Plasm

Plasm is the “juice” by which Sin-Eaters empower their Manifestations and other supernatural
abilities. As described in myths, ectoplasm appears as a residue in sites that ghosts regularly haunt,
and in low places such as cenotes (see page 87), especially ones with Avernian Gates (see page 82).
This ghostly remnant can appear as a solid, jellylike mass, as a thick, syrupy liquid or as a greenish
vapor. Usually, plasm that’s uncontained simply sublimates and vanishes in a matter of minutes; it
dissipates rapidly in the living world as it decays back into the entropy from which it formed. Sin-
Eaters, though, can recognize and harvest plasm for their own uses.

A Sin-Eater uses plasm to fuel Manifestations, to temporarily absorb injury, to power certain
ceremonies, and to open Avernian Gates. Thanks to the utility of plasm, it’s a valuable commodity for
Sin-Eaters, but not one that’s easily traded. As a form of ghostly essence, it retains its power only
when it’s captured within the Sin-Eater’s body (or, in rare cases, held in a semisolid form via a special
Manifestation, ceremony, or influence on the part of a geist). Sin-Eaters can hold plasm indefinitely if
it isn’t used, and many Sin-Eaters like to stock up in order to make sure they’re prepared for any
contingency, but acquiring the plasm in the first place can be troublesome.

A Sin-Eater generally returns from the brink of death with only a trace amount of plasm in his system,
a small “gift” that remains as a result of contact with the geist. This single point of plasm is still
sufficient to perform a few tricks, and geists are quick to impart knowledge about what a Sin-Eater can
do with plasm. After all, a skilled Sin-Eater with a reservoir of ectopic energy and the means to use it
creatively can accomplish far more than someone who remains ignorant of plasm’s properties.
Naturally, a freshly-minted Sin-Eater has only a limited command of the power; as shown on page 84,
the Sin-Eater’s Psyche rating determines the amount of plasm that he can hold and how quickly he can
expend it. With practice, the Sin- Eater’s control of plasm will improve.

Healing

A Sin-Eater can absorb the force of injury with plasm. When hurt — whether by claw, fire, speeding
limousine, or paper cut — the Sin-Eater’s player may choose to spend plasm to ablate the wound. The
injury fills with a white,mist-shedding substance, and for the rest of the scene the injury has no effect
on the Sin-Eater; the plasm simply “fills in” as needed. At the end of the scene, the plasm bleeds away
and leaves the Sin-Eater bruised and sore, but probably not as badly injured as might’ve happened
otherwise.

Spending a point of plasm as a reflexive action allows the Sin-Eater to bulwark against a single health
level of damage of any type. At the end of the scene, these wounds convert to bashing damage. See
“Ectoplasmic Flesh,” on page 172

The plasm in a Sin-Eater’s system also fights off deleterious influences. While Sin-Eaters can still
consume and feel the effects of alcohol and recreational drugs, other things that might cause health
problems (from toxic metals to diseases and poisons) all find themselves captured in the wash of
plasm and then expelled from the Sin-Eater’s system. For this reason, the Sin-Eater’s Psyche rating
adds to all resistance rolls against toxins, as explained on page 172.

Opening an Avernian Gate

An Avernian Gate is a doorway to the Autochthonous Depths, the upper levels of the Underworld. It’s
that part of the Underworld in which Sin-Eaters will find reflections of the culture of the living nearby,
and where they’ll likely be safest (at least, compared to the Lower Mysteries). A Sin-Eater can open an
Avernian Gate with a touch, an instant action, the expenditure of one point of plasm and a Psyche roll.
See page 264 for the specific modifiers.
A Sin-Eater that runs out of plasm in the process of trying to open an Avernian Gate will find that the
task becomes markedly more difficult, which is yet another reason why many Sin-Eaters rely on a
reservoir of the precious substance.

Manifestation Use

Activating a Manifestation often requires the expenditure of plasm. In such a case, the use of plasm is
reflexive; it happens as the Sin-Eater activates the power in question.

