Guild Wars 2

Hey everybody,

some of my recent ideas for upcoming roleplay involve a specific NPC character of our group’s past returning as a ghost. As far as we know, ghosts that remain in Tyria (Foefire ghosts aside) instead of passing into the Mists usually have a reason that keeps them from vanishing and are of varying sanity – some little more than angry spirits, some fully aware of their situation.

However, what I keep asking myself is this:
Ghosts that stick around in Tyria are usually bound to haunt a specific place. That place does not necessarily have to be the place where they died, as seen with Kimmes the historian, but still, they tend to stick there.
Would it be possible for a ghost to be bound to a specific object instead of a place and appearing only near that object? There are many examples of wizards binding souls to certain things, but can it happen naturally?
So far I haven’t found any examples from the top of my head, hope you guys can help me. (Edit: I’m really only looking for specific examples from GW lore, not general ghosts in typical fantasy universes)

Cheers!

Off the top of my head, Belinda’s ghost did voluntarily attach itself to her sword- although it bears mentioning that she hasn’t been seen to manifest since. There’s also the cursed pirate treasure at Broken Beacon, although you could argue whether that constitutes a ‘natural’ haunting.

Yeah, Belinda comes to mind as sort of a special case, since she willingliy bound herself to the blade, but that’s not what I’m looking for.

The pirate ghosts at Broken Beacon seem to be a good find for this. Thanks!

As I can currently recall there may have been a few ghosts bound to objects in the history of Tyria.

At first, when reading your message I thought of the Ritualists’ item spells in GW.
These items were jars of ashes though. I am not sure if being bound to your remains would count as being bound to an item. (your remains can, after all be moved.)

Players were also able to summon the spirits of the Kurzick and Luxon heroes Saint Viktor and Archemorus who struck down Shiro Tagachi, although yet again I can’t confirm if this was their spirits being imbued in the items used for their summoning or the items being used as a means of opening a portal to the spirit realm, allow these spirits to leave the mists and aid the humans.

Many other ghosts seemed to be bound to a location however, such as the Sunspear Ghosts in Istan and the spirits of Tahnnakai Temple.

what makes me curious in your question is the:
"only appearing near that object?

Let’s say the item in question is a pendant.

• Would the ghost only appear when someone were to approach the pendant?
• Would the ghost only be ABLE to remain in close range of the pendant?

I still believe the Kurzicks and Luxons have the best answer for you.
Saint Viktor and Archemorus were “bound” to items.
The first to an urn, the second to a spear.
The catch still being:

• The urn contained the ashes of Saint Viktor.
• The spear was made of the bones of Archemorus.

And the catch there also being that they were artifacts from Cantha, where spirits were routinely bound. I can’t imagine custom-made artifacts that can invoke spirits didn’t have ritualists involved in their creation, which kind of misses what Agro is looking for.

I agree with Aaron here. I was really only looking for regular ghosts that are bound to objects instead of places, which is pretty much what is the case with those pirate ghosts mentioned before. Problem solved!

Has the op read Lockwood and co? Just wondering, since it’s a book series that focuses on ghosts bound to objects.

Nope, I haven’t, but as I said, I’m not keen on borrowing from other fantasy universes on this matter.

It isn’t uncommon for souls to be bound – by force – to objects…
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Soul_battery
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Soul_Stone
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Shackled_Spirits

As well as by choice…
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Seraph_Belinda_Delaqua
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Exalted

I am aware of that, however I was rather looking for cases that just happen naturally, perhaps I should have said that more clearly. This seems to be the case with the pirate ghosts at Broken Beacon. Thanks for your input anyways, guys!

Aaron Ansari.1604:

Off the top of my head, Belinda’s ghost did voluntarily attach itself to her sword- although it bears mentioning that she hasn’t been seen to manifest since. There’s also the cursed pirate treasure at Broken Beacon, although you could argue whether that constitutes a ‘natural’ haunting.

Though, the story journal thing says that after doing that ritual Belinda’s ghost was ‘put to rest’, which makes it sound like she moved on to the underworld.

There are two ghosts in Queensdale, one which asked Grenth to watch over her family’s farm after she died (He allowed it), and another in the graveyard. I forget the story of the graveyard ghost, but she’s more violent.