eye is perceiving. The illusion may be slightly transparent in direct sunlight, but fully convincing in shadow, indoors, or in the dark. Best of all, a fully Corrupted Spectral-type barely has to think to keep their illusion up!
• Capable of levitation, particularly of the self. This should not be confused with flight, and Spectral-types cannot scale a multi-story building with levitation alone, though perhaps they can reach the ceiling of even a large building while indoors.
• Spectral-types possess a great many magical powers in exchange for existing half of each day weakened. Of these powers, only one of them may be used during the daytime, while the others are exclusive to nighttime. These include all of the following:
  1. The ability to temporarily possess other people. This power may cause the Spectral type to either coexist with the soul(s) of the victim, or completely overtake their body, causing them to go dormant.
  2. Control over wildlife—particularly those of the nocturnal persuasion.
  3. Ability to transform into one animal from the following list: bats, wolves, owls, rats, goats, spiders, cats, opossums. Spectral-types find themselves inclined to use this animal to travel distances in the nighttime.
  4. The ability to manipulate dreams, or even act as a construct or figure in a dream, as in dreamwalking.
  5. Mastery over an elemental magic. Pick from the following: Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Dark, Electric. The selection can be in line with some specific supernatural being, in line with the character, or anything, really! These can be refined into attacks, and characters can even wield these elements to do mundane things like 'use water to surf down the sidewalk' or 'short an electronic device with electricity powers.' Get creative!

• An inclination towards haunting (loitering) around abandoned buildings, graveyards, or anyplace where someone has recently died.
• The development of a vengeful attitude, and a determination to get their pound of flesh (sometimes literally) when they feel they've been wronged.

• Without having even been wronged, or provoked towards a vengeful response, Spectral-types may feel a profound resentment towards all other beings (with a possible exclusion of other Spectral-types). This is especially true of undead sorts and the living, as even those Spectres who are otherwise content with their condition can feel bursts of loathing and grief, when faced with something they no longer are.

  What the Spectral-type resents specifically can vary. It might be petty, it might be irrational—it might be a wish to be comfortable in the sunlight once more, or to not be looked on with fear or distrust. It might be more personal than that—or it might be everything at once, for characters with an existing predilection towards wrath.

  This resentment can take shape how the player chooses, but is likely to see the Spectral-type reacting with greater rudeness or violence, and a need to inflict their suffering on another. Indulging their resentment from time to time seems the only way to manage it, as trying to hold it in or otherwise deny it leads to greater disaster when their will inevitably snaps.

• A predilection towards darker emotions, and an altered morality. An optimist might realize that the glass was half-empty the whole time. The most noble of heroes might come to understand that their established villain had a point after all. While these shifts are generally towards the darker, or more morally questionable—it includes a blurring of all ethical lines. The most immoral of dark lords might develop an inconvenient shred of a conscience—a crack in an otherwise impenetrable viewpoint.

  A Spectre's view may be dark, but it's not black and white. They invite complication, if only for their own entertainment—to hurt someone they decide has deserved it, or who was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

• A habit of deceit. If a Spectral-type isn't careful, they'll end up lying about even the most inconsequential of things, just out of instinct. The more important, the more personal a topic, the more likely they are to want to hide it, twist it, or otherwise make the truth as difficult to discern as possible.
  • To pair with this, Spectral-types are uncommonly good liars. Even if your character doesn't have a dishonest bone in their body, and can't keep a straight face to save their life—they will find their abilities have vastly, vastly improved.