Because a Sin-Eater’s Psyche limits his ability to spend plasm, a character might have to spend several
turns concentrating on a Manifestation in order to complete it. Should a Manifestation require more
plasm than the Sin-Eater can expend in a single turn, the Sin-Eater must continue to use actions to
focus on spending the plasm over several successive turns. The type of action required is the same as
that normally used to complete the Manifestation — that is, if a Sin-Eater with Psyche • tries to
activate a Manifestation that costs 3 plasm and requires an instant action, then the character must
spend three turns, spending one point of plasm per turn in conjunction with an instant action, to finish
the Manifestation. The dice roll for activation occurs when the last point of required plasm is spent and
the last action is taken. If the Sin-Eater interrupts the process by failing to take the appropriate action
on a turn, then the spent plasm is lost and the Manifestation does not occur.

Acquiring Plasm

Because ectoplasm stems from the energies of the dead, it naturally coalesces in places, things,
actions, and people associated with death. Acquiring plasm, then, can be a risky venture, because it
requires the Sin-Eater to deal with situations that are inherently dangerous. Fortunately, a Sin-Eater
does not, strictly speaking, require plasm — but plasm itself does ease the business of interacting with
ghosts.

Haunts: The most common source of plasm for Sin-Eaters comes from cenotes (see page 87). These
“low places” tend to collect plasm, especially at night, simply because they meet the archetypal
characteristics of a place of the dead. Graveyards, tombs, caves, underground pools, sewer tunnels,
and cellars all become thin places where the energy of the Underworld leaks into the living world. The
more haunted and decrepit the location, the more plasm it accumulates. Of course, this means that
locations rich in ectoplasm also often have ghostly inhabitants and natural hazards like unstable
ceilings and poisonous vapors.

Deathmasks: Deathmasks, a type of memento, naturally collect plasm. As objects representative of the
solid remains of a destroyed geist, deathmasks serve as innate bridges between the living world and
the Underworld. A deathmask holds up to five points of plasm, and refreshes a point every night; a
Sin-Eater wearing the deathmask can access this extra plasm just like his own personal stores.
Normally a Sin-Eater can access this plasm for use but not pull it into his internal reservoir, though an
unusual ceremony might be able to bypass this limitation.

Ectophagia: Sin-Eaters can literally eat and drink ghosts. Consuming the stuff of the Underworld can
grant physical sustenance, but ghosts are an even more concentrated source. Even a Sin-Eater who
isn’t in the Underworld can gain some benefit by “huffing,” as it’s called by those with a fondness for
the novels of Tim Powers. To perform this act, the Sin-Eater consumes the last remnants of a ghost
that has just been defeated. The more of the ghost’s Corpus the Bound devours, the more plasm he
gains. For more information, see p. 176.

Threshold Resonance: When a Sin-Eater performs an act that resonates with his geist’s Threshold, he
may regain plasm as the geist itself gains power due to the emotional strength of the action. A Sin-
Eater with the Threshold of the Torn (death by violence) may regain plasm through violence to the
brink of death — both by perpetrating it (possibly at a cost to Synergy) or suffering it (at a cost to
health and sanity). The Sin- Eater must feel a deep and moving connection to the Threshold to regain
plasm in this fashion. Typically, this means a Sin-Eater generates plasm when suffering damage or
testing for degeneration of Synergy as a result of an action taken in conjunction with the Threshold.
Some Sin-Eaters become “pain junkies” and deliberately seek out situations in which their Threshold
will cause them suffering, thereby giving them a shot of plasm. When a Sin-Eater gains plasm in this
fashion, the amount gained depends on how much the Sin-Eater is in conjunction with the Threshold;
1-3 points is typical, and never more than 5.

Resolution: A Sin-Eater can also collect the plasm released when a ghost transcends its etheric
existence. A Sin-Eater present and influential in the process of releasing a ghost from the last of its
anchors — sending the ghost to its final rest without destroying it — gains a burst of plasmic energy
as the ghost vanishes into whatever fate awaits those who finally let go of their lingering connections
to the living world. This happy(?) event refills the entire store of the Sin-Eater’s plasm.

Stealing Plasm

Rumor holds that Sin-Eaters particularly adroit with Manifestations can leech plasm out of other Sin-
Eaters with just a touch, or even by stealing it directly from breath. Some misguided Sin-Eaters,
perhaps thinking that their supernatural powers are akin to vampirism (with vampires themselves seen
as creatures on the crux between life and death), believe they can steal plasm by drinking the blood of
other Sin-Eaters, or eating their flesh. If these powers exist, they are closely guarded by the
cannibalistic geists and their hosts that profit from them.