*SIMILAR TO: MONONOKE ayakashi, JJK curses, XXXHOLIC / NATSUME YUUJINCHOU spirits.*

Emotion is a tangible thing.

Following the fall of the Endling, gatherings of all kinds of sentiment, positive, negative, and neutral, have been reported to create pseudo-lifeforms that humans can interact with, some of them dating back millennia, called Echoes.

Anyone may register one with the Public Safety Bureau upon encounter.

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ECHO CREATION

Echoes can be created by anything along the lines of:

a general and consistent gathering of sentiment / feeling,
a specific crime or favor being committed,
or a particular person’s resentment or goodwill, living or dead.

They are comprised of three elements.

ELEMENT	DESCRIPTION
THE PAST	The circumstances behind the Echo’s birth — the reason for its existence.
THE PRESENT	The Echo’s current physical form and power.
THE FUTURE	The Echo’s desire — what will satisfy it and lead it to leave the earthly plane.

These three elements are collectively known as the Echo’s TRUTH.

Revealing the Truth will reveal the Echo’s TRUE NAME.

Physically, their existence and power are often linked to an object called the Echo's CORE.

This core is often an item connected to the Echo’s PAST.

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ECHO CLASSIFICATION

Echoes are classified into three types.

CLASS	SOURCE	TYPICAL DISPOSITION
AMITIES	positive sentiment	friendly
SHADES	neutral or mixed sentiment	neutral
GRUDGES	negative sentiment	hostile

They are then assigned a threat index.

THREAT INDEX	DESCRIPTION
THREAT OMEGA	Society-endangering.
THREAT ALPHA	Actively dangerous.
THREAT BETA	Potentially aggressive.
THREAT GAMMA	Likely harmless.

Amities and Shades can be categorized as high-level even if they are not actively dangerous and coexist with society. Echoes’ threat index is assigned based on the threat they could potentially pose.

Echoes are further distinguished between those that can communicate with humans and those that cannot.

💟 ALLIED ECHOES (COMPANIONS)

*SIMILAR TO: JJK / NATSUME YUUJINCHOU shikigami, PERSONA 5 personas, TEGAMI BACHI dingos*

Echoes, typically Amities or Shades, who have formed a Heart bond with a human and work harmoniously with them to protect society are called Companions.

Companions must be registered with the Public Safety Bureau. Only authorized Combatants are permitted to register an Echo as a Companion.

Companions are not currently available for PCs.

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DEALING WITH ECHOES

Many in Locus City co-exist peacefully with Echoes, but especially with Grudges, elimination may become necessary.

🟢 SETTLING AN ECHO

Echoes can be SETTLED by revealing their TRUTH and TRUE NAME.

For some, combat may be required to lay their physical form to rest.

The settling requirements are up to the DM!

🛑 DESTROYING AN ECHO

Alternatively, they can be forcibly DESTROYED by physically destroying their CORE item.

Upon destruction, those within a certain radius may fall into a long dream, lasting [1d7 + 3] days, related to the Echo’s TRUTH.

This is intended to allow DMs to reveal their Echo's story even if it is destroyed instead of settled.

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RESTRICTIONS

IC, there are no known canonical restrictions on what Echoes can and cannot be.

OOC, player-created Echoes should not be world-breaking in a way that would massively impact the society (and playerbase) at large, or something that affects the established storyline.

For example, a player-created Echo cannot be:

a god that insta-kills anything it touches
a giant monster that blows up the entire city and makes it uninhabitable
a mind-controlling entity that forces characters to act a certain way without mun consent
a spirit that reverses time or would otherwise forcibly retcon previous player choices
a creature that forces permanent status conditions or afflictions, like amnesia or limb loss, upon players without mun consent

Generally, its effect should be somewhat localized to the context in which it’s being played.

More restrictions will be added if issues arise!

